LOVE her or loathe her, one thing is beyond dispute: Margaret Thatcher transformed Britain.

Downing St last night resisted calls for an inquiry into chief whip Andrew Mitchell, after the cabinet minister apologised publicly to police officers for subjecting them to a tirade of verbal abuse.

British forces were ending combat operations in Iraq today in a move that means they are finally returning home after more than six years.

Thousands of demonstrators in cities across Europe and Asia joined today in protests against the military junta in Burma after the regime acknowledged detaining hundreds of Buddhist monks who had led huge protests.