Brown spends £2.7bn to end revolt
Gordon Brown unveiled a surprise £2.7bn package of tax cuts yesterday in a bid to end the divisive row over the abolition of the 10p tax rate. The emergency mini-budget saw the Government borrow
£2.7bn to give 22m basic rate taxpayers an extra £120 a year, and attempt to compensate... [continued]
Tories call 'con' as Brown and Darling offer tax bribe 
Clinton vows to fight on after landslide win
Hillary Clinton has indicated she will stay in the race to be the Democratic presidential nominee until the last primary on June 3, after winning the West Virginia primary by a landslide. Clinton led
Barack Obama 67 per cent to 26 per cent with 92 per cent of state precincts... [continued]
US election: latest news, gossip and analysis
Flint slip-up reveals housing fears
The Government's concerns about the housing market were inadvertently revealed yesterday by Housing Minister Caroline Flint, when she was photographed walking into a Cabinet meeting with her briefing
papers visible. A close-up of the documents revealed that house prices are expected to fall by up to 10 per cent. "We... [continued]
The Mole: latest from Downing Street
Thousands missing in quake debris
More than 19,000 people remain trapped in the rubble of Sichuan's second city, Mianyang, as a massive rescue operation battled heavy rain and aftershocks yesterday to search for tens of thousands who
remain missing after Monday's devastating earthquake. Only 2,000 people have been found alive in Yingxiu, which has a... [continued]
In pictures: After the quake
Economic miracle is to blame for deaths
US to ‘beef up’ Lebanese army
US President George Bush has pledged to "beef up" the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah fighters and weaken Iranian and Syrian influence in the area. Bush, who arrives in Israel today for its 60th
anniversary celebrations, attacked Hezbollah and its supporters for "destabilising the country and turning against the Lebanese... [continued]
Hezbollah takes West Beirut: what now?
Burma’s crippled ports hamper aid
An international aid effort to help the survivors of Cyclone Nargis has been jeopardised further by the destruction of Burma's biggest port, which is likely to be out of action for months. According
to UN officials, Rangoon's oil and container terminals were crippled in the storm two weeks ago and... [continued]
Pros & Cons of a 'relief invasion'
The Burma File: The latest news from Rangoon and more
In pictures: Burma cyclone chaos
Junta left their people for dead
Economists warn over pay-out
Economists are warning that the Government's emergency mini-budget to compensate five million people for the abolition of the 10p tax band could prove costly. The plan, which sees the Government pay
out £2.7bn, will push public borrowing towards £50bn this year and put the government's fiscal rules in jeopardy. Chancellor... [continued]
The Mole: Tories cry 'con' as Darling and Brown offer tax bribe
Sainsbury’s staff share windfall
Sainsbury's staff are to share a £47m bonus, after the supermarket group met a string of three-year targets under a "Making Sainsbury's Great Again" scheme, launched in 2005 to turn around the chain's profits. The supermarket's total sales for the year to 22 March had risen by 5.8 per cent... [continued]
