The caterpillar tracks of the towering machine are huge, taller than a man, longer than a car, yet they literally inch forward, so slowly that you take a while to realise they are moving, as the machine carves deep grooves in the sides of a valley built of sticky black mud. This is an open cast mine in Germany, near the Polish border. The machine is not just huge but unlikely, some grounded space ...

Child “M” is an eight year old school child attending a primary school in Manchester . Child “M” was held in detention at Yarls Wood for 52 days this summer. There can be no justification for imprisoning an eight year old child. Child “M” cannot be named for legal reasons. Child “M” is here in the UK

“This is the machine you write books with, dad.” Yes, my boy. The machine comes with the stories in it. You just have to let them out. They put the windows in so you can see them before you try them out.

Have you ever felt the need for a machine that records the strength of your every yodal? How about a bad that repels bandits or a machine gun with a carefully curved barrel? Life has a fabulous gallery of those...

I am very pleased that this country has decided to sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child in full: "The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth." U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) Se also here.

Chris Dillow points out that the late Reg Varney was the first person in the UK to use a cash machine. This leads him to speculate on the impact of the development of the cash machine on consumer spending and inflation. It is possible that the invention of the cash machine reduced the 'shoe-leather' costs of inflation and so made it more likely that inflation would rise. Also, the ease of getting ...

Ancient machine gun may be to blame for shots from the ground that killed 10 troops

FIRST Minister Alex Salmond was today launching a pioneering green-energy wave machine at Leith docks.

Along with "paedophilia", the term "child" has become so expanded as to risk losing coherent meaning. In terms of child protection legislation, a child is anyone below the age of 18 years. That you can drive, have sex, get married and go to war whilst still a "child" is just to highlight our decidedly convoluted views on these matters.

A TOTAL of 7.8 million families in the UK receive child benefit, with £20.30 a week for the eldest child, and £13.40 for every other child.