National / International News

Family farms often rely on the next generation to carry on the family business. However, some agricultural economists say family farmers should work to modernize their hiring practices and consider that the most qualified workers might come from outside the family.

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Four banks are to compensate tens of thousands of small businesses who were mis-sold complex insurance products, says the Financial Services Authority.

Jeremy Hunt announces the A&E department at Lewisham Hospital will be downgraded.

Eyewitness account of Algeria hostage crisis

How the New York Times tackled its hack attack

Western news outlets that have been reporting on alleged corruption among China's leadership appear to be targeted. The Times says it has been under attack for four months.

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Jenson Button says at the launch of the new McLaren car that he is more excited about the new F1 season than he has been for years.

Striking NHS staff protest by burning dismissal notices sent by the cash-strapped Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust.

Downgrading of A&E unit in London shows NHS is changing

Americans consistently rank the economy as the top problem facing the country, but recent polling from the firm Gallup goes deeper. It asks people how the economy specifically affects their personal finances. 

"It was the price of energy, the price of food, taxes, and health care -- in other words, a very direct withdrawal of money from people's pockets is what really hurts them about the economy," says Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport.

There was, however, one exception, says Newport.

"Over half of Americans said the federal debt situation actually hurt them in their own personal situation," he explains. "Nevertheless, people have this perception that the debt ceiling affects them -- and that's a more abstract concept. But other than that, it's direct."

Gallup also asked small business owners the same questions, and got similar answers. One area of difference, however, was on the topic of government regulation.

"The average American out there says, 'Yeah, government regulations don't affect me directly.' But government regulations were at the top of the list for small business owners," says Newport.

Twitter's video app Vine, which allows users to share six-second clips, has generated masses of hype in its first week.

A tenant is sent water bills totalling £74,000 because of a leak outside his home.

First Minister Peter Robinson welcomes indications that further EU peace funds seem likely to be made available to Northern Ireland.

The former Nebraska senator faces the Senate Armed Services Committee. After some initial doubts, the conventional wisdom in Washington is that he's likely to be confirmed. But Hagel will face some sharp questions about his views on key issues.

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A 23-year-old driver is killed in a car crash in southern Scotland that also leaves his 21-year-old passenger in hospital with serious injuries.

The New York Times says powerful Chinese hackers had quite a romp deep inside its computer systems. The extensive and sophisticated digital strikes came after the Times' October report on business deals involving the family of China's prime minister.

A detailed account of the intrusions was published by the Times. The publication says they hired a private company to track the activity of the hackers, allowing the intruders to work within the Times' system for weeks while the attacks were being traced.

The antivirus software used by The New York Times is also popular with other companies and tens of millions of Americans, yet it missed dozens of the hacking attacks.

Damian Grammaticas, a BBC correspondent based in Beijing, says working as a journalist in China takes extra precaution. "You need to be very cautious about any sort of compromised email that might try to seek to install this sort of spying software on to our systems."

Chinese hackers are also believed to have attacked American companies, government agencies, and the military.

The government has announced that it will not sell off publicly owned forests in England.

The number of police officers serving in England and Wales has fallen by 4,000 in a year - hitting their lowest level in 11 years - the Home Office says.

Two polio vaccination workers have been killed in a landmine blast in the Kurram tribal region of north-west Pakistan, officials say.

A stunning collection of Renaissance silverware worth tens of millions of pounds is bequeathed to Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum.