Compare the Meerkat

Back by...ahem...popular demand, it's time for another snapshot of what The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and the BBC News website are reporting tonight - at 23.00, 28 March 2013 precisely:



The Daily Telegraph

Block immigration to save British jobs, influential MPs say

Britain should be able to block immigration during the current period of high unemployment, according to influential MPs.

BBC unions silent over the Maggie Question

BBC staff on strike say they are prepared to return to desks if Nelson Mandela dies, however their generosity stops there.

Pope washes feet of young Muslim prisoner

Pope Francis continued his gleeful abandonment of tradition by washing the feet of a young Muslim woman prisoner.

Right-winger to appease Tory MPs

Cameron has moved to shore up his strained relations with Tory MPs by appointing John Hayes as a close aide.

MI5 name birdwatcher as new head

The man who led MI5's battle against al-Qaeda in the wake of the 7/7 atrocity was yesterday appointed head of the spy agency.

Cyber activist is 'victim of conspiracy'

Internet activist accused of masterminding one of the biggest global cyber attacks in years says he was victim of conspiracy.

Universal credit 'teetering'

Iain Duncan Smith’s flagship welfare reform faces fresh questions after its first pilot project was scaled down.

Criminal taunts critics from beach

Violent criminal who had curfew lifted so he could go on month-long holiday taunts victims by posting a picture of himself on Thai beach.

Boris 'would wipe out Labour lead'

Boris Johnson would wipe out Labour’s lead in the polls if he took over from David Cameron as Conservative leader, a new survey has revealed.

Cyprus banks reopen amid simmering tension

Cypriots formed orderly queues outside the country’s banks after they reopened for the first time in nearly two weeks on Thursday.

Slovenia faces contagion from Cyprus

Slovenia’s borrowing costs have rocketed over recent days as it grapples with a festering financial crisis.

UK 'has returned to growth'

Triple-dip recession fears ease as the OECD says the UK has already returned to growth and the service sector expands.

Why are so many retailers gloomy about the bad weather?

The scepticism of the City has grown because too many retailers talk about the negative impact of the weather, but not the positive impact.

The Guardian

Fury at Amazon fee hike for third-party traders

'Marketplace' traders in UK and major European markets to be hit by fee hikes of up to 70% after Easter

Cyprus cash controls to last a month

Just 24 hours ago Cypriots were told curbs to prevent money from leaving the country would only be in place for a week

Pistorius faces athletics snub

IAAF believed to be planning talks with members to dissuade them from inviting murder accused to compete

Bersani fails to form government

Italian president Giorgio Napolitano takes back task of ending political paralysis as lack of firm result unsettles financial markets

No claims police lied in plebgate file

Investigation of alleged media leak about affair does not show conspiracy to frame chief whip

Energy minister switches to No 10

PM brings coalition windfarm war to an end by appointing Michael Fallon to replace his controversial Tory colleague John Hayes

Britons sexually assaulted in Libya

Three women in aid convoy passing through on way to Gaza kidnapped and attacked in Benghazi

Tower block fire deaths 'preventable'

Deaths of six people in UK's worst tower block fire could have been prevented by proper fire safety checks, inquest concludes

Romanian gangs warned off UK

Old Bailey judge says 10 men came to UK to steal and have not done honest day's work since arriving

Obama pleads for gun control action

President says US should be ashamed if Newtown was being forgotten already and rejects criticism he has delayed on reform

UK's CO2 emissions up 4.5% in 2012

Huge jump in coal use in power stations prompts rise, while Scotland renewables production reaches record levels

Jobcentre 'scorecard' emerges

'Scorecard' appears after ministers deny existence of league tables and targets for sanctioning of benefit claimants

UK 'welfare magnet' idea challenged

Research finds immigrants to EU countries less likely to live on benefits and says language and skills are bigger pull

OECD: UK should avoid triple dip

Economy remains fragile but improvements are beginning to be seen, says OECD chief economist

UK set for coldest March since 1962

Met Office says average temperature has been 2.5C this month – three degrees below long-term average

Mandela responding to treatment

Former South African president remains under observation after suffering recurrence of lung infection

163 die in South Sudan battle

Government captures airstrip it claims rebels led by David Yau Yau were using to import military supplies

Panorama accused of bribery attempt

BBC reportedly suspends producer after claims security consultant was offered bribe for information

New foot and mouth vaccine

'Synthetic' vaccine can be produced and transported in poor countries, where foot and mouth is endemic, without refrigeration

Lindt loses Easter bunny battle

Swiss chocolatier loses legal fight to stop German rival Riegelein Confiserie selling similar gold foil-wrapped bunny

BBC News

Zuma reassures S Africa over Mandela

President Jacob Zuma says South Africans "must not panic" as ex-leader Nelson Mandela undergoes treatment for the recurrence of a lung infection. 

Mitchell to sue Sun over 'plebgate'

Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell says he is suing the Sun over claims he swore and called police officers plebs in a row in Downing Street.

NHS Trust stops child heart surgery

Children's congenital heart surgery has been suspended at a Leeds hospital amid concerns about data on death rates. 

Universal Credit pilots scaled back

The government is to scale back some of its plans to test a radical new reform to the welfare system.

Man arrested in NZ over Ryder attack NEW

New Zealand police arrest a man in connection with an assault on cricketer Jesse Ryder, who is in a medically induced coma in Christchurch.

Cyprus cash curbs 'may last a month'

'Failings' in tower block fire deaths

Andrew Parker named MI5 chief

Pope washes prisoners' feet in Rome

England fans reported for abuse

BBC staff go on strike over cuts

Reflection

The lead stories in both the Telegraph and the Guardian are the kind of stories you might expect each of them to lead with. I'll let you make up your own mind about whether the BBC's choice of lead story is (or isn't) an odd one, but it does rather tie in with the Telegraph's second story, doesn't it?:

After news that the 94-year-old [Nelson Mandela] was in hospital broke, union leaders declared that in “the sad event of his death, and for BBC news coverage of that story only” the staff would postpone the strike.
However when the strikers were asked whether the ailing Lady Thatcher, scourge of the unions in the 1980s, would be treated in the same manner, there was a marked change of approach.
Both Bectu and the National Union of Journalists said simply that they had not considered what they would do in the event of the 87-year-old former prime minister’s untimely death.
An NUJ spokeswoman said: “Mandela, with his background in the trade unions, is an important figure for everybody.”
The corporation said that the decision to return was “a tribute to the character of BBC staff.”
(The Daily Telegraph)