The UK Space Agency, based in Swindon, aims to capture 10 per cent of the space industry

It’s easy to laugh, but Britain is making steady progress in the space race. And with £40bn up for grabs, we should take it seriously

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The British car industry is roaring back to life, so why do we still think it's a goner?

Fiat moving its global headquarters to Britain is just one sign of a renaissance

A cosmic collision: Two satellites due to smash into surface of the moon… but don't worry, it was all planned by Nasa

NASA has deliberately guided the twin satellites into a cliff close to the moon’s northern pole

Bad loser Romney blames defeat on Obama 'handouts'

The Republican Party is still grappling with its electoral trouncing last week. But Mitt Romney has already worked out why he was thrashed at the ballot box: President Obama's "gifts" to minorities and illegal immigrants, college-loan waivers to young people and free contraceptives.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown – Review

A worthy successor to the classic X-COM.
The spiral around the red giant R Sculptoris is probably caused by a hidden companion star

Highest telescope reveals wonders of the Universe

A stunning image of a spiral shell of cosmic dust and gas around a red giant star was captured by astronomers using the world's highest terrestrial telescope.

Asylum seeker admits murdering two teenage girls

An asylum-seeker today admitted murdering two teenage girls whose bodies were found in a flat.

Concerns raised as strange and sudden ice sheet melt reported in Greenland

Scientists say there has been a freak event in Greenland this month: Nearly every part of the massive ice sheet that blankets the island suddenly started melting.

Emperor penguins near the Halley Research Station

Scientists p-p-pick out penguins from space for new head count

Emperor penguins, lots and lots of them – and now we know just how many. Antarctica contains more than half a million – nearly double the number previously thought, a satellite survey has revealed. In the first comprehensive census of a species taken from space, high-resolution photos of 44 colonies around the Antarctic continent showed there were 595,000 birds – the previous estimate was 350,000.

Swiss to launch a space 'janitor'

The tidy Swiss want to clean up space. Scientists from the Alpine nation said yesterday they plan to launch a "janitor satellite" designed to get rid of orbiting debris known as space junk.

No mod cons: Soneva Fushi in the Maldives offers guests
neither phones nor TVs. It's one of a new breed of
destinations where less (distraction) is more (relaxing)

'Black-hole' resorts: Turn up, tune out, log off

'Black-hole' resorts where mobiles are banned and the internet is anathema are set to be huge this year

China prepares for lift-off with mission to land on the Moon

China has released plans for a five-year space programme, including building a space station and manned missions.

One of the gang appeared to give Stephen Lawrence 'a good kicking', a witness said

Gang 'cheered as 10-second attack' left Lawrence dead

First witnesses describe how gang of white youths 'collided' with black teenager near bus stop

Rocket man: why the explosive striker needs to be handled with care

Mario Balotelli is producing fireworks on and off the pitch after finally being accepted by his team-mates at City. By Ian Herbert

Small birds make a swift recovery

Small garden birds whose numbers were depleted by the long, harsh winter a year ago appear to have made a comeback this year, the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch has revealed.

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Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end