International

Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help Donald Trump win the presidential election, a US intelligence report says. The unclassified report says the Russian leader "ordered" a campaign aimed at influencing the election. Read…

Four black people face hate crime and kidnapping charges for the Facebook Live-aired torture of a mentally disabled white man. Jordan Hill, Brittany Covington and Tesfaye Cooper, all 18, and 24-year-old Tanishia Covington are expected to…

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a pardon for a soldier convicted of manslaughter for killing a wounded Palestinian. Elor Azaria, 19 at the time, shot Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, 21, in the head while he was lying…

Republicans are to drop a plan to gut the independent body that investigates political misconduct, after an outcry. President-elect Donald Trump had criticised Republicans after they voted to strip the Office of Congressional Ethics of…

Police have detained two Moroccans who tried to smuggle migrants into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta - two hidden in a car and one in a suitcase. When police checked a car on Tuesday one person was found hidden in the dashboard…

The Syrian government and rebel groups have agreed a nationwide ceasefire from midnight local time (22:00 GMT) on Thursday, followed by peace talks. The deal was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and confirmed by the Turkish…

Iraqi forces have launched a fresh wave of attacks against so-called Islamic State (IS) in Mosul, military officials say. Troops are pushing into eastern districts in the "second phase" of an offensive to recapture the last major…

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said the prospect of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal based on a two-state solution is in grave jeopardy. And he insisted UN condemnation of illegal Jewish settlements on occupied land was in line…

The main flight recorder from the Russian jet that crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday has revealed that faulty flaps were to blame, Russian media say. The flaps, panels on the wings that help lift an aircraft, were not moving together,…

US actress Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series, has died aged 60, days after suffering a cardiac arrest. She was taken ill on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday and was taken to…

The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and had huge success as a solo performer, "passed away peacefully" on Christmas Day in Goring, Oxfordshire, his publicist said. Read more at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38432862

The Berlin market attacker, Anis Amri, has been shot dead by police in Milan. The Tunisian criminal fired on police who asked him for ID during a routine patrol in the Sesto San Giovanni area in the early hours of Friday. Read more:…

The hijacking of a Libyan plane has ended peacefully after armed men who seized control surrendered in Malta. The domestic flight with 118 people on board was hijacked after taking off from Sabha, bound for the Libyan capital Tripoli.…

A manhunt is under way across Europe's Schengen states after prosecutors identified a suspect in the lorry attack on a Berlin Christmas market. A warrant was issued at midnight. Details were not given but media reports say the suspect is…

More than 70 others were injured as the blast hit the San Pablito fireworks market in Tultepec, about 20 miles (32km) outside the city. Video from the scene showed a large number of fireworks rocketing into the air as they caught fire.…