As Geeta Aulakh tried to defend herself, her hand was chopped off by the machete-wielding gang who her husband had hired to kill her, the Old Bailey has heard.

• 14 sharesMother hacked to death for £5,000 bounty because husband could not tolerate 'mere woman' leaving him, Old Bailey told

Nicholas Robertson, 38, was treated at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff after accidentally setting his arm ablaze with a cigarette after spilling lighter fluid on himself.

• 277 comments
• 73 sharesBurns victim's amazement after NHS hospital staff wrap his blistered hand in a TESCO freezer bag

UK NEWS

• 'Heads down, stay down': Passengers' miracle escape as hero pilot lands jet using ONE WHEEL Pilot used the wing to slow the jet to a stop
• 'Hitler was a great man and the Gestapo were fabulous police': Holocaust denier David Irving on Nazi death camp tour
• Wife accused of murdering her cheating husband by setting him on fire 'only wanted to burn his genitals'
• Celebrating Israeli settlers snub PM's plea for restraint as building begins again on the West Bank after construction freeze Threat to peace talks
• Obama demands online wiretap bill to allow spooks to eavesdrop on BlackBerries and social networking sites
• 'He pulled out a grenade, throws it... and tells me we have waxed this guy': U.S. soldier describes 'murders' of three Afghan civilians
• Taliban 'want to swap kidnapped British aid worker for Pakistani scientist jailed in the U.S.' Doctor was working for a charity
• Nato helicopter air strikes INSIDE Pakistan kill more than 50 militants as key combat phase to drive out Taliban begins around Kandahar
• Partygoer, 22, shot dead and nine wounded at '$10 unlimited beer' birthday bash Steven Lopez, died after gun and knife fight in LA
• Nato helicopter air strikes INSIDE Pakistant kill more than 50 militants as key combat phase to drive out Taliban begins around Kandahar
• Disturbing pictures show Taliban militants allegedly stoning woman to death in Pakistan

UK NEWS

• Now a SECOND deadly snake hits Commonwealth Games: Cobra captured at tennis stadium Serpents blamed on monsoon rains
• Florida an kills wife and four stepchildren but spares his three biological offspring - before turning the gun on himself
• Pakistani people-smuggler on trial for raping British journalism student in Calais trapped by DNA after biting policeman
• U.S. Iraq and Afghan war veterans 'lie about having PTSD so they can see their families,' new report claims Report from Virginia Tech
• Australian soldiers to be charged over deaths of six Afghan women and children Special Operations Task Group 'hit wrong house'
• Destructive computer worm IS on staff PCs at Iran's first nuclear plant Was malicious code aimed at nuke programme?
• The tiny cage that will save their lives: Capsule built to hoist trapped Chilean miners up through 2,330ft of rock arrives
• 'I didn't see it until it was behind me': Batter's awe as Reds pitcher throws the fastest ball in history - 105mph VIDEO: Blink and you'll miss it
• Police officer stages fake arrest of boy, 15, who slept with his teenage daughter The California policeman on administrative leave
• Massive volcano 'wiped out the Neanderthals 40,000 years ago' Modern humans survived because much of their population was in Africa
• 18th century pistol taken from Italian museum is returned 66 years later after deathbed wish of British soldier with 'troubled conscience'

• FAT, FIFTY... AND A WEB FOOTBALL STAR
  
  Unemployed fisherman who practises his amazing ball skills in a car park becomes online hit
• CELESTIAL BODY: HUMAN CELLS IN SPACE
  
  These images of human cells taken on the International Space Station offer a unique insight of how the body reacts in orbit
• TREES? WE OWLS LIVE UNDERGROUND
  
  Burrowing owls live in holes dug out by other small mammals such as ground squirrels and prairie dogs
• PRINTER THAT COULD MAKE HUMAN TISSUE
  
  The printers use water and lipid molecules to form thousands of connected droplets able to perform cell functions in the bodies
• STRANGE RED ARCS OVER EUROPE
  
  Astronomers capture bizarre phenomenon caused by magnetic storms for first time
• WORLD'S FASTEST ELECTRIC CAR
  
  155mph two-seater will go 190 miles on a single charge - and cost £90,000 (allegedly)
• WANT TO BUY AGATHA CHRISTIE BEACH?
  
  Bigbury beach in Devon, a film setting for Evil Under The Sun, is up for sale
• WAKE UP AND SMILE THE COFFEE!
  
  The happy snaps showing everyday objects you can't help but raise a smile at
• STILL SAFE TO GO IN THE WATER? JAWS 2
  
  Fisherman discovers first ever two-headed bull shark
• FAT, FIFTY... AND A WEB FOOTBALL STAR
  
  Unemployed fisherman who practises his amazing ball skills in a car park becomes online hit
• CELESTIAL BODY: HUMAN CELLS IN SPACE
  
  These images of human cells taken on the International Space Station offer a unique insight of how the body reacts in orbit

Joe Kurihara, 23, of Pasadena, CA, got so intoxicated at a wedding on Saturday night that he forgot where he left his car and that his toddler son was in the vehicle.

• 74 comments
• 162 shares'Drunk' father leaves his three-year-old son in a car for 25 hours... after he forgets where he parked

There are hundreds of examples of bad parking every day, but traffic wardens were convinced this was the worst.

• 27 comments
• 130 sharesThe worst bit of parking ever seen on the streets of London or a crash course in art?

Sixth former Rowena France was found hanging at the family home in Huddersfield by her mother. She had become depressed after battling the illness.

• 29 comments
• 35 sharesTragedy of bulimic 16-year-old who hanged herself after two year battle with eating disorder

Former RAF pilot Mike Harland, 44, was killed when his ejector seat fell from the cockpit of an RAF jet during a test flight, an inquest has heard.

• 28 comments
• 15 sharesGulf War veteran killed after seat 'fell out' when Tornado jet flew upside down

More than 4,000 passengers were affected when five Tube trains suffered a power failure - and 2,000 were forced to walk 20 minutes through tunnels to escape.

• 201 comments
• 123 sharesThousands 'traumatised' as London Tube power failure forces passengers to escape through pitch black tunnels

Mel Gibson is set for a cameo role as a Bangkok tattoo artist in the sequel to the 2009 hit The Hangover - with filming expected to begin in two weeks.

• 18 comments
• 33 sharesMel's comeback: Troubled Gibson to return to the big screen in The Hangover sequel

• IS THIS THE UGLIEST SHARK EVER?
  
  Terrifying Mako can swim at 100kmh and is one of the deadliest killers under the sea
• I'M A CHINESE FARMER. GET ME OUT OF HERE!
  
  Chan Lai was rescued from a 30ft deep sludge pit
• UR, IS THIS ABRAHAM'S LOST CITY?
  
  Huge building complex unearthed in Iraq near ancient civilisation of Ur
• SEEING STARS? AMAZING CATARACT
  
  An Austrian man who was punched in the eye has developed a cataract shaped like a star
• IT'S A MINI-ME CATHEDRAL
  
  Wooden pop-up church is built next to Manchester cathedral while it is renovated
• IS THAT WHAT THE BIG BANG LOOKED LIKE?
  
  Astronomical image shows the split-second after universe began... and reveals the 'oldest light' ever cast on the sky
• I'M A BOY! BUT I LOVE MY HAIR
  
  Little boy, 3, to have 2ft-long hair cut off for charity because he keeps being mistaken for a girl
• FAST AS LIGHTNING!
  
  The real life Kung Fu pandas battle in the snow
• FORGET 4x4, NOW IT'S SIX BY SIX
  
  Mercedes launches G63 - their first six-wheeled model since the Nazi era
• IS THIS THE UGLIEST SHARK EVER?
  
  Terrifying Mako can swim at 100kmh and is one of the deadliest killers under the sea
• I'M A CHINESE FARMER. GET ME OUT OF HERE!
  
  Chan Lai was rescued from a 30ft deep sludge pit