Focus on the big picture

EXCLUSIVE: SHOCK speech came hours before news of his retirement was revealed

JULIAN Stevenson, 48, is set to be charged with the murders of his son, 10, and daughter, 5, after a bitter child custody row

BABY girl, boy and woman rescued from damaged house next door and flown to hospital

EX employee ‘has 100k emails that expose system that has cheated British taxpayers’

EXCLUSIVE: BRITS will be outnumbered in the nation’s capital within just 20yrs, new population research predicts

Paul Mosley, jailed for the manslaughter of six children in a house fire, is to appeal against the length of his jail term, his solicitor confirms.

The government reaches agreement with Labour which will allow its bill to legalise gay marriage in England and Wales to proceed in Parliament.

The Godolphin doping scandal widens as seven more horses, including St Leger winner Encke, fail new drugs tests.

The Church of Scotland's ruling General Assembly has voted to allow actively gay men and women to become ministers.

Radical cleric Abu Qatada is refused bail by an immigration tribunal in his latest bid for freedom.

Stalker Raymond Knight, 72, who made a Gloucestershire doctor's life a 'living hell' for five years has been locked up for nearly four years.Deluded: Raymond Knight believed that his GP w...

Julian Stevenson, 48, was arrested on Saturday after the bodies of son Mathew, 10, and Carla, five, were found in his apartment in a suburb of Lyons, eastern France.Pictures show the balc...

Karp, a 26-year-old high school drop-out who started the site from his mother's New York apartment in 2007, posted a message on Tumblr's staff blog on Monday, signing off with the words '...

Louise and Geraint Jones, from Llantrisant, South Wales, have both suffered injuries that mean their short-term memory is limited to around 24-hours.The new parents now follow a schedule ...

easyJet allows luggage to be taken into the cabin if it's below the maximum size of 56cm by 45cm by 25cm – a total of 63 litres per bag. But this is about to shrink.Bumpy ride: The ...

Nick Rourke was pulled alive from the rubble but the bodies of his dad Leslie and wife Jeanette were not found until hours later

With two months to go, William discussed the arrival of his first child on a visit to Help for Heroes' recovery centre with Harry

He had been arrested in March, shortly after the alleged offence, and was told of the decision when he answered bail

His spokesman said he would not comment on companies or individuals - despite once branding Jimmy Carr’s tax avoidance as “morally wrong"

He llegedly admitted to Stephen Carr that he may have torched her body after pieces of a child’s skull were found ­smouldering in his lounge

Television personality Christopher Biggins has said he thinks the sex scandal currently sweeping the entertainment industry is in danger of becoming a witch hunt.

Chess Grandmaster and bibliophile who supervised the epic battle between Fischer and Spassky

A four-year-old disabled Chinese boy was put in a prison for over three years because his parents were protesters, his foster father claims.

The Russian authorities have escalated their attack on Bill Browder, the British hedge fund boss spearheading an anti-corruption campaign against the Kremlin, by asking Interpol to place ...

A new reading test for six-year-olds in England will have little or no impact on standards of literacy in primary schools, according to teachers. Related Stories Head teachers attack rise...

Emirate launches another push into banking sector by making fresh investments in Russia’s VTB and Germany’s Deutsche Bank

The European Commission has days sent requests for information to Swiss-based commodities traders Glencore, Vitol and Mercuria, and possibly others

The grey metal falls to the lowest level since September 2010 in early Asian trading, amid thin trading volumes

German strategy would thwart UK premier’s plans to use eurozone reforms to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with bloc and repatriate powers

All-stock deal could bring an end to recent merger talks around Actavis and will create a speciality pharma group with an annual $11bn in sales

A "WONDERFUL caring" grandfather and his daughter-in-law were killed when a gas explosion ripped through a suburban street, police revealed today.

ABU Qatada will remain behind bars after an appeals committee rejected his latest bid for freedom.

HOUSE prices have hit a record high as confidence floods back to the market.

BRITAIN’S “benefits ghettos” where more than half the working-age population depend on state handouts have been exposed.

MICROSOFT are set to unveil the successor to the Xbox 360 tomorrow, which will rival the Sony Playstation 4 and Nintendo Wii U for living room supremacy.

Andrew Sparrow 's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including MPs debating the gay marriage bill at report stage and latest developments in the 'sw...

Our photo coverage of the day's events in the UK and around the world brought to you by the Guardian's picture team Fiona Shields Roger Tooth Madonna poses in the press room duri...

Education minister says nations' GCSEs and A-levels will diverge from English system as 'consequence of devolution' The education system is set to splinter into national components, with...

The education department seems desperate to teach more teachers; Newham local authority refuses to release a report's findings; parents give up on battle against academy chain Trainee te...

Prime minister is called 'worse than John Major' by senior figure who says he could be out before election Downing Street is to be warned by senior Tories that a sea change is under way ...

We are about to release our new site with a new look, feel and structure. Part of this release will involve the creation of new RSS feeds and the decommissioning of the current ones. Plea...

In today's Rumour Mill: All the build-up to tonight's big match in Spain; Craig Brown linked with Northern Ireland vacancy; Rangers finance boss quits; plus the rest o

WELCOME to scotsman.com's Scottish Business Briefing. Every morning we bring you a comprehensive round-up of all news affecting business in Scotland today.

SANDY Jones, the chief executive of the PGA, has said he feels his opinions on Scottish golf are unwelcome in certain quarters and claimed the skills within his organisation a

WITH the Olympic Games now almost within touching distance, the next year is mapped out for Lee McConnell, as it is for every other athlete who hopes to be in the Great Britai

What's the link between a frozen banana stand, a chicken dance and a ventriloquist's dummy who just wants to promote inter-racial harmony? The answer is Arrested Development, the much-lo...

Civil partnerships could be abolished as the price of ensuring David Cameron's plans to legalise gay marriage become law, it emerged last night. Related Stories Camerons avoids taxing qu...

One of the most evocative and shocking episodes of the second Intifada, the shooting of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy by the Israeli army, was staged. Indeed, Mohammed al-Durrah was not ...

Can socks, or rather an absence of them, save Pakistan this hot, blistering summer? Related Stories Suicide bomber kills 14 at Afghan province council Imran Khan blames rival for murder ...

Real Madrid have announced the departure of Jose Mourinho. Related Stories Real Madrid expected to announce the exit of Jose Mourinho tonight after calling press conference

Mark Bridger denied abducting April Jones after a 'build-up of sexual frustrations', a court has heard.

The winter may have been drawn out and the sun has done a good job of staying away but a record number of us are planning to holiday in Britain this year.

A man and woman killed in a suspected gas explosion have been named locally.

Abu Qatada has lost his latest bid for freedom. The radical cleric will remain behind bars after a judge denied him bail, ruling he was a national security risk who may attempt to escape.

It's hard to ever imagine growing tired of a ferris wheel but one man may never want to see one again after breaking a world record by riding the fairground attraction for two days straig...

IT'S understood 71-year-old Leslie Rourke and his 40-year-old daughter-in-law Jeanette perished in the blast which happened on Sunday.

THE court heard Scott Snowden told a steward, who kicked him out of The Garth Inn in Helensburgh, that he would "make his life hell"- days later it burned down.

THE criminals, who were from the Glasgow area, were part of a 30-strong gang who trafficked the Class A drugs from Merseyside to Scotland.

THE General Assembly tonight voted in favour of allowing gay men and women to openly practice as ministers within the Church of Scotland.

THE Staggies midfielder has signed a two-year contract with the Steelmen, with current deal in Dingwall set to expire.

The Church of Scotland has voted in favour of allowing openly gay men and women to become ministers - whilst maintaining a traditionalist standpoint.

Criminal suspects who have been arrested should not be named until they are charged except for in "clearly identified circumstances" such as a threat to life, according to new official g...

The offices of Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans were searched by police on Sunday in connection with an investigation into allegations of rape and sexual assault.

The former slaughterman accused of murdering schoolgirl April Jones told police that he "could have burnt the body", a court has been told.

One-eyed police killer Dale Cregan "bizarrely" pleaded not guilty to two murders despite admitting them "numerous times", a jury has been told.

Gylfi Sigurdsson struck either side of the interval to secure a deserved 2-0 victory for 10-man Swansea at the Premier League basement boys Wigan.

David Dunn earned Blackburn a valuable point in the fight against relegation with a headed equaliser five minutes from time in a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Ewood Park.

Mario Balotelli again took centre stage as Manchester City saw off Bolton 2-0 to move five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

West Brom defender Gareth McAuley increased the pressure on Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas with a late winner in the 1-0 Barclays Premier League clash at the Hawthorns.

Liverpool paid for missing a penalty and hitting the post twice as Arsenal's Robin van Persie scored twice to snatch a late 2-1 Barclays Premier League victory at Anfield.

“I can’t understand why any Brummie wouldn’t buy the Mail.”

Tanya Mihailovic will make and model dresses while daughter makes catwalk debut and partner hosts show

Here are today's most read stories on the Birmingham Mail website

Woman gets extra hours added to term for breaching suspended prison sentence

Princes called on the public to continue their support of injured British servicemen and women as they opened four new recovery centres

PREDICTING what the weather might do next—a great British hobby—is something 19th century city slickers needed to perfect. Trade winds would affect the number of ships arriving in Britai...

IN “YES, MINISTER”, the sinuous civil servant, Sir Humphrey, ran rings around his hapless political boss, Jim Hacker in the popular 1980s satire. Television watchers were left in no doub...

TWO months before the 2005 election the then-leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard, made waves by allowing candidates who wanted Britain to leave the European Union (EU) to sa...

IN THE film “The Wild One” (1953) Marlon Brando had a leather jacket, a Triumph motorbike and a girl perched on the seat behind him. That inviting image inspired generations of bikers. B...

Plenty of room for more MUSLIM converts have an image problem. A handful, like Richard Dart, a Dorset native jailed last month, have been implicated in terrorism. Samantha Lewthwaite, wh...

Stocks pulled off the session's highs in afternoon trading, amid gains in energy shares.

Syrian government forces pushed deeper into a strategic opposition-held town near the Lebanese border, battling rebels in fierce street fighting, state media reported.image

A string of car bombs and shootings killed at least 86 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq, escalating fears of a return to widespread sectarian bloodshed in the country.image

What's underneath the hood of the latest Xbox videogame console represents a multiyear odyssey of trying to figure out how to keep the machine "cool."image

Goldman Sachs is selling its remaining stake in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China for around $1.1 billion, exiting its investment in China's biggest bank.

Real Madrid announce that Jose Mourinho will leave the club at the end of the season after three years in charge.

Eilish McColgan is one of 14 Scottish athletes to reach Commonwealth Games qualifying standards.

Jose Mourinho's three-year reign at Real Madrid will come to an end this summer

Saracens pair Alex Goode and Joel Tomkins withdraw from England's summer tour to Uruguay and Argentina through injury.

England call up Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell for the friendlies against Republic of Ireland and Brazil.

David Saker has hailed James Anderson as "the most skilful bowler in the world" following his performance in the first Test of the series against New Zealand

Real Madrid have confirmed that Jose Mourinho will leave the club at the end of the current campaign

Tiger Woods has said there is little chance of he and Sergio Garcia ever patching up their relationship

Elena Baltacha showed impressive levels of resilience as she outlasted Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele to reach the second round of the Brussels Open on Monday

Welterweight titlist Devon Alexander suffered a broken left hand during his seventh-round TKO of Lee Purdy on Saturday night, as he had suspected

Nikolai Tolstykh, ousted as head of the Russian Professional Football League (PFL) two years ago, was elected president of the country's Football Union (RFU) on Monday.

Nikolai Tolstykh, ousted as head of the Russian Professional Football League (PFL) two years ago, was elected president of the country's Football Union (RFU) on Monday.

Injury has forced Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar to withdrawn from South Africa's squad due to play international friendlies this week.

Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade came from behind to beat city rivals OFK 3-1 on Sunday, but their success was marred by serious crowd trouble among groups of their own fans.

On-loan Oldham striker Jordan Slew suffered another injury setback during the 1-0 win over Portsmouth. Slew was hurt against Walsall and missed the Stevenage game, returning to parent cl...

Article created after having disabled Grapeshot within the site settings

Test for Jo Mitchell

WHAT a bunch a beauties.

NOT bad for a Monday morning.

THEY look so content.

EMMA THOMPSON has been given the go-ahead to proceed with a movie about the lives of 19th century poet JOHN RUSKIN, his wife EFFIE GRAY and her lover, painter JOHN EVERETT MILLIAS, after...

Actress EVA MENDES gathered up all the mums in her life for an intensive 'mothers' day' so she could get a feel for what it's like to be a woman with a kid for her new film THE PLACE AMO...

Political satire Alpha House and Silicon Valley sitcom Betas are set for full series after Amazon concluded its online pilot process.

Sony's new console is months away from hitting shop shelves -- here's what we know so far, and what remains a mystery.

The Asus Fonepad is a 7-inch tablet that accepts normal SIM cards, letting you use it as a phone. It's cheap, but is it too big to be a phone?

In this video we look at Sony's PlayStation 4, and discuss what we know so far -- and what we don't.

Samsung is readying a 3,200x1,800 screen so detailed it knocks Apple's Retina display into a cocked hat.

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's emir, who has thrown his state's riches behind Arab uprisings, said on Monday that the emergence of 'people power' had put Arabs in direct confrontation with Isra...

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday told Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and other business leaders that he expected their companies to pay their taxes in e...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 70 people were killed in a series of car bombings and suicide attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, extending the ...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Finance Minister Yair Lapid, whose new centrist party is the second largest in Israel's government, said on Monday thousands of Jewish settlers would have to be remo...

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Two car bombs killed at least three people and wounded dozens of others on Monday in Dagestan, a turbulent province in Russia's North Caucasus region where...

Partners at Morison's

Recently reviewing our UK Equity fund we realised that in the past decade all but two of the companies within it had faced either a major challenge to their business or issued a profit wa...

Opposition MSPs have mounted a challenge to plans to close courts across Scotland as Labour accused Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill of "ignoring" local communities.

WHILE despondency has been the overriding emotion at Dunfermline Athletic of late, it was with a sense of dignity that they finally bowed out of the Irn-Bru First Division.

IMRAN Khan has claimed a political rival and the British Government must take responsibility for the assassination of a senior member of his political party.

The upkeep of private ground by Perth and Kinross Council was this week described as ''ludicrous''.

The festive season officially arrived in Dundee on Friday as around 25,000 people braved the cold for the switching-on of the Christmas lights.

A long-abandoned medieval street name could soon return to Dundee.

An Angus couple this week told how Scottish lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone cooked for them in their home — and then did the washing up!

A Fife university student enrolled the help of the former Prime Minister to make a moving documentary about the Blue Brazil.

The man accused of murdering schoolgirl April Jones told police that he could have burnt the body, or may have 'laid her to rest'

 

Aymen Essa, 26, told Cardiff Crown Court that if he had touched a woman he would say but he admitted to lying to police about being captured on CCTV

Welsh cyclist part of winning Team Sky squad in Norway

Welsh acting legend Anthony Hopkins has been named in the cast of the highly anticipated biopic of American mafiosi John Gotti.

BERNE (Reuters) - Grasshoppers, Switzerland's most successful club, ended their longest-ever wait for a trophy when they beat Basel on penalties after a 1-1 draw to win the Swiss Cu...

"No option" is off the table if the Syrian regime does not negotiate seriously at planned peace talks, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.

By Padraic Halpin MAYNOOTH, Ireland (Reuters) - Warren Gatland called Australia's selection for next month's series predictable, but just as predictable was the barrage of ques...

It was a family affair as Prince Harry showed the Queen around his charity Sentebale's garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The Church of Scotland has voted in favour of allowing openly gay men and women to become ministers - whilst maintaining a traditionalist standpoint.

Julian Stevenson arrives to face a French court after reportedly confessing to killing his two children aged five and 10.Julian Stevenson arrives at court

Amid a Tory party rift Labour says it will not support an amendment to the gay marriage bill which could have halted its progress.Gay marriage proposals

A 71-year-old man and his daughter-in-law are understood to be the two people who died in a gas explosion at a house in Newark.Gas explosion

The Evening Standard tycoon admits the attack on a property magnate during a live debate but claims it was in self-defence.Alexander Lebedev (left) and Sergei Polonsky

The jury hears transcripts of Mark Bridger's police interviews in which he was asked about what he did with April's body.Mark Bridger & April Jones

The south stand of Roma's Stadio Olimpico will be closed to supporters for one Serie A game after several fans ignored warnings against racially abusing AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli.

Sky Sports understands Bolton have agreed a deal to sign Norwich City defender Marc Tierney.

Winger Ashley Vincent has rejected Port Vale's offer of a new contract.

There is differing news coming out of the New England Patriots during their off-season, with Tom Brady declaring himself better than ever, but tight end Rob Gronkowski set to undergo a fo...

Ayr's meeting scheduled for June 6 has been switched to Thirsk while the card on June 5 will be run on the jumps course as the flat track is not fit for action.