I?m the first of many, warns airline ?bomber? Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

A global search for accomplices in the Detroit airliner plot was under way yesterday after an al-Qaeda group based in Yemen claimed responsibility for the operation and the would-be bomber was reported to have said that more attacks were being planned.

Three new species of tree identified in Cheddar Gorge

It is not just at the bottom of the sea or in the tropical rainforests that new species are being discovered. Scientists have identified three previously unrecorded species of tree in Cheddar Gorge, one of the most studied landscapes in Britain.

Chinese tell British drug-smuggler Akmal Shaikh he will die tomorrow

Akmal Shaikh was allowed a final visit yesterday from relatives who had flown from Britain to beg the Chinese authorities to call off his execution.

MoD faces questions over why the Army majors on generals

The Army is weighed down with top brass, according to figures showing that the number of generals and brigadiers has risen since Labour came to power in 1997.

George Orwell birthplace is saved from becoming an animal farm

Until recently few residents of Motihari district in eastern India had ever heard of George Orwell, let alone his most famous literary works, Animal Farm and 1984.

Ministers ?to take control? of hospital charity cash

Hundreds of millions of pounds of charity donations to hospitals are to be ?nationalised? under an NHS accounting change, which critics say will make it easier to slash health budgets.

Harman retreats on cutting MPs? ?self-promotion? grant

MPs have forced a U-turn over plans to shut their publicly funded websites and abolish their £10,040-a-year communications allowance.

3-D Avatar pushes Christmas box office takings to record $75 million$

3-D cinema has finally come of age, it would seem. Avatar, James Cameron?s long-awaited special effects extravaganza, took $617 million ($£385 million) globally in the ten days over Christmas.

Mandelson tells parents how to deal with the boomerang generation

He has returned to the Cabinet more times than any other minister but now Lord Mandelson is giving advice to parents on how to rid their homes of the ?boomerang? generation.

Fresh icy blast brings travel warnings with heavy snow forecast

The freezing weather in Northern Ireland has disrupted water supply to many homes, and Northern Ireland Water has taken thousands of calls. Today snow is expected in Wales and Central England.

Missing British skier: body found

The body of a man has been discovered near a chair lift in a Swiss ski resort where a British skier went missing last week, according to the Swiss media.

Private schools hindered by Whitehall regulation, says top head teacher

Private schools are losing their independence because of endless government regulation and a tick-box culture, according to a leading headmistress.