| Civil servants win right to 21 months' redundancy pay - but PCS holds out for more Civil servants have won the right to nearly two years' redundancy pay in a desperate bid by the Government to avert a winter of strikes. telegraph.co.uk |
Weird and wonderful frieze art fair The annual Frieze Art Fair has opened at a huge marquee in London's Regent Park. bbc.co.uk |
Spending Review: schools budget protected Schools will be protected from the main thrust of the Coalition's cuts as George Osborne unveiled a package of measures to boost standards among the poorest pupils. telegraph.co.uk |
Monopoly Revolution predicted to be Christmas toy bestseller Hasbro's new edition of Monopoly, complete with batteries and inflated house prices, is predicted to be Christmas bestseller• In pictures: Top toys for Christmas 2010Even those curmudgeons who would rather do the washing up than play Monopoly after Christmas dinner would have to admit that the board game had two big selling points: it didn't need batteries and it didn't make any annoying noises.Not so the new edition, predicted to be one of the top-selling toys this year.Monopoly Revolution not only requires three AAAs, but it plays "hits from the last seven and a half decades" every time you pass Go.That's not all makers Hasbro have fiddled with. The board is now round rather than square and the prices have finally gone up – Old Kent Road will now set you back £600k, while Mayfair costs a cool £4m.It was about time inflation kicked in, but some will question the unromantic decision to replace paper money with plastic debit cards, thus stymying those of us who like to hide a £500 note under the board to save for a rainy day, or chuck all our money in the air when we win. One thing remains the same: you'll still have to be the iron or the old boot if your siblings beat you to the racing car.Monopoly Revolution (£29.99) was today named one of 2010's "Dream Toys" by the Toy Retailers' Association, the marketing-savvy industry body which each year predicts the Christmas bestsellers.Another toy tipped for success is an orange gun called the Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS (£54.99), an AK-47-sized fully automatic weapon which fires foam bullets and includes a "blast shield" to deflect an incoming fire.More palatable to pacifists is the Jet Pack Buzz Lightyear from Mattel (£39.99), which is let down by the absence of a key characteristic – the ability to fly. Instead, he just emits a light puff of wind and spouts his catchphrases from the Toy Story franchise.Rather more fun is the FurReal My Go Go Walking Pup (£59.99), a little white dog on a lead which comes equipped with motion sensors that tell the dog to trot along ahead when you start walking.Perhaps this year's most sinister toy is the latest Barbie doll (£59.99), which is fitted with a tiny video camera in the pendant of her necklace. There's a viewfinder on Barbie Video Girl's back, but those girls keen to see if their brother has been breaking into their piggybank could leave the doll in a strategic place and watch the CCTV footage later.For parents worried about the surveillance society there is the latest range of Zhu Zhu Hamsters, which found themselves at the centre of a PR nightmare last year amid claims that their fur was toxic. Back after a detox for 2010, the rodents are back, this time with their own grooming salon (£22.99).Those children who prefer pugilism to pampering will no doubt love the Kung Zhu Battle Arena, which seven-year-old Jayden Chamberlain was warring with this morning. "It's fun the way the hamsters battle with each other," he said, adding, in case Santa was listening: "I wouldn't like to get any of the girls' stuff for Christmas." Monopoly may now require batteries but some things never change.ToysChristmasHelen Piddguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
BA worker denies terror charges A British Airways computer expert from Newcastle who is alleged to have offered himself as a suicide bomber denies terrorism charges. bbc.co.uk |