News
Live news stream
Costa del Sol and Bulgaria named cheapest holiday spots
Holidaymakers travelling for a beach holiday in Spain or Bulgaria will be able to buy more for less, according to the Post Office.
Read the full storyFull review ordered into two hour Arizona execution
A full review has been ordered into the execution of double murderer Joseph Wood, who took two hours to die after being given a lethal injection.
Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer said that while justice had been done she was concerned by how long the lethal injection procedure took.
She said: "One thing is certain, however, inmate Wood died in a lawful manner and by eyewitness and medical accounts he did not suffer.
"This is in stark comparison to the gruesome, vicious suffering that he inflicted on his two victims, and the lifetime of suffering he has caused their family."
Advertisement
Scottie dogs 'steal the show' at Commonwealth Games
The Scottie dogs which led each team out in the athletes' parade at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony have sparked a Twitter frenzy.
Tweets praising the dogs, who wore jackets bearing the name of each country, flooded in from the likes of Scottish MP Jackie Baillie and Scot tennis star Andy Murray's mum Judy.
Just love the Scottie dogs! Can I have one please? #CommonwealthGames #CG2014
Everybody seems to agree that the Scottie dogs have saved it. Let's just give in and rename them the #CommonwoofGames
The dogs also prompted some Twitter banter, with Patrick McPartlin joking: "Impressed at how the man and the Scottie manage to get back round for each new country in time. Fair play to them."
Reports suggested the terriers were being 'recycled' backstage to walk for each one of the 71 countries competing and that there actually only 41 with some of them working a "double shift."
'Gay kiss' at Commonwealth Games opener praised
A gay kiss in the 2014 Commonwealth opening ceremony has been hailed as a snub to homophobia in Commonwealth countries.
Openly gay entertainer John Barrowman kissed a male "bride" at a mock Gretna Green during the Opening Ceremony at Celtic Park last night.
Out of the 53 Commonwealth countries represented at the Games 42 criminalise homosexuality in some way.
Many people took to Twitter to praise the kiss, which came hours after Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg called for greater protection for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people around the globe.
Fergal McFerran tweeted: "John Barrowman's kiss was important beyond symbolism, it's still illegal to be gay in 42 of the 53 #Commonwealth Countries"
Nicola 'Nikki' Coles wrote: "Watch Glasgow snub homophobic nations with John Barrowman gay kiss during opening ceremony."
Games' opening ceremony raises £2.5m for Unicef
The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games has raised around £2.5million for children's charity Unicef.
The donations were made during the show following an appeal by Scottish actor James McAvoy and cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy.
McAvoy, from Glasgow, said: ''This has never been done before - this many people in a single moment all coming together to make a life-saving difference to millions of children.''
Sir Chris added: ''Let's make history together.''
Early figures showed that over 500,000 Brits had donated by text within an hour, Unicef said.
MH17 investigators to examine second black box
Investigators probing the flight MH17 disaster are to examine a second black box.
An international team working in Hampshire conducted an analysis of the cockpit voice recorder from the downed aircraft on Wednesday.
The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) said: "This will show whether this recorder also contains relevant information, in which case the data from both recorders will be combined."
It is possible that the information handed over to the Dutch could give an indication of whether the pilots were aware of a missile coming towards the plane.
It may also determine if what happened in the last few seconds of the flight could be disclosed in any words the pilots were able to speak.
Advertisement
Doctors 'need to reconsider' paracetamol for back pain
Doctors "need to reconsider" the "universal recommendation" of paracetamol when treating patients with lower back pain, a science chief has said.
Dr Christopher Williams, of the George Institute for Global Health at the University of Sydney, who led research into the effectiveness of paracetamol in the treatment of back pain said:
– Dr Christopher WilliamsSimple analgesics such as paracetamol might not be of primary importance in the management of acute lower back pain.
The results suggest we need to reconsider the universal recommendation to provide paracetamol as a first-line treatment for low-back pain, although understanding why paracetamol works for other pain states but not low-back pain would help direct future treatments.
Death row inmate takes 2 hrs to die by lethal injection
A death row inmate "gasped and snorted" as he took two hours to die by lethal injection in the latest "botched" execution in America, Reuters reported.
Double killer Wood, 55, was given a lethal injection of drugs at 1.52pm local time but was not pronounced dead until 3.49pm, the Arizona attorney general's office said.
Prior to his execution Wood was one of six death row inmates who sued Arizona arguing secrecy surrounding the drugs used in other botched executions in Ohio and Oklahoma violated their human rights.
His death raises questions about the use of the death penalty in the US.
Read more: Texas inmates reveal what life is like on 'suffocating' death row
Paracetamol 'no better than placebo' for back pain
Paracetamol is no faster at relieving back pain than a placebo, a study has found.
Read: Painkillers can cause headaches
Researchers in Australia found patients who were given over the counter paracetamol to treat back pain responded as quickly as those given a useless substitute.
The study, published in the Lancet, analysed 1,652 people with acute low-back pain at 235 care centres in Sydney, Australia.
They randomly received one of three treatments, up to four weeks of paracetamol in regular doses, paracetamol as they needed it or a placebo.
Scientists urged doctors to look at whether paracetamol should be the first port of call for back pain sufferers.
Cockpit recorder from MH17 is 'in good condition'
The cockpit voice recorder recovered from flight MH17 is in good condition, the UN civil aviation body said.
The Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is helping Ukrainian authorities probe the disaster, said in a statement the plane's digital flight data recorder was still being examined.
ICAO added it was consulting the airline industry and regional aviation bodies about how to assess the risks posed to airspace by armed conflict.
