How British bulldog got the bird 12.04.11 STEPHEN BYERS, the prime minister, embraced the magpie as England's national emblem and bade farewell to the British bulldog   High-rise hereafter 17.02.11 PROTESTERS chanted outside Croydon cemetery, angry at plans to exhume 200 bodies to make way for a high-rise mausoleum Big five steer clear at top 01.06.11 THE FIAT-FORD merger puts Europe at the forefront of car production Accounting for education 20.03.11 YESTERDAY the London School of Economics was sold off to the international accountancy firm Arthur Andersen   Boys need not behave badly 19.10.11 PROTESTS over the negative behaviour chip which detects genes linked with undesirable social traits Give credit to welfare 10.10.11 THE END of the welfare state was witnessed by a packed House of Commons

Britain is to change the way it elects its MPs. The public has voted by a majority of 58% to endorse a more proportional system than first-past-the-post. Smaller nationwide parties will benefit, because, for the first time, their support will be fairly reflected in the number of seats they win at Westminster. PK A 'chirping' signal picked up by the Laser Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Ligo) is being hailed as the definitive proof that black holes exist. 'When a black hole is born, it ripples the fabric of space-time in an unmistakable way,' says a spokesman for Ligo. 'Our huge detectors in Washington State and Louisiana have picked up those ripples. MC There should be fewer hassles at passport control with the new IBM-developed Fastgate ID card. The device, which incorporates new hologram technology, allows passengers to speed through border controls, while improving security by checking a global system for arrest warrants or requests for interception. Passengers simply place the card in a reader and their hands on a scan screen, which checks their palmprint with data on the card and with a central computer. Passport officials are confident the system will save on running costs, reduce staff numbers and increase profits. SC