29.6-Carat Blue Diamond Found at South African Mine Could Fetch $15m-$20m at Auction

The blue diamond found at the Cullinan mine this month.    A rare 29.6-carat blue diamond that could be worth millions of pounds has been discovered in South Africa. Petra Diamonds said the "exceptional" acorn-sized diamond was unearthed at the Cullinan mine near Pretoria. Previous notable finds at the mine include the Cullinan Diamond in 1905, described as the largest rough gem diamond ever recovered, at 3,106 carats;...

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Lord Rennard case 'could turn into bloodbath' and embarrass Lib Dems

Lord Rennard is taking advice about obtaining a legal injunction   Lord Rennard has hired a top lawyer in a bid to stop his suspension from the Liberal Democrats, as sources close to the peer late Tuesday warned of a potential legal "bloodbath" over the harassment allegations that could embarrass the party. The former Lib Dem chief executive is taking advice about obtaining a legal injunction, after the party launched...

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Systematic killing evidence in Syria just tip of iceberg - aid agencies

Detained Syrian men, blindfolded and handcuffed, in Qusair, near Homs.   The cache of evidence smuggled out of Syria showing the "systematic killing" of 11,000 detainees in Syrian jails may only be the tip of the iceberg, international aid agencies have said. The International Committee of the Red Cross, UN bodies and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly complained of having next to no access to detainees and being stonewalled...

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NHS patient data to be made available for sale to drug and insurance firms

 If an application is approved then firms will have to pay to extract NHS patient information, which will be scrubbed of some personal identifiers Drug and insurance companies will from later this year be able to buy information on patients – including mental health conditions and diseases such as cancer, as well as smoking and drinking habits – once a single English database of medical data has been created. Harvested from...

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Rupert Everett in defence of prostitutes: 'There is a land grab going on'

Rupert Everett: "these poor girls will always be swimming against the tide."    The other night I watched Stephen Ward at the Aldwych Theatre, a morality musical about the destruction of an innocent man by the combined forces of Her Majesty's Government, her judiciary and her Metropolitan police force. Written by Lord Lloyd Webber, directed by Sir Richard Eyre, it is the best sort of British story, set against...

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Rich parents should pay £20,000 for best state school places, says top head

Anthony Seldon, head of Wellington College, suggests leading private schools should be forced to reserve a quarter of their places for children from the poorest families    Rich parents who want to send their children to the highest performing state schools should have to pay up to £20,000 a year, according to a leading private school headmaster and political advisor. Dr Anthony Seldon, master at Wellington College...

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Ukip suspends councillor who claimed floods were caused by gay marriage

Ukip has suspended David Silvester, a councillor in Henley-on-Thames, who claimed that recent flooding was the result of the decision to legalise gay marriage. Photograph: henleyconservatives.co.uk   A Ukip councillor who blamed the Christmas and new year floods on the passage of gay marriage laws has been suspended from the party, Ukip said on Sunday, reversing an earlier view that he was entitled to his opinion. Henley-on-Thames ...

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I saved child benefit 38 years ago, says Malcolm Wicks in autobiography

The late Malcom Wicks served as a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. But in 1970s he was the civil servant who blew the whistle over child benefit.    One of the great political mysteries of the 20th century has been solved by a beyond-the-grave confession by a former Labour minister that before he entered politics he was responsible for one of the most significant cabinet leaks ever. In an autobiography...

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Jobless migrants to be denied housing benefit in further crackdown

Theresa May: Labour's record 'shameful' Jobless immigrants will be denied housing benefits under plans set out by senior ministers to tackle immigration and prevent people exploiting the UK's welfare system. The home secretary, Theresa May, and work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, said the measure would apply from April as they delivered...

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Are Large File Transfer is Secure ?

Are Large File Transfer is Secure ? This question was asked by someone who is very often send large files in their email Egress Software Technologies' Egress Switch 2.0  Incorporates key features to enable organisations the ability to protect and classify confidential information sent by email, CD/DVD, USB, or uploaded to internal/Cloud Servers. The influx of point solutions' designed to cater for specific data exchange mechanisms such...

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William S Burroughs: the naked photographer

Personal moments … William S Burroughs. There are many things that spring to mind when you think of William Burroughs: the lifelong heroin addiction; the love of guns that led to him killing his second wife in a drunken game of William Tell; the wildly chaotic beat lifestyle that informed his literary style. One thing that you probably don't immediately think of is the best way to arrange chrysanthemums. William S Burroughs ...

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Ultimate power ballads: the anthems behind the club night

Singing at the top of their lungs: Ultimate Power night at the Electric Ballroom in London.    Nothing quite prepares you for Ultimate Power. There are mini Bonnie Tylers in micro leather miniskirts, a definite hen party contingent. The kid in the Justice T-shirt with a hipster haircut, looking no more than 17, has plenty of contemporaries here. There are people twerking, and the atmosphere is one of barely contained ...

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