UK News: Double dip fears see job market slow down

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation said permanent and temporary staff placements increased at their weakest rates for around a year last month.

Terror suspect's UK role

A TERRORIST suspect killed in a drone attack in Pakistan last month was a British man tasked with leading an al-Qaida group in the UK.

A senior Pakistani security source reportedly said that Abdul Jabbar was a British citizen and was living in Punjab, Pakistan.

Media pressure sparked benefits announcement

GEORGE Osborne brought forward his controversial child benefit announcement because of pressure from the media, Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan Smith has suggested.

The disclosure that the allowance was to be withdrawn from high-earners came early on Monday because journalists were "dwelling on this", he said.

He added that some of the criticisms of the move would be addressed when it was seen in the context of the comprehensive spending review.

Pregnant drinking 'safe'

WOMEN were advised that official guidance to avoid alcohol in pregnancy remained in place today after experts said drinking one or two units a week does not harm a child's development.

Mothers-to-be can safely drink a 175ml glass of wine, a 50ml glass of spirits or just under a pint of beer each week without affecting intellectual or behavioural development, according to a new study.

Coulson 'not unsackable'

PRIME Minister David Cameron has defended his director of communications Andy Coulson insisting there have been no complaints about his handling of 10 Downing Street's media operations, but said no-one in his team was "unsackable".

Wiltshire: A 26 million warehouse to store 8.4 million books and maps is being unveiled in Swindon today after one of the UK's most famous libraries ran out of space. The Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford, entitled to a copy of every book published in the UK, was running out of places to store works for decades, with the situation becoming increasingly "desperate", its head librarian said.

Birmingham: Sisters Sonia and Sharon Harris have defied the odds to each give birth to one white and one black child, it was reported today.