Ghost towns, abandoned government headquarters and decomposing train depots – around the world there are still hundreds of these locations, all infected with the sadness of a forgotten former life

Harlequins (3rd) v Bath (6th)

You lose your identity when you join 'Blue Peter' When I joined as a presenter in 2008 I wanted to do something on the show that was about me, and would give people another reason to talk about me, which is why I took on challenges such as running an ultra-marathon.

Red-rose coach expects hosts to succeed despite being handed horror Pool in 2015

Truth, guilt, morality, vengeance and murder ... so, sue me

Barclays' South African offshoot, Absa Bank, is paying about £800m for the store cards business of one of the country's largest retailers. Absa will take over the existing accounts of Edcon customers and swill provide long-term credit to them.

Inbreeding affects 44 per cent of meerkats in the wild, causing them to be smaller and less likely to survive, a 20-year study has found.

New Zealand's Andreas Derleth has been crowned Mr Gay World, after a contest in Johannesburg that organisers said aimed to challenge homophobia throughout Africa.

Chance for quickie to stake his Test claim as Strauss insists they will hit the ground running

Once you make it your primary aim to refute the existence of God, you miss what's really fundamental

Kalahari Minerals, the AIM-listed, Namibia-focused uranium, gold and copper producer has agreed to be taken over by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC) for £632m.

Leo Cullen has demanded Ireland raise their intensity when they return to the setting for their disastrous 2007 World Cup.

Today is not the first time Richard Hannon has reckoned he might have a shot at ending Frankel's perfect record. The champion trainer took him on at Newbury in April, and was mystified to see Strong Suit fold so tamely. A wind operation since, however, has permitted the chestnut to show his true colours – and a dashing success on the first day of the meeting here yesterday ensured that Richard Hughes, in particular, will be full of confidence when he meets Frankel this afternoon.

The death of Magnus Malan marks the passing of one of the most powerful and notorious leaders of the apartheid era. To his enemies, he was a figure of fear and hatred – one of the monsters of an evil system; to his colleagues and subordinates he was a figure of awe – the general who reorganised the military and then reorganised the country along military lines.