Captured sailors were late entry for regatta

Crew of seized yacht were on their way to Dubai after making a late decision to enter the annual coastal race to Oman

Police to use anti-terror tactics to catch rapists

Head of expanded rape squad says Met aims to 'up its game' by using covert surveillance and phone tapping

ANALYSIS: brighter pupils abandoned

Teachers complain that most of the final year of primary school is now given over to teaching narrowly to the test

PROFILES: Who are the captured sailors?

Four of the men seized in the Gulf are keen sailors who were heading for a regatta. The fifth is a Bahrain-based journalist

Hyslop stripped of education role

Alex Salmond demotes Education Minister after barrage of criticism over failure to deliver on promise to cut class sizes

2009's most Googled name? Stephen Gately

Boyzone singer's death makes him the most searched-for personality in Google's UK searches, beating Michael Jackson

BBC broadcast faked scenes in daytime auction show

Sun, Sea and Bargain Spotting featured production staff buying antiques while pretending to be members of the public

Independent Scotland could pay the price

The freedom that Mr Salmond says would liberate the Scottish economy, now looks in the present climate to be shackling

Independence gets chilly reception

The people of Edinburgh react to the prospect of a referendum on the future of Scotland

British Library to return looted 12thC book

The Benevento Missal, stolen from a cathedral in 1943, could be returned to Italy within months under new Holocaust law

Salmond unveils independence White Paper

First Minister says he is‘prepared to be flexible’, but all three Unionist parties in Scotland oppose ‘white elephant’

£6bn Aids project 'not reaching most in need'

International Development Committee says that sex workers and drug-users are not benefiting from healthcare strategy

First 83ft superlorry hits UK roads

A 74-year-old freight company owner will exploit a legal loophole to drive a 25-metre truck banned on UK roads

Special forces provide unique abilities

The SAS have already crippled car bomb networks, killed or captured hundreds of key targets and rescued several hostages

Regional newspapers start internet charging

Industry watches with interest as publisher of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post tests online waters by erecting paywall

Camera-shy badgers take peanut butter bait

Wildlife photographer Richard Costin got through ten jars of the spread luring the nocturnal animals for a perfect close-up

Rail passengers face chaos over Christmas

Passengers in much of England will have to prepare themselves for upheaval on the rail networks due to maintenance

Inside the EU’s anti-piracy bunker

From a basement in Northwood, Middlesex, a joint task force is tackling pirates in the world’s most dangerous waters