Winner Announced Congratulations to Jane Beresford and Allan Little (BBC) who have been awarded the annual UACES Thomson Reuters Reporting Europe Prize at a ceremony in London. They won the prize for their BBC Radio 4 series ‘Europe’s Choice’ which aired on 5 – 19 February 2012. Paul Adamson OBE, member of the jury and Editor-in-Chief of E!Sharp Magazine commented: “The series created a compelling and informed narrative on the situation in which the European Union now finds itself. It took pains to talk not only to expert commentators in the UK but informed players in other European countries. All this with an exquisite clarity and accessibility for the enjoyment of non specialists. The programmes give you a laudably rounded understanding of the current dilemma ... Continue reading →

25 May 2012 Last updated at 05:01 ET Boris Johnson names BBC journalist as communications director Will Walden has worked at the BBC for 12 years Boris Johnson has appointed a senior BBC journalist, Will Walden, as his new director of communications. Mr Walden is news editor at the BBC's political unit at Westminster and played a key role in the BBC's 2010 general election coverage. He succeeds Guto Harri, another former BBC political journalist, who left City Hall for a role at News International after the London mayoral election. Mr Johnson was re-elected to a second term earlier this month. Mr Walden has worked at the BBC for 12 years in a variety of roles, including as senior producer in the organisation's Washington DC ... Continue reading →

Nominations now invited If you’ve seen, heard or read an outstanding report on the European Union that deserves wider recognition, then we’d like to hear from you.Read more… Continue reading →

23 May 2012 Last updated at 21:27 ET Olympian effort behind the saving of the Hitchcock nine By Stuart Hughes BBC News Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. The Pleasure Garden gives an insight into Hitchcock's later stylistic devices The British Film Institute (BFI) is celebrating the work of film-maker Alfred Hitchcock with a season of screenings, including nine of his little-known silent movies, restored to their original glory after a painstaking and time-consuming restoration project. We went behind the scenes to see the meticulous work of the BFI conservationists. The instantly recognisable figure of Alfred Hitchcock stares out from a giant outdoor poster at this year's Cannes Film Festival. His jowly face is twisted into a grimace. His index finger points ... Continue reading →

A shocking video posted online shows a young child locked inside a running washing machine at a New Jersey laundermat. The surveillance video, which was recently uploaded to YouTube, shows a man placing the small child inside the machine. Moments later, he and a woman are seen on camera frantically trying to pry open the locked door as the machine begins to spin and fill with water. At one point, the two run for the help of an employee, who managed to open a door behind the washer and unplug it, Fox affiliate WNYW reported. The man, presumed to be the child's father, is then seen grabbing the child and running off. The incident happened at a laundermat in Camden, N.J., according to the station. ... Continue reading →

The last time I saw paintings as deluded as Damien Hirst's latest works, the artist's name was Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. A decade ago the son of Libya's then still very much alive dictator showed sentimental paintings of desert scenes in an exhibition sponsored by fawning business allies. Searching for some kind of parallel to the arrogance and stupidity of Hirst's still life paintings, I find myself remembering that strange, sad spectacle. Damien Hirst: Two Weeks One Summer White Cube Bermondsey London 23 May – 8 July 2012 There is a pathos about Two Weeks One Summer, in which Hirst shows paintings of parrots and lemons, shark's jaws and foetuses in jars in a vast space in White Cube Bermondsey. It is the same kind of ... Continue reading →

The company paid top-flight consultants to weigh up 60 different names over five months, only to alight on “hibu”. It unveiled the new name as it chalked up £1.4bn losses and said "material uncertainty" could cast significant doubt on its future as a going concern. Shares in Yell crashed nearly a quarter to 2.41p yesterday, down from 11p in July last year. Mike Pocock, chief executive, said the company needed to find a new name because it was “viewed as a dinosaur”, but admitted that hibu was “just a word” with no real meaning. “Don’t read anything into it...It doesn’t have any pure meaning behind it,” he said. “It needed to be short, easy to pronounce and to sound edgy and innovative. It doesn’t mean ... Continue reading →