Royal wedding quiz

When Kate Middleton ties the knot with Prince William later this month, the occasion will be the latest in a colourful line of British royal weddings. But do you know who is on the invite list, and who isn’t?

Answer any 10 of the 12 questions in the quiz below to find out.

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Ian Tomlinson ‘had been drinking’

Pathologist Dr Freddy Patel arrives to give evidence to the Ian Tomlinson inquest on 12 April 2011Dr Patel’s post-mortem examination said death was due to natural causes
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Tests found the newspaper seller who died during the London G20 protests in 2009 was five times over the drink-driving limit, an inquest has heard.

Ian Tomlinson, 47, collapsed shortly after he was pushed to the ground by a Metropolitan Police officer.

Earlier witnesses had told the inquest that he had appeared drunk, though another person denied this.

The jury also heard a pathologist later amended the wording of his post-mortem examination report.

A revised report was made by Dr Freddy Patel, who found the death was due to natural causes, a year later after two other pathologists said the immediate reason for Mr Tomlinson’s death was internal bleeding.

But Dr Patel said he did so because “the issue arose on the cause of death and it appeared to me that other experts have misinterpreted what I was trying to convey in my report”.

Dr Patel amended the wording concerning references to fluids in Mr Tomlinson’s abdomen, which he decided was a mixture of blood and a liquid called ascites produced by liver disease.

The jury was told the abdominal fluid was thrown away before the other pathologists – Nat Cary and Kenneth Shorrock – disputed Dr Patel’s findings.

“There would be a compelling argument that a preceding incident may have contributed to his death, but no matter how compelling it is, it is not an evidence of causation”

Post-mortem examination finding by Dr Freddy Patel

In his initial post-mortem examination on 6 April 2009, the pathologist had found Mr Tomlinson had coronary artery disease and could have died at any time.

Questioned about his changes, Dr Patel told the London inquest: “I was trying to make it quite clear that it wasn’t pure blood. It was ascites fluid with some blood in it.”

Dr Patel wrote in his first report: “Intra-abdominal fluid blood about 3 litres, small blood clot.”

Exactly a year later, he revised it to: “Intra-abdominal fluid with blood about 3 litres and small blood clot.”

The hearing at the International Dispute Resolution Centre has seen video footage of Pc Simon Harwood shoving Mr Tomlinson as walked away from a police line in Cornhill, central London, on 1 April 2009.

Mr Tomlinson, who was not part of the G20 protest, got back to his feet but collapsed and died minutes later.

Ian Tomlinson on 1 April 2009 Ian Tomlinson collapsed during the G20 protests, in which he was not participating

The toxicology tests found Mr Tomlinson had 400 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, the legal limit for driving being 80.

Dr Patel told the hearing that Mr Tomlinson’s alcohol level could be one explanation for why a witnesses said he did not complain of pain after his collapse.

“What is confounding is that he has a very high alcohol level and there is a possibility that might have numbed or dulled his perception of pain,” he added.

Dr Patel said the levels of alcohol in Mr Tomlinson’s blood could have worsened his coronary artery disease.

The inquest heard that Dr Patel’s second report acknowledged that a large “tramline” bruise on Mr Tomlinson’s left leg could have been caused by Pc Harwood but still maintained the evidence did not support the theory he suffered massive internal bleeding.

The pathologist said: “There would be a compelling argument that a preceding incident may have contributed to his death, but no matter how compelling it is, it is not an evidence of causation.”

The jury was told that Dr Patel has twice been sanctioned by the General Medical Council for failings in his post-mortem examinations in other cases. He was suspended for three months in 2010 and is currently serving a further four-month suspension.

The hearing continues.

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Scottish unemployment rate drops

The number of people out of work in Scotland has fallen, according to the latest figures.

Unemployment in Scotland dropped by 7,000 to 219,000 between December and February, while the number of those in jobs now stands at almost 2.48 million.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate was 8.1%, slightly above the UK average rate of 7.8%.

In the UK as a whole, unemployment fell by 17,000 to 2.48 million.

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Hague suggests Libya rebel fund

William HagueWilliam Hague is joining other delegates in Qatar to discuss the ongoing situation in Libya

The UK cannot put a timescale on its involvement in the conflict in Libya, the foreign secretary has said.

William Hague told the BBC it was not possible to predict when the operation would end but said air strikes “saved thousands of lives” and Col Muammar Gaddafi’s rule “has no future”.

He and other global delegates will meet in Qatar to discuss Libya, amid calls for Nato to intensify its campaign.

It follows weeks of unrest as rebels seek to topple Col Gaddafi’s regime.

Representatives of the rebels will meet the newly formed “contact group” on Libya which includes European powers, the US, allies from the Middle East and a number of international organisations.

The Qatar talks coincide with a worsening humanitarian crisis in the rebel-held city of Misrata, where pro-Gaddafi forces have continued to launch fresh attacks.

Misrata, the last rebel-held area in the west, has been under siege for more than six weeks, with rights groups warning of a shortage of food and medical supplies.

Speaking on his way to the talks, Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme “Are we able to say which week these things will come to an end? Of course not, because it is a fast-moving and unpredictable situation.

“I think it is clear that the Gaddafi regime has no future”

William Hague Foreign secretary

“But I think it is clear that the Gaddafi regime has no future… the question is how and when it unravels.”

He also spoke of the effect which Nato air strikes have had so far, insisting that this should not be underestimated.

“Thousands of lives have been saved in places like Benghazi and possibly in Misrata,” he said.

“We would now be looking at a pariah state completely under the control of Col Gaddafi, destabilising an already unstable Middle East, if we had not taken the action we have taken.”

Koussa travel

Former Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa, who fled to the UK late last month, is among those also due to attend the talks.

He is expected to meet rebels and the Qatari government on the sidelines of the talks and offer “insights” on the current situation in Libya, according to British officials.

Mr Koussa is a former head of Libyan intelligence and has been accused of being involved in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

The foreign secretary defended the decision to let Mr Koussa travel to the summit.

Mr Hague said: “We behave according to the law. The matter of arrests is for prosecuting authorities and police; that is not for ministers to decide.

“He is not detained; he came here of his own volition. If he was under arrest, he wouldn’t be allowed to leave.”

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Supervolcano fed by bigger plume

YellowstoneYellowstone’s geysers are driven by a hot plume beneath the surface
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The underground volcanic plume at Yellowstone in the US may be bigger than previously thought, according to a new study by geologists.

The volcanic hotspot below Yellowstone feeds the hot springs, mud pots and geysers that bring millions of visitors to the US national park each year.

But the Yellowstone “supervolcano” has erupted violently in the distant past and could do so again at some point.

The new study is set to be published in Geophysical Research Letters journal.

In 2009, researchers used seismic waves from earthquakes to build up an image of the hotspot beneath Yellowstone, which straddles the US states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

The authors of the latest work used variations in the electrical conductivity of rocks to produce a new picture of the plume.

This conductivity is a property of the molten silicate rocks and the hot briny water that is naturally present in them.

“It’s like comparing ultrasound and MRI in the human body; they are different imaging technologies,” says co-author Michael Zhdanov, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

The 2009 images, using seismic waves, showed the plume of hot and molten rock dipping downward from Yellowstone at an angle of 60 degrees. This plume extended 240km (150mi) west-northwest to a point at least 660km (410mi) under the Montana-Idaho border.

This was as far as the seismic imaging could “see”.

The new study, using electrical conductivity, can only see about 320km (200mi) below ground.

Yellowstone plume (AGU)Variations in electrical conductivity reveal the volcanic plume of partly molten rock

But it shows the conductive part of the plume dipping more gently, at an angle of perhaps 40 degrees to the west, and extending perhaps 640 km (400 miles) from east to west.

They may look different because the two techniques image slightly different things.

Seismic images highlight materials such as molten or partly molten rock that slow seismic waves, while the geoelectric technique displays briny fluids that conduct electricity.

Co-author Robert B Smith, who is also at University of Utah, said the plume was bigger in the geoelectric picture. He said it could be inferred that there were more fluids than shown by the seismic images.

Despite differences, he says, “this body that conducts electricity is in about the same location with similar geometry as the seismically imaged Yellowstone plume.”

The more gentle tilt of the geoelectric plume could suggest that the hot region imaged by the seismic wave technique may be enveloped by a broader, underground envelope of partly molten rock and liquids, the researchers say.

There have been three huge eruptions of the Yellowstone supervolcano: 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago and 640,000 years ago. Two of these eruptions blanketed a large area of North America with volcanic ash.

The most recent full-scale eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano ejected some 1,000 cubic km (240 cubic miles) of hot ash and rock into the atmosphere. There have been smaller eruptions in between the largest outpourings; the most recent of these occurred 70,000 years ago.

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Fake supply teacher review call

Steven BartlettBartlett, 33, carried out the abuse from 2009 to 2010

A Coventry family is calling for a review of how teaching agencies are used after their son was abused by a paedophile posing as a teacher.

Steven Bartlett, 33, has been jailed indefinitely and placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The boy’s father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said Bartlett faked his qualifications and then set himself up as an agency.

Coventry City Council is to discuss the case with the boy’s parents.

Bartlett carried out the abuse from 2009 to 2010 in Coventry.

He pleaded guilty to eight counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child at Coventry Crown Court on 7 April.

He also admitted one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of fraud relating to posing as a qualified teacher and faking a burglary at his home in which he claimed goods worth £60,000 were taken.

He was jailed for the public’s protection and told he would serve a minimum of two-and-a-half years.

The boy’s father said his son, who was aged 14 and 15 at the time of the abuse, was in an especially vulnerable position because he has learning difficulties.

He said: “We didn’t know anything had happened until we had a call from the police that our son had reported the abuse to them.

“We were horrified, just in total shock, especially that it could come from someone in a position of trust.”

He said he had been told an agency had originally found Bartlett work at the school as a teaching assistant but then he set up his own agency and returned to the school as a supply teacher using fake qualifications.

He said a review should be carried out to make sure lessons were learnt from the case.

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: “This has been an unfortunate incident that has occurred even though all procedures and guidelines have been followed.

“However we are anxious to learn any lessons that help ensure that this despicable event could not happen again. We are very willing to listen to the views of parents and a meeting has been arranged with the parents of this case.

“We constantly monitor our procedures and make changes whenever we feel they are necessary.”

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JP Morgan sees profits increase

JP Morgan signJP Morgan kicks off the banking reporting season in the US

Wall Street giant JP Morgan Chase has seen a rise in first-quarter profits, helped by an improved performance in its credit card business.

The second-largest US bank announced profits of $5.6bn (£3.4bn) for the three months to the end of March, up from the $3.3bn it made a year ago.

Its card services unit made a $1.3bn profit, compared with a loss of $303m in the first quarter of 2010.

Analysts said the results were ahead of estimates.

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Egypt detains Mubarak for 15 days

Archive photo of Gamal Mubarak, 2004Egyptians widely believed that Gamal Mubarak was being groomed to replace his father

The sons of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak have been detained amid investigations into corruption and state violence, police and media say.

The two sons, Alaa and Gamal, who had earlier been taken for questioning, are to be held for 15 days.

Gamal, the younger son, was once widely seen as a possible successor to his father as president.

Hosni Mubarak has also been questioned, but he was taken to hospital after reportedly suffering heart problems.

The former leader, 82, stood down on 11 February following an 18-day popular uprising against his rule.

State television said on Tuesday that he had suffered a heart attack, though other reports indicated that he was well enough to undergo further questioning.

Maj Gen Mohammed el-Khatib, head of provincial security in South Sinai, announced to a crowd gathered outside the courthouse where his sons were being questioned that they would be detained.

“Brothers, whatever you wanted, you have got… 15 days,” he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

As a police van drove the two brothers away, the crowd of about 2,000 pelted it with stones, bottles and flip-flops, AP reported.

The sons’ detention was also reported on state TV.

Prosecutors are investigating the killing of hundreds of protesters and allegations of corruption under Mr Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

Mr Mubarak has been banned from leaving the country, along with his sons and their wives, and the family’s assets have been frozen.

He has been keeping a low profile in Sharm el-Sheikh, a Red Sea resort, after fleeing to his holiday villa there when he was overthrown.

In a pre-recorded audio message on Sunday, he broke his silence of the last two months to say his reputation and that of his sons had been damaged and he would work to clear their names.

On Tuesday, Egyptian soldiers and police moved into Tahrir Square in Cairo and ended a sit-in by protesters demanding civilian rule and swifter prosecution of former officials.

A military council has been ruling Egypt since Mr Mubarak stepped down.

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Two suspects ‘admit’ Belarus bomb

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Two suspects in Belarus have confessed to carrying out a bomb attack which killed 12 people in Minsk, says Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

“We already know who committed this terrorist act and how,” he said. “The only thing is we don’t yet know why, but that will also be known soon.”

The bomb, packed with nails and ball bearings, rocked Oktyabrskaya station at rush hour on Monday evening.

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Teenage pair shot dead at house

A 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man have died as a result of gun shot wounds in Moray, police have said.

The pair were found at a house just off the A939 road near Tomintoul.

Grampian Police were called to the property at about 1845 BST on Tuesday after being contacted by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The force said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. The A939 has been closed between Tomintoul and Corgarff.

In a statement, police said: “Grampian Police can confirm that an investigation is under way after a male and female were shot and fatally injured at a residential property just off the A939 near Tomintoul, Moray.

“Investigations are at an early stage but we would like to take this opportunity to reassure the local community that we are not looking for any third party in connection with this incident.

“The A939 is closed between the ski gates at Tomintoul and Corgarff has been closed in order to allow investigations to take place. It is expected that the road will remain closed for some time.”

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MG resuming major UK production

MG6The MG6 has been designed in Britain

The first new MG for 16 years will roll off the production line in Longbridge later.

The MG6 is the first large scale production at the Birmingham plant since the demise of Rover in 2005 with the loss of 6,000 jobs.

A five-seater model will be available to buy from May and is expected to sell for between £15,495 and £18,995.

MG is owned by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which is the largest car maker in China.

The MG6 has been designed in the UK but the parts are made in China ready for assembly in Longbridge.

Local MP Richard Burden said: “Today is a real milestone for Longbridge and for the automotive industry in the West Midlands.

“Longbridge has been through dark days. Nothing will bring back the days when thousands were employed on Longbridge production lines.

“But the greatest tribute we can pay to the heritage that made the name Longbridge synonymous with motor manufacturing throughout the 20th century is to build a future in the 21st century.

“Today is about that future. Longbridge is a huge site and we need to make sure that the redevelopment which is taking place beyond the MG factory itself adds real value to the potential which this area has.”

MG Rover went into administration in April 2005 with the loss of 6,000 jobs.

Three months later the company’s assets, including the equipment at the Longbridge factory, were sold to Chinese car maker Nanjing.

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Bmibaby: seven new Belfast routes

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The airline bmibaby has announced seven new routes from George Best Belfast City Airport.

Flights to Malaga, Alicante, Palma, Faro and Ibiza will run from March 2012, and go on sale on Wednesday.

A year-round service to Amsterdam will also operate from October 2011, along with winter flights to Geneva for 2011.

It comes as the airline announced it was pulling out of Cardiff and Manchester after the summer season.

Bmi said two new additional aircraft will be based in Belfast to service the increased number of flights.

Julian Carr, Managing Director, bmibaby, said the airline was “committed” to flying from Northern Ireland.

“Bmibaby will be the only low-cost airline to operate the new routes directly from Belfast City Airport, and this will make getting away for a sunshine, ski or city break more accessible from Northern Ireland,” he said.

“The new routes build on our recent launch of the Belfast city to Stansted service, and the relocation from Belfast International Airport to Belfast City Airport.”

Mr Carr said the new European flights would complement their existing services at the George Best Belfast City Airport.

However, some local residents have voiced opposition to the move.

The chair of the Belfast City Airport Watch Steering Group, Liz Fawcett, said residents are angry that politicians are allowing the City Airport to be turned into an international airport.

“It’s completely inappropriate for an airport on the doorstep of major residential areas to be permitted to become an international airport when we already have an international airport on a virtual greenfield site just up the road,” she said.

“This move has been made in the absence of any robust and properly enforced noise controls.”

Belfast City Airport Watch estimates that more than 40,000 residents in east and south Belfast, and north Down are affected by aircraft noise linked to the City Airport

Brian Ambrose, chief executive of George Best Belfast City Airport, said it was the “most significant” announcement in the airport’s recent history.

“Direct European routes have long been an ambition of this airport and we believe strongly that our growing customer base throughout Northern Ireland will avail of the bmibaby services.”

The changes mean 69 jobs are at risk in Cardiff, but the airline says it hopes to redeploy all of these to Belfast, Birmingham and East Midlands.

Almost 100 jobs are at risk in Manchester, with the airline hoping to redeploy 64 of those.

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