Although his victory was never in doubt, Egypt's new President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi made highly ambitious promises during his campaign. Now he is in power, turning them into reality will require more than just huge sums of money. He has pledged to build 26 ...

Syrians have been voting in the country's presidential elections, but only in government-held areas. One of the presidential candidates, Hassan al-Nouri, said President Bashar al-Assad should continue to lead the country. Speaking to the BBC World Outside ...

China has tightened security and widened a clampdown on dissent, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre on Wednesday. Lawyers, journalists and activists have been detained. Internet search terms related to the 1989 massacre and the ...

Google says it is establishing a service that will enable Europeans to ask for online links relating to their personal life to be removed from search results. The world's biggest internet search engine is expecting a barrage of requests after the European Court of ...

Ukrainian forces will continue their offensive against rebels until peace and order are restored in the east, the interim defence minister has said. Fighting has intensified around Sloviansk and 12 Ukrainian troops were killed on Thursday when pro-Russian ...

There is outrage over police inaction in a village in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where two teenage girls were gang raped and hanged from a tree. The father of one victim said he was ridiculed by policemen when he sought help in finding his missing ...

EU leaders have agreed to re-evaluate the bloc's agenda after voters "sent a strong message", European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has said. Mr Van Rompuy said leaders of the 28 member states had asked him to launch consultations on future ...

The Google-owned YouTube has removed videos posted by Elliot Rodger, the gunman who killed six students in California last week. The site said the clips violated its terms of service regarding videos that threatened violence. A spokeswoman said the ...

Ukrainians are going to the polls to vote in a new president after months of unrest. The presidential elections were called after the last elected President, Viktor Yanukovych, was kicked out of the country in February following protests against his pro-Russian ...

When Gareth Bale was presented as a Real Madrid player in front of thousands of supporters at the Bernabeu, he was immediately acquainted with the weight of expectation that came with his arrival. In a lengthy introduction for the world's most expensive ...

Soon after 31 people were killed in a bloody assault on a street market in Urumqi, millions across China studied how to avoid similar attacks. An online manual entitled "How to survive a terrorist threat" was released hours after the Xinjiang incident.

Smokers who use e-cigarettes to quit are more likely to succeed than those who use willpower alone or buy nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches or gum, a study suggests. The survey of nearly 6,000 smokers found a fifth had quit with the aid of ...

Tens of thousands of Serbians have fled their homes amid the worst flooding in the region since modern records began. In one of the worst hit areas, Obrenovac, near Belgrade, water is beginning to recede but there are warnings of a potential river surge later ...

South Africa's government is seeking a judicial review into a report which said President Jacob Zuma should repay some of the $23m (£14m) used to upgrade his home. The report, published in March by a government ombudsman, said the president had ...

Louis Van Gaal looks certain to become the new manager at Manchester United, but who is he? The current manager of the Netherlands national side may not be the best-known manager to English fans - but players and fellow coaches think he could the ...

Nigeria is ready to talk to Islamist militants Boko Haram for the release of more than 200 abducted schoolgirls, a minister has told the BBC. Minister of Special Duties Tanimu Turaki said if Boko Haram was sincere, its leader Abubakar Shekau should send ...

Red wine may not be as good for you as hoped, say scientists who have studied the drink's ingredient that is purported to confer good health. The team tracked the health of nearly 800 villagers from the Chianti region of Italy to see if their local tipple had any ...

A Ukrainian separatist leader is calling on Russia to "absorb" the eastern region of Donetsk after Sunday's referendum on self-rule. Self-declared Donetsk People's Republic leader Denis Pushilin urged Moscow to listen to the "will of the people". Ukraine and ...

A Ukrainian separatist leader is calling on Russia to "absorb" the eastern region of Donetsk after Sunday's referendum on self-rule. Self-declared Donetsk People's Republic leader Denis Pushilin urged Moscow to listen to the "will of the people". Ukraine and ...

A Ukrainian separatist leader is calling on Russia to "absorb" the eastern region of Donetsk after Sunday's referendum on self-rule. Self-declared Donetsk People's Republic leader Denis Pushilin urged Moscow to listen to the "will of the people". Ukraine and ...