More and more rural areas are being buried under concrete in a vain attempt to tackle congestion on motorways and other major routes.

ECONOMIST: Jam today, road pricing tomorrow

The Fed faces a very dangerous tradeoff: risk higher inflation by expanding the monetary base (currency plus bank reserves) in a vain attempt to lower unemployment.

FORBES: The Limits Of Monetary Policy Call For Moral, Sound Money

It did not prove an expensive miss, but there were further problems for Ponting in the final session as he rotated his bowlers in a vain attempt to break the partnership between Kallis and Prince.

BBC: SA coach Mickey Arthur

These ideas try to respond to two chronic worries of Japanese voters: that the economy will continue to slide, and that the construction state will cover what little remains of their country with concrete in a vain attempt to fix the problem.

ECONOMIST: Japan: Green dreams | The

On a day when thousands of people around the world are preparing to explain how a web cam works to elderly relatives in a vain attempt to wish them a merry Christmas, some may just go straight to the old-fashioned use of a telephone.

FORBES: Morning Tech Wrap: Skype, Steve Jobs, IBM

Lucie, 20, finished her A-levels in law, politics and art two years ago and took a break - travelling in South America then, this year, working "in the vain attempt to save up cash for university".

BBC: university cafe

Iniesta may have been an injury doubt prior to this final, but there was little evidence of fitness problems as he produced a virtuoso demonstration of the modern midfield arts, leaving United to chase in vain in an attempt to regain possession for the latter stages of the opening half.

BBC: Barcelona 2-0 Man Utd