Beijing residents have been warned to stay indoors as smog caused by pollution worsens. It has partly been caused by a huge increase in coal consumption in China over the last decade.

The enduring appeal of The Phantom comic strips keeps a publisher reissuing the series.

Pakistani women forcibly separated from children in the UK

South Korea says the satellite launched on Wednesday has made contact with a ground station and is sending data.

A "fixation" on income levels for judging child poverty has led to misleading outcomes, Iain Duncan Smith will argue.

Is India facing a 'cultural emergency'?

Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of The Andrews Sisters, dies in California at the age of 94, her publicist says.

People hurting animals in Mexico City face a fine and up to four years in jail, according to legislation coming into force on Thursday.

Farc fighter from the Netherlands in peace negotiations

US President Barack Obama says immigration reform could be achieved within six months, in an interview with a Spanish-language TV channel.

The mystery of why homing pigeons get lost when released from a particular location in the US may have been solved.

Could stress be good for you?

How do you bring a language back from the dead?

Photographer Joel Meyerowitz on the stories behind his images

A fitness device created by Glasgow academics and designers helps stroke patients during their long road to recovery.

How do you give a polar bear a 'medical'?

Wounded former Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the head of the National Rifle Association testify at a congressional hearing on gun control.

AC Milan football fans clash with Italian police as they celebrate a proposed transfer of striker Mario Balotelli from Manchester City.

Survivors of the Battle of Stalingrad have been talking to the BBC's Daniel Sandford ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of the battle.

Real Madrid come from behind to draw the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final with Barcelona at the Bernabeu.