News
Live news stream
Mark Bridger to continue April Jones evidence
The man accused of abducting and murdering April Jones will resume giving evidence later after he denied "weaving a complex web of lies" about the schoolgirl's death.
Mark Bridger, 47, of Ceinws, mid-Wales, took to the witness box at Mold Crown Court yesterday where he was accused of "lying through his teeth" as a catalogue of his own lies regarding his personal life were put to him.
Cobra to reconvene after Woolwich attack
The Government's emergency response committee, Cobra, will reconvene today to discuss security measures after a man was killed in broad daylight on the streets of London.
Prime Minister David Cameron will meet his top advisers to urgently address potential security implications following yesterday's murder in Woolwich.
Read more: Cobra involvement an indication of terrorist incident
Advertisement
Flowers laid through the night in Woolwich
Police remove car from Woolwich scene
Health Secretary set to launch GP shake-up
GPs are set to see a radical revision of their employment contract to incorporate 24-hour responsibility for patients under plans to be announced today by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
In a speech this afternoon he is expected to outline his mission to change the way GPs work, including the new focus being the direct relationship between a GP and their patient.
Read more: Jeremy Hunt set to launch a series of reforms to GP service
Committee recommends life sentence for building owners
The committee investigating the collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh have recommended that building owner Sohel Rana and the owners of the garment factories be sentenced to life in jail if they are found guilty of violating building codes.
Rana, three engineers and four factory owners have been arrested.
The building was shut down briefly after workers spotted cracks in its walls and pillars a day before the April 24 collapse. But the garment factory workers were called back to work, many of them forcefully.
Advertisement
80-year-old mountaineer oldest to top Everest
An 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer has become the oldest man to reach the top of Mount Everest.
Yuichiro Miura, who also conquered the 29,035-foot (8,850m) peak when he was 70 and 75, reached the summit at 9:05 a.m. local time Thursday, according to his support team. Miura and his son Gota called them from the summit to report the news.
"This is the world's best feeling," Miura said. "I'm also totally exhausted."
The previous oldest man to reach the summit was Nepal's Min Bahadur Sherchan, who accomplished the feat at age 76 in 2008, just a day before Miura reached the top at age 75.
Sherchan, now 81, is preparing for his own attempt on the summit next week, meaning Miura's record may not last long.
Bangladesh probe blames construction for building collapse
A government investigation has found that poor quality construction materials and building code violations were among the "series of irregularities" that caused the collapse of a building housing garment factories last month in Bangladesh.
"The owner used extremely poor quality of iron rods and cement," committee head Khandker Mainuddin Ahmed told The Associated Press a day after submitting its report to the government. "There were a series of irregularities."
Read more: British firms face ethical dilemmas in Bangladesh
Cruise firms adopt bill of rights to guarantee safety
A passenger bill of rights which guarantees the "safety of comfort and care" of guests has been pledged by the cruise industry.
The bill promises full refunds for trips that are cancelled due to mechanical failure, and a back-up power source on every ship to keep emergency systems running if main power systems fail.
The announcement by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents 25 major companies including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Holland America and Cunard, comes in the aftermath of the Carnival Triumph debacle.
Earlier this year, the ship drifted for several days without power as passengers endured filthy conditions.
'Terrorists will never win' religious groups condemn attack
Islamic charities and groups have condemned the attack in Woolwich saying that, "London and our nation will come together and will not be divided."
– Akbar Khan from Building BridgesWe totally condemn the killing of an innocent person in Woolwich.
And we also condemn all forms of extremism wherever they are.
The thoughts of the Muslim community are with the family of the man who lost his life, and we pray for him.
– Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan FoundationI wish to condemn the evil and barbaric crime carried out in Woolwich.
Our immediate thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims. From whatever angle you see the attack, it was at every level evil.
We must allow the police to gather all the facts before unnecessary speculation and wait for the facts before determining its impact on our country.
But what happens in the days to come, London and our nation will come together and will not be divided. The terrorists will never win and succeed in their evil plans.But tonight we think of the family of that soldier killed.
– Fiyaz Mughal, the director of charity Faith MattersThe cold-blooded killing of a serving British soldier is a crime that sickens every member of every community in the UK.
For the peace of our communities to be shattered like this is almost unthinkable. We must come together, isolate those who believe that extremism and violence are acceptable, and work to ensure that they meet the full force of the law.
We must send a clear message to anyone that an attack on a serving soldier going about their daily activities is something that must be utterly condemned.
