National / International News

The Amplify tablet is specially designed for K-12 classroom interaction. While the company touts the ability to improve teaching and learning, critics have questioned News Corp.'s motives.

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Too many hospitals are happy to coast along, settling for meeting minimum standards, according to the health secretary.

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg's interview with Mikhail Gorbachev ended with an impromptu sing song

Papers offer little sympathy for Vicky Pryce

Burma's opposition National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, holds its first ever congress, after years of suppression under military rule.

Holding out for role models, not glamour models

A hillwalker is traced safe and well after becoming separated from a fellow walker near the summit of Ben Vorlich in Perthshire.

New Zealand open up a first-innings lead of 235 over England before bad light ends play early on day three of the opening Test.

Doctors have a 'duty to be honest' about child obesity

Director Sam Raimi on rebuilding the land of Oz

Everyone expects Falkland islanders to vote to stay British. But are there far flung territories that feel more British than the UK?

A BBC survey finds four out of five British elite sportswomen believe their financial rewards are inadequate compared to men.

L.A. Times consumer columnist David Lazarus tackles your questions this week.

Elizabeth from Brookfield, Vt., recently had her credit card compromised. She went through the drill, got a new card in short order, but then got a letter from the card issuer saying her credit limit is being lowered to reflect her spending. But might that impact her credit score?

Lazarus says Elizabeth deserves kudos for understanding the debt-to-credit ratio. In other words, how much you are actually borrowing versus how much you can borrow (i.e. how much credit you have). "The best rule of thumb here is, if you keep that ratio to around 30 percent, give or take, with plenty of head room, creditors [will be happy]," says Lazarus.

Lazarus says if her credit limit comes down, the amount of head room she will have above her borrowing will shrink. Thus, her debt-to-credit ratio will get bigger -- and she will look like more of a risk to her creditors. He advises her to look into whether she can opt out of having her credit limit lowered, and maintain the higher credit limit.

For more advice -- including how to deal with an elderly person's big debt -- click play on the audio player above.

Two passenger buses collide in central Vietnam, leaving at least 11 people dead and dozens of others injured, police say.

British scientists decode the DNA of the fungus attacking Europe's ash trees, offering hope that a way of stopping the epidemic can be found.

Chinese exports rose more-than-expected in February, adding to optimism over a recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

A California coroner says a lion that killed an intern at a nature park used its paw to lift a partially closed door and escape from a small cage.

Venezuela is holding seven days of national mourning following the death of President Hugo Chavez from cancer, but what does this tribute actually mean?

A community partnership is backing a youth council's call for wi-fi to be made available on ferries serving the Western Isles.

The Pentagon has to phase out maiming animals during military instruction. Does shooting pigs and goats really save lives?