It was once said that the causes which destroyed the ancient republics were numerous, but in the case of Rome, one principal reason was the vast inequality of fortunes. The extent of inequality in Britain has been laid bare today in Fat Cat Wednesday - the day in which top bosses out-earn what the typical worker will earn all year. Executives will pass the average salary of £28,200 by midday, the High Pay Centre revealed, with figures confirming how pay differs “dramatically”...

Drinking Diet Coke won't stop you getting fat, according to new research. Ditching your favourite beverage for its heavily marketed sugar free alternative is no better for preventing weight gain - and could also harm the environment. Diet drinks contain artificial sweeteners which may be perceived by consumers as the healthier option for those who want to shed the pounds. But there is no evidence to support the claims they are any better for health, or prevent obesity and related...

A new freight rail route connecting Yiwu West Railway Station in Zhejiang Province with Barking in London has been launched by China Railway. The route, which has been dubbed the New Silk Route by the Chinese government, will take around 18 days to travel over 7,400 miles carrying a cargo of clothes, bags and other household items. China Railway already runs services between China and other European cities, including Madrid and Hamburg. The rail line has the advantage of being cheaper than air freight and...

A married city lawyer who once rowed for England poured beer over a woman's head after she told him she had a miscarriage, a court heard today. Alastair Main, 35, said he was "ashamed of himself" and had "behaved like a fool" after he also slapped her on the bum and called her a slut at a rowing club's Christmas party. At an earlier hearing the alleged victim said Main poured the beer over her after she refused to give...

First there was an opportunity......then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined...

Lee Thompson has spent the last three months travelling around the world shooting incredible pictures, but rather than use the familiar "selfie" he believes the "surroundie" is the next big thing. He has so far taken shots in Bolivia, Peru, India, Finland, and Sri Lanka as part of a marketing campaign for his company, Flash Pack.  But the travel boss has his own wish list with top spot being taking a surroundie on top of the iconic Christ The Redeemer...

This bank holiday weekend, following a stream of tweets about New Year's eve celebrations and fleeting references to making America "great again,  Donald Trump managed to fit in potentially seismic policy moves on foreign policy, trade and health care into a solitary 140 characters. Gone, it would seem, are the days of smoke and mirrors when it comes to government policy. But also gone are the days when any of it makes any sense. Take, for example, Trump's tweet on North Korea's...

It sounded like good news when the government made the announcement that they are going to build thousands of “cheap” starter homes, to help first time buyers into the property market. Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell, announced the first phase of the home building scheme will be completed in 2017 across 30 local authority areas. So far so good, however what the Tories think is affordable and what the average person on the street thinks seem oceans apart. Housing Charity Shelter...

Of London’s various ills, the tube’s Central line is amongst the ugliest. Though the trains aren't succumbed to constant disruption and the seats harbour less dust than the Bakerloo, the choice of devil-red as the line’s colour key does not appear coincidental (generally associated with heat and rage). Over crowded, under-lit and hotter than the filling of a McDonald’s apple pie; each train is a 272-seat anxiety attack, rattling through tunnels so deep that a collision with the Earth’s core...