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Greek leaders pause bailout talksParty leaders in Greece's ruling coalition end talks on details for a crucial 130bn-euro EU rescue plan without agreement.
PM urged to cut wind farm subsidyMore than 100 Conservatives are among MPs who have written to the prime minister calling on him to slash subsidies for onshore wind turbines.
Government to oppose rail bonusesTransport Secretary Justine Greening says she will vote against bonuses for senior Network Rail executives at the company's annual general meeting.
Work contacts 'cut dropout rate'The more young people come into contact with employers the less likely they are to drop out of school and become unemployed, research suggests.
VIDEO: Your Money: Tips on money managementIn this week's Your Money, Declan Curry looks problems with pensions, considers the benefits of credit unions and gets some top tips on how to manage your money.
High Streets bid for £1m fundingThe government is looking for 12 run down High Streets in England to share £1m as a part of plans proposed by TV retail guru Mary Portas.
England players go unsold at IPLSeven England players and Ireland batsman Kevin O'Brien fail to attract bids at the Indian Premier League auction.
Europe hit by Russia gas shortageFreezing weather sweeping across Europe is causing a shortage of vital Russian gas supplies to several countries, officials say.
Annuity sales 'unfair and opaque'The way annuities are sold is costing half a million retirees each year as much as £1bn in future pension income, the National Association of Pension Funds says.
New Virgin staff pay for checksVirgin Atlantic is forcing successful job applicants to pay for their own criminal record checks, Radio 4's Money Box reveals.
Work programme on track: GraylingAround 20% of unemployed people who have been on the government's main welfare-to-work scheme, the Work Programme, for at least 6 months have been found a job, the BBC has learnt.
US job numbers show strong growthThe US economy created 243,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%, official figures show.
VIDEO: RBS chairman: 'Bankers' pay too high'The chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland has admitted that bankers' salaries are too high and need to come down.
BT fibre optic 'game changer' vowFibre optic broadband connections to at speeds of 300 Mbps will be available 'on demand' in the UK next year, BT says.
'Most' Portuguese unions back cutsMost Portuguese unions back the government's structural reforms, the Portuguese economy minister, Alvaro Santos Pereira tells the BBC.
Fix costs to save the planet, says Jackson
Lord Justice Jackson has recommended a fixed costs regime to ensure the government fulfils its duty in environmental judicial review cases. The Ministry of Justice launched a consultation last year to ask how to comply with the UK’s international obligations as part of the UN Aarhus Convention. The multilateral agreement requires parties to guarantee access to justice and ensure the public can challenge decisions.
City firm guilty of discrimination, appeal rules
An employment appeal tribunal has ruled that City firm Bivonas discriminated against one of its lawyers on the basis of sexual orientation. Lee Bennett’s discrimination claim focused on a memo from one of the firm’s partners which falsely implied that he instructed only gay barristers and should be sacked. Judges this week ruled the original finding of an employment tribunal last year was correct and dismissed the firm’s appeal. After lodging a grievance, the tribunal heard Bennett, a barrister on £82,500 a year, said the firm tried to intimidate him into withdrawing his claim.
Apple overturns Motorola's banApple is granted a suspension of a sales ban imposed on some of its iPads and iPhones in Germany.
Score draw in TV football caseThe Premier League and the importers of foreign satellite TV decoder boxes and cards are both claiming victory after their latest court battle
Chancery Lane appoints former No 10 adviser as corporate affairs chief
The Law Society has appointed a former adviser to the prime minister to the new role of chief of corporate affairs. Dr Patricia Greer will have responsibility for policy, communications and engaging with solicitors, reporting to chief executive Desmond Hudson. Greer will join in March from the National School of Government where she is strategic director for client relations and director of delivery.
VIDEO: Can Germany teach UK about banking?Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna explained why Labour was looking at international lessons of good practice in finance.
VIDEO: RBS chairman defends Hester bonusThe chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Sir Philip Hampton, has defended his decision to award a bonus to chief executive Stephen Hester.
1.1 million face £100 tax finesJust over one million taxpayers face a penalty of £100 for failing to submit their self-assessment tax returns on time, HM Revenue and Customs says.
'Sale and rent back' closed downThe sale and rent back industry has been almost completely closed down, says the Financial Services Authority.
RBS boss calls for pay correctionThe chairman of 82% taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) says banker pay has been "high for too long" and needs to be corrected.
VIDEO: RBS boss: Banker pay too highRBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton says chief executive Stephen Hester was 'entitled' to a near-£1million share bonus, which he later turned down.
VIDEO: Tett: Don't blame just the bankersThe woman credited with foreseeing the financial crash claimed people love to bash the bankers but they were not the only ones to blame.
Hungarian airline Malev collapsesHungarian airline Malev ceases trading after 66 years after being ordered by the EU to repay state aid it has received.
Personal insolvencies 'down 11%'Fewer people were declared insolvent in 2011 in England and Wales than in 2010, but the number of companies going bust increased.
Service sector sees strong growthThe UK's service sector grew at its fastest rate since March 2011 in January, according to a closely watched survey.
AUDIO: BGL's Winslow talks meerkats and managementSimon Jack hears from Peter Winslow, chief executive of BGL Group - the company behind compare the market.com among other businesses.
Eurozone service sector growingThe eurozone's service sector grows for the first time in four months, although Spain and Italy continue to struggle.
Panasonic predicts a record lossJapanese electronics giant Panasonic forecasts a record net annual loss of $10bn for the year to March.
Test cricket on sticky wicket in Middle EastWhy is the England-Pakistan Test match not bowling fans over?
UK recession looms, says reportThe UK will enter recession in the first half of the year as households continue to cut back, says the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
Olympics 'boosting' Scots tourismTourist bookings for visits to Scotland around the time of the London Olympics are rising, it is claimed.
Mirror wills invalidated by signature mix-up, appeal judges rule
A simple mix-up when a husband and wife signed mirror wills 13 years ago means they have no value in law, the Court of Appeal ruled today. The ruling disinherits the couple’s intended heir and has left lawyers calling for a more flexible approach to probate law. In 1999 Mr and Mrs Alfred Thomas Rawlings signed mirror wills that they believed would leave their entire estate to one another or, when they were both dead, to Terry Michael Marley - who was not related to them, but whom they treated as their son.
Hot metal action
The government has laid an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill in a bid to tackle metal theft. The amendment will create a new offence of paying cash for scrap metal and increase fines for all offences under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. Law applications fall 3.8%
Five arrested in south London raids targeting council home fraudA multi-agency operation led by the UK Border Agency saw 5 people arrested as part of a crackdown on council home fraud.
Air stewardess jailed for cocaine smugglingAn air stewardess who was caught trying to smuggle cocaine into the UK has been jailed for five and a half years.
Law centres warn on legal aid cuts
Law centres will close, leaving ‘many thousands’ of the poor and marginalised without access to justice if the government’s legal aid cuts are implemented, peers have warned. In a short debate this week, Labour’s former legal aid minister Lord Bach asked what assessment the government had made of the implications for law centres of legal aid cuts. Bach said that taking social welfare law out of the scope of legal aid would reduce by 86% the funding that law centres receive to provide advice or ‘legal help’.
McNally unmoved as he rejects third-party capture ban
Justice minister Lord McNally has reiterated that the government has no intention of banning insurers from third-party capture. Speaking during Wednesday’s House of Lords debate on civil litigation reform, McNally said there was no proof that accident victims were harmed by a direct approach from insurance companies to settle early. The subject has long been a grievance of personal injury solicitors who claim that early offers are often substantially lower than the claimant deserves and restrict the victim from seeking legal advice.
Cold front ad for Mini backfiresAn advertising agency for BMW pays to name Europe's cold weather "Cooper" in Germany, after the firm's Mini Cooper car, but the stunt backfires.
Mike Cain acted for Woolworths staff in pay case
Who? Mike Cain, 39, employment solicitor at national firm Russell Jones & Walker. Why is he in the news? Acted for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) in a case that won a 60 days’ pay award for 24,000 workers made redundant when Woolworths Group collapsed in 2008. The Central London Employment Tribunal ruled that the employer and its administrators had failed in their statutory duty to consult before making redundancies, and that the employees were therefore entitled to an award under protection of employment legislation.
UK download speed gains 'uneven'Ofcom reports a 22% gain in the UK's average broadband download speed between May and November, but not all ISPs improved.
US warning on third-party funding reform
An influential US legal lobbying group has warned of 'serious concerns' about the growing power of third-party litigation funding in the UK. The Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) has already pleaded with the American Bar Association to halt the increasing use of external litigation funding in the US. The UK government is keen to promote third-party funding and the Civil Justice Council last year outlined plans for a self-regulating voluntary code of conduct for litigation funders.
Crew member jailed over passport smuggling attemptAn airline crew member who attempted to smuggle dozens of counterfeit passports and fake passport materials into the UK has been jailed for more than 2 and a half years.
Men jailed for cannabis smuggling attemptTwo Polish men have been sentenced to a total of 4 years and 8 months in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to smuggle approximately 30 kilos of herbal cannabis and half a kilo of cannabis resin into the UK.
Deech: barristers and solicitors should share training
Barristers and solicitors should share most of their training, the chair of the Bar Standards Board has proposed. Lady Deech (pictured) told students at Oxford University last week that the new structures in which lawyers can practise, and the severe shortage of pupillages, have called into question the way both branches of the profession should be trained.
Seven arrested at Southall engineering firmSeven people have been arrested following a UK Border Agency raid on an engineering firm in Southall.
Surrey man arrested in ivory investigationA man has been arrested in Surrey as part of a UK Border Agency investigation into the alleged illegal export of ivory.
Hippo’s foot and ivory seized at Cardiff airportThe foot of a hippopotamus and 10 carved ivory ornaments have been seized from a passenger at Cardiff airport, by the UK Border Agency.
Four illegal workers arrested in raid on Sussex restaurantFour illegal workers have been arrested after a UK Border Agency raid on an Indian restaurant in Lancing.
7 stowaways found in lorry bound for Crawley7 stowaways were prevented from illegally entering the UK after they were caught hiding inside a lorry carrying an aircraft simulator heading for Crawley in Sussex.
Cheetah seized at Heathrow airportUK Border Agency officers working at London's Heathrow airport have seized a live African cheetah.
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