Iran's opposition leader has reportedly called for a mass rally on Thursday in a direct challenge to the nation's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi is apparently urging his supporters to keep protesting over a disputed election and the alleged deaths of demonstrators.
Junior Treasury minister Kitty Ussher has resigned from the Government, saying she did not want to "embarrass" Gordon Brown.
Her decision to step down follows allegations over her claims for parliamentary expenses.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Burnley MP said she had not abused the expenses system, but did not want to cause "any embarrassment" to him or his Government.
The Daily Telegraph reported last month that within months of being elected in 2005, Ms Ussher asked the Commons authorities to fund extensive refurbishment of her Victorian family home in South London, including the removal of a "bad taste" Artex ceiling.
Further revelations about Ms Ussher's expenses are expected to be published in Thursday's Daily Telegraph.
Ms Ussher was moved to the post of Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury just 12 days ago in Mr Brown's most recent reshuffle.
She had previously served in a more junior role at the Treasury before spending nine months at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Explaining her decision to quit, she said: "I arrived at this decision because I do not want to cause you or the Government any embarrassment.
"I did not do anything wrong. At all times, my actions have been in line with HM Revenue and Customs guidance and based on the advice of a reputable firm of accountants who in turn were recommended to me by the House of Commons Fees Office.
"Neither have I abused the allowance system of the House of Commons in any way."
She added: "I support your leadership and am 100% loyal to the Labour Party which is why I do not wish to cause you or the party any difficulties."
Ms Ussher, 38, who has two children aged under five, said she had come to the decision "some time ago" to leave Parliament at the next election for family reasons.
She said in today's letter: "The hours of Parliament simply don't work with the kids. There is no other reason for this decision."
Downing Street announced that Portsmouth North MP Sarah McCarthy-Fry was being moved to the Treasury to replace Ms Ussher.
MsMcCarthy-Fry has only been in her current job at the Department for Communities and Local Government for less than a fortnight.
She was given responsibility for local democracy and council finance in the recent reshuffle.
A No 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister has accepted the resignation of Kitty Ussher.
"Sarah McCarthy-Fry has been appointed as her replacement. A successor to Ms McCarthy-Fry will be announced in due course."
Gordon Brown has condemned the racist attacks which forced more than 100 Romanian immigrants to flee their homes in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Frightened men, women and children, including a five-day-old baby girl, had to take refuge in a local church on Tuesday night after they were targeted by thugs.
A tax on telephone lines will help pay for ambitious plans to rewire Britain so that super-fast broadband is available to all, it has been revealed.
The newly-released Digital Britain report proposes charging households with landlines an extra 50p a month to subsidise broadband provision in rural areas.
It aims to ensure every home in Britain has access to 2MB-per-second broadband by 2012 - a speed fast enough to use online shopping services and social networks.
Commenting on the levy, Sky's Ursual Errington said: "It is a form of tax and will have to go through legislative processes and a consultation period.
"This shows how seriously the Government is taking this idea of a broadband roll-out to as many people as possible."
Meanwhile, those who misuse broadband will be targeted by new measures outlined in the report.
They would give communications regulator Ofcom new powers to clamp down on people who persistently download music and films illegally.
Introducing the report, Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw told MPs that the Government intended to upgrade all national radio stations from analogue to digital by 2015.
He also spoke about changes to the licence fee spending, which could see part of the cash ring-fenced to pay for public service programmes on non-BBC channels.
This could amount to £130m a year from 2013 for ITV local news, shows for children and other important but less profitable programming.
The cash will come from the pot that had been put aside to pay for the switchover to digital - which is expected to come in under budget.
In an article written for the Times newspaper before the Digital Britain report release, the Prime Minister said he he believed there was an urgent need to invest in internet and telecoms networks.
"Just as the bridges, roads and railways built in the 19th century were the foundations of an Industrial Revolution that helped Britain to become the workshop of the world, so investment now in the information and communications industries can underpin our emergence from recession," he wrote.
Iran's supreme leader has ordered a partial recount of presidential election votes if required as thousands of protesters rallied for another day in Tehran.
In what appeared to be a first concession by authorities to the biggest street demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the election supervisory body to probe the vote-rigging claims.
"I am asking the Guardians Council and the interior ministry to examine the said issues so there is no doubt left," he said, state television reported.
"If the examination of the problems require recounting of some ballot boxes, it should be definitely done in the presence of the representatives of candiates so that everybody is assured."
Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner after Friday's vote.
His opponent Mirhossein Mousavi then called for an annulment, claiming irregularities in the count.
But the powerful council rejected the plea, sparking political turmoil.
Mr Mousavi's supporters are outraged at what they see as a victory that has been stolen from them by fraud.
Some have used the internet messaging service Twitter to express their frustration, and Sky News Online has been following their updates to find out about the changing situation on the ground.
When asked by Sky News' US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua whether the White House was also monitoring Twitter for information, press secretary Robert Gibbs said he would check - both with the White House and the National Security Council.
Supporters of Mr Mousavi said they planned to rally on Tuesday despite the deaths of seven people a day earlier on the fringes of a huge march through the streets of the capital, Tehran.
Video images have since been released of a man, believed to be a member of a pro-government militia, firing a machine gun from the window of a compound as crowds surround the building.
Dramatic footage showing Iran shooting
Corroboration of the claims has been prevented by an official ban on foreign media from covering such events.
Sky's foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall, in Tehran, said: "Most of the demonstrators have been peaceful, but it is clear there are some among them ready to make a fight of it.
"The crisis in this country is not just about the election. Behind the anger of the alleged vote theft lies something much deeper - frustration at living in a theocracy."
Iranian state television said on Tuesday the "main agents" in the post-election unrest had been arrested with explosives and guns.
Further protests would be a direct challenge to the authorities who have kept a tight grip on political dissent since the 1979 overthrow of the US-backed Shah after months of demonstrations.
Despite protests and upheaval in Iran, Mr Ahmadinejad has gone to Russia for talks on his first foreign trip since official results showed he secured a second four-year term.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes Russia and China, congratulated him on his win.
US President Barack Obama said the protests reflected the fact that many people in Iran were unhappy with their government's "antagonistic postures" towards other countries.
"There are people who want to see greater openness, greater debate, greater democracy," he said.
"I stand strongly with the universal principle that people's voices should be heard."
Iran's opposition leader has reportedly called for a mass rally on Thursday in a direct challenge to the nation's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Chancellor Alistair Darling has said there is "growing evidence" Government measures have stabilised the banking system and the economy.
Junior Treasury minister Kitty Ussher has resigned from the Government, saying she did not want to "embarrass" Gordon Brown.
The Governor of the Bank of England has said the Government must produce a plan to repay national debt.
Gordon Brown has condemned the racist attacks which forced more than 100 Romanian immigrants to flee their homes in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
A tax on telephone lines will help pay for ambitious plans to rewire Britain so that super-fast broadband is available to all, it has been revealed.
Iran's supreme leader has ordered a partial recount of presidential election votes if required as thousands of protesters rallied for another day in Tehran.
