Polls have closed in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election, the first such contest since the coalition government was formed last year.

Rescuers are trying to find survivors in cut-off areas of south-eastern Brazil hit by deadly floods that have left at least 470 people dead.

Andy Murray will play Karol Beck in the Australian Open first round and has avoided being drawn in the same quarter as Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.

The education secretary brands the banks' behaviour as "outrageous" and says they have to show "they get it" on bonuses and lending.

Breastfeeding alone for six months might not be best for babies, UK experts warn.

Maritime piracy costs the global economy between $7bn and $12bn a year, a report by UK think-tank Chatham House says.

A prison officer at HMP Littlehey young offenders unit says the regime is so lawless he feels threatened every day at work.

A US court sentences a militant from Guyana to 15 years in jail for taking part in a plot to blow up fuel tanks at New York's JFK airport.