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New figures to reveal jobless total

3:00am Wednesday 17th March 2010

The latest unemployment figures are being published amid uncertainty over how quickly the UK job market can recover from the recession.

Balls pledges £23m for social work

3:00am Wednesday 17th March 2010

Schools Secretary Ed Balls has pledged an extra £23 million for frontline social work as a key Government adviser raised concerns that a shortage of funding could be putting children at risk.

Brown hits back at debt criticism

3:00am Wednesday 17th March 2010

Gordon Brown faces fresh pressure over his handling of the economy as a report from the EU Commission warns that the UK is not doing enough to tackle its spiralling deficit.

Call to axe thousands of NHS beds

3:00am Wednesday 17th March 2010

The NHS should cut more than 30,000 hospital beds to save cash and improve patient care, a think-tank has said.

US union backs striking BA workers

3:00am Wednesday 17th March 2010

The war of words over the planned stoppage by British Airways cabin crew has crossed the Atlantic as it emerged a major US union has pledged to support the strikers.

Family wait for freed boy's return

3:00am Wednesday 17th March 2010

The family of the five-year-old boy freed by kidnappers in Pakistan are waiting for news of his return to the UK.

Ads overstate climate change risk

12:34am Wednesday 17th March 2010

Two Government adverts which used nursery rhymes to raise awareness of climate change have been banned for overstating the risks, a watchdog has announced.

Talent shows miss out at TV awards

12:20am Wednesday 17th March 2010

The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent have been snubbed at the Royal Television Society Awards.

£1.85bn owed by benefits claimants

12:20am Wednesday 17th March 2010

Benefit claimants owe an "immense" £1.85 billion in overpaid money but the Department for Work and Pensions is recovering less than £300 million a year, according to a parliamentary report.

Civil servants' Budget day strike

12:20am Wednesday 17th March 2010

Hundreds of thousands of civil servants are to stage their first national strike on Budget day in an escalation of a bitter dispute over cuts in redundancy pay.