Researchers at a US lab have passed a crucial milestone on the way to their ultimate goal of achieving self-sustaining nuclear fusion.

The health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating even faster than had previously been thought, a report says. A review from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), warns that the oceans are facing multiple threats.

Scientists say they have made a significant leap towards creating a vaccine that would protect against every form of flu. The influenza virus is a constantly shifting target so seasonal flu vaccines rapidly become useless and new ones are needed each year.

Properties across Hong Kong were raided, along with businesses in Macau and Guangdong Police in Hong Kong have arrested more than 1,800 people in a crackdown on the organised crime gangs known as triads. They raided about 2,500 properties - including discos, massage parlours and nightclubs - in a month-long operation covering Macau and parts of mainland China, as well as Hong Kong.

Christopher Stokes, from MSF, said the organisation cannot scientifically confirm the use of chemical weapons Medecins Sans Frontieres says hospitals it supports in Syria treated about 3,600 patients with "neurotoxic symptoms", of whom 355 have died. The medical charity said the patients had arrived in three hospitals in the Damascus area on 21 August - when opposition activists say chemical attac

Disturbances, such as wildfires, contribute to the reduction of carbon sequestration in Europe's forests

On the streets of Cairo it's not just a fledgling democracy that lies in ruin. US policy too is in tatters - in the eyes of many - or at least America's reputation and credibility. Since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the US has struggled to strike a balance between support for the tenuous progress towards democracy and protection of its national security interests.

Researchers have to drill through thousands of metres of ice to reach the surface of Lake Vostok There could be some complex animals living in Lake Vostok, which lies close to 4km below Antarctica's ice sheet. The possibility is raised by scientists who have sifted genetic material in ice drilled from close to Vostok's surface.

General Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi makes the televised announcement Egypt's army has removed President Mohammed Morsi from power, suspended the constitution and pledged new elections following mass protests. The army chief announced the move in a TV address. The head of the constitutional court is expected to be sworn in as interim leader on Thursday.

Hassan Rouhani: "The nuclear issue and the sanctions will also be resolved" Reformist-backed candidate Hassan Rouhani has won Iran's presidential poll outright, avoiding the need for a run-off vote. There was a high turnout among the 50 million Iranians eligible to vote for a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Thousands of people were evacuated from Magdeburg, Germany Some 23,000 people were forced to leave their homes in the east German city of Magdeburg after a dam burst on the flood-swollen River Elbe. Although water levels in Magdeburg were reported to be receding on Monday, the city and areas of the country further north remain on high alert.

The BBC's Kurt Barling: ''The police cannot rule out that this was a racist attack'' An Islamic centre in north London has been destroyed by a fire in an apparent hate crime attack. The Met Police said the fire, which happened at the Al-Rahma Islamic Centre in Muswell Hill in the early hours, is being treated as suspicious. A spokesman said the letters EDL (English Defence League) were sprayed on

Shale oil production adds economic value, but critics say the costs to the environment are also large A steeper-than-expected rise in US shale oil reserves is about to change the global balance of power between new and existing producers, a report says.

Mycorrhizae are mutualistic - they both need and are needed by the plants whose roots they inhabit Plants can communicate the onset of an attack from aphids by making use of an underground network of fungi, researchers have found. Instances of plant communication through the air have been documented, in which chemicals emitted by a damaged plant can be picked up by a neighbour.