BBC News | World | UK Edition

A report by the top US general in Afghanistan says military success is achievable, but admits the current strategy is not working.

Russian and German leaders are due in Poland as it marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.

Kidnapped US woman Jaycee Lee Dugard bonded with her alleged captor and helped to run his printing firm, reports say.

Firefighters tackling a wildfire north of Los Angeles say they are making slow progress and the blaze remains very dangerous.

Turkey and its neighbour Armenia move closer to establishing diplomatic relations after decades of bitter mistrust.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon visits the Arctic Circle to draw attention to the need for action at climate change talks in December.

Hurricane Jimena grows into a category-five storm threatening 20,000 families on the Baja peninsula, Mexican officials say.

About 700 South African troops are sent letters of dismissal following violence during a strike over higher pay.

Nearly 60% of African people living in Russia's capital Moscow have been the victim of racist attacks, a study says.

The apparent illegal leaking of exit polls for German regional elections on Twitter raises concerns weeks before the general election.

A Bangladesh airlines flight to London is delayed by nearly 10 hours - because all five of the plane's toilets were blocked.

Defending champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams sweep into the second round of the US Open, with Venus Williams and Andy Roddick in action in the night session.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores on his Spanish league debut as Barcelona kick off their league title defence with a 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon.

Chelsea captain John Terry signs a new five-year contract with the club.

Polish corporal recalls watching World War II begin

Violence returns to Caucasus, five years after Beslan

New leaders in Japan face an economy in crisis

Are Libyans celebrating 40 years of Gaddafi?

Activist puts rust-belt town in national headlines

What did India's abandoned Moon mission achieve?

Nigerian anti-corruption police bring criminal charges against executives from five banks rescued in a $2.6bn bail-out.

Two Zambian journalists are charged with contempt over an article backing their editor, on trial for distributing pornography.

Massachusetts is to consider a rule change allowing the state governor to pick an interim successor to late Senator Edward Kennedy.

Brazil's president unveils plans to overhaul its oil industry to take advantage of vast supplies found offshore.

Japan's opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama is forming a new government after winning a landmark general election.

The Dalai Lama visits Taiwan's typhoon-damaged areas in a trip Beijing says it "resolutely opposes".

Jerome Kerviel, an alleged "rogue trader" blamed by Societe Generale for 4.9bn euros in losses, has been charged.

Russian forces have killed an al-Qaeda militant in the increasingly volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan, officials say.

Syria and Iraq trade accusations as Turkey leads diplomatic efforts to cool a row over responsibility for deadly attacks in Iraq.

Iranian MPs resume a heated debate on the nominees for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's new cabinet.

The bodies of 30 suspected militants are found in Pakistan's Swat valley, amid claims of unlawful killings by troops.

A court in Sri Lanka sentences a prominent Tamil journalist to 20 years in prison for "causing communal disharmony".

When Dominic Hughes visits Hungary to report on the effect the rise of the far right is having on the Roma, internal divisions remind him of reporting on Australia's Aboriginals.

Through good times and bad, the Argentines find strength in dancing the tango, explains Candace Piette.

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan is set for a massive victory, exit polls suggest. How important is the result?