French duo may have been tortured for PINs

Detectives believe that science graduates killed in South London could have been the victims of a bungled burglary

Police probe collapse of spy chief

Officers are trying to unravel what Alex Allan was doing over the weekend before being found unconscious at home

Abramovich is super-rich, but few dare ask how

Mystery surrounds the wealth of Roman Abramovich, the Russian orphan who grew up to be the world's fifteenth-richest man

Welsh and Gaelic are official EU tongues

European Union already has 23 official languages and two more should help cement its reputation as a modern Tower of Babel

Abramovich admits secrets to his billions

Chelsea football owner admits to paying billions of dollars for political favours and protection fees to amass his fortune

First shots in Glasgow by-election fired

Labour chooses candidate who has record of putting down the Union

To survive aluminium wars, mettle was needed

It is hardly surprising that Roman Abramovich may have sought 'protection' when he ventured into post-Soviet business world

Hundreds of crime checks were wrong

Home Office says errors were 'regrettable' after it emerged that hundreds of innocent people had been branded as criminals

Solution to Africa’s problems is not just aid

As G8 leaders prepare to meet in Tokyo, reports show that their influence in the continent is flimsy and getting weaker

G8 summit costs could treat 4m HIV patients

Japan is spending £285m at a time when industrialised countries are threatening to renege on their aid commitments to Africa

Teenager becomes 18th knife victim this year

Three masked and hooded boys attacked Shakilus Townsend, 16, with knives and a baseball bat in a South London doorway

Road cash streets ahead of rail

Figures show that spending on roads has risen by more than 60 per cent while investment in rail has scarcely changed

Benefit cheats to be forced to earn their keep

Unemployed people could be forced to undertake full-time community service in return for receiving benefit in new reforms

Children embrace sound of the axis of evil

British children used to singing traditional hymns are being taught North Korean anthems in preparation for state orchestra’s visit

How football forged the bond with Korea

One goal kick-started a friendship between Middlesbrough's citizens and their comrades in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

It’s fashion to run a little wild in your garden

Judge rules that chopping down a swathe of trees can count as weeding rather than forestry as he redefines the garden

News in Brief

Brown wants rethink over MPs’ expenses | Churches to receive £7m for repairs | Footballer's club assault | Paediatricians cleared

Medical research is ‘hindered by out-of-date laws’

Scientists say research into new medicines is being impaired by intellectual property laws that are no longer workable

School scores will drop 2% at Key Stages

Scores for 11 and 14-year-olds in English, maths and science are expected to fall as a result of changes to the marking system

Wheeler, BBC’s man of the world, dies aged 85

Veteran foreign correspondent, who made his name covering the Dalai Lama’s flight from Tibet in 1959, died of lung cancer