Thomson launches its deluxe voyage of discovery – from South Shields to Harwich

A pedestrian has died after being struck by a police vehicle.

Surgeons have failed to reattach a man's finger after it was bitten off at a school nativity play.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt today announced the 65 locations which are in the running to launch the local TV services which he has championed.

A vulnerable teenager who sparked a search when she went missing overnight has been found safe and well.

Emerging from the heyday of the British big bands as one of its most admired instrumentalists, Eddie Mordue went on to become a highly successful session player, at home in every musical genre.

Former Foreign Secretary David Miliband has set up a company in his name that will greatly reduce the amount of tax he will pay on his earnings, according to reports.

Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson has no intention of leaving the club during the summer.

So we now have the first pictures of 25-year-old Rooney Mara in the role of the year: the goth bisexual computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, in David Fincher's English-language version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The accompanying interview in W magazine does not, I'm afraid, dispel troubling rumours that the stars, Mara and Daniel Craig, will be "doing" Swedish accents in the film. However, Fincher does reveal the names of some of the others who auditioned for the role at a time when any actress seen to have cut her hair was said to be desperate to land it (viz Carey Mulligan, Emma Watson). Natalie Portman, he explains, was too exhausted after shooting three other films back-to-back. Scarlett Johansson was "too sexy". Jennifer Lawrence was "too tall". Mara's winning moment came when she screen-tested a graphic scene, which required her to insert something large into something small belonging to another character. "That's Salander's big scene," said Fincher. "We had to see if they could do it."

Steve Bruce has had a tentative inquiry for England midfielder Stewart Downing rebuffed by Aston Villa, but is preparing to welcome another left winger to the Stadium of Light as David Miliband is set to join the club in a £50,000-a-year non-executive role following talks with chairman Niall Quinn.

David Miliband, the former foreign secretary, is considering a role in television after losing the Labour leadership contest last year.