Whats New?

UK interest rates will rise to 0.75% from 0.5% in the first three months of 2015 as growth picks up, according to a prediction from the CBI.
BBC News – Business

Militants have killed 20 Iraqi soldiers in an attack on a base near the violent northern city of Mosul, officials say.
BBC News – Middle East

Mexico starts to swear in members of its newly-created rural police force in Michoacan, as part of a drive to disarm local vigilantes.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine hold “self-rule” referendums, as BBC correspondents observe chaotic scenes at polling stations.
BBC News – Europe

There has been a “significant increase” in the number of Afghanistan veterans seeking mental health treatment, charity Combat Stress says.
BBC News – UK

Former US college athlete Michael Sam becomes the first openly gay player in history to be drafted into the National Football League.
BBC News – US & Canada

The governor of Nigeria’s Borno state says he has information on the whereabouts of 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist group Boko Haram.
BBC News – Africa

Chancellor George Osborne says he will take a “hard-nosed approach” to determine whether Pfizer’s proposed £60bn takeover of UK firm AstraZeneca will deliver for UK jobs and science.
BBC News – Business

Syrian government troops move into previously rebel-held areas of Homs – once a hub of the revolution – after the evacuation of rebel forces.
BBC News – Middle East

Roman Catholic bishops in Argentina say the country is “sick with violence” and compare corruption to a cancer “causing injustice and death”.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

The French and German leaders threaten further sanctions against Russia if Ukraine’s presidential election fails to go ahead as planned.
BBC News – Europe

Gary Barlow and two fellow Take That band members could have to pay back millions of pounds after a tribunal judge found a scheme they invested in was set up for tax avoidance.
BBC News – UK

Thousands of unidentified remains from the 9/11 attacks have been returned to ‘Ground Zero’ in a ceremony, amid concern from some relatives.
BBC News – US & Canada

An “outraged” US First Lady Michelle Obama says the mass kidnap of Nigerian schoolgirls is part of a pattern of threats to girls’ education globally.
BBC News – Africa

The Co-op Group is set to see its 30% stake in the Co-op Bank reduced further under a plan to raise £400m to shore-up the bank’s finances.
BBC News – Business

Syrian government forces retake control of the Old City of Homs – once a focus of the revolution – after the evacuation of rebel troops.
BBC News – Middle East

A policeman has been shot dead in the Venezuelan capital Caracas after security forces broke up protest camps, officials say.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Russia displays its military might during an expanded Victory Day parade, amid a surge of patriotism over its Crimea annexation.
BBC News – Europe

A group of MPs expresses “considerable concern” at a plan to allow the tax authority to settle unpaid demands by taking money from people’s bank accounts.
BBC News – UK

The US House of Representatives votes to create a panel to investigate the White House response to the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
BBC News – US & Canada