THE day’s biggest stories from the UK and around the world in pictures.
For the latest on the winter weather causing transport chaos across the UK; the Conclave voting for a new pope at the Vatican and the Coalition’s partial climbdown on the controversial ‘bedroom tax’, click through the gallery below.
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Travellers have endured another miserable March day with the bitterly cold weather causing havoc on the roads, rail and air and sea journeys. Kent and Sussex roads were worst hit with many of them blocked or closed and with huge queues building up.
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Cardinals from around the globe have locked themselves inside the Sistine Chapel to choose a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics and their troubled church. Surrounded by Michelangelo's imposing frescos imagining the beginning and the end of the world, the 115 scarlet-robed men entered their conclave with a final appeal for unity to heal the divisions that have been exposed by Pope Benedict XVI's resignation and revelations of corruption in the Vatican bureaucracy.
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Thousands of military families and foster carers are being exempted from plans to cut housing benefit for people with spare rooms. The coalition announced the climbdown after sustained attacks from Labour on what it has branded the "bedroom tax". In a written statement to MPs, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: "The intent of the policy was that by using discretionary housing payments, the estimated 5,000 foster carers and rather fewer armed forces personnel groups would be protected."
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Police forces across Britain have come under fire for ignoring Jimmy Savile's abuse victims as it emerged the disgraced presenter could have been stopped as early as 1964. In a shock warning, policing inspectors said there is a "distinct possibility" that officers could fail to prevent another Savile-like scandal from happening again.
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David Cameron today called on Argentina to respect the wishes of the Falkland islanders after they voted overwhelmingly to remain British. The Prime Minister said the 99.8% referendum vote in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory was the "clearest possible result there could be".
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A man is to be charged with the murder of a 16-year-old girl who was stabbed on a bus on her way to school. West Midlands Police said they have been given authority by the Crown Prosecution Service to charge 22-year-old Phillip Simelane with killing Christina Edkins.
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A "professional criminal" given a life sentence for a road rage murder on an M25 slip road today failed in a bid to get his 16-year minimum jail term cut by the Court of Appeal. Kenneth Noye, now 65, had fled to Spain - after stabbing 21-year-old Stephen Cameron to death in Swanley, Kent, in 1996 - then been arrested and extradited to Britain to face trial, an appeal hearing in London was told.
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The judge in the US Batman cinema massacre case has entered a not guilty plea on behalf of James Holmes after his defence team said he was not ready to enter one. Holmes, who killed 12 people and injured 70, could be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted. Judge William Sylvester said Holmes, 25, can change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity later, if he chooses.
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Hard-pressed motorists received some respite today when three supermarkets announced fuel-price cuts. Sainsbury's said that from tomorrow, petrol prices at the company's 279 forecourts will dip by 4p a litre, with diesel being reduced by 3p a litre. Asda said it would be cutting petrol by up to 3p a litre and its diesel by up to 2p a litre and Tesco also announced it was cutting the price of both petrol and diesel by 3p.
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Luck went with the Irish on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival as even the weather could not spoil the racing. With thousands of punters descending on the Gloucestershire town from the Emerald Isle, Co Kildare-born jockey Ruby Walsh won three races, including the Champion Hurdle on the Irish-trained Hurricane Fly.
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Russell Brand today said he turned to drink and drugs as a youngster because he felt 'lonely and sad' and that addressing the underlying issues for young people was more important than 'moralising'. The comedian spoke as he backed an initiative by Amy Winehouse's father to tackle young people's drug and drink problems that 'does not moralise' and does not tell children not to take drugs. The Amy Winehouse Resilience Programme will be rolled out to 50 secondary schools across England and will provide a free confidential phone and online service for young people, supported by Childline.
