VW’s intervention turns the battle for ownership of Rolls into an auction between as many as seven big car groups, all of them foreign. Reports from Germany yesterday suggested that VW had already made a bid and had all but won the contest. But a spokesman for parent company Vickers, which put Rolls up for [...]

Mr Chubais is one of several top officials who received a $90,000 book advance from a publishing company partly owned by a bank which is one of the biggest beneficiaries of state sell-offs. One of the five authors, Alexander Kazakov, Boris Yeltsin’s first deputy chief of staff, was fired by the President yesterday, prompting rumours [...]

In the foreground were lions, hanging out with the insouciance you expect from the guys at the top of the food chain.They are so laid back that they can hardly be bothered to turn their heads in the direction of your clicking cameras. You’d look across at a herd of nervy wildebeest and cautious zebra [...]

General Norman Schwarzkopf, the allied commander, proudly showed film of an American plane hitting an Iraqi mobile Scud missile launcher.
It never happened; or at least it was highly exaggerated. A post-war study by the CIA of 90 scud missile launchers, claimed destroyed by the US air force in Iraq’s western desert, showed that the real [...]

Suspects had been charged or convicted in all but about 10 per cent of the homicides.Compared with the rest of the world, England and Wales have a low homicide rate. Nearly half the women were killed by former partners or lovers, compared with only 6 per cent of men. Men were far more likely – [...]

and the opportunity has been seized by the far-right who have descended on Dover circulating leaflets saying: “Dover In Crisis. Invasion Alert”.The first attempt at a public march by the NF in more than four years has triggered plans for a major counter demonstration. The asylum seekers have been dubbed “the Giro Czechs” by the [...]

For a short cut to the soul of the Cuban capital, Michael Williams offers a guide. There’s a roast on Sundays, and they’re happy to cater for young children, with two high-chairs, children’s cups, bottles, small portions and a short children’s menu.From the Egon Ronay guide `And Children Come Too …’, Bookman, pounds 9.99. Choices [...]

The same company arranges private visits to the Sistine Chapel (a privilege enjoyed yesterday by the Cuban President’s brother, Raul Castro), as part of some of its tours to Italy.The new Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is included on a Spanish itinerary from ACE Study Tours (01223 835055) in May; a week costs pounds 875. A [...]

UBS is expected to announce a merger with rival Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC), a move which would lead to a jobs “bloodbath” in both the City and elsewhere. A full-scale merger of the two banks would create one of the largest banks in the world, with assets of more than pounds 350bn.
“UBS has been in [...]

“Gosh,” I said, forcing my mouth into a more than usually hideous rictus of a smile. “How very useful.” The donor looked pleased.
But what he didn’t realise was that usefulness comes very low on my list of priorities Presents are treats. Follow the path through it and across Pennine Way to a lime kiln.l From [...]