Backpacker blaze A fire in a backpackers' hostel in Queensland claimed the lives of 15 people including six Britons. Australian police shot in the arm and captured 37-year-old Robert Paul Long, who was suspected of starting the fire. Reports say that Long had harboured a grudge against the hostel after being thrown out for not paying his bill.

Zimbabwe elections President Robert Mugabe's ruling party scraped to victory in the parliamentary elections. Zanu-PF won 62 of a possible 120 directly elected seats, with the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) winning 57 seats. The MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said that his party would have won had it not been for the state-sponsored terror campaign in the run-up to voting.

Wimbledon The rain held off, but the British sporting figures kept falling. Greg Rusedski was beaten in the match he "couldn't lose" against the American Vince Spadea, who hadn't won a match since last October. All hopes now rest on Tim Henman, who at least reached the second round.

Another step towards peace? A lasting peace in Northern Ireland drew nearer as the IRA opened up a substantial part of its hidden store of guns and bombs to outside scrutiny. The gesture from the IRA could help restore Unionist confidence in the power-sharing executive.

No warning Declassified Second World War documents revealed that British and American leaders were aware of Nazi intentions to round up Italian Jews, but failed to warn them. British intelligence knew of a plan to deport 8,000 Jews in Rome to Auschwitz five days before it happened.

One for the mantelpiece The New Statesman won the magazine category in this year's Creative Freedom Awards. It was praised for "putting politics under the microscope and bringing readers the best of what's new in the world of literature, art and culture". Definitely worth a read.