After Andrew Strauss's frustration at Lord's last week, Ian Bell's bid to find form in the County Championship ran into trouble against Sussex yesterday. Bell made a seven-ball duck, in complete contrast to his Warwickshire and England team-mate Jonathan Trott.

Yousuf Raza Gilani gets token punishment for failing to reopen corruption investigation

Pakistan's supreme court convicted the prime minister of contempt today for refusing to reopen an old corruption case against the country's president.

Ex-England captain says current incumbent is on hiding to nothing and should return for first Test – when he backs him to come good

Launch is latest proof of escalation of arms in Asia as new report stresses the threat to rest of the world

Every year at the court of Queen Victoria, the royal household amused itself with "am-drams": costumed aristos created tableaux inspired by well-known paintings and stories.

Nato has been accused of misleading the public over success in Afghanistan by saying operations involving only its troops are led by local forces.

Pakistan successfully launched an upgraded ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead today, days after its neighbour and arch enemy India conducted its own missile test, the Pakistani military said.

The human factor in Homeland makes it much more thrilling than homegrown offerings, says Gerard Gilbert

A Briton who trained to be a shoe bomber said Osama bin Laden told him shortly after the September 11 2001 attacks that he believed a follow-up terrorist attack could doom the American economy.

It's the human factor in Homeland that makes it thrilling

Afghanistan and the US agreed on a much-delayed strategic partnership deal yesterday that is meant to govern the US role in Afghanistan during and after the reduction of international forces in the country.

Middlesex 188 & 21-1 Durham 238 (Durham lead by 29 runs)

Brian Brady and Jonathan Owen report on an imminent invasion threatening our bees