Twin suicide bomb attacks on the Pakistani city of Lahore kill 45 people, before other, smaller blasts cause confusion.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers a stinging rebuke to Israel over new settlements in East Jerusalem.

The Pope once unwittingly approved housing for a priest accused of child abuse, his former diocese in Germany says.

Russia's state-owned nuclear company says the country will build at least 12 nuclear reactors in India.

Winnie Mandela, former wife of Nelson Mandela, denies giving an interview accusing him of letting down black South Africans.

Five same-sex couples tie the knot in Mexico City under Latin America's first law that explicitly approves gay marriage.

Oil demand in China rose by an "astonishing" 28% in January compared with a year ago, the International Energy Agency says.

New York City is to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to rescue workers who say their health was damaged by dust at Ground Zero.

A report into the collapse of US bank Lehman Brothers criticises senior executives and auditor Ernst & Young for serious lapses.

More than 2,000 atheists from around the world meet in Melbourne, Australia, to celebrate their lack of religious belief.

A South African sex worker goes to court, saying she was unfairly sacked from a Cape Town massage parlour.

Returning legend Michael Schumacher vows to improve after Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg leads Friday practice in Bahrain.

Formula 1 boss Jean Todt is determined former Renault team principal Flavio Briatiore will be punished for his role in the Singapore race fixing scandal.

German campaigner tells of childhood Catholic abuse

Legal battle in Israel over Franz Kafka manuscripts

Why Kerala has India's biggest alcohol problem

What do humans and bonobos have in common?

Door creaks ajar for undocumented Haitians in the US

Can an election be held in a land of refugees?

Mogadishu's mayor tells residents to leave parts of the Somali capital, as fierce fighting against insurgents continues.

The wife of Liberia's ex-President Charles Taylor - on trial in The Hague for war crimes - has a baby girl.

Former US President George W Bush's advisor, Karl Rove, says he is proud of waterboarding as he believes it prevented attacks.

A US woman is charged with murder over the killing of a truck driver's assistant who won $17m in a lottery in 2006.

The US calls Burma's new election laws a setback for dialogue, as a UN envoy condemns 'gross' human rights violations.

Eleven rare Siberian tigers die at a zoo in north-eastern China, raising fears over treatment of captive animals in the country.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown criticise the US for "protectionism" over an aerospace deal.

A long-serving Conservative MEP, expelled in a row over the party's new allies in Europe, has joined the Liberal Democrats.

Israel charges two of soldiers over the use of a Palestinian boy as a human shield during its offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

A human rights organisation in Egypt accuses the interior ministry of manipulating the legal system to target a blogger.

The third season of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament is under way amid heavy security in Mumbai.

Security is tight in the Pakistani city of Karachi as funerals are held for a Sunni Muslim cleric and four others killed on Thursday.

In Havana, one of the last bastions of the committed smoker, Matt Frei experiences Cubans' love affair with the cigar.

Water has been rapidly disappearing in Cyprus since the 1970s, yet despite the warnings, Cypriots don't seem to be taking the shortage as seriously as they should.

Joe Biden is in the region to encourage talks between the Palestinians and Israel. What can be achieved?