Amanda Knox appeal: Prosecutors call for life sentences - BBC News

Prosecutors have called for an appeals court to extend the sentences given to two convicted murderers of British student Meredith Kercher to life terms. American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty in 2009 of murder in Italy and jailed for 26 years and 25 years respectively. The pair, who deny any wrongdoing, are appealing against their convictions. In summing up, prosecutors said evidence pointed to the pair's guilt and defended the original DNA evidence....

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Tuition fees: Labour pledges maximum cap of £6,000 - BBC News

Ed Miliband says Labour would reduce the cap on student tuition fees.  He told the Sunday Mirror that a Labour government would limit university fees to £6,000 a year - down from the current £9,000 maximum. It would be partly funded by graduates earning over £65,000 a year paying higher interest on student loans and by axing the government's planned cut in corporation tax for financial services.  Ministers have said the current system is "fairer and affordable". ...

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Mother and five children killed in Neasden house fire - BBC News

The fire started in the early hours of Saturday, spreading quickly through the family's home A mother and five of her children have been killed in a house fire in north-west London. Muna Elmufatish, 41, and her daughters Hanin Kua, 14, Basma, 13 and Amal, nine, died in the blaze with her sons Mustafa, five, and Yehya, aged two. Her husband, Bassam Kua, 51, and another daughter Nur, 16, are in a critical condition following the fire in Neasden early on Saturday morning. Police said they are...

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In pictures: Greeks strike over new austerity - BBC News

Thousands have taken to the streets of the Greek capital, Athens, to protest against the government's latest series of stringent austerity cuts. Some 7,000 gathered in front of the parliament building. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15022648...

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Day in pictures: 23 September 2011 - BBC News

Folk dancers rehearse for the upcoming Festival of Nine Nights in Ahmedabad, India. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15035...

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Week in pictures: 17-23 September - BBC News

The world's biggest beer festival, the Oktoberfest at Theresienwiese in Munich got under way. The festival attracts six million visitors from around the world each yea...

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IMF promises decisive action for eurozone debt crisis

The IMF says it will take decisive action to tackle the eurozone debt crisis and support the global economy. In a communique on Saturday, the global lender said it would review the resources it had available to tackle the crisis. The statement added that eurozone nations would do "whatever necessary" to resolve Europe's debt crisis. Following the statement, UK chancellor George Osborne said there was "no plan" for a Greek default. However, the communique, issued during...

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Yemen unrest: 'Dozens dead' in Sanaa clashes

US journalist Laura Kasinof says protesters spoke of "panic and choas" Many people have been killed in clashes in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, as protests continue against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Demonstrators camped out on Change Square - the focus of protests - have been caught in fighting between the army and dissident soldiers, a journalist in the city told the BBC. Some unconfirmed reports say as many as 40 people have died across the city. The violence follows Mr...

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Russia's Putin set to return as president in 2012

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he has accepted a proposal to stand for president in March 2012. Addressing the ruling United Russia party's annual congress, Mr Putin and current President Dmitry Medvedev backed one another to switch roles. The announcements end speculation over which man should run for the top job. United Russia, which Mr Putin leads, dominates the country's politics and observers say his return to the Kremlin is now all but guaranteed. ...

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Space shuttle Atlantis makes final landing

By Jonathan Amos   Science correspondent, BBC News  Space shuttle Atlantis has landed back on Earth, bringing to a close America's 30-year orbiter programme.    The vehicle swept into the Kennedy Space Center, its wheels touching the runway just before local sunrise. Nasa's shuttles were instrumental in building the space station, and were used to maintain the Hubble telescope. "The space shuttle changed the way we view the world and it ...

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England riots: Prison population rising by 100 a day - Libiya Crisis

The prison population is rising by more than 100 people a day as courts deal with cases of rioting and looting, Ministry of Justice figures show. Jail numbers in England and Wales have increased to a record high of 86,654, beating last week's total of 85,931.The Prison Governors Association warned jails would run out of space if they continued to fill up at the current rate but there was no immediate crisis.The Prison Service said it was developingcontingency plans.'Enough places'   ...

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Anti-Gaddafi graffiti on the walls of Libya - Libiya Crisis

During the four decades that Col Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya, his official portraits were everywhere. Now that he has been overthrown, artists are revelling in their new-found freedom and turning this tradition on its head. Caricatures of the vilified leader have been painted on walls throughout the country.  Benghazi, the epicentre of the uprising that swept Libya, has become the hub for this new form of street art. Among the city's artists is 22-year-old Ibrahim Humaid, an...

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