His spectacular free fall from the edge of space may have won Felix Baumgartner a place in the record books, but the Austrian sky diver is now threatened with a fall from grace over a court case in which he stands accused of punching a Greek lorry driver in the face.

You wait for years for a helicopter and then... four come along at once, in Birmingham as in Edinburgh. What a whirl!

The hair/make-up

Is Greece the word?

Rangnick goes for Salzburg

Pope Benedict XVI has celebrated an open-air Mass for a million followers, capping three days of activities in Milan, Italy, aimed at showing support for the family.

Wild isle

Each week we invite three companies to offer us their best deal for a specific holiday. Today: an active family holiday in Austria during June half term. Prices are for a family of four, based on two adults and two children travelling together. Each package includes a week's accommodation, flights from Gatwick on Saturday 2 June and transfers.

It’s on occasions like this that the star-rating system runs into irreconcilable difficulties. I honestly cannot remember a time when musical and theatrical values were in such total divergence.

The opera singer Elizabeth Connell enjoyed 10 successful years as a mezzo before becoming a soprano and enjoying over two decades more of international acclaim.

I'm all for cats at the opera – a fuzzy feline will always raise a smile. But isn't there something alarming about it when a mermaid meets one? We all know what cats do to fish. It looks as if that might happen to the unfortunate Rusalka, the eponymous heroine of Dvorak's post-Wagnerian take on The Little Mermaid, in the opera's first-ever production at the Royal Opera House.

Less than £200... Berlin bound

Starting from 3 June, the airports of Birmingham and Manchester will be directly connected with the German city, thanks to new flights from Lufthansa. Visit the Opodo website before tomorrow (26 January)to take advantage of some early booking offers. Return economy fares start at £83; while three-night packages including accommodation areavailable for £186 per person fortravel between 3 June and 31 December. Opodo.co.uk

Fabio Capello's attempt to change the style of England's build-up for the European Championship next summer from their preparation for last year's World Cup finals was underlined this weekend when the Football Association announced the team would be spending a week in Marbella.