UK inflation rate falls to zero in February

 

Lower prices for food and computer goods helped to cut the rate to zero 

UK inflation rate fell to 0% in February, the lowest since records began, official figures show.

Lower prices for food and computer goods helped to cut the rate from 0.3% in January, official figures show. 

Horsemeat scandal: Dutch trader in court

 

                              Willy Selten denies knowingly shredding horsemeat and labelling it as beef  

A Dutch meat trader has gone on trial for allegedly selling 300 tonnes of horsemeat as beef, during one of Europe's largest food scandals.

Willy Selten denies intentionally tampering with beef consignments from his factory in the city of Oss.
Mr Selten appeared in court on Tuesday in Den Bosch accused of falsifying documents.

China executes three over Kunming station attack

  

Three men convicted of involvement in the Kunming knife attack have been executed, a court in China says.

Iskandar Ehet, Turgun Tohtunyaz and Hasayn Muhammad were convicted in September of murder and terrorism offences.

'Largest ever asteroid impact' found in Australia

  

 

Scientists in Australia have discovered what they say is the largest asteroid impact area ever found.

The 400-kilometre (250-mile) wide area is buried deep in the earth's crust and consists of two separate impact scars.
The team behind the discovery, from the Australian National University (ANU), said the asteroid broke into two before it hit, with each fragment more than 10km across.

China orders square dancers to walk the line

 

Chinese officials say they will introduce guidelines to regulate square-dancing in the country.

The dance is wildly popular with elderly Chinese women and is performed en masse at night in public squares.

Gunmen kill 13 in Afghan road attack

   

Gunmen have attacked vehicles on a road in eastern Afghanistan, taking at least 13 people off a bus and shooting them dead, local officials say.

Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Wardak, said the attackers targeted three vehicles.

Germanwings airliner 4U 9525 crashes in French Alps

   

An Airbus A320 airliner has crashed in the French Alps between Barcelonnette and Digne, French aviation officials and police have said.

The jet belongs to the German airline Germanwings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa.
The plane, flight 4U 9525, had been en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf with 142 passengers and six crew on board.

Section 66A: India court strikes down 'Facebook' arrest law

 

India's Supreme Court has struck down a controversial law which allowed police to arrest people for comments on social networks and other internet sites.

The court ruled that the controversial Section 66A of the Information Technology Act was unconstitutional.

Nigeria elections: Poor families want fairer share

 Tackling social injustice will be high on the agenda for voters in Nigeria as they head to the polls on Saturday for a presidential election.

Israel denies spying on US-Iran nuclear talks

 

           Relations between the White House and Benjamin Netanyahu's government have been strained 

    

Israel has strongly denied a report that it spied on US-led talks on Iran's nuclear programme in order to build a case against a deal.

A senior Israeli official told the BBC that the claims, reported in the Wall Street Journal, were "utterly false".
 The Journal said the White House had been particularly angered that Israel allegedly sought to share confidential details with US lawmakers and others.