French President Nicolas Sarkozy has told car companies who are set to get a 6 billion government bailout that they should keep jobs in France. Deutshe Welle Sarkozy has said French car companies should locate plants at home rather than in countries like the Czech Republic. One of the conditions for bailout is that car makers must keep jobs in France. Our "one eyed scottish idiot" Crash Gordon wou...

Here: The soaring rate of testicular cancer in the UK and other Western countries is linked today to the increased popularity of cannabis. Testicular cancer has more than doubled over the past 30 years and its rise parallels that of the use of cannabis, Britain's most popular illegal drug. Researchers in the US have found that men who regularly smoke cannabis have a 70 per cent increased risk of t...

This is what Ed Balls is reported to have said to Labour's Yorkshire conference at the weekend: "The economy is going to define our politics in Britain in the next year, the next five years, the next 10 and even...

The Government's chief drugs adviser has been ordered to apologise by the Home Secretary for saying that taking ecstasy was no worse than riding a horse.

From the Daily Mail this morning, a report of a Foster Carer "struck off" for "allowing a Muslim girl in her care to convert to Christianity." This is the nub of it: A foster mother has been struck off the register for allowing a Muslim girl in her care to convert to Christianity. The woman, who has looked after more than 80 children in the past ten years, is considering suing the council over the...

This has been brewing for months but we now have an admission in court. It's excellent news of course that he wasn't involved in what he says he was, more than making up for the many hours of many people's time that he has wasted.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has urged British authorities to take it easy on Martin Jahnke, the German student who threw a shoe at him in Cambridge last Monday: "Education is best for a young student, and I hope he will have the opportunity to continue his education. The return of a prodigal is worth more than gold. I hope the student recognises his mistake and uses his developing eyesight to ...

I am indebted to a link in Mr Eugenides' blog to this amazing video-clip of First Minister 'Sir' Alex Salmond singing a duet at the Fife Lodge Hotel (Banff) with singer Sandi Thom (never heard of her, any more than I've heard of 'Sir' Alex Salmond) of an equally cringe-making maudlin' song Caledonia: Fair play to him is due, I suppose, for being willing to make himself look foolish in what he

Ulster Unionist MLA Basil McCrea has welcomed the Speaker's ruling today that he did not breech the rules of Parliamentary debate when he challenged the Minister for Education last Monday. When he questioned Catriona Ruane, Mr McCrea asked, ";Will she admit that as far as the people of Northern Ireland are concerned, she has done more than any other politician to bring the Assembly into disrep...

From the BBC: Charities to get recession funds More than £40m is being put towards helping charities to assist people through the recession, the government is due to announce. The plan, for England and Wales, will include awarding grants to deprived areas, a volunteering scheme, and funds to help non-profit organisations merge. One charity group said the money was "a start" but more would be...