Martin Wainwright reports from Cockermouth in Cumbria after the worst rainfall on record causes devastating floods.
Education editor Polly Curtis assesses fresh criticisms of Ofsted from MPs, headteachers and children's services heads.
Ed Pilkington reports from New York on the Birthers, rightwing conspiracy theorists who challenge the legitimacy of Barack Obama's presidency, arguing that he is not American.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has sparked controversy in a speech to socialist politicians. As Rory Carroll reports from Caracas, Chávez praised Carlos the Jackal, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Robert Mugabe and Idi Amin.
Ahead of its London premiere in the spring, we hear from Geoff Smith, the inventor of the world's first microtonally fluid piano, a new keyboard instrument that can glide between notes, and from musician Pam Chowhan.
