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Double life of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

The man suspected of trying to blow up a US aircraft was regarded at a language school in Yemen as gifted and polite

'Good riddance to a gruelling decade'

Dr Rowan Williams says terrorism, war and the financial collapse have bedevilled the past decade in his new year message

Will Dragon save the firm he sold for £100m?

La Senza, which he bought for a pound and a couple of packs of cigarettes, may be back on Theo Paphitis’s shopping list

Business news  

Bumper year for share market

Investors found a rich seam in miners in a resurgent year for the FTSE. The pain of the crisis, though, hasn't gone away

• Copper sends FTSE to 15-month high

• FTSE 100 closes down by 31% in worst year

Money printing scheme is working, Bank says

Latest survey shows availability of credit to businesses has risen for four consecutive quarters

M&A loses its Wall Street footing

For first time in six years, remuneration for advisory role is not main source of fees for American investment banks

Sport News  

Portsmouth fail to pay players again

The troubled South Coast club say that they are hoping to pay outstanding December salaries on January 5

• Portsmouth face fight for survival

• Winding-up petition is last resort

AT&T drops Tiger Woods sponsorship

The US mobile phone giant joined other major sponsors in dropping or cutting back their association with the shamed sports star

Liverpool facing fight to land Rodríguez

Liverpool have made an approach for unsettled Argentina winger Maxi Rodríguez but face stiff competition from Boca Juniors

Comment  

World must neutralise Tehran’s threat

Iran’s pursuit of the bomb and its sponsoring of terror has to be met with sanctions that bite

• Liam Fox

I look like a python that’s eaten a goat

Those 12 hours of telly a day, combined with the intake of a five-man Everest expedition, take their toll

• Frank Skinner

A tale of two downturns and debt

How money and wealth has fluctuated since 2000

• James Charles

• Graphic: the decade in money and wealth

Life and Style  

An outfit for every New Year's Eve celebration

Whether you’re staying in, donning black tie or braving Trafalgar Square, it’s not too late to welcome 2010 in style

Loneliness epidemic sweeping through UK

Age Concern says that half a million over-65s spent Christmas Day alone. But initiatives to banish isolation offer hope

The bench: intimate thoughts, far horizons

Grace Chapman loved ‘her’ bench and its Atlantic view — so she left a box on it for others to share their musings

Arts & Entertainment  

Two stars for Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Even tried and tested stars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker fail to sparkle in this catatonically banal rom-com

Peter Jackson knighted in NZ honours list

Oscar-winning director knighted in first honours list since NZ reinstated title as former PM Helen Clark wins highest honour

Three stars for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

At only just over two hours, this is a rare example of a panto that doesn’t overrun. But nor does it gel or charm