British police have arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of causing criminal damage to the national war memorial, the Cenotaph. A man was photographed swinging from the British flag at the Cenotaph in London last week during protests against higher university tuition fees. The suspect is thought to be Charlie Gilmour, the son of the guitarist, David Gilmour, from the band Pink Floyd. He has apologised for his actions.

The Sri Lankan cabinet has abolished the Tamil version of the country's national anthem, saying it must be sung now only in the language of the Sinhalese majority. The Tamil version had been in use mainly in the north and east where most Tamils live. Here's Marianne Landzettel from our South Asia desk.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said to have a version in Sinhala and Tamil was a shortcoming that needed to be rectified. Everyone should think of Sri Lanka as one country. The decision comes 18 months after the civil war ended with the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels, who fought for an independent Tamil state. The Tamil anthem was an exact translation of the Sinhala version, sung to the same tune, and had been in use since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948.

World News from the BBC in London

A study by Canadian scientists says people in Africa are brimming with clever and cheap ideas to solve health problems but rarely get the support they need to make them a success. The scientists say it's not just a question of money, as Simon Ponsford reports.