1. David Hockney.

Outlook Johnson County in Kansas is one of the wealthiest suburbs in all of America. Everything always works, everyone always smiles and it is nearly always sunny, even if it is freezing cold. You'd like it.

The German chancellor Angela Merkel pressed for the removal of the former premier Silvio Berlusconi “in order to save the Euro”, according to a report that has caused a political storm in Italy.

Stephen Foley says some of the oil giant's American employees are now set to face criminal charges

Manchester United are planning to raise one billion US dollars (£610million) by selling shares on the Singapore stock market, according to reports.

Public face of newspaper Stuart Kuttner, now 71, is drawn in to scandal

The cheap, hardworking Chinese worker has helped Apple generate record profits from its range of iPods, iPads and elegant, if slightly overpriced, computing devices.

Osama bin Laden was planning a major attack on the United States to coincide with the 10th anniversary this year of the 11 September atrocity. The planning even went as far as considering candidates for the attack, a report in The Wall Street Journal claims.

Since his arrival in Britain to manage the phone-hacking crisis, just two words have been uttered in public by Rupert Murdoch.

The people one should feel sorry for, in the shame of the Government genuflection to Rupert Murdoch – or maybe it should be simply contempt – are the independent directors appointed to preserve the separated Sky news from his interference.

To Monaghan, then, with its narrow sun-flashed lanes and petrol smugglers and hidden lakes and the North's wind farms on the horizon and the driver telling me that Patrick Kavanagh came from here and me, tired and irritable after the flight from Beirut, saying yes I know that, and then infuriated when the man adds that he's never read anything by the fellah.

Outlook For all the talk about Barclays or HSBC turning their backs on the UK, it would appear that London is more likely to acquire a major new bank than it is to lose one. The Wall Street Journal suggested yesterday that UBS plans to split is investment bank off from its retail operation and to relocate the former out of Switzerland. London is on the shortlist of destinations.

Interview: George R R Martin - The best-selling author brought grit to fantasy fiction – and he hopes the 'Game of Thrones' TV adaptation will keep it real

There are two approaches to the business of being noticed by today's record-buying public. The first, showcased by Lady Gaga at the recent Grammys, revolves around oodles of hype and ever-more preposterous wardrobe selections.