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Mandelson ‘dripped pure poison’ about Brown just weeks ago Peter Mandelson, the new Business Secretary, says he is "joined at the hip" with Gordon Brown, though a senior Tory claimed Mandelson "dripped pure poison" about the PM just weeks ago. In his first interviews since leaving office as the UK's EU trade commissioner, Mandelson said his relationship with Brown had been "prickly" in the past but they had never lost their friendship. He said the claim that he had recently spoken "poison" to an un-named senior Conservative about Brown was "baseless fiction". (Observer, Sunday Times) In pictures: Mandy's back The Mole: Mandelson’s return is bound to get the whisperers going again OJ Simpson guilty of kidnap and robbery Thirteen years after he was acquitted of the murder of his wife and her friend, American sportsman OJ Simpson has been found guilty on 12 charges relating to a bizarre robbery in Las Vegas. The 61-year-old former American football star could spend the rest of his life in jail after a Nevada jury decided he was guilty of offences including armed robbery and kidnapping. As he was led away in handcuffs, his sister Carmelita Durio collapsed in the courtroom. Simpson's lawyers will appeal the verdict. (Sunday Telegraph) Last trial of celebrity crime reporter Dominick Dunne In pictures: OJ Simpson back in handcuffs Brown urges EU aid for businesses Gordon Brown has urged EU leaders to release £12bn of emergency aid from the European Investment Bank to small businesses. Speaking in Paris at a mini-summit hastily convened by French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Brown said the funds were required immediately. However, Germany quickly made clear its total opposition to state bail-outs for struggling banks, with chancellor Angela Merkel saying: "Those who have caused the damage must contribute to the solution." (Observer) War against Taliban ‘can’t be won’ Britain's most senior military commander in Afghanistan says the war against the Taliban cannot be won. Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith says the British public should not expect a "decisive military victory", but that a negotiated settlement is more realistic. Carleton-Smith, commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade said: "We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army." (Sunday Times) Matthew Carr: Laughable to see Afghanistan as the winnable front of the war on terror Winter power shortages feared Safety concerns and failures mean that six of the UK's 10 nuclear power plants are closed or operating below capacity, leading to fears that the country will be hit by power shortages this winter, it has emerged. Of the four which are still in good working order, one is due to close in two years, one is partially closed for maintenance and a third is facing safety questions after flaws were found in similar reactors in Japan. Nuclear power is supposed to supply the UK with one fifth of the electricity it uses. (Independent on Sunday) Economic forecasters have lowered their expectations of growth for the UK, and say the country faces a long and deep recession with unemployment rising by up to 1m. They expect the economy to shrink for at least two consecutive quarters, the technical definition of recession. (Sunday Times) The Government is accused of delaying a controversial decision which could see thousands more post offices closed in addition to 2,500 already scheduled for the axe until after the Glenrothes byelection. The decision is on whether the Post Office will continue to handle state pensions. (Observer) Teachers who have sexual relationships with sixth-formers should not face criminal action, according to the head of a leading teachers' union. Chris Keates, general secretary of the union, says teachers having intercourse with pupils over the age of consent should not be listed as sex offenders. (Sunday Telegraph) Patients suffering from "unfashionable" cancers are being neglected by scientists in spite of record spending on cancer research, according to a new report by the National Cancer Research Institute. The NCRI says some of the deadliest cancers get the least amount of public money. (Independent on Sunday) The Government is bracing itself for a backlash when it announces full details of a £12bn plan to monitor and store the internet browsing habits, e-mails and telephone records of everyone in Britain. Up to £1bn has already been devoted to the controversial project. (Sunday Times) The RSPCA has expressed concern after witnesses saw police in north Wales use a Taser stun gun to subdue a ram which was blocking a road. Officers said the gun had to be used because Sparky the sheep was "causing major disruption and possible danger to motorists". (Sunday Telegraph) US Republican presidential candidate John McCain is to move to more aggressive tactics with a focus on his Democrat rival Barack Obama's character in response to opinion polls showing a shift to the Democrats. McCain plans to "turn negative" at the beginning of the coming week. (Independent on Sunday) Alexander Cockburn: Is Palin the new Ronald Reagan? Obama advances further in new polls Zimbabwe is on the brink of a new crisis as fears rise that following the worst wheat harvest since the independence war - and after the systematic destruction of its farms and economy - millions are short of food. There are already reports of children dying from hunger. (Observer) Zimbabwe Today: An ironic twist in the land grab saga A group of Somali pirates which considers itself an unofficial "coastguard" is maintaining its standoff with the US navy. The pirates are holding a Ukrainian ship carrying Russian tanks, missile launchers and ammunition to ransom for $20m, surrounded by six American warships. (Sunday Times) Schoolchildren are being encouraged to learn poetry by heart once again. Pupils between seven and 11 will be allowed to enter a national competition, memorising one of 12 poems listed on a BBC website by authors ranging from Wordsworth to Benjamin Zephaniah. (Sunday Times) Scientific chef Heston Blumenthal has published a cookbook which costs £100 and weighs more than 12lb. Recipes call for ingredients including Spinalis dorsi, spray-dried carrot powder and maltodextrin DE19; while equipment needed includes a vacuum chamber and a centrifuge. (Observer) Some leading playwrights have expressed disappointment at the wave of screen-to-stage adaptations hitting British theatres, the latest of which, Girl With a Pearl Earring opened in London's West End last week. Michael Frayn said it was a "pity" that new writing was being neglected. (Independent on Sunday) The creditors of failed US bank Lehman Brothers have claimed in court that investment bank JP Morgan was responsible for Lehman's final collapse. According to many of its Wall Street rivals, JP Morgan froze $17bn of cash and securities belonging to Lehman on the Friday before its failure. (Sunday Times) In pictures: The week that shook the financial world AIG rescue and the Goldman Sachs connection Alistair Darling is to admit for the first time this week that the credit crunch has badly hit the UK's tax receipts, with a devastating impact on the Treasury's coffers. Speaking on Wednesday, Darling will clear the way for sweeping aside the Government's self-imposed rules on public spending. (Observer) The Government of Iceland is in talks with the country's leading financial institutions over a mooted state bail-out of up to €10bn. The talks have been triggered by concerns over the financial health of Kaupthing, Iceland's biggest bank, which is involved in many UK companies. (Sunday Telegraph) Former mayor of London Ken Livingstone is to be a guest presenter in the next series of TV quiz Have I Got News for You. (Observer) TV chef Jamie Oliver is considering giving up his new series because of the "stick" he is getting from the people of Rotherham where the first episode took place. Townsfolk are angry at being portrayed as "numpties" on benefits. (Sunday Times) Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, Britain's richest man, has lost £16bn in the last four months of global financial turmoil. (Sunday Times) Mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, voted the UK's favourite opera singer, is moving to LA in hopes of cracking the American market. (Sunday Telegraph) Ben Westwood, artist son of Dame Vivienne, plans to project a mock-up image of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith gagged and bound onto the Houses of Parliament in protest against new laws forbidding "extreme pornographic images". (Observer) Double standards that damn S&M enthusiasts Outgoing Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair, who announced his resignation last week, has already been approached to publish his memoirs. (Sunday Telegraph) "The reason I keep sticking my 60-year-old head above an increasingly dangerous parapet is not because it is good for my health" - Prince Charles on his heartfelt, but controversial, opposition to GM crops. (Independent on Sunday) People: MPs skewer ‘Luddite’ Charles Cherie Blair launched her new website, cherieblair.org, yesterday. It aims to "highlight how women all around the world can work together to improve their lives". It also contains a link to where users can buy copies of Cherie's books. (Independent on Sunday) Russian multi-billionaire Roman Abramovich is having a new £200m armoured yacht built at a German shipyard. Called Eclipse, the 550ft ship will have limousine parking, an escape submarine, two helipads, and missile-detecting radar. (Sunday Times) Rapper Tricky says he turned down offers to make false allegations about Samantha Cameron, wife of the Tory leader, whom he knew when she was a student. He said: "The tabloids tried to make me say I smoked spliff with her." (Sunday Telegraph) Veteran broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald is leaving ITV's News at Ten one year after Michael Grade persuaded him to return, citing tiredness. (Sunday Times) Formula 1 boss Sir Max Mosley, who won £60,000 damages after a newspaper published details of his role in a sado-masochistic orgy, is to ask the European Court of Human Rights to toughen up privacy laws. (Independent on Sunday) Mosley had the right to enjoy S&M in private Lord Thomson of Monifieth, a minister in Harold Wilson's Labour government and a former chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority, has died aged 87. (Sunday Telegraph) Letters have come to light which seem to show that Craig Revel Horwood, the Australian judge on Strictly Come Dancing, lied to immigration authorities in the early 1990s, and remained in the UK illegally. (News of the World) An un-named "friend" of Courtney Love says the musician and actor had a gastric band fitted two years ago. Love recently lost a lot of weight, but claimed it was down to dieting. (News of the World) A 20-year-old nurse says she was followed by Barry George - recently acquitted of the 1999 murder of TV presenter Jill Dando - who came into a shop where she was working. He told her: "I've been inside eight years - I'm really stressed, I need something for my nerves." (Sunday Mirror) Troubled singer Amy Winehouse received a "welcoming" phone call from the celebrity branch of the Church of Scientology, and is said to be seriously considering taking their drug programme. (Sunday Mirror) X-Factor contestant Rachel Hylton is to be investigated by the TV show's producers after it was claimed that the former crack user smoked cannabis while staying in a London hotel for filming. (People)