Sir Richard Branson wins the right to control richardbranson.xxx after an Australian man was ruled to have registered the domain "in bad faith".

Ethiopian and Somali troops capture Baidoa, a strategic stronghold of al-Shabab Islamist militants, as the UN approves extra African Union troops for Somalia.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces a ballot for the leadership of the Labor party to end a damaging split in the organisation.

The Department of Health launches an inquiry into claims that doctors agreed to carry out abortions on the grounds of the sex of unborn babies.

The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases hit a two-year high in January ahead of the withdrawal of a stamp duty concession.

The European Commission predicts that the eurozone economy will contract by 0.3% in 2012, having previously forecast 0.5% growth.

A girl who suffered severe brain damage in a car crash caused by a speeding driver is awarded nearly £5m and her family £450,000 a year.

The number of people sleeping rough in England rises by 23% in a year, figures provided by local authorities countrywide show.