Now, 50 years on, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is set to be honoured with a statue on London's Mall. The monument - which will be the first of a Soviet-era Russian in the capital - is due to be unveiled in July, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's historic visit to Britain three months after his space mission.

Royal wedding fever sweeping the Western world is making its way across Canada, including Quebec, despite conflicting emotions among Quebecois over the monarchy's role in the francophone province... In Montreal, 25-year-old Alexandra Arbour, a medical student, proudly displays her royal collectibles...

Twenty-four young Israelis will leave Thursday for a 10-day trip to what some would consider the lion’s den of anti-Israel propaganda and incitement – British university campuses – to combat anti-Israel messages students there are receiving from Israel Apartheid Week activities.

British citizens facing great danger in Libya have a right to expect more than David Cameron's shambolic, incompetent government gave them last week.

In a 2010 BBC survey, respondents in Egypt, Pakistan, Kenya and Turkey were asked how much they would miss the services of the BBC, CNN International, Voice of America or Al Jazeera. The Egyptian respondents said they would miss the BBC more than Al Jazeera.

The World Service has a unique ethos little understood in the UK. Most people in Britain know of, but seldom listen to, the English language radio service – but the bulk of the weekly 180 million audience to listen in their own languages – 45 of them a decade ago, 31 of them today, 26 of them following last week's cuts.

Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed concern at the violence surrounding today’s protests, calling for all involved to refrain from violence.

This will make the corporation drop five of its language services, end radio programmes in seven languages affecting major countries such as China and Russia, and reduce broadcasts of most short wave and medium wave radio services.