By George, it's patron saint's day

Fewer than one in five of us know that today is St George's day, prompting a government agency to suggest tips for celebrating Englishness. But is there any wonder we are confused given the divergent press coverage to mark the day?

The soaring cost of food

The World Food Programme calls the current global food crisis the "silent tsunami". Is it about to hit Britain?

Tutting at wind farms

Plans for one of Europe's largest onshore wind farms have been vetoed by Scottish ministers. Will such opposition to turbines scupper efforts to hit renewable energy targets?

Papers binge on Prescott's bulimia

Does John Prescott's admission that he suffered from bulimia while deputy prime minister deserve sympathy, suspicion or ridicule?

Bad omens

Trade unions, the Conservative party and backbench Labour MPs have all voiced their gripes about Europe recently. But there is news today of an unlikely group of critics who have joined the fray.

The death of the village pub

First the post office, now the local watering hole. The Telegraph reports that the other hub of community life - the village pub - seems to be in severe danger.

Wealthier does not mean happier

The rightwing papers, plus the Indy, have written up the results of an Office of National Statistics (ONS) report showing that though Britons are wealthier and healthier than in 1971, the same proportion still complain about their lot.

Diana: case closed

"The Usual Suspects" is the tag given to the police line-up of paparazzi photographers taken the night Diana died and printed on the front of the Times.

The dishevelled men - who hounded Diana but against whom the authorities will bring no charges - resemble the characters from the 1995 film of the same name. But the mystery that dogged that film, "Who is Keyser Soze?", has no parallel in this case.

Would you carry a flame for Beijing?

It was supposed to be a simple, morale boosting celebration of sporting spirit. Instead, this weekend's Olympic torch relay through London threatens to become both a major security headache for the city and a potential PR disaster for the Chinese government.

Taste not included

If there is one thing newspapers enjoy it's sneering at footballers' homes. "Right," comes the implicit message, "they might be young, athletic, hero-worshipped and rich beyond the dreams of avarice, but at least they've go no taste."

Having said that, Phil Neville's home, pictured, covered in detail in today's newspapers, is the easiest of targets.

Market madness?

One of the most respected names in global investment banking, UBS, writes off almost £10bn more in mortgage assets and its beleaguered chairman steps down. But are the markets spooked? No, in fact they're positively chirpy.

Papers remain true to form over immigration issue

The House of Lords economic affairs committee usually goes about its business in happy anonymity, but has emerged blinking into the spotlight after producing a report on one of the moment's hot topics - immigration. It has recommended that the number of newcomers to the UK be capped, arguing an economic case based on "irrelevant and misleading" data does not add up.

Zimbabwe election: what the papers say

Two things seem clear. Firstly, Robert Mugabe was most likely soundly beaten in Zimbabwe's elections. Secondly, he won't give up power without a fight.

Chaos at the terminal

It was quite predictable really. When British Airways, the sole airline at Heathrow Terminal 5, boasted that the supposedly state-of-the-art baggage system "would work perfectly on day one" it was surely tempting fate. And lo and behold, the system proved a shambles when the terminal opened for business yesterday, causing chaos for thousands of angry passengers.

Transsexual man to be mum

News that an American man is due to give birth to a baby girl this July has the tabloids all of a flutter. But the case of Thomas Beatie, 34, is not as miraculous as it might first appear.

UK is seventh heaven, survey says

The UK has been ranked as one of the world's most stable and prosperous countries, beating the US, France and even Switzerland in a global assessment of every nation's achievements and standards.

Obama's big gamble

Barack Obama has gone further than any previous African-American candidate in the race for the White House. He has easily outshone Jesse Jackson and certainly Al Sharpton. Part of Obama's appeal has been his vision of a true United States of America, not one segmented into ethnic groups. As he memorably put in 2004 at the Democratic convention: "There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America, there's the United States of America."

Any way to treat a lady?

Perhaps Heather Mills's verbosity did her no favours, but you do wonder at the capacity of people to stick the boot into Sir Paul McCartney's ex.

Are MPs' home expenses too lavish?

How much would you spend fitting out your kitchen? You can get a pretty decent one from Ikea for between £1,000 and £3,000. But apparently that's not good enough for our MPs who can claim up to £10,000 for a new kitchen on expenses, plus another £12,000 on other household items. The Sun brands the allowance as a "massive 'makeover' perk", and it is not alone in noting, with barely disguised outrage, that it's all at the taxpayers' expense.

Mail turns on murdered teenager's mother

A nasty press campaign has begun against Fiona MacKeown, the mother of 15-year-old Scarlett Keeling, who was murdered in Goa.