Elaborate bra straps. Designer trunks riding above low-slung jeans. The fashion for flaunting one's underwear may have more to do with conspicuous consumption than a decline in decency, says Lisa Jardine.

A Roman Catholic nun raped in the Indian state of Orissa, allegedly during a riot by Hindus, publicly denounces local police.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal beats Thomaz Bellucci in the first round of the French Open.

Women's underwear from the past 500 years is the subject of a new Black Country exhibition.

Two department stores are no longer stocking them, another says sales are strong. Should the string vest be a menswear staple?

"Occasionally you get your timing wrong and get caught wearing someone else's pants"

Open champion Padraig Harrington on ladybirds and a new chant for Darren Bent

Sergio Garcia leads by two strokes after an even-par 71 on day two of the Open Championship at Carnoustie.

Sergio Garcia fires a 65 to lead after day one of the Open Championship.

England end day one of the first Test against India on 268-4.

As one US town outlaws overly revealing leg wear in public, some believe visible underpants should be left to the fashion police.

Bangladesh overhaul India's 191 all out for a major World Cup shock.

A pair of underpants featured in the film Bridget Jones's Diary sell for £2,000 at a charity auction.

Have you been a sporting legend in the last week?

Have you been a sporting legend in the last week?

One in 10 people wear the same underwear for three days in a row, an academic's survey claims.

The BBC News website takes a look at some of the political words and phrases that made the headlines in 2005.

A video of a Malaysian police woman apparently humiliating a Chinese woman causes acute unease for the government.

Food is barely trickling in for quake survivors in the remote Neelum valley in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, writes Aamer Ahmed Khan.

Robbo on Owen's move, the Ashes and England-Wales