Brown and Mandelson’s role in Megrahi release under scrutiny
Gordon Brown may have been more involved in the decision to free Lockerbie bomber Abdulbaset al-Megrahi than previously thought: he discussed detailed conditions for the release with Colonel Gaddafi six weeks ago. Meanwhile, it emerged that Peter Mandelson met Saif Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader, at least twice in the past four months. When Gaddafi escorted Megrahi home to Libya by private jet, he told him: "You were on the table in all commercial, oil and gas agreements." (Observer, Sunday Telegraph)
US anger as Megrahi flies home 
Lockerbie bomber release: for and against
Tory support for plans to bring back fox hunting
Plans for the reintroduction of fox hunting drawn up in secret by the Countryside Alliance have secured the backing of influential Tories including William Hague and Edward Garnier, the shadow justice minister. The plans could act as a blueprint for the resumption of hunting with dogs across the UK under a Conserative government. Stephen Lambert of the Master of Foxhounds Association said: "The key is in the ignition. We're just waiting to turn it." (Independent on Sunday)
Hunting looks foxier than ever
Pic of the Day: Boxing Day hunt
Report slams Ministry of Defence
An unusually direct report written by a special adviser for the Ministry of Defence has been leaked. It claims soldiers' lives are being put at risk by "endemic" failures at the Ministry, and blames "political fudge" and a "sclerotic" acquisitions system for inadequately-equipped troops. Businessman Bernard Gray says politicians are failing to make "difficult choices" and important military equipment is arriving so slowly "even British trains cannot compete". (Sunday Times)
How Gurkhas went from pet warriors to victims
The reasons we are in Afghanistan
America's robot army takes on al-Qaeda
Trafficked children in benefit frauds
Foreign criminals are systematically trafficking children as young as three months old into the UK in order to commit benefit fraud. One gang is thought to have forged documents for at least 500 claims worth £4.5m. The criminals take children from their families, often with the complicity of their parents, and place them with unrelated adults to enable fake benefit claims. One police operation in north London found four child victims from Romania. (Sunday Times)
The easy way to save £50bn
Slavery never really left us
EU payments to jump 60 per cent
Britain's payments to the European Union will rise by almost 60 per cent next year, according to figures "buried" in Government documents. The data was released without fanfare in the Treasury's annual Community Finances statement last month, just before Parliament's summer recess began. Last night, the Conservatives blamed Government "incompetence" for the rise, saying the rise was a result of a reduction in the UK's annual EU rebate. (Sunday Telegraph)
Brilliant little Belgium
The Mole: Stop Blair campaign grows
FBI chief’s fury over Megrahi
The director of the FBI, Robert Mueller, has launched a scathing attack on Scotland's justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, saying his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber makes "a mockery of justice". And some in the US have called for a boycott on Scotland. (Independent on Sunday, Sunday Times)
Suing terrorists is not the answer
Picture past: Lockerbie bomb
A new poll suggests David Cameron has emerged unscathed from the row about the NHS triggered when a Conservative MEP, Daniel Hannan, berated it on US television. The poll by ComRes shows that voters do not believe the NHS would be safer under Labour. (Independent on Sunday)
Is Nicholas Taleb Cameron's new political guru?
Father Ted creator jumps to the defence of the NHS on Twitter
The Mole: Is Cameron pushing too far?
Two hundred and seventy-nine soldiers are locked in legal battles with the Ministry of Defence over the level of compensation they receive for injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan, it has emerged. And overall, 9,000 - 14,000 have sought compensation. (Sunday Telegraph)
War and its less glorious consequences
Last stand of a wounded government
The Government's science tsar, appointed to raise the profile of science subjects in schools, has launched a devastating attack on science GCSE exams, claiming they lack rigour and are not "fit for purpose". John Holman said: "I think it is a serious problem." (Observer)
Will Self: For better state education we need a better state
A freedom of information request has revealed that despite the recession the Government Art Collection has spent £556,911 on new acquisitions in the past year. The Conservatives described the spending as "deeply disturbing during a recession". (Sunday Telegraph)
The Church of England is using nanotechnology to fight criminals. The lead roofs of its churches are so often stolen, the Church now uses special paint visible only under ultraviolet light. No two coats are the same as each is made of a different blend of tiny particles. (Sunday Times)
Berlusconi is a ‘sex addict’
Members of priapic Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's entourage are urging the 72-year-old billionaire to seek treatment for sex addiction. His estranged wife said: "I can't condemn myself to being his wet nurse... I can't stop him making himself look ridiculous." (Sunday Times)
D'Addario hits out at Berlusconi allies
Berlusconi's daughter 'amazed' at link with teenage model
William Calley, the only US army officer convicted for the 1968 slayings of civillians at My Lai in Vietnam has spoken for the first time in public about the incident, making an apology at a community club near his home in Georgia. Speaking softly he said "I am very sorry." (Independent on Sunday)
General Vo Nguyen Giap's battle for Vietnam's environment
A French former secret service agent, who ran a luxury submarine business in Dubai, dressed as a woman with false breasts and a burka in order to escape the threat of torture after a fraud conviction. Herve Jaubert used the robe to cover his wetsuit, then swam to a friend's yacht. (Sunday Telegraph)
Betfair plans £1.5bn float
Online gambling company Betfair is planning a £1.5bn floatation after shareholders called in bankers to discuss the group's options. If the plan goes ahead, it will be the UK's first major stock market listing since the onset of the global financial crisis. (Sunday Telegraph)
All bets are on with recession gambling
Media group Pearson has come top in a new study on gender balance in FTSE 350 boardrooms. The company, which owns the Financial Times, is one of a tiny handful of UK businesses with a female chief executive, Dame Marjorie Scardino. (Observer)
Yes, women are paid less - but it's their choice
Architect Norman Foster received a £500,000 pay rise from his own practice this year, despite laying off about 300 staff and admitting £18m losses. Lord Foster said the past year was "one of the most challenging sine the inception of the practice". (Sunday Times)
People: Hadid and Foster up for Mecca redesign
In pictures: Stirling Prize shortlist
Director Daldry lined up for 2012
Director Stephen Daldry, best-known for mixing ballet with the miners' strike in Billy Elliot, has been suggested as a creative director for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London. The budget will be half that for China's 2008 spectacular. (Sunday Times)
Video: Beijing Olympics opening ceremony
Boris Johnson ploughs into the Olympian throng
Southampton City Council has provoked a storm of controversy by announcing it wants to sell two major works of publicly-owned art, by Victorian painter Sir Alfred Munnings and French sculptor Auguste Rodin, in order to fund a museum devoted to the ship Titanic. (Independent on Sunday)
British director Sam Mendes is on a mission to bring cricket to the USA. The Amercan Beauty auteur has asked playwright Christopher Hampton to adapt Joseph O'Neill's novel Netherland, about a group of googly-bowling Brits living in NYC, for the screen. (Observer)
Cricket: England in sight of Ashes glory
Revolutionary Road is the story of our times
