People

The cruellest defenestration of the reshuffle was Tom Harris, the sunny-side-up Transport Minister

Plankton bloom can be seen from space

A plankton bloom covering a huge swath of the English and Bristol channels is being monitored by scientists

Women breakthrough to High Court bench

Five of the 22 High Court judges just announced are women – bringing the total on the bench to its highest, at 17

Plain-speaking council promises to ban jargon

Harrow Council has banned seven of the most bewildering jargon phrases when speaking to members of the public

16-year-old boy qualifies as pilot

A schoolboy has become a fully qualified pilot despite not being old enough to drive a car

Barn owl’s big adventure ends

Roxey, a hand-reared barn owl, managed to survive for four days in the wild with leather straps still fastened round her legs

Staggering Meat Loaf handed award

Spokesman denies the American singer had been drunk after he almost fell off the stage at the Q music awards

Hells Angel 'killed at 90mph in turf war'

Court hears that the Canadian biker Gerry Tobin was shot dead on the M40 by members of a rival gang who had never met him

British woman skydiver conquers Everest

Daredevil Holly Budge lands 12,350 above sea level, setting new parachuting first above world's highest mountain

Double win for Coldplay at Q Awards

Grace Jones almost stole the show in a hood, mask and horns, but Coldplay were the true stars, collecting two gongs

Buncefield victims set for £700m payout

Total, the French oil giant, backs down on a key pillar of its defence against a lawsuit over the 2005 fuel depot blast

Emollient Johnson promises to do better

The London mayor charmed his way through furore about sacking Met police chief, writes Times crime editor

Boris forced to backtrack on race probe

Mayor of London Boris Johnson forced to revise his planned race inquiry, after angry reaction from Met Police Authority

Car sales fall 20% - with more gloom to come

Buyers switch to cheaper, smaller cars as motor industry experiences a sharp fall in sales of luxury saloons and 4x4s

Life in prison for 'Jack the Ripper' killer

Derek Brown, 48, butchered two women in his flat before disposing of their bodies, which have never been found

Markets panic as crunch hits Europe

FTSE hits four-year low and Iceland and Russia face meltdown as EU leaders battle to save confidence in banks

Rapist caught by his ring marked 'Dad'

Daniel Webb's victim described his distinctive jewellery, allowing detectives to match it on crime database

Brown and Merkel try to patch up savings chaos

PM and Chancellor will speak after Germany performed U-turn on pledge that no country should take unilateral banking action

Mayor orders inquiry into police racism

Boris Johnson forced to react after Black Police Association called on ethnic minority recruits to boycott the Met police

How Gordon Brown wooed Peter Mandelson

PM resumed contact with Mandelson shortly before starting as PM, but it intensified when he was in political trouble