UK News: Police prepare for a Mumbai-style attack

Security chiefs are staging a counter-terrorism exercises with police sharpshooters training alongside the elite SAS. It follows the interception of an al Qaida-linked plot.

Gel alternative to Pill

A NEW contraceptive gel that is applied directly to the skin could offer women an alternative to the Pill.

The clear gel is put on once a day and works by delivering a dose of hormones to prevent pregnancy. Users have reported none of the typical side effects associated with the Pill, such as weight gain and acne.

Osborne under fire over '6bn shortfall' for NHS

An AGEING population and inflation-busting health costs will leave the NHS around 6 billion a year short, despite government promises to protect its funding, a leading think-tank said today.

Chancellor George Osborne said the NHS budget would rise by 0.1 per cent a year in real terms over the next four years.

But King's Fund chief economist John Appleby said that would be more than wiped out by the cost of drugs and medical technology rising faster than other prices.

Queen welcomes Sheikh

The Queen will officially welcome the Emir of Qatar to Britain today with a ceremony full of pomp and pageantry.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani will be the monarch's guest at Windsor Castle on his three-day state visit with one of his three wives, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned.

The government is attempting to "re-energise" Britain's standing with the Gulf states.

Miliband gets an Ed start

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband got a boost today as an opinion poll put Labour ahead of the Tories.

The Populus survey showed Labour up one point to 38 per cent while the Tories dropped two to 37 per cent and the Liberal Democrats gained one to reach 15 per cent.

South Wales: Two 15-year-old boys suspected of murdering a schoolgirl were being questioned by police today. Rebecca Aylward's body was found in woodland in the village of Aberkenfig, Bridgend. A post-mortem examination found she died of head injuries, reportedly caused by a brick.

London: The UK capital will be without full-time fire cover on one of the busiest nights of the year after firefighters announced a strike on Bonfire Night. Thousands are due to walk out from 10am on November 5 to 9am on November 7, covering one of the service's busiest periods.