· Vatican 'forgives' Lennon for 'more popular than Jesus' remark
More than 40 years after Christians were infuriated by the Beatles' claim that they were "more popular than Jesus" the Roman Catholic Church has made peace with the Fab Four.

· Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince: new trailer for sixth Potter movie
A new trailer for the latest and sixth Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince has been released by Warner Bros.

· US Embassy guard suspended over antiBarack Obama rant
A security officer at the US Embassy in London has been suspended after claiming that PresidentElect Barack Obama is "antiAmerican".

· Teenager commits suicide live on internet as 1500 watch
A teenager has committed suicide live on the internet watched by more than 1500 people.

· Placido Domingo to record album of Pope John Paul II poems
One of the world's great tenors Placido Domingo has recorded an album of poems by Pope John Paul II.

· British playboy threw model girlfriend off cliff in Australia to her death 'like a spear'
A Britishborn playboy has been convicted of murdering his model girlfriend in Australia by throwing her off a cliff "like a spear".

· Teenager 'commits suicide live on the internet'
A teenager in Florida is thought to have committed suicide live on the internet while being encouraged by people watching.

· Petrol prices cut after price of oil plummets
A new petrol price war has started after the price of oil drooped below 50 a barrel with analysts predicting further reductions as Christmas approaches.

· Verizon employees accessed Barack Obama's phone records
US telephone operator Verizon Wireless has acknowledged that some of its employees accessed PresidentElect Barack Obama's cell phone records without authorisation.

· Jodrell Bank telescope 'was secret nuclear missile warning system'
The giant space telescope at Jodrell Bank was secretly modified to track incoming Soviet nuclear missiles during the Cold War its creator has disclosed 50 years later.

· Madonna divorces Guy Ritchie for 'unreasonable behaviour'
Madonna has divorced her film director husband Guy Ritchie citing unreasonable behaviour which she claimed was "continuing".

· Amsterdam 'cannabis cafés' to close
Almost one fifth of Amsterdam's cannabis cafés are to close because they are too near to the city's schools.

· Chavez accused of behaving like 'dictator' ahead of elections
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been accused of acting like a dictator after banning leading opposition figures from standing in this weekend's elections.

· 88yearold gets doctorate 65 years after passing exams
An 88yearold German man has finally been awarded his university doctorate - 65 years after the Nazis blocked him from receiving it because of his Jewish ancestry.

· Copernicus's remains identified
The remains of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus have been identified by Polish scientists 465 years after his death.

· British man died afer doctors demanded cash before treatment
A British holidaymaker died in an Indonesian hospital when doctors refused to treat him until they received 1700 an MP has claimed.

· Somali piracy: Islamic militants 'attack' pirates over hijacked Saudi tanker
Fears were growing for the safety of the 25 crew on board the hijacked supertanker Sirius Star as fierce factional fighting and political violence erupted across Somalia.

· Racist teenager gets 169 years for killing spree
A White South African teenager's racist rampage killed four people included a baby girl shot dead in the arms of her mother.

· Bras for the boys
Men in Japan are quickly latching on to a new trend - bras for the boys.

· Hundreds of Egyptian teenagers arrested for 'flirting'
More than 400 Egyptian teenage boys have been arrested for "flirting with girls".