Renewal rip-offs: don't roll over

Hundreds of thousands of households are being hit by fees to get out of contracts that they never signed up for, because electricity and telecoms providers are rolling them over into new deals without their consent.

Andalucia: readers' tips, recommendations and travel advice

Andalucia boasts some of the loveliest landscapes in Spain Photo: CORBIS

'Antequera is an excellent base for visiting Ronda, Granada and Seville' Photo: CORBIS

The bullring at Ronda Photo: CORBIS
Jerez and beyond
This week's winning review: A couple of summers ago, a friend and I cycled through Andalucia. We were looking for something that combined moderate exercise with sightseeing, great scenery, good food and wine, and comfortable accommodation, so we booked an organised self-guided tour. Self-guided meant we could go at our own pace ..

Warpaint: 'Who’s that tomboy over there, who looks like she doesn’t care?’

You and whose army? Singer Emily Kokal, second from left, with the rest of Warpaint
At the United Palace Theatre in Uptown Manhattan, one of the year’s hottest new rock bands is about to take the stage. Warpaint, an all-girl quartet from Los Angeles, have generated an avalanche of gossip in recent months. For a while their singer/guitarist, Emily Kokal, dated John Frusciante, former Red Hot ...

Maximising minimalism: tailoring for grown-ups

Photo: JOHN SWANNELL
All the talk this autumn/winter about serious, grown-up clothes, and clean lines, devoid of decoration, can be slightly intimidating, especially if you are a bit of a boho at heart.

Female care worker guilty of sexually abusing baby in Colin Blanchard paedophile ring

Tracy Dawber arriving at Winchester Crown Court Photo: PA
Tracy Dawber, 44, today became the fourth woman to be convicted of abuse and pornography offences relating to a child abuse ring run by the "evil" paedophile Colin Blanchard.

Terrorism and cyber attacks main threats to Britain

David Cameron, who co-wrote the foreword to the report with Nick Clegg Photo: AP
The new National Security Strategy identifies four ''tier one'' risks which, it says, must be the Government's highest priority.
The other major threats are a large scale accident or natural hazard such as pandemic flu and an international military crisis which could draw in the UK and its allies.

'Super Mario' Sepulveda: First days in Chilean mine were 'pure hell,' calls talk of sex 'wrong'

 

They inspired hope around the world, but according to one Chilean miner, the experience was "pure hell."
"Super Mario" Sepulveda, the second miner to emerge after more than two months trapped underground in Copiapo, Chile, has spoken out for the first time about the horrific ordeal.

Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is not living in cave, but in a house in northwest Pakistan

Terror leader Osama Bin Laden is living it up in Pakistan, not cowering in some cave, a senior NATO official tells CNN.
The report indicates that the founder of Al Qaeda, the organization responsible for multiple terror attacks including those on 9/11, is shacked up in a home somewhere in the northwest region of the country.

Derek Jeter admits Cliff Lee is tough, but captain knows Yankees have beat tough pitchers in past

The Yankees come home now. They have to believe that Game 3 of the American League Championship Series Monday night at the Stadium is as much about them and the place as it is about the opposing pitcher, even if the pitcher is Cliff Lee.

X Factor 2010: Dannii Minogue beats Cheryl Cole yet again in fashion battle in a Victoria Beckham dress

Style wars: Dannii Minogue wore a beige asymmetrical Victoria Beckham column dress (left), while Cheryl Cole opted for a strapless black Azzaro jumpsuit on Saturday's X Factor
Style wars: Dannii Minogue wore a beige asymmetrical