John Huw Davies is 76 and a very lucky fellow as he owns two Volvo V70s – one petrol, one diesel. But they are now a problem. The low seating means that it is becoming difficult for him to get in and out. So what John needs is an automatic diesel vehicle that can carry keyboards, music stands, and stools, with easily moveable seats. He has £8,000 to spend.

It's ironic that what has annoyed Basildon Council about the 80-odd Irish Traveller families, who today face eviction from the Dale Farm site in Essex, is that they don't actually travel anywhere. For a collection of nomads who call themselves, in Gaelic, Lucht Siuil – "the walking people" – they seem surprisingly static.

Andrew Buncombe reports from Buhana on the women willing to take a bribe to help curb India's population growth

The pressure on already-stretched household budgets will be underlined tomorrow when official figures show another increase in the rate of inflation.

Thick black choking smoke blew down Market Street, one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Manchester last night, as the city caught the contagion of rioting that is sweeping through Britain. The Miss Selfridge shop had been set alight, only one of around 100 shops smashed and burned as upwards of 2,000 rioters rampaged through the city centre streets.

Rioters have set fire to a Miss Selfridge shop on Market Street in Manchester city centre.

Asda has fired the latest salvo in the petrol price war raging among the big supermarkets, providing a welcome boost to hard-pressed consumers.

Helen Salter is looking to replace her 10-year-old Zafira, which is now too small for fully grown children, but she is confused by what's on offer. Space is a priority, of course, and after last winter she is wondering whether a four-wheel drive might be a good idea. Ideally, she wants a vehicle that will seat more than five adults in some degree of comfort. Oh yes, and it must be economical. The budget is £8,000 to £12,000.

Hold the front page: women over-pack when going on holiday. The conclusion of a recent survey by Co-operative Insurance, which found that women pack double what they wear, will hardly be news to many. But I was surprised to read that, on average, women pack six – count 'em, six – bikinis for a fortnight's holiday.