Final preparations are under way as St Peter's Square becomes the stage for one of the most spectacular events ever celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican will hold the simultaneous canonisation by Pope Francis of two 20th-Century popes, ...

All 15 crew members involved in the navigation of the ill-fated South Korean passenger ferry Sewol are now reportedly in custody, facing criminal negligence charges. The prosecution requested arrest warrants for four additional crew members. Eleven others ...

St Peter's Square this weekend becomes the stage for one of the most spectacular events ever celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican will hold the simultaneous canonisation by Pope Francis of two 20th-Century popes, who led the transition ...

St Peter's Square this weekend becomes the stage for one of the most spectacular events ever celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican will hold the simultaneous canonisation by Pope Francis of two 20th-Century popes, who led the transition ...

President Obama has offered support for South Korea on the second leg of his Asian tour, amid signs that North Korea could be preparing a fourth nuclear test. Satellite images have shown increased activity close to North Korea's nuclear test site, although ...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the West of wanting to "seize" Ukraine, amid escalating rhetoric between Russia and the US. On Thursday US Secretary of State John Kerry had accused Russia of "distraction, deception and ...

The credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has cut Russia's foreign currency ratings to to one notch above "junk" status. The move comes as foreign investors continue to take money out of the country amid tensions over Ukraine. S&P downgraded Russia's ...

The man who created social network Google+ is to leave the company, the search giant has confirmed. Vic Gundotra had been at Google since 2007, and was the company's vice-president for social media. While boasting a large number of users, Google+ is ...

The man who created social network Google+ is to leave the company, the search giant has confirmed. Vic Gundotra had been at Google since 2007, and was the company's vice-president for social media. While boasting a large number of users, Google+ is ...

The man who created social network Google+ is to leave the company, the search giant has confirmed. Vic Gundotra had been at Google since 2007, and was the company's vice-president for social media. While boasting a large number of users, Google+ is ...

US President Barack Obama is due in Seoul, shortly for a visit that comes amid concern that North Korea may be planning a fourth nuclear test. Mr Obama, who arrives from Japan on the second stop of his Asian tour, will hold talks with South Korean leader ...

The UK is a Christian country and those who deny it are "deluding themselves" and ignoring "reality", two senior Conservative MPs have said. Attorney General Dominic Grieve and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith told the Daily Telegraph ...

A survivor of South Korea's ferry disaster has described taking the agonising decision to save himself as the ship capsized and water washed away students he was trying to rescue. Lorry driver Eun-su Choi told the BBC: "We were trying to pull them up... but it ...

A survivor of South Korea's ferry disaster has described taking the agonising decision to save himself as the ship capsized and water washed away students he was trying to rescue. Lorry driver Eun-su Choi told the BBC: "We were trying to pull them up... but it ...

A survivor of South Korea's ferry disaster has described taking the agonising decision to save himself as the ship capsized and water washed away students he was trying to rescue. Lorry driver Eun-su Choi told the BBC: "We were trying to pull them up... but it ...

It is the day when Christians commemorate Jesus Christ's crucifixion. So why is it called Good Friday? According to the Bible, the son of God was flogged, ordered to carry the cross on which he would be crucified and then put to death. It's difficult to see what is ...

Chad's entire contingent of peacekeepers has withdrawn from the Central African Republic (CAR), a military official has confirmed. The withdrawal followed accusations that Chad had aided Muslim rebels in CAR, a charge it denied. Chad had about 850 ...

The mayor of the Mexican city of Apatzingan, a stronghold of the Knights Templar drug cartel, has been arrested on suspicion of extorting money on behalf of the cartel. Prosecutors say Uriel Chavez pressured city councillors to hand over $1,500 (£900) of ...

Economic growth of 7.4% in the first quarter is in line with China's 2014 annual year-on-year target of about 7.5% growth. The slowdown from the 7.7% GDP growth registered in the past two years is due to the government rebalancing the economy, shifting ...

Brazil has so far trained only 20% of the private security guards needed at the 12 stadiums for the World Cup in June and July, the BBC has learned. Federal authorities in charge of the football tournament told the BBC Brasil they would consider using police ...