The great American corporate takeover

Alistair Dawber: US companies are preparing to launch takeover bids for a host of Britain's biggest corporate names thanks to the weakness of the pound.

David Prosser: Don't ban these takeovers. Just make them harder

A Luftwaffe Stuka - one of 1,733 German aircraft shot down during the Battle of Britain - plunges to earth over Sussex in August 1940

The bloody truth about the Battle of Britain 70 years on

Robert Fisk: The Battle of Britain is far more complex, ruthless and bloody than we often care to remember.

More Robert Fisk articles

Spectacular funerals: How to go out with a bang

Cahal Milmo: Do you want a funeral as spectacular as Malcolm McLaren's? Lori MacKellar will make it happen.

Kristin Scott Thomas on life after the English rose

James Mottram: Kristin Scott Thomas has blossomed into one of the most interesting actresses of our age.

British actor tasked with rebooting 'Spider-Man'

Monks debating at the Jokhang temple in Lhasa, one of the most sacred to Tibetan Buddhist culture and where the 2008 protests against Chinese rule first began

Behind the facade of Chinese rule in Tibet

Clifford Coonan: A state-sponsored visit to Tibet failed to paint an image of happy co-existence.

More Asia News

The 'sleeper cell' that gave espionage a bad name

Just how great a threat – or otherwise – did the alleged agents pose? Kim Sengupta reports.

Tories quick to come out against voting reform

Tory and Labour politicians warn that the 'double vote' would be a recipe for chaos. Andrew Grice reports.

Andrew Grice: A vote on PR will test the coalition but not destroy it

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1970 vs 2010: 40 years when we got older, richer and fatter

You smoked heavily. You missed out on university. You didn't take foreign holidays. You didn't have a car. You had a job in a factory. And you were likely to die at 68.

Australia's new PM claims mining tax victory

A breakthrough in the bitter row between the Australian government and the mining industry over a controversial new tax on resources has paved the way for an early general election.

Oranje boom! Sneijder winner brings curtain down on Dunga

Holland 2 Brazil 1: Brazil coach quits as backlash over lack of style is sparked by favourites' shock defeat

A singular life dedicated to prose and the party circuit

The death of Beryl Bainbridge brings to an end a brilliant and prolific literary career. John Walsh remembers her.

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Jeremy Hunt: Rough ride for the smooth operator

Culture, media and sport? A brief as wide as that and the risk of tripping up is ever-present, as the new man in charge has just discovered.

Tesco investors revolt against board pay plans

Tesco suffered the biggest blue-chip shareholder rebellion this year after nearly 40 per cent of investors voted against its remuneration report at its annual general meeting yesterday.

Reliance on locum doctors is a hospital safety risk

For three months, Chris Isles tried to recruit a locum doctor for his ward. He was shocked by his findings.

BT locks horns with Sky over pricing for sports

BT ratcheted up the battle for pay TV viewers as it yesterday unveiled aggressive prices to offer customers Sky's premier sports channels. The move prompted a war of words between the two rivals.

England's exams chief resigns over Gove's plans

The head of England's exams regulator has resigned. Kathleen Tattersall, chairwoman of Ofqual, said she was stepping down "with immediate effect".

Schools Minister: children are deprived of knowledge

Simon Usborne: 'My hope is that residual fitness will see me through the ride and up the 4,000m of serious climbing'

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'Superpod' of 1,000 dolphins spotted off Skye

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Embarrassed Apple admits iPhone exaggerates signal

All 50 million iPhones overestimate the strength of their signal, the US computer giant Apple admitted yesterday.

Discovered: what makes us live longer

Steve Connor: New test unlocks secrets of life expectancy by predicting which of us will reach 100

Dame Beryl Bainbridge: Novelist whose work began rooted in autobiography and which later developed to encompass historical subjects

In her Who's Who entry Dame Beryl Bainbridge described herself as "actress, writer," a curious order of listing for someone who won so much acclaim as a novelist.