There are really only two big stories in town today: the first is the continuing parliamentary impasse over the government's anti-terror powers that's left MPs and peers locked in an almost unprecedented all-night sitting of both houses of parliament. We'll keep you informed of the latest developments and fill you in on the background to the battle with an explainer and chronology of the terror legislation.
The second story is Tony Blair's launch of the report from his Commission for Africa. Sarah Left was at the launch; for more background, peruse the main points of the report and read it in full on our Hear Africa 05 special report.
We'll have a world dispatch from the Guardian's foreign affairs expert, Ian Black, arguing that it is premature to talk about the triumph of democracy and freedom in the Middle East. Meanwhile our Brussels correspondent, Nicholas Watt, looks ahead to this weekend's summit of Peter Mandelson's pan-European Policy Network group, which aims to produce a fresh declaration aimed at reinvigorating the third way. Eurosceptics will be watching for any move to dilute Britain's veto on EU foreign policy.
Here on Newsblog Mark Tran will be looking back on the career of Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who has announced his retirement, and I'll be considering what Ambridge residents will make of Stephen Fry when he makes a guest appearance on the evergreen Radio 4 soap The Archers later today.
