Japan's parliament votes to adopt an international treaty on cross-border child custody disputes, after years of pressure from the West.

Fifty five beaches in England meet tough new EU standards on water quality to achieve Blue Flag awards.

Rioters light fires and stone emergency services in the suburbs of the Swedish capital Stockholm for the third night running after a police shooting death.

UK retail sales in April were 1.3% lower than in March as bad weather continued to dent spending, official figures show.

David Cameron is to urge EU leaders to back action against the tax evasion and "aggressive" tax avoidance he says is costing all nations.

Jacob Lyles, 19, was in Moore, Oklahoma, when the tornado struck, and became involved in the rescue of two children from Plaza Towers Elementary school.

As EU leaders gather to discuss tax evasion, non-member Switzerland is under increasing pressure to abandon its long tradition of banking secrecy.

The bruised and bloodied family that were pictured walking away from wreckage following the Oklahoma tornado, have been speaking about their experience.

Gigantic tornado rips through Oklahoma City

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a special envoy to Beijing, state media announces, amid cooling relations after weeks of tension.

German software company SAP says it hopes to recruit hundreds of people with autism, saying they have a unique talent for information technology.

Trevor Bolder, the bassist in David Bowie's legendary 1970s backing band Spiders From Mars, dies from cancer at the age of 62.

A stocktake of UK nature suggests 60% of animal and plant species studied have declined in the past 50 years.

A row has erupted between Russia and Azerbaijan over the Eurovision song contest, with the Russian foreign minister accusing the Azerbaijanis of vote-rigging.

The UK's largest building society, Nationwide, says its share of the mortgage market has reached a record high.

Mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy could be dimming the intellect of some babies born in the UK, say researchers who studied 1,000 families.

Cuba is reopening some of its mothballed sugar mills to try to take advantage of rising sugar prices.

Andrew Harding looks at an example of economic change at a shopping mall in the township of Alexandra.

The family of a US man found hanged in Singapore withdraw from an inquiry into his death, saying they no longer have confidence in the system.

Indian fast bowler S Sreesanth, arrested last week over allegations of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League, insists he is innocent.