Organisers of the Tour de France announce that the 2010 race will begin from the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

A chronology of key events

A chronology of key events

A recount begins in Minnestota's knife-edge US Senate race between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman.

The final stage of a £12m project to restore a section of Worcestershire's canals is due to get under way.

Building work could begin on a £23m development in Stafford town centre by August 2009.

The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) begins a campaign to prevent its crews from coming under attack.

Credit union staff in South Yorkshire say they are snowed under by people seeking loans as the recession begins to bite.

Work begins on a new research laboratory for the study of plant development at Cambridge University.

A public inquiry begins into controversial plans to build a new Everton Football Club stadium and Tesco store.

Jury selection begins in the trial of a US woman accused of using MySpace to bully a 13-year-old girl who later killed herself.

More than 300 workers at one of the UK's busiest ports begin a 48-hour strike in a row over the privatisation of their jobs.

Cornish Pirates prop Alan Paver begins his new column for the BBC Cornwall website and begins by looking back on Sunday's match with Leeds and contniued jokes about his lack of height.

A £4m initiative in the East to increase the use of wood as a fuel for the future will start later.

The keys to an inn are handed over to a church group so work can begin on converting it into a place of worship.

Voters turn out in Kashmir despite a huge troop presence and calls for a boycott, the BBC's Damian Grammaticas reports.

A retired engineer begins a High Court battle to protect his Suffolk home which is under threat from coastal erosion.

A free shuttle bus service begins in Bolton town centre as part of a 12-month trial funded by the council.

Police begin a murder investigation after a man dies from a stab wound inflicted in Bedford town centre.

Nearly nine million people tune into the opening of I'm a Celebrity... as the stars begin their jungle adventure.