![Image]( "Hundreds mourn mine tragedy victim")
A British miner who died in the New Zealand mining disaster has been remembered as a "real character" and a "true friend" as more than 600 people gathered for a thanksgiving service in his memory.
Malcolm Campbell, of St Andrews in Fife, was one of 29 miners who lost their lives last November following a series of explosions at the Pike River mine in Atarau on the country's South Island.
He was one of two Scots killed in the tragedy. Fellow Briton Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire, also died at the mine.
Hundreds of Mr Campbell's friends and family gathered for a remembrance service at St Leonard's Parish Church in St Andrews, on what would have been his 26th birthday. Among them were his fiancee Amanda Shields, 23, whom he was due to marry in December last year.
About 500 people packed into the church, where many people had to stand, and around a hundred more filled a side room from where they could listen to the service in which a sombre roll call of the 29 names of those who perished in the disaster was read out.
Leading the service, the Very Rev Dr Alan McDonald said of Mr Campbell: "We shall remember him with joy as a vital living presence and a true friend, as a boy whose roots in this part of the north-east of Fife and in the parish and community of Cameron are strong and enduring."
He recalled the former Madras College student's early fascination with motorbikes, which grew to see him compete throughout the UK in motocross and become the Scottish champion, and the minister spoke of Mr Campbell's sense of adventure, which saw him travel to Australia and then New Zealand, where he met "the love of his life".
Rev McDonald, a former Moderator of the Church of Scotland, said: "Hand in hand with our sense of loss, sorrow and bewilderment, goes an awareness of great gain, for it is people like Malcolm who bring friendship, fun, human warmth and good humour into a world that is all too short."
The ceremony, which began with the sound of a lone piper and included hymn-singing, prayers and readings, also featured a traditional New Zealand Haka, performed by three Maori rugby players based in Scotland.
Doug White, the mine's general manager, travelled over from New Zealand to speak at the service. He paid tribute to Mr Campbell, describing him as a "model employee", adding: "Malky was always smiling, always laughing and always keen to get the job done. Nothing was ever a problem. He was never afraid to have a go."
Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters have clashed with police, who fired rubber bullets into the crowds and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.
The Cairo protest was a major escalation in what was already the biggest challenge to President Hosni Mubarak's 30 year-rule.
Water cannons were used against pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei and his supporters as they joined the latest wave of protests after noon prayers.
Police also used batons to beat some of Mr ElBaradei's supporters, who surrounded him to protect him. A soaking wet Mr ElBaradei was trapped inside a mosque nearly an hour after he and his supporters were drenched with water cannons.
Hundreds of riot police laid siege to the mosque, firing tear gas in the streets surrounding it so no one could leave. The tear gas canisters set several cars ablaze outside the mosque. Several people fainted and suffered burns.
Large groups of protesters, in the thousands, were gathered at at least six venues in Cairo, a city of about 18 million people. They are demanding Mr Mubarak's removal.
There were smaller protests in Assiut south of Cairo and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula. Regional television stations also reported clashes between thousands of demonstrators and police in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and Minya south of Cairo.
Internet and mobile phone services were disrupted across Egypt starting overnight and throughout the day as authorities used extreme measures to hamper protesters from organising the mass rallies called after Friday prayers.
Mr Mubarak is the US's closest Arab ally, but Washington has signalled that he no longer enjoys its full backing, publicly advising him to introduce reform and refrain from using violence against the protesters. He has not been seen publicly or heard from since the protests began on Tuesday.
Friday's demonstrations were energised by the return of Nobel Peace prize winner Mr ElBaradei on Thursday night, when he said he was ready to lead the opposition toward a regime change.
The economic recovery was "always going to be choppy" but Britain must "stick to the course" if it wants to come through the recession, the Prime Minister has said.
David Cameron said there must be a "genuine single market" in Europe, while markets should be deregulated so businesses can grow.
He said stress tests for banks must be more stringent, describing 2011 as a "make or break year" for economic recovery.
In a speech to some of the world's most powerful business leaders and politicians at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Cameron said that while economies like Brazil, China and India were "steaming ahead", the "drag on growth" in Europe had persisted.
He said: "This week we had disappointing growth estimates back home. Yes, they were partly driven by the terrible weather which shut down airports, factories and schools - but let's be frank.
"They also brought home something we have said for months: given the traumas of recent years, the recovery was always going to be choppy."
Mr Cameron said it was "not going to be easy" to re-invigorate the economy but to do so Europe "needed to change direction", saying "huge deficits don't just fall out of the sky".
He added: "To get there isn't easy. We can't just flick on the switch of government spending or pump the bubble back up. Making this transformation - and it is a transformation - requires painstaking work and it takes time.
"It's going to be tough - but we must see it through. The scale of the task is immense, so we need to be bold in order to build this economy of the future.
"The British people know these things. They understand there are no short cuts to a better future. And already we're making progress."
There are encouraging signs that senior Taliban commanders may be ready to enter talks with Afghan authorities about ending their insurgency, the Foreign Office has said.
Recent months have seen a number of "feelers" from insurgents in response to president Hamid Karzai's offer of reconciliation talks without preconditions, said a senior Foreign Office official.
The official cautioned that no big breakthrough was expected imminently, but said that the Taliban figures involved were "sufficiently senior" for the development to be seen as significant.
President Karzai's drive to reintegrate Taliban fighters into mainstream Afghan society is a key plank of his strategy for the Kabul government to take over security responsibility for the whole of the country by the end of 2014.
But it suffered a major setback in November when a man claiming to be the Taliban's second-ranking mullah was exposed as an impostor, following meetings with Afghan government and Nato officials, facilitated by the UK.
The humiliating scam raised fears that efforts to establish lines of communication with the Taliban leadership were failing and that the reconciliation drive was attracting only foot soldiers with no wider influence on the insurgency.
The London Conference on Afghanistan a year ago gave Mr Karzai authority to pursue reconciliation and reintegration talks with the Taliban, and the establishment of a High Peace Council in September offered a formal route for meetings.
But the Foreign Office official suggested that progress may come more quickly from the informal approaches now being made in the south of the country.
The process may gain momentum in the summer, when Taliban predictions of a withdrawal of international troops fail to materialise.
Keeping up military pressure will play a key role in "taking the wind out of the sails of Taliban rhetoric" and encouraging insurgents to seek a political solution, said the official.
Former South African leader Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital, the country's surgeon general said.
V J Ramlakan said there was no need to panic about the health of Mr Mandela, 92, who spent two days in a Johannesburg hospital undergoing specialised tests.
He said Mr Mandela had been treated for an acute respiratory infection, responded well to treatment and had been discharged to receive home-based care.
Mr Mandela has a history of respiratory problems after contracting tuberculosis during his 27 years in prison and undergoes regular hospital check-ups, but his latest visit to Milpark Hospital had stretched into an unusually long stay.
Mr Ramlakan said: "Dr Mandela is in high spirits and has been visited by his family and friends. Medically, at present, there is no need to panic."
Mr Mandela had been admitted to Milpark Hospital on Wednesday, and there was speculation about his condition. Journalists have been camped outside the hospital and outside his Johannesburg home.
"He is receiving the best treatment from the best available health professionals in this country, and that should reassure all of us that there is no need of us to panic," deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe told a news conference.
Mr Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and stepped down after serving one term in 1999, largely retiring from public life in 2004.
The public has seen only glimpses of him recently, the last time being in November when his office released photos of a private meeting with members of the US and South African football teams.
Former Cabinet member Nick Brown has become the latest senior politician to claim that his telephone had been tapped.
Unlike other complaints involving illegal eavesdropping on mobile phone voicemail messages, Labour's former chief whip said that it appeared his landline was bugged with a recording device.
And he said police had also warned on a separate occasion that his mobile phone might have been illegally accessed.
Mr Brown's comments came as Scotland Yard revived its inquiry into allegations of phone-hacking by journalists at the News of the World, with Metropolitan Police Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin promising to leave "no stone unturned".
Mr Brown's former Cabinet colleague Tessa Jowell on Thursday called in police after being warned by her phone provider of a failed attempt to access her voicemail as recently as last week.
Speaking to Newcastle's Journal newspaper, Mr Brown revealed he became suspicious that his phone had been bugged following a conversation with an "important" person several years ago.
"I picked up a landline telephone very quickly ... to make another call straight away," said the Newcastle East MP. "And the line clicked and then I heard my last conversation played back to me, which was quite eerie.
"I got on to British Telecom straight away ... They said the line showed every signs of having been intercepted manually, not through scanners. It was an amateurish attempt involving the physical intervention of the line with a recording device."
Mr Brown said that on another occasion, he was contacted by a police force in the West Country, who told him they were pursuing a phone-tapping prosecution and he was one of those who may have been targeted. Although the case reached court, the judge's rulings meant the prosecution did not go ahead, and Mr Brown was not told full details of the allegations.
"Given that it was near Highgrove, my assumption was that this might involve the Royal Family. But I was never explicitly told that," he said. Asked if he had spoken again to police, he said: "It seems to me once the court says the court cannot proceed, I am not quite sure what there is left to do."
Locals in Andy Murray's home town have said they are keeping the "champagne on ice" ahead of Sunday's Australian Open final.
The 23-year-old Scot overcame a shaky start to beat David Ferrer in four sets and book a showdown with world number three Novak Djokovic.
Fans in Dunblane were united in their support for him - and said they expected him to return from Melbourne with his first Grand Slam trophy.
Tom McLean, who runs the Dunblane Hotel, said: "I thought he would have a tough match, but I knew he would have the guts to slug his way through.
"He can absolutely go on to win it. I'm only disappointed he won't be meeting Federer in the final.
"Andy has improved his game and his attitude and we're all very proud of him."
Moira Cook, who works in the Sherrifmuir Inn just outside Dunblane, said: "Everyone is very excited and we are all so proud of him - he's done so well. Of course he can win - there's no reason why he shouldn't at all."
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Andy Murray's skill, character and grit shone through and carried him to a well-deserved victory - he has a fantastic opportunity to win his first Grand Slam.
"The whole nation is behind Andy, and he has a spirited and vocal group of fans in Melbourne. He is at the top of his game, playing wonderful tennis, and I believe Sunday will be Andy's day."
One of Murray's ex-coaches, Brian Melville, said his former protege had "worked his socks off" over the past year, and was cautiously optimistic about his chances in the final.
A British miner who died in the New Zealand mining disaster has been remembered as a "real character" and a "true friend" as more than 600 people gathered for a thanksgiving service in his memory.
Malcolm Campbell, of St Andrews in Fife, was one of 29 miners who lost their lives last November following a series of explosions at the Pike River mine in Atarau on the country's South Island.
He was one of two Scots killed in the tragedy. Fellow Briton Pete Rodger, 40, from Perthshire, also died at the mine.
Hundreds of Mr Campbell's friends and family gathered for a remembrance service at St Leonard's Parish Church in St Andrews, on what would have been his 26th birthday. Among them were his fiancee Amanda Shields, 23, whom he was due to marry in December last year.
About 500 people packed into the church, where many people had to stand, and around a hundred more filled a side room from where they could listen to the service in which a sombre roll call of the 29 names of those who perished in the disaster was read out.
Leading the service, the Very Rev Dr Alan McDonald said of Mr Campbell: "We shall remember him with joy as a vital living presence and a true friend, as a boy whose roots in this part of the north-east of Fife and in the parish and community of Cameron are strong and enduring."
He recalled the former Madras College student's early fascination with motorbikes, which grew to see him compete throughout the UK in motocross and become the Scottish champion, and the minister spoke of Mr Campbell's sense of adventure, which saw him travel to Australia and then New Zealand, where he met "the love of his life".
Rev McDonald, a former Moderator of the Church of Scotland, said: "Hand in hand with our sense of loss, sorrow and bewilderment, goes an awareness of great gain, for it is people like Malcolm who bring friendship, fun, human warmth and good humour into a world that is all too short."
The ceremony, which began with the sound of a lone piper and included hymn-singing, prayers and readings, also featured a traditional New Zealand Haka, performed by three Maori rugby players based in Scotland.
Doug White, the mine's general manager, travelled over from New Zealand to speak at the service. He paid tribute to Mr Campbell, describing him as a "model employee", adding: "Malky was always smiling, always laughing and always keen to get the job done. Nothing was ever a problem. He was never afraid to have a go."
Tens of thousands of protesters have clashed with police across Egypt in the most violent scenes yet in the challenge to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
One protester was killed and pro-reform leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei was placed under house arrest after joining demonstrations, while Egyptian state TV announced a 6pm to 7am curfew in Cairo and two other cities.
Groups of thousands of protesters, some chanting "out, out, out", defied a ban on any gatherings and turned out at different venues across Cairo, while security officials said there were protests in at least 11 of the country's 28 provinces.
It was a major escalation in the movement that began on Tuesday to demand the removal of 82-year-old Mr Mubarak and vent rage at years of government neglect over rampant poverty, unemployment and rising food prices.
Security officials said protesters ransacked the headquarters of Mr Mubarak's ruling party in the cities of Mansoura, north of Cairo, and Suez, east of the capital. Internet and mobile phone services were largely cut off in an apparent bid to hinder the protest organisers.
Some of the most serious violence was in Suez, where protesters seized weapons stored in a police station and asked the policemen inside to leave the building before they burned it down and also set ablaze about 20 police trucks parked nearby.
Demonstrators exchanged fire with policemen trying to stop them from storming another police station and one protester was killed in the gun battle, bringing the death toll from four days of protests to eight.
The protesters were energised by the return of Mr ElBaradei, one of the leading pro-democracy advocates, who returned on Thursday night after a month abroad, declaring he was prepared to lead the opposition to a regime change.
When he joined protesters on Friday following noon prayers, police fired water cannon at him and his supporters and used batons to beat some of Mr ElBaradei's supporters, who surrounded him to protect him.
A soaking wet Mr ElBaradei was trapped inside a mosque while hundreds of riot police laid siege to it, firing tear gas in the streets around so no one could leave. When Mr ElBaradei returned home police stationed outside told him he was not allowed to leave again.
Tony Blair failed properly to discuss plans to join the US-led invasion of Iraq because he did not trust Cabinet colleagues not to leak discussions, the UK's top civil servant has said.
And Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell told the Iraq Inquiry such an informal approach meant there were insufficient records to fully examine the decision to go to war.
Sir Gus levelled a number of criticisms at Mr Blair's so-called "sofa government" style as he was quizzed by the Iraq Inquiry, which is shortly to conclude its evidence gathering.
The then prime minister's distrust of colleagues meant he did not consider the Cabinet the "safe space" it ought to be for the frank discussion of key policies, he said.
And failing to provide Cabinet colleagues with the full legal advice of the attorney general on important decisions was contrary to the ministerial code, he said.
Lord Turnbull, who was cabinet secretary at the time, told the inquiry this week the Cabinet was deprived of key papers outlining options and was "imprisoned" into backing the war.
He rejected assertions by Mr Blair, when he was recalled before the Inquiry last week, that his Cabinet colleagues all "knew the score" and that there were frequent discussions of the issues.
Sir Gus, who was at that time the top official at the Treasury, said frank discussions within Cabinet leading to an agreed line were the ideal formula for the best decision making.
But Mr Blair preferred to keep discussions to more exclusive groups, in part because distrust of colleagues meant he did not consider it the "safe space" it should ideally be, he said.
The Inquiry was adjourned until next week, when the foreign secretary at the time of the invasion, Jack Straw, is among the last scheduled witnesses.
The UK's biggest abortion provider has asked the High Court to interpret the law in line with modern science and make it easier for women to complete terminations at home.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) urged a judge to rule that the 1967 Abortion Act allows women to take the second dose of tablets for an early medical abortion (EMA) without having to visit medical premises.
At present, the first and second dose must be taken in a clinic or hospital under supervision. Most women go straight home after the second dose.
Nathalie Lieven QC, appearing for BPAS, argued that "medical science has moved on a great deal" and it is safe for women actually to self-administer the second dose at home.
Ms Lieven asked Mr Justice Supperstone, sitting at London's High Court, to rule against Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, who says that the law requires all tablets to be administered on clinical premises.
BPAS says the UK should follow other countries, including the US, France and Sweden, in allowing women to safely complete their terminations without repeated visits to a clinic.
Pro-life campaigners say BPAS's intention is to make abortion "little more than a pill-popping exercise".
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has been given permission to intervene in the case and put its views to the judge.
The future of holiday camp brand Pontin's has been secured after administrators announced its sale in a move which will safeguard the jobs of all 850 staff.
The holiday company, which called in administrators KPMG in November, has been sold to the Britannia Hotel Group, which owns the famous Adelphi hotel in Liverpool.
Alex Langsam, owner of Britannia, said: "The prospects for Pontin's are very exciting. Our plans will take shape without delay as we look towards developing a bright future whilst retaining the best traditions of the past. Pontin's will remain a national treasure, to be enjoyed by generations to come."
All five sites - at Brean Sands in Somerset, Camber Sands in Sussex, Pakefield in Suffolk, Prestatyn Sands in Denbighshire and Southport in Merseyside - have continued to run as normal while KPMG hunted for a buyer.
In November, KPMG said Pontin's had run out of cash because bookings had fallen drastically throughout 2010, which came as a surprise as many UK holiday companies have benefited from more people taking holidays in the UK rather than abroad because of the weak pound.
Rob Croxen, restructuring director at KPMG and joint administrator who led the sale, said: "The business attracted a high level of interest from a broad range of investors such as wealthy individuals, private equity houses, property developers and trade buyers.
"We are really pleased that Britannia, a leisure operator with a proven track record, has clinched the winning bid, ensuring Pontin's lives on as a destination for holidaymakers."
Pontin's was started when Fred Pontin opened the first Pontin's Holiday Park in Brean Sands in 1946, and is best known for its "blue coats" who offer entertainment and help to holidaymakers.
It organises entertainment for its guests featuring acts such as Keith Harris and Orville, Bobby Davro and Chico.
Britannia Hotels was founded in 1976 when the owner bought a 100-bedroom hotel in south Manchester, The Country House Hotel. The private firm now has 36 hotels across the UK, offering 7,000 bedrooms.
Scotland Yard is investigating after several posters declared a "fatwa" against Home Secretary Theresa May.
The wanted-style posters in Tooting, south-west London, declare that the fatwa was issued against Mrs May "for the abduction, kidnapping and false imprisonment" of several radical clerics, including jailed hate preacher Abu Hamza.
A fatwa, a religious ruling in Islamic law, can be, but is not always, interpreted as an incitement to kill.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Police are aware of a number of posters in the Tooting area.
"We are liaising with the local authority to get them removed. We are also working to find out who put them up."
Tooting MP Sadiq Khan said the posters were "offensive, divisive and unlawful".
He told the Wandsworth Guardian: "Whoever is behind it should not only face the full extent of the law, but should also foot the bill for damage caused to public property and the cost of taking down these inflammatory posters.
"Tooting is a vibrant, diverse and welcoming place and I take very seriously any attempts by anyone who tries to destabilise our community."
Wandsworth Council said it is working to remove the posters.
Hamza, 52, was jailed for seven years in February 2006 for inciting murder and race hate. He is in Belmarsh Prison as he challenges attempts to extradite him to the US on terror charges.
Egypt's military has deployed on the streets of Cairo to enforce a night-time curfew as the sun set on a day of rioting and violent chaos that was a major escalation in the challenge to authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
Thousands in the capital still defied a nationwide curfew and were trying to storm two major government buildings - the state TV headquarters and the Foreign Ministry - while others were praying on the streets after nightfall.
Flames rose up across a number of cities from burning tyres and police cars, and even the ruling party headquarters in Cairo was ablaze in the outpouring of rage, bitterness and utter frustration with a regime seen as corrupt, heavy handed and neglectful of grinding poverty that afflicts nearly half of the 80 million Egyptians.
Hundreds were looting television sets and electric fans from the burning complex of buildings used by the ruling party.
One protester was killed in demonstrations that stretched across nearly half the provinces in Egypt, bringing the death toll for four days of protests to eight.
"I can't believe our own police, our own government would keep beating up on us like this," said Cairo protester Ahmad Salah, 26. "I've been here for hours and gassed and keep going forward, and they keep gassing us, and I will keep going forward. This is a cowardly government and it has to fall. We're going to make sure of it."
Internet and mobile phone services, at least in Cairo, appeared to be largely cut off since overnight in the most extreme measure so far to try to hamper protesters form organising. However, that did not prevent tens of thousands from flooding the streets, emboldened by the recent uprising in Tunisia - another North African Arab nation.
Even Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, one of the country's leading pro-democracy advocates, was under house arrest after joining the protests.
"It's time for this government to change," said Amal Ahmed, a 22-year-old protester. "I want a better future for me and my family when I get married."
Egypt's national carrier later suspended its flights from Cairo for 12 hours. The company said its flights from abroad will be able to land, but departures were cancelled.
A third of Britons are bracing themselves for a fall in their standard of living during the coming three years, a survey has suggested.
Around 63% of people think the general standard of living has fallen since 2007, when the credit crunch first struck, while a further 36% think it will continue to get worse, according to a poll of 2,044 conducted for life insurer Scottish Provident.
Only 15% of people questioned said they thought the standard of living for the average British family had actually improved since 2007.
People aged over 55, who are either approaching retirement or already pensioners, are the most pessimistic, with 45% expecting their standard of living to get worse in the coming three years.
The research found that consumers see having some savings as being key to having a good standard of living, cited by 66%, followed by having internet access at 62%, owning a car at 59% and owning your own home at 54%.
Other factors that were considered to be important for a good life included taking at least one foreign holiday a year, having satellite television, eating out twice a month and having the latest gadgets, as well as having a pet and being able to pay your children's university fees.
Susan Barclay, head of marketing at Scottish Provident, said: "The last few years have hit many Britons hard, and our figures have underlined how people are generally not showing much optimism ahead of the start of 2013, as the austerity measures proposed by the coalition Government begin to take effect.
"Given these concerns, it has never been more critical for individuals to ensure they have built up an adequate financial safety net to try and combat any unexpected decline in their living standards."
Embattled president Hosni Mubarak has appeared on television for the first time since protests erupted demanding his ousting, and he said he will press ahead with social, economic and political reforms.
Mr Mubarak said he has asked his Cabinet to resign, and he called anti-government protests part of a plot to destabilise Egypt and destroy the legitimacy of his regime.
The president defended the security forces' crackdown on protesters.
Protesters have seized the streets of Cairo, battling police with stones and firebombs, burning down the ruling party headquarters, and defying a night curfew enforced by a military deployment.
US President Barack Obama later said he had spoken to Mr Mubarak and told him he has a responsibility to take concrete steps to deliver on promises of better democracy and greater economic opportunity. Mr Obama said: "This moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of promise."
Earlier, Egypt's military deployed on the streets of Cairo to enforce a night-time curfew as the sun set on a day of rioting and violent chaos that was a major escalation in the challenge to authoritarian President Mubarak's 30-year rule.
Thousands in the capital still defied a nationwide curfew and were trying to storm two major government buildings - the state TV headquarters and the Foreign Ministry. Others were praying on the streets after nightfall.
Flames rose up across a number of cities from burning tyres and police cars. Even the ruling party headquarters in Cairo was ablaze in the outpouring of rage, bitterness and utter frustration with a regime seen as corrupt, heavy handed and neglectful of grinding poverty that afflicts nearly half of the 80 million Egyptians.
Hundreds were looting television sets and electric fans from the burning complex of buildings used by the ruling party.
One protester was killed in demonstrations that stretched across nearly half the provinces in Egypt, bringing the death toll for four days of protests to eight.
The Government is to face accusations of "betraying" an entire generation of young people through its "swingeing cuts" to education, jobs and the public services.
The charge will be made by union leaders at a rally in Manchester called to protest against the Government's cuts in public spending.
Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, will accuse ministers of prioritising billions of pounds in tax breaks for business as they triple the cost of university and axe funding for college students and help for the unemployed.
She will say: "From sacking lollipop ladies and closing youth clubs to axing college grants and trebling tuition fees, this is a Government at war with our young people and therefore at war with our future. It is betraying an entire generation."
TUC assistant general secretary Kay Carberry will tell the rally that young people should not pay the price for the Government's "reckless gamble" with the economy.
Ms Carberry will say: "In the City, bankers are popping champagne corks and celebrating their bonuses. It's business as usual for them, while young people up and down Britain are being forced to pick up the tab for a financial crisis and recession that they didn't cause.
"Nearly one million young people are unemployed, with one in five young people now out of work. Educational maintenance allowances have been abolished, tuition fees raised, and successful back-to-work job schemes for young people abolished and replaced with inferior schemes. This adds up to lost opportunities and the risk of a lost generation."
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "The trade unions need to understand that the youth unemployment challenge this Government faces is a direct consequence of the failings of the last Labour government. We have inherited a legacy of 600,000 young people who have never worked since leaving school or college. Labour failed on the economy, and its efforts and schemes to tackle youth unemployment failed too.
"We think young people deserve better - that's why we're investing in apprenticeships to create long-term jobs and are developing work experience opportunities so that young people get the skills and experience they need to successfully compete in the labour market."
A march and rally will also be held in London against spending cuts and higher tuition fees.
The King's Speech star Colin Firth has admitted that he does not support the monarchy.
Firth, who has been nominated for an Oscar for his role as stammering King George VI, said he has "a problem" with unelected authorities.
The King's Speech is in the running for 12 prizes at the 83rd Academy Awards.
In an interview for CNN, journalist Piers Morgan asked Firth: "Are you a monarchist? Do you believe in the royal family?"
The 50-year-old actor, who has already landed a Golden Globe for his role as the wartime King, sighed heavily before replying: "I think they are very nice."
When pressed about his view, Firth continued: "I really like voting. It is one of my favourite things." To which Morgan asked: "So an unelected institution isn't really your cup of tea?"
Firth replied: "It is a problem for me, yeah, unelected bodies."
He admitted that the Royal Family had been "good" for the careers of actors. "There wouldn't be Shakespeare without kings and queens," he said. "Half the drama around history is centred around royal life because the stakes are very high in that arena."
He added that he had briefly met Prince Charles and that he thought his work with organic farming was "very admirable".
The film's raft of nominations include best film, best actor for Firth, best supporting actress for Helena Bonham Carter for her role as Queen Elizabeth, and supporting actor for Geoffrey Rush, who plays an unorthodox speech therapist in the British movie. It is also in the running for best director for British film-maker Tom Hooper, cinematography, and original screenplay.
