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Osborne observes minute's silence for Mandela
Out of respect for Nelson Mandela and his family, just observed minute's silence at ECOFIN Council in Brussels with fellow finance ministers
Housing minister: 'Rents falling and 360,000 homes built'
Housing Minister Kris Hopkins has responded to a report which warned that one working person every five minutes is being forced into claiming Housing Benefit because of soaring rents in London, while other areas are experiencing economic growth.
Mr Hopkins said: "The housing market we inherited in 2010 had housebuilding at its lowest peacetime levels since the 1920s.
"Three years later rents are falling in real terms, we've built 360,000 homes and housebuilding is growing at its fastest rate for 10 years. None of this would have been possible without our action to cut the deficit left by the last administration, and keep interest rates low."
Read: Working people claiming housing benefit 'is on the rise'
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Barack Obama: Mandela makes me want to be better
President Obama spoke about when he first learned about Nelson Mandela at school, and of how he was personally inspired by his struggle.
Watch the finale of his well-received speech:
Read more: Obama says 'we will never see the likes of Mandela again'
Crowd thins after President Obama's speech
Crowds starting to thin in stadium at #MandelaMemorial, not keen on speeches by various world leaders and prospect of address by Jacob Zuma.
Miliband praises 'remarkable' speech by Obama
Remarkable speech by President Obama, applying Nelson Mandela's cause to the future and to his own personal journey.
Abu Qatada demands civilian trial in Jordan
Abu Qatada, the radical cleric on trial in Jordan, has challenged the Jordanian authorities over the make-up of the judicial panel.
According to media reports, he protested against a military judge on the panel.
Mr Qatada said this was against the assurances given to him at the time he was fighting his deportation from the UK.
He said Jordanian authorities said the court would be independent and civilian.
His lawyer quoted a formal letter from the authorities to foreign secretary William Hague, which was part of the new treaty between Jordan and the UK.
The trial was adjourned in consideration of these claims until Christmas Eve.
Read: Abu Qatada leaves Britain after a near decade-long battle
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Thousands of mourners fill stadium for Mandela service
Read: Obama - 'We will never see the likes of Mandela again'
Flights begin landing at Stansted Airport
A Stansted spokesman said flights were landing again from around late morning, after a period of around three hours when no touchdowns were possible.
– Stansted spokesmanEarlier this morning an arriving Gulfstream G550 was involved in an incident that has resulted in some damage to our ILS. The aircraft landed safely.
As a result of this incident and low visibility, there have been restrictions on arriving flights. However, the fog has now lifted and arriving flights are now being accepted.
Departing flights are unaffected at this time but there could be delays and cancellations later in the day as a result of the earlier disruption to inbound aircraft.
Judge: fireworks organiser had "no reason to think it was a hazard"
The Judge presiding over the trial of an organiser of a firework display near the scene of a crash on the M5 said he had "no previous reason to think it was a hazard."
7 people died in the pile up on the motorway in 2011. Geoffrey Counsell was accused of failing to ensure the safety of others when smoke from a fireworks display blew onto the road before the crash.
But Judge Justice Simon directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty.
– Judge Justice SimonThe prosecution case required Mr Counsell to appreciate and react more or less instantly to something not thought to be a hazard to anyone and had no previous reason to think it was a hazard.He added: "There was no proper basis that you could have concluded that a reasonable person would have appreciated a reasonable risk and reacted to it to stop the display
Obama: 'We will never see the likes of Mandela again'
US President Barack Obama said the world would "never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again" as he delivered a speech at the anti-apartheid leader's memorial service.
He said: "We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. But let me say to the young people of Africa, and young people around the world - you too can make his life’s work your own.
"Over thirty years ago, while still a student, I learned of Nelson Mandela and the struggles in this beautiful land.
"It stirred something in me, it woke me up to my responsibilities - to others, and to myself - and set me on an improbable journey that finds me here today. And while I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be a better man, he speaks to what is best inside us.
"After this great liberator is laid to rest; when we have returned to our cities and villages, and rejoined our daily routines, let us search for his strength - let us search for his largeness of spirit - somewhere inside ourselves."
