Hit F5 for updates or turn on the automatic widget below. Alan will be here from 7.30. In the meantime email alanrgardner@gmail.com with ideas on how either of these clubs' seasons could get any worseAlan will be here from 7.30pm. As it says above, why not email him your thoughts on more ways of inflicting misery on the fans of Liverpool and Portsmouth. Rafael Benítez has one idea, as explained in Louise Taylor's match preview:Rafael Benítez fears Fernando Torres will seek to leave Anfield should Liverpool fail to qualify for next season's Champions League."Finishing fourth in the Premier League would mean a lot to Fernando," said the Liverpool manager ahead of his side's suddenly all-important home game against Portsmouth tonight."People talk about money with Fernando but I can tell...

Detectives investigating the murder of a respected human rights lawyer are looking into whether there are links between his work helping torture victims in Sudan and his killing.Abdelsalam Hassan Abdelsalam, a lawyer and intellectual who had promoted human rights in Sudan for 30 years, was found stabbed to death in his south London flat early on Saturday morning.Police sources said they are probing any connections between his death and his work promoting human rights in Sudan and helping torture victims seek redress.Abdelsalam had been the victim of repeated criminal incidents in the months before his death, including burglaries, antisocial behaviour and harassment. This apparent targeting of the lawyer, who weighed 22 stone and walked with two sticks, is also being investigated."We are...

Ministry of Defence challenges appeal court ruling that it says allows troops to sue over battlefield decisionsThe extent to which British soldiers on any military operation in any country will be able to sue the government under the human rights act will be decided by a landmark case which opened in the supreme court today before nine of the country's most senior judges.The Ministry of Defence is challenging an appeal court ruling which, it claims, will have a serious impact on commanders by allowing troops to sue even as a result of decisions made in the heat of battle.Opponents argue the ministry's fears are exaggerated and that soldiers must be protected by the act as "they are subject to UK law wherever they operate in the world".The case was triggered by the death of Private Jason...

Kate Winslet and her film director husband Sam Mendes have separated after nearly seven years of marriage, their lawyer announced today.Keith Schilling of legal firm Schillings, said: "Kate and Sam are saddened to announce that they separated earlier this year. The split is entirely amicable and is by mutual agreement. Both parties are fully committed to the future joint parenting of their children."He added: "They ask that the media respect the privacy of the family."Winslet, who won an Oscar last year for her role in The Reader, married Mendes, who won a best director Oscar in 1999 film debut, American Beauty, tied the knot in a secret ceremony in the West Indies in May 2003. Later that year Winslet gave birth to the couple's son, Joe. She has a daughter, Mia from her first marriage to...

New evidence that Double Falsehood was, as 18th-century playwright Lewis Theobald claimed, based on Bard's CardenioIt has thrills, spills, sword fights, violent sexual assault and – to modern ears – a terrible ending, but the little-known 18th century play Double Falsehood was propelled into the literary limelight today when it was claimed as a lost Shakespeare.Professor Brean Hammond of Nottingham University will publish compelling new evidence next week that the play, a romantic tragi-comedy by Lewis Theobald is – as the author always maintained it was – substantially based on a real Shakespeare play called Cardenio.Hammond has been backed in his assertion by the Shakespeare publisher Arden and there are unconfirmed rumours that the play will open at the Royal Shakespeare...

A fossil amphibian has come to light on land owned by FedEx and has been named Fedexia striegeliFossil hunters have named a 300m-year-old amphibian in honour of the courier service FedEx, after unearthing the creature on land owned by the company near a US airport.The remains of the ancient amphibian, which lived 70m years before the first dinosaurs, were recovered in 2004 from a slab of rock near Pittsburgh International Airport by Adam Striegel, an amateur fossil enthusiast on a geology field trip.Researchers at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh described the creature on the basis of its remarkably well-preserved 12cm-long skull, which survived fossilisation without being crushed.A group led by David Berman, curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the museum,...

Unpopular Gordon Brown lags behind David Cameron on every question in today's surveyThe prime minister's deep unpopularity is continuing to harm Labour's election chances, according to today's Guardian/ICM poll, which shows the gap between the two main parties has grown to nine points.Voters remain unconvinced by the Conservative alternative, with 29% thinking a clear Tory victory would be best. Only 18% think Britain would be best served by a strong Labour win this spring. Both groups are outnumbered by the 44% who want a hung parliament in which the government works with smaller parties such as the Liberal Democrats.Only 38% of people who voted Labour in 2005 want to see the party win a strong majority now, while 43% would prefer a hung parliament.One explanation is that many voters,...

Jonathan Sumption QC charged sum for three-day appeal court hearing in attempt to protect MI5The government spent £80,000 hiring one of Britain's most expensive commercial lawyers in a last-ditch attempt to suppress information in the Binyam Mohamed torture case, the Guardian has learned.Figures from the Treasury solicitor's department show that Jonathan Sumption QC was hired at a rate of £500 an hour last October, in addition to two other government barristers working on the case.Sumption charged the taxpayer £80,174 plus VAT for a three-day appeal court hearing in December, billing for approximately 160 hours, or a month's full-time labour. But his attempts to protect MI5 misfired spectacularly when he privately wrote to the court asking the country's three most senior appeal judges...

Vera Baird responds to Stern report calling for less emphasis on 6% figure, saying it accurately reflects situation victims faceThe government should continue highlighting the low proportion of reported rapes that end in a successful prosecution, despite a review's claim that focusing on the 6% rate was detrimental to victims, the solicitor general, Vera Baird, said today.Baroness Stern's independent report into how rape complaints are handled called for politicians and campaigners to stop quoting the 6% figure. Stern said the way it had been used was "extremely unhelpful" and misleading, because it suggested there was little chance of attackers being found guilty in court. The fact that 58% of cases that reached court resulted in a successful prosecution was more relevant, Stern...

It's a sad day in podland, and not just because Phil Brown has been relieved of his duties at Hull City. On your brand new Football Weekly, we sing an ode to David Beckham, whose World Cup dream is over in the wake of a potentially career-ending achilles injury (although that cut under his eye looks fairly nasty too). James Richardson and a dangerously sleep-deprived Rob Smyth shed a tear. Before we get to that, proper journalist Owen Gibson looks ahead to Chelsea's Champions League clash with Internazionale. Plus, there's all the usual gubbins about the Premier League title race – could it all come down to goal difference? – and the fight for fourth place. Can Tottenham Hotspur really hang on in the face of the crumbling challenge from Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Manchester...

At the annual Polish film festival, a pair of sensational new films – Mall Girls and Snow White, Russian Red – give a glimpse of life in post-communist, post-EU accession PolandWhen it comes to the Poles in their midst, your average Brit's grip on the facts tends to be a little shaky. There are more than a million Poles in residence in the UK, aren't there? Or is the number closer to half that? Some say they're toughing out the recession; others declare they are being lured home in droves by repatriation campaigns. It seems as if there's a Polski sklep on every high street, but where the hell's a shop selling kiełbasa when you need one?But if most of us are unsure what it's like for Poles in Britain, we're utterly in the dark as to what it's like back in Poland. A pair of sensational...

• Clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger bought by Calvin Klein owner• Founder stays on as 'principal designer and visionary'Once known as a "bling" brand beloved of music stars, the preppy all-American clothes label Tommy Hilfiger is to join the same corporate stable as designer outfit Calvin Klein, through a €2.2bn (£2bn) takeover by the New York-based fashion group Phillips Van-Heusen (PVH).In a deal struck today, PVH agreed to buy Hilfiger from venture capital firm Apax Partners, which has presided over a successful turnaround of the business it bought in 2006.The brand's eponymous founder, Tommy Hilfiger, will stay on as "principal designer and visionary" under the ownership of PVH, which has a portfolio stretching from starchy Van Heusen formal shirts to Calvin Klein's raunchily...

Unite accuses politicians of jumping on anti-strike bandwagon after PM and Lord Adonis condemn walkoutsThe political row over the looming British Airways industrial action has escalated with the Unite trade union accusing Gordon Brown of jumping on an anti-strike bandwagon when he called the walkout "unjustified and deplorable".Responding to the prime minister's attack on the three-day cabin crew walkout due to start on Saturday, the joint general secretary of Unite, Tony Woodley, said: "It's amazing, isn't it, how many people at interesting political times jump on how many bandwagons to condemn workers."Speaking on the World At One show on BBC Radio 4, Woodley also hit back at the transport secretary, Lord Adonis, over his criticism of the strike. Adonis said he "absolutely deplored" the...

Ayrshire Power starts planning process for power station which would be UK's first to use carbon capture and storageClimate activists are threatening a campaign of direct action against a new coal-fired power station that could be the UK's first to fit carbon-capture technology.Campaigners say that if the proposed 1.6GW station in Ayrshire is approved, it will be the "new Kingsnorth", a reference to E.ON's controversial coal-fired plant in Kent that sparked battles between protesters and police before E.ON finally shelved it.The warnings from Friends of the Earth Scotland, WWF Scotland and the World Development Movement came as Ayrshire Power today took the first formal step towards applying for planning permission for the new station, at Hunterston on the Firth of Clyde.The proposal has...

Celine Lesage faces life imprisonment for aggravated homicide, after children's corpses were found at her Valognes flat in 2007A 38-year-old French woman has admitted killing six of her newborn children, at a trial in north-west France.Celine Lesage, who faces life imprisonment if convicted of aggravated homicide, was arrested in 2007 after her then partner found the babies' corpses wrapped in plastic bags in the basement of her Valognes flat.Speaking today at the opening of a four-day trial, Lesage bowed her head as the charges were read out, before responding: "I acknowledge the facts."Chief judge Herve Locu pressed her to find out whether the babies had been stillborn or born alive. After repeated questioning, Lesage responded: "They were alive."Her lawyer, Veronique Carre, said Lesage...

Quite aside from their environmental impact, an Aga makes cooking many dishes unnecessarily difficult and others impossible. So what's the attraction?I'll confess to feeling a flicker of schadenfreude at the news that Aga's profits fell 97% last year. In truth, I'm not a fan of Dr Dalén's miracle machine. How do I loathe them? Let me count the ways.They're not really about cooking, are they? They're about lifestyle – genteel, welly-clad, Leiths-schooled niceties. Their design invokes a grim miasma of rustic cliché: twinsets and corduroy, pheasants in the scullery, smutty cartoons in a downstairs loo, a farting labrador, spinach roulade and sherried kidneys (I mean the owners').Mary Berry, Aga doyenne and a woman who makes Delia Smith look like Tracey Emin, says in the introduction to...

Gaga's product placement has reached a new order, but how might pop have looked if such blatant commercial opportunism had always been the norm?It's fair to say Lady Gaga's new video has caused a stir. Since it surfaced on Thursday night, the world's media – with the possible exception of John Pilger, and even he probably muttered a tentative OMG in private – have offered their opinion on Telephone. The more thoughtful of these have focused on the alarming amount of product placement the video contains.The nine-and-a-half minute clip plugs at least 10 separate brands, including Virgin Mobile, Diet Coke, Polaroid (for which Gaga is a creative director, though whether she attends board meetings wearing her jacket made of Kermit heads is unclear), and Wonder Bread. It's this last one...

Prius's uncontrollable acceleration not replicated in official tests, but driver's lawyers insist claim is genuineThe case of a runaway Toyota Prius that took its driver on a 30-minute terror ride has been plunged into controversy after an official inquiry failed to find any problem with its accelerator.The credibility of James Sikes's report is now being questioned, following a leaked memo that found that government investigators could not replicate the problem of the vehicle's uncontrollable acceleration.Sikes hit the news worldwide last week, after his Prius reached speeds of more than 90mph along a motorway outside San Diego. Sikes called the emergency services, saying that he could not stop the car, despite "standing" on the brakes. Eventually a Californian highway patrol officer had...

Iraqi Shia group's video shows captive watching television, exercising and playing with childAn Iraqi Shia group blamed for holding hostage the British IT consultant Peter Moore today denied his claims of torture and abuse and released new video footage of him apparently relaxing in captivity.The group, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, accused Moore of lying when he recounted his mistreatment to the Times and Channel 4 last week. Moore said he was beaten almost every day, hung by his arms from a door, and at one point subjected to a mock execution.The group, known in English as the League of the Righteous, said: "We deny the lies he said and assure all that we had treated him well."To confirm our position, we are showing you a video of Moore's circumstances while in custody."The 46-second video depicts...

Commander Steven Drysdale admits charge over nuclear-powered HMS Superb's collision with large rock in Red SeaA Royal Navy commander crashed a nuclear-powered submarine into a large rock in the Red Sea after misreading a number one as seven on a navigational chart, a court martial heard today.Commander Steven Drysdale, who was in charge of HMS Superb, had ordered the vessel to take a shorter route to make sure it reached a rendezvous point in time for an operation. The submarine dived to reach deeper water so that it could travel faster, the hearing at Portsmouth naval base was told.A pinnacle jutting out from the seabed was marked as being at a depth of 123 metres, but Drysdale misread it as 723. Thinking that the boat would clear the obstruction easily, the submarine was directed...

MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland was 53 and not thought to have any serious health problemsLabour MP Ashok Kumar was found dead today at his home in his Middlesbrough constituency, it was announced today.Aides called the emergency services when he failed to arrive at his office in the House of Commons this morning. Kumar, 53, was not thought to be suffering from any serious health problem and his death was described as "sudden".A former scientist, Kumar had been MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland since 1997. At the last election he had a majority of 8,000.He was parliamentary private secretary to Hilary Benn, the environment secretary.Kumar also briefed served as MP for Langbaurgh from 1991, when he won a byelection, until 1992, when he was defeated at the general...

A selection of the best images from around the world...

Men's desire for women to take their husband's surname tends to trump women's interest in any alternative solutionThere's nothing wrong with a man saying that his wife should adopt his surname when they get married. While this is quite standard practice in Britain, the history of surnames is one of paternalism, discrimination, and the handling of women in a manner akin to property. Perhaps because of this, indignant feminist friends have recently forced me to defend my expressed preference for patrilinealism.Britain ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination of All Forms Against Women on 7 April 1986, which states in Article 5(a) that we will "take all appropriate measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct with a view to achieving the elimination...

The photographer talks about body language, Picasso and his dread of modern celebritiesSarfraz ManzoorAlex HealeyMichael Tait...

The Thai elites may not like it but the people support Thaksin-aligned parties. Bringing in the army is not the answerIt's not hard to identify the man at the centre of Thailand's latest political upheavals. Influential sections of Thai society, generally identified as the wealthy urban elite, the military and royalists, have been trying to get rid of Thaksin Shinawatra ever since he first became prime minister in 2001. Even though he now lives in exile, his banished shade haunts the streets of Bangkok.An unsuccessful plot to blow up Thaksin's plane two months after his first election victory launched a decade of turmoil. He was re-elected by another landslide in 2005, only to face more judicial challenges, apparent assassination plots, and finally the military coup that ousted him in...

Jane...

Israeli ambassador to Washington says ties with US in 'crisis of historic proportions' amid row over settlement plansIsrael's relations with the US are at their worst for 35 years amid a continuing row over Jewish settlement plans in East Jerusalem, the Israeli ambassador to Washington admitted today.US officials are reported to have urged Israel to reconsider sudden plans to build 1,600 homes in the occupied area, after they were described by one of Barack Obama's closest aides as an "affront" to the US that could undermine peace efforts in the Middle East.The Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu apologised for announcing the plans during a visit last week to Israel by the US vice-president, Joe Biden. "I recommend not to get carried away and to calm down," he said yesterday.But he...

Spanish police confirm operation involving Germans, Swiss and AustriansPolice across Europe are carrying out dozens of arrests of suspected members of a Russian mafia network dedicated to extortion and violent crime in numerous countries, Spanish police confirmed today.At least 69 people have been arrested in raids that started over the weekend, with police claiming that the gang had exported the worst Russian mafia methods to numerous countries, including Britain. "These people were prepared to kill if necessary and accepted tasks of that nature," an anonymous Spanish police source told El País newspaper this morning."The operation is ongoing. There will probably be even more arrests during the day," a Spanish police spokeswoman said.Spain's special organised crime unit was in charge of...

Coroner calls for further review of standards after hearing into morphine-related deaths of Dr Howard Martin's patientsDoctors who fail to adapt to modern medicine may face tougher sanctions, after an inquest into the morphine-related deaths of three seriously ill patients of a "stubborn or conservative" GP.The County Durham coroner, Andrew Tweddle, said today he would ask for a further review of standards, which were drastically revised after the Harold Shipman murders.Recording verdicts that high doses of morphine contributed to two of the deaths involving Dr Howard Martin, Tweddle said there had been no intention to kill but the GP's well-intentioned treatment had been out of date.Martin, 75, was cleared at Teesside crown court in December 2005 of murdering Harry Gittins, 74, Frank...

Former Dresdner Kleinwort employee Christian Littlewood and wife Angie accused of insider trading going back over a decadeAn investment banker and his wife were today charged with 13 counts of insider dealing dating back over a decade.Christian Littlewood, a former employee of Dresdner Kleinwort, and his wife Angie were bailed to attend City of Westminster magistrates' court on 6 April. They are accused of insider trading in a number of different shares quoted on the London Stock Exchange between 2000 and 2009.A third suspect, a 33-year-old Singaporean national, has been arrested in the Comoros Islands off the coast of Africa. The FSA is seeking his extradition to the UK to face charges of insider dealing – the first time the City watchdog has tried to extradite a suspect from...

Prime minister indicates future plans amid speculation election could result in minority governmentGordon Brown said today he intends to "keep going" as Labour leader even if the party loses the general election.The prime minister signalled his intention to carry on in the event of a drubbing at the polls as part of a wide-ranging interview with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme this morning, in which he also admitted that allegations that he sometimes bullied his staff had been "damaging".The prime minister was put on the spot over his future plans amid growing speculation that voters could return a minority government after the general election, which is expected to take place on 6 May.Two polls at the weekend provided further evidence that the Tory lead is shrinking. YouGov in the...

Chief medical officer says physical activity is 'miracle cure' crucial for good healthThe chief medical officer today berates the nation for its slothfulness, saying that inactivity is pervasive in England and the cause – and future cause – of worsening health.If a drug existed that would improve health as drastically as taking more exercise, it would be hailed a miracle cure, says Sir Liam Donaldson in his last On the State of Public Health report before stepping down."Inactivity pervades the country. It affects more people in England than the combined total of those who smoke, misuse alcohol or are obese," says Donaldson. "Being physically active is crucial to good health. If a medication existed that had a similar effect on preventing disease, it would be hailed as a miracle...

Teenager held in connection with death of Rugby couple who died after mobility scooter set alight and fire spread to houseA second teenager was arrested today in connection with the death of an elderly couple after a blaze at their home, police said.Kath and Albert Adams, both 77, died after suffering smoke inhalation on 27 February.A mobility scooter parked outside the front door of their sheltered accommodation in Rugby, Warwickshire, was set alight and the flames spread to their house.A second fire was started at the complex on 1 March, but nobody was hurt.Warwickshire police said an 18-year-old from Rugby was arrested this morning on suspicion of manslaughter and arson with intent in connection with the two fires. He was in custody awaiting questioning by officers.A 15-year-old boy...

The Man Booker prize winner has filmed a cameo appearance in forthcoming Canadian movie Score: A Hockey MusicalShe's won the Man Booker prize for her fiction, been awarded 16 honorary degrees and fights on behalf of authors' rights as vice-president of International PEN. But Margaret Atwood has just completed what could be her toughest challenge yet: singing in a musical about ice hockey.The author of The Blind Assassin and The Handmaid's Tale revealed last week that she has a singing cameo in the Canadian film Score: A Hockey Musical, the story of a teenage hockey phenomenon whose intellectual mother, played by Olivia Newton-John, is dismayed by his ascent to fame. "Yes, I sang, shameless me," said Atwood on her blog, posting photographs from the film's ice-rink set. "We were all in an...

Aerial pictures of the path followed by Hadrian's Wall, picked out in light by torches lit from coast to coast...

Ethical Consumer will be online this week to give advice and explain the methodology it uses to rate brands – post your questions belowWant to know how to tell the good guys from the bad guys? Talk to this week's You ask, they answer guest, Ethical Consumer magazine. For the past two decades, its experts have been helping consumers to avoid brands and companies with a poor social and environmental track record, and reward those with a positive one, by rating products from TVs and mobile phones to pushchairs and chocolate bars.Want to know who's up and who's down in the list of eco-villains and heroes, and whether bete noires such as Primark have cleaned up or not? Need some help on a big buying decision and want Ethical Consumer's advice on the greenest and fairest choice? Or would you...

ONS survey used to track inflation shines light on Britain's changing spending habitsBars of soap, lipstick and pitta bread are out; hair straighteners, garlic bread and Blu-ray disc players are in. The latest shake-up of the shopping "basket" used to measure UK inflation shines a light on Britain's changing spending habits.The Office for National Statistics announced the changes this morning, in its annual shake-up of the measure which tracks changes in the cost of living. It said Britons spend significantly more on bottles of liquid soap (which enters the list) rather than old-fashioned bars, while the market for electrical hair tongs now exceeds that for hairdryers.On the food side, the ONS has added bottles of mineral water to its list, replacing cans of fizzy drinks. Cereal bars are...

• Club statement says former manager 'on gardening leave'• Brian Horton and Steve Parkin to take charge of first teamPhil Brown has been "relieved of his managerial duties" at Hull City.Hull, who lost to a late Nicklas Bendtner goal at home to Arsenal on Saturday, are 19th in the Premier League, three points away from safety.A statement on the club website, by Adam Pearson, the club's chairman, read: "Hull City AFC confirms that Phil Brown has been relieved of his managerial duties at the club and has been placed on gardening leave with immediate effect. Brian Horton and Steve Parkin will take charge of first-team duties until further notice."We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Phil for the major success achieved during a period of four seasons in charge at the club...

• England 599-6 dec & 209-7 dec; Bangladesh 296 & 191-5Fakes are ten a taka in Chittagong. Look to the left and Hugo Boss have supposedly developed a new line in wastebins. To the right, if you believe the sign, you can shop for Ikea furniture and it will take you no more than a few seconds to walk around the store.It should be no surprise therefore that Test matches involving Bangladesh are often derided as fake. It might say on the ICC label that it is a Test, but the quality is dubious. England can wear their victory, but they will not be allowed to wear it with pride. People will be queueing up to tell them that it is not the real thing.Well, perhaps it is the real thing. Not the Ashes, admittedly, but perhaps genuine enough. Anybody glancing at their fake Rolexes through their fake...

Secrets, lies and love mingle as Amy Bloom reads the title story from her new collection...