The US maker of "pink slime", Beef Products Inc, says it will suspend production at three plants until public opposition to the product dies down.

US stocks finish higher after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hints the US central bank will keep in place its supportive monetary policy.

Video footage filmed by Mohamed Merah, who killed seven people in south-west France, is sent to the al-Jazeera TV station, police sources say.

The UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, says there was a 20% rise in the number of people seeking asylum in industrialised countries in 2011.

The funeral of Tonga's late king, George Tupou V, takes place in Nuku'alofa, with thousands of mourners lining the streets from the palace to the royal tombs.

Amnesty International says there was an "alarming" surge in the number of executions being carried out in a small number of countries last year.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in Cuba for radiotherapy following a recurrence of his cancer first treated last year.

The highest court in the Canadian province of Ontario rules in favour of brothel and pimping, overturning two national laws regulating the sex trade.