The government is expected today to announce a £200bn package of measures intended to encourage lending and ease the pressure on the banks. The extra assistance - which follows a £37bn bail-out in October - is thought to involve the taxpayer guaranteeing banks' toxic debts. The Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, gives his reaction.
Chief political correspondent Nicholas Watt travelled with the prime minister yesterday to Egypt and then to Israel. He says Gordon Brown insists the bail-out is necessary in the face of a fresh wave of panic in the markets last week.
Gordon Brown sounded a more critical note of Israel's assault on Gaza, which was halted yesterday after a unilateral ceasefire was declared. Hamas announced its own cessation hours later. Middle East correspondent Rory McCarthy reports from Rafah, in Gaza, near the Egyptian border, where residents are shell-shocked and in desperate need of basic amenities such as water. Middle East editor Ian Black assesses the chances of the ceasefires holding.
And Justin McCurry reports from Tokyo's red light district, which faces a crackdown as the Japanese capital prepares its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
