Robert De Niro has walked out of the movie he was due to star in with Mel Gibson.
Drunk russian athlete hits the bar
Russian athlete Ivan Ukhov is for the high jump after taking part in a major meet while boozed up on Red Bull and vodka.
Music review: After the demise of his cult shoegazing outfit Slowdive, Neil Halstead turned his attention to sweet alt-country pop twangs.
Emiliana torrini delivers spooky icelandic pop
Music review: Icelandic chanteuse Emiliana Torrini again teams up with producer Dan Carey for this new collection of dainty, autumnal pop.
Music review: The benchmark for boy bands was defined by New Kids On The Block - but their return after 14 years feels too calculated.
Tm juke and the jack baker trio mess about
DJ/producer/musician TM Juke and Jack Baker (sole member of the Jack Baker Trio) originally planned to make an album of covers, all worked over in a batucada/samba style.
Neil halstead: oh! mighty engine
After the demise of his cult shoegazing outfit Slowdive, Neil Halstead turned his attention to sweet alt-country pop twangs.
Emiliana torrini: me and armini
Icelandic chanteuse Emiliana Torrini again teams up with producer Dan Carey for this new collection of dainty, autumnal pop.
New kids on the block: the block
The benchmark for boy bands was defined by New Kids On The Block - but their return after 14 years feels too calculated.
Tm juke and the jack baker trio: boto and the second liners
DJ/producer/musician TM Juke and Jack Baker (sole member of the Jack Baker Trio) originally planned to make an album of covers, all worked over in a batucada/samba style.
Terraces with a twist for glasvegas
Music review: The depressing notion of terrace indie - ie lowest common denominator singalong guitar rock for the beer-swilling footy fan - is thrillingly destroyed by Glasgow quartet Glasvegas.
Nanny to the stars jailed for three years
A nanny to the stars who injured a baby was jailed for three years today. German-born Jasmin Schmidt, 34, showed no emotion as the judge told her she should be ashamed.
Horoscopes are true, claim scientists
Think reading your stars is a load of rubbish? Not according to boffins who say they are linked to good health.
Britain can do well in new world, says brown
Gordon Brown insisted today that Britain could do "well indeed" out of the present challenges facing the country.
The FTSE 100 was stuck at 5440.2, up 199.5 points, and the FTSE 250 was stuck at 9327, up 360.2 points, at 11.35am this morning – stuck because the London Stock Exchange suspended connections after traders reported problems with its trading platform.
Fair public sector pay rises are affordable, say barber
The leader of the TUC today delivered a blunt message to the Government on public sector wages, saying decent rises for millions of workers could be afforded.
Newcastle assistant boss Terry McDermott and reserve team coach Adam Sadler have left the club.
Share trading frozen by technical glitch
Trading on the London Stock Exchange ground to a halt today after a technical glitch froze the market.
Broadband for every home could cost £30bn
Installing high speed broadband in every home in the UK could cost almost £30bn, an industry report said today.
New £150m strategy to boost manufacturing
The Government today unveiled a new strategy for manufacturing, bringing together £150m of support for companies.
Red kite reintroduced after 200 years and killed within weeks
An endangered bird of prey reintroduced to Northern Ireland after a 200-year absence has been found shot dead, it emerged yesterday.
Nationwide to merge with two smaller societies
Mortgage lender Nationwide today announced mergers with smaller mutuals the Derbyshire and Cheshire building societies.
today in politics: tories dilute green tax pledge
A further sign today that the Conservative Party may water down its commitment to bring in green taxes. I have been banging on about this for a while, but the Tory leadership has always denied that David Cameron is cooling on the idea.
A row of clothes, including a delicate pink silk blouse and a black cocktail dress, hang artfully from a length of rope in the Whistles showroom, like the prettiest of washing lines. It might not be a Paris catwalk, but these pieces are some of the most eagerly awaited of the season. This is the first Whistles collection to be overseen by its new chief executive and stakeholder, Jane Shepherdson, the celebrated former brand director of Topshop.
Dogs with a nose for pirate dvds take the lead in police campaign
Sniffer dogs trained to detect the plastics used in DVDs are spearheading the police’s fight against the flourishing £200 million trade in pirated films.
10 extraordinary stories you may have missed
If, in common with it seems half the population of the UK, you have been if not physically on holiday then at least not giving the news agenda your full attention, then you may have missed some of the remarkable events that took place during the July/August ‘silly season’. Here are ten of our favourites:
Ofqual outlines new diplomas that focus on lessons in life
The history of hairstyles and the importance of personal hygiene will be taught to pupils taking new diplomas, according to guidelines released yesterday.
Thought house prices had crashed here? in sicily they cost one euro
The villas are set in the Sicilian hills, with spectacular views over the Mediterranean. Your future neighbours could be celebrities such as Peter Gabriel, the Genesis singer, and Massimo Moratti, the owner of the Inter Milan football team.
Motorcycle leaves others standing at record sale
London A vintage motorcycle built in the 1930s set a British record when it sold for more than £200,000 at auction this week.
Movie-makers name their classic films of the past 75 years
Read the full list of Visions for the Future
Four-day week for french schools is hard lesson for unions
Ten million French children returned to the classroom yesterday to find their lessons crammed into a four-day week — a revolution that delighted families but drew criticism from experts.
Introducing glamour model katie price – the new face of british equestrianism
It is the moving story of one glamour model’s struggle to be accepted in the equestrian Establishment, leaping all the barriers that the British class system could place in her way.
After new orleans - would you move here?
It was a close shave, but New Orleans just managed to escape Hurricane Gustav’s onslaught on Monday. But the stark truth is that the city’s days are numbered. Its fate was sealed in 1717, when French explorer Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville chose a sharp bend in the Mississippi River to found “Nouvelle-Orleans”, in the teeth of opposition from his chief engineer, who warned him of flooding ahead.
Invest with the cream of society
WHAT the wealthy do with their money is a closely guarded secret, but investors can follow in their footsteps by buying into family-owned funds.
Heroin addict elephant big brother goes home after three year detox
A heroin addict elephant who was kept doped up with drug-laced bananas by animal smugglers will return home this weekend after emerging clean from a three-year detox programme.
A sterling pounding but not a bloodbath
Friendless, lonely, unloved. No, not the opening line of my misery memoirs but poor old sterling, which is looking sicklier than an old green pound note.
Need to know: industrial fears ... bbc in talks ... opec summit
Economics
Tough times ahead for the first dame of the lse, clara furse
It was all going so well for Clara Furse, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange. She had seen off four potential bidders, seen the share price of her company touch 2,000p on New Year’s Eve - some 800p above the only formal offer that had been tabled by Nasdaq, a rival American exchange.
Bg group suffers blow as origin strikes new deal
BG Group’s hopes of completing an $11 billion ($£6.2bn) bid for one of Australia’s biggest energy companies has been dealt a severe blow after its target struck a lucrative contract with America’s ConocoPhilips.
It is no time to retire as the gloom deepens
Nearly one in three people are putting off retirement because they cannot afford to stop working amid economic uncertainty, or because they do not want to retire, a CBI survey has found.
Management briefing: samples and scents
We all know that the smell of doughnuts wafting across the supermarket car park is intended to make us want to rush to the bakery section, and those samples that are handed out in the aisles are handy for promoting hard-to-shift products. However, just how effective they are at inducing customers to part with cash has been a subject of debate.
Nationwide confirms cheshire and derbyshire deals
Nationwide today confirmed that it is taking over the Derbyshire and the Cheshire building societies, two smaller rivals which have been forced into loss by the credit crunch.
Sculptures flourish in chatsworth’s gardens
A giant sculpture of a seven-month-old baby, entitled Planet, by the artist Marc Quinn, provides a surreal contrast to the grandeur of Chatsworth House and the Derbyshire countryside.
Queen enjoys her annual highland fling
The Royal Family were greeted by a crowd of about 16,000 as they watched the Highland Games at the annual Braemar Gathering. The Queen, who is patron of the Aberdeenshire event, was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales. She received a posy from Niamh Upton, 11, a member of the Braemar Royal Highland Society’s Highland Dancing Class, before taking her seat for the games, which included caber-tossing, pipes and drums and tug-of-war. In the crowd was Margaret West, 61, of Brisbane, Australia, who said: “The royal presence is the cherry on the cake.”
Once more unto the breach for humpback whale
A humpback whale is caught on camera leaping from the sea, one of the most spectacular sights in the natural world. The picture was taken two miles out from the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast, by Ross Newham, 41, a wildlife enthusiast of Maidstone, Kent. He was on a birdwatching trip when the whale breached.
Minister apologises for intimate text messages
A junior health minister has said that he “apologises unreservedly” after sending dozens of text messages to an assistant in his private office.
High-flyer aims for 150,000ft sky dive record
A Commonwealth Games cyclist has quit his job in the world of finance to break the record set in 1960 for the highest sky dive.
It could get worse on the way to a record, sodden september
After such an abysmal summer it hardly seemed that the weather could get much worse, but the weekend was yet another great washout. The finger of blame points, again, at the jet stream, the high-level winds that whip around the globe at great speed and help to drag depressions across the Atlantic to Britain.
‘my mother’s 89 and has lost everything. the power of the water was unbelievable’
An upturned fridge-freezer, resting alongside a park bench on the roof of a detritus-strewn Volkswagen, told the story of the havoc wreaked by a surge of flood water in a small Northumberland market town.
Made by stradivari, played by 007 sister: the cello set to break hearts and records
A cello made by Antonio Stradivari and once owned by one of Britain’s best musicians is to be sold at an online auction next month – the first time such a rare, valuable instrument has found its way on to the internet.
Hunt begins for missing data on prison officers
A computer company delivering the national identity card scheme was frantically hunting yesterday for a lost computer drive containing 5,000 personnel files, including the private details of prison officers.
Call for curb on ‘work-permit britons’
A proposal to cap the numbers of immigrants settling in Britain after entering on work permits has been called “divisive and wasteful of talent”.
Let pupils abandon spelling rules, says academic
Children are being held back at school because they are forced to memorise irregular spellings and learn how to use the apostrophe, a leading academic will claim this week.
Nationwide building society set to merge with the derbyshire and the cheshire
Nationwide is expected to announce that it is taking over two smaller rivals in a deal that will value the building society at £191 billion.
Help families to cut their bills or else, energy giants warned
Ministers are holding the threat of a windfall tax over energy companies to win guarantees that the costs of new moves to cut household bills will not be passed on to consumers, The Times has learnt.
Dentist to open at supermarket checkout
Supermarket shoppers will soon be able to get their teeth polished, or pay for that all important filling, when out buying their groceries.
Wind of change on farms as cows help to save the earth
Hundreds of cattle in Britain are being fed a new diet to reduce their burping and cut emissions of greenhouse gas.
‘winter of discontent’ looms as a million workers vote on strikes
Strikes involving more than one million workers could throw schools and public services into chaos this winter as unions prepare to take on the Government over public sector pay.
All aboard in 30 seconds, orders thrifty rail company
Rail passengers might be advised to think twice about dawdling the next time they board a carriage, after a move by a train company to close doors more quickly in an effort to save money.
Eight killed as weekend of rain leads to floods across britain
Flooding and severe storms led to the deaths of at least eight people and the evacuation of hundreds of families as relentless rain fell across the country over the weekend.
This time it’s personal as gordon brown takes on doubters
Gordon Brown comes out fighting for his leadership today and declares that his experience of personal adversity has made him the man to lead Britain through troubled economic times.
Make room for the new mobile . . . the free laptop
Mobile phone companies have long offered free handsets to customers to encourage them to sign up for contracts, but now they have a new lure to persuade people to part with their hard-earned money – free laptop computers.
Will bookworms get their teeth into the sony reader?
Outside the British Library the slim volume in my hands could mark the beginning of the end for slim volumes. It is the Sony Reader, the electronic book that hits the British market this week – and the gadget that, if the publicity is to be believed, could kill off the book as we know it.
Stowaway computer virus sent into orbit
Nasa has confirmed that computer viruses have made it into space, after finding that computers on board the International Space Station were harbouring a malicious worm.
Sarah palin wikipedia entry gets glowing make-over from mysterious user young trigg
The Wikipedia entry for Sarah Palin was overhauled substantially for the better in the 24 hours before the surprise announcement of her selection as Republican vice-presidential nominee.
Craigslist: a triumph of nerd values
Craig Newmark oversees a classified advertising website that spans the globe and is used by tens of millions of people every day. He drives a scruffy seven-year-old Toyota Prius and he goes to work only a couple of days a week.
Prediction markets: the future of decision-making
What if your boss, rather than dismissing you off hand when you suggested a different way of doing something, let you bet on the fact that your idea was better. And paid you if you were right.
Sony recalls 440,000 laptops over burn risk
Sony has been forced to undertake a massive global recall of 440,000 Vaio laptops because the computers can overheat and have caused a series of burning incidents around the world.
Stunning victory that shows scot is all grown up on big stage
It is a truth that can be verified by statistics: most teenage boys end up being men. Some take their time about it - a decade and more is not unprecedented - but most of them get there in the end, even though there were times when all around them despaired.
Wayne rooney is not the only one to suffer for his hard toil
Having brushed away a question about disciplinary issues, Wayne Rooney’s blue eyes grew ever paler and colder when the matter of his diminishing goalscoring record for England was raised. “I’ve no problem with it,” he said.
Abu dhabi investors outline their city vision
Manchester City’s prospective new owners are studying plans to transform the club’s commercial brand on a global scale. The royal family of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich Gulf state, are close to completing a £200 million takeover of City and are keen to make the club a household name, with Richard Branson’s Virgin empire an inspiration.
Slaven Bilic is ready to risk the wrath of the Croatia FA by continuing his attempt to become West Ham United’s new manager while preparing the national team for a World Cup qualifying match against England. Bilic is adamant that he will not have a meeting with the London club before the game in Zagreb on Wednesday, but he has let West Ham know through intermediaries that he is interested and may be willing to speak to them on the phone.
Fabio capello in credit, like it or lump it
Barely discernible, there was the hint of a spring in the step of England’s players as they left the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic. You had to look for it. Perhaps you had to be there all those other times when the team departed the arena like men summoned to a distant relative’s funeral.
Rio ferdinand in race to be fit for croatia
Fabio Capello has told Rio Ferdinand that he must pass a fitness test in Barcelona today if he is to play for England in their World Cup qualifying match against Croatia on Wednesday. The Manchester United defender has made a partial recovery from the back problem that forced him to sit out the 2-0 win over Andorra on Saturday evening, but he will not travel to Zagreb tomorrow morning unless he is able to train with his teammates today.
Lewis hamilton must not let the spa stewards get him down
Lewis Hamilton produced one of his most daring performances to win the Belgian Grand Prix yesterday, only to have victory taken away from him by a hugely controversial retrospective punishment by the race stewards.
India given go-ahead on nuclear trade despite proliferation fears
India celebrated its admission to the world’s nuclear club yesterday after a decision by the 45 nations that legally supply atomic fuel and technology to lift a decades-old ban on nuclear trade with the country.
Legendary hollywood actress anita page dies aged 98
Anita Page, the last surviving star of the silent movies, has died at the age of 98 in Los Angeles.
Us attacks on border may hinder chances of help from asif zardari
The biggest test of Asif Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s widower and Pakistan’s new President, from the American and British point of view, is whether he will take on the Taleban and other Islamic militants. The anger rising in Pakistan at the military action by the United States on its western border may prompt him to be much less helpful than Britain and the US want.
Barack obama switches off personality politics but sarah palin continues to electrify crowds
Barack Obama vowed yesterday to focus his efforts on the gathering economic storm facing ordinary Americans as he began navigating an election landscape transformed by Sarah Palin’s hurricane force over the past ten days.
Fannie mae and freddie mac bailed out by us government
The US Government took control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the stricken companies that underpin the American mortgage market, yesterday and promised to inject up to £110 billion of taxpayers’ money to keep them afloat.
Case study: biotech bananas offer hope to family farms
A yellow revolution is sweeping through the poverty-riddled farmsteads of the Central Kenyan highlands. Neat rows of coffee bushes that once dominated the landscape are being replaced by 21st-century biotech farming techniques - tissue-culture bananas.
X marks the spot for the cheeky singer, who flashes her boob just before music bash
FORMER American football star faces trial over kidnapping and robbery charges
LATEST: WEST HAM face competition to land Michael Laudrup as their new boss
TWO sumo wrestlers have tested positive for dope, Japan Sumo Association says
Nick Faldo believes the four rookies on his European team could end up being his secret weapons at the Ryder Cup.
Ulises De La Cruz could be set to link up again with Alex McLeish, skysports.com understands.
Steve Finnan has admitted he was surprised by his transfer deadline day switch to Espanyol from Liverpool.
Valencia winger David Silva is set for a frustrating spell on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury.
Opec ministers gather, hurricane drives oil price
VIENNA - OPEC ministers on Monday gathered in Vienna ahead of a meeting to review output policy, but were widely expected to leave formal targets unchanged, especially as a powerful hurricane could lift oil prices.
Russia aims to corner energy market: u.s. official
ROME - Russia aims to extend its control over energy deliveries to the West and it is important that European countries push forward on efforts to diversify routes for oil and gas supplies, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.
Freddie, fannie plan protects taxpayers: paulson
LONDON - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in an interview with U.S. radio broadast on Monday that a plan to take control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae had been structured in a way to protect U.S. taxpayers.
Death toll hits 43 in cairo shanty town rockslide
CAIRO - The death toll from a rockfall that sent boulders crashing down on dozens of houses in a crowded Cairo shanty town has risen to 43, with more people still missing, Egyptian security sources said on Monday.
Sarkozy flies to russia to seek new georgia deal
MOSCOW - French President Nicolas Sarkozy flies to Moscow on Monday seeking to thrash out a lasting peace deal for Georgia that will persuade Russia to pull its troops out of positions deep inside the ex-Soviet state.
U.s. drones kill 13 in missile attack in pakistan
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan - Missiles fired by U.S. drones killed 13 people, including 7 foreign militants, on Monday in a Pakistani village where a religious school founded by an old friend of Osama bin Laden is located, intelligence officials and witnesses said.
Mccain and obama say fannie, freddie takeover needed
WASHINGTON - Both presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain said on Sunday they see the federal takeover of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as necessary.
LATEST: KAKA insists he WOULD join Manchester City - if they break into the top four
LATEST: ROBINHO gave Man City fans a taste of things to come as starred for Brazil
Three in court over stab death
THREE teenagers are due in court over the murder of 14-year-old Shaquille Smith
Last orders for five pubs a day
BRITISH pubs have closed at rate of five a day during first half of year, says research