Bristol's hopes of promotion to the Aviva Premiership took a hit when they were beaten 45-24 by the Cornish Pirates yesterday.

Claims that British companies will benefit to the tune of £20 million a year from an EU-wide single patent were challenged by MPs today.

Shoe designer Christian Louboutin celebrated his twentieth year in business yesterday with the launch of a retrospective exhibition at London's Design Museum.

The High Court has ordered five internet service providers to block access to the world's largest illegal file-sharing website The Pirate Bay.

The Week In Books

At the Dagenham Ford plant, rehearsals are under way for the showcase

Bavaria has announced plans to publish a specially annotated version of Adolf Hitler's manifesto Mein Kampf in an attempt to prevent neo-Nazis exploiting the book for propaganda purposes when its copyright expires in three years' time.

The woodwind and keyboard player Greg Ham was responsible for several of the distinctive features that made the Australian group Men At Work such an early Eighties pop sensation.

He of the vast riches?

Out of the abyss of poverty and into the dark night of the soul

The country has some of the world's biggest – and most bizarre – buildings and landmarks.

The success of British musicians abroad and the rise of digital services including iTunes and Spotify has seen the amount of royalties paid to UK songwriters increase.

Avast me hearties! It's Hugh Grant, a dodo, and treasure in every frame

Steve Connor discovers uncanny parallels between a swashbuckling pioneer and a new animated hero