Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez says she has been granted a passport after years of being denied the right to travel abroad.

Fourteen people plead guilty to "encouraging mass violence" during a high-profile environmental protest in Qidong, Chinese state media say.

Boeing backs the battery used in the Dreamliner after Japanese airlines say they changed a number of them over the past few months.

Dutch woman Tanja Nijmeijer talks to the BBC's Sarah Rainsford about why she joined the Colombian armed insurgent group, the Farc, and why she has no regrets.

Why China needs the fuel that chokes its skies

Beijing residents have been warned to stay indoors as smog caused by pollution worsens. It has partly been caused by a huge increase in coal consumption in China over the last decade.

Pakistani women forcibly separated from their children in UK

An increasing number of Pakistani women are coming forward saying they have been forcibly separated from their children in the UK.

South Korea says the satellite launched on Wednesday has made contact with a ground station and is sending data.

Is India facing a 'cultural emergency'?

Malians welcome French moves to oust Islamist militants

Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of The Andrews Sisters, dies in California at the age of 94, her publicist says.

People hurting animals in Mexico City face a fine and up to four years in jail, according to legislation coming into force on Thursday.

Farc fighter from the Netherlands in peace negotiations

US President Barack Obama says immigration reform could be achieved within six months, in an interview with Spanish-language TV channel Telemundo.

The mystery of why homing pigeons get lost when released from a particular location in the US may have been solved.

Photographer Joel Meyerowitz on the stories behind his images

The collapse of the West Coast Main Line franchise deal was the result of "irresponsible decisions" and "major failures", says an MPs' report.

Wounded former Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the head of the National Rifle Association testify at a congressional hearing on gun control.