Latest from England

England: 'Peerless pier' destroyed by fire

Since it opened in 1872, Hastings Pier has hosted everyone from Victorian holidaymakers to the Rolling Stones.

Book Review: <i>Started Early, Took My Dog</i>

Kate Atkinson began as a prize-winning literary novelist with <i>Behind the Scenes At The Museum</i> and has reinvented herself by using the tropes of detective fiction.

<i>Peter Bills</i>: French privacy laws dubiously applied

Raking it in from afar

Private navy may help defeat pirates

London insurers have radical plans to reduce seaborne hijackings.

British uni students to pay through nose

BBC staff threaten to picket

Kiwis out to give London a taste of fine espresso

Passions deep despite public unity

Miliband begins repair job for shattered party

Book Review: <i>Our kind of traitor</i>

John le Carre takes the reader into the vicious underside of the global free market.

Cricket: Vettori on guard against complacency

Daniel Vettori has warned against complacency as the Black Caps headed to Bangladesh today for a five-match ODI series.

Britain's first lady of chick lit

Best-known for her rollicking blockbuster romances set in the horse-riding world, Jilly Cooper is one of Britain's most-read authors. Robyn Langwell meets the prolific writer at home, a setting straight out of one of her novels.

Assembling a fortune, deal after deal

After leaving Christchurch's Xavier College at 16 Eric Watson's first job was as a butcher's apprentice. He later became a sales and branch manager at Whitcoulls, then a manager at Xerox, before beginning a business career.

Watson left sleeping with the enemy

When Eric Watson boarded an Air New Zealand flight in Los Angeles on September 17, 2008, en route to New Zealand from London, he had a lot on his mind.

Trouble in Eric's empire

After the Hanover debacle, Eric Watson might have hoped for a big win with his latest venture in the US. So far, it isn't working out that way, reports Denise McNabb.