A chronology of key events

Nine universities are to work together to ensure bright pupils from poorer homes take degree courses.

New homes in England are being built smaller than almost anywhere else in Europe, a new exhibition reveals. Are the gleaming new apartment buildings of the past decade the inner-city slums of tomorrow?

Some of the previous contributors to the Green Room respond to readers' questions.

A new compact car, to be built when UK production of Nissan's Micra ends, is to be built in Sunderland.

The focus on green homes and offices ignores the wider landscape around our towns and cities.

Two years ago, the Afghanistan Compact was signed, but the progress reports do not make for pretty reading, the BBC's Alistair Leithead says.

Exactly 25 years ago the world's first compact disc was produced at a Philips factory in Germany.

The first compact disc was produced exactly 25 years ago in a factory in Germany after years of development by Philips and Sony.

Losing urban green spaces will affect people's quality of life and drive out many species of wildlife.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett promises the UK will spend at least an extra £100m on rebuilding Iraq.

Scientists find a black hole in an unusual location - inside a compact group of ancient stars known as a globular cluster.

London 2012 bosses release the venue plan for the Paralympics, which will be the most compact Games ever.

A compact light source for treating common skin cancers is developed by two Scottish scientists.

Nissan unveils its small 4x4 that it plans to produce in the UK, creating hundreds of jobs, at a launch ceremony in Paris.

Astronomers say they have captured a stellar explosion - or supernova - unfolding in real time.

Crews work through the night to put out a fire in compacted waste, thought to have started by self-combustion.

BBC Monitoring profiles the European press scene - Sweden

London's four rivals to host the 2012 Olympics tell BBC Sport why they deserve to win.

The Times's decision to go "compact" might mark the end of the broadsheet, but some aficionados are already complaining.