Election2008: in brief

More than half of Afghanistan’s families live in extreme poverty

Leila is watching her baby intently, as his mouth moves trying to swallow the small blob of yellow p...

Time for a new approach to alcohol

Ambulances were called and three drunk teenagers were brought to my care. One was so drunk we had to...

Bahrain: One year on

I am used to endless lies and criticism from the BNP and its favourite blogster, as well as Islamist...

Paul Volcker stands tall against the banking lobby

Why is Europe, which likes to present itself as an opponent of speculative "Anglo-Saxon" finance, li...

Wards settled by single votes

*Recounts led to two wards being settled by single votes. In Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, the Tories' deputy council leader, Jack Richardson, beat the independent Chloe Lancaster, 20, by 720 votes to 719 in Hawcoat ward. And in the Dalton South ward John Millar, an independent, edged out the Tory David Gill by 577 votes to 576.

Former 'Sun' editor's bid fails

*Kelvin MacKenzie, the former editor of The Sun, failed in his bid to win the Weybridge South seat on Elmbridge Borough Council in Surrey. Campaigning against rising parking charges, he won 227 votes.

BNP fails to hit target for gains

The extreme right British National Party gained 10 councillors – short of its target of 40 – to take its tally to more than 50. It made gains in Stoke-on-Trent, Rotherham, Calderdale and Three Rivers in Hertfordshire.

Teenagers take Southampton

Two 18-year-old Conservatives have been elected to Southampton council. David Fuller said he was amazed to have won the Bitterne ward by 460 votes after a swing of more than 800 from Labour. Matthew Jones admitted that he was shocked after hammering his Liberal Democrat rival by more than 500 votes in the city's Peartree ward, which had been held by an independent.

Consolation for first-time loser

*Jonathan Pryor, who became a Labour candidate on his 18th birthday, was defeated byJoyce Snape, an independent, in Chorley North-west, Lancashire, who attracted 2,055 votes. But he did finish second, beating the Tory, Barbara Higham, by 337 to 302.

PM rules by Scottish Nationals

*More bad news for Gordon Brown. The Prime Minister's home in Fife is represented by a Liberal Democrat MP and is in a country ruled by the Scottish National Party.