Category: news

A Royal Marine from 42 Commando has been killed by a bomb in Afghanistan, says the Ministry of Defence.

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Monmouth Conservative AM Nick Ramsay has announced he will stand for the party leadership in the Welsh assembly.

The party’s chief whip told the BBC’s Politics Show Wales he had the required support of three or more other AMs.

He said Tories had to reach out to people who traditionally did not vote Conservative and there was a risk they “could go backwards” under a rival.

The contest comes after previous leader Nick Bourne lost his seat at the election. Nominations close on Monday.

Mr Ramsay’s colleagues Andrew RT Davies and Darren Millar are among those also believed to be considering standing.

Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies, the interim Welsh Tory leader, has said he will not be seeking the post on a long-term basis.

Mr Ramsay said: “I spent the last week talking to other AMs, party officials and my family and I’m now ready and want an open and fair contest.”

He added: “We cannot go backwards. I think there’s a very real danger that the Welsh Conservatives could go backwards under another candidate.

“It’s about making devolution work and strengthening our place in the UK.”

Nominees need the support of three other members of the assembly group, which consists of 14 AMs.

If there are more than two candidates then the group will have to decide which two names will be put to the membership.

The final result is expected in mid July.

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Israeli forces have fired on groups of protesters at borders with the Palestinian territories, Syria and Lebanon.

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Labour has claimed plans to forcibly retire police officers with more than 30 years’ service in England and Wales will not achieve substantial savings.

Research commissioned by shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, suggests it may even cost money initially, if officers choose to take lump sums.

The coalition’s Spending Review set police budget cuts at 20% by 2014-15.

The government has said that savings can be made without affecting front-line policing.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said 13 of the 43 police authorities in England and Wales intend to use clause A19, compelling some officers with more than 30 years’ service to retire – and it is estimated around 2,000 posts will go.

In the research commissioned by Ms Cooper, the House of Commons library calculated that if a constable on £36,500 a year retires, the net saving per year would be £2,500.

There would only be a similar saving if a chief superintendent on twice that salary retires, taking into account the cost of their police pension and the loss of tax and national insurance.

If an officer opted to take a lump sum payment, costs to the public purse will outweigh any savings in the first year of their retirement.

The government says the same procedure existed under Labour, and chief constables take both the “efficiency and effectiveness” of their forces into account before using it.

A Home Office spokesman said: “There are no additional costs to using A19. Hundreds of police officers retire every year after 30 years of service.

“It is a matter for individual chief constables, with their police authorities, to decide whether to use regulation A19. They are best placed to judge if this long-standing power should be used to ensure the efficiency of their force.”

Last week Sussex Police said 75 officers with 30 years’ service could be forced to retire this year as the force seeks to save £52m by 2015.

Chief Constable Martin Richards said it was a “very reluctant decision forced by the money debate”.

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The US rockers headline the first day of Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Carlisle with an 80-minute set packed with hits past and present.

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Voters in Zurich, Switzerland, reject proposed bans on assisted suicide and “suicide tourism” in a local referendum, early projections suggest.

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First Minister Carwyn Jones has defended his decision not to include a rural affairs minister in the Welsh Government cabinet.

Opposition parties have been critical, but Mr Jones said farming would now be represented by two cabinet ministers.

He said he ensured farming was under economic development, and a deputy minister had agriculture in his title.

He also told the BBC’s Politics Show Wales that governing would be difficult with no clear assembly majority.

Agriculture and food will fall under Business, Enterprise and Technology Minister Edwina Hart, a member of the cabinet, and some areas, such as animal health, will also fall under the portfolio of Environment and Sustainable Development Minister John Griffiths.

Blaenau Gwent AM Alun Davies is the deputy minister who also has responsibility for agriculture.

“The economy of rural Wales is bound up with the economy of urban Wales – they don’t exist separately,” said Mr Jones.

“Farming is an important part of Welsh life, which is why I have made sure there is a deputy minister with agriculture in the title as well who will be responsible for representing farming, fisheries and food development.”

Labour won 30 of the 60 seats at this month’s election, one short of an absolute majority.

Mr Jones announced after the election that the party would go it alone, after four years in coalition with Plaid Cymru from 2007.

He rejected suggestions that a smaller cabinet was a hint that there could be a coalition between now and the end of this assembly.

“The reason why the government is smaller is because we don’t need as many ministers,” said Mr Jones.

“In a coalition situation you quite often need more ministers, we didn’t need that.

“I want the government to be a little bit smaller than it’s been and there’s no point appointing a full squad of ministers and deputy ministers when there was no need to do so.”

Lord Elis-Thomas has joined the contest to replace Ieuan Wyn Jones after the Plaid Cymru leader announced he would step down some time in the next two-and-a-half years.

Asked about Lord Elis-Thomas’s claim that he expected Plaid to be back in government soon, the first minister said he had “noted” those comments.

“I cannot comment on what’s happening within Plaid. It’s quite clear now that within Plaid there are different views on what their future should be, that’s a matter for them,” he said.

Otherwise, he accepted that it would be hard ruling without a clear majority.

He joked that Labour AMs were being given vitamin pills, but added: “If people are ill that makes it difficult, no one will be able to not be in plenary when it sits and it’s right to say there will need to be discipline in the Labour group”.

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Kenny Dalglish talks about his cameo role in a movie about Liverpool’s 2005 European Champions League triumph against AC Milan.

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Rangers wrap up a third consecutive Scottish Premier League title with a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, to finish a point ahead of rivals Celtic.

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The US singer, who is headlining Radio 1’s Big Weekend, is the first celebrity to pass the 10 million follower mark.

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Seven of the 11 most wealthy sportspeople in the UK and Irish Republic are current and former racing drivers, according to the Sunday Times sport rich list.

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Police will decide this week whether to investigate a claim that Chris Huhne asked someone to take his penalty points for a speeding offence in 2003.

The Lib Dem cabinet minister has denied the allegation – which surfaced in newspaper stories after an interview with his estranged wife Vicky Pryce.

Backbench Labour MP Simon Danczuk has lodged a formal complaint with police.

Essex Police said the information would be passed to officers who would decide whether to launch an inquiry.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of allegations regarding a speeding offence in 2003. This information will be passed to officers who will decide on whether an investigation will be launched.”

“We take allegations such as this one extremely seriously and will take action where necessary.”

Mr Huhne, MP for Eastleigh, is Energy and Climate Change Secretary in the coalition government – and was narrowly beaten to the Lib Dem leadership by Nick Clegg in 2007.

He has been in the spotlight recently for his criticism of the Conservatives over their behaviour during the recent campaign over changing the UK voting system – which saw the two government parties on opposing sides of the argument.

He confirmed last year he was splitting from his wife of 25 years, economist Vicky Pryce, and was in a relationship with another woman.

His office has denied the allegation about a speeding offence dating back to 2003, when he was an MEP, saying they had been made before and been shown to be untrue.

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Japanese engineers abandon their latest plan to cool a reactor at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, after a hole is discovered in the containment chamber.

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Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee says he will not run for US president in elections in 2012.

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The government is planning to write into law for the first time the principles of the military covenant, the prime minister confirms.

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