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March 31, 2014

South Korea returns fire after North Korean shells land in disputed waters

Residents on South-controlled island are evacuated to shelters after exchange of fire caps days of rising tension

South Korean islanders fled to shelters as their countrys forces returned the Norths fire near a disputed sea boundary on Monday, amid renewed tensions on the Korean peninsula.


Climate change threatens food, security and humankind, IPCC warns

Warming is leading to more volatile weather patterns that are already reducing crop yields, the IPCC has warned

A United Nations report raised the threat of climate change to a whole new level on Monday, warning of sweeping consequences to life and livelihood.

The report from the UN's intergovernmental panel on climate change concluded that climate change was already having effects in real time melting sea ice and thawing permafrost in the Arctic, killing off coral reefs in the oceans, and leading to heat waves, heavy rains and mega-disasters.


NHS users should pay £10 a month, says former health minister

Lord Warner says monthly fee could be collected alongside council tax to prevent health service from sliding into decline

Everyone in the UK should start paying a £10-a-month NHS "membership charge" to save it from sliding into a decline that threatens its existence, a former Labour health minister has urged.

Lord Warner, who served under Tony Blair, warns that the NHS will become unsustainable without new sources of funding and painful changes.


George Osborne hails reforms as key to economic recovery

Chancellor lauds creation of more than 1.3m posts as tax and welfare changes 'encourage jobs growth' across Britain

George Osborne will claim on Monday that the changes to the UK's taxes and welfare system are the most significant for two decades and will drive the UK's economic recovery by encouraging jobs growth.

But as the chancellor highlights fresh measures to tighten access to welfare, the Department for Work and Pensions is studying a government-commissioned report highlighting inadequate procedures, resulting in a lack of communication particularly for the vulnerable. The report, not yet published, was commissioned by ministers last year and was due to be handed to ministers last week.


MH370 search will take 'some time to come' live updates

  • Malaysia still hopes for survivors however remote
  • Australia's PM Tony Abbott praises international effort
  • Black box detector fitted to search ship
  • Relatives demand apology from Malaysia

Malaysia's acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein has told relatives of the missing passengers that he hasn't given up hope of finding survivors however remote that possibility.

After meeting Chinese relatives who travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Hishammuddin gave an interview to China's state broadcaster CCTV. He said: "I told them to read deep into my heart. Even hoping against hope, even praying for a miracle, no matter how remote. They said 'please search for survivors'. I said that has always been my priority. It's not about the plane. It's not about the black box. It's about the people in the plane."

Relatives of the missing passengers have demanded meetings with the aircraft's manufacturers Boeing and Rolls Royce, according to a video from China's state news agency Xinhua.

It has footage of the relatives spokesman Jiang Hui demanding an apology from Malaysia over its handling of the investigation and communication with relatives.

Welcome to our continuing coverage of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight Mh370 more than three weeks after it went missing with 239 people on board.

Here's a summary of the latest developments.

On Sunday one of Australia's P-3 Orions search planes spotted four orange objects at sea, each more than two metres in size. The co-ordinates and images of the items, the latest to be sighted, were "of interest" but would need to be analysed, Flight-Lieutenant Russell Adams told Fairfax Media from RAAF Pearce base after returning from an 11-hour mission on Sunday night.

Dozens of angry relatives of Chinese passengers aboard the missing flight have demanded that Malaysia apologise for its handling of the investigation as they arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Beijing on Sunday. About 50 more family members joined those who had earlier flown to Malaysia, saying they hoped to get more information from officials in the capital.


Nigel Farage: I admire Vladimir Putin

Ukip leader praises Russian president's handling of Syria crisis, but describes Germany's chancellor as 'incredibly cold'

Nigel Farage has named Vladimir Putin as the world leader he most admires, praising the Russian president's handling of the crisis in Syria.

But the Ukip leader had less kind words for Angela Merkel, describing the German chancellor as "incredibly cold".


MPs voice fears over BBC World Service

Foreign affairs committee unconvinced safeguards in place to protect broadcaster after BBC takes over control and funding

The BBC World Service risks "long-term erosion" as the corporation takes over governance and funding of the international broadcaster, according to a committee of MPs.

The Commons foreign affairs committee has said it remains unconvinced that there are satisfactory safeguards to protect the World Service under the corporation's control, in a report published on the last day that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office retains funding responsibility for the service.


England to wear all white kit at 2014 World Cup in Brazil

England ditch blue shorts used in qualification
Fifa urge nations to wear one-colour kits

England will wear an all white strip in Brazil in a change from the navy blue shorts used for the World Cup qualification campaign following a request from Fifa for nations to wear one-colour kits to aid referees. An alternative kit will also be unveiled but will not be required in the group stages. The home kit will go on sale Thursday and is now available to pre-order on nike.com.


Divergent is like an irritating, self-absorbed, self-pitying teenager

Kate Winslet is great in this Young Adult franchise as a tyrannical wicked queen, but otherwise it's a depressingly generic affair

Oh great, another young-adult franchise that dares to finger-wag the world's teenagers into cherishing their own individuality but which itself makes no effort to stand out in a crowded and deeply unadventurous field of YA and tween trilogies. Indeed, like most teenagers, this movie, far from wanting to be different, inwardly screams that it just wants to be like all the other kids and that nobody understands them. All Divergent could do to be more like a monumentally irritating, self-absorbed, self-pitying teenager would be to sleep all day and sprout great livid orange zits all over everything. But that might suddenly make it an interesting movie and, like the Victoria Roth trilogy's massive readership, interesting or different is just about the last thing it wants to be.

Divergent is anything but. It's yet another post-Buffy outing in which the neverending conflict between high-school tribes jocks, brains, nerds, goths is writ large in an inoffensively occultish alternate universe heavy with testosterone and tumescence, where every protagonist is both self-actualised super-gladiator and confused, angry, horny kid, and where the SATs and final exams of real life are mythicised into life-or-death encounters in blood-stained combat arenas and war zones fizzing with flying arrows. I fear a substantial portion of the film's viewers would gladly assent to the horrifying motto of Divergent's villain: "The future belongs to those who know where they belong"


US stock market is rigged by high-speed traders, says Michael Lewis

Author of The Big Short says in his latest book that high-frequency trading is costing other investors billions of dollars


£10 each can save the NHS

The NHS no longer meets the country's needs. Rather than managing decline, politicians and the public must face uncomfortable truths

A care and cash crisis is sending the NHS bust. In its present form, a shortfall of £30bn a year, or more, is expected by 2020. Paying off the nation's deficit means five more years of further deep public expenditure cuts, whoever is in government. So, over-protecting an outdated, cosseted and unaffordable healthcare system inevitably means starving other vital public services, unless we choke off economic growth and worsen the cost of living with big tax increases. That might be worth contemplating if the NHS was offering brilliant care. But it isn't.

Just look at the thousands of frail elderly people who get the care they need only by queuing in A&E and spending weeks in hospital the most expensive and often the worst way to look after them. And let's not forget that the NHS is sleepwalking through an obesity epidemic.


Jill Soloway: 'My movie makes men uncomfortable'

The writer/director of Afternoon Delight calls for more nuanced female roles in cinema

In her 2006 memoir, Tiny Ladies In Shiny Pants, Jill Soloway wrote that the sexual content of her work wasn't solely intended to shock. "My original intent," she wrote, "was something much nobler: inciting feminist revolution." Nevertheless, she knew how to grab attention. Plays such as The Miss Vagina Pageant and Not Without My Nipples helped her move into TV, and a short story, Courteney Cox's Asshole (it involves anal bleaching) amused Six Feet Under's Alan Ball, who hired her for the show.

Afternoon Delight, which she wrote and directed, is her first film, and while sex is still at the forefront, it's tackled with maturity and nuance. Kathryn Hahn plays Rachel, a well-to-do mum who doesn't quite know what to do with herself now that her kid is at school. Sex has slipped away, as has her sense of self, and when a female friend suggests she and her husband Jeff (Josh Radnor) go to a strip club to spice things up, Jeff buys her a lapdance. Feeling a muddled connection with the stripper (Juno Temple), Rachel later invites her to move in with them. In a film as funny as it is incisive, she is sent on an unplanned voyage of sexual rediscovery.


Climate change 'already affecting food supply' UN

Report by climate change panel says global warming is fuelling not only natural disasters, but potentially famine and war

Climate change has already cut into the global food supply and is fuelling wars and natural disasters, but governments are unprepared to protect those most at risk, according to a report from the UN's climate science panel.

The report is the first update in seven years from the UN's international panel of experts, which is charged with producing the definitive account of climate change.


Paris gets first female mayor

Front National takes control of 11 town halls in local polls while Hidalgo's victory in Paris is only bright spot for Hollande

Paris elected its first female mayor on Sunday night, but the victory for socialist Anne Hidalgo was an isolated piece of good news for President François Hollande's embattled party as the far-right Front National (FN) appeared on course to win a record number of town halls.

"I am the first woman mayor of Paris. I am aware of the challenge," Hidalgo said in a victory speech after defeating the candidate of the conservative right, former minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet.


Equipment to detect MH370 black box dispatched after more objects spotted

Four orange objects seen on Sunday, but US navy technology cannot track black box until search area is narrowed down


Parents guilty of emotional cruelty face jail

New law would mean up to 10 years' jail for any parent or carer who harms 'emotional, social or behaviourial development'

Adults convicted of acts of emotional cruelty against children in their care will face the same threat of jail as those guilty of physical neglect, under new laws being considered by ministers.

Parents found guilty could face up to 10 years in prison, the maximum term in child neglect cases.


Apple sues Samsung for $2bn as tech rivals head back to court

Apple says Korean company must pay $40 per device for 'systematically' copying features to use on its newest devices

One of the fiercest rivalries in the world of business is heading back to court this week with Apple seeking $2bn in damages from Samsung for allegedly ripping off designs and features.

The trial in Silicon Valley, California will mark the latest round in a long-running series of lawsuits between the two tech giants as they fight for the multi-billion dollar smartphone market.


José Mourinho set to ditch Chelsea strikers

Atlético Madrid's Diego Costa a target for Chelsea manager
Demba Ba, Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto'o under pressure

The future of Chelsea's current strikeforce looks bleak after José Mourinho confirmed he intends to revamp his side's front-line, as well as instil fight and focus into his other attacking talents, for an assault on the title next season.

Mourinho conceded his team's hopes of winning the Premier League were effectively over after Saturday's defeat at Crystal Palace, his first by a newly promoted club and a result that handed the initiative to Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race. The Portuguese praised the effort and commitment of his defence in the 1-0 defeat but was critical of others for "disappearing" in a game they might have anticipated winning. He had confirmed straight after the match that his side had lacked "balls" at Selhurst Park.


Essex air crash victim named

Father of one who died after training plane attempted somersault was trustee of aviation museum

The family of one of the two people killed when a light aircraft crashed in Essex have said they have lost a best friend and soulmate.

Police confirmed on Sunday that 29-year-old father of one Simon Chamberlain died along with the pilot of the plane.


£200bn investment boom for UK

Improving economy prompts 80% of companies with turnover of more than £1bn to invest up to £200bn in next two years

Britain's biggest businesses are preparing to invest £200bn over the next two years as they seek to benefit from the recent upturn in economic growth.

A survey by accountants Deloitte found 80% of companies with a turnover of more than £1bn intend to invest this year, with close to 70% earmarking at least £250m of investments to drive growth.


Mudslide victims may never be found

30 people reported missing are feared to be buried
Official death toll from mudslide increases to 21

Some of the victims engulfed by the devastating mudslide that hit rural Washington state last Saturday may never be recovered, authorities have warned.

On Sunday, rescue and recovery teams continued to comb the ruins of the small community of Oso, north of Seattle, where 30 people reported missing are believed to be buried.


Housing market: bubble fears

Hometrack finds housebuyers in London are paying more than 99% of asking prices against a backdrop of soaring demand

Fears that Britain's housing market is headed for bubble territory were stoked on Monday by fresh evidence that demand is far outstripping supply.


Brendan Rodgers fires title warning

Liverpool top Premier League after Tottenham rout
Rodgers says City and Chelsea will find it 'tough' at Anfield

Brendan Rodgers has warned Liverpool's title rivals, Manchester City and Chelsea, that they face a "tough challenge" to knock Liverpool from the top of Premier League after watching his side reach the summit with a 4-0 victory over Tottenham.

The home side put in an awesome display against the London club, taking the lead inside two minutes through Younès Kaboul's own-goal, with goals from Luis Suárez, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson wrapping up Liverpool's eighth successive league win and one which has put them within sight of a first title in 24 years. With six fixtures to go the race is in Liverpool's hands, and their home encounters against third-placed City on 13 April and second-placed Chelsea on 27 April are increasingly taking on the shape of defining encounters.


James Lovelock: environmentalism has become a religion

Scientist behind the Gaia hypothesis says environment movement does not pay enough attention to facts and he was too certain in the past about rising temperatures

Environmentalism has "become a religion" and does not pay enough attention to facts, according to James Lovelock.

The 94 year-old scientist, famous for his Gaia hypothesis that Earth is a self-regulating, single organism, also said that he had been too certain about the rate of global warming in his past book, that "its just as silly to be a [climate] denier as it is to be a believer and that fracking and nuclear power should power the UK, not renewable sources such as windfarms.


Russia sets terms for Ukraine deal as 40,000 troops mass on border

Lavrov demands that Kiev have only limited powers as Kerry says military moves are obstructing peace deal


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