The debt-laden Greek economy shrank by a surprise 1.8% in the second quarter as households slashed spending.

President Obama urges the US Congress to approve billions in tax breaks and spending to boost the faltering US economy ahead of the November elections.

UN peacekeepers "failed" the victims of mass rape in eastern DR Congo, a senior UN official has said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has described as "abhorrent" a US pastor's plan to burn the Koran.

A small US church says it will defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expresses concerns over the power of drug cartels and drug-related violence in Mexico.

Seven Koranic teachers in Senegal are given suspended jail sentences for forcing their students to beg.

Ferrari have avoided further punishment for using banned team orders, a Formula 1 disciplinary hearing in Paris has ruled.

John Higgins is cleared of all match-fixing allegations but admits bringing snooker into disrepute, resulting in a £75,000 fine and a ban until November.

The imam of an Islamic centre planned near New York's Ground Zero vows to name its financial backers amid accusations it is funded by extremists.