Does the financial crisis mean America's days as the only superpower are numbered? asks the BBC's Paul Reynolds.

Pictures from the opening ceremony and final practice

Microsoft has withdrawn its takeover bid for Yahoo, but can it tackle rival Google on its own?

One of the creators of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons has died, but what is the game's legacy?

Soon you could have one digital double that can walk through any and every virtual world.

The "dark underbelly" of Ireland's successful Celtic Tiger economy is set to come to the big screen in a new film.

The legend of Robin Hood is to become part of a Master's course for university students.

Tony Blair's aides say he should be 'the star who won't even play a last encore'. But what is it for?

As Top of The Pops spins off into oblivion this Sunday, Mike Smartt recalls the seismic impact the first episode had in 1964 on a pop scene that, until then, catered more for dads than teenagers.

A 52-year-old loyalist is jailed for two-and-a-half years for fronting a paramilitary press conference.

The Monitor is the home for some of our most popular features, including your letters, Punorama, the caption competition, and 10 Things.

Former Scotland boss Craig Brown recalls a different Jose Mourinho to the one we know today.

Several papers believe a study that reported harmful effects from some GM crops are a serious blow to the technology.

BBC News Online's Paul Reynolds speculates on how different the US reaction would be if Lockerbie occurred in today's climate.

The new boss at the stricken and disgraced telecoms company puts his restructuring plans into top gear.

BBC News Online's Nick Assinder takes a light-hearted look at what presents Santa might have in his sack when he reaches Westminster.

The US president's hold on Congress leads some to fear that his foreign policy could become even more unilateralist, writes Paul Reynolds.

Distance runner Paula Radcliffe is the bookies' favourite to win the BBC award, while jockey Tony McCoy is a rank outsider.

Maya Angelou's lecture to the Hay Literature Festival was simply spell-binding.

Some Abbey National branches are now run directly by managers as franchises - but will the change benefit customers?