ECB to decide on Ashes tour this week

England and Wales Cricket Board will meet this week to decide whether the men's Ashes tour of Australia this winter will go ahead. England players were presented with the proposed conditions for the tour on Sunday evening.

Muhammad cartoonist dies in car crash - reports

A Swedish artist who sketched the Prophet Muhammad's head on a dog's body has died in a traffic accident, according to local media. Lars Vilks was reportedly travelling in a civilian police vehicle that collided with a truck near the town of Markaryd in southern Sweden.

Covid antiviral pill can halve risk of hospitalisation

An experimental drug for severe Covid cuts the risk of hospitalisation or death by about half, interim clinical trial results suggest. The tablet - molnupiravir - was given twice a day to patients recently diagnosed with the disease. US drug-maker Merck said its results were so positive that outside monitors had asked to stop the trial early.

United Airlines 'right' to insist on staff vaccines

The boss of United Airlines has told the BBC that firing staff who refuse to get a coronavirus vaccine is "just the right thing to do". Around 300 of the airline's 67,000 US-based staff are yet to comply with the strict policy, after an initial deadline of 27 September.

Kilogram of nails, screws and knives removed from man's stomach

A Lithuanian man has had more than a kilogram of nails, screws, nuts and knives removed from his stomach by doctors, local media report. He had been swallowing metal objects for a month after quitting alcohol, doctors said.

Queen to officially open the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood

The Queen will officially open the new session of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood later on Saturday.

R. Kelly found guilty in sex trafficking trial

US singer R Kelly has been found guilty of exploiting his superstar status to run a scheme to sexually abuse women and children over two decades. Eleven accusers, nine women and two men took the stand over the searing six-week trial to describe sexual humiliation and violence at his hands.

Man killed as Crete struck by 5.8-magnitude earthquake

At least one person has been killed and nine injured after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit the Greek island of Crete, local officials say. The man died when the dome of a church that was being renovated in the town of Arkalochori caved in.

German centre-left narrowly wins election

Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have narrowly won the country's federal elections, beating the party of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to preliminary results. The SPD secured 25.7 per cent of the vote, while the ruling conservative CDU/CSU bloc gained 24.1 per cent. The Greens achieved the best result in their party's history, coming in third with 14.8 per cent of the ballot.

Air pollution is even worse than we thought - WHO

Air pollution is even more dangerous than previously thought, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, as it slashes maximum safe levels of key pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide.