A US Roman Catholic deacon spoke today of how the agonising pain he had suffered from a spinal disorder disappeared after praying to the revered English Cardinal John Henry Newman.

Declaring that a domestic terrorism threat had been thwarted, US prosecutors have announced the arrest of a Massachusetts man who was allegedly part of a conspiracy to kill Americans in shopping malls, and US soldiers in Iraq as well as target two prominent politicians for assassination.

A 13-year-old girl from Devon who went missing with a man she met over the internet has been found.

Relax in style at these paradigms of sophisticated country chic

Glasvegas frontman leaves bandmates in the lurch – then turns up in New York

Senator Edward Kennedy, who is suffering from terminal brain cancer, has written a poignant letter to leaders in his home state of Massachusetts asking them to change state law so a temporary replacement can be appointed promptly to avoid a legislative vacuum.

Up to nine out of 10 American bank notes bear traces of cocaine, research has shown. In some large US cities evidence of "dirty money" is even stronger. Analysis of bank notes from Washington DC, home to Congress and the US Presidency, were the most contaminated, with 95 per cent of them carrying minute amounts of the Schedule II (Class A in Britain) drug.

World leaders pay tribute to a woman who 'changed the lives of millions'

The arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr led to soul searching for post-Obama America followed by beers on the White House lawn. A fairy-tale end to police harassment and institutionalised racism? Not likely, says award-winning African-American author Darryl Pinckney

The White House is allocating tickets for the upcoming Easter Egg Roll to gay and lesbian parents as part of the Obama administration's outreach to diverse communities.

Stona Fitch's powerful novels tackle themes such as globalisation, consumerism and the environment, and he's even putting his sales where his mouth is by giving books away. But don't be put off – as he tells Doug Johnstone, there's nothing more boring than a moralist

People in their 20s and 30s could soon be offered the same cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by their parents, following pioneering research identifying the genetic factors which increase the risk of heart attack.

What's this? From out of nowhere a record to remind you of everything and nothing you've ever heard before.

California to vote on amendment that would outlaw same-sex unions