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Remember that old washing machine you bought back in the 1980s? The one that seemed to go on for ever? And then there was the one you bought only a couple of years back, which seemed to give up the ghost more quickly than an ultra-fast spin cycle.

US federal corporation tax is 35%, while the UK's rate is 21% and is due to be cut to 20% in 2015. But Ms Self added that a significant tax gain for the UK would be unlikely. "All it will mean is moving a few senior people here and having a few board meetings here.

UK drugs firm AstraZeneca has rejected the new takeover offer from Pfizer The US company had earlier raised the priceit was offering for AstraZeneca to the equivalent of £50 a share, valuing the firm at £63bn. But Astra saidthe new terms offered were, "inadequate, substantially undervalue AstraZeneca and are not a basis on which to engage with Pfizer".

The new Application developed by a British psychiatrist aims to cure a fear of spiders. Sadly it's arrived more than a century late for poor James Payn. Author Jeremy Clay tells the shuddersome tale of the man trapped in a darkened train teeming with tarantulas.

The scene here is pretty desolate and distraught. The families who survived, a few hundred people, are at the top of the valley. The women and children sit on the open hillside where they spent the night. The men are lining up for aid and trying to secure their shelter.

Rescuers in Afghanistan have given up hope of finding any more survivors in a double landslide that is feared to have killed more than 2,500 people. They have stopped digging through the earth and mud that swamped a whole village in the remote north-east province of Badakhshan on Friday.

Onlookers rushed to help put out the flames that engulfed Kamruzzama Fauji An Indian regional politician has died of burn injuries five days after he was targeted during a TV election debate by a man who had set himself on fire. Kamruzzama Fauji, the local leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh state, was taking part in the recorded debate on Monday.

Richard Hammond was almost killed in a "catastrophic" crash during filming in 2006. The presenter was driving at 288mph in a rocket-powered dragster when the front tyre disintegrated and it spun out of control. He was airlifted to hospital and treated for swelling to the brain and bruising, but eventually made a complete recovery.

Top Gear is one of the BBC's most popular and profitable series, but it has a history of controversy. The close-to-the-knuckle humour and high-octane stunts are all part of the attraction to the show's 6.5 million viewers. But it has also landed in hot water for a series of inappropriate comments, misfiring stunts and production errors.

The use of the word - which is a derogatory term for people of Asian descent - led to complaints and the threat of legal action from Equal Justice, a law firm specialising in discrimination cases. Share this story

Clarkson says he was 'horrified' when he watched the leaked video The BBC says it has left Jeremy Clarkson "in no doubt about how seriously" it takes allegations he used racist language while filming Top Gear. Clarkson has apologised and asked for forgiveness after a clipof him reciting the nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe was published by the Mirror. Although he mumbles the offending word, the presenter clearly begins by saying the letter "n".

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson says the BBC has told him he will be sacked if he makes "one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time". Writing in the Sun, Clarkson insisted he did not use a racist word while reciting the nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe in an out-take from the show that was published by the Daily Mirror.

Pro-Russia supporters in the Ukrainian city of Odessa have voiced their anger a day after 42 people were killed. Friday's clashes culminated in a major fire at a trade union building where most of the deaths occurred. Hundreds of people gathered there on Saturday.

Gerry Adams is being questioned for up to 17 hours a day by detectives investigating the murder of Jean McConville, a source close to him says. The Sinn Fein leader, who denies any involvement in the killing, is spending his fourth night in police custody. Police have until 20:00 BST on Sunday to charge or release Mr Adams.

Two motorcyclists have died in separate collisions with tractors in Londonderry and Fermanagh. A 28-year-old man died after his motorcycle was in collision with a tractor on the Baranailt Road, Limavady, about 12:20 BST on Saturday.