National / International News

Microsoft blames the fine on sloppy coding in a service pack update that blocked a feature to offer users the choice of a competitor's Internet browser.

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The number of people fleeing the conflict in Syria has reached a million, the UN refugee agency says, with neighbouring countries struggling to cope.

The Scottish government is accused of secretly dropping a target to treat 98% of people within four hours at A&E departments.

William Moody, who as the pro wrestling character Paul Bearer embodied a sense of theater that was equal parts morbid and absurd, has died at age 58. A portly man known for his wild-eyed stare and habit of carrying a brass urn under his arm, Paul Bearer was most notably the manager of The Undertaker and Kane.

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Now that those automatic spending cuts have kicked in, bureaucrats are taking a close look at their budgets -- finding ways to cut back and save money. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has told 238 small airports that, in a couple of months, the agency could close their control towers. That could hinder the military, pilots in training, and yes, the so-called “one percent” with their private jets. 

Last night, the transportation director in Battle Creek, Mich., Larry Bowron, got an e-mail from the FAA, it read: “We regret to inform you that, in order to implement the budget sequestration that went into effect March 1, 2013, the FAA must make some critical decisions about funding.”

It went on to say that Bowron’s airport could lose its control tower. Battle Creek is home to cereal maker Kellogg's. Bowron says its executives use the airport. Company representatives weren’t available for comment.

No commercial carrier serves the airport, but according to Bowron, it’s busy.

“You can have corporate jets coming in,” he says. “You can have military airplanes coming in. It equates to a very complex operating environment.”

I heard the same thing from Mark Nelson, the air traffic manager at the Sacramento Executive Airport, where Nelson estimates, 270 aircraft take off and land every day. 

“Who is going to make the call on who turns where, and who turns when?”

That would be up to pilots themselves to decide. Even without the towers, planes would still be able to fly in and out. 

But Melissa Rudinger, with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, says these airports wouldn’t be as safe or efficient.

“There are corporations and businesses that take advantage of operating in and out of these smaller airports," she says.

Larry Bowron says he’d like to tell the FAA about his airport’s importance to Battle Creek, but... He goes back to that e-mail.

“The FAA is unable to consider local community impact that does not affect the national interest.”

A rash of public school closings in some U.S. cities has parents and teachers reeling. School officials say the closings are needed to save money, but some argue it's a form of discrimination. Host Michel Martin talks with a Chicago reporter and a Philadelphia activist about how the closings could affect students and local communities.

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Hugo Chavez was a controversial but charismatic leader of Venezuela. Host Michel Martin speaks with Dan Hellinger, a professor of political science at Webster University, about Chavez's legacy.

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Look around your kitchen table and you'll see the work of Ambassador Ron Kirk. He's the United States Trade Representative, which is a cabinet-level position, and he's negotiated trade deals all around the world. Host Michel Martin talks to him about why he's choosing to step down from his post, and the importance of U.S. trade.

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The UN Security Council authorises the partial lifting of the ban on selling weapons to Somalia - the world's oldest such embargo.

Uefa begins disciplinary proceedings against Manchester United following their Champions League defeat by Real Madrid.

Many doctors and patients expect too much from prescription opioids as pain relievers, some physicians say. These expectations need to be reined in to curtail drug abuse and overdoses that claim more than 16,000 lives a year in the U.S., they say.

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Sit down to eat in Iceland, and you might be served boiled sheep's head, complete with the eye. In some cultures eyeballs are considered a culinary treat, but for most of us they're still in the category of "eww."

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Reporting in China is sometimes a cat-and-mouse game with authorities, who want to keep journalists far from the scene when unrest breaks out.

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The UK's largest civil service union, the PCS, has picked Budget Day - 20 March - to start its industrial action over pay and pensions.

The UK is to provide armoured vehicles and body armour to opposition forces in Syria to help save lives, Foreign Secretary William Hague says.

Volvo is to offer a product that can scan the road for cyclists and apply the brakes if it thinks a collision is imminent.

Ed Miliband accuses David Cameron of being "out of touch" for opposing an EU-wide bankers' bonus cap, but the PM says he is fighting to preserve the UK financial sector.

BBC News looks back at some of Hugo Chavez's most memorable moments.

A teenager stabbed at the home of a man accused of murder has told a court he and his friend may have tried to force their way into his house.

The number of heroin and crack users in England is "plummeting", according to the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse.