North Pole becomes an island for the first time in 125,000 years
New satellite images show that the North Pole has become an island for the first time in 125,000 years. Shipping companies are expected to take advantage of the short cut around the globe made available to them by the opening of both the North-west and North-east passages. Canada has demanded all ships using the North-west passage report to its government. (Independent on Sunday) Whatever happened to the climate change consensus? 
New Orleans evacuates as Gustav nears
Thousands of people have been scrambling to escape New Orleans ahead of a mandatory evacuation order as Hurricane Gustav crosses the Caribbean having left more than 70 dead and hundreds homeless in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. The Louisiana city is braced for the worst storm since Hurricane Katrina struck almost exactly three years ago. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency. (Mail on Sunday, Observer) In pictures: New Orleans, the forgotten city
Bailiffs were due at blaze mansion
Osbaston House, the Shropshire mansion where two bodies have been found, went up in flames just hours before bailiffs arrived. It transpires that the owner, business tycoon Christopher Foster, was facing ruin after the loss of his business with £1.8m debts. Foster, his wife Jillian and their 15-year-old daughter Kirstie have all been missing since the arson attack on the house on Monday night. Yesterday, police found the teeth and blackened bones of two people. They have not yet been identified. (Sunday Times)
Brown and Darling add to turmoil
A row between Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling over state-backed mortgages lies behind the Chancellor's controversial comments at the weekend about Britain facing its worst recession in 60 years and voters being "p****ed off" with the Labour government. The Prime Minister is determined to announce a £40bn plan for the state to underwrite mortgages, in a bid to help homeowners avoid defaulting on loans, but the Treasury and the Bank of England say it could be an expensive flop. Adding to the turmoil in Downing Street, it is reported that the Prime Minister’s chief strategy guru, Stephen Carter, it to leave his job after a bitter turf war inside Number Ten. (Mail on Sunday, Independent on Sunday) People: Brown appoints spin supremo
McCain faces VP backlash
The US Republican candidate John McCain is facing a backlash from his party over his choice of running mate, after it emerged he had met the governor of Alaska, former beauty queen Sarah Palin, only once before offering her the job. Shannen Coffin, a former adviser to Dick Cheney, said choosing Palin would seem "desperate" to voters considering her relative inexperience. (Sunday Times) US election: news, comment and analysis People: McCain's hot shot Veep
The senior police officer who is suing Sir Ian Blair, head of the Metropolitan Police, for racial discrimination, has received a "barrage" of death threats he claims were made by serving police officers. Tarique Ghaffur is hiring a private security team in response. (Observer) People: Sir Ian Blair hits back at Boris Johnson
A last-minute legal challenge has been lodged in the European Court for Human Rights to stop scientists from turning on a machine which critics claim could destroy the earth. The £4.4bn Large Hadron Collider, to be switched on in 10 days, could create a black hole. (Sunday Telegraph)
The families of the 14 servicemen killed in 2006 when their Nimrod spy plane exploded are to sue the government under the European Convention on Human Rights. The action will be a test case which could trigger scores of similar claims in the future. (Observer)
US intelligence operatives believe that Russia is using the threat of selling an air defence system to Iran as a bargaining chip in a new cold war between the two countries. The US fears the sale will go ahead if it pushes for Nato membership for Georgia and Ukraine. (Sunday Telegraph) Miliband ratchets up the rhetoric against Russia
Pilots for buget carrier Ryanair have denounced new cost-cutting measures as "insane" and compromising the safety of passengers. The airline is saving money by curbing the discretionary right of pilots to request extra fuel to hold as a safety reserve. (Sunday Times)
The Buckingham Palace Guardsmen may be about to give up their famous bearskin hats in favour of something designed by Stella McCartney or Vivienne Westwood. Each hat is made from the pelt of one brown bear, and their numbers have sunk to just 600,000 in the wild. (Independent on Sunday) People: fur flies over Pope's penchant for ermine
EU member states are to take part in an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss how to react to Russia's recognition of the breakaway enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The UK is to urge the imposition of sanctions on Kremlin-backed intelligence chiefs. (Sunday Telegraph) Give nationalism a chance Nato must rethink its purpose
Stalwarts of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) say they feel "betrayed" by Asif Ali Zardari (left), Benazir Bhutto's widower, who is purging the party of almost all of his wife's closest advisers. Zardari is expected to become the country's president in this week's election. (Sunday Times) Benazir Bhutto: death of Pakistan's great hope
Venice is hosting its world-famous film festival, with thousands of critics, stars and paparazzi on the Lido. However, in the historic heart of the city, rent increases and a dwindling population have left locals with only one cinema, and tourists will soon outnumber residents. (Observer) In pictures: Venice Film Festival People: Valentino film shows the 'Sun Bed King' at his best
A city merger is to cost at least 1,200 jobs at Dresdner Kleinwort in London. The deal between two German banks, Dresdner and Commerzbank, is to be announced today. Insurance giant Allianz is selling Dresdner, a loss-making subsiduary, to Commerzbank. (Observer)
A group of overseas investors has expressed interest in acquiring shareholdings in the National Lottery operator, Camelot. A 20 per cent share of Camelot is being sold off by Cadbury and Thales, with the formal sale commencing next month. (Sunday Telegraph)
The Bank of England will not cut interest rates this week, analysts predict, despite pleas as 17,000 companies are set to go under this year. Inflation is heading towards five per cent, and it is thought the Bank will see its primary duty as controlling it. (Independent on Sunday) The First Post business pages
The old guard of Hollywood is to tell all in a glut of books by veteran actors. Tony Curtis (left), Diahann Carroll, Robert Wagner and Roger Moore are among the actors revealing their secrets and settling old scores. Writes Tony Curtis: "I started using cocaine [because] it was great for sex." (Observer) This week's film reviews
Letters newly released by the Bank of England have shed light on the reason that The Wind in the Willows author Kenneth Grahame left his job, and revealed a possible model for Toad of Toad Hall. Walter Cunliffe was a director at the bank, and Grahame could not stand his autocratic manner. (Independent on Sunday)
A collection of tapes including previously unheard songs by David Bowie and Tom Jones is to go on sale this week. The 1,850 songs and musical arrangements were hoarded by legendary producer Joe Meek, who killed himself in 1967. The unknown Bowie song is called Mockingbird. (Sunday Times) CD reviews from The Week
"I might move to England" - REM singer Michael Stipe (left) cannot bear the thought of living in the US under President John McCain. (Sunday Times)
Publish Post Quentin Joyce, the brother of Nazi propagandist Lord Haw-Haw, was also suspected by the security services of spying for the Germans during WWII, it has been revealed. (Independent on Sunday)
Comic partners Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, stars of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, are to play Thomson and Thompson, the bowler-hatted twins in Steven Spielberg's upcoming Tintin film. (Sunday Telegraph)
The Earl of Cardigan has alerted police to a plan by one of his tenants to hold an illegal gig on his property. The earl is Pete Doherty's landlord. (Independent on Sunday)
French critics are hailing 26-year-old Louise Bourgoin (left) , who until her
recent cinema debut was a TV weather girl for Canal Plus, as the new Brigitte Bardot.
(Sunday Times)
Jack Straw has promised to look into the planned eviction of a group of artists from their studios in west London. Artists affected include Paul Vanstone, Liza Campbell and Sarah Graham. (Independent on Sunday)
"If you could all please send me some oil for my jet I would truly appreciate it" - Rapper P Diddy, who can't afford to fly his private plane as oil prices soar, appeals on his blog. (Observer)
Willie Robertson, from Dunkeld in Perthshire, has become the world haggis eating champion. Mr Robertson ate 1lb of haggis in two minutes and five seconds. (Sunday Telegraph)
The former grace-and-favour residence of David Blunkett (left) in Belgravia is being sold off after no other senior minister wanted it. (Observer)
Brad Pitt turned up almost seven hours late for a press conference he called in Venice to promote his humanitarian charity Not On Our Watch. (Independent on Sunday)
Asked to say "what Chris Hoy thinks of Chris Hoy", the Olympic gold medallist replied: "Chris Hoy thinks that the day Chris Hoy refers to Chris Hoy in the third person is the day that Chris Hoy disappears up his own arse." (Independent on Sunday)
Twenty-eight-year-old Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko (left), soon to appear as a bond girl in Quantum of Solace, has been enjoying an affair with the film's director, Marc Forster. (Sunday Telegraph)
Cuban punk rocker Gorki Aguila has been fined 600 pesos (£12) for his lyrics which ridicule Fidel Castro. (Observer)
Newsreader Selina Scott is suing Channel Five for £1m in compensation after, she says, she was dropped from Five News because she was deemed too old at 57 to make a comeback filling in for Natasha Kaplinsky during her maternity leave. (Sunday Mirror)
After British student Laura Mitchell was drugged and robbed in Australia while on a gap year trip, she was so desperate for cash she turned to nude modelling, earning £14,000 in ten months. (News of the World)
Twenty-nine-year-old Georgina Sutcliffe (left) has repeatedly left her new husband, hard-man actor Sean Bean, just six months into their marriage after a string of blazing rows at their London home. (News of the World)
Welsh actor Rhys Ifans says he is "over" his ex, Sienna Miller. Asked about her while he was out drinking in Ibiza, the 40-year-old said her new lover Balthazar Getty was "welcome to her". (People)
Prime Minister Gordon Brown escaped a Taliban assassination plot on his recent visit to Afghanistan. Terrorists were planning to shoot down Brown's helicopter, but were spotted on a roof below the flight path and fled. (News of the World)
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