Many surge troops 'already in Afghanistan'

More than 1,500 of the extra troops pledged by Nato allies to back up the US surge of 30,000 are already in the country

Umpire walked out 'due to pressure'

ICC says Mark Benson withdrew from second Test between Australia and West Indies for health reasons

White House security 'breached 91 times'

US Secret Service report reveals presidential security infiltrated scores of times before Salahis gatecrashed state dinner

Is it still a price worth paying?

The conflict in Afghanistan and the toll it is extracting on British forces bring out differing responses

Egypt demands Rosetta Stone back

Top archaeologist to visit Britain to press ahead with campaign for return of 'icon of Egyptian identity' from British Museum

Great blue heron bites off more than it can chew

An American photographer caputed the food chain in a single image of a heron trying to eat a snake that was eating a fish

Teenage Briton leaves UK to be with husband

A law against forced marriages to gain visas for this country has led to a British bride living in Chile with her husband

Artists help to break the ice in Copenhagen

The polar bear sculptures are already melting and as the men who made them say: time is running out for us all

Gunman who tried to kill Pope to be released

Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish right-winger who shot John Paul II in 1981, says he will pray at late pontiff's tomb

Iranian Nobel laureate gets British award

The human rights prize given to Shirin Ebadi looks likely to further strain relations between Iran and Britain

ANALYSIS: Hopenhagen faces Oil for Food trap

World leaders in Copenhagen to combat global warming should heed the lesson of an earlier scandal when they tried to help

Saudis leap on 'Climategate' to question warming

Issue overshadows opening of Copenhagen summit as head of the UN's climate body rounds on sceptics in speech

Top selling toy hamster linked to toxic chemical

Consumer group says Mr Squiggles, the must-have Christmas gift, may contain harmful levels of chemical linked to cancer

Drunk Taiwan candidate shoots rival’s sister

Drunk and defeated, a candidate in Taiwan’s local elections shot and injured his rival’s sister in a post-election brawl

10,000 lanterns launched in record attempt

Twinkling paper lanterns looked like extra stars in the sky as a group of Indonesians attempted to break a new world record