Disasters

Insurance company Lloyds of London said today that in 2010 it made a profit of £2.2 billion, despite the impact of "significant claims" resulting from natural disasters.

Prince William has praised the courage of rescue workers and given his condolences to those who lost loved ones as a result of the flooding that hit Queensland, Australia at the beginning of this year.

Shares in Premier Farnell were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the distribution group reported a strong rise in revenue and pre-tax profit in the full year ended 30 January.

Last night BBC Four aired a documentary which took a look at climate change sceptics and in particular one of the movement's most prominent poster boys, Lord Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount of Brenchley.

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, is also the leader of a political party that calls itself the "Liberal Democrats", quite why such a party should be at the forefront of reducing democracy in this country remains a mystery.

The Greek government has pledged to pay tourists that find themselves stuck in the debt-struck nation as a result of strikes and natural disasters such as the volcanic ash that brought Europe's airlines to a standstill in April.