The Guardian's chief political correspondent Nick Watt discusses the pressure on Alistair Darling to scrap his plans to increase vehicle excise duty.

Helen Pidd reports from the streets of London where hauliers protested against fuel price and tax rises.

Rory McCarthy, our Jerusalem correspondent, tells us about claims that cash-stuffed envelopes were given to the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, by a US businessman.

Jo Tuckman reports on the rising body count as the Mexican drug cartels battle it out with the police and each other.

There's a discussion from the Hay Festival on what we should be letting our children read and Martin Wainwright sizes up Skipton High Street in its battle to beat Kensington for Britain's best street.