The Friday Round-Up, Week 10

Hello, and welcome back to the Friday Round-Up after a two week break.


In this week's news:


UK


PRINCE William and the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine (née Middleton), were married today in an hour-long ceremony which took place in Westminster Abbey this morning. Royal wedding fever has gripped the country and the world as people celebrate the union of the newly-appointed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Catherine was wearing a dress designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen.


SYRIAN ambassador to London, Sami Khiyami, was barred from the ceremony. The foreign secretary, William Hague, withdrew the ambassador's invitation to publicly condemn the treatment of anti-regime demonstrators by Syrian government forces.


JOURNALIST Andrew Marr has been labelled a hypocrite after he revealed he obtained a superinjunction to conceal an extra-marital affair from the public eye. Marr has told The Daily Mail he was "embarrassed" and had felt "uneasy" about obtaining the injunction but that he had wished to protect his family. Previously, Marr had written an article arguing against the way in which the courts bypass Parliament to create the superinjunctions.


World


HEAVILY armoured Syrian government forces close in on cities that continue to defy President Assad's regime. Tanks occupy Deraa, a city at the centre of the uprising, as forces amass on hills surrounding the Mediterranean city of Banias. Protesters plan to march today in Quamishili, a large Kurdish city close to the Turkish border. More than 500 people have died since the uprising began over a month ago.


STORMS in the USA have killed over 300 people after tornadoes devastated the southern states this week. Alabama was worst hit, officials having confirmed 204 deaths in this state alone. At least 137 tornadoes were sighted in states from Texas to Georgia in a 24 hour period.


TALEBAN prisoners broke free from a jail in Afghanistan through a 1,000 ft tunnel on Monday. 500 Taleban soldiers fled Sarposa prison in Kandahar, an escape labelled a "disaster" by the Afghan government.


Also in the news


A RECORDING of 'God Save The Queen' by the Sex Pistols has been named the most valuable vinyl disc of all time, coming out top over The Beatles in a list compiled by Record Collector magazine. The single, if in mint-condition, is worth £8,000 while The Beatles' 'Please Please Me' is estimated to value £3,500, coming in second place.




That's all from The Friday Round-Up this week! Please keep watching the blog for more updates and for next week's Round-Up. Enjoy the celebrations of the royal wedding!


IB

Cancellation

As you may have noticed, there was no Friday Round-Up this week due to illness. But fear not! The Round-Up will return this Good Friday for another bite-size look at the week's news.

Thank you for your patience and keep reading!

IB

Edit: Hello, this is IB on Friday 22nd April 2011. Apologies but once again the Friday Round-Up is cancelled this week. Revision for exams has got the better of me and I've run out of time to collate news material this week. Hopefully, the Round-Up will be back to normal next week.

IB

The Friday Round-Up, Week 9

Hello and welcome to The Friday Round-Up!

In this week's news:

UK


NICK Clegg's plan to stop well-connected families monopolising internships has backfired after the Deputy Prime Minister admitted his father set up his gap year placement at a Finnish bank. It also emerged the Lib Dem leader had taken on unpaid interns.

Nick Clegg later announced that Lib Dem MPs must advertise internships openly to stop influential families from securing placements based on their contacts. The Deputy Prime Minister also banned his MPs from hiring interns without paying for their expenses.

OVER 60 schoolgirls were groomed for sex by a group of men in takeaway food shops in Blackpool.

World


ANTI-REGIME demonstrators in Syria were killed on Thursday after forces tried to break up the protest. At least a dozen died in the revolt, the largest since the rebellions began three weeks ago.


NATO "may have" killed five rebels in an air strike near Brega, a Libyan oil port. The military alliance have refused to apologise for the attack.


Also in the news...


PHILIP Larkin's poem came second in a poetry competition for a prison magazine when an inmate plagiarised his well-known poem, 'Talking in Bed.'




That's all from The Friday Round-Up this week! Check back next week for your bite size news update!

IB

The Friday Round-Up, Week 8

Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of The Friday Round-Up.

In the news this week:

World


LIBYA remains a country in turmoil as senior members of Colonel Gaddafi's regime desert the dictator. Among the defectors is former Libyan Foreign Minister, Moussa Koussa, who arrived in London on Thursday. Today officers were in talks with Koussa about how to bring down the dictatorship more quickly.

Meanwhile, rebels continue to close in on Colonel Gaddafi's strongholds. Leaders gathered in London on Tuesday to consider strategies that ensure Gaddafi's swift exit from the troubled country.

SEX-SELECTIVE abortions and female infanticides have resulted in a serious gender imbalance in India. For every 1,000 boys there are only 914 girls, the lowest figure since the Indian independence. Mobile-scanners are being used to reveal the sex of fetuses despite a ban on gender selection, resulting in a 'genocide' of girls.

UK


HEATHROW airport ranks lower than Calcutta, Johannesburg and Moscow airports in a table that listed the best international airports.

CONTROVERSIAL health care reforms are being rethought amid fears the plans could damage David Cameron's political reputation.

Also in the news


JOHN Keats' love note expressing his anguish at not being able to kiss his lover, Fanny Brawne, was bought by a small British museum in auction for £96,000. Keats was suffering from tuberculosis, making oral contact with Brawne dangerous.

------------------

A rather brief Friday Round-Up this week! Keep watching the blog for updates and check next Friday for another Round-Up!

IB