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&cat=19&pid=11602&cache=true " alt="Bartoli beats top seed Kuznetsova" class="alignleft" />
Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was beaten 6-3 6-0 by Marion Bartoli in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open. Kuznetsova, the 2006 champion, required treatment on a shoulder injury three times during the match and won only eight points in the second set. Thirteenth seed Bartoli of France has won seven of her past 11 matches against top-five players. Bartoli also reached the quarter-finals in Key Biscayne in 2003 having qualified for the tournament. This article is from the BBC News website . © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
March 29, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=11155&cache=true " alt="Ex-ministers reject lobby claims" class="alignleft" />
Two ex-ministers have denied any wrongdoing after reportedly being filmed discussing how to use government contacts to help a lobbying firm. The Sunday Times reported that Adam Ingram talked about using a network of ex-ministers, once he quit as an MP. It said Richard Caborn was interested in work after he quit, and quoted a daily rate of
March 28, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=11156&cache=true " alt="Ex-ministers reject lobby claims" class="alignleft" />
Two ex-ministers have denied any wrongdoing after reportedly being filmed discussing how to use government contacts to help a lobbying firm. The Sunday Times reported that Adam Ingram talked about using a network of ex-ministers, once he quit as an MP. It said Richard Caborn was interested in work after he quit, and quoted a daily rate of
March 28, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=10564&cache=true " alt="Times website to charge from June" class="alignleft" />
The Times and Sunday Times newspapers will start charging to access their websites in June, owner News International (NI) has announced. Users will pay
March 26, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=10563&cache=true " alt="Times website to charge from June" class="alignleft" />
The Times and Sunday Times newspapers will start charging to access their websites in June, owner News International (NI) has announced. Users will pay
March 26, 2010 | Posted in
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The Times and the Sunday Times web sites will soon be charging users. Will you pay to read these papers online?
March 26, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=10429&cache=true " alt="Twins jailed for doorstep murder" class="alignleft" />
Twin brothers who murdered a father-of-two outside his Greater Manchester home, then tried to kill themselves, have been jailed for life. Amran Khan, 29, was shot three times in Nugget Street, Oldham, after putting his daughters to bed on 18 September 2009. He died later in hospital. Brett and Jordan Francis, 26, of Birch Avenue, Oldham, had denied murder at Manchester Crown Court. They were told they must each serve a minimum term of 28 years in prison. Mr Khan went outside to investigate after his wife heard a noise and a dark BMW stopped outside the house, police said. Jumped in canal One of the men in the car shot Mr Khan once in the chest and also in his right buttock. A third bullet hit the brickwork of the front door. It is believed a dispute over a drugs debt was the motive for the killing, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said. The twins later fled Oldham, and travelled to Runcorn. They tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose, cutting their wrists and jumping into the Manchester Ship Canal. When paramedics arrived at the scene the pair told them they had tried to kill someone, police said. ‘Barbarically destroyed’ Mr Khan’s wife, Shamila, said in a statement: “I cannot literally state the pain and horror at losing Amran in such a callous way. “You can never comprehend the suffering and hurt caused by the death of not just my husband but a great daddy and a soulmate. “There was still so much more Amran dreamt of for us but they will always be dreams and wishes that Jordan and Brett brutally and barbarically destroyed. “Our children will have to become accustomed to explaining in all walks of life why their daddy is no longer with them.”
March 25, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=6018&cache=true " alt="More schools likely to be failed" class="alignleft" />
More schools are being judged inadequate under a new inspection regime, figures from England’s schools watchdog are expected to show. Ofsted introduced a new framework in September 2009 which requires schools to achieve higher results to be rated as good or outstanding. The watchdog has insisted its new-style inspections would “raise the bar” on its expectations of schools. Data on schools’ performance under the system will be released on Wednesday. Last week the Times Educational Supplement said the new regime had seen a near doubling in the proportion of schools judged “inadequate”, while the proportion rated “outstanding” was less than half of what it used to be. But inspectors said they now had “higher expectations on behalf of pupils and parents”. ” It is no surprise if there is a rise in inadequate schools – it just reflects the fact that the bar has been raised ” Department for Children, Schools and Families A spokesman for Ofsted said: “We have made it clear that every time an inspection framework is revised, expectations are raised too.” Ofsted said the reaction from schools had been “overwhelmingly positive”, with nine out of 10 who had responded to feedback surveys saying they were satisfied with the way inspection was carried out. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “We made clear in the schools White Paper last June that inspection from September would be more challenging. “It is no surprise if there is a rise in inadequate schools – it just reflects the fact that the bar has been raised and weaker schools are being inspected earlier in the cycle.” New regime Under the new arrangements, outstanding and good schools are only inspected once within a five-year period – previously it was every three years. Satisfactory schools are inspected every three years and inadequate schools are visited regularly until they make the improvements necessary. The new regime sees inspectors assess twice as many lessons and more emphasis is put on questionnaires filled out by parents and pupils. Inspectors put more emphasis on pupil attainment – a point which has caused controversy, particularly for schools in challenging areas – rather than on improvement. Schools are given two days’ warning of an inspection and the inspections lasts for two days. Ofsted said the new format was introduced in response to teachers’ concerns inspections focused too much on schools data and inspectors did not assess enough lessons. The watchdog said more than 2,000 inspections had been carried out under the new system between September and December last year. Chris Richardson, head teacher at the Kings of Wessex School in Somerset, said the new inspection framework brought “significant improvements”, particularly a sharper focus on student achievement. “A new self-evaluation form meant we felt well prepared for inspection and it gave the inspectors a good overview of the school. “Our students valued the opportunities to engage with the inspectors and give their perspective on the school.” But John Fairhurst, head of Shenfield High School in Essex, said the new inspection framework had downgraded his school from good with outstanding features to satisfactory, simply because the school’s GCSE results in 2008 were weak. “It’s become a rather skimpy inspection with an altered agenda – heavily data driven,” he said. “The framework proved, in our case, superficial and underestimated the good work of the school.” The Association for School and College Leaders and the National Association of Head Teachers are also critical of the regime, saying it puts too much emphasis on raw attainment.
March 10, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=5929&cache=true " alt="Fallon pulls out of Festival ride" class="alignleft" />
Leading Flat jockey Kieren Fallon has made a late decision to pull out of an intended ride at Cheltenham next week. Fallon returned to the saddle after an 18-month drugs ban last September. He was booked to ride the Noel Glynn-trained Old McDonald in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper on 17 March, on day two of the Festival showpiece meeting. But Glynn said: “I received a text to say Kieren wouldn’t be available as he’s decided to stay in Dubai, which is obviously a bit disappointing.” The six-times champion Flat jockey had agreed to ride in the two-mile race, the only one at the meeting in which the horses have no obstacles to jump. Jamie Spencer was the last Flat jockey to win the race, when winning the 2002 renewal on board Pizarro. But now Paul Carberry will step in for the ride on Old McDonald. 606: DEBATE ” Dunguib’s win in last year’s Bumper just gets better and better watching the replays ” SirBlueNose89 Glynn said: “Luckily for us it’s worked out grand as Noel Meade hasn’t got a runner in the bumper and we’ve got Paul Carberry booked to ride. “I’m delighted to have got him as he knows the course really well, so it might work out even better. “His sister Nina rides my other horse Becauseicouldntsee, who runs in the four-miler on the same day so hopefully it will be a family occasion and we can have a Carberry double on Wednesday.” Willie Mullins has trained the winner of the Bumper on six occasions and always field a strong team. The champion trainer in Ireland could saddle up to four runners in the Grade One contest with Day Of A Lifetime, Bishopsfurze and Up Ou That all on target and the returning Lios A Choill also a possible traveller. Mullins was particularly impressed with Day of A Lifetime’s recent win at Fairyhouse. “He did it very well and had been working very well at home. He won like he was working as he had been showing lots of ability at home, so we were happy with that.” The five-year-old is a general 10-1 chance to win at Cheltenham.
March 9, 2010 | Posted in
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&cat=19&pid=5532&cache=true " alt="Eight die in Pakistan explosion" class="alignleft" />
A big explosion has been heard in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, the police said. Casualties are feared in the blast which, according to some reports, occurred near a building of the of a federal investigative agency. Pakistan TV pictures showed a damaged building. Reports said a car laden with explosives had rammed into it. Close to the country’s border with India, Lahore has been hit several times by militants over the past year.
March 8, 2010 | Posted in
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