Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has been arrested as part of the police inquiry into allegations of phone hacking.

Five other people were detained, including Mrs Brooks' husband, the racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks.

The arrests took place in Oxfordshire, London, Hampshire and Hertfordshire.

Police said one woman and five men were held on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, as part of the Operation Weeting hacking probe.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen says she has secured the support of the 500 elected officials necessary to stand in the French presidential election.

The National Front candidate, who is third in the opinion polls, said last week she was struggling to find enough endorsements to enable her to stand.

The latest poll, by Ifop, puts President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead for the first time in the campaign.

But it gives Socialist rival Francois Hollande victory in the second round.

An imam has been killed in an arson attack at a Shia mosque in the Brussels suburb of Anderlecht.

The 46-year-old imam died of smoke inhalation trying to put out the fire.

The suspect entered the mosque armed with an axe and a knife, and spread flammable liquid before setting it alight, officials said.

He was grabbed and locked in a room by worshippers. Police said his motives were unclear but he had described himself as a Muslim born in 1978.

The European Union has decided to suspend 495m euros ($655m; £417m) of funds due next year to Hungary, because of the country's budget deficit.

This is the first case of the EU taking action over the budget deficit of any of its members.

But the EU will allow three months for Hungary to pass more budget cuts.

The decision came as the EU also allowed Spain to run a higher deficit, leading Austria to accuse the EU of applying "double standards".

Spain will have to cut its deficit to 5.3% of GDP this year - higher than the 4.4% that Spain was originally told to target.

The Smithwick Tribunal has heard that in 1980, the Taoiseach, "from the outset of the enquiry decreed" that the Warrenpoint killings were a "political crime and no assistance would be given to the RUC".

Eighteen soldiers died in the Narrow Water bomb attack close to Warrenpoint in August 1979.

The bombs were detonated from a site in County Louth.

Jack Lynch was the Taoiseach at the time of the attack in 1979.

Charles J Haughey was the Taoiseach in 1980.

The Liberal Democrat split over the government's NHS reforms has resurfaced just two days after a bruising spring party conference, following a decision by the Speaker, John Bercow, to accept for a Commons debate an amendment from Lib Dem MPs opposing the health and social care bill "in its current form".

The amendment, signed by five Lib Dem rebels, was welcomed by the shadow health secretary, Andy Burnham, as he sought to reach out to dissenting Lib Dems to join forces in the fight to get the bill ditched.

Labour seized on the divisions within the Lib Dem camp as both houses of parliament focused their sights on the bill on Tuesday.

A confidential report from the European Commission says Greece will have to implement 5.5% in additional cuts in 2013 and 2014 to meet deficit targets; reports say savings would come from come from fresh cuts in pensions and cuts in defence spending; figures suggest that the Greek depression is likely to persist for at least three more years; Fitch upgrades the Greek rating from speculative to B-, with other agencies expected to follow suit soon; Spanish ministers are reeling over Mariano Rajoy's diplomatic disaster, when he first announced a deficit target, which he then had to cut under pressure; El Pais writes that the cuts are likely from the central government, possibly a rise in VAT and/or further cuts in the salaries of civil servants; Luis de Guindos claims (implausibly) that the additional cuts will have no impact on economic growth; the Bundesbank announced €4.1bn in provisions to cover its share of the eurosystem's risk; Jens Weidmann reiterated his demand for a carefully worked-out ECB exit strategy; in its monthly report, the Bundesbank tries to explain the significance of the Target 2 balances, while struggling to maintain its official position that a break-up of the euro is unthinkable; Stefan Ruhkamp argues the Bundesbank should have set aside even higher provisions; Wolfgang Schäuble rules out a renegotiation of the fiscal pact; both Schäuble and Mario Monti claimed yesterday (again, implausibly) that the worst of the crisis was over; Marine Le Pen finally gets her 500 signature (ending the biggest non-story of the year so far); the Wall Street Journal criticises "Nicolas Le Pen's" xenophobia; Mario Monti, meanwhile, says he is too busy to run the eurogroup.

The US, Japan and the European Union have filed a case against China at the World Trade Organization, challenging its restrictions on rare earth exports.

US President Barack Obama accused China of breaking agreed trade rules as he announced the case at the White House.

Beijing has set quotas for exports of rare earths, which are critical to the manufacture of high-tech products from hybrid cars to flat-screen TVs.

It is the first WTO case to be filed jointly by the US, EU and Japan.

Shares on Wall Street reached a post financial crisis high on Tuesday night amid growing optimism about the state of the eurozone and the US economy.

As Greece finally had the terms of its second bailout agreed by its European partners and the country was upgraded by ratings agency Fitch, the Dow Jones industrial average soared through the 13,000 point barrier to hit its highest point since June 2008. In London the FTSE 100 index closed at 5956.

Stocks in New York were buoyed by strong corporate results and the monthly statement from the Federal Reserve which kept interest rates at historic lows and noted that the US economy was expanding.

Deposit facility in order to make overnight deposits with the central bank.

Deposit facility rate:    0.25 %

Use of the deposit facility:    795,166 [EUR millions]

UK chancellor looks at 100-year gilt

The UK chancellor is aiming to launch an "Osborne bond" - a 100-year debt issue or even a perpetual gilt that never matures - to take advantage of the country's historically low interest rates.

The plan echoes similar bonds issued to finance Britain's debts after the 18th century South Sea Bubble and the first world war.

The firm changed the way it thought about leadership. Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence.

What are three quick ways to become a leader? a) Execute on the firm's "axes," which is Goldman-speak for persuading your clients to invest in the stocks or other products that we are trying to get rid of because they are not seen as having a lot of potential profit. b) "Hunt Elephants." In English: get your clients -- some of whom are sophisticated, and some of whom aren't -- to trade whatever will bring the biggest profit to Goldman. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't like selling my clients a product that is wrong for them. c) Find yourself sitting in a seat where your job is to trade any illiquid, opaque product with a three-letter acronym.

A Dominican-born Muslim convert charged with plotting to attack police and soldiers with homemade bombs pleaded not guilty in New York to rarely used state-level terrorism charges.

Jose Pimentel nearly whispered "not guilty" Tuesday in a case authorities describe as bringing down an overt al-Qaida sympathiser who was building a pipe bomb to act on his violent beliefs.

His lawyers call it an example of police overreaching. "We think that when a jury hears both sides of this case, they'll see it for what it really is," one of his lawyers, Susan J Walsh, said as she left court.

Gaza militants fired a Grad-type Katyusha rocket toward the western Negev on Tuesday, despite a Egypt-mediated cease fire between Israel and militant groups that went into effect earlier in the day.

The rocket struck a residential area if the town of Netivot; preliminary reports do no cite wounded.

A former Guatemalan special forces soldier has been sentenced to 6,060 years in prison for his role in the killings of 201 people in a 1982 massacre.

Pedro Pimentel Rios was the fifth member of the elite military force to be sentenced to 6,060 years or more for what became known as the Dos Erres massacre after the killings in the northern Guatemala village during the 1960-96 civil war.

The sentence handed down by a three-judge panel is largely symbolic since under Guatemalan law the maximum time a prisoner can serve is 50 years. It specified 30 years for each of the 201 deaths, plus 30 years for crimes against humanity.

Amnesty International has accused Sri Lanka of illegally holding hundreds of detainees who are vulnerable to torture and execution and urged the UN to investigate allegations of serious abuses during and after the country's 26-year civil war.

In a new report entitled "Locked away: Sri Lanka's security detainees", the rights group also said arbitrary and illegal detentions and enforced disappearances were routine in Sri Lanka, where rights abuses "go uninvestigated and unpunished."

The lack of accountability for alleged war crimes committed by the government side has created a sense of impunity among security forces, the report released on Tuesday said.

An attack by gunmen on a public bus in Ethiopia's western Gambella region has left 19 people dead and wounded eight others, an official said.

"The attack took place yesterday (Monday), around 2pm... I suspect it was an anti-peace element we consider as rebels," Omot Odeng Olol, the regional president, told the AFP news agency on Tuesday.
 
Omot said the suspected rebels armed with machine guns stole money and clothes from the passengers before opening fire on them.

He said the gunmen have not yet been caught.

Syrian government forces have re-established full control in the northern city of Idlib following days of deadly clashes with opposition fighters, sources within the country have told Al Jazeera.

At least 35 people are feared dead after a ferry collided with a barge south of the Bangladeshi capital, and rescuers have begun retrieving bodies, officials said.

The double-decker Shariatpur 1 ferry was hit on Tuesday early morning by another vessel in the middle of the Meghna River southeast of Dhaka, Shahidul Islam, a local police official, told AFP news agency.

Aside from the pro-nuclear zealots, most protagonists in favour of nuclear power rely on "there is no alternative" advocacy - because of climate change, energy security, the "lights going out", we need nuclear, the argument runs. Such thinking is alive and well within the coalition government to the extent that ministers are no longer prepared to listen to contrary evidence.

As a result, UK energy policy is being manipulated and subverted to make it possible for French nuclear power companies (EDF and Areva) to start building four new reactors in the UK - two at Hinkley Point in Somerset and two at Sizewell in Suffolk.

Home Secretary Theresa May has approved the extradition to the US of a student accused of copyright infringement.

The US authorities say 23-year-old Sheffield student Richard O'Dwyer's TVShack website hosted links to pirated films and television programmes.

A spokesman said Mrs May had "carefully considered all relevant matters" before signing the order.

Mr O'Dwyer's mother Julia, from Chesterfield, said he had been "sold down the river" by the government.

The Supreme Court in Argentina has ruled that women who have an abortion after being raped will no longer be prosecuted.

Under Argentine law, abortion is only allowed in cases where the mother's life or health are at risk, or if the woman is deemed "of feeble mind".

The Supreme Court confirmed a lower court's decision to allow a 15-year-old rape victim to terminate her pregnancy.

An estimated 500,000 illegal abortions are carried out in Argentina each year.

You wouldn't think that Apple had any problems right now. Its share price is so grossly high that it is ranked as the most valuable company in the world. Fans will queue up in their thousands for the chance to buy its latest iDevice - the new iPad - so much so that there won't be anywhere nearly enough devices in stock to satisfy demand on launch day.

And finally, none of the myriad patent litigation cases Apple is involved in have managed to do it any serious damage, or much damage at all.

But in recent weeks, Apple seems to be courting disaster in a rather surprising arena: ebooks.

A Symantec-sponsored experiment has discovered that people who find lost smartphones* almost invariably attempt to have a sneaky peek at their owners' data.

As part of the Smartphone Honey Stick Project, 50 specially configured smartphones were deliberately abandoned in public locations (eg, food malls, public transport stops) in five North American cities. Software installed on the phones allowed independent security expert Scott Wright to monitor where a device was taken, what apps were opened on it and what information was accessed by its finder.

Wright found that an app that offered access to "private pix" was accessed in 72 per cent of cases while three-in-five of those unwittingly taking part in the experiment opened apps that appeared to offer access to private email or social network accounts. A "saved passwords" file was opened in 57 per cent of cases while a 43 per cent fancied a snoop in an "online banking" utility.

The Information Commissioner's Office is looking into an alleged breach of the Data Protection Act after the West Yorkshire branch of the Gay Police Association (WYGPA) mistakenly leaked names and email addresses to around 100 people signed up to an LGBT mailing list.

The Register was first alerted to the email gaffe by an eagle-eyed reader who spotted a student doctor complaining about it on Twitter.

After 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print.

Those coolly authoritative, gold-lettered reference books that were once sold door-to-door by a fleet of traveling salesmen and displayed as proud fixtures in American homes will be discontinued, company executives said.

In an acknowledgment of the realities of the digital age -- and of competition from the Web site Wikipedia -- Encyclopaedia Britannica will focus primarily on its online encyclopedias and educational curriculum for schools. The last print version is the 32-volume 2010 edition, which weighs 129 pounds and includes new entries on global warming and the Human Genome Project.

"It's a rite of passage in this new era," Jorge Cauz, the president of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., a company based in Chicago, said in an interview. "Some people will feel sad about it and nostalgic about it. But we have a better tool now. The Web site is continuously updated, it's much more expansive and it has multimedia."

The story of a 16-year-old Morrocan girl who committed suicide after being forced to marry her rapist reverberated through the Arab world on Tuesday. Amina reportedly ingested rat poison in her hometown Larache, in norther Morocco, on the weekend as a last resort to escape her marriage and the domestic violence she experienced at the hands of her husband. The girl's plight dates back to a year ago, when she was reportedly raped by a man 10 years her senior. After the incident was reported to authorities, the two families struck a deal in which Amina was married to her rapist to preserve her family's `honour'. This example of a practice which is still common in some parts of the Arab world struck a nerve with many. Tweets tagged with #RIPAmina spread like wild fire through social media on Tuesday as many condemned laws that exempt rapists from punishment if they marry their victims.

The fossilised remains of stone age people recovered from two caves in south west China may belong to a new species of human that survived until around the dawn of agriculture.

The partial skulls and other bone fragments, which are from at least four individuals and are between 14,300 and 11,500 years old, have an extraordinary mix of primitive and modern anatomical features that stunned the researchers who found them.

Named the Red Deer Cave people, after their apparent penchant for home-cooked venison, they are the most recent human remains found anywhere in the world that do not closely resemble modern humans.

The research is published on the open-acces online journal PLos One

Along with the hobbits of Flores, that makes for a surprising range of human phenotypes at the end of the Ice Age.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II}

A woman who was given PIP breast implants that ruptured has recouped the full cost of the surgery from her credit card company.

She said Lloyds TSB refunded her £3,700 on the grounds that she was sold faulty goods.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) said the move should offer a "ray of hope" to other patients with PIP implants.

In between she was Gertrude, mother to Ian McKellen's Hamlet; appeared in The Old Country with Alec Guinness and Coriolanus with Steven Berkoff; and in 1999 was Charles Dance's mother in Good , for which she received the Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Then, in 2004, she was invited to play the part of Martha in a one-woman play, The Colour of Poppies. The drama was an adaptation of the French novel La Femme Coquelicot which, with its poetic treatment of the taboo subject of love and sensuality in old age, had created a sensation when first published in 1999

Rowland's interest in atmospheric chemistry was sparked by research by the British scientist James Lovelock, showing that the amount of CFCs in the atmosphere was about equal to the quantity produced by the chemical industry.

In 1973 Rowland and Molina, a young member of his research team at the University of California (UC) at Irvine, decided to work out what became of the invisible, apparently harmless chemicals once they were released into the atmosphere.

HOW inspirational do you think Northampton is?... We spoke to a writer who has been inspired to write a novel of around 650,000 words, all on one area of the town.

"I HAVE been told it will be longer than The Bible by a bibliographer... and hopefully it will be better written," says Northampton's own literary heavyweight Alan Moore, of his forthcoming novel Jerusalem.

Following a bit of research ahead of interviewing the writer, primarily known for his work in comic books, such as Watchmen and V for Vendetta, I discovered his latest literary endeavour was expected to be 750,000 words long and all centred around Northampton.

However, neither of these facts turned out to be entirely true.

Smartasses Deluge Pro-Ultrasound Male Lawmaker's Facebook Page With Detailed Vagina Updates

Hilarious: VA Right-Wingnut Sen. Ryan McDougle Gets a Taste of His Own (Transvaginal) Medicine!

Found in Germany and they're to be translated into English as well.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher