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The US telecoms firm Verizon is to pay $4.4bn (£2.8bn) for AOL in a deal that will see it enter the competitive online video market. Verizon Communications said it was to pay $50 per AOL share –  a 15% premium to AOL’s closing price on Monday. The purchase of AOL, which has The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget in its stable, allows Verizon to not only enter the mobile video space but also grow its advertising platforms. New York-based AOL, which launched its first online service 30 years ago, is the largest wireless carrier in the US, as well as…

Liberia’s held an official celebration of the country being declared free of Ebola. The government and the World Health Organisation made the announcement on Saturday after 42 days without a new case. During Liberia’s year-long epidemic 4,700 people died – more than any other country. A public holiday was declared so pupils and workers could celebrate the virus being brought under control on Monday. The outbreak still isn’t over in neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone. Liberians took to the streets with signs and posters with messages like “We will always overcome” and “We are the winner”. Others danced, played drums…

Oil firm Royal Dutch Shell has won approval from the US Department of Interior to explore for oil in the Arctic. The approval depends on Shell getting a nod from other US regulators, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said. Shell stopped Arctic exploration more than two years ago after problems including an oil rig fire and safety failures. Environmental campaigners oppose the move. Shell has spent about $6bn (£3.85bn) on exploration in the Arctic – a region estimated to have about 20% of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas. The Anglo-Dutch company wants to drill up to six wells…

US Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during his first visit to Russia since the Ukraine crisis began in early 2014. Mr Putin’s spokesman called the visit a “positive step” and said the Russian leader was prepared for “extensive” discussions at the meeting in Sochi. Mr Kerry is also meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The West accuses Russia of arming rebels in eastern Ukraine and sending troops there – charges Moscow denies. More than 6,000 people have been killed since fighting began in April 2014 between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels in…

The Conservative Party has gained an overall majority, having won 329 seats. David Cameron has met with the Queen at Buckingham Palace and will be returning to 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister. Counting continues but Conservatives have already won a majority with 329 seats. Ed Miliband resigned the Labour leadership at midday. Harriet Harmon will take over interim leadership. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has resigned Lib Dem leadership.  Nigel Farage has resigned from Ukip following defeat in Thanet South.   A disastrous night for the Liberal Democrats saw Business Secretary Vince Cable lose his seat. Ed Balls failed to hold…

David Cameron says he hopes to govern for all of the UK His party made gains in England and Wales, including taking Ed Balls’ seat. Two senior Labour sources have said that Ed Miliband is expected to stand down later after Labour was all but wiped out by the SNP in Scotland. The Lib Dems are heading for as few as eight MPs while UKIP leader Nigel Farage failed to win Thanet South. Mr Farage, who lost to the Conservatives by nearly 2,800 votes in the Kent seat, has said he would step down if he did not make it to…

They queued up for brand new clothes and flip-flops – cellophane-wrapped dresses for the girls and matching shirts and shorts for the boys. For the rescued children this donation, from Red Cross Nigeria and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was the first chance to get out of the tattered clothes they had been wearing for months, since the very day they were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Handing out clothes to the women and children as well as buckets, towels and soap is the easy part. It is much harder to help them recover from the physical and…

A man who allegedly randomly attacked a toddler in China’s Shaanxi province has been arrested, state media report. Security camera footage of a man repeatedly stamping on the two-year-old on a pavement in Luochuan County has sparked outrage in China. It became the most talked-about topic on social media, with many criticising people who passed by without helping. The child suffered skull fractures but was not in a life-threatening condition, said Xinhua news agency. The 28-year-old man, surnamed Wang, is believed to have mental health problems, said Xinhua. He was detained late on Thursday. The video showed the child playing…

The US military has begun training a small group of Syrian rebels in an effort to build a force capable of defeating Islamic State militants. Ashton Carter, US defence secretary, said about 90 people were being trained in a secure location, and they would be paid by the United States. He said more fighters would begin training soon at sites in Jordan, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Supporting the troops militarily on the battlefield has not been ruled out. Nearly 4,000 fighters volunteered for the programme but, after an extensive screening process, only 400 were given places. “We’re starting with…

Events are being held across Europe to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two on the continent. European leaders gathered in the Polish port of Gdansk for a midnight ceremony at the site where the first shots of the war were fired. The Gdansk commemoration was seen as a slight to Russia’s Victory Parade on Saturday, which has been boycotted by Western leaders because of Ukraine. There will also be ceremonies in Paris, London, Berlin, as well as Washington. The commemoration in Gdansk was marked with a 21-gun salute on the stroke of midnight. Beams of…