The Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has launched an unprecedented attack on the Vatican, accusing the Roman Catholic hierarchy of putting the power and reputation of the Church ahead of child rape victims. He told parliament that the latest inquiry into the cover-up of clerical sexual abuse exposed a dysfunctional elitist Church determined to frustrate investigations. Mark Simpson reports.

Historically, the Catholic Church has been revered in Ireland, not least by successive Irish governments, not any more. The Prime Minister Enda Kenny said the Church's handling of child sex abuse scandals had been deplorable. He accused the Vatican of deliberately playing down the rape and torture of children in order to try to protect its reputation. Mr Kenny said the relationship between the Church and the State in Ireland would never be the same again.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron has defended his integrity to a special session of parliament called to debate the phone-hacking scandal, which has rocked the police, the political establishment and the media empire of Rupert Murdoch. Mr Cameron said that with hindsight, he wouldn't have employed a former newspaper editor, Andy Coulson, who was arrested over the hacking allegations earlier this month. Here's Naomi Grimley.

This was the closest yet that David Cameron has come to admitting it was a mistake to hire Andy Coulson. He said that if the former editor of the News of the World was found guilty of any crimes, it would be a matter of profound regret. In the meantime, though, the prime minister would stick to the principle that a man was innocent until proven guilty. The leader of the opposition Ed Miliband said that wasn't good enough. He argued the prime minister had been compromised by his links with Andy Coulson, and that that in turn had made it difficult for the police to do their job.

The United States says it will allow its aid to be sent to famine-affected areas of Somalia controlled by the Islamist al-Shabab militia as long as none of it is used to benefit the militants. An official with the American agency USAid said it would need the assurance of the United Nations that the aid wouldn't be taxed by al-Shabab. The BBC Africa editor says this represents a big change in policy for the US, which has previously refused to send aid to areas controlled by al-Shabab.

The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has warned that history will judge Europe's leaders harshly if they fail to outline a clear solution to the current financial crisis. Mr Barroso said European leaders, who are meeting on Thursday, needed to provide clarity on future financial support for Greece, and he had this stark assessment of the situation.

"Nobody should be under any illusion. The situation is very serious. It requires a response. Otherwise, the negative consequences will be felt in all corners of Europe and beyond."

World News from the BBC

Intense fighting has continued around the eastern Libyan town of Brega as rebel fighters seek to expel forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi. Brega, an important oil centre, has changed hands several times during the five-month-old conflict. On another front of the war, rebel forces in Misrata, in western Libya, say Nato air support has allowed them to advance further against government forces.

An international group of health experts has warned that a global target to wipe out polio by the end of next year is likely to be missed. The disease, which causes irreversible paralysis, affected about 1,000 children worldwide last year. The experts say countries like India and Afghanistan have made great progress through vaccination campaigns, but the disease has resurfaced in Chad and is on the rise in Pakistan.

The Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has proposed a referendum on whether the United States should pay compensation for its role in the Nicaraguan civil war during the 1980s. Mr Ortega, who's running for a third consecutive term, told supporters celebrating the anniversary of the Sandinista revolution that damage caused by the US in Nicaragua amounted to $17bn. The US says it's already paid compensation.

An anonymous donor in Denmark has left nearly $200,000 in a clothes recycling bin outside a charity shop run by the Red Cross. The secretary of the local Red Cross branch is Birgit Dam.

"It's not every day that we get that kind of money. We found it in an ordinary plastic bag among some nice clothes. There were 10 envelopes in the bag with all the money inside them, and in another envelope, there was a message which said 'To the Danish Red Cross, from anonymous. Have collected for 40 years.'"

Staff at the shop say they are very grateful, but the police have asked the donor to come forward so they can make sure that the money isn't connected with any crime.

BBC News