• Potters Bar
Rail maintenance contractor Jarvis suggested sabotage may have been responsible for the Potters Bar rail crash in which seven died. Independent analysts threw doubt on the theory, suggesting faulty maintenance instead.
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• Afghanistan
The MoD claimed the mystery illness affecting UK troops in Afghanistan was a virus called the "winter vomiting" bug, which causes dramatic sickness and diarrhoea, but is not fatal.
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• Ferry fire
Almost 800 passengers aboard the ferry Princess of Scandinavia, making its way from North Shields to Kristiansand in Norway, were sent up on deck to await evacuation when two fires broke out. The evacuation plan was cancelled when the fires were put out, and the ferry limped safely into dock eight hours late.
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• President Bush
President Bush made a robust defence against charges that he failed to respond adequately to intelligence reports on potential terrorist attacks prior to 11 September. Mr Bush said had he known an attack was imminent - he would have done all he could to stop it.
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• Afghanistan
Hundreds of Royal Marines were flown to a remote area of south-eastern Afghanistan to support an Australian SAS unit. The Australian patrol was attacked yesterday during a big operation to search for Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters.
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• Delayed flights
Long delays affected flights in and out of Britain after a computer problem at the national air traffic control centre at Swanwick in Hampshire.
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• Stephen Byers
A row broke out over remarks made by the Transport Secretary, Stephen Byers, about the government's policy on the Euro. He told journalists that he hoped legislation paving the way for a referendum on British membership of the single currency would be outlined in the autumn.
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• Asbestos
People suffering from diseases linked to exposure to asbestos celebrated a significant legal victory in their battle for compensation. The Law Lords ruled unanimously in favour of 54-year-old Edwin Matthews, who is seriously ill, and the widows of two cancer victims.
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• Amanda Dowler
Detectives investigating the disappearance of the Surrey schoolgirl, Amanda Dowler, have arrested a man. The 13-year-old was last seen walking home from the railway station at Walton on Thames, eight weeks ago.
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Wednesday 15 May
• Dutch Election
The polls closed in the Dutch general election and early indications suggested the party of the assassinated anti-immigration candidate, Pym Fortuyn, had come second. Exit polls forecast that the L.P.F. would take 26 seats in the 150 member parliament.
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• British soldiers
The Ministry of Defence ruled out any form of bio-chemical attack against British soldiers in Afghanistan - 18 of whom have fallen ill with a mystery fever. Two of the soldiers - who are all medical personnel - have been flown to the UK and Germany for treatment.
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• Llangollen murders
An elderly man and woman were found battered to death on a farm in Llangollen, in North Wales. Police say they may have been killed during a robbery.
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Tuesday 14 May
• Potters Bar rail crash
A preliminary report on the Potters Bar train crash said that poor maintenance of the track may have led to the accident. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive say locking nuts on a set of points outside the station had become detached.
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• Asylum sites
The Home Office named the areas where it is planning to build three accommodation centres for asylum seekers. There is concern that the sites are in rural areas and may not be suitable for a large influx of people.
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• Nato-Russia
Ministers from Nato countries agreed a new partnership with Russia, giving Moscow a voice in their decisions. The American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said the accord promised a new chapter in relations with Russia, while preserving Nato's ability to act independently.
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• Weapons reduction
The United States and Russia agreed to cut down their stocks of nuclear weapons. President Bush said that under a new treaty, to be signed next week in Moscow, the number of missiles would be cut by approximately two thirds - to around 2,000 each.
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• Truancy
The Education Secretary, Estelle Morris, said she was "very pleased" that the courts sent a strong signal about the unacceptability of truancy - by imprisoning a woman from Oxfordshire, who failed to stop her daughters staying away from school. Patricia Amos has been jailed for 60 days.
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• Potters Bar rail crash
The Transport Secretary, Stephen Byers, promised a formal inquiry into the Potters Bar rail crash, in which seven people died. The RMT transport union said that a track worker warned managers that the line wasn't safe three weeks before the derailment.
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Sunday 12 May
• House fire
Police in West Yorkshire questioned four people about a house fire, which is being treated as murder. Flames swept through the home of an Asian family in Huddersfield early this morning, leaving six people dead.
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• Diane Pretty
The motor neurone patient, Diane Pretty died, less than a fortnight after losing her lengthy legal battle for the right to an assisted suicide. Her family said she died at a hospice near her home at Luton in Bedfordshire.
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• Potters Bar rail crash
Railtrack said the Potters Bar rail crash was a tragic one-off that is unlikely to happen again. Seven people were killed when a set of points failed as the last carriage of the train passed over them at high speed.
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