1. KOREA FERRY CAPTAIN EXPLAINS DELAY
The captain of the South Korean ferry that sank this week says he delayed issuing evacuation orders because he was worried passengers would "drift away". Lee Joon-seok, who was arrested with two crew members yesterday, said: "I am sorry to the people of South Korea for causing a disturbance and I bow my head in apology to the families of the victims.”
South Korea ferry verdict: Sewol captain escapes death penalty
2. ‘INSANE’ TO ALLOW HMRC TO SELL DATA
Plans to allow HMRC to sell the financial data of millions of taxpayers to private firms have been described as "dangerous" by tax professionals and "borderline insane" by a senior Conservative MP. Under the plans, HMRC would be allowed to release anonymised tax data to third parties including companies, researchers and public bodies where there is a public benefit.
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Plans to sell taxpayer data labelled ‘borderline insane’
3. WELBY ON GAY MARRIAGE DILEMMA
The Archbishop of Canterbury says he cannot provide blessings for gay marriages because to do so would split the Anglican Church globally. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the Most Rev Justin Welby admits the Church has probably caused “great harm” to gay people in the past, but claims that there is not “a huge amount” that can be done to rectify this.
Archbishop of Canterbury: blessing gay marriage would split Church
4. SCHOOLS ‘ISOLATE NON-MUSLIMS’
Schools in Birmingham are discriminating against non-Muslim pupils and restricting GCSE classes to “comply with conservative Islamic teaching”, says an official report by Department of Education inspectors. The report, leaked to the Daily Telegraph, says girls were forced to sit at the back of the class, while Christian pupils were left to “teach themselves”.
State schools ‘isolating’ non-Muslim pupils
5. DO MALE BLOGGERS TARGET FEMALE MPS?
Female MPs are being targeted by “aggressive male bloggers” says a high-profile Tory backbencher. Sarah Wollaston says some sections of the political blogosphere are “quite aggressive in their approach towards women”. She pointed the finger at Daily Telegraph writer Dan Hodges, blogger Guido Fawkes, and the rightwing writer Iain Dale.
6. TEEN FROM BRIGHTON DIES IN SYRIA
An 18-year-old from Brighton, killed while fighting alongside rebel forces in Syria, was “a martyr” who died “for a just cause”, says his father. Abdullah Deghayes left the UK in January and reportedly died soon after his 18th birthday. His older brother Amer, 20, is also said to have been wounded. His younger brother Jaffar, 16, also fought in Syria, say reports.
7. STUDY: TV MAKES KIDS LOSE SLEEP
Children lose seven minutes of sleep for every hour of television they watch a day, claims a new study by Harvard University. Researchers, who examined more than 1,800 children, found a "small but consistent association" between increased television viewing and shorter sleep duration. The connection appeared to be stronger in boys than girls.
8. DONETSK RABBI ON ‘NAZI’ LEAFLETS
The Chief Rabbi of Donetsk has compared the leaflet handed to Jewish citizens, ordering them to register with Donetsk authorities, with Nazism. "The last time in history that someone wrote a text like that was in 1939 in the Nazi time,” said Pinchas Vishedski. Masked men arrived at a synagogue earlier this week and distributed the leaflets to Jewish worshippers.
9. FEARS OVER CUBAN CONDOM CRISIS
Health officials in Cuba are alarmed over a shortage of condoms on the Caribbean island. Stores in the central province of Villa Clara began running out of the contraceptives last month, say reports, and the shortage is now spreading to other towns and villages. The city of Santa Clara, which has been hit hard by the shortage, already has one of the highest rates of HIV on the island.
10. WILL CHELSEA RECLAIM TOP SPOT?
Chelsea can move to the top of the Premier League this evening with victory over Sunderland in the tea-time kick-off. They will be without leading goalscorer Eden Hazard. In the lunchtime kick-off, Fulham will hope to move out of the relegation zone with a win at London rivals Tottenham. Meanwhile, Manchester United coach Phil Neville admits the Old Trafford outfit have “failed”.
