Online House Hunter: Saving for a mortgage

Let’s hope it never rains judging by the few people able or willing to save these days. Our Online House Hunter points those squirrelling away for a deposit on their home in the right direction.

By Alan Cleaver | Property | Wednesday, 9 March 2011 at 8:03 am

Top 5 European Festivals

Whether you want to ski down into the action, or roll over from the beach into the crowd – it’d be tough to find anything like this in the UK. From Spain to Austria, we take a look at the best festivals across Europe.

By Laura Davis | Notebook | Wednesday, 9 March 2011 at 6:00 am

iBet: Attack is the best form of defence for Tottenham

Spurs v AC Milan, Champions League, tonight 7.45pm

Lay under 1.5 goals at 2.8 to one with Betfair
Another tremendous Champions League night awaits with Spurs taking on Serie A leaders AC Milan at White Hart Lane. The Spurs team and manager put in an expert performance to beat Milan 1-0 on their home territory, but knowing [...]

By Gareth Purnell | Sport | Wednesday, 9 March 2011 at 1:00 am

David Cameron’s ‘diplomatic’ gunboats misfire in India and Libya

If the Indian government looks as if it’s in a spiral of never-ending crises, come to London (where I am this week) and have a look at Britain’s maladministration headed by David Cameron.
There is the UK’s failed “diplomatic” (actually MI6 spies) mission to woo Libyan rebels, the royal crisis over Prince Andrew’s links with a [...]

By John Elliott | The Foreign Desk | Tuesday, 8 March 2011 at 9:14 pm

A new Iran policy in the new Middle East

The tide of change engulfing the Muslim world is getting bigger and more pervasive day by day.  What has happened in less than six weeks in this region has already made it a historical year as a huge geography used to political and social stagnation has been witness to its biggest changes since the [...]

By Lord Tony Clarke | Notebook | Tuesday, 8 March 2011 at 5:27 pm

Football or sex? Football please

A survey out today suggests that such is the passion for the game in Britain, 54 per cent of football fans would pick football over sex if they had to choose one.
Further proving it’s the action on the pitch rather than the bedroom that matters most, 75 per cent said they would be more disappointed [...]

By Simon Rice | Sport | Tuesday, 8 March 2011 at 4:33 pm

100 years of International Women’s Day: Still not equal, and some are less equal than others

It’s a day to celebrate the progress that women around the world have made in fighting for their rights over the past century.  It’s also a day to look to the century to come, at the challenges that remain for the world’s women, and at those that lie ahead.
Women’s rights remain a major concern in [...]

By Diana Nammi | Notebook | Tuesday, 8 March 2011 at 4:28 pm

Leaning forward, falling over

Jonathan Powell has a good review of Donald Rumsfeld’s memoir, Known and Unknown, in this week’s New Statesman (not online: buy it here). The book adds little to our knowledge, except that in its “wearing” and “relentless” attempt at self-justification, in which “everyone else was to blame for what went wrong”, it confirms Rumsfeld’s responsibility [...]

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Tuesday, 8 March 2011 at 2:26 pm

Blackpool in trouble and United bamboozled

All season I have been warning that plucky attacking Blackpool will be relegated. Most have disputed that strongly but their poor home record has now put them in danger.

By Gary Newbon | Sport | Tuesday, 8 March 2011 at 1:10 pm

How Cameron’s spokesman became the story

This morning’s papers will not have been easy reading for Craig Oliver, Downing Street’s new head of communications.
Within just a couple of weeks of starting his job he has already (inadvertently) broken the spin doctor’s golden rule: don’t become the story yourself. Remember the fate of Campbell, McBride and Coulson.
So what happened yesterday and was [...]

By Oliver Wright | Notebook | Tuesday, 8 March 2011 at 1:01 pm