A plan to regulate the British press as a result of the country's phone-hacking scandal was signed by Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday despite the objections of publishers who sought a court order to block such a measure. The royal charter approved by the queen and the nation's major political parties calls for the creation of a watchdog group designed to curb the type of abuses revealed by the scandal.

London is set to abandon plans to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the BBC has learned. Mayor Boris Johnson is said to be worried the event could cost as much as £1bn and that the city could not afford it. He had previously backed the plans. A final decision has not been made, but a source said a bid was "unlikely".

Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, visits the Getty Villa in Los Angeles to highlight what the ancient Cyrus Cylinder holds for cultural diplomacy. On loan from the British Museum, the Persian Cylinder represents a step toward government acknowledgement of basic human rights-- namely, a written acknowledgment of the freedom to practice religion without persecution from the state.

As the world's second largest economy, the fastest growing economy in the G20 and with more than a trillion dollars sitting in various sovereign wealth funds, China has quite a bit of cash to invest. And as the chart below shows, in recent years it has begun loosening the purse strings - in 2005, the Chinese government and Chinese companies collectively invested about $17bn (£11bn) in global assets, according The Heritage Foundation. Last year they invested almost $130bn.

It would be "economic suicide" for Britain to leave the European Union, Nick Clegg has warned. The deputy PM said a new "coalition in the national interest" was needed to make the case for membership, and asked businesses and charities to help. He attacked David Cameron's proposed referendum, calling it a "short-sighted political calculation" which could see the UK "stumble out" of the EU.

Africa is now home to 55 billionaires, up from previous estimates of 16-25 billionaires, new research has found. These super rich are worth a combined total of $143.88bn (£89.27bn). The UK, in contrast, is home to 84 billionaires, worth a nearly £250bn, according to the 2013 Sunday Times Rich List.

Britons have had some good economic news to celebrate over the past few months. Unemployment is falling, house prices in England hit a record high in July and economic output appears to be growing at its fastest pace since 2010.

While Muslim women wearing niqabs in Britain might be a constant bugbear for EDL types, it's generally not something the rest of the population are particularly concerned about. But once every couple of years, a "niqabi" demands the right to keep wearing the veil in a situation where other people think it shouldn't be worn, so it becomes a Big Deal for a while and the media kick up a grand, preachy fuss until it all blows over.