Key facts, figures and dates

World athletics boss Lamine Diack weighs into the London 2012 stadium row, accusing Olympics chief Jacques Rogge of showing a "lack of respect".

There are three words you will hardly ever hear a person in power use - "I don't know." Why is doubt, which most of us experience every day, virtually unheard of in politics, asks Michael Blastland.

Olivia Lang in the Maldives profiles the president-elect of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, known as Anni.

Some 230 people have been prevented from entering the UK since 2005 - here BBC News looks at some of the personalities involved.

The BBC's Jonathan Head looks at the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over their common border, and asks how far the spat is likely to go.

Mark Davis explores what it will take for Sen John McCain to successfully mount a 'Sarkozy-style succession' to the Republican Party and pull off a 'hat trick'

Labour must once again offer a message of change to voters, former cabinet minister Alan Milburn says.

Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yushchenko may govern Ukraine as part of the same coalition, but they are more rivals than friends, says the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse.

A new study by scientists behind the controversial "hockey stick" climate graph suggests their earlier work was broadly correct.

An overview of South Ossetia, including key facts and political leaders

What is the US missile defence system and why is Russia so upset by its proposed expansion into Europe?

Alexander Solzhenitsyn tackled the big themes of Russian literature, writes Oxford lecturer Michael Nicholson.

The electoral crisis in Zimbabwe is testing the front line of just what African diplomacy can do, the BBC's Peter Greste says.

An invitation from a Muslim AM to a "confidential" meeting with the Israeli ambassador prompts the assembly's Presiding Officer to call for the event to be boycotted.

Actress Honor Blackman and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood join MPs to protest against extended terror detentions.

The final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade could be heading for a momentous outcome with a line-up littered with potential winners.

People in a Fife town insist they are not "philistines" for forcing the removal of a public modern artwork.

Taiwanese prosecutors launch a corruption investigation into ex-President Chen Shui-bian, just after he leaves office.

Noisy adverts have prompted hundreds of complaints. So will a tightening of the law make any difference?