Brown insists he’s right man for job
Gordon Brown has defended his leadership by insisting in a Downing Street press conference yesterday that he is the right person to lead Britain through dificult times. The PM dismissed speculation about challenges to his job as "rumours and gossip". Meanwhile Brown is hoping to secure a last-ditch deal with Labour's rebels over the proposal to increase the period of detention without charge to 42 days, to avoid another defeat.
The Mole: latest from Downing Street 
Obama angry over Bush’s Hitler jibes
Barack Obama has attacked President George W Bush for comparing the Democratic presidential hopeful's offers to negotiate with America's enemies in the Middle East to the "false comfort of appeasement" of Hitler. Bush, on a visit to the Knesset in Israel, said it was a "foolish delusion" to think it was possible to negotiate with extremists and terrorists. Obama, who has offered to negotiate with Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, denounced the "false political attack".
Cockburn: Olmert and Bush should learn from the crusades
US election: latest news
President flies to disaster zone
The Chinese government has made a rare appeal for rescue equipment amid warnings that time is running out to rescue survivors from Monday's catastrophic earthquake in south-western Sichuan Province. Yesterday Chinese President Hu Jintao flew to the disaster zone, his presence indicating the level of state concern over the disaster. State media is reporting that the final death toll could be as high as 50,000.
In pictures: After the Sichuan quake
Lebanon rivals meet for peace talks
Lebanon's rival political leaders are due to meet in Qatar today, in an attempt to pull the country back from the brink of civil war. The immediate crisis - which saw at least 80 people killed in clashes between pro-government groups and Hezbollah forces - was defused yesterday after a climbdown by the Sunni prime minister Fuad Siniora over moves to curb Hezbollah, but the country's underlying political deadlock remains.
Commons loses expenses fight
The House of Commons has lost its High Court battle against a decision to force disclosure of MPs' expenses. The Commons challenged the Information Tribunal's demand that a detailed breakdown of MPs' additional costs allowances had to be provided under the Freedom of Information Act. A total of 14 MPs and former MPs, including Gordon Brown and David Cameron may now have to disclose details of what they claimed.
The Mole: latest news from Downing Street
Mortgages hit eight-year high
Fixed-rate mortgages are at their highest rate for eight years, figures have showed. The average rate for a two-year loan, the most popular mortgage, has reached 6.64 per cent - the highest rate since 2000 and up an average of 2.30 percent from two years ago. The survey by personal finance publisher MoneyFacts comes amid warnings by economists that the Bank of England may not be able to lower interest rates again this year.
Walsh waives £700k bonus over T5
British Airways has reported a record pre-tax profits of £883m but is bracing itself for a difficult 12 months. Soaring oil prices and the problems at Terminal 5 are likely to affect its earnings, particularly in the first quarter. Chief executive Willie Walsh, who described the annual profits as an "outstanding financial result", will forego his £700,000 bonus after the T5 fiasco, saying it would be "innappropriate". BA staff will share a £35m bonus.
People: Willie 'buck stops here' Walsh fires execs
Icahn launches Yahoo coup
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has launched a bid to take control of Yahoo's boardroom, in an effort to force the online search engine to accept a $47bn offer from Microsoft. Icahn, who is legendary for taking stakes in companies whose share price is weak, has spent $1bn acquiring a four per cent stake in Yahoo in the past few weeks and has nominated 10 directors to the internet company's board.
People: Microsoft baulks at Yahoo asking price
