German rescue teams raced to evacuate areas along the Oder after a dyke reinforcing its banks burst and others threatened to collapse. Officials said they were clearing areas south of Frankfurt an der Oder and at the confluence of the Oder and Neisse rivers; water levels would rise by 20 cm (8in) during the day and the dykes were so porous that large swathes of the area could be under water by early next week.

`As a direct result of Gordon Brown's Budget measures, we are now faced with the prospect of one of the most unfair corporate taxation systems anywhere in Europe'

Scottish Claymores 9 London Monarchs 10

The German government yesterday sued for peace in its war with the mighty Bundesbank, and struck a "compromise" that was little short of unconditional surrender.

The London Monarchs' injury jinx continued when they were beaten 13-9 by the Amsterdam Admirals yesterday, a result which ends their hopes of reaching the championship game.

American football

Alan Watkins in Horncastle with Sir Peter Tapsell, a Eurosceptic and an admirer of Keynes

American football

London Monarchs 14 Frankfurt Galaxy 7

Euro-sceptic warning of Super State is spreading, says Anthony Bevins

Takeover talks between Kroll, the world's biggest corporate detective agency, and US credit information group Equifax have been hit by a proposed management buy-out by rebels at its London office, writes Paul Farrelly.

The logo of Improbable Theatre pictures a fish in a suit and tie struck by lightning while it sits on a chair, beside which the strange story of 70 Hill Lane (BAC) appears the essence of normality.

Three German banks dealt a blow to the City yesterday by announcing that they would switch some of their trading operations to Frankfurt, writes Diane Coyle.

Robert Smith, the newly installed chief executive of Morgan Grenfell Asset Management, was adamant yesterday that he had evidence that Nicola Horlick had been attempting to poach key staff to move to another firm. He disputed her version of events point by point.