Family games
Andy Murray said that as a child he lived in the shadow of his elder brother Jamie, who was then thought the better tennis player. Some other sporting brothers:
— As a teenager Wayne Lineker was thought to be more talented than his elder brother Gary. While Gary went on to captain England, and score 48 goals for the national team, Wayne dropped out of football and opened several bars in Spain. His latest venture is an appearance on ITV2 show The Only Way is Essex.
— While Bobby Charlton was given an apprenticeship, his elder brother Jack sought work in a coal mine before a talent scout for Leeds United spotted him in an amateur match. He went on to join Bobby in England’s World Cup winning team and later succeeded as a manager.
— Novak Djokovic has a brother, Marko, who is ranked 673 in the ATP men’s singles rankings. He has played four matches on the ATP tour, none of which he has won. But he is still only 21
A little help
Abu Qatada was extradited to his native Jordan after running up a legal aid bill of £860,000. Some other reported recipients of legal aid:
Asil Nadir | £5m |
Abu Hamza | £909,000 |
David Norris, convicted of Stephen Lawrence’s murder | £222,000 |
Gary Dobson, ditto | £199,000 |
Making it big
Obesity is called a disease of the rich world. How wealthy are the five fattest nations?
Average body mass index | |
32.9 | Tonga |
32.8 | Micronesia |
28.3 | Samoa |
27.9 | Kuwait |
27.8 | US |
GDP per head in US dollars | |
$5,000 | Tonga |
$3,820 | Micronesia |
$4,520 | Samoa |
$49,000 | Kuwait |
$50,000 | US |
Sources: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine/World Bank
Professionals of the world unite
The trade union movement is still seen as the voice of the working class. But who actually joins unions?
Percentage of employees in a union | |
Professional occupations | 43% |
Associate professional and technical | 40% |
Personal Service Occupations | 30% |
Process, plant and machine operators | 28% |
Skilled trades | 22% |
Administrative and secretarial | 21% |
Elementary occupations | 18% |
Source: Labour Force Survey

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