Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been convicted and sentenced to a year in jail over an illegal wiretap.

Al-Qaeda, or an allied group, was probably behind the kidnapping of a French engineer in Nigeria, French President Francois Hollande has said.

A British soldier stationed in Cyprus has been stabbed to death in a nightclub in the resort of Ayia Napa.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed a 19-year-old soldier from 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, had died. His family has been informed.

Police said three British tourists had been arrested following a reported altercation with four off-duty soldiers in the early hours.

The MoD has banned soldiers from Ayia Napa's centre after past trouble.

The town is a popular destination for thousands of young holidaymakers.

But military chiefs stopped personnel from going there following the killing of Danish tour guide Louise Jensen in 1994.

She was raped and bludgeoned to death just outside Ayia Napa. Three off-duty British servicemen served prison terms after being convicted of manslaughter and abduction.
Knife recovered

The two British military bases in the former colony, which gained independence in 1960, are home to more than 3,000 personnel.

The dead soldier is reported to have been stationed at the base in Dhekelia, about 12 miles (20km) west of Ayia Napa.

Police spokesman George Economou said the soldier was pronounced dead on arrival at Famagusta General Hospital in Paralimni. A knife has been recovered and is undergoing forensic tests.

The three arrested Britons are expected to appear in court on Monday.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the arrest of three British nationals in Ayia Napa and was providing consular assistance.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "It is with great sadness that the MoD must confirm that a soldier... has died in an incident in Cyprus.

"An investigation is being conducted by Cyprus police and it would be inappropriate to comment any further. The family has been informed and our thoughts are with them."

At least 10 Afghan security personnel have been killed in a gun battle with Taliban insurgents in the western province of Herat, officials said.

Police in Kosovo have fired tear gas in a clash with protesters angered by recent talks aimed at improving ties between Serbia and its former province.

Voters opposed to Russia's President Vladimir Putin have chosen a new opposition leadership to fight for election reform.

Five men arrested in anti-terror raids in France have been freed but seven remain in custody, some of whom allegedly planned to fight in Syria.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived amid heavy security for her first Greek visit since the eurozone crisis erupted nearly three years ago.

A Russian passenger plane carrying 43 people has crashed shortly after take-off in Siberia.

Thirty-one people were killed and 12 survivors have been taken to hospital, Russia's emergencies ministry said.

Eight people have been killed, and ten others injured, in a crash involving a minibus and a lorry in southern Poland.

The minibus was carrying a group of miners home from their shift at the Myslowice-Wesola colliery.

Spanish unions are holding a general strike to protest against labour reforms which the new government hopes will help cut unemployment.

Road, rail and air transport are all due to be affected, with domestic and European flights cut to a fraction of their usual volume.

A lack of support and opportunity for young people contributed to the outbreak of riots in England last year, an independent report has concluded.

The Riots, Communities and Victims Panel, set up last year, has identified "500,000 forgotten families".

Syria's divided opposition groups are due to meet in Turkey to try to draw up a "national pact" on how to unseat President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC), says all other anti-Assad groups have been invited to the gathering in Istanbul.

Spain's ruling Popular Party has won elections in the southern region of Andalucia but may not be able to force the Socialists from power.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's party secured 50 seats in the 109-seat assembly, three more than the Socialists, in power for 30 years.

France is facing calls for an inquiry into possible intelligence failures after a series of murders by a gunman in the south of the country.

Mohammed Merah - who claimed to have al-Qaeda training - was killed by a police sniper in Toulouse on Thursday.

A gunman suspected of seven killings in southern France has told police laying siege to his flat in Toulouse that he wants to die "weapons in hand",

Interior Minister Claude Gueant says.

Police hunting a gunman suspected of killing seven people in southern France have surrounded a flat in Toulouse.

The man, named as Mohammed Merah, 24, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, has said he belongs to al-Qaeda and acted to "avenge Palestinian children".

The Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee today by paying tribute to the British virtues of 'resilience, ingenuity and tolerance', and to the Duke

of Edinburgh, her 'constant strength and guide' over the decades.

There’s trouble at the top for Oprah Winfrey, as continuing struggles force her ratings-challenged network to slash its staff levels.

OWN, the cable network co-venture of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo company and Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications, announced the restructure of its

One of the biggest manhunts in recent French history is under way after four people were shot dead at a Jewish school in Toulouse.

Police have linked the attack to two shootings last week in which three soldiers of North African descent died.