Hamleys, the 255-year-old toy retailer, is in “advanced” talks to be sold to a Chinese women’s footwear business for £100m.

RICKSHAW drivers occupy a ubiquitous presence on the streets of the West End. But most Londoners never even give them a moment’s thought.

The National Football League is "exactly on track" with its plans to field a team in London and could have a franchise there by 2022, the league’s international chief said yesterday.

Bellman & Black, A Ghost Story

Record weekly sales at John Lewis have raised hopes of a bumper end to the Christmas shopping period but there are fears that the UK's retail sector could be left with a profits hangover after heavy discounting.

Riot police in the UK have swooped on a building in London ahead of planned protests against the G8 summit.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games opened tonight in a dramatic and moving ceremony that had starring roles for the Queen and Professor Stephen Hawking.

DESCRIBED as “the first major biography in 35 years of the greatest British artist of the late 19th century” this handsome volume is far more than that, and provides a wide-ranging introduction not only to late 19th century art in Britain but also to key figures in the Arts and Crafts movement such as William Morris.

A TEENAGER killed in front of horrified shoppers at the St Stephen’s Day sales died from a “single stab wound to the heart”, police said last night.

A teenager has been stabbed to death in broad daylight in a shop as thousands of bargain hunters thronged one of Britain’s busiest shopping streets.

FRANCE’S richest man and LVMH’s chief executive, Bernard Arnault, is in talks to buy three trophy stores on London’s most expensive shopping street for £300 million (€349.5m), from the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), a source said.

HIGH streets and town centres throughout Ireland have come to look the same in recent years, with regular department stores and the brash brand names of largely overseas multiples increasingly dominating the streetscape.

It’s served by dozens of direct flights, and spilling over with great shops, restaurants, museums and shows. It’s London, baby, and it’s time you paid another visit, says Pól Ó Conghaile.

DAVID MARNANE’S Nocturnal Affair gets the nap to outclass the opposition in the listed Mercury Stakes over five furlongs at Dundalk tonight.

The new iPhone's gone on sale this morning.

A total of 17 high-class horses are still engaged in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

The latest “all new” iPhone complete with voice recognition software has been unveiled by technology giant Apple.

Ladbrokes St Leger winner Masked Marvel could be supplemented for Sunday’s Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at tomorrow’s supplementary stage.

ANTE-POST favourite Sarafina and last year’s winner Workforce feature among a list of 19 entries for Sunday’s Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

THE Aidan O’Brien-trained Wading proved the star of last night’s action in Dundalk, the Montjeu filly powering to an impressive four-and-a-half lengths win in the Irish Stallion Farms 2-Y-0 Fillies Maiden.

I WOULD hate to be stuck with people my own age the whole time.

RED-HOT Ladbrokes St Leger favourite Sea Moon is now one of just 17 horses left in the final Classic of the season at Doncaster on September 10.

Check out our tips from today’s horse races across Ireland and the UK.

A 31-year-old woman has been subjected to an alleged serious sexual assault near Belfast city centre, police said.

Superdry clothing chain SuperGroup today revealed its growth plans remained on track and said that trading had been strong in recent weeks.

THE Aidan O’Brien-trained Recital is a best-priced 7/1 shot for the Investec Derby at Epsom following a less than convincing victory over stable companions Memphis Tennessee and Regent Street in the Group 2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown yesterday.

Recital strengthened his Classic claims with victory in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown.

UNACCOMPANIED has to be the nap choice to land the Grade 1 AES Champion four-year-old Hurdle at the final stage of Punchestown this afternoon.

A SUPERSTAR in Australia and destined to be a superstar in the Northern Hemisphere — that was the impression given by So You Think on his debut for Aidan O’Brien in the Group 3 High Chaparral Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh yesterday.

BANIMPIRE became the first filly to win the Group 3 P W McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes since 1996 when turning over Ballydoyle pacemaker Regent Street and odds-on favourite Recital at Leopardstown yesterday.

There was a shock result to the P.W.McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown with odds-on favourite Recital only third behind Jim Bolger’s Banimpire.

Kevin Prendergast is looking forward to seeing Mawaakef make his seasonal reappearance in the P.W.McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown tomorrow.

Over 200 people were in custody in Britain today after trouble flared following a separate rally where hundreds of thousands protested against the government’s public spending cuts.

Organisers of a huge protest against the UK government’s public spending cuts tonight hailed the demonstration a “fantastic success” after hundreds of thousands of people joined the biggest event of its kind for over 20 years.

THE son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has been charged in connection with the attack on a royal convoy of cars during a student fees riot, a court heard yesterday.

More than 180 people have been arrested by police investigating rioting during the series of protests against rising student tuition fees.

THE battle for the 2010 Apprentice Championship ended in a three-way tie between Gary Carroll, Ben Curtis and Joseph O’Brien following a dramatic night of action at Dundalk last night, when O’Brien completed a superb double to join his two rivals on the 39-winner mark.

Joseph O’Brien rode a final day double to draw level with Gary Carroll and Ben Curtis as the three shared the apprentice jockeys’ title on 39 winners on a thrilling night at Dundalk.

Thousands of people in the UK are expected to sweat it out in long queues to get their hands on the latest iPhone today.

JUST in time for the Christmas market, the celebrated London toy store, Hamleys is to open an Irish branch at Dundrum Town Centre.

Mobile phone giant O2 today said it had sold “tens of thousands” of iPhones since the much-anticipated handsets went on sale in the UK on Friday.