United Kingdom

    A primary school pupil has been reported to police after allegedly being caught with cannabis in class. Officers were called to the school in South Lanarkshire on December 21. It is understood parents were notified about the incident before the end of term. A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "An 11-year-old male pupil at a primary school in South Lanarkshire has been referred to the Youth Justice Co-ordinator (a police officer within the Restorative Justice Department) for alleged drugs offences. "A decision has still to be made as to disposal - whether a referral to the Early and Effective Intervention Co-ordinator - a multi-agency team with a social work lead - or a police report to the Scottish Children's Reporter Administrator." A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Cou...

    Property tycoon used fake plates to dodge parking charges on his fleet of luxury cars A millionaire businessman used fiddled with number plates and tax discs on his fleet of luxury cars so he could escape parking charges. Shameless property tycoon Julian King carried out the scam so he could park in residents bays and on double yellow lines without it being traced back to him. The company director used the dodgy plates and discs on his Porsche, Ranger Rover, Mercedes, Audi and BMW cars. But parking he was eventually traced to his address on Withdean Road, Brighton, Sussex and charged with three parking offences. The 43-year-old was fined £8,000 for fraudulently using a vehicle registration mark and one of possessing an article in connection with fraud at Brighton Magistrat...

    In order to clamp down on the thieves - described by one victim as the "scum of the earth" - police in the Calderdale Valleys region have accepted help from motorcycle clubs to provide extra patrols. Some thieves are preying on flood victims who have left their property out to dry, according to West Yorkshire Police in the Calderdale Valleys. On Dec. 28, 2015, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron visited the flood-hit historic city of York as cities, towns and villages across northern England battled to get back on their feet following the devastating flood. Several homes were evacuated in Yorkshire and Lancashire, due to overflowing of rivers in Manchester, Hebden Bridge and Leeds. Severe flood warnings, including those indicating a danger to life, were issued. The army...

    Insurance companies have visited areas struck by floods to advise people on how to make claims after some of the worst flooding for several years. Teams from Aviva are on the ground in Yorkshire and Lancashire to meet customers who have been flooded and help them in the recovery process once the waters subside. NFU Mutual, which supports rural communities, has also activated its emergency plans to support people. Rob Townend, UK claims director for Aviva, said: "Property damage as a result of flooding or storms is one of the most traumatic events that a homeowner and business can suffer. "This trauma places huge responsibilities on us, the insurance industry. We can't stop the weather, but we can work tirelessly to support our customers affected by the events brought by th...

    York, the city of north England flooding Engineers have been examining how to restore power to the Foss barrier building while troops spent Sunday stacking sandbags, until they ran out, forcing the council to beg neighbouring authorities for help. Thousands of homes in northern England have been left without power, with almost 6,000 hoping to be reconnected today. One of the flooded substations was in Rochdale, which five years ago had its flood defences given a £470,000 upgrade to protect power supplies against a "1-in-200-year" flood. Teams from insurance companies have been on the ground in the affected areas. Customers have been advised to get their claims started as soon as possible and to take photos of damaged items. Aviva's Rob Townend said: "Any damage caused...

    The UK is set to become the best performing economy in western Europe next year, and is likely to overtake powerhouses Germany and Japan in the 2030s, a report said today. The World Economic League Table from think tank the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), said the UK is set to rise up the world rankings due to the strength of its IT and software industries as well as its culturally diverse workforce. The UK is currently the fifth largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) worth three trillion US dollars (£2 trillion) this year, behind Germany at 3.3 trillion US dollars (£2.2 trillion), and Japan in third spot at 4.1 trillion US dollars (£2.7 trillion). The US remains the richest country in the world with a GDP worth 18 trillion US ...

    Shoppers from overseas with a penchant for luxury goods helped to fuel a Boxing Day sales bonanza as millions hit the stores, leading experts to suggest that reports about the death of the high street have been premature. Retail analysts said wealthy tourists from China and the Middle East were spending four or five times as much as their British counterparts on items such as jewellery, watches and designer handbags. There were claims that shoppers were on course to spend a record £3.74bn in the Boxing Day sales. Selfridges said it had enjoyed its most successful ever first hour of trading, taking more than £2m from 9am-10am. There were nearly 4,000 people snaking around the outside of the department store even before it opened its doors. Harrods saw one of its biggest que...

    It was the day the floodwaters inexorably advanced across the Pennines, leaving much of the north of England sodden and beleaguered. From Greater Manchester in the north-west to parts of North Yorkshire some 50 miles to the east, Boxing Day 2015 will be remembered as the day the rains came. In Todmorden, in West Yorkshire’s Calder Valley, Rebecca Marshall was last night facing the grim prospect of having to abandon her home as the floodwaters slowly rose around her house. The incessant rains had left the little town cut off after all the roads in and out were flooded. By late afternoon the waters were “inches” from the top of the local defence wall and Marshall was stuck inside her home without electricity. Then floodwaters started to rise through her floorboards. “At the ...

    Heavy rains continue to cause more flooding in northern England, with several homes being evacuated in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and rivers overflowing in Manchester, Hebden Bridge and Leeds. Severe flood warnings, including those indicating a danger to life, have been issued. The army has been deployed to some villages to bolster flood defense. The Met Office has warned of further rainfall for northern England, Scotland and Wales. The Prime Minister has promised to send more troops to "do whatever is needed" to help people in large swathes of northern England stricken by floods. Thousands of people are being evacuated after "unprecedented" levels of rain have caused rivers to burst their banks and left homes under water in York, Leeds and Manchester. The Government has vo...

    The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby Jihadists driven by vision of 'apocalypse' warns Welby in stark Christmas message Britain's two most senior clerics have drawn on the darker side of the nativity story in hard-hitting Christmas sermons warning of the possible "elimination" of Christianity from the region of its birth. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, both draw comparisons between the Biblical account of the mass murder of children around Bethlehem on the orders of King Herod and the 21st Century Jihadist threat. In his Christmas morning sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Archbishop Welby is expected to warn that that the so-called Islamic State group - a...