Even were George Osborne to capitulate to the most radical reformers and immediately split up all universal banks, the danger of some financial institutions being "too big to fail" remains largely unchecked, as the fallout from the collapse of inves...

If you did opt for quality as your chief metric, then it's possible that "Gangnam Style" wouldn't figure in your annual audit, though it wouldn't be difficult to make the case for Danny Boyle's pageant of British virtues to retain a place. It triumph...

Until we can rely on "cleaner" production systems it is probable that conventional technologies will be used for some time.Unfortunately, a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics is that electricity generation from the combustion of hydrocar...

For the journalists, it’s not just a free drink and a glimpse behind the scenes; it’s an opportunity to be playful and irreverent with the politicians, and thereby gauge their genuine mood. It’s also an unmissable chance to tease a Boxing Day splash ...

Dressed up as a defence of the poor, benefit often has the opposite effect to what was intended. Unfortunately, a workless, dependent substrata of society has been growing ever since Thatcher closed down the mines, steel, shipbuilding and heavy engin...

The report said in its first sentence that Mr Blair was not the object of criticism: “Palestinian officials say Tony Blair shouldn’t take it personally, but he should pack up his desk at the Office of the Quartet Representative in Jerusalem and go ho...

The question seems straightforward if you limit it to physical objects. There is the stuff you buy for cash or credit – that scarf, your house, that book. There is stuff you lease, and stuff you happen to have borrowed and will return. But then, when...

Or at least that’s what I’m said to have said. I find it hard to remember when I’m hot and angry what words came out of my mouth, but I accept responsibility for one “fucking”, for which I apologise, though I venture to suggest it’s not the worst lan...

Greer famously refused to sign a petition defending Salmon Rushdie because he was, she said, a “megalomaniac” and “an Englishman with a dark skin” (as if there is any shame in that). When it comes to FGM, Greer’s mistake seems to confuse female genit...

Please donate to our appeal for child soldiers here.When I learned that my brother Malik had become involved with the rebel group, the CPJP, I was heartbroken. I was devastated by the news, it felt like I’d been informed of his death—I was certain he...

We've created a poll to find out your favourite Christmas film, but first (and don't let this influence you), here are some favourites from Independent Voices writers:Grace Dent: "Scrooged - Bill Murray trying to singlehandedly kill the goodwill of C...

The popularity of American-style trends over here is nothing new. Yet we now seem to be nearing a point where our yankified tastes cease to be imitation and we begin to believe that we are, in fact, American.The warning signs appeared earlier this ye...

Geek apocalypseAt the center of the rebel base where Luke Skywalker took off to destroy the Death Star and save his people from the clutches of Darth Vader, Guatemala is preparing for another momentous event: the end of an age for the Maya. reuters.c...

There was so much to admire – from the beautiful script by Sally Wainwright, who was herself born in Halifax, to the powerful performances by old stagers Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid and, particularly, the utterly brilliant Sarah Lancashire – but it was t...

Daniela Hernandez at Wired magazine has complied a list of likely apocalyses (apocalypsi?) which makes enlightening, if profoundly depressing, reading.Did you know, for instance, that "asteroid accident" and "comet collision" are two entirely distinc...

The New York Post reports a rise in singles ads posted on sites like OKCupid.com and Craigslist.org seeking "end of the world sex."Model Niki Ghazian knows how they feel, apparently. She told the Post: "If I die, I don't want to die on a dry spell! E...

Also nicknamed ‘Black-Eye Friday” and “Blackout Friday”, the fabled excess-ridden last working day before Christmas when people who don’t usually venture out all year descend upon bars and clubs like locusts with novelty Santa hats and emergency serv...

As a result, it's been sick-note central here. I'm not saying we're one or two bodies short, but the Editor has threatened to ring-fence the whole office to stop anyone else going off sick. And that's a corrugated iron fence, not a financial one. In...

Although the Prime Minister knew before his Chief Whip left the Government that some of the police evidence against the cabinet minister was not reliable, he neither said so publicly at the time nor moved from his balanced position between Mr Mitchel...