It sounded like the Labour backbencher was accusing the Prime Minister of "a New-Turn". She said that after so many New Turns, "It's hard to know which way he is facing". Always towards Disraeli, is the answer; don't confuse the man with the measures.

A new film explores just how deep animal emotions can run – especially in those reared by humans. Anthea Gerrie meets its two star conservationists

Wild elephants tear through a town in India, killing one man and injuring animals.

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Two wild elephants have killed a man and injured others on a rampage in southern India.

The comfort of strangers

‘Aah,’ I thought, ‘a stylish period piece set during the Depression with a bit of a romantic storyline and a circus backdrop, that looks pleasant’.

Warring Feld siblings prepare for courtroom battle this week over damages for alleged assault

Based on the acclaimed bestseller, Water For Elephants is an unexpected romance in a uniquely compelling setting starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson.

After enduring more than six years of female hysteria, it's little wonder that Robert Pattinson is a bit jumpy. Meeting with the teen icon in a Beverly Hills hotel room, he's amped up on copious amounts of coke (the soda variety); his body is in constant motion – he runs his fingers through his floppy hair or stretches his arms around the back of his chair.

In March, I wrote about the strange history of a water-tank by the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles which had been jollified by the street artist Banksy during a recent visit to Southern California, with the words "this looks a bit like an elephant."

Flawed hero with the magic touch

Thai authorities have seized two tonnes of elephant tusks from Africa, hidden in a shipping container – the country's largest ivory seizure.

They stare lifelessly from every shelf: platypus, slipper lobster, flying fox, penguin, pocket gopher, hagfish, tiger, tapir, koala, sea squirt, elephant, tree shrew, dodo, armadillo and thousands more. Elsewhere, 18 baby moles are crammed in a jar, like hairy gobstoppers in a sweet shop.

New Australia captain Michael Clarke insists his predecessor Ricky Ponting will not be "the elephant in the dressing room" as he tries to put his own stamp on the team.