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Viera reveals respect for Keane

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:00:04 GMT

Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has named long-time Manchester United adversary Roy Keane as one of the best players he has ever played against.

Tendai Mtawarira: The beast unleashed

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:01:59 GMT

Britain has not only had to brace itself for the seasonal onslaught of snow, sleet and showers this autumn, but also for the invasion of the 'Beast'.

The Ten Best Torches

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:08 GMT

Enlighten yourself and your surroundings with one of these wonderful torches.

BA in talks with Qantas to create global super-airline

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

British Airways (BA) is in talks with Qantas, the Australian flag-carrier, about a merger that could help create one of the next generation of global super-airlines.

Jeremy Warner: 'Not guilty', plead bankers on small business lending

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Outlook Forget the bankers, it may be as much suppliers and customers who are to blame for the present squeeze in small business lending. In launching its "charter for small businesses" yesterday, Lloyds TSB insisted that, far from reducing its small business lending over the past year, it had increased it by 18 per cent, with the average amount drawn rising from 50 per cent of overdraft limits to 58 per cent. These figures seem to conform with separate data from the British Bankers' Association suggesting an overall uplift of 10 per cent in lending to SMEs among the major banks.

Jeremy Warner: The real carnage comes after Christmas

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Outlook Little sign yet of the wheels coming off the Tesco juggernaut. UK like-for-like sales growth of "just" 2 per cent is the slowest since the early 1990s, but there is no profits warning, as forecast by some. Given that the growth being reported is all volume, with no contribution from inflation, performance doesn't look that bad.

Credit crisis diary: The auctioneers keen on a return to the 1930s

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

No spin seems too far for the organisers of a classic car auction where 60 vehicles dating back to the 1920s will be sold. Consumers are holding on to their pennies everywhere, but the auctioneers Coys, who hope to sell a 1929 Chrysler for more than £150,000 at an event tomorrow, are trying to use the credit crunch to their advantage in their advertising. With suppliers and traders everywhere implementing cash-on-delivery policies in case their counterparties go bust with goods in transition, Coys boasts, somewhat optimistically: "Investors clearly want to have physical possession of their investments and we are looking forward to another encouraging result."

Jeremy Warner: British Airways adds Qantas to list of marriage partners

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Outlook That two-timing Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, has been playing the field again. Not content with his ongoing courtship of Spain's Iberia, or even his on-off affair with American Airlines on revenue, sales and cost-sharing, he's also been sweet-talking the Australian carrier Qantas, though you must please understand that it wasn't any part of Mr Walsh's doing. It was apparently Qantas that made the approach. What can a man do when such an attractive-looking Sheila throws herself at your feet?

Setback for Georgia after Nato rejection

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Georgia's hopes of joining Nato were dealt a blow last night, when Western European countries blocked a bid to offer it a path to membership.

UN inquiry looks at new suspects in Hariri killing

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

A special UN commission investigating the killing of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri reported that it has uncovered fresh evidence that could lead to more suspects in the three-year-old assassination case.

Coroner rules de Menezes was not unlawfully killed by police

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

The coroner leading the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes has told the jury that they are not allowed to consider a verdict of unlawful killing.

Speaker faces showdown over raid on Tory's office

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker, faces an unprecedented revolt from some of Britain's most senior politicians as the row over the arrest of Damian Green threatens to overshadow one of the great ceremonies of state today.

Mugabe seeks revenge on soldiers that rebelled

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

An army investigation was underway in Zimbabwe last night after President Robert Mugabe's loyal generals vowed to take strong measures against junior soldiers who rampaged across Harare to vent their anger at their suffering in the country's economic collapse.

Knut bears brunt of financial crisis

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

The world's most famous polar bear is to be banished from Berlin zoo because of lack of cash – the first ursine victim of the credit crunch.

McDonald ruins dream of Wenger's youngsters

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

The notion that Arsene Wenger's precociously gifted Carling Cup side might actually be good enough to win the competition was abruptly deflated last night, in a manner with which, even on a chill December evening in industrial Lancashire, the Arsenal manager could have few complaints. If Burnley's victory on penalties at Chelsea in the last round owed something to luck, this one was unquestionably theirs on merit.

Griffin hands it to Ellington as Derby turn back clocks

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Nathan Ellington's contentious penalty in the last of three minutes of stoppage time means Derby County are in the League Cup semi-final for the first time in 40 years. The striker, on loan from Watford, thrilled 4,500 visiting fans by gently rolling in his sixth goal in the competition – the best return in the country and more than he has managed in the Championship since May 2007.

General Motors in desperate plea for $18bn to stay afloat

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

The three major US car makers promised to cut costs, axe executive bonuses and invest in fuel-efficient new technologies in return for access to government loans, as the latest sales figures showed the dire state of the industry.

VSO: Stars of Africa Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

It may come as a surprise to some Alaskan politicians, but the continent of Africa is home to many countries, each boasting its own multi-faceted cultural character.

Kings of Leon, Brighton Centre, Brighton

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

They're hard workers, I'll give them that. Ever since they first appeared in 2003, the Kings of Leon have toured relentlessly, criss-crossing the globe and – if you believe the stories – leaving a trail of ravished maidens and STDs in their wake. Over the course of four albums they have gradually modified their sound, moving from soulful, blues-infused ditties to expansive rock anthems perfectly equipped to fill the cavernous hangars in which they now ply their trade.

Lichtenberg & the Little Flower Girl, By Gert Hofmann, Translated By Michael Hofmann

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Like all good Enlightenment brains, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg's rode roughshod over academic boundaries. Nominally a mathematician, he made pioneering studies in electricity, introduced Germany to Benjamin Franklin's lightning rod, wrote passionately about British theatre and Hogarth's etchings, and coined some of the wittiest aphorisms of his age.

Ondine, Royal Opera House, London

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Frederick Ashton's Ondine has always been tricky. This 1958 ballet, the tale of a water sprite and her human lover, is a weird mixture of invention and fussy nostalgia. Created for Margot Fonteyn, the lovely ballerina role is full of floating, rippling movement. But the heroine is surrounded by creaking plot development and padded-out divertissement dances.

Skellig, Sage, Gateshead

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Given that Skellig appears to be a smelly old tramp with an appetite for dead mice and decayed bluebottles, it's a relief that the new opera Skellig, commissioned by the Sage at Gateshead, doesn't go in for scratch-and-sniff technology. Even without the chance to experience that particular unattractive aspect of Skellig – a grouchy, winged creature whom young Michael finds and befriends – there is more than enough to engage listeners of all ages in this surprisingly successful children's opera.

En garde, Tessa! How Ms Jowell foiled the fencers

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

An Olympic row erupted last night after a sporting executive charged with delivering gold for Team GB in 2012 accused ministers of breaking a key promise on funding.

Man who enslaved lover is jailed

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

A self-styled "sex cult master" who walked girlfriends around on a dog lead was jailed for three years yesterday for forcing his lover to sleep with other men.

Parents put their Faith and Hope in hands of surgeons

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Surgeons were operating last night to separate week-old conjoined twin girls after their condition began to deteriorate.