The Guardian: Main section

People of all ages came to see Barack Obama fill a sports stadium and hit it out of the park; they did not leave disappointed, says Gary Younge

Economic downturn will be 'more profound and long-lasting' than people had expected, says chancellor Alistair Darling

Mayor announces adaptation strategy to prepare London for the effects of climate change

Government urged to act on fuel poverty as last two big suppliers raise prices by 34%

Gary Nelson, a former mountie, relieved of duties as island struggles to cope with wave of violent crime

Man endured years of racial abuse before stabbing neighbour with a kitchen knife during a violent row

Senior churchmen reject proposals designed to avoid a schism in the Anglican Communion

Former Gardeners World presenter, Monty Don, aims to tackle perceptions of organic food

While figure lowest since 1981, number of twice-married men and women divorcing doubled over 30 years

Geoffrey Perkins, a former BBC TV head of comedy, has died after being hit by a van in London

Choice of inexperienced Alaska governor designed to woo disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton

Former mayor of town of 9,000 people, Sarah Palin is a lifelong member of National Rifle Association

Profile: Mother of five Sarah Palin is a churchgoer who says her favourite meal is moose stew

Fourty-five years to the day after Martin Luther King speech first African-American presidential nominee anointed

Suzanne Goldenberg takes a closer look at the Democratic party's policy proposals

Oliver Burkeman reports on the best and the worst of the Democrat gathering

Thousands stranded in Britain and Canada as long-haul budget airline grounds all flights

Policeno closer to solving the mystery over millionaire's four-day disappearance with his wife and teenage daughter.

80-strong posse of enthusiasts celebrate launch of first collection by female contributors

More news from around the UK

Team GB's gold medallists can hope to reach six figure sums through sponsorship deals and appearance fees

Applause for writer making directorial debut with Burning Plain, a multi-stranded story

No disgrace, but Arriaga is not up to Iñárritu's level

From drug dealing to settling playground squabbles, firearms offences are rising

Spaniel trained to find nests in £112,000 study as university team seeks answers to species decline

Saif al-Islam al-Gadafy says families are 'trading with the blood' of their children

Judgment gives foreign minister chance to make further submissions after concessions made by UK and US

Quarter of government's prized academy schools see results slip back, latest figures show

State-funded faith schools to be allowed to include faith as selection criterion for employment

Government introduces new secondary curriculum, revamped A-levels and diploma qualification

Simon Hoggart: Jamie Oliver is trying to sell books in France, which is no doubt why he made those disobliging remarks about British cuisine

Official death toll at 65, but aid agencies say thousands more are missing

Task force identifies 33 old LAPD cases that are similar and begins process of reviewing them

Former Bosnian Serb leader challenges legitimacy of the court in The Hague

Grisly discovery bears the hallmarks of country's brutal drug war between rival cartels

Retired generals found guilty of murdering a senator during seven-year military dictatorship

Settlements thought to date back at least 1,500 years and described by authors as 'garden cities'

Nato has no 'moral right' to lecture Russia, says Kremlin, as EU backs off from threat of sanctions over Georgia

A mother in the United States has been found guilty of murdering her baby daughter by cooking her in a microwave

Generation of foreign-born cricketers playing under the Italian flag could propel national team to success

Police issues Interpol with photofit of suspect described as being of Middle Eastern origin

Wrestling makes feminism an unlikely champion in poor, tough Bolivia

MMR was the biggest science story in years - and a hoax. The scientist who started it faces the GMC, but who will hold the media to account? By Ben Goldacre

Ian Jack: The name Sutherland is infamous, but its bearers have been enlightened custodians of art

Monty Don's doctors want him to take it easy. He wants to convert British gardeners to growing their own food, and import networking skills from al-Qaida

Simon Schama: This was a stunning gamble: he dared to show his belief in the enduring power of words to reform American life

Jeremy Leggett: Britain, like most of Europe, is at risk of being the target of Russia's energy export weaponry

Marina Hyde: It takes a rather chippy type to round on a foreigner concerned by our workload. But we've got no shortage, it seems

Editorial: The 2008 Democratic convention will rightly be remembered as Barack Obama's moment in history

Today's corrections

Graham Long: New Forest

Editorial: Boundless opportunities are opened by interactive websites that enable users to put their own photographs on a map

Editorial: Samak Sundaravej must now realise that his government can not last, and call fresh elections

Letter: Seumas Milne makes excellent points about the vital need for counterbalance and rules in international relations

Letters: Her Naked Skin is framed by dramatic spectacle - the death of Emily Wilding and force-feeding in Holloway prison

Letter: Bernard Breslauer was a family friend and he showed the portrait by Lucian Freud to us

Letter: Mark Harrison is disingenuous about the relationship of Milton Friedman to Pinochet's Chile

Letter: Canute was not quite the model of political modesty that Timothy Garton Ash supposes

Letter: There remains no clarity as to whether poor countries will have longer to adjust than richer ones

Ramadan, with its spirit of giving, is the time to renew our pledge to fight global poverty, says Shahid Malik

Letters: I've been trying to sell the trickle-up theory of wealth distribution for years

Bank says arrears on residential mortgages increasing and the outlook remains uncertain with housing market in decline

European commission investigates planned transatlantic tie-up by British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia

Bank says it needs to shrink its workforce through redundancies and natural wastage for cost-reduction targets

Bloomsbury settling into life without Harry Potter with a list of Christmas books that includes a lavish new cookbook

Blockbusters are expiring, pipelines are emptying and watchdogs are growling

More business news from the UK

Protests after agency rejects four kidney cancer treatments which it claims are not cost effective

Chris Tryhorn: Stock at risk of dropping out of FTSE 100 after Enterprise Inns shares lose more than half its value in a year

Once the world's largest poker operator, the group is losing market share to aggressive rivals

Gucci and Hermès brush aside fears of recession in traditional markets

Comparison website will be incorporated into MSN's website in apparent direct challenge to Froogle

Oil and gas companies ready for complete shutdown of rigs in Gulf of Mexico as US storm gathers strength

Move to Luxembourg seen as a way to 'internationalise the business'

William Leith on The Tudors | A1: The Road Musical

St Andrew's Church, Presteigne Chirrupings of wind instruments, suggesting birdsong developed into more fully articulated outbursts of melody

Royal Albert Hall, London Maazel's erratic tempos were less worrying than his interpretation, says Tim Ashley

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh
It seems slender, but over the course of 90 minutes an immensely powerful atmosphere is created

Edinburgh Playhouse The Edinburgh Deca reconstruction includes distinctive walks, semaphoric arms, dance-hall moves and stretchy shapes of 'gaga', says Alice Bain

Obituary: A landlady with a wicked sense of humour who became a firm favourite with the locals

Obituary: A legendary American racing driver who, amidst tragedy, won the formula one crown

What went wrong at the fringe? Is it healthier to live in the city or the country? What is the best way to swat a fly?

Luan de Burgh: I used to be a Daily Telegraph reader but my conversion to the Guardian was complete and absolute