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'Shocking example of incompetence' over stockpiled flu drug Tamiflu

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:38:06 +0100

Health officials spent £424 million stockpiling a flu drug that has divided experts over how effective it is, a public spending watchdog found.

Peppa Pig and Hunger Games company declares 25% rise in profits and gears up for FTSE 250 entry

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:36:10 +0100

The company behind cartoon series Peppa Pig and movie franchise The Hunger Games today declared it will soon be ready to pay a maiden dividend as it gears up for possible entry to the FTSE 250 index.

£5bn price tag for Thames crossing planned to relieve QEII bridge

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:22:28 +0100

Options for a new River Thames road crossing include a scheme that would pass through "environmentally sensitive areas" and could cost as much £5 billion, the Government revealed today.

Further Space Oddity: Jeremy Paxman grills British astronaut Major Tim Peake in weirdly aggressive Newsnight interview

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:56:04 +0100

If there were any doubt that a former Apache helicopter pilot and Britain’s first official astronaut could be cool under pressure, he proved it last night in the face of weirdly aggressive questioning by Jeremy Paxman.

Royal Mail reveals profits boost - but Vince Cable says 'no alternative' to privatisation

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:51:51 +0100

Business Secretary Vince Cable today insisted there is "no alternative" to controversial plans privatising the Royal Mail.

Jeremy Paxman reveals he has heard senior Tories calling activists 'swivel-eyed loons'

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:46:55 +0100

Another journalist has revealed that he has heard senior Tories describe activists as "swivel-eyed loons".

Voices in Danger: In Pakistan, state brutality makes journalism a dangerous business

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:34:33 +0100

When Umar Cheema was being dragged off to be tortured after investigating Pakistan’s ISI secret services, it was his son and unborn child that he worried about most.

200 mph winds, 12 miles of devastation: What makes a tornado?

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:30:22 +0100

A tornado, often known as a twister in the US, is a spinning column of air that joins a cloud (normally the moisture-rich cumulonimbus) and the ground.

Oklahoma tornado: Children trapped in wreckage and at least 91 dead after massive storm rips through suburbs

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:22:11 +0100

A monstrous tornado that may be remembered as among the largest and most destructive in American history roared through a heavily populated suburb of Oklahoma City, cutting a swathe as much as two miles wide and flattening homes, shops, hospitals and, perhaps most devastatingly, schools that had no time to evacuate.

Company behind Bid and Price Drop shopping channels found to have made misleading price claims and product descriptions

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:16:13 +0100

The company behind the shopping channels Bid and Price Drop could have its broadcast licence revoked after being found to have consistently made misleading price claims and product descriptions.

Apple tax-avoidance schemes deemed 'highly questionable' by US Senate report

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:10:38 +0100

A new report released by the US Senate has revealed the full extent of Apple’s tax-avoidance schemes.

'The Russian Terminator': Incredible footage captures moment a grinning soldier has an AK-47 machine gun bullet removed from forehead with a pair of pliers

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:41:59 +0100

Incredible footage has captured the moment a grinning Russian soldier had an AK-47 machine gun bullet removed from his head with a pair of pliers.

Comedy writer Eddie Braben, otherwise known as the man behind Morecambe and Wise, dies aged 82

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:41:18 +0100

Comedy writer Eddie Braben, the third man behind the success of Morecambe and Wise, died today at the age of 82, his manager said.

Gordon Ramsay goes from Kitchen Nightmare to Hollywood? He will teach Bradley Cooper to cook for upcoming film Chef (and will make a cameo)

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:36:49 +0100

Gordon Ramsay will reportedly give Hollywood star Bradley Cooper a “crash course in cookery” for his role in the upcoming film Chef.

Cement firms face action over 'failure to compete' on pricing

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:15:51 +0100

Britain's major cement firms were today facing "hard-hitting" action after a regulator accused them of failing to compete on pricing.

Rotherham council apologises over way it handled removal of children from Ukip foster parents

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:11:22 +0100

A council has apologised over the way it handled a decision to remove three Eastern European children from foster parents who were members of Ukip.

Some good economic news: Inflation drop is bigger than expected

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:05:55 +0100

Falling prices at the petrol pumps led to a bigger-than-expected drop in inflation in April, the first easing in the annual rate of price rises for six months.

Wayne and Coleen Rooney announce birth of second son Klay Anthony

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:02:25 +0100

Manchester United star Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen have had a second son, the couple announced today.

'He was lucky he didn't die' - George Michael fell out of speeding car onto M1 motorway, according to eye witness

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:53 +0100

Injured singer George Michael fell from his vehicle on to the carriageway of the M1 motorway, an eyewitness has claimed.

Prince signs new deal with record label Kobalt Music Group without giving up control over his rights

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:35:42 +0100

American singer Prince has signed a new deal with Kobalt Music Group to market and distribute his future work without giving up control over his rights, the company said on Monday.

Video emerges of Pope Francis reportedly performing an exorcism

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:30:51 +0100

Pope Francis appears to have been captured on video performing an exorcism in St Peter’s Square.

Germany nationalises Justin Bieber's monkey Mally after the pop star fails to claim him

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:25:19 +0100

Justin Bieber’s pet monkey is set to become property of Germany after the Canadian pop star failed to produce the correct vaccination and import papers for the animal.

David Cameron offers civil partnership review and seeks to smooth relations with angry activists as gay marriage Bill clears major hurdle

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:24:47 +0100

Moves to legalise gay marriage cleared a crucial parliamentary hurdle as it emerged that civil partnerships could be abolished as the price for getting David Cameron’s plans on to the statute book.

ITV axes skating show: Next series of Dancing On Ice to be the last

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:21:34 +0100

Popular TV series Dancing On Ice is to be axed after one further series, it was announced today.

Marks and Spencer announces largest fall in profits in four years as clothing sales slump

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:20:49 +0100

Marks & Spencer's annual profits fell to their lowest level in four years today after clothing sales slumped.

Simon Cowell appoints Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio American X Factor judges

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:18:10 +0100

Simon Cowell has hired former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland and Mexican singer/actress Paulina Rubio as judges on the American version of The X Factor.

One giant leap for Britain: UK's first official astronaut Major Tim Peake on tweeting like Chris Hadfield and missing his wife and sons

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:16:55 +0100

Britain's first astronaut in more than 20 years, a 41-year-old Apache helicopter pilot called Major Tim Peake, said today that his biggest anxiety about spending six months on the International Space Station as a flight engineer was the thought of leaving his young family behind on Earth.

Ground control to Major Tim: Tim Peake to be Britain's first official astronaut for 20 years with International Space Station mission

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:16:44 +0100

A British former helicopter pilot will be the country's first "home-grown" astronaut after he was confirmed as one of the crew to fly to the International Space Station (ISS).

Newark gas explosion: Second body recovered from destroyed house

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:09:56 +0100

A second body has been found in the rubble of a terraced house which was destroyed by a suspected gas blast.

Maria Stubbings case: Call for domestic violence inquiry after report finds murdered woman was 'failed' by police

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:08:47 +0100

The family of a woman murdered by a convicted killer has called for a public inquiry into the handling of domestic violence cases, following a second damning report into police failures over her death.

Work Programme 'is giving least help to worst off' and failing single parents

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:05:31 +0100

Private companies who win government contracts to help the jobless find work are “parking” some of the most disadvantaged people on benefits, MPs warn today.

This is the end, beautiful friend: The Doors' Ray Manzareck dies from bile duct cancer aged 74

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:57:38 +0100

Ray Manzarek, a founding member of the 1960s rock group The Doors whose versatile and often haunting keyboards complemented Jim Morrison's gloomy baritone and helped set the mood for some of rock's most enduring songs, has died aged 74.

Mr Selfridge actress Amanda Abbington brands bankruptcy publicity 'mean' and upsetting

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:43:50 +0100

Actress Amanda Abbington - the long-term partner of Hollywood star Martin Freeman - has called it "mean" and upsetting that her bankruptcy woes went public.

The Archers 'does not compete with EastEnders' for sensational storylines

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:38:15 +0100

The Archers' outgoing editor Vanessa Whitburn has denied that the drama has been competing with soaps such as EastEnders for sensational storylines.

DJ Edith Bowman hits out at 'ridiculous' designer clothes for children

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:34:25 +0100

DJ Edith Bowman has hit out at the trend for "ridiculous" designer clothes for children.

Dice Man books 'influenced' business tycoon Sir Richard Branson

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:32:35 +0100

Business tycoon Sir Richard Branson has told how he was heavily influenced by the Dice Man books - which encouraged readers to hand over decisions to the throw of a dice.

Embattled G4S boss Nick Buckles to step down

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:22:05 +0100

The boss of security giant G4S is to stand down - just months after he came under fire for his company's botched handling of its Olympics Games contract.

'It was just like the movie Twister': Man survives Oklahoma tornado by taking refuge in horse stall

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:26:44 +0100

As a two-mile wide tornado bore down on Moore, Oklahoma on Monday afternoon, one man survived by taking refuge in a horse stall.

Market Report: Success in retail not always a good thing

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:28:27 +0100

Next and WH Smith were victims of their own success as scribblers at Nomura downgraded the pair.

Investment View: Reputations are at stake, but Shell is a better bet than BP

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:24:21 +0100

Legal issues are some of the great X factors when assessing a company’s investment potential. You can estimate earnings, costs, likely dividend, economic prospects of the markets in which businesses operate, quality of product and of management.

'Market square' mall to have local feel

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:22:10 +0100

The property giant British Land has revealed that a number of independent retailers will trade alongside the high street’s biggest names at its shopping centre in Fareham, Hampshire, which opens on Thursday.

Mitie wins lucrative deals

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:18:35 +0100

Mitie, the outsourcer that is catering at the Chelsea Flower Show, said yesterday that switching to longer and more lucrative contracts had triggered a 5.4 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £111.1m in the year to April.

Food scares and new rules help us, says Cranswick chief

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:17:31 +0100

Food scares and stricter pig production rules across Europe will all be good for the bacon, sausage and cooked meats group Cranswick, its chairman said yesterday.

John Thornton quits HSBC board

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:16:50 +0100

John Thornton, the former Goldman Sachs president who specialises in Chinese affairs, is stepping down from the board of HSBC to spend more time on his other business interests.

Think-tank joins the call for a freeze on high street rates

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:15:37 +0100

An influential think-tank has become the latest organisation to call on the Government to alleviate the punishing impact of business rates in an effort to curb the spiralling number of store closures on the high street.

Battersea Power Station project gains $1bn sales

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:15:11 +0100

The developers of Battersea Power Station broke through the $1bn (£660m) sales barrier yesterday amid “phenomenal” interest in new flats and townhouses at the London landmark.

Japan: Stimulus measures boost factories and exports

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:14:37 +0100

Japan’s “Abenomics” strategy of pumping trillions into its stagnant economy and ramping up public spending is paying off as the growth picture improves.

James Moore: Who’s to blame for the banking ills that trip us?

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:09:45 +0100

That’s not to say Europe doesn’t deserve a kicking every now and again. A reader, who is an osteopath, tells me of a problem that I fear is all too common among those affected by the forced sale of branches by Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.

James Moore: CBI right to be jittery over European exit

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:06:09 +0100

There’s a risk in the CBI entering the European debate. Britain is in a sullen and surly mood right now.

James Moore: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer risks failure as she tries to buy her way out of a jam with Tumblr purchase

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:05:25 +0100

Is Marissa Mayer riding for a fall? Or just a bit of a Tumbl(r)? It all depends on whether she can successfully generate a bit more than the pitiful $13m (£8.6m) of revenue that Tumblr, the blogging website she is going to use $1.1bn of Yahoo’s money to buy, has so far managed.

ENRC reveals details of low-ball bid from founders

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:02:25 +0100

Shares in the controversial FTSE 100 miner Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) dropped yesterday after it confirmed details of an unwanted attempted takeover bid by its oligarch founders and the Kazakhstan government.

JP Morgan: Are investors about to clip Jamie Dimon's wings?

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:01:17 +0100

There could be thunderstorms in Tampa, Florida, this afternoon, not just in the literal sense – there’s a 50 per cent chance of rain – but, as far as Wall Street is concerned, when shareholder votes are counted at JP Morgan’s annual meeting at its Highland Oaks Campus on the east side of the city.

Chairman exits as First Group seeks £615m from investors

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:59:55 +0100

First Group’s chairman Martin Gilbert bowed out on a low yesterday as the struggling transport group tapped investors for £615m to cut debts and axed the dividend as profits slumped.

EU taps top oil traders for price-fixing information

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:59:27 +0100

The European Commission stepped up its investigation into oil price fixing as it sought information from trading houses such as the FTSE 100 giant Glencore.

Bullish mood in City sends market up to 13-year high

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:52:27 +0100

London’s leading share index closed at its highest level in almost 13 years yesterday, raising hopes that it will break through the 7,000 point barrier for the first time by the end of 2013.

Winona Ryder: 'Bring on ageing and wrinkles- the roles are better'

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:01:47 +0100

Masking the ageing process is a full-time job for some film stars. But Winona Ryder has said that she welcomes wrinkles because visible signs of maturity will bring her more interesting roles.

Survey finds two in three people oppose legal aid cuts

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:56 +0100

More than two-thirds of British people believe that the innocent will be convicted of crimes they did not commit if there are cuts to criminal legal aid, according to a poll.

The chasm that could swallow Cameron alive

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:54 +0100

High Tory disdain for the party’s grassroots isn’t that new. It’s a tradition going back at least as far as the over-quoted observation by Arthur Balfour – an old Etonian like his present day successor as Prime Minister – that he would rather consult his valet than the Conservative Party Conference. Whoever depicted activists – or didn’t – as “swivel-eyed loons” was arguably not going that much further, if changes in linguistic fashion over the century are allowed for. Which simply underlines the point that the row’s significance is about more than whether the remark was made, and its obvious unwisdom if it was. It goes to the heart of the currently dysfunctional three-way relationship between Tory leader, party and public.

Postcard from... Milan

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:41 +0100

Jose Mourinho clear to rejoin Chelsea as departure clears the way for Real Madrid to move for Gareth Bale to become Cristiano Ronaldo's successor

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:39 +0100

Tottenham’ success in tying down Gareth Bale this summer will not prevent Real Madrid trying to reach an agreement to take him in a year’s time.

i Assistant Editor's Letter: A British crack at The Final Frontier

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:39 +0100

The killing of 12-year-old Mohammed al-Durrah in Gaza became the defining image of the second intifada. Only Israel claims it was all a fake

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:32 +0100

One of the most evocative and shocking episodes of the second Intifada, the shooting of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy by the Israeli army, was staged. Indeed, Mohammed al-Durrah was not even injured in the incident.

In pictures: Massive tornado rips through Oklahoma

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:23 +0100

Andy McSmith's Diary: Send away the clown - Ukip sorry for 'unsuitable' councillor

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:19 +0100

Ukip has delivered a rare and fulsome apology over the behaviour of one of its members, who was elected this month to Worcestershire County Council.

Video: Tornado rips through Oklahoma

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:10 +0100

A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs yesterday, flattening entire neighbourhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 91 people were killed, including at least 20 children, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise.

This is the end... Keyboard player of The Doors Ray Manzarek dies of cancer aged 74

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:07 +0100

Ray Manzarek, the keyboard player and co-founder of The Doors, one of the most influential rock groups of the 1960s, has died after a protracted battle with cancer. He was 74.

Parents warned sharing bed with babies increases risk of cot death

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:02 +0100

Around 120 baby deaths could be prevented in the UK every year if parents stopped sharing beds with their children, research suggests.

Mariane Pearl: Al-Qa'ida killed my husband, not my hope

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Daniel Pearl had been held captive in Pakistan for more than a month when Mariane, his wife, learned he was dead.

Joe Farman: Scientist who first uncovered the hole in the ozone layer

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Joe Farman was a British physicist who came to prominence when he alerted the world to the man-made hole in the ozone layer. It became widely accepted as one of the biggest environmental and scientific discoveries of the 20th century.

Cynthia Brown: Human rights activist

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Cynthia Brown, who died of cancer in New York on 12 May at the age of 60, was one of the guiding forces of the international advocacy group Human Rights Watch. She started with Human Rights Watch as a researcher in 1982, focusing on the Americas. In 1990, she went to Chile for two years for the organisation and in 1993 she became its first programme director, overseeing every report it published.

Brigadier-General Zdenek Skarvada: Spitfire pilot who later underwent forced labour

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Zdenek Skarvada, who has died aged 95, was one of the last surviving Czech or Slovak pilots who flew fighters or bombers in the RAF during the Second World War. They took heavy casualties: 32 Czech fighter pilots were killed in his 310 Squadron alone and 480 overall in RAF fighters or bombers. After the engine of his Spitfire failed while on patrol on 4 February 1942, he baled out into the sea near the Isles of Scilly, and was picked up, unconscious but afloat in his life jacket, by a German torpedo boat.

Bad news for David Cameron as poll puts Ukip just two points behind Tories

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:54:34 +0100

Ukip has surged to just two points behind the Conservatives, according to a poll released last night.

Anger as Barack Obama rewards Burmese President Thein Sein with White House visit despite recent claims of violence

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:30:28 +0100

Welcoming the first Burmese head of state to visit the White House in nearly 50 years yesterday, President Obama said “the leadership of President [Thein] Sein” had “allowed this shift” in the relationship.

Abu Qatada denied bail over seized 'jihadist files'

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:00:20 +0100

The extremist cleric Abu Qatada lost his bid for freedom as judges denied him bail.

Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Cross-eyed, myopic or just old-fashioned, soon these swivelling Tories will be making T-shirts

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:25:30 +0100

It didn’t take long to get to it. The Tory backbencher Edward Leigh, a strong opponent of gay marriage, was warming to his theme that the “outlandish views of the loony left in of the 1980s… have now become embedded in high places.”

Tottenham to smash pay scale with £150,000-a-week contract in attempt to tie Gareth Bale to club

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:20:33 +0100

Gareth Bale will be offered the opportunity to sign yet another lucrative contract at Tottenham Hotspur this summer, in excess of £150,000 a week, or stay on his existing deal and be sold next year – but he has been told by the club that there is no prospect of him leaving this summer.

'We won't screw it up': Yahoo buys New York-based social network Tumblr for $1.1bn as chief executive Marissa Mayer rules out radical changes following negative reaction

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:20:00 +0100

Yahoo today made its acquisition of Tumblr. official with a first post on the blogging-platform titled “Tumblr. + Yahoo! = !!”.

'Saloon bar politics' by Ukip could harm Britain's climate change credibility and drag Tories to right on environment, warns minister

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:09:23 +0100

The rise of Ukip risks fuelling climate change scepticism as Conservative politicians embrace the populist “saloon bar” politics of Nigel Farage’s party, the Energy Secretary, Ed Davey, has warned.

Meet David Karp, the 26-year-old high school dropout worth $275m after selling Tumblr to Yahoo

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:04:05 +0100

Behind the news of Tumblr’s sale for $1.1billion (£723 million) to Yahoo there lies the story of David Karp, its 26-year-old founder, who has now become one of the world’s richest technology entrepreneurs.

Ryanair profits at record high and aims to double short-haul European flight numbers

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:00:06 +0100

Ryanair wants to more than double its share of the European short-haul market to 20 per cent in the next five years

Alexander Lebedev says charges are 'fabricated'

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:49:41 +0100

The businessman Alexander Lebedev told a Russian court that he did not understand the accusations against him of “hooliganism motivated by political hatred” that could see him jailed for up to five years.

Arrested Development returns but can the new episodes capture the show's glory days?

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:20:00 +0100

What's the link between a frozen banana stand, a chicken dance and a ventriloquist's dummy who just wants to promote inter-racial harmony? The answer is Arrested Development, the much-loved and prematurely cancelled sitcom, which returns with 15 new episodes available on Netflix on Sunday.

Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:56:32 +0100

A gay couple who were beaten by a gang of youths in a suspected homphobic robbery last weekend – leaving one with head injuries – have urged politicians to moderate their language when debating same-sex marriage.

Labour MP Tom Watson urges Theresa May to investigate 'suppressed' Leveson evidence

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:54:17 +0100

The Home Secretary has been asked to investigate whether vital reports and documents in the possession of Scotland Yard were seen in full by Lord Justice Leveson before he reached key conclusions in his report on the press.

Top A&E doctors warn: 'We cannot guarantee safe care for patients anymore'

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:53:40 +0100

The Accident & Emergency crisis is now so severe that doctors can no longer guarantee safe care for patients, NHS officials have warned in a leaked letter seen by The Independent.

No socks rule is latest bid to ease Pakistan power cuts

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:26:55 +0100

Can socks, or rather an absence of them, save Pakistan this hot, blistering summer?

Briton Julian Stevenson under formal investigation in Lyon over murder of own children

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:08:59 +0100

A divorced British father with a history of drunkenness and domestic violence was formally accused of the murder of his two children, who were found with their throats cut in his apartment in southern France.

Editorial: Gay marriage is a large, liberal step

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:08:41 +0100

For all our liberality, Britain still has a way to go. Last weekend – ironically, just one day after the International Day Against Homophobia – two gay men were attacked in a south London park. Then, yesterday, more than a handful of MPs lined up to resist government plans to allow same-sex couples to marry. The two are, of course, not linked; it would be fatuous – not to say, unfair – to suggest that they were. But both are symptoms of the same root cause: the sense that heterosexuality and homosexuality are inalienably different from one another.

Editorial: Obama has a tricky balance to strike

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:07:05 +0100

There was much cause for optimism when Barack Obama regained the White House last November. Never mind the warnings of “second-term blues”; with the small-government Tea Party looking like a spent force and the winds of economic recovery behind him, the newly re-elected President was all set to carry forward his moderate agenda, guiding through immigration reform, making progress on climate change, and enacting his healthcare reforms.

Chelsea Flower Show: A blooming century lit up by tweed and Pimm’s

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:04:28 +0100

Joanna Lumley, the Queen and Ringo Starr were among the Great British institutions to wish a happy 100th birthday to another one – the Chelsea Flower Show.

Blasts and shootings claim 90 lives in Iraq as sectarian violence rises

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:55:19 +0100

Iraq is edging closer to all-out sectarian war between Sunni and Shia Muslims as a series of car bombings and shootings killed at least 90 people and left many others injured.

Paranoid woman begs court to let her abort baby she gave up pills to protect

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:48:40 +0100

A pregnant woman suffering from “severe” mental health problems has made an impassioned plea to a High Court judge, asking that she be granted an abortion.

Attacks from dissident republicans 'likely' during G8 summit

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:42:54 +0100

The head of the policing operation for next month’s G8 summit said that attacks from dissident republicans were likely to continue in Northern Ireland despite thousands of extra police officers being brought in.

Drei Löwen auf dem Hemd? It's all kicking off about the new England shirt unveiled by Jack Wilshere

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:40:11 +0100

If you can’t beat them, join them. That was one more cutting conclusions after England unveiled their new international shirt, with comparisons being made to that worn by the West German team in 1966.

Associated Press, Financial Times and BBC have been hacked by them - but who are the Syrian Electronic Army?

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:29:56 +0100

Earlier this month, several employees of the satirical news website The Onion received what looked like harmless unsolicited emails, containing apparently innocuous hyperlinks. One such message purported to be from an address at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees; it invited the recipient to click through to an article seemingly from The Washington Post. In fact, the link redirected to a page that asked for the user’s Gmail password. The email had come not from the UN, but from the hacktivist group known as the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).

X marks the spot: The find that could rewrite Australian history

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:27:34 +0100

According to the records, Australia was first discovered by Dutch explorers in the early 17th century. So how did 1,000-year-old copper coins from a former African sultanate end up on a remote Australian beach?

You give pop a bad name: Justin Bieber's behaviour risks alienating fans warns Jon Bon Jovi

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:23:28 +0100

Justin Bieber may have slammed his critics last night at the Billboard Music Awards for focussing too much on his off-stage antics and not enough on “the music, the craft that I’m making,” but he probably wasn’t referring to Jon Bon Jovi.

Strewth mate. Aussies wave goodbye to Britain as it becomes too pricey to stay

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:15:58 +0100

Take the shrimps off the barbie and put the stubbies back in the fridge: the Aussies are leaving Britain and the companies which served them are going bust.