The Specials

Rowe accused over $4m custody claim

Tug-of-war over Michael Jackson’s children turns ugly as star's ex-wife denies she is prepared to 'sell' them for $4m

Buzz Aldrin: ‘We could be on Mars by 2030s’

The Moon astronaut believes that a mission to Mars needs a commitment to a permanent settlement or it could be cancelled

White supremacist on FBI list is arrested in Israel

Micky Mayon, wanted in the US for racist assault and a string of violent incidents, is held after stakeout in Tel Aviv

Madoff is denied cell in soft-touch prison

The $65 billion fraudster will serve his 150-year sentence at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina

YouTube heroes win airline compensation

US Airlines offer to pay up after songs about damaged musical instruments become viral hits on the internet

Schism 'inevitable' after US approves gay bishops

Vote means it is only a matter of time before another openly gay bishop is elected to follow in footsteps of Gene Robinson

Democrats demand inquiry into ‘cover-up’

Revelations that Dick Cheney ordered a CIA programme be kept secret from Congress provoke demands for an inquiry

Sotomayor’s Supreme Court bid debated

Senators are expected to approve the application for the first Hispanic woman to serve on the highest judiciary in the US

Schism threat as US Anglicans vote on gay ban

Dr Rowan Williams expresses 'regret' at vote by Episcopal Church in California to overturn moratorium on gay ordinations

Geithner expects growth by the new year

US Treasury Secretary gives optimistic outlook for leading economies during first leg of tour of Europe and Middle East

'Real gun battle' at Wire gangster's party

A baby shower held by the actor who plays Marlo Stanfield reportedly ended in a fatal shoot-out in Brooklyn, New York

El Niño is back, bringing floods and famine

Indications have been emerging for about the past month that the destructive global weather system is about to return

Cheney 'deceived Congress on CIA operations'

Revelation about the former vice-president's order raises fresh questions about Bush Administration’s culture of secrecy

Wife of murdered boxer is held in custody

It appeared that Arturo Gatti had been strangled with the strap of a handbag and had sustained a head injury, police said

Palin leads the right into a reality TV vortex

The Alaska governor’s resignation shows how shallow Republicans have become

La Toya Jackson: my brother was murdered

The sister of Michael Jackson has claimed that a conspiracy of people close to the star killed him for his money

CIA 'kept operations secret from Congress'

Former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered CIA to withhold information about counter-terrorism programme for eight years