mike hawkins - thinking out loud

British forces say they have seized two compounds in a Taliban stronghold at the start of a fresh bid to push insurgents out of Helmand province.

Pakistani intelligence officials cancel a visit to Britain in protest at comments made by David Cameron about its alleged links to terror.

The National Eisteddfod is opening its doors to the public on the site of the former steelworks in Ebbw Vale.

Residents of a village from where a nine-year-old girl from south Wales has died in a rafting accident in Turkey have spoken of their shock and sadness.

Israeli cricket's passionate players

A bank manager from Sale, Greater Manchester, is hoping to become the first blind person to drive a car at more than 200mph.

Soham killer Ian Huntley is to sue the Prison Service for compensation after his throat was slashed in an attack by a fellow inmate.

Two men from north Wales are being questioned at a central London police station over possible explosives offences.

Why so few people get under the skin of Afghanistan

A Hamas militant is reported killed and several are injured by Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, hours after a Palestinian rocket hit the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Britain's Andy Murray beats Alejandro Falla at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, but the top seed has plenty to work on ahead of his semi-final.

Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former US president Bill Clinton, is to marry long-term boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky at a private ceremony.

A report into the bushfires that tore across Victoria, Australia, in early 2009 has called for sweeping changes to the way the authorities respond to natural disasters.

Papers on Prescott's 'tittle tattle' war claim

Floods caused by heavy monsoon rain kill more than 400 people in Pakistan and Afghanistan, washing away whole villages, roads and bridges.

Jonathan Sumption, one of Britain's top barristers, talks to Matt Stadlen about whether judges have too much power, why history matters, the secret to a good cross-examination and why he applauds inequality.

The first gay weddings have taken place in Argentina after the implementation of a law approved by parliament earlier this month.

A report into Australia's worst bushfires, in 2009, recommends sweeping changes to the way the government responds to natural disasters.

A UN panel adds the Florida Everglades and Madagascar's tropical rainforest to a list of world heritage sites at risk.

Counties appear set to be dropped from postal addresses in future years after complaints about out-of-date names.