Contemporary dance has come a hell of a long way in the 30 years that Dance Umbrella has been running and that's reflected in this year's programme with the once pioneering and avant garde, now established, respectable big hitters opening the season: Merce Cunningham dance company presents new work alongside classic at the Barbican and Richard Alston celebrates his 60th birthday at Sadlers Wells. As usual, "brief encounters" with emerging choreographers precede the big......

Whatever happened to knocking? Early Wednesday morning at a home in west London, police used a digger—yes, one of those big construction trucks—to smash through a perimeter wall, then proceeded to use sledgehammers and angle grinders to get into the house to search for drugs. They probably would’ve used a battering ram if they had one handy. This was all part of a larger bust involving 500 officers who raided 30 homes and businesses......