Promising to be one the most talked about events of 2012, Babel will be an immersive theatrical experience of truly epic proportions.

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Planet Organic in profit and planning new stores

Planet Organic, the £20m turnover café and supermarket chain backed by the entrepreneurs behind Space NK and Fenn Wright Manson, has turned a profit this year and plans to open new stores across London.

'Miracle' in Battersea: Francesca Kay has turned from the enigmas of art to the mysteries of belief

In recent English literature, genre and custom tend to compress the roles and thoughts available to the people of inner-city South London. Thanks to a tradition that swings between satire and miserabilism, they may figure as victims or villains, emblems of class divisions and demographic shifts, or (you suspect, in the near-future) the sullen tinder of riot. For spiritual crises, dark nights of the soul and searing flashes of grace or grief, fiction often calls at a swankier address. But not always: Graham Greene in Clapham, or Muriel Spark in Peckham, have found ecstasies and epiphanies in the sort of postcode where Essex cabbies rarely choose to drive after dark.

Motorists fume as Olympic rehearsal closes capital's roads

In a sign that does not bode well for next summer's celebration of sporting excellence, the biggest test event so far for the 2012 Olympic Games was marred yesterday by angry confrontations between drivers and stewards.

Restaurant diners see man killed by falling masonry

A man was killed by falling masonry while sitting outside a restaurant.

Man killed by falling masonry



A 27-year-old pedestrian was killed after being struck by a piece of falling masonry in Battersea, south London, Scotland Yard said today.

David Cameron: The fightback is under way

Prime Minister David Cameron declared a fightback against looters and rioters today as a community mourned the deaths of three men killed while trying to protect its shops and businesses.

Letter from the editor: Altered forever

For me, the abiding image of the 2011 riots will be the sight of Reeves furniture store in Croydon burning to the ground.

Residents vent anger at Boris Johnson

London mayor Boris Johnson faced a barrage of criticism from angry residents as he toured the devastation in riot-hit Clapham with Home Secretary Theresa May.

Thousands of 'status symbol' dogs abandoned

The rise of the Staffordshire bull terrier as a status symbol has led to thousands of the dogs being abandoned.

New plans in wake of the Arts Council Cuts?

In March, the Arts Council announced huge cuts to arts funding in this country, with over 200 organisations losing 100% of their funding.

Caught & Social: A Tangy taste of art

The art world gathered at the Old Dairy in London as LA artist Retna’s Hallelujah World Tour show arrived in town.

Man killed in ride-by shooting in Stockwell



A young man has been shot dead on a pavement in an apparent motorbike ride-by hit.

48 Hours: Chelsea

The horticultural world converges this week on London SW3: a village that is chic, colourful and full of intriguing corners, says <b>Simon Calder</b>

Caught &amp; Social: i readers reveal the art of partying

Forget the Ivor Novellos, forget bashes in London last night with George Clooney, forget, even, Cannes with its yacht, pool and nightclub parties...
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Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end