Anger at £130m civil service bonuses

Opposition parties demanded reform of Whitehall's bonus culture today after research revealed civil servants shared payouts of almost £130m last year.

Mandelson: Do your degree in two years

Winner: Dev Patel in Danny Boyle's multi-Oscar winning 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Review of the Year 2009: Culture

Shining lights in the post-crash gloom

Japanese student charged with bathtub murder

Tatsuya Ichihashi was charged today with the rape and murder of British teacher Lindsay Hawker.

Key events in the case of murdered teacher Lindsay Hawker

Abn image from BBC TV news showing the coach on its side, with the police car that slid into it on the icy hill

Coach driver hailed after death crash

Two women died but the driver did 'fantastically' well to avoid further loss of life, say witnesses.

Boy George's Big Brother ban plea rejected

The singer had asked the High Court to quash a Probation Service block on his appearance.

Video: Boy George's Big Brother hopes

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Passengers struggled through car parks to reach the terminal at Luton Airport

Fury of the travellers grounded by snow storms

Railways and airports creak back to life as weathermen forecast 'gradual warming'

Victory for gay rights in a Catholic stronghold

David Usborne: Legalisation of same-sex marriages in Mexico is a first for Latin America.

Cook: plan to replace Hughes began in summer

City's chief executive admits he was lining up other managers before start of season

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Sex And The City 2 trailer hits the internet

Sarah Jessica Parker has promised "amazing things" for the sequel to Sex And The City: The Movie.

What designer store came to your city this month?

Asia got its first Abercrombie & Fitch store in Tokyo, Missoni found its way into South America with a launch in Sao Paulo, and the CityCenter in Las Vegas finally opened, hosting all major designer stores shopping fans could hope for.Here are the biggest store launches in December:

Review of the Year 2009: Economics

Recession, but no Depression

Review of the Year 2009: Discoveries

We saw Darwin in a whole new light

Peter Hain's Nelson Mandela biography should hit the shelves next September

Pandora: Peter sets a date for Mandela biography

After several lengthy delays, it appears that Peter Hain's long awaited biography of Nelson Mandela is finally headed for the bookshelves.

Facebook users share what’s on their mind: the top trends for 2009

The top US Facebook status update trends of 2009 include application names, FML ("F*** My Life"), swine flu and celebrity deaths.

Where Unity is divided by oil

Independent Appeal: Peace Direct is working hard to ensure Sudanese oil does not reignite the civil war.

IoS Christmas Appeal: 'I don't know why I was singled out'

ActionAid, with IoS support, helps all refugees in north-west Pakistan, but women often suffer most..

Snow and ice: How other countries cope

BerlinTony Paterson

Review of the Year 2009: Climate change

Swine flu: The pandemic that never quite arrived

Review of the Year 2009: So far, swine flu has caused only mild illness in most people and has a low death rate.

Mandelson: Do your degree in two years

Richard Garner: Universities told to reduce length of courses as Government dramatically reduces higher education spending

Loans officials quit after review

Craigie Aitchison: Painter renowned for his use of colour who refused to be tied down to a school or genre

For 50 years, the painter Craigie Aitchison drew on the same small repertoire of images: crucifixions, Italian landscapes, portraits of black men and pictures of dogs, usually Bedlington Terriers.