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'Proud day' for Cornwall after years of campaigning
Campaigners on the Cornish peninsular are celebrating after the people of the region received official minority status for the first time.
Many on the peninsular have long argued the region deserves special measures - including economic concessions, such as reductions in fuel duty - in recognition of its geographical location and cultural heritage.
Half a million people signed a petition and thousands marched through Cornwall and Westminster in opposition to 2012's controversial VAT rise on hot pasties - dubbed the "pasty tax".
Dick Cole, leader of Cornish independence party Mebyon Kernow, said: "The detail is still to come out on what this might mean, but make no mistake that this is a proud day for Cornwall."
Labour: Rise in missed smear tests 'extremely worrying'
The 11% rise in the number of women who have failed to have a smear test is "extremely worrying", Labour have said.
Shadow health minister Liz Kendall said:
– Liz KendallSomeone is diagnosed with cervical cancer every three hours in the UK, and it kills three women every single day.
Smear tests save thousands of lives every year, so this recent drop in uptake is extremely worrying.
It's vital to increase public awareness and make it easier for women to book their tests, including outside normal working hours, because it can be tough getting to your local surgery if you're working, commuting or have to pick your children up after school.
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'Govt failing to act' over rise in missed smear tests
Labour has accused the Government for failing to act after figures showed an 11% rise in the number of women who had missed a vital cancer screening.
Read: Cervical cancer test fears
Read: Pancreatic cancer poses 'growing threat'
Around 3.7 million women were late with their smear test check up for cervical cancer last year, while only 364,000 missed them in 2009-10, according to data.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), who released the figures, said the working women bracket had the biggest increase in overdue smear tests.
More than a million aged in their 30s were overdue, up 11%, while numbers of 40-somethings rose 15% to 925,000 and in their 50s it was up 16% to 620,000.
Cornish recognised as national minority for first time
The Cornish are to be recognised as a national minority group for the first time, the government has announced.
After years of campaigning, the move means the Cornish are classified under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities - meaning they have the same rights and protections as the UK's other Celtic people, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish.
Communities Minister Stephen Williams said of the announcement: "This is a great day for the people of Cornwall who have long campaigned for the distinctiveness and identity of the Cornish people to be recognised officially."
The announcement follows previous commitments, which included formal recognition of the Cornish language.
Syria: Ban Ki-moon urges end to blocks on aid
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has demanded the Security Council take action in Syria on violations of international law as he reported that none of the warring parties was adhering to UN demands for aid access.
In his second monthly report to the 15-member council on the implementation of a resolution demanding great humanitarian aid access in Syria, Ban said "none of the parties to the conflict have adhered to the demands of the Council".
"The Security Council must take action to deal with these flagrant violations of the basic principles of international law," he wrote in the 21-page report.
He did not specify what measures the council should take.
Read: Warning over sharp rise in 'British jihadis' heading to Syria
Donations for teenage cancer patient reach £1.5m
Donations to teenage cancer patient Stephen Sutton have passed the £1.5 million mark after his campaign for the Teenage Cancer Trust became an international story.
Nearly 60,000 people had donated to Stephen's cause via his JustGiving page at the time of writing.
After originally aiming to raise £10,000 for the charity, Stephen raised the target to £1 million as interest in his campaign grew.
Read: Teen passes £1m charity goal as cancer fight nears end
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Pancreatic cancer 'poses growing threat'
Pancreatic cancer stands alone as an increasingly deadly threat to both men and women in Europe, a study has shown.
Experts called for priority to be given to preventing and treating the terrible disease, which is predicted to kill 82,300 people in the EU this year.
While proportionately more people are dying from pancreatic cancer, the new research recorded falling death rates for all but one of seven other types of the disease.
The exception was lung cancer - but only in women, due to the fact that generations of them took up smoking later than men, according to the findings published in the journal Annals of Oncology.
Syria: Warning over increase in 'British jihadis'
A national campaign to stop would-be terrorists travelling to Syria will be launched today, following a dramatic rise in the number of people being arrested after going to the war-torn state.
UK authorities have long expressed fears about aspiring jihadis travelling to Syria for terrorist training, and it is thought that hundreds of Britons have already been there.
Scotland Yard says 40 Syria-related arrests were made in the first three months of this year, up from 25 in the whole of last year.
Senior National Co-ordinator Counter-Terrorism Helen Ball said the campaign is "not about criminalising people, it is about preventing tragedies".
"We want to inform those who wish to genuinely help the Syrian cause how they can do so safely and legally," she said.
Facebook reports surging revenue and profit
Social network giant Facebook has reported an increase in revenue and profit despite recent acquisitions, the company's quarterly figures show tonight.
According to figures released by the social network, which was founded in 2004, revenue was up by more than 70% compared to the same quarter of 2013.
The technology firm reported revenue of $2.5 billion (£1.4bn), compared with $1.46 billion (£834m) in the same quarter last year.
The social network also recorded a profit of $642 million (£383m), as well as an increase in the number of daily active users of the service, up 21% on 2013 at more than 800 million.
Australian minister: Beach debris 'not from MH370'
Australia's transport safety chief has said he is confident debris picked up on a Western Australian beach this week had not come from the missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan told Australian Broadcasting Corp Radio that he was looking at detailed photographs of the debris taken by the police, the Reuters news agency reported.
