Even as Stratford – home of the Olympic Park – is booming, the West End is, by London standards at least, all but deserted. For all that Londoners are glorying in the novelty of finding a seat on the Underground and not having to book ahead for a table at the capital's more popular restaurants, dark warnings of another economic hit are gaining in volume. The number of shoppers was down by an economically unhelpful 11 per cent last weekend, restaurateurs are bemoaning turnover at less than half of usual levels, and theatre bookings are set to fall by around a third.

The pristine sands of the Hamptons are regarded as private property by the Manhattan elite. But can the locals win their long-standing battle to stop day trippers from blighting the idyll?

Crikey! Hitler didn't know what he was up against

The week in books

Nevada Republican John Ensign, who admitted having an extramarital affair with a campaign staff member, has announced that he will resign from the US Senate on 3 May.

Hampton Court Palace is to host the start and finish of the London Olympics time-trial, 2012 organisers said today.

Hampton Court Palace is to host the start and finish of the London Olympics time-trial, 2012 organisers said today.

The power and the crowning glory

France's Finance Minister was set against forcing firms to put more females on their boards, but she has changed her mind – and with good reason

Gillian Low, the new president of the Girls' Schools Association, tells Richard Garner why she supports single-sex education – and what she believes state schools can learn from the private sector

Are we there yet? Halloween hysteria is upon us

Three peers were given lengthy suspensions from the House of Lords today after wrongly claiming thousands of pounds in expenses.