National / International News

A York student who fried his flatmate's hamster while drunk is banned from keeping animals for eight years.

Dirk Coetzee, who ran a secret government death squad during South Africa's apartheid era, dies in Pretoria at the age of 57.

As many eyes turn to Friday's employment report, new data offer a somewhat conflicting picture.

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Rio Ferdinand will not face disciplinary action from Uefa for sarcastically applauding Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir.

The Bank of England's rate-setting committee has kept interest rates at 0.5% and rejected calls to inject more stimulus into the economy.

Royal Bank of Scotland says it will compensate RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank customers who experienced disruption to their banking services.

Julio Acevedo, who had eluded authorities since the hit and run on Sunday, turns himself in at a Pennsylvania convenience store.

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Also: Obama looks for "spring thaw" with Congress; Chávez's final words; Berlusconi's conviction; and winter storm moves into New England.

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The pioneers with plans to mine the Moon

Jazz trumpeter Kenny Ball has died at 82 after suffering from pneumonia, his manager confirms.

The Dow is still in record territory in early trading this morning. The surge comes on the heels of strong jobs data from the Labor Department, which show applications for unemployment benefits have fallen to a 5-year low.

Adolfo Laurenti, deputy chief economist with Mesirow Financial, joins Marketplace Morning host Jeremy Hobson to discuss the U.S. job market and what to make of the political situation in Italy.

A proposal by the US to ban cross-border trade in polar bears and their parts was defeated on Thursday at an international meeting.

Twenty-four hours of news photos: 7 March

A Bolshoi Ballet dancer accused over an attack on artistic director Sergei Filin has told a court he did not mean for him to be splashed with acid.

Nick Robinson explains why Mrs Thatcher's phrase is back

Almost half the schools inspected in England last term improved their overall rating, the chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw has said.

The proportion of people renting from private landlords in Britain rose from 10% to 15% between 2008 and 2011, the Office for National Statistics says.

The senator said he "would speak, until I can no longer speak," and he hit that wall early Thursday. His goal was to get the Obama administration to pledge it won't use drone attacks against American citizens on U.S. soil. He's put a bright spotlight on the issue.

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Smoking in Britain has more than halved and people are drinking on fewer nights of the week, according to a snapshot survey covering the past 40 years.

Police in Ukraine detain a suspect over the beheading of a judge and his family in their flat in December, in what may have been a drug-related robbery.