Lottery plan for Blair Iraq inquiry tickets

Chilcot inquiry decides public ballot is fairest way to cope with demand to see former PM give evidence on war

FORECAST: Winter set to be coldest for 30 years

Britain's coldest December for 14 years will be followed by freezing January and February, says Met Office

The cost of 48 hours of snow: £1 billion

As almost half of Manchester’s employees are unable to reach work because of the weather, business groups warn of the impact

South battles worst snowfall for 23 years

Met Office issues emergency flash warning as 40cm snow began falling, amid fears over supplies of salt and gas

Muse album awarded Best Sleeve of the Year

The rock group's Resistance album which features a fantasy image of a silhouetted figure topped a poll to win the Art Vinyl Award

Mona Lisa's smile may have belied ill health

An Italian professor who has been studying the Old Masters believes the subjects were far from being icons of perfection

Computers transformed in the blink of an eye

Microsoft is working on devices that could be controlled by hand and body gestures such as the clicking of fingers

Warning signs were ignored

From the moment that Britain declared no saver should lose a penny from the crisis the country’s taxpayers were on the hook

Brown ‘using public cash to spread message’

Seven cabinet meetings organised by the Prime Minister near key marginal seats cost taxpayers up to £100,000 a time

Choirboy Walter, 87, still hits the high notes

Bishop of Ely congratulates Walter Chamberlain, who also rang the church bell, blew the organ, dug graves and cut the grass

Queen to give Greenwich Royal Borough status

The home of Mean Time will be honoured as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations that will include an extra bank holiday

London Zoo counts its animals in

With more than 750 species, London Zoo’s annual count starts with the aardvark and ends with the zebras

Tories dropping married tax break makes sense

With marriage now a middle-class perk it is economically sensible for David Cameron to reduce tax breaks for married couples

Quirk of law leaves larger issues at play

Britain has gained a reputation as being an easy place to obtain a warrant and there are calls for a change to the system

Iceland out in the cold

President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has shown the country is at war with itself and unsure who is to blame for the crisis

Big freeze raises hope for curling championship

A Grand Match or Bonspiel - the rare, open air curling competition held only in the coldest of Scottish winters - could be set for the Lake of...

Mandy, ray of sunshine in the bleak midwinter

Lord Mandelson brought good news of the Diamond Jubilee to the Lords, while outside the chamber all was doom and gloom