Excitement over this summer's Olympics is building fast. But the latest news on transport arrangements suggests that, for millions, the initial impact of the Games will have little to do with speed

Scotland Yard is developing a new strategy to tackle gang-related crime and serious youth violence in the capital.

When we define the photograph as a motionless image, this does not mean only that the figures it represents do not move; it means they do not emerge... they are anaesthetised and fastened down, like butterflies." That, at least, was the view of the philosopher Roland Barthes. The artists showcased at Photo50 would no doubt disagree.

Talent soars from London's squalid alleys

A piquant gag in The Artist is when the neglected wife of the silent movie star begs him: "We need to talk." Her husband ignores her, demonstrating his modernity in marital relations, if not in movie technology.

The newly appointed Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, says he wants to cut his officers' use of random stop-and-search powers by half. Rightly so. It can only be hoped that other police forces around the country will follow the Met's lead.

Indian diplomats have complained to the BBC about a "disgusting" episode of Top Gear filmed in the country. The 90-minute India special showed Jeremy Clarkson talking to locals in his boxer shorts and included a car fitted with a toilet in the boot which he said was "perfect for India because everyone who comes here gets the trots".

On an unremarkable night in 2004, Middlesbrough taxi driver Ishy Din was listening to Radio 5 Live in his cab, when the station announced a competition to find short stories with a sporting theme. Having just bought his first computer, Din thought he'd give it a go and sent something in. To his amazement, that story, his first attempt at creative writing since his school days, was produced and aired.

Thousands of people have been offered tickets to alternative events at the London Olympics after organisers admitted an error led to 10,000 too many tickets being sold for synchronised swimming sessions.

A row is threatening to break out between two of Britain's most celebrated artists after David Hockney criticised Damien Hirst for the "insulting" use of assistants to create his works.

A day after his New Year honour, Yorkshire's finest attacks artist for failing to make his own work

The High Court has reserved its decision on the City of London Corporation's attempt to evict anti-capitalist protesters from outside St Paul's Cathedral.

We've seen 12 months of famous returns, fabulous new works, and once-in-a-lifetime exhibitions. Relive the best here...

The Chelsea Football Club owner, Roman Abramovich, has unleashed his most withering personal attack yet on his former business associate Boris Berezovsky, almost three months into the £3.5bn trial between the two men.