'apartheid' call system filters out poor barclays clients
A new banking phone system will identify those with low credit approvals and put them through to India.
Portakabin primaries: immigrant baby boom has schools overflowing
Tens of thousands of children are being taught in temporary huts or overcrowded classrooms after primary school admissions leapt by almost a quarter.
Restaurant owner foils burglary... but then he's thrown in cell when yobs complain
Sal Miah spent five hours in a police cell after he chased down the hoodies and held them in the bar while his staff dialled 999.
Greece gets a £22bn bailout to help stabilise vulnerable euro
Finance ministers of the 16 member states that use the euro, including Greece, are preparing to finalise details of the rescue on Monday.
Free banking, forget it! more current accounts now charge a fee
The news fuels fears that the era of free banking is rapidly disappearing, with customers forced to pay up to £25 a month for a current account.
Having children is good for you: but stop at two... any more could be fatal!
A study of more than 1.5million men and women found that becoming a parent has a clear effect on the chances of developing conditions like cancer and heart disease.
Exclusive: new rangers owners set to cash in on land bank at ibrox
Would-be Rangers owner Andrew Ellis will land the keys to an Ibrox property blueprint if he completes his takeover.
Christopher Reen, 31, was the fifth member of staff from the secondary school to face court proceedings over accusations that they each had illicit relationships with pupils there.
Girl, 8, who hanged herself in her bedroom had been 'abandoned to her fate' by her parents
Charlotte Avenall's parents Susan and Simon Moody both admitted child cruelty between August 14 and September 12 last year.
We are clean! scot's cheat slur is just mind games says england coach johnson
Martin Johnson threw Andy Robinson's claims of English cheating back at Scotland ahead of Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield by insisting his team are the cleanest in Europe.
Delon armitage: murrayfield is perfect place for me to regain my swagger
This is such an important day for me because I have to rediscover the form I showed last year which has eluded me in the first three games this year. I need to go back to enjoying my rugby.
Manchester united winger ryan giggs back 'to destroy liverpool's title record'
Manchester United will have Ryan Giggs and John O'Shea back for the Barclays Premier League title run-in as manager Sir Alex Ferguson sets his sights on breaking two records.
Five classic calcutta cup matches: england v scotland through the ages
Rugby union's oldest international fixture has morphed into a bitter battle between its two protagonists, England and Scotland. Here's why...
'warthog' warren gatland apologises for ireland grand slam slur
Warren Gatland, accused by a Dublin critic of behaving like a ‘menopausal warthog’, responded with a belated apology for upsetting Ireland on the eve of their Grand Slam triumph.
To the casual observer, they must have seemed like all the other families dining in the elegant riverside restaurant in Zurich that night.
Johnson tells england to unleash hurt amidst the maelstrom of murrayfield
Martin Johnson will send his England players into a cauldron of Scottish fervour at Murrayfield with the stark message that what awaits them is a decisive test of hearts and minds.
Quagmire's out to make a bog out of brian o'driscoll's croke park party
By the time the acclamation for Brian O’Driscoll starts rocking around Croke Park like rolling thunder, Jamie Roberts will have sent his own tribute to Ireland’s celebrated centurion.
Fast start is the key to france success against italy, says julien malzieu
France wing Julien Malzieu has urged his team-mates to go straight on the attack against Italy tomorrow as they take the next step in their bid to win a Grand Slam.
Concerns over over the absence of Andrew Strauss vanished in the heat here as Alastair Cook marked his first taste of Test captaincy with a hundred so immaculate it might have been conceived in the officers' mess at Sandhurst.
Dawson, best and lewsey give their verdict on johnno's faltering team
England travel to Edinburgh for Saturday's Calcutta Cup showdown with Scotland at Murrayfield knowing that their RBS Six Nations campaign is on a knife-edge.
Crock aaron lennon in world cup fitness fight but ledley king could still make the finals
Aaron Lennon faces a race to be fit for the World Cup, with his Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp admitting he has no idea when the electrifying winger will play again.
Chile puts quake damage at $30bn
The cost of rebuilding Chile after its monster earthquake will be at least $30bn, the country's new president announces.
Briatore must be punished - todt
Formula 1 boss Jean Todt is determined former Renault team principal Flavio Briatiore will be punished for his role in the Singapore race fixing scandal.
Same-sex couples marry in mexico
Five same-sex couples tie the knot in Mexico City under Latin America's first law that explicitly approves gay marriage.
Mother 'murdered' after night out
A mother-of-three whose body was found in undergrowth in Dundee after a night out was murdered, police confirm.
Button shrugs off mclaren design controversy
Jenson Button shrugged off the controversy surrounding the new McLaren as Formula One today hit the track running in typically contentious style.
Johnson issues england rallying call
Martin Johnson has urged England to unleash two weeks of hurt on Scotland at Murrayfield - and prove they have learned how to win big matches in the most volatile surroundings.
Food industry probe reveals abuse of foreign workers
Foreign labourers employed in the meat and poultry industry face physical and racist abuse by British staff, an investigation has found.
Strong season in prospect for british gt
Reigning champion team Preci-Spark will be among the squads taking part in a two-day 'Balance of Performance' test at Silverstone later this month, ahead of the opening rounds of the 2010 Avon Tyres British GT Championship.
Darwin deez, camden barfly, london
Darwin Deez are a pretty strange and enduring looking bunch.
New earthquake strikes chile as billionaire sebastian pinera is sworn in as president
It couldn't have been a more dramatic prelude to Sebastian Pinera's presidency. As the new Chilean leader arrived at the Congress building yesterday to be sworn in to office, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the centre of the country, sending people running out into the streets in panic.
Us troops to take over from british forces in musa qala
A town which played an iconic and controversial part in the British mission in Afghanistan is to be handed over to the Americans in a move signalling a major change in Western strategy.
Mercy killing wife vicki wood takes life at swiss clinic
A woman who walked free from court 10 years ago after the attempted mercy killing of her husband has ended her own life in a Swiss clinic.
Andrew buncombe: delhi bulldozes its poor. literally
The wretched cluster of shacks squeezed tightly together is known both locally and officially as the Coolie Camp.
9/11 rescue workers win compensation settlement
After years of fighting in court, lawyers representing New York City, construction companies and more than 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery workers agreed to a settlement that could pay up to $657.5m to responders made ill by dust from the destroyed World Trade Centre.
Dozens killed in twin lahore suicide bombing
Pakistan was today confronting what appeared to be a new wave of militant violence after at least 43 people were killed and more than a hundred injured by suicide bombers in Lahore.
Mexico city stages first gay marriages
Two glowing brides in matching white gowns and four other same-sex couples made history in Mexico City as they wed under Latin America's first law that explicitly approves gay marriage.
Australia probes navy sex games claims
Australian officials launched an investigation into allegations that sailors on board a navy ship were running a sex competition during an overseas deployment last year.
Pope meets german bishop over sex scandal
The Pope held talks with Germany's leading bishop today amid a spiralling abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church in his homeland.
Wolves blamed for teacher candice berner's death in alaska
A post-mortem concluded that a rural US teacher was killed by animals, and the head of the Alaska State Troopers said wolves are the likely suspect.
Sarkozy dismisses media 'rantings' over marriage
French President Nicolas Sarkozy dismissed media "rantings" about his marriage today and appealed to the British media: "I love England - don't make me regret it."
Chelsea face goalkeeper crisis
Chelsea have been plunged into a goalkeeping crisis ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League return leg against Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.
Weekly health and fitness agenda: brain awareness week, women's international summit for health
This week is Brain Awareness Week and the first annual online Women's International Summit for Health continues, plus tickets are on sale for International Fitness Showcase (IFS), the BaliSpirit Festival and FIBO 2010.
Weekly auto agenda: allure of the automobile
The start of this F1 season is as exciting as ever as Michael Schumacher returns to the grid on March 14. The Allure of the Automobile, an exhibition dedicated to works of "rolling sculpture" begins March 21 at Atlanta's High Museum of Art, showcasing some of the most brilliantly designed cars in existence.
Foodies join the SXSW crowd this year, along with food-loving writers, geeks, filmmakers and musicians. Bon Appetit's blog, companion to the renowned food and wine magazine, along with various Austin food bloggers and tweeters have compiled the ultimate foodie handbook to SXSW.
Australian design is about barbecues and wetsuits
Australia's biggest design awards are more on the pragmatic than the cutting-edge side of things, yielding more finalists than ever this year.
Weekly alternative uses - sxsw
Creativity abounds at this year's South by Southwest music, film and interactive festival, which runs March 12 through 21 in Austin, Texas.
Obesity continues to dominate health headlines this week with studies and advice on counteracting obesity, the cancer link, genetics, obese pets, children and celebrities with education, government initiatives and taxing 'junk food' - missing is the fact that more energy needs to be exerted than consumed.
Gaming industry's darling picks up even more awards
Uncharted 2 once again swept the board at the Game Developers Choice Awards at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on the night of Thursday, March 11, winning five out of 11 categories.
Is your sanity linked to your city?
On March 11, The Daily Beast, a news and opinion blog, created America's Craziest Cities list by analyzing and measuring 57 urban US cities by psychiatrists per capita, eccentricity, stress and drinking levels.
Yamamoto to show menswear in japan
Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto, who filed for bankruptcy protection last year, is back in the menswear game, presenting his collection on one of Tokyo's runways next month.
Lady gaga's 'telephone' video: what she's wearing
Lady Gaga's and Beyoncé's latest music/fashion collaboration, the new video for Telephone, had its world premiere March 11. Stylist Nicola Formichetti shares the designs used for the clip, likely to cause a stir in the fashion world.
Weekly beauty agenda: april fragrance launches
Eva Longoria's first fragrance hits shelves next month along with lots of designer scent updates. Also coming up: Hairstyle Benelux, In-Cosmetics, and Cosmoprof.
Weekly global technology agenda: cloud connect, semicon china
During the week of March 15, more than 100,000 IT and electronics professionals will be checking out the newest microelectronic technology at the Shanghai International IT and Electronics Fair and SEMICON in China. In Silicon Valley developers will be discussing the challenges associated with cloud computing at Cloud Connect.
Weekly design agenda: alex mcqueen vs electric airplanes
The nominees for this year's Brit Insurance Design Awards include a housing project designed for self-build expansion, Alexander McQueen's last spring/summer show, flexible bamboo furniture, a service that helps you print your own newspaper, eye-tracking software for drawing without hands, a foldable plug, and an electric airplane. Also coming up: the Enchanted Palace, also in London, and I Saloni in Milan.
Introducing italy's winezero and other sobering wines
Friends and co-founders of Winezero, Manuel Zanella and Massimiliano Bertolini introduce Italians to their first de-alcoholized wines.
Weekly high-tech hot topics in the blogs: google apps marketplace, iphone multitasking
Hot topics in the tech blogs for the week ending March 11: Google opens its cloud-based apps marketplace, rumors heat up that iPhone 4.0 software will support multitasking, Facebook and Twitter plot social networkers on a map, iPad shipping date announced, and Motorola partners with Microsoft for mobile search.
On March 11, ArtScience Labs, a research network founded by Harvard professor David Edwards, launched a new Le Whif flavor, coffee, in the United States with a roll-out hitting stores throughout England, France and Japan by April.
Green day to star in music game
American pop-punk trio Green Day are set to star in their own video game following the announcement that Green Day: Rock Band will be released in June this year.
Fashion to hit tokyo's runways
Japan's passion for fashion will be on display at the upcoming Fashion Week in Tokyo 2010, which will display some of the most innovative and eye-catching designs for the autumn and winter collections.
Money matters: 'is bankruptcy for me?'
The eighth in our 'ask the expert' series, which sees Kevin Boon of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) answer a question on bankruptcy.
Mortgage lending halves as tax break ends
Mortgage lending to people buying a home dived by 49 per cent during January following the end of the Government's stamp duty holiday, figures showed today.
London symphony orchestra/ adams, barbican hall, london
The intimations of both Ravel and Stravinsky in Colin Matthews’ opulent orchestrations of Debussy’s gusty Preludes “The Wind in the Plain” and “What the West Wind Saw” made for a quite incestuous feel to this the second of John Adams’ cunningly devised concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra. All five composers cross-fertilised in interesting ways.
Ba cabin crew to strike over cost-cutting
British Airways cabin crew are to stage a series of strikes in a bitter row over cost-cutting, threatening travel chaos for tens of thousands of passengers, it was announced today.
Robinho wants to stay in brazil
Manchester City striker Robinho has reiterated his desire to extend his loan stay at Santos and hopes talks have already been initiated with the Barclays Premier League club.
Take that's mark owen reveals battle with the bottle
Take That star Mark Owen revealed today he has been struggling with a "drink problem" for at least a decade.
Murray wants say in davis cup captaincy
Andy Murray wants Britain's top players to have a say in who captains the Davis Cup team.
Wales better than results suggest says williams
Wing wizard Shane Williams is adamant Wales are a far better team than recent results suggest.
Liverpool owner hicks loses billionaire status
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has lost his billionaire status, according to Forbes magazine's latest rich list.
Benitez rues missed liverpool chances
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was left to rue missed opportunities in the 1-0 Europa League last 16 defeat in Lille but has backed his side to turn things around in next week's second leg.
Hodgson admits fulham face tough challenge
Fulham manager Roy Hodgson admits his side face an uphill struggle to stay in the Europa League after last night's defeat at Juventus, but he is not ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Wenger guards against arsenal complacency
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called on his side to keep themselves grounded when they head to relegation-battlers Hull tomorrow looking to maintain their title challenge.
Glazer model benefits manchester united says gill
Manchester United chief executive David Gill insists the Old Trafford outfit are benefiting from the Glazer family's business expertise.
Manchester city granted permission for stadium development
Manchester City have reached an agreement with Manchester City Council to develop land around their Eastlands stadium.
Cook leads england with dominant century
Alastair Cook celebrated his first day as England's Test captain with a masterful unbeaten 158 but Kevin Pietersen was out for 99 as the tourists took complete command on day one of the first Test.
Twitter unveils tool to share tweeting locations
Twitter can now let the world automatically know your whereabouts as well as your thoughts and activities.
Giggs will be firing for title run-in says ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson believes Ryan Giggs' month-long absence with a broken arm has provided him with the rest required to be a major weapon for Manchester United in the title run-in.
'uncharted 2' nabs five trophies at video game awards
"Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" stole the show at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
Bnp leader welcomes ruling on teachers
Teachers should not be banned from joining organisations which promote racism and intolerance, a report suggested today.
Policeman faces jail over 'dangerous conspiracy'
An experienced but corrupt police officer faces jail today after being convicted of being at the centre of an "extremely dangerous conspiracy".
Teenager who microwaved hamster faces court
A teenager who admitted cooking a hamster in a microwave will be sentenced today.
Clegg backs porn director for commons seat
An award-winning female porn director who has been appointed as a parliamentary hopeful for the Liberal Democrats will be a passionate campaigner for her local area, party leader Nick Clegg said today.
Woods employs president’s adviser to plan for return
Tiger Woods has called in the former press secretary to President George W Bush to prepare him for his competitive comeback at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in less than two weeks’ time, it was reported last night.
On 7 March 2010, we published an article by Zoe Margolis. In part of the first edition of the newspaper and online, this article carried the headline, “I was a hooker who became an agony aunt”. This was written by the newspaper not Ms Margolis. We accept that Ms Margolis is not and never has been “a hooker” or otherwise involved in the sex industry. The wording of the headline was a mistake and seriously defamatory of Ms Margolis. We offer our sincere apologies to Ms Margolis for the damage to her reputation and the distress and embarrassment which she has suffered. * Zoe Margolis: I'm a good-time girl who became an agony aunt
Youth charged over susan boyle theft
A teenage boy has been arrested and charged in connection with a theft at Susan Boyle's home, police said today.
Football league appoint new chairman
The Football League have appointed Greg Clarke, the former chief executive of Cable and Wireless Communications, to be their new chairman.
Schumacher impresses during practice
Michael Schumacher's claim he is not in the running for victory on his comeback in Bahrain on Sunday appears to hold little water.
Paul greengrass: 'i might see if i can set up a screening for blair and bush'
If you're feeling glib, you might call it the 'Bourne Baghdad': the third collaboration between Matt Damon and British director Paul Greengrass is a tense action-thriller set in the early days of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq as various elements scramble to find phantom weapons of mass destruction.
Sick cheryl cole cancels engagements
Cheryl Cole has been forced to pull out of a string of appearances after being struck down with a bout of bronchitis.
Everton still seeking to extend donovan loan
David Moyes has not given up hope of keeping United States skipper Landon Donovan in a squad he maintains is the best he has ever had at the club.
Mother jailed for 15 years for starving khyra ishaq
The mother and stepfather of seven-year-old starvation victim Khyra Ishaq were jailed today for her manslaughter.
Strikes cause travel headache for ba passengers
Passengers booked to fly with British Airways on this month's strike days will have to go through the small print of their insurance policies and navigate around the BA website to find out just what effect the dispute will have on their travel plans.
Petrol prices have risen 27% in a year
The average price of petrol is now above the 115p a litre mark, with motorists being hit with a 27 per cent increase over the last 12 months, the RAC said today.
Download james yuill's new track 'give you away' for free
After releasing his critically acclaimed debut album Turning Down Water For Air in October 2008, 28 year old Brit James Yuill is back with a brand new album for 2010. Entitled Movement in A Storm, the LP is set for release worldwide on June 21, 2010 and will be released through Moshi Moshi in the UK.
As the nation's top dogs take to the ring to compete for the Crufts Best in Show prize at Birmingham's NEC, we round up the contenders.
£270m loan boost agreed for vauxhall
The Government today announced a £270 million loan guarantee to car giant General Motors to help secure its Vauxhall operations in Britain.
Father helping uk police to find son in pakistan
The father of a five-year-old boy who was kidnapped in Pakistan last week has returned home and is helping officers find his son, police said today.
The fun lovin' criminals are back doing what they love
How is the tour going, does it feel good to be back after so many years? Really good, we are pleasantly surprised. It has been about five years since we got on the road with the crew and toured. I have been getting into shape now for a few months!
Court bans bnp from recruiting new members
The British National Party was today banned from recruiting new members after a court ruled its constitution was illegal.
Water-ski challenge was torture says bleakley
Exhausted TV host Christine Bleakley completed her water-ski challenge across the English Channel today - and said it was "utter torture".