MORE NEWS

McChrystal welcomes surge as Nato pledges troops

Commander who warned of Afghan defeat says President's decision to commit 30,000 troops will make 'huge difference'

Police 'still held back by red tape'

Senior adviser admits pledge to reduce bureacracy is having little effect as Government identifies 'savings' of £540m

Brown mocks 'Eton smoothie' Cameron

Combative Prime MInister gives foretaste of election campaign with attack on Opposition leader's privileged upbringing

Business news  

Google to limit access to paid-for web content

The search giant says that publishers will be able to restrict the number of news articles that people can read free

Yorkshire warns of job losses in Chelsea merger

Loss-making building societies agree to merge; Yorkshire will take a £200m writedown to provide for Chelsea's bad debt

• Chelsea Building Society reveals £41m fraud

• Building societies attack FSA ‘fetters’

GM chief ousted after boardroom coup

General Motors, the troubled US car giant, makes a sudden shift of direction and axes Fritz Henderson after eight months

Sport News  

England among top seeds for 2010 draw

Fifa confirms Fabio Capello's team will be in pot one alongside Spain and Brazil, with France and Portugal the teams to avoid

• France left out of World Cup seedings

• Relief for England after Fifa move goalposts

Maradona told to stay away from draw

Fifa has told the Argentina coach, in no uncertain terms, that he will be refused entry to the World Cup draw on Friday

Macheda agrees new contract with United

Italian striker signs a new four-year contract extension at Old Trafford, in a move that will keep him at the club until June 2014

Comment  

Strong City is not just good for Britain

Our financial institutions are New York’s only rival. Europe must not be allowed to hamper them

• Alistair Darling

Never believe Demjanjuk is a ‘victim’

Some claim decent human beings can behave in an evil way just to conform. It is a pernicious argument

• Daniel Finkelstein

Class warrior ready for one last battle

Brown is preparing to paint the Tories as friends of the rich. But his tactics are an admission of defeat

• Alice Thomson

Life and Style  

What celebrities are giving this year

They all may lead glamorous lives, but they enjoy giving presents and spending time with family and friends as much as anyone else

Five fabulous experience gifts

For gifts in a class of their own, help someone to learn a new skill with one of these lessons

Nine bespoke gift ideas

Go for the ‘wow’ factor with a personalised gift, from jigsaws of your favourite photos to vintage watches from a special year

Arts & Entertainment  

Earth: Art of a Changing World

The RA’s new show about climate change veers from frightening to frightful, with too many slack attempts to shock

Three stars for Regina Spektor in Birmingham

Playing solo, Spektor teased out the rougher textures and darker, more surreal humour in her older songs

The Kennel Club art gallery

From noble hounds to simpering pups, this canine art collection remains a secret to all but the most dogged