Indian doctors said Wednesday they have successfully carried out a first round of reconstructive surgery on the skull of a baby suffering from a rare disorder that caused her head to nearly double in size. More »Indian medics reconstruct baby's swollen head
Matt Smith showed off his newly shorn head as he posed alongside his Doctor Who co-star Jenna-Louise Coleman at the Peabody Awards in New York. More »Smith reveals shaved head at awards
Teachers have been credited with saving the lives of their pupils during the devastating tornado in Oklahoma which killed 24 people and left over 230 others hurt. More »Tornado: How Heroic Teachers Saved Lives
By Nathan Layne TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's largest brokerage firm Nomura Holdings Inc said on Wednesday it was seeking partners to expand its retail and asset management operations in Southeast Asia and was in talks with several financial institutions in the region. Chief Operating Officer Atsushi Yoshikawa did not name any specific companies but said Nomura would consider taking equity stakes as part of any alliance. "The best situation would be a 100 percent stake but given various regulations that is probably not realistic," Yoshikawa told a briefing for analysts and media. ... More »Nomura eyes Asia alliances, boosts Japan asset target
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran denied on Wednesday any link to members of a spying ring detained by its Sunni Muslim regional rival Saudi Arabia, according to Iranian media. Saudi state media reported on Tuesday that officials had detained 10 people accused of spying for Iran after arresting 18 people in the same case in March. Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, accuses the Islamic Republic of stirring up unrest among minority Saudi Shi'ites. Tehran rejects that charge and has repeatedly denied any involvement in espionage in Saudi Arabia. ... More »Iran denies link to group arrested for spying in Saudi Arabia
George Michael is still in hospital after his car accident but is "making good progress". More »George Michael "making progress"
The father of the first of the schoolchildren who lost their lives in the Oklahoma tornado to be named has said he was just too late to save her. More »Tornado Schoolgirl Ja'Nae First Victim Named
By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's deputy prime minister on Wednesday took the unusual step of holding a news conference to say the country's two-party coalition would hold together until 2015 as he tried to stabilise a government beset by infighting and rifts. In a move that risks being cast as a sign of weakness by political opponents, Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the coalition, sought to reassure voters that his alliance with Prime Minister David Cameron would endure until the next national election. ... More »UK coalition to last despite rifts, infighting - deputy PM
Concert giant AEG did not conduct any background checks or supervise the doctor who was later convicted of killing Michael Jackson, a corporate attorney has testified. More »Michael Jackson Trial: 'Murray Had No Checks'
By Jonathon Burch ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has shut its side of the last border crossing with Syria still controlled by President Bashar al-Assad's government, stepping up security following two deadly bombings this month. Fifty-one people were killed when twin car bombs ripped through the Turkish border town of Reyhanli in the southern province of Hatay on May 11, heightening fears that Syria's civil war was dragging in neighbouring states. Turkey has accused Syria of involvement in the attacks. Damascus has denied any role. ... More »Turkey shuts Syria border crossing after deadly bombings
Coronation Street's John Michie has said playing a villain is a dream part for an actor. More »Michie: Being the villain is best
A Japanese cancer specialist said Wednesday she has started the world's first clinical trial of a powerful, non-surgical, short-term radiation therapy for breast cancer. More »Japan hospital tests powerful breast cancer therapy
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Artillery rounds landed in a heavily populated neighbourhood of Congo's eastern city of Goma on Wednesday, killing a child and injuring other civilians a day before a planned visit by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a human rights group said. From early morning, government troops and M23 rebels exchanged heavy weapons fire for a third straight day outside the city, the largest in Democratic Republic of Congo's turbulent and mineral-rich east. "A shell landed in Goma's Ndosho neighbourhood around 9 a.m. ... More »Artillery lands in east Congo city, humanitarian camp
By Michael Roddy BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Opera companies throughout the world are staging Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle this year to fete his 200th birthday on May 22, but Hungarian conductor Adam Fischer is having no part of it during his "Wagner Days" festival in June. Fischer, who launched his festival in 2006 in the Bela Bartok concert hall at the Palace of Arts in Budapest, will have a new "Meistersinger von Nurnberg", rounding out productions of pretty much all the major operas in the Wagner canon. ... More »Hungary Wagner festival will not "Ring" in composer's birthday
A puppy survived after swallowing a four-and-a-half-inch lolly stick, vets have said. More »Puppy swallows whole lolly stick
By Thuy Ong SYDNEY (Reuters) - Director Baz Luhrmann brought "The Great Gatsby" home on Wednesday for its Australian premiere, with box-office success for the Sydney-produced film bolstering hopes for the resurgence of the local film industry. The film, set in 1920s New York and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, is one of several international productions recently lured to Australia by federal government tax breaks and grants. The ambitious third adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "great American novel" debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last week and has so far raked in $23. ... More »'Great Gatsby' director, cast come home with Sydney premiere
By Alexandria Sage CANNES (Reuters) - Walking the red carpet of the world's most famous film showcase is a test of nerves for celebrities, not helped by wind, rain and the chaos of hundreds of photographers shouting their names. From choosing the perfect dress and hairdo, to trying not to trip on the famous red steps, the pressure is on for movie stars and glitterati at the 12-day Cannes film festival on the swanky French Riviera which wraps up on May 26. ... More »Nerves of steel and hairspray are musts for Cannes red carpet
Police have named a boy who died following a crash between his bike and a mobile crane. More »Police name bike death boy, eight
The new mayor of an area of Suffolk is recovering after driving his car into a branch of Tesco Express. More »New mayor crashes car into shop
By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's new government, already sinking in opinion polls and riven by internal disputes, on Wednesday lays out its plans to address one of the main causes of public anger - soaring unemployment among young people. But the left-right coalition's room for manoeuvre even to address this pressing problem is restricted by Europe's second-biggest debt, the longest recession in at least four decades, and a long list of campaign promises. ... More »Italy to outline youth jobs plan as government struggles
BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber faces up to 10 months on the sidelines but should play again after undergoing surgery on a serious knee injury for the second time in six months, the Champions League finalists said on Wednesday. The Germany international tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee last week as he was rehabilitating from an identical injury he suffered in early December. The latest setback means the 24-year-old faces a race against time to be fit for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with Germany well on course to qualify. ... More »Bayern defender Badstuber out for 10 months after surgery
ROME (Reuters) - Millions of Italians cannot afford to heat their homes properly or eat meat as their country is racked by recession and soaring unemployment, said a report which found the number of people considered seriously deprived had doubled in the past two years. The findings from national statistics institute ISTAT underline the scale of the challenge faced by the new coalition government of Enrico Letta, which has vowed to stimulate growth and tackle a youth jobless rate of almost 40 percent. ... More »Millions falling into poverty in recession-racked Italy - report
Syria's opposition urged fighters across the country Wednesday to "rush to the rescue" of rebel stronghold Qusayr and appealed to the international community to set up a humanitarian corridor to the embattled town. More »Syria opposition urges rebels to join Qusayr battle
Pakistani politician Imran Khan left hospital Wednesday, two weeks after breaking bones in his back in a fall at a rally for the country's general election, where his party scored a major breakthrough. More »Pakistan's Imran Khan leaves hospital after fall
Manchester United star Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen have had a second son. More »Wayne Rooney And Coleen Welcome Son Klay