National / International News

Prince Harry has been meeting unwell, disabled and disadvantaged children on a return trip to the southern African kingdom of Lesotho.

A group led by millionaire and former space tourist Dennis Tito plans to send a "tested couple" to Mars and back in a privately funded mission.

The National Trust loses a legal attempt to block construction of a £100m golf resort and hotel near the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim.

Stephane Hessel, the former French Resistance fighter whose 2010 manifesto Time for Outrage inspired social protesters in Europe, dies aged 95.

Nick Clegg has admitted that concerns over Lord Rennard 's behaviour were "in the background" when he resigned as Lib Dem chief executive.

Prime Minister David Cameron says the government needs to go "further and faster" on cutting the deficit, following the UK's loss of its AAA credit rating.

Approval is given to Wales' first commercial tidal energy farm off the coast of Anglesey which will supply up to 10,000 homes.

Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow as a 23-year-old. What's more, he did so in 1958, at the height of the Cold War.

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The annual Sheridan Morley Prize for theatre biography is given to Rupert Everett, judged a "clear winner" for his second memoir, Vanished Years.

The European Commission blocks a third attempt by Ryanair to take over rival Irish airline Aer Lingus, in which it already owns a 30% stake.

Residents are evacuated as a lorry containing dangerous chemical fertiliser crashes into their house.

Despite Germany's long association with beer, it looks like its citizens are imbibing less of their celebrated beverage now than they did a generation ago. Some cite the economy as a factor; others, the rise of health consciousness.

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Despite Germany's long association with beer, it looks like its citizens are imbibing less of their celebrated beverage now than they did a generation ago. Some cite the economy as a factor; others, the rise of health consciousness.

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Nearly all economists in a recent poll believe growth is "likely to be negatively affected" by the automatic federal spending cuts set to go into effect starting Friday. The $85 billion in cuts could have wide-ranging impacts, from military spending to consumer confidence.

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The medal, along with other items that belonged to the late Francis Crick, will be auctioned on April 10-11 in New York.

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Is a new NHS reforms row brewing, asks Nick Triggle

The beverage giant Anheuser Busch InBev is at loggerheads with customers in California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They've filed lawsuits saying the company's beer is watered down.

It's not complicated to measure the alcohol in beer, says Peter Reid, publisher of Modern Brewery Age. All you need is this ancient glass tool called a hydrometer. "This is a very old piece of technology. It dates back to the Greeks," he says.

Mega brewers, like InBev, now also use sophisticated computers and robots to check alcohol levels. It's doubtful they ever get it wrong. Yet that is the basis of the lawsuits, that the "5 percent alcohol by volume" label on Budweiser and other InBev U.S. beers is false. They say the beer has been watered down.

Reid says lawsuits over alcohol levels are common, but usually in the opposite direction. "Often times, beverages are pilloried for being too strong," he says. "You have products like Four Loko or malt liquors."

Beverage industry consultant Tom Pirko says the lawsuit is about more than technicalities. "It's probably really about confidence and trust. Are we really getting what we paid for?"

He says U.S. customers are already kind of suspicious of the big brewers. InBev, based in Belgium, has a reputation for cutting costs and watering down other brands it has bought. But InBev wouldn't save very much money by watering down Budweiser in the way the lawsuits claim, says beverage analyst Thomas Mullarkey at Morningstar.

"Shareholders are only rewarded if customers keep buying the beer," he says.

The risk to Budweiser's reputation would be much greater than the $5 million in damages sought by the lawsuits.

Disciplinary procedures against Lib Dem MP David Ward, criticised for comments he made about "the Jews", are adjourned by the party.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair tells Newsnight's Kirsty Wark he believes Britain should be taking a far stronger line on Syria.

Students at Cooperstown Central School recently voted to stop calling their sport teams the Redskins. In turn, an Indian tribe offered to pay for new team uniforms. Host Michel Martin talks about the gesture with Ray Halbritter, of the Oneida Nation.

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