New mothers will be paid £150 a week to care for children at home under Tory proposals. Childcare provision is becoming a key election theme and the Government has promised “affordable” daycare for children of primary school age.

The Berkshire train crash prompted a debate about the safety of level crossings. The Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, insisted that there was no reason to replace road crossings after the crash, in which seven people died.

Animal protesters were barred from interrupting the construction of a new Oxford University research laboratory. The university was granted an extensive injunction which prevents protesters approaching the site and other buildings, including the homes of staff, construction workers and shareholders.

Vodafone launched its third-generation mobile phone services in Britain and 12 other countries. The company has spent £15 billion on its high-speed 3G licences, yet analysts questioned whether it would recoup its costs.

Police are too slow to seize criminals’ assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act, a Home Office review concluded. Last year, they confiscated only £16 million, even though the criminal economy has been valued at £18 billion.

House prices may fall “modestly for a period”, the Bank of England said. The Chancellor said that prices were “moderating” and called the change “an adjustment”.

Women could receive £1,000 for donating eggs to couples unable to conceive naturally, under reforms suggested by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Nine out of ten fertility clinics say they cannot meet the demand for donated eggs.

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BUZZWORD TRACKER

Separationist n. (derog.) An advocate of childcare for careerist mothers. If only they knew how ill they were making the children, according to Mary Eberstadt, whose provocative bestseller, Home-Alone America, is popularising the term. Pay for childcare, Ms Eberstadt claims, and you’ll screw up your children.

Petroflation n. Inflation caused by rising oil prices. At least, that’s what India’s Finance Minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, calls it — as politicians are meant to solve “real” inflation . . .

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