Police are questioning the three Pakistan players accused of corruption, while the ICC says that the players implicated have a disciplinary case to answer.

The former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Cyril Smith has died, aged 82, the party confirms.

A bomb kills at least 42 people at a Shia Muslim rally in the south-western city of Quetta, the second attack on Pakistan's religious minority in days.

The United Nations' food agency calls a special meeting of policy makers to discuss the recent rapid rises in food prices.

Lord Prescott says he is prepared to take legal action to find out whether News of The World journalists hacked into his phone messages.

A former MI6 worker is given a 12-month jail sentence for trying to sell top secret material for £2m.

Director general denies he compromised the BBC's independence by visiting Downing Street to discuss coverage of the government's spending cuts.

A pathologist at the centre of a row over the death of a man during the G20 protests is suspended from the medical register for three months.

Portuguese judges find an ex-ambassador, a former TV presenter and five others guilty over the sexual abuse of children.

The US economy shed another 54,000 jobs in August, the third month in a row that jobs have been lost, official figures show.

Cheryl and Ashley Cole are granted a divorce at the High Court after four years of marriage.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha show off their baby daughter, Florence, for the first time on the steps of Number 10.

Veteran broadcaster Sarah Kennedy is leaving BBC Radio 2's Dawn Patrol show - 34 years after joining the station

England coach Fabio Capello says he hopes the pressure of expectation over the team's Euro 2012 qualifier with Bulgaria will bring out the best in him.

Double European champion Mo Farah announces his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games because of fatigue.

Britain's Andy Murray takes on Dustin Brown of Jamaica in the second round of the US Open, with the threat of Hurricane Earl hanging over New York.

Former England captain David Beckham hopes to play for the LA Galaxy against Columbus Crew on 11 September.

Lee McCulloch and Steven Naismith are among six Rangers players in the Scotland team to face Lithuania on Friday.

Two police officers are suspended from driving duties after crashing a car they had seized from a suspected drink-driver.

Two women who were arrested after trying to take a dead relative on to a plane at Liverpool John Lennon Airport will not face charges.

A 19-year-old man is arrested after a serious assault in North Lanarkshire in which a man was attacked with a power drill.

Edinburgh Fringe officials defend their decision to count customers of free shows in their box office returns.

Several "potential victims of human trafficking" have been rescued in raids on suspected brothels in Belfast, police say.

A man abused as a child by the McDermott brothers in Donagh, County Fermanagh, says their victims are being forgotten about.

Welsh MP Chris Bryant says he believes his answer machine messages were intercepted by journalists at a tabloid newspaper.

A teenager pleads not guilty to murdering her 61-year-old father along with three other people.

Police in Mozambique's capital fire rubber bullets on the third day of riots, as the violence spreads to the central city of Chimoio.

South Africa strongly criticises Madagascar over the life sentence passed on exiled President Marc Ravalomanana.

Japan imposes new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme but maintains its oil import schedule.

The first visit of Chinese warships to Burma ends as top Burmese leader Than Shwe prepares to visit Beijing, highlighting the two country's close ties.

Dublin delays a deal to allow transfers of EU citizens' data to Israel, which is accused of forging passports.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox rules out the UK sharing aircraft carriers with France as part of closer defence co-operation.

Twenty-seven suspected drug gang members are killed in a clash with troops near the US border, Mexico's army says, hours after the country's president vows to continue the fight against drug cartels.

The River Amazon has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years in north-eastern Peru, leaving boats stranded.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are doomed to fail, in the first regional reaction to the talks.

Posters promoting Egypt's intelligence chief appear on the streets of Cairo, amid growing speculation over who will succeed President Hosni Mubarak.

Maoist rebels in the Indian state of Bihar say they have killed one of four policemen they had been holding hostage.

Ten election campaign workers have been killed in an air strike by Nato-led forces in Afghanistan, Afghan officials say.

A weakened hurricane Earl skirts past North Carolina's Outer Banks and continues up the US east coast as a "category two" storm.

An explosion rips through an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the blast in April that caused a huge oil spill.

HSBC may quit its London headquarters if the UK government decides to break up big banks, a senior executive says.

BP says the cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill has risen to $8bn - a rise of more than $2bn in the last month alone.

New data shows new construction orders contracted in the second quarter, while the services sector slowed sharply in August.

Nigel Farage says he will stand for the leadership of the UK Independence Party, a position he held until last year.

England's first city-wide lottery system aimed at solving the problem of allocating places at over-subscribed schools failed to give poorer children equal access to top schools, academics say.

The government's chief environment scientist calls for more openness in admitting the UK's cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are an illusion.

Tests on a type of breast implant filled with an unapproved gel have shown no evidence they are unsafe, UK experts say.

Gardeners are being warned about the risk of Legionnaire's disease from compost after a pensioner developed the disease after handling compost.

British scientists say they are closer to knowing why older women trying to fall pregnant are more likely to produce abnormal eggs.

One in four state primary schools in England has no male teacher, statistics show.

A 15-year-old maths prodigy is set to become the youngest undergraduate at the University of Cambridge for more than two centuries.

School lunches can tempt fussy eaters to try new foods, a survey carried out in England for the School Food Trust suggests.

Sony has won a permanent ban in Australia of a hack for its PS3, but the code behind it has been released for free on the web.

A potentially revolutionary circuit component, once a laboratory curiosity, is to be mass-produced for the first time.

The global disparity in access to broadband around the world and the cost of a connection is revealed by UN figures.

Ultrafine measurements of atmospheric gases could help scientists track down the last sources of CFCs thought to be slowing the recovery of the ozone layer.

A growing number of New York sky-scrapers switch off their lights at night to help reduce the number of migratory birds hitting the buildings.

Physicists explain one of football's most spectacular free-kicks, showing that Roberto Carlos's 1997 "impossible goal" was not a fluke.

A group that campaigns against conceptual art claims 15 works by the artist Damien Hirst were inspired by other artists.

TV comedienne Jennifer Saunders is to write the story for musical Viva Forever - based on the songs of the Spice Girls.

Morning show GMTV appears on ITV1 for the final time after 17 years with presenter Andrew Castle paying tribute to viewers.

Tony Blair's memoirs has become the fastest selling autobiography in Britain. But what are the biggest overall sellers?

Tony Blair used alcohol as a 'prop' during his time in power but how many of us do the same?

Our regular column covering the passing of significant - but lesser reported - people of the past month.

Hundreds of sharks have been spotted off the Queensland coast.

Rory Cellan-Jones tries out 3D video equipment and looks at the latest ultra thin and bright OLED TVs.

A man sailing the sea in a bath tub, mud sculptures and an ugly fish who finds love - it's the week's weird and wonderful video stories in Newsbeat's Odd Box with Dominic Byrne.

A team of divers say they have found the world's oldest drinkable beer in a shipwreck off the coast of Finland.

Commander Andy Coles shows BBC News around the control room of the Royal Navy's new attack submarine and talks about life on board.

David and Samantha Cameron have introduced their new daughter, Florence, on the steps of 10 Downing Street.

President Barack Obama's daughter, Malia, is now 12 years old and 5ft 9in (1.75m). But what's it like to be a young girl who's taller than the rest?

Researchers begin a three-year study to uncover the secrets of St Kilda's super-sized field mice.

A glimpse on board the UK's new stealth submarine

Why bed-bug infestations are on the rise again

How far can BMW stretch the brand before it snaps?

How much is a bottle of beer under new price laws on booze?

Why aren't black American children taught to swim?

Does the NHS do enough for non-English speakers?

Rezai Joma Jaghori