A security guard stands at the entrance to Kabul Bank in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photograph: S Sabawoon/EPA Afghan authorities today attempted to prevent a potentially catastrophic run on the country’s biggest bank after allegations of corruption and mismanagement led regulators to replace... 

The Lancet has cautioned against home births after guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Photograph: Denis Closon/Rex Features “Nobody likes a dead baby.” It wasn’t quite the advice I’d hoped for from my GP when discussing our home birth,... 

Pakistan’s devastating floods highlight how climate change is having “a profound effect on global food security”. Photograph: Horace Murray/Reuters Soaring commodity prices and natural disasters in Russia and Pakistan have combined to put African nations and conflict-ridden... 

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke led the US economy through most severe recession since the 1930s. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters 2.47pm: How was Lehman Brothers’ failure different from AIG, which was bailed out by the government? The question is asked by panel vice-chairman Bill... 

Billboard advertising Sky’s HDTV. Photograph: Peter Bradshaw BSkyB has signed up the 3 millionth subscriber to its high definition (HD) television service just over four years after it was launched in the UK. Nearly 50 channels are available in high definition on the Sky digital satellite...