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Your support makes all the difference.Misery for many as rainclouds roll in
Parts of the UK face a weekend of weather misery as torrential rain sweeps in from the Atlantic Ocean and falls on already saturated ground. The Met Office has issued a number of yellow warnings for much of the country, including Eastern England, the Mid- lands and the South-west. The Environment Agency has issued 90 flood warnings.
Envoy opens peace talks with both sides
Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN’s special envoy to the Syrian crisis, met separately yesterday with members of the government and opposition in an attempt to broker a deal over the war-torn nation’s future. The talks focused on local ceasefires and prisoner swaps. MORE
Crime at its lowest since records began
Crime has fallen by 10 per cent to 8 million offences last year according to the Crime Survey of England and Wales – the lowest level since it started 32 years ago. The fall in the year to September 2013 is across most types of offences. MORE
State reverses ban on ‘Mein Kampf’
An edition of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, annotated with notes, will be released in early 2016 – following a reversal of a decision of the Bavarian state. Bavaria, which owns the copyright, had funded the project before blocking the idea, and then changing its mind again. MORE
Interest rate rise won’t be imminent
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said there is “no immediate need to increase interest rates”, after the jobless rate fell close to the 7 per cent at which he had said he would consider a rise. He told BBC’s Newsnight the change, when it comes, would be very gradual.
Men ‘should talk to GPs about cancer’
Men should start talking to doctors about prostate cancer after a survey found GPs often fail to initiate discussion, Prostate Cancer UK has said. A poll from the charity found that only one in 10 GPs broached the issue with men aged 50 and over who did not display symptoms.
‘Speeding’ Bieber has a taste of Miami vice
Canadian teenybopper Justin Bieber was arrested yesterday on charges of driving under the influence, drag racing and resisting arrest after allegedly speeding in a yellow Lamborghini in Miami. MORE
Watkins appeals against jail term
Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins is seeking leave to appeal against the length of his jail term for child sex offences, which including the attempted rape of a baby. The convicted paedophile was jailed for 29 years and will spend another six years on licence.
Protests may lead to crackdown – PM
Amid more clashes in the capital Kiev yesterday, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the Ukrainian government was ready to use all tools available to restore order if unrest continues. “Don’t put the government into an impasse,” Mr Azarov said. MORE
No action against drink-driving tweets
No further action will be taken against Staffordshire Police after it tweeted the names of people charged with drink-driving, the Information Commissioner’s Office said. The Office said it had been assured that the tweets had now stopped.
Woman gang-raped ‘on orders of elders’
A 20-year-old woman is in a critical condition after she was gang-raped, allegedly on the orders of her village council who objected to her relationship. The 13 suspects appeared at court in India’s West Bengal state and were remanded into custody. MORE
Forth Bridge bid for heritage status
The Forth Bridge has been put forward as a nomination for World Heritage status. The distinctive red railway structure linking Edinburgh and Fife could join a select group of sites across the world, including the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China.
Army declares war on body art and hair
The military has published a new code banning piercings, “pornographic tattoos” and out of control facial hair. The code also outlaws “discriminatory or pornographic motifs or content that breaches the values and norms of the constitution or criminal law”.
Noel Gallagher sounds off – shock
An expletive-ridden rant by former Oasis star Noel Gallagher, in which he trashes the band’s efforts at making promo videos, has become an online sensation. He summed up the band’s approach as “walking and playing and standing still – and looking bored”.
Why it’s farewell to the stethoscope
The stethoscope, one of the most iconic medical instrument of the past 200 years, could soon be a thing of a past. Ultrasound technology – which has been around since the 1950s – has, in recent years, been reduced in size, making it easier for doctors to use. MORE
U2 to launch song during Super Bowl
Rock giants U2 are to give away a new song – in a move expected to generate more than £1m – to help the fight against Aids, tuberculosis and malaria. The band, who are expected to release a new album shortly, will unveil “Invisible” on 2 February during the Super Bowl.
Ex-Baywatch star seeks fur sales ban
Actress and animal rights activist Pamela Anderson is asking Israel’s Prime Minister to back a petition supporting the banning of clothes made of animal fur. Fresh off a honeymoon in Israel, Ms Anderson wrote to Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to support the legislation.
87-hour TV viewing a new world record
Three men have set a new world record for watching television. Dan Jordan, Spencer Larson and Chris Laughlin watched the box for 87 hours at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. It was not immediately clear what programmes the men had watched.
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