Britain could send military reinforcements to the Gulf in the escalating confrontation with Iran, the Defence Secretary said yesterday as the Tehran regime declared it would "defend the nation" against the threat posed by an EU oil embargo.

History unfolds like a cavalry charge

A spot of character assassination

Nisha and Mark have just moved into their new house. A big-city lawyer, she's having difficulty settling in. It's all a bit eerie: no noise, no people. But it's not just that; there's something else going on too. When she starts stripping wallpaper, she stumbles across an old mural on the walls. "Alice in the Woods," it says. Midway through uncovering it, the ladder she's standing on gives way, sending her flying.

Dakota Indian among victims of mass execution may be pardoned

Patriots 'will be unhappy' that their most admired president will be portrayed in movie by a Briton

The crude sacking by Chelsea of Carlo Ancelotti's assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, may not be the most significant convulsion at the club since Roman Abramovich decided to carry it into an entirely new dimension.

Letter to a schoolboy on yellowed paper, valued at $60,000, shows a new face of the President

And they're all about him. Should he aim to be Europe's foreign minister, or wait and see what else might come up?

Why birds of a feather should try flying apart

Our Film Forum is your chance to pass judgement on a recent release. Here's a selection of your views on the comedy sequel to the comedy Night at the Museum: 'Battle of the Smithsonian'

Michelle and I are so pleased to be here to rededicate this hallowed space. We know that Ford's Theatre will remain a place where Abraham Lincoln's legacy thrives, where his love of the humanities and belief in the power of education have a home, and where his generosity of spirit are reflected in all the work that takes place.

The long transition between an American election and the inauguration means that the actual import of the occasion can all too easily be taken for granted. Not this year. The excitement that has been mounting in Washington since the night of 4 November has radiated not only across the United States, but around the world.

The French, closely followed by the Germans and the Spanish, all know it already. But can there be any doubt that this is the age of the train? You had only to glimpse Barack Obama's arrival at Washington's Union Station to see that the train is the transport of the future, too.