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Report: Claim surge follows 'bedroom tax'
The number of people claiming extra handouts from councils to meet housing costs has soared following the introduction of the so-called "bedroom tax", figures have revealed.
More than 25,000 people applied for discretionary housing payments (DHP) to help cover their rent in April, compared with 5,700 in the same month last year, according to an analysis of 51 councils by The Independent.
The Government has substantially increased the DHP funding pot for local authorities to help those most affected by the withdrawal of what ministers call the "spare room subsidy".
Up to 60 hurt and three critically injured in US rail crash
A commuter train travelling eastbound from New York City derailed near the Connecticut suburb of Fairfield during the evening rush hour on Friday and collided with a westbound commuter train, injuring up to 60 people, at least three critically, officials said.
The collision of the two Metro North trains forced Amtrak to shut down service indefinitely between New York and Boston, the national railroad said.
Three people were critically injured and 60 people were transported to area hospitals, police said.
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy told a news conference: "It's pretty devastating damage to a number of cars.
"These cars came into contact (and the impact) ripped open the siding of one of the cars. There is extensive damage in the front and the wheels."
The accident occurred shortly after 6pm local time (10pm GMT), authorities said.
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Torrent of education initiatives 'resemble an octopus'
Bernadette Hunter, president of the National Association of Head Teachers is expected to tell delegates at the NAHT's annual conference in Birmingham today that many schools "have lost their sense of humour, buried under piles of data and spread sheets".
– Bernadette Hunter, president of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) iPerhaps you don't always feel strong but every day you have to deal with a torrent of initiatives and changes which rather resembles wrestling with an octopus. And you do it because of the moral imperative of school leadership - learners.
I know we are tired of constant, ideologically-driven change. We always seem to be saying that this is the worst we have ever known it but this time it is undeniably the truth.
We seem to have a secretary of state for Education who doesn't seem to be for education at all.
She warned the entire education system was "being dismantled before our eyes and fragmentation and division are everywhere".
There was a "continual denigration of our professionalism and a worrying creeping privatisation of education," she said.
Union: Michael Gove like a 'fanatical personal trainer'
Schools are losing their sense of humour under piles of data and spreadsheets as headteachers are forced to "wrestle with an octopus" of government initiatives and reforms, a union leader will warn today.
Heads are becoming tired of constant change to the education system, and believe it is being dismantled before their eyes, according to Bernadette Hunter, president of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT).
In a strongly-worded attack, Ms Hunter will say she believes that Education Secretary Michael Gove is not a champion of education, and liken the minister to a "fanatical personal trainer" urging headteachers to go "faster, faster, higher and higher".
Woman 'lost her sight' after drinking methanol
Reports in The Telegraph and The Mirror said that within days of drinking the methanol a woman, reported as reports as Cheznye Emmons, complained that she had lost her sight.
She went through the jungle to the nearest eye clinic, and was referred to a hospital in Sumatra, where she was placed in an induced coma.
Her parents flew to her bedside and made the decision to turn off her life support machine.
Indonesia has an alcohol tax of more than 200% on some products, which leads locals to brew their own home-made spirits.Methanol is a by-product of poor distillation techniques.
Briton died after reportedly drinking 'poisoned alcohol'
A Briton has died after reportedly drinking poisoned alcohol during a trek in the Indonesian jungle.
The woman, named in reports as Cheznye Emmons, is said to have fallen ill after drinking from a bottle labelled "gin" bought from a local shop.
– Foreign Office spokesmanWe can confirm the death of a British national in Indonesia and we are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."
Two other travellers also had health problems after consuming the drink, which turned out to be filled with methanol, which is poisonous and causes kidney failure, blindness, seizures and death.
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Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler at 50/1 to win Eurovision
Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler is placed at 50/1 to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, according to betting firm William Hill which it says is the biggest price ever for a UK entrant.
Bonnie had been hoping to avenge the performance by the UK last year when Engelbert Humperdinck limped into second to last place with Love Will Set You Free.
Bonnie Tyler, who is performing the track Believe in Me, has still managed to make a big impression in Malmo which has been her home for the past few days in preparation for the huge show.
At a concert featuring five of the leading countries involved in backing Eurovision, the crowd was chanting her name as each of the acts came on stage.
And as she dined in a restaurant with her team and with a traditional Swedish feast, the whole restaurant joined in singing her entry.
Watch: Bonnie Tyler prepares for Eurovision
Watch: Bonnie Tyler says 'Eurovision support almost brought me to tears!'
New York to Boston train service suspended after crash
Amtrak indefinitely suspended service from New York's Penn Station to Boston after a Metro-North Railroad train derailed and struck another train near Fairfield, Connecticut, the company said.
There were no reports of fatalities in the accident, which occurred shortly after 6pm EDT, police and transit authorities said.
US train derailed in collision with up to 25 people injured
Some 20 to 25 people were injured on Friday when two trains collided on a commuter line near Fairfield, Connecticut, but there were no reports of fatalities, police and transit authorities said on Friday.
The accident occurred when an eastbound train on the Metro North Railroad derailed and collided with a westbound train near Fairfield, said a Metropolitan Transit Authority spokesman.
Bonnie Tyler prepares for Eurovision
The Swansea singing star Bonnie Tyer has told ITV News how she's been brought "almost to tears" by messages of support from fans.
Twenty four hours before the Eurovision song contest begins in Sweden, Bonnie has been performing in her final rehearsal, as Mike Pearse reports from Malmo.
