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The world's largest wind farm, capable of powering a third of London's three million households, is to be built off the coast of south east England. The London Array wind farm, 12 miles (20km) off Kent and Essex, was given the green light by the Department of Trade and Industry today. It will consist of 341 turbines and occupy an area of 90 square miles (232 sq km) between Margate and Clacton. London Array, a consortium of Shell WindEnergy Ltd, E.On UK Renewables and Core Ltd, is behind the £1.5 billion, 1,000 megawatt project. It claims the wind farm will...

The world's tallest man has saved two dolphins by using his long arms to reach into their stomachs and pull out dangerous plastic shards. Mongolian herdsman Bao Xishun was called in after the dolphins swallowed plastic used around their pool at an aquarium in Fushun, north-east China. Attempts to use instruments failed as the dolphins contracted their stomachs. Guinness World Records list Mr Bao, 54, as the world's tallest living man at 2m 36.1cm (7ft 8.95in). Veterinarians turned to Mr Bao after attempts to extract the plastic shards at the aquarium in Fushun, Liaoning Province, had failed. The mammals had...

Jasper Gerard reveals how City high flyers will spend their £8.4 billion in bonuses They make Chelsea footballers look socially disadvantaged. They are the galacticos of the City, the unacceptable wallets of capitalism, the merchant bankers who make other merchant bankers jealous. Yep, Goldman Sachs. No wonder Champagne corks popped with extra fizz at the works party this week. The firm has just announced bonuses of £8.4 billion, greater than the GDP of many countries. Its 26,000 toilers will typically find, nestling with tangerines in their Christmas stocking, bonuses of £320,000; it has been rumoured that 25 Goldman stars have...

In a recent study, fuel cell expert Ulf Bossel explains that a hydrogen economy is a wasteful economy. The large amount of energy required to isolate hydrogen from natural compounds (water, natural gas, biomass), package the light gas by compression or liquefaction, transfer the energy carrier to the user, plus the energy lost when it is converted to useful electricity with fuel cells, leaves around 25% for practical use — an unacceptable value to run an economy in a sustainable future. Only niche applications like submarines and spacecraft might use hydrogen. “More energy is needed to isolate hydrogen from natural...

UK-based defence firm BAE Systems has agreed to sell its 20% stake in plane maker Airbus to EADS for 2.75bn euros (£1.87bn; $3.53bn). BAE estimates the sale will generate about £1.2bn net, allowing it to return about £500m to shareholders. If shareholders agree to the deal, pan-European EADS, which owns 80% of Airbus, will own the firm outright. The 13,000 Airbus workers in the UK - where the planes' wings are built - are not thought to be affected by the deal. "The board believes that Airbus is facing a challenging short to medium-term outlook," BAE said. The firm can...

Hamburg/Nigg 08/24/06 REpower 5M: Successful offshore premiere First erection of a REpower wind turbine on the open seaErection of second turbine for the "Beatrice" project to follow shortly Hamburg/Nigg, 24 August 2006. Successful offshore premiere for REpower Systems AG (Prime Standard, WKN 617703): For the first time, a REpower type 5M wind turbine has been set up on the open sea. In the Scottish North Sea, in the Moray Firth, the first of a total of two turbines for the "Beatrice" demonstrator wind farm has just been set up on a lattice-like jacket structure, piled to the seabed at a...

Pierre Trudeau had a friendship with Fidel Castro that went beyond politics. It was a mutual admiration between two men who put their unmatched intellects at the service of their country. On Castro's 80th birthday, an essay by Alexandre Trudeau Aug. 13, 2006. 07:38 AM ALEXANDRE TRUDEAU SPECIAL TO THE STAR I grew up knowing that Fidel Castro had a special place among my family's friends. We had a picture of him at home: a great big man with a beard who wore military fatigues and held my baby brother Michel in his arms. When he met my little brother...

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has met with Muslim leaders, stressing that they have to tackle extremism within their communities. The meeting comes in response to the call from British Muslim groups for "urgent" changes to UK foreign policy, particularly in Lebanon and Iraq. Muslim MPs, peers and community leaders say the prime minister's policies in the Middle East and Iraq have given "ammunition to extremists". Do you think UK foreign policy is encouraging extremism? Do you think a change in foreign policy is necessary and would it reduce the threat of terrorism? Send us your comments. Muslim leaders have shown...

Are we heading for a Summer of Rage? A generation ago, young Americans flocked to San Francisco with flowers in their hair for a hippie Summer of Love. But today the potent combination of young people and sunny weather is producing something very different. The Sixties slogan was "Make Love Not War". The 2006 slogan seems to be the very opposite. From Mumbai to Mogadishu, from Helmand to Haifa, the past week has seen an eruption of violence. Around 200 people were killed on Tuesday when a succession of bombs exploded along what was once Bombay's Western railway line. Suspicion...

Police plea on macabre book find The ledger was bound in human skin, in accordance with practice Police are trying to locate the owner of a 300-year-old ledger, bound in human skin, found in a Leeds road. Written mainly in French, its macabre covering was said to be a regular sight during the French Revolution. In the 18th and 19th Centuries it was common to bind accounts of murder trials in the killer's skin - known as anthropodermic bibliopegy. The book was discovered in The Headrow and may have been discarded after a burglary, detectives said. They said the...

Castrati were the singing superstars of the 18th Century. But, as a new exhibition illustrates, theirs is a tale with some modern parallels. They look rather innocent in the museum display case - like a pair of old-fashioned shears. But these "castratori" were the implements used to castrate boys - who were making an irreversible sacrifice for their singing careers. It might seem more like tears in their eyes than Stars in their Eyes, but this was the uncomfortable route to stardom taken by thousands of poor families who wanted their sons to become rich and famous musical stars. In...

President Hugo Chavez's policy of keeping a tight control on food retail prices while doubling the price of raw coffee beans back in December may have backfired. For at least a week, there has been no roasted coffee available on the shelves of Venezuelan supermarkets as wholesalers and coffee producers have been withholding their coffee from sale. Since 2003, President Chavez has maintained a strict price regime on some basic foods like coffee, beans, sugar and powdered milk. But this measure designed to curb inflation has alienated Venezuela's coffee producers who say their profit margins have been reduced to nothing....

Four rare battle flags captured during the American War of Independence by a British officer have been returned after more than two centuries to be auctioned. The regimental colours seized in 1779 and 1780 by Lt Col Banastre Tarleton, who remains one of the conflict's most controversial figures, have already aroused huge interest among American military historians. They are expected to fetch between £2.3 million and £5.8 million at Sotheby's in New York next year. Until recently the flags had hung in the Hampshire home of Capt Christopher Tarleton Fagan, the great-great-great-great nephew of the lieutenant colonel. Capt Tarleton Fagan,...

A night of rioting in France has left 1,408 vehicles burnt out and resulted in 395 arrests - the highest tolls yet in 11 nights of unrest. Ten policemen were injured by shots and stones when they confronted 200 rioters in the Paris suburb of Grigny, with two policemen seriously hurt. President Jacques Chirac has said restoring order is his top priority. French media report that a man in a coma after an attack on Friday could be the first fatality of the unrest. Jean-Jacques Le Chenadec, 61, was reportedly struck by a hooded man in the street after he...

Iraq's constitutional referendum marks a significant step forward Three years ago to the day, millions of Iraqis voted. There was only one name on the ballot paper. Saddam Hussein had summoned his subjects under pressure from the build-up of allied forces on his border. After the ballots were “counted”, Saddam claimed 100 per cent of the vote and awarded himself a new seven-year presidential term. That was the last time Iraqis voted in a referendum. Until Saturday. The vote on Iraq’s draft constitution was a triumph on many levels. Men and women dressed in best suits and neatly pressed veils,...

The second of three radar booms has been deployed on Europe's Mars Express spacecraft - but it is unclear whether the operation has been successful. The antennas are part of the Marsis instrument, which will look beneath the Red Planet's surface for what are expected to be vast reserves of water. If the deployment went smoothly, it should be possible for this search to begin within about a week. Marsis is able to see water up to 5km (3 miles) below the planet's surface. On Tuesday, mission controllers at the European Space Agency's operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany, released the...

The BBC is reporting that Michael Howard is to step down as Tory leader. Nothing more yet, just a banner headline.

Senior Libyan al-Qaeda suspect Abu Faraj al-Libbi has been arrested in Pakistan, the government says. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the suspect had been caught earlier in the week. He would give no details of the arrest. Other reports said two suspects were captured in the Waziristan region of North West Frontier Province on Monday. Libbi is said to have become third in the al-Qaeda hierarchy after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was caught in 2003. He is wanted in connection with two attempts on the life of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. More details soon.

A woman in Brazil has given birth to a "giant baby" weighing 17lb (8kg) - twice the size of an average newborn. Ademilton dos Santos is the heaviest boy ever born in Brazil, says the Brazilian Gynaecological Association. Ademilton was born by Caesarean section on Wednesday at a hospital in Salvador in north-eastern Brazil. He is Francisca Ramos dos Santos' fifth child and doctors said his unusual size was probably due to his mother's diabetes condition. Pediatrician Luiz Sena Azul said Ademilton "could truly be considered a giant baby, for he was born weighing what a six-month-old-baby normally weighs". 'Surprise'...

Last Updated: Tuesday, 28 December, 2004, 17:17 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version Kohl rescued as Swedes fear worst Helmut Kohl was airlifted from the roof of his flooded hotel Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was among thousands of foreign tourists caught in the tsunami disaster in southern Asia. Britons, Swiss, French, Australians, Danes, Italians, Japanese and Americans in the region were hit, but Swedes seem to be among the worst affected. Sweden's foreign minister said 1,500 were still missing, mainly in Thailand, and she feared many would not be found. Sri Lanka says its troops airlifted Mr...