A Swiss man was sentenced to 6 years in jail today for blackmailing some of Europe's richest women. Helg Sgarbi's most lucrative target was a member of the family has majority ownership of Germany's BMW car company. Anchor Lisa Mullins gets the scoop from Beate Wild, a reporter with Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Europe is poised to adopt some of the world's toughest controls on pesticides. But the makers and users of many pesticides warn the move could put the squeeze on Europe's food supply. The World's Gerry Hadden reports.

The World's Laura Lynch reports on the fallout from the killing of two British soldiers by gunmen opposed to Northern Ireland's peace process.

The British government has reversed its policy of shunning the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah. This has some observers wondering how the decision will effect US policy. The World's Aaron Schachter reports.

Lisa Mullins speaks with Stephen Minger, a Senior Lecturer in stem cell biology at King's College, London, about President Obama's lifting of a U.S. ban on stem cell research.

Video: President Obama on stem cell research

2005 series: The Global Race for Stem Cell Therapies

Today on The World: President Obama lifts the ban on federal funding for stem cell research; Asian markets tumble again; and an online conversation between Tibetan exiles and Chinese citizens.

As finance ministers from African countries gather in Tanzania for an IMF summit, the BBC World Service has a week of special programs looking at the effect of the global economic crisis on Africa. Reporters are investigating the cut flower business in Zambia, tourism in Senegal, and the value of remittances sent home by Africans abroad - among other stories. And the BBC teams are blogging as they go.