Flood warnings are in place in Wales and parts of England as heavy rain sweeps across the country.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn denies ministers "caved in" to energy firms over cash rebates for soaring fuel bills.

A British soldier killed in an explosion while on patrol in southern Afghanistan is named by the Ministry of Defence.

A universal flu vaccine which could mean an end to the annual flu jab is being trialled on UK volunteers.

Mohammed Bilal Bhatti changes murder plea to guilty.

The mother of Shannon Matthews and a 40-year-old man plead not guilty to kidnapping the Dewsbury schoolgirl.

Caroline Lucas has been elected as the first ever leader of the Green party at its annual conference in London.

UKIP should be positive about UK relations with Europe, leader Nigel Farage tells its annual conference.

Darnell Swallow, Rex Newmark and Sara Folino are evicted from the Big Brother house with the £100,000 winner to be announced soon.

Westlife get under the

Newcastle's Joey Barton is banned for six games - with another six suspended - by the Football Association for assaulting former team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

US Open organisers are preparing for major weather disruption as Britain's Andy Murray waits to take on Rafael Nadal on "Super Saturday" in New York.

Alan Shearer appears to rule himself out of the vacant manager's job at Newcastle, calling the club's structure "strange".

Actress Thandie Newton on her RocknRolla role

Anger of fans at Keegan's departure

Readers send in photos as flooding hits Wales

What's got Keira Knightley less than impressed?

Pundits explain love for the Games

Ostrich or vulture? How do you react to ecomonic blues?

UK food prices have risen by 8.3% on average since January, with meat and fish up 23%, according to a study for the BBC.

A local government union calls another one-day strike across Scotland in pursuit of its pay claim.

A man organised a murder from his prison cell using a smuggled mobile phone, the Old Bailey has heard.

Back-from-the dead canoeist John Darwin is to appeal against his prison sentence for fraud, his lawyer says.

Another teachers' strike is threatened - with the National Union of Teachers announcing a ballot for industrial action.

Man jailed for airline shoe bomb plot loses High Court bid to bring forward release date.

Golliwogs, goblins and girls - definitely not boys - doing the washing-up. It's easy to see why Enid Blyton's books went out of fashion. But now her work is enjoying a surprise comeback.

Loud, dirty and destructive, urban gulls would never win prizes for popularity. But should they be culled?

The bellyflop is not a dive for the faint-hearted. Let alone from 35 feet up into 12 inches of water, a new world record.

The report on the crash landing of the British Airways plane at Heathrow in January is the most common lead story in the day's newspapers.

"Overzealous" council threatens a schoolboy with an £80 fine for putting up lost cat posters on lamp posts.

A former Manchester City youth player is jailed for blackmailing a top Premier League footballer over sexual images.

Two Northern Ireland soccer fans are knocked unconscious by baton-wielding security men in Slovakia

Councils in counties Down and Antrim issue a flood alert as heavy rain lashes Northern Ireland.

A former accountant who stabbed his wife 86 times at the family home in Renfrewshire is jailed for at least 19 years.

A reception to celebrate the achievements of Scotland's Olympic heroes is held in Edinburgh.

Emergency teams are called to hundreds of flooding incidents in homes and roads across south and west Wales.

Six cases of stomach illness have been confirmed where customers have been advised to boil their water.

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will miss England's opening World Cup qualifier against Andorra on Saturday.

Newcastle's Joey Barton is banned for six games - with another six suspended - by the Football Association for assaulting former team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

Alan Shearer appears to rule himself out of the vacant manager's job at Newcastle, calling the club's structure "strange".

Dinara Safina takes on Serena Williams in the semi-finals of the US Open.

Second seed Jelena Jankovic beats Olympic champion Elena Dementieva in straight sets in the US Open semi-finals.

Two Northern Ireland soccer fans are knocked unconscious by baton-wielding security men in Slovakia

Managerless West Ham confirm the signing of Uruguayan international left-back Walter Lopez.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley faces a testing week following the resignation of manager Kevin Keegan.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he is not worried about the threat posed by newly wealthy neighbours Manchester City.

Three Italian coaches have been shortlisted for the managerial vacancy at West Ham, BBC Sport understands.

Scotland midfielder James Morrison will miss Saturday's World Cup qualifying opener in Macedonia.

Rob Earnshaw is tipped to spearhead Wales' forward line in the opening 2010 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan.

Former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu files an appeal against Fifa's ruling that he must pay the club £13.68m in damages for breach of contract.

Usain Bolt wins the 100m at the Van Damme Memorial meeting while 800m runner Pamela Jelimo clinches the Golden League's entire $1m jackpot.

US sprinter Marion Jones leaves prison after serving a six-month sentence for lying about steroid use and involvement in a drugs fraud case.