Violence in Afghanistan will get worse before it gets better, the UK's most senior military commander in the country tells the BBC.

A father and his 15-year-old son are killed in a motorbike accident outside Galashiels in the Scottish Borders.

The recession and a litigious culture is making it harder to get youngsters involved in activity holidays, says the head of Outward Bound in Wales.

The interim managing director brought in to run a crisis-hit authority is to stay on for the forseeable future.

HM Revenue and Customs says some 1.4 million people each owe about £1,500 in tax, while 4.3 million will get an average rebate of £418.

The Modified Toy Orchestra is a band made up of five musicians - and 48 tweaked toy instruments.

Israeli and Palestinian talks seen from the inside

Author Ian McEwan talks to Matt Stadlen about the exercise of writing, the importance of long, moody walks, the "thinginess" of James Joyce and getting to grips with quantum mechanics.

Police in New Zealand name nine people, including four foreigners, who died when a light aircraft crashed after taking off from Fox Glacier on Saturday.

One of Scotland's largest councils - North Lanarkshire - warns that it may have to cut more than 1,000 jobs.

The spending review's political arm-wrestling contest

Papers consider phone hack claims

Talks to form a coalition government in the Netherlands collapse as the leader of the far-right Freedom Party Geert Wilders walks out.

Downing Street's head of communications, Andy Coulson, is safe in his job despite phone hacking claims surrounding the News of the World newspaper, says a senior government source.

The former Pakistan cricket captain, Imran Khan, has said that if players are found guilty of spot fixing, they should not be given a life ban, which some officials are demanding.

Questions over halal meat as market booms in France

A poll commissioned by Ed Miliband's leadership campaign finds voters are less likely to vote Labour if there is not a shift from New Labour policies.

Comic Eddie Kadi can command vast crowds at his live shows. Why has he attracted so little mainstream attention?

Fewer children are learning to play a musical instrument than in their parents' generation, a survey suggests.

Some 77% of Britons think taxpayers should not help pay for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Scotland and England, a survey suggests.