Arab League peace monitors spread to various parts of Syria but anti-government violence continues, with more deaths reported.

Debt experts warn young people not to delay seeking help if Christmas has tipped them into unmanageable debt.

Low income families are being exploited by so-called rent-to-buy deals on household appliances, a children's charity warns.

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez asks whether the US is giving Latin American leaders cancer, after Argentina's president is diagnosed with the disease.

Scotland's biggest horse mussel bed and a "faceless and brainless" fish were recorded during government-backed surveys this year.

North Korea holds another day of mourning and commemoration for late leader Kim Jong-il, a day after his elaborate funeral in Pyongyang.

The NHS in England must end the "hospital-or-bust" attitude to medical care and develop into a community-based system", says the leader of the NHS confederation.

The UK's quarantine laws are to be relaxed from the start of January, but some charities say Britain could be exposed to an increased risk of rabies.