World News from the BBC

The trial has begun in Cuba of a number of people accused of being responsible for the deaths of 26 patients in a psychiatric hospital in Havana a year ago. The accused include the hospital director and several doctors. The deaths from hypothermia during a cold snap exposed failings in Cuba's free public health system, which the communist government

hail

s as one of the main achievements of its rule.

A member of the British House of Lords has gone on trial accused of submitting false expense claims for more than $17,000. Lord Taylor of Warwick resigned from the Conservative Party after he was charged last year with false accounting, which he denies. The prosecution alleged he'd made claims on the basis of falsified travel expenses.

Italian prosecutors are accusing the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of providing a series of apartments for use by young women

in exchange for

sex. Prosecutors are seeking

authorisation

to search properties linked to Mr Berlusconi. It's part of an investigation into allegations that he paid for sex with a belly dancer known as Ruby when she was 17, below the legal age for a prostitute. They both deny having had a sexual relationship.

Scientists in the United States have warned that new varieties of grape need to be developed to secure the future of wine-making. Nearly all types of grape in use today belong to one species, meaning that they are