James Robbins explains the background and aims of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Shams (ISIS), which has seized control of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

Hosts Brazil open the 2014 Fifa World Cup against Croatia on Thursday, kicking off a 32-team tournament that ends on 13 July.

Thousands of children in England are missing out on an education, the National Children's Bureau warns.

The UN condemns attacks in Iraq by Islamist militants who have overrun two major cities, saying a "dire" humanitarian situation looms.

The economic crisis in Europe and North America led to more than 10,000 suicides, according to figures from UK researchers.

Great tits with smaller black chest stripes have higher survival rates in an urban habitat, a study shows.

Low-level drug offences should be decriminalised in West Africa, according to a commission headed by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Court of Appeal is to rule on whether an Old Bailey trial of two terrorist suspects can be heard in secret.