December 1

It is the world's longest undersea tunnel

England have

Construction workers have drilled through the final wall of rock to join the two halves of the Channel Tunnel and link Britain to France.

The momentous breakthrough links the UK to Europe for the first time since the Ice Age, 8,000 years ago.

To a throng of cheers, construction workers celebrated with champagne - the only time alcohol has been allowed underground on the work site.

French worker, Philippe Cozette, and his British counterpart, Robert Fagg, waved flags and shook hands as the first men able to walk between the two countries.

Only moments earlier at 1100 GMT, a half-metre wall of rock separated Britain from mainline Europe.

The men continued drilling until a hole was created big enough to allow vehicles through.

The first Britons walked through the tunnel to have their passports stamped in France.

There were similar scenes on the other side as a French party which drove into Folkestone, Kent, headed straight over to customs and immigration officers.

Transport secretary Malcolm Rifkind was among the first through.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "The physical contact that has been achieved between Britain and France today is symptomatic of many changes that we have been experiencing in the last 20 years.

"It is all happening and it is continuing to happen at an accelerating pace."

Downing Street called the event a "tribute to private enterprise".

The Channel Tunnel venture is expected to lead to the construction of a high speed train link across Kent, to match one France has already built.

Work on the Channel Tunnel began in 1986 and it is due to be completed by 1993.    

Guinness shares have tumbled by 40p

No official reason for the investigation has been given.

But the Department of Trade and Industry has said it is looking into circumstances suggesting misconduct in the affairs of the company.

The news caused Guinness shares to tumble by 40p.

Inspectors arrived unexpectedly at Guinness' London headquarters at 0930 GMT.

They have powers to force the company to produce documents but also call people to give evidence under oath.

The company was involved in a bitter takeover battle for control of the Distillers Group earlier this year.

Guinness won the Scottish Whisky Group for ?.6bn in the face of fierce opposition.

There is speculation in the City the inquiry has been called after revelations of insider dealing at the company.

The suggestion is that employees used privileged information of a future take over to buy shares for themselves or tip off others.

They later sold them after the share price rose.

Insider dealing is illegal but highlylucrative.

This is not the first problem to hit the City in recent months.

It was implicated in a scandal involving Ivan Boesky, an American, who made millions out of dealing in the shares of companies being taken over.

Information concerning his activities in Britain has been passed to the authorities in London.

Labour's trade spokesman Robin Cook said he would be pressing the government for more information in Parliament on 2 December.

MPs plan to debate the issue of insider dealing.

lucrative: gainful; profitable; making increase of money or goods（有利的）