Two years ago, there were virtually no anti-retroviral drugs dispensed in Africa. By the end of this year, thanks to government assistance under the G8 agreement at Gleneagles and private funding, there will be some 2 million people in sub-Saharan Af...

Betjeman might not have argued with this disparaging view. His poem Late-Flowering Lust begins: “My head is bald, my breath is bad/ Unshaven is my chin.” In case anyone thinks I fit this unappealing description, I might point out that I am hirsute (b...

The former Prime Minister never seemed to understand the hypocrisy of introducing new rules to make funding more open and to guard against conflicts of interest and then seeking to get round them. We were supposed to say: "At least they are better th...

Over the past few years quite a chunk of the population has seen the annual increase in the value of their home exceed their income from employment. In true Thatcherite style, home ownership has delivered prosperity and financial independence to mill...

And they are not alone. Recently, one hears whispers from frustrated 20-somethings wary of Facebook's ever-extending tentacles. The danger is all the more pressing with the party season upon us. Suddenly, camera phones and messages are everywhere, do...

It's a nice ruse, this tactic of "spontaneous" dropping-by, enabling the US president to show warmth while not getting involved in official approval. And in this case it suits both parties. Bush, having famously dismissed the present leader of the Br...