The BBC's Paul Reynolds looks at measures being taken against Somali pirates and wonders if they are enough.

Despite the environmental now being a mainstream topic, green campaign groups are still as relevant as ever.

A controversial former air force commander in Japan says the country's pacifist constitution should be revised.

All the action and reaction from the the third debate between US presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

The Suez Canal continues to play a key roll in global transportation - but regular passenger ships have been replaced by supertankers, Christian Fraser discovers.

The turmoil on Wall Street may favour Democratic candidate Barack Obama, but both parties are divided on the issues raised.

The BBC's Michael Buchanan reports on changing times in Libya's capital as the country opens up to the West.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says power-sharing talks may collapse if parliament convenes.

Jared Leto has criticises his former record label after it claimed his band failed to fulfil its contract.

It is the stuff of escapist fantasy. A tall, dark and handsome type sweeps a cream-and-roses Home Counties heroine off her feet. In its 100 years of publishing, the exotic alpha male has been a staple of the Mills and Boon romance.

Al-Qaeda's violent methods have been coming under mounting criticism from Islamist scholars who once supported it, Frank Gardner reports.

The BBC's Jamie Coomarsamy finds out why some evangelical Christians are wary of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.

Tackling climate change is too crucial to be derailed by a temporary economic woes, the OECD head says.

Forget about the gaffe, it's the media mindset that makes so much of gaffes that is the real issue, says Clive James.

A weekly guide to the 2008 US presidential election, in words and pictures.

The sacked chief justice of Pakistan addresses supporters despite being under house arrest in Islamabad.

Why Mitt Romney, who hoped to become the first Mormon president of the United States, dropped out of the race.

A profile of John Edwards, the former Democratic senator who ran for president in 2008 but dropped out of the race.

A Canadian al-Qaeda operative arrested in 2002 is sentenced to life in prison for plotting to bomb US embassies in South-East Asia.

Chancellor Alistair Darling believes fairness should underpin the treasury's actions - so do Northern Rock shareholders.