Cameron: no comment on Tories who invest in Zimbabwe
David Cameron has refused to comment on the revelation that six Tory MPs, three of whom are in the shadow cabinet, have shares in companies which trade in Zimbabwe. Mr Cameron told the Commons last week that individuals should not "prop up the regime". Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe an 11-month-old baby has had both legs broken for being the child of an opposition councillor. (Independent on Sunday, Sunday Times)
Zimbabwe Today: Mugabe to be sworn in today ![]()
It's time to go in ![]()
The failure of Nelson Mandela ![]()
Labour party hit by two resignations
The Labour party has been hit by two resignations. Wendy Alexander, the party's leader in Scotland, announced she was stepping down in an emotional statement yesterday after a row over improperly-declared donations to her leadership campaign last year. And Glasgow East MP David Marshall will trigger a by-election after he quit for stress-related health reasons. (Sunday Telegraph)
Smith caught in police race row
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, is at the centre of a serious race row after she was asked to intervene and compel police forces to co-operate with an audit of the treatment of black and Muslim officers. Only half of the 43 police forces in England took part in the survey run by the Association of Muslim Police and think-tank Demos, despite an extended deadline. (Observer)
Designer baby in cancer first
A 27-year-old woman has become the first Briton to conceive a baby guaranteed to be free from hereditary breast cancer. The mother had her embryos screened for a gene which would have left her baby with a 50 to 85 per cent chance of developing cancer. Her husband's sister, mother, grandmother and cousin had all suffered from the disease, and he tested positive for the gene. (Sunday Times)
Anti-gay C of E church ‘not schism’
Traditionalists have created a new church, which they insist is not a schism, within the Anglican Communion in protest at the consecration of homosexual clergy, and blessing of gay marriages in the United States. The organisation, called the Gafcon movement, will include at least two Church of England bishops, and represent almost half the world's 80m Anglicans. (Sunday Telegraph)
Gordon Brown has demanded a U-turn on tax increases for older cars. Planned rises in vehicle excise duty for cars bought before 2001 will be dropped from Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report this autumn. More than 40 Labour backbenchers had threatened to rebel against the measure. (Independent on Sunday)
The Mole: Henley humiliation makes early reshuffle likely ![]()
Professor Dinesh Bhugra, Britain's most eminent psychiatrist, has sharply criticised the state of the country's acute psychiatric care system, saying many in-patient units are unsafe, overcrowded and uninhabitable. He said he would not let his relatives be treated in them. (Observer)
The MoD is set to scrap the controversial 'Snatch' Land Rover, originally designed for use in Northern Ireland, in favour of another vehicle better equipped to cope with the threat of landmines and IEDs. Cpl Sarah Bryant and three SAS officers were killed in a Snatch two weeks ago. (Sunday Telegraph)
Robert Fox on how to modernise the British Army ![]()
Prince Charles joined the families of 102 servicemen and women killed on duty last year for a commemoration which is set to become an annual fixture. The names were added to the £6m new Armed Forces Memorial in Staffordshire, opened last year by the Queen. (Sunday Times)
The ban on smoking in public buildings in England has led to a 22 per cent rise in the number of people successfully quitting the habit, research shows. Almost 235,000 people managed to stop smoking with NHS support between April and December of last year. (Observer)
Smoking was good for you ![]()
Foreign drivers get away without paying 180,000 speeding and parking fines every year in the UK - a total of around £10m - figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show. Police, councils and speed camera authorities are not able to obtain their details. (Sunday Telegraph)
Motoring review: Bentley Flying Spur ![]()
Jay-Z last night became the first hip-hop artist to top the bill at Glastonbury with a triumphant set despite objections from rock-music traditionalists. He started his show by playing a video of Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher saying it was wrong to have hip-hop at the festival, and then performed Gallagher's Wonderwall. (Observer)
A prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure Treasure Island is to be published next week. Flint & Silver, by former biochemist and TV producer John Drake, is aimed at adults and sets out to answer some questions posed by the original novel, including what happened to Long John Silver's leg. (Independent on Sunday)
American soprano Deborah Voigt has returned to the stage at Covent Garden to sing the role she was famously fired from four years ago for being too fat to fit into her costume. The singer, who weighed 25 stones at her heaviest, underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost nine stones. (Sunday Times)
People: Slimmed down Voigt returns to play Ariadne ![]()
Robert Mugabe is expected to be sworn in as President of Zimbabwe again today after a controversial and bloody election. Officials say Mugabe has won the run-off election by a landslide, while the US called the vote a sham and Gordon Brown referred to it as a "sickening chapter" in Zimbabwe's history. (Observer)
Zimbabwe Today: Mugabe to be sworn in today ![]()
It's time to go in ![]()
The failure of Nelson Mandela ![]()
Shabtai Shavit, a former head of Mossad, has warned that Israel has 12 months in which to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, or risk coming under nuclear attack. The influential adviser to Israel's defence and foreign affairs committee also said Israel may have to act sooner if Barack Obama becomes US president. (Sunday Telegraph)
Hollywood stars are divided along union lines as America's two most powerful actors' groups argue ahead of a mooted strike. The row, over contract negotiations with the owners of the major studios, has pitted Jack Nicholson against Tom Hanks and is causing a 'virtual strike' under the threat of industrial action. (Independent on Sunday)
Britain's second-biggest housebuilder, Taylor Wimpey, is close to announcing a cash injection rescue package. The company hopes to reveal on Wednesday that it will receive £500m from existing top institutional shareholders, as well as from external investors including Och Ziff. (Sunday Telegraph)
The Treasury Select Committee is to start an inquiry this week into the role played by tax havens in setting the conditions for the global financial crisis. MPs will interview bankers and campaigners and ask whether offshore practices caused the implosion of mortgage bank Northern Rock. (Observer)
British Airways has made a U-turn and abandoned its call for the break up of BAA. In a letter to the Competition Commission, the airline says: "We are concerned that ownership separation may prove counterproductive in so far as it diverts BAA management attention away from expansion." (Independent on Sunday)


























