Renault's appeal against its suspension from the European Grand Prix began today, with the French team hoping to overturn the decision so that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso can take part in Sunday's Formula One race.

It has been a long time coming, but at last someone is questioning the benefit from charity shops, even if his motives are not entirely altruistic. That someone is Marc Harrison, who closed his antiquarian and second-hand book shop in Salisbury at the end of last month, complaining that the arrival of an Oxfam bookshop 18 months before halved his takings overnight. He described Oxfam as "the Tesco of the second-hand book world" and accused it of "destroying the industry".