Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan, two of the fiercest critics of press malpractice, were among the famous names backing the media as a force for good last night at a gala event hosted by The Journalism Foundation.

Crewe Alexandra 1 Southend United 0

A Tunisian court yesterday convicted the head of a private TV station for disrupting public order and violating moral values by broadcasting an animated film that some religious leaders say insults Islam.

Thomas Cook has reported the first upturn in UK bookings for many months. With Joey Ramone's version of "What a Wonderful World" backing its latest advertising campaign, the heavily indebted tour operator says summer 2012 bookings in the UK are now only 2 per cent down on last year. Bookings for winter 2012-13 are down 9 per cent, but the company said this was in line with its plans to cut down on capacity.

Thomas Cook has reported the first upturn in UK bookings for many months.

Tunisia's president has said he is ready to offer asylum to Syrian leader Bashar Assad as part of a negotiated solution to the Syrian conflict.

The European Union will freeze the assets of Syria's central bank at its meeting on Monday, the French foreign minister said today, in the latest effort to pressure Syria to halt its bloody crackdown on an 11-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Britain is to recognise the Syrian opposition as a "legitimate representative" of the country's people, William Hague said today.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces rained rockets and bombs down on opposition-held neighbourhoods of the city of Homs, reducing buildings to rubble and killing more than 80 people.

The hopes vested in last year's uprising have ended in continued censorship, growing intolerance and unemployment, says Robert Fisk in Tunis

Bahraini protesters dissatisfied with the government's reform moves prepared for a fresh attempt to retake a landmark roundabout today, the first anniversary of a pro-democracy uprising crushed by the Gulf Arab kingdom.

Who would want to fill the 'Borgen' slot on BBC4? Sadly, mouth-watering views of Sicily and oodles of pasta do not a detective drama make

Syria's ambassador in London was today summoned to the Foreign Office for rebuke over the "utterly unacceptable" violence being inflicted on civilians in the country as President Bashar Assad's regime cracks down on dissent.