A bike hire scheme designed to encourage thousands more cycle journeys in central London has begun.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia are set to pay a joint visit to Lebanon.

People are always fascinated by the possibility of catching a glimpse of the future. And psychics are always ready to turn people's curiosity into cash. But now the Russian parliament has taken the future into its hands.

The man who led UN weapons inspectors in Iraq before the 2003 invasion is set to appear before the war inquiry.

BP petrol stations in central London have been shut down by environmental activists.

Indigenous people protesting against the construction of a hydro-electric plant in the Brazilian Amazon have allowed most workers to leave the site, the Brazilian authorities say.

With abnormally high temperatures hitting countries worldwide, much of Russia is at risk from forest and peat bog fires. In the Central Orenburg region, a state of emergency has been declared due to forest fires.

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and Defence Secretary Robert Gates have visited the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.

The leader of a Kurdish rebel group engaged in a guerrilla war with Turkey has told the BBC it is willing to disarm in return for greater political and cultural rights for Turkey's Kurds.

A bomb and gun attack on a hydroelectric power station in Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region has killed two guards and injured two others.

The star of the new spy thriller “Salt,” Angelina Jolie, is looking to meet the red-haired Russian star of the recent spy scandal, Anna Chapman, at the world premiere of her new action adventure in Moscow.

The future of Russia's first ever F1 driver, Vitaly Petrov, seems uncertain after a recent statement from Renault team chief Eric Boullier.

North Korea is failing to provide the most basic healthcare needs for its people, Amnesty International warns.

A US Congressional committee has agreed measures that would ban BP from new offshore drilling for seven years.

Ukraine has welcomed a fleet of NATO warships for a two-week period of military drills. Operation “Sea Breeze-2010” will focus on joint anti-terror exercises, despite Kiev’s decision not to enter the alliance.