Cpl James Crofts, 29, from Telford, on patrol yesterday in Babaji, Helmand province

Afghanistan: Time to leave

Patrick Cockburn, who has covered the region for more than 30 years, explains why it is best for the world, and Afghanistan, if our troops are brought home.

A demonstrator pounds away at the Berlin Wall as East German border guards look on at the Brandenburg Gate 11 November 1989

Two days that destroyed a wall – and a world order

Twenty years ago, Berliners took a hammer to history. David Randall and Tony Paterson give an hour-by-hour report on the end of the Cold War.

The fall of the wall: For some, there's little to celebrate

House passes sweeping US healthcare overhaul new

President Obama's $1 trillion reform bill includes the biggest health policy changes in four decades.

Rupert Cornwell: Why can't the US learn to love its government?

Brown backs tax on banks – but the US is opposed

Britain will not act alone, the Prime Minister tells finance ministers at the G20 summit in St Andrews

Tory Eurosceptics threaten 'all-out war' over Brussels

David Cameron's promise of a referendum in 2015 would come too late to placate his MPs and MEPs.

Foreign Office warns Mann to 'keep quiet'

Powerful people have an interest in the mercenary behind the 'Wonga Coup' keeping his own counsel.

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Tough love: The good parents' guide

Firm rules are better for children than a more relaxed approach, says a liberal think tank.

Army killer 'had time to reload repeatedly'

Details are emerging of the shooting that left 13 dead and more than 30 wounded at an army base in Texas

Wilkinson's return not enough to save England

England 9 Australia 18: Giteau calls the shots as Wallabies expose the lack of penetration from Johnson's injury-ravaged side.

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'I've been going 10 and a half years and I haven't done panel shows... my agent gets told I'd make the audience too nervous,' says Francesca

Francesca Martinez: A wobbly girl's battle against the last taboo

Funny people with disabilities are still missing from television comedy shows, argues a comedian who refuses to be defined purely by her cerebral palsy.

Q. When is a joke not a joke? A. When it's offence

The nation's stand-ups can barely open their mouths these days without causing outrage. So have they gone too far – or has Britain lost its sense of humour, asks Ian Burrell

Short-sellers strengthen their grip on troubled BA

More than 16 per cent of shares in British Airways are now on loan to short-sellers, suggesting investors believe that stock in the troubled airline which faces a make-or-break few weeks is still over-valued.

Comedian reveals unsavoury truth of food production

Virtual cheese, imperishable lamb and almost-beef burgers: TV show's stomach-churning revelations

Tough love: The good parents' guide

Firm rules are better for children than a more relaxed approach, says a liberal think tank.

Ethical travel company drops carbon offsetting

Jerome Taylor: Critics say the scheme is a 'magic pill' that merely permits people to continue polluting.

Darling urges action on climate change

Tom Choularton: Can we really control the weather?

Recently both Russia and China have claimed to be able to use cloud seeding to increase rainfall and snowfall, or change the location of where it falls.

'Slumdog Millionaire' actress Freida Pinto was recently seen wearing the classic Winona court shoe made by Rupert Sanderson. The shoe can be bought off the shelf or made to order at 10 times the shop price

Bespoke boom: Demand surges for handmade shoes

More women are happy to fork out several thousand pounds for footwear that is a cut above your run-of-the-mill designer heels

Call to fine exam boards which break the rules

Exam boards should face fines if they fail to stick to guidelines on standards, the head of the Royal Society of Chemistry said today.

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Keith Kettleborough: Midfielder whose artistry and industriousness put him on the fringes of the 1966 England football squad

With his balding head, pallid features and scuttling gait, Keith Kettleborough didn't cut a glamorous figure on the football pitch, even during his prime with Sheffield United in the first half of the 1960s.