Prime Minister Gordon Brown is demanding the "immediate and unconditional" release of British hostages being held in Iraq, following a militant group's claim that one of five men they kidnapped last year had committed suicide.

Gordon Brown has called for "justice" for the Palestinian people, condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Paying bonuses to surgeons based on the outcomes of operations is too "simplistic" and could discourage doctors from treating high-risk patients, the British Medical Association has warned.

Conservative leader David Cameron confirmed that his party's General Election candidate in Watford has resigned after police launched an inquiry into harassment allegations.

A two-year-old girl has died after an accident in a swimming pool on a family holiday to Turkey, official sources said.

Happy hours in pubs and clubs could be banned in an attempt to promote responsible drinking, a government spokesperson has said.

Radical changes to the benefits system will put responsibility "right at the heart of the welfare state", Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell has said.

An additional investment of £720 million is needed to prevent a repetition of the devastation caused by last summer's floods, an insurance firm has warned.

Over half of British pensioners are struggling to live on a low income and are missing out on thousands in pension credits, statistics have revealed.

Concerns for the future of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government heightened after a senior politician said the Assembly may need to be recalled from summer recess.

© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2008, All Rights Reserved.