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Hillary Clinton had wanted it to be low key: a small community college in rural Iowa was certainly that. Curious locals and the smell of farm animals were as far away as you could get from the razzmatazz of her Republican rivals’ launches. Her first scheduled appearance at a media event was in a car-repair classroom, flanked by engines, students and teachers. She said she had come to listen to what young Americans wanted for their future – at the same time she is undoubtedly selling the pitch for her own. It is fascinating to watch a figure who has…

South Korea’s president has promised to raise the Sewol ferry, as the nation marks a year since the disaster. A total of 304 people, mostly school students, were killed when the ship – which was overloaded and illegally redesigned – sank off Jindo island. The government has faced a day of anger with relatives cancelling at least one memorial service in protest. Divers have recovered all but nine of the bodies. Relatives say the ship must be raised and their remains found. The government says salvaging the ship will cost $110m (£74m) and has previously refused to commit to doing…

Rafa Nadal returned to one of his favourite hunting grounds to thrash Frenchman Lucas Pouille at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday (April 15) as his build-up to the French Open began. The Spaniard, who will be looking for a 10th Roland Garros title next month, enjoyed a 6-2 6-1 second-round victory. Nadal, who has struggled for his best form so far this year after battling a wrist injury and appendicitis last year, was totally dominant, converted four of his seven break points and won 75 percent of his service points. He is bidding for his second claycourt title of…

Ricardo Quaresma opened scoring for Porto with penalty  Quaresma doubled lead following shocking error from Dante  Neymar slotted Barcelona into the lead at the Parc des Princes  Thiago Alcantara pulled goal back for Bayern Munich  Jackson Martinez pounced on Jerome Boateng error to put Porto 3-1 up  Luis Suarez muscles off PSG defence to double Barca lead  Suarez nutmegged David Luiz to make it 3-0 to Barcelona  Gregory van der Wiel pulled goal back for PSG with deflected strike  Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 Barcelona Maybe it has something to do with the players after all. While their old boss, Pep…

Rising U.S. interest rates will expose gaps in liquidity that could make markets prone to deeper and wider shocks, the International Monetary Fund said in a report on Wednesday (April 15). The IMF’s twice-yearly Global Financial Stability Report also warned that financial risks have increased in the last six months and shifted more to emerging markets and the “shadow” banking sector, or non-bank financial intermediaries. The warnings from the Washington-based institution come as the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates later this year for the first time in nine years, prompting fears of market gyrations and capital…

With the Conservatives and Labour both outlining their policies this week, the Green’s General Election Manifesto has pledged to ‘fund local government properly’ with a £10bn yearly rise in town hall budgets for ‘restoring’ services and creating over 200,000 jobs. Councils would be allowed to launch new local levies – such as a tourist or empty homes tax – and keep all of locally collected sums from income tax and VAT if the Greens take power in May. Town halls would also be freed from undertaking a council tax referendum on any rises ‘provided they are more progressive’. Measures outlined…

A simple breath test could help predict whether people with gut problems are at high risk of developing stomach cancer, an early study shows. It detects chemical compounds in people’s breath, in an attempt to distinguish unique “breath prints” in those with risky pre-cancerous changes. Experts say if proven in large trials, it could spot patients on the brink of cancer so they can be treated earlier. But more work is needed to validate the test, which appears in the journal Gut. ‘Sniffing signals’ Stomach cancers affect about 7,300 people each year in the UK. But in most Western countries…

David Cameron is launching the Conservatives’ general election manifesto, with a pledge to extend the right-to-buy scheme for housing association tenants in England. The PM will say up to 1.3 million tenants could buy their homes at a discount as a result, insisting the Tories are the party of working people. Other announcements are expected on tax and public services. Labour said the right-to-buy pledge would cost £4.5bn and was “unfunded”. The Conservative launch in Swindon comes the day after Ed Miliband put forwardLabour’s version – promising to improve the lives of Britain’s workers and not to pay for any…

Ceremonies are to be staged around the world to mark one year since more than 200 girls were abducted by Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram. A procession will be held in the capital, Abuja, with 219 girls taking part to represent each missing girl. The abduction of the girls in Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria sparked global outrage, with nations such as the US and China promising to help find them. There have been reported sightings of the girls, but none has been found. Boko Haram say the girls have converted to Islam and been married off. One witness said that…

Russia has lifted a ban on supplying Iran with a sophisticated air defence missile system, the Kremlin has said. Delivery of the S-300s was cancelled in 2010 after the UN imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. But the Russian president gave the go-ahead after Tehran struck an interim deal with world powers to curb nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Despite the sanctions, Russia and Iran have remained close allies. The contract to deliver the system was heavily criticised at the time by Israel and the US, who feared it could be used to protect Iranian nuclear…