He was forced to do the begging for 14 hours per day

Forget all talk of soft landings - the fact that the world's biggest economy shed 533,000 jobs last month smacks of a slump

Simon Hoggart: If I ever am confined to bed, which is rarely, I like to watch Hitchcock's Psycho. For some reason it always cheers me up

Ian Jack: Considering the rubbish filling bookshops at this time of year, nepotism is the least of our worries

Pankaj Mishra on the literary form that just won't die

Christine Gilbert tells Polly Curtis what Baby P means for Ofsted and social services

Leaked evidence quotes BAE agent recommending 'financially incentivising' politicians before £1.6bn warplanes order

Two men arrested on suspicion of murder after altercation at coffee shop in Sandakan, Borneo

Complaints against brutality and excessive force have risen sharply since last year, say Human Rights Watch

Single-storey red-brick building is in same neighborhood where family lived before US president entered politics

Worst floods since 1872 reinvigorate argument over defence of fragile sinking city

About 35 people injured in clashes between settlers and Palestinians in occupied West Bank

Canadian PM seeks to satisfy opponents with new budget when parliament resumes on January 26

Amid a cholera epidemic, people are left to die after medical staff are driven out by appalling conditions and lack of food

Former American football star found guilty of holding up two sports memorabilia dealers in September 2007

Dispute between Fatah-dominated government and rival faction Hamas impacts on pilgrims

He tirelessly campaigned for sanctions and to brand the white South African regime an international pariah

Leaked evidence in dossier to the Guardian quotes BAE agent recommending 'financially incentivising' politicians

Global recession dents prospects for many of the world's leaders trying to contain financial fallout

Victims of alleged abuse lodged their complaint after they were stopped in the street in Paddington