A judge today vowed to do all in his power to ensure witnesses from Britain and Northern Ireland attend his investigation into the IRA murder of two RUC officers.

Mark Thatcher has been charged with involvement in a coup plot in oil rich Equatorial Guinea, prosecutors confirmed today.

Garda Special Branch detectives searched the home of alleged Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt after studying a 40-page dossier compiled by an FBI double agent, a court heard today.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, dubbed “Chemical Ali” by opponents of the Iraqi regime for ordering a poison gas attack that killed thousands of Kurds, has been found dead, a British officer said today.

An assessment of the evidence against a 14-strong group of plane spotters detained in Greece accused of spying was due to be presented to three judges today.

The case against two Libyans accused of carrying out the Lockerbie bombing has been proved "beyond reasonable doubt", according to prosecutors.