Ryanair claims Channel 4 and a production company behind an allegedly defamatory TV programme about the airline cannot claim journalistic privilege over sources for information in the broadcast.

The contest for ABN Amro will take a new twist on Friday when a vital court ruling is delivered on the sale of the Dutch bank’s US business LaSalle, it was announced today.

A consortium headed by Royal Bank of Scotland is likely to announce details of a takeover offer worth £49bn (€66bn) for Dutch bank ABN Amro tomorrow.

Barclays’ rivals in the battle for ABN Amro today said they would reveal their hand over a potential counter-bid for the Dutch bank on Tuesday.

The Dutch Supreme Court today upheld the conviction of a family doctor who helped a healthy 86-year-old man kill himself because he was ”tired of living”, saying it was clear euthanasia rules were never intended to cover such cases.