British lottery winners £45 million better off

European lottery officials say two British ticketholders have shared a jackpot of £90 million - the largest lottery prizes ever paid out in the United Kingdom.

• NZ's presence in East Timor still appreciated

  New Zealand police are helping to shape how law and order will be kept in East Timor in the future.

• Heaviest ever rainfall floods parts of Britain and Ireland

  Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain.

• Sydney pilot praised for crashing plane

  A Sydney pilot and former Bachelor of the Year nominee has been hailed a hero after crashing his jet into the sea off Norfolk Island.

• Fred Hollows Foundation changing lives in East Timor

  Treatable cataract blindness is the main cause of vision impairment in East Timor where around 10,000 are waiting for sight restoring surgery.

• 'Spectacular ' icebergs thrill tourists off Macquarie Island

  As anticipation about an impending invasion of icebergs builds, some lucky tourists have already witnessed them up close.

• New EU President is Belgian PM Van Rompuy

  EU leaders have handed the European Union's top new jobs to two little-known compromise figures - Belgium's prime minister and the EU's trade commissioner - dashing hopes of those who wanted to raise the continent's global profile.

• Karzai makes big promises in Afghan inaugural speech

  President Hamid Karzai faces a virulent Taliban insurgency and crippling corruption that has sown resentment among Afghans toward his administration.

• Ashika captain sailed despite full knowledge of rust, holes

  The captain of the Princess Ashika says the Tongan ferry was never seaworthy and was in a terrible state, but he went out to sea anyway on August 5 - the day it filled with water and sank killing 74 people.

• A look at New Zealand troops in East Timor

  During East Timor's violent recent history nearly half of New Zealand’s defence force was engaged in peace-keeping duties there.

• Meteor explosion caught on camera

  A surveillance camera in the US has captured a rare meteor explosion in the night sky.

• One conjoined twin talking after separation surgery

  A Bangladeshi toddler separated this week from her conjoined twin sister was talking and behaving normally after being woken Thursday from a medically induced coma, the head of the surgery team said.

• Unsuccessful criminal bummed out in Portugal

  A Romanian man has learnt the hard way that crime does not pay. He was trying to get through a small window when he became trapped.

• Obama, Holder predict conviction in 9/11 case

  From opposite ends of the globe, President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have firmly rejected criticism of the planned New York trial of the professed September 11 mastermind and predicted Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be exposed as a murderous coward, convicted and executed.

• Australian residents face threat of more bushfires

  Warnings have been issued for Victoria as Australia again faces the threat of bushfires

• NZ and Australian police team up to fight binge drinking

  New Zealand police will team up with Australian police next month, to try and fight binge drinking in both countries

• Princess Ashika's captain expected to give evidence today

  The captain of the Princess Ashika is expected to give evidence at a Royal Commission of Inquiry today

• Prison for UK suitcase puppy killer

  Fifteen puppies were left to die in closed suitcases in a locked cupboard by Sussex dog breeder Amanda Cheadle.

• Russia, Ukraine gas standoff

  A Russian energy official said the government was prepared to cut off natural gas deliveries to Ukraine should Kiev start "siphoning off" gas intended for European consumers from the transit pipelines.

• Australian scientologists promise to cooperate with police

  Australian scientologists are promising to co-operate with any police investigation into claims of murder and abuse inside the church.

• Queen's speech: Pomp meets politics as UK govt unveils agenda

  Queen Elizabeth II donned the diamond-encrusted Imperial State Crown to announce the government's plans for the next parliamentary session.