Business news 

BA in merger talks with Qantas

Investors cheer plans by the UK and Australian flag carriers to create one of the world's largest airlines

Jobs slashed as Bowie Castlebank bows out

Owner of Klick Photopoint, Max Spielmann and William Munro Cleaners cuts 817 jobs and another 850 staff face axe

• 2,000 more jobs to go, companies warn

• Film distributor is victim of Woolworths collapse

Tesco discount drive fails to lift UK sales

Supermarket giant nods to strain on shoppers as it posts worst performance since the 1990s Watch our video

Sport News 

Secret report warned ministers over Olympics

Government ministers ignored evidence from their own experts who found scant justification for bidding for the 2012 games

• Cutbacks threaten athletes’ dreams of gold

• Olympics should be about national health

Benitez backs Keane to regain form

Liverpool manager insists misfiring striker will come good, despite substituting him for the 15th time this season

Johnson's role open to question

England avoid the Tri-Nations teams but will face tricky encounters against Argentina and Scotland at the 2011 finals

Comment 

Moral darkness that engulfed Baby P

The damning verdict on Haringey children's services is part of a culture of despair in social work

• Camila Batmangelidjh

Police beg us for food. What hope is there?

People die from eating anthrax-infected cattle ... thieving child gangs roam freely... cholera spreads...The latest from a Zimbabwe

• Ben Freeth

How to beat the Black Friday blues

LA Notebook: we should abstain from Christmas consumerism for the sake of our bank accounts, not to mention our souls

• Chris Ayres

Life and Style 

Victoria Beckham explains herself

Never a great singer, Posh always liked clothes. She defends her status as designer and explains the power of visualisation

Where to do your festive food shopping

One-stop shopping is the easiest - and most economical - way to fill your holiday larder with treats

Shop riots: charge of the tight brigade

A shopworker in the US was trampled to death during a sale last week. Is Britain heading for a similar tragedy?

Arts & Entertainment 

The 100 Best Films of 2008

Here is our pick of the best movies released in the UK this year. Do you agree with our selection? What have we missed?

Emerging Architects: tomorrow begins here

Forget trophy architecture. With recession looming it's time for simplicity championed by the Emerging Architects Awards

Top hats and tales on the social ladder

The snake pit of British high society is exposed in an art show based on the Season at the Wapping Project