National / International News

The leader of Scotland's Catholics, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, says he is "shocked and saddened" to hear that Pope Benedict is to resign.

The BBC re-edited the final episode of David Attenborough's nature series, Africa, to remove a piece of commentary about climate change, it has emerged.

Malian troops are carrying out house-to-house searches following fierce clashes with Islamist militants in the northern town of Gao on Sunday.

An independent Scotland would be seen as a separate state under international law, legal opinion published by UK ministers says.

Indian authorities foil an attempt by inmates accused of deadly bombings to tunnel their way out of a jail in the western state of Gujarat.

A drink-driver from Dunblane admits killing a teenage passenger in a horrific car crash in Aberdeenshire two years ago.

Pope Benedict XVI made a surprise announcement Monday morning that he will resign at the end of February. For more on his legacy and what the succession of a new pope may bring, Renee Montagne talks with Father Thomas Reese, senior fellow at Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center.

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The runup to President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday was overshadowed Monday by news out of Rome: the announcement that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning. What does this mean for the Catholic Church in America?

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London Mayor Boris Johnson has called for more to be done about urban foxes. But are urban fox numbers rising?

Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he will resign on Feb. 28. For more on what his resignation means for the future of the Vatican leadership, Steve Inskeep talks with Mathew Schmalz, a professor of religious studies at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

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Flat Holm island in the Bristol Channel which could be sold by Cardiff Council should become a tourist destination say Somerset Tourist Association.

The incident happened as Vice President Biden came to neighboring Philadelphia for a roundtable on gun violence.

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Police are to investigate new allegations of sexual abuse by another former teacher at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester.

A second case of a new respiratory illness similar to the deadly Sars virus has been identified in the UK.

A car exploded, killing at least several people and wounding many more, according to news reports. NPR's Deborah Amos, who was at the border crossing, says the blast caused panic.

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Dogs are more capable of understanding events from a human's point of view than had previously been recognised, according to researchers.

In a tropical spot like Puerto Rico, you'd think a person would practically be stumbling over exotic fruits and fresh fish. Not so much. Blame global economics.

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Pope Benedict took office in 2005, as the Catholic Church was reeling from a sex abuse scandal. Has he been effective in restoring the Church's brand around the world?

President Obama will lay out his second-term agenda Tuesday night in the annual State of the Union address. On the wish list of one group with ties to the Administration: expanding access to preschool. The Center for American Progress is pushing a plan to increase federal funding so that all 3- and 4-year-olds can attend pre-kindergarten.

"Bread, freedom, social justice" -- that's the slogan Egypt protestors used during their successful uprising in 2011. Today, protestors in Egypt have been urged to use the same slogan in protests marking the second anniversary of Hosni Mubarak's fall from power.

And finally, we may be losing interest in greasy cheeseburgers. Bloomberg News reports that sales for beef burgers at fast food chains fell 28 percent from 2006 to 2011, while sales of low calorie items increased. Although it's worth noting that the egg McMuffin and the McRib Sandwich both count as low calorie.

A former police officer and a Sun journalist will stand trial at the Old Bailey over alleged corrupt payments for information.

UKIP confirms Diana James as its candidate for the Eastleigh by-election.