Harry Potter and the prisoners of the traffic jam: JK Rowling causes four days of travel chaos outside her home after installing temporary lights so she can have her Leylandii bush trimmed

Harry Potter's JK Rowling causes travel chaos in Edinburgh having her Leylandii bush

Most of us can trim the bushes in a day but attending to the hedges around J K Rowling's sprawling luxury home in Edinburgh is an ongoing job that has needed a four-way traffic light system. The lights have caused tailbacks for miles and no doubt left drivers wishing they had a magic broomstick. The situation has been dubbed 'chaos' by onlookers who are desperate for the job to end. Many residents are now wondering how much longer it will take because of long tailbacks being created leading one to dub the situation traffic 'chaos' because of queues on surrounding roads. One onlooker said: 'The hedges are obviously to stop people looking into her property. 'It's just taking ages for them to cut the bush back. The gardeners have been here three days and have finished the front of the garden.

Blind Commonwealth rower sues his close friends for millions after he broke his back in three places after falling out of a window at their home during the Henley regatta

Commonwealth medallist suing friends after accident during Henley regatta

Mark Pollock, who was also the first blind man to reach the South Pole, suffered a 'catastrophic spinal chord injury' when he plunged 25ft onto a patio, his barrister Christopher Wilson-Smith QC told the High Court. The 39-year-old (pictured with his partner Simone George) who was also the first blind man to reach the South Pole, is taking legal action against Enda and Madeline Cahill following the fall at their Henley home. Mr Pollock fractured his skull, had bleeding on the brain and was left wheelchair-dependent after breaking his back in three places.

Google reveals 'terrifyingly scary' timeline feature that can show you your location history stretching back YEARS

Call Timeline, it is designed to allow users of the firm's online maps to see the places they frequent most often. However, some users took to twitter to describe the feature as 'scary'.

LORRAINE CANDY: So at what age CAN you leave kids home alone? 

Is nearly 13 too young to be left home alone? Lorraine Candy tries to decide whether she trusts her almost teenager enough to give her the run of the house, sofa and remote control.

Fraud alert over new tap and pay bank cards: Thieves use scanners to steal account details - even when contactless card is in your wallet

EA6YR0 Customer Making Purchase Using Contactless Payment

Tests by consumer group Which? show that thieves armed with scanners can capture the numbers and expiry dates on contactless cards during transactions and use them for online purchases.

Embarrassed by a burgeoning middle-aged bust? A £50 cream can shrink it! It sounds hokum - but we've done a scientific test

'I used two different creams, one on each breast, for a month, and had my breasts professionally measured before and after,' writes ANGELA EPSTEIN.

'She was a beautiful young woman who had all her life ahead of her': Heartbroken father of British bungee jump victim, 23, who died in plunge from Spanish bridge reveals family's shock at her tragic death

Kleyo de Abreu's father in shock at tragic death of aspiring student in France

An aspiring British fashion student who died after crashing into a bridge as she bungee-jumped was a 'beautiful young woman who had all her life ahead of her', her distraught father has said. Kleyo de Abreu Atwell (pictured right), 23, was killed instantly after jumping off of a modern bridge (inset) near the mountain village of Lanjaron and smashing into the old stone Tablate Bridge below. Her father Bernard Atwell (pictured left with his daughter) yesterday said relatives are in shock at the death of the aspiring fashion and design student, who he described as 'sweet, caring, bubbly and focused'.

Newsnight star is the First Lady of BBC politics: Laura Kuenssberg becomes corporation's first female political editor 

Laura Kuenssberg, 38, said she was 'honoured' and 'delighted' after it was announced that she would take over from Nick Robinson, as the BBC'S first woman political editor.

I've seen inside my daughter's mind and learned a humbling lesson: SARAH VINE on the extraordinary new film every mother MUST see

Sarah Vine on the new film Inside Out that lets her see inside her child's mind and emotions. It tells the story of Riley, 11, (r), and her Emotions, including Joy (l) and Sadness (c).

Secret files 'show MI5 let abuse claim MP off hook' after security chief said the case would 'embarrass the Government'

Newly-released papers reveal that in 1986 the then MI5 director general looked at claims against an unnamed MP. Other files related to other Westminster figures including Leon Brittan (pictured).

Can Russell Brand sink any lower? Comedian triggers even more disgust after branding the Queen a 'Kraut Nazi' during rant on social media 

Controversial comedian Russell Brand (pictured) posted the expletive-laden diatribe on his social media accounts on Monday and branded the Queen 'Mrs Bratwurst-Kraut-Nazi'.

Why I let my daughters see me (and my family and friends) stark naked: Bonkers? No, this mother says it's best way to stop children growing up hating their own bodies

Jess Spiring lets daughters see her (and my family and friends) stark naked

Mother-of-two Jess Spiring, pictured with her daughters Bibi, 3, left, and Matilda, 5, right, lets her children shower with her, and with some family friends. Seeing how comfortable they are with nudity in all its forms makes her proud. She sees it as part of her crusade to beat the body issues blighting children's childhoods.

He's a green Bean! Rowan Atkinson swaps his £8m McLaren F1 supercar for electric BMW that does 100 miles on a full charge

Rowan Atkinson swaps £8m McLaren F1 supercar for electric BMW

The Mr Bean actor has been seen in an electric BMW i3 (main image), which costs £30,000 and has a top speed of 93mph. It is in stark contrast to his prized F1 (inset, left), one of only 64 in the world, which was capable of reaching a thrilling 240mph. The 60-year-old, who recently bought a house in North London, sold the supercar earlier this year, 18 years after he paid £634,000 for it. His new runaround will also save the Blackadder star a significant sum on his insurance bill. The annual cost to insure his F1, which he once crashed into a tree in 2011 (inset, right), was said to be around £60,000. In 2013 he successfully claimed £910,000 from his insurers to fix the supercar - the highest repair bill ever recorded in Britain.

Labour could face FOUR election defeats: Blair warns of disaster if party lurches to the left under leadership frontrunner Corbyn 

Britain's former Prime Minister and former Labour Party leader, Tony Blair, reacts at an event attended by Labour supporters in central London on July 22, 2015. Blair weighed in on the leadership contest in Britain's opposition Labour party as a new poll electrified the race by putting leftwinger Jeremy Corbyn ahead. Blair, a moderniser who was Labour's longest-serving premier, urged the party to avoid tacking to the left if it is to recover from a crushing defeat in May's general election and win the next one in 2020.   AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

In a speech in central London as a poll put leftwinger Jeremy Corbyn ahead in the leadership race, the three-times election winner told Labour: 'Don't for heaven's sake move back.'

One eye throbbing, he kept lapsing into aw-shucks burbles: QUENTIN LETTS sees Tony preach to the faithful 

Tony Blair's contribution to the Labour leadership rumpus in the City of London yesterday took the form of a speech and an interview with some glottal-stoppy comedian, writes QUENTIN LETTS.

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Labour's pantomime is no laughing matter 

The idea that Jeremy Corbyn - the bearded old class-warrior and Morning Star columnist - is the man to lead the party out of the wilderness is perhaps the oddest joke of all.

The REAL Crocodile Dundee: The hunter who has killed more than 20,000 of beasts in an incredible 37-year career 

REAL Crocodile Dundee Crocodile Mick has killed over 20k in a 37-year career 

'Crocodile Mick' is a the second-generation crocodile hunter who has killed at least 20,000 of the animals in a 37-year career in the Northern Territory (above, inset). But there is no catch he is prouder of than the 4.9 metre beast he spent four weeks stalking in a remote waterhole the dead of the night, after farmers complained it was killing too many of their cattle. Mick was forced to ambush the croc in its nest, which was filled with the remains of dead animals.

BBC news presenters' portraits - taken by £20,000-a-DAY photographer: Rankin was hired for marketing campaign as director general was complaining about cuts 

The BBC was accused of a 'baffling' and 'wilful' waste of public funds, after Rankin was booked for a photo-shoot with Yalda Hakim, a presenter on BBC World News.

Demi Moore still has not drained her swimming pool three days after man drowned in it... 'nor does law require her to'

13131,  FILE PHOTOS:  Arial videos of Demi Moore's Beverly Hills pool where late last night the body of a 21 year old party goer was found drowned.  Sources say Moore nor her children were home at the time.Original caption: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA.  December, 2006.  Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher live in this nearly 5000 square foot home in Beverly Hills.  The home was originally built in 1957 and has just undergone a complete renovation.   The four bedroom and four bath home overlooks a canyon. \nPhotograph: Mike Carrillo, Celebrityhomephotos.com **FEES MUST BE AGREED BEFORE USE** UK: +44 131 225 3333/3322 US: +1 310 261 9676

TMZ published aerial photos of the 52-year-old's home showing the pool still filled with the same water that drowned 21-year-old Edenilson Steven Valle at a party early on Sunday morning

Children as young as eight unhappy with their body image, study shows

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, King's College London and Harvard tracked the progress of 6,000 children from their primary years to the age of 14.

Let her appeal! MPs back woman, 58, who was branded too old to adopt her granddaughter

Pressure was growing yesterday for the Southend couple prevented from adopting their only grandchild because they were 'too old' to be allowed to appeal.

Hair salon worker, 17, accidentally killed herself by overdosing on paracetamol after complaining of stomach ache

Huddersfield's Georgia Littlewood accidentally killed herself with paracetamol

Georgia Littlewood, 17, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, died of liver failure after apparently taking as many as three times the recommended dose of painkillers. The teenager had called in sick to the hairdressers where she worked at weekends as office clerk, on the morning of March 28, and was rushed to hospital in the early hours of the following morning after vomiting during the night while staying with her boyfriend, Tom Keen.

'I saw the grenades roll towards me. Boom! They blew me across the room': Explosive minute-by-minute account of the Iranian Embassy siege as one of the heroes of the SAS's finest hour sells his medals

Iran Embassy siege hero sells medals and tells minute-by-minute story of SAS's finest hour

On the evening of May 5, 1980, the SAS conducted a stunning raid on the Iranian Embassy in Knightsbridge (pictured left and inset) to end a six-day siege in which 26 people had been taken hostage. Sergeant Bob Curry (right), who has just sold his medals for £20,000, was among those to take part in what was arguably the SAS's finest hour. Here, we piece together a minute-by-minute account of the raid using the testimony of those involved - from SAS soldiers, the terrified hostages, and even the terrorists themselves.

How to rake in £17million a year without leaving your spare room: First-ever eBay rich list ranks the top 30 Brits who've made their fortunes on the site

The Power 30 UK Index, which ranks the site's biggest 30 independent sellers, shows that the country's top eBay sellers have an average annual turnover of nearly £4million.

Why hot yoga should carry a health warning: Bikram yoga - done in heated rooms - has never been trendier. But it can leave you in agony

Loved by celebrities including Jennifer Aniston (left) and Gwyneth Paltrow, Bikram yoga has never been more popular. But experts say the exercise done in 43c heat should come with more warnings.

What does YOUR music taste say about you? Sex pistols fans love to be organised, while Taylor Swift listeners have more empathy, finds study

Researchers at Cambridge University found that music listeners usually fall into one of two camps: those who are empathisers, and those who are systemisers.

SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Ex-fiance of Mayfair death plunge victim Scot Young makes her first public appearance since his inquest

Reality TV star Noelle Reno wore a thigh-skimming leather mini-dress as she appeared back on the London social scene at a charity do following the inquest into her ex Scot Young's death.

Pictured: The British girl, 12, who died on a school trip to France after 'pontoon collapsed causing children to fall into a lake'

Brit Jessica Lawson dies on Wolfreton School trip to France

The girl, named locally as Jessica Lawson, pictured left, was staying at the Maury camp in Liginiac, in the central Correze department, with a party from Wolfreton School in Hull. According to early an initial investigation, she was on a pontoon, pictured inset, with classmates on Tuesday afternoon when the temperature was extremely high. The structure is believed to have collapsed, causing a group of children to fall into Lake Triouzoune, which is supervised by lifeguards. Devastated friends yesterday laid flowers at the school gates (pictured right).

Villagers' fury at plans to build 10,000-capacity Islamic burial ground in the heart of the countryside 

The 27-acre cemetery in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, would use electric caddies to transport bodies in wicker caskets while the bereaved can take eco-friendly golf buggies to visit graves.

Almost 200,000 names on scammers' list of victims: Crackdown on fraudulent mail finds average age of people targeted on 'suckers list' is 74

National Trading Standards said the average age of those on the fraudulent mail lists was 74, revealing how criminals target older, more vulnerable people like pensioners.

Wish you weren't here! Astonishing pictures show thousands of British tourists packing out Benidorm beaches as record numbers head for Spain in wake of Tunisia terror attacks

British tourists pack out Spain's beaches in wake of Tunisia terror attacks 

Thousands are flocking to the seaside resort of Benidorm, on Spain's east coast, as families seek value-for-money holidays after the mass shooting in Tunisia in June. Sunbathers have been pictured cramming on to the Levante and Poniente beaches as it was revealed Spain has set a new record for visitors, with 29.2 million descending on the country in the six months to June - 4.2 per cent more than the same period in 2014. Earlier this month, the Daily Mail revealed how 300,000 Britons who had been planning to visit Tunisia have been left to look for alternatives, after the Government advised against travelling there following the recent terror attack.

Agony of the women who endure 'that time of the month' EVERY DAY

Ailsa Frank, 48, from Surrey, (right) has contended with constant bleeding for more than 20 years. Kelly Hockings, 33, from North London, (left) also suffered for over a decade.

DR MAX PEMBERTON: How can smirking police turn a blind eye to a drug I know sends people psychotic?

When it comes to cannabis, I am resolute in my position: it's dangerous and should remain illegal. That's based on clear evidence that cannabis ruins lives, writes DR MAX PEMBERTON.

Posing with 'Mustafa Spliff' - crime tsar in cannabis storm: Commissioner accused of 'abusing his position' after picture of him with pro-legalisation campaigner emerges

Mustafa Spliff

Ron Hogg, the police and crime commissioner for County Durham, sparked a furious backlash as he last night admitted letting off cannabis users with a warning or caution, 'almost one a day'.

'I lost my fiancee, my house, my kids': As Ashley Madison users face exposure by hackers, other cheaters reveal how their lives were destroyed after they were caught 

After Ashley Madison hack, Whisper users reveal how their lives were destroyed by cheating

Let these stories serve as a cautionary tale that cheating nearly never leads to a happy ending. After the hacking of adulterous dating site Ashley Madison has left thousands of cheaters at risk of being exposed to their jilted significant others, people who've been caught straying in the past are coming out of the woodwork to share their own stories of being unfaithful, using the Whisper app.

Scarred by boarding school: We've all read of boys horribly abused at prep school. Now meet the women who say emotional cruelty left them traumatised 

Judith Okely, in her late sixties, who boarded in a remote Isle of Wight school, and Margaret Laughton, 78, (pictured) who attended a school in the Midlands, share their experiences.

Riots in Greece as Parliament approves key reforms needed to unlock huge international bailout funds

Protesters lobbed petrol bombs and clashed with security forces in Greece last night ahead of the crucial vote in parliament which could unlock much-needed international bailout funds.

Ikea recalls 27 MILLION 'Malm' chest and dressers after two US children were crushed to death by the unanchored furniture

Customers around the world, including ones in the U.S. and Australia, have been reminded they have free access to a wall-anchoring kit for furniture giant IKEA's (pictured) MALM range.

When I said make a birdie... Shocking moment seagull explodes in ball of feathers after being hit by golfer's wayward drive

Seagull explodes in ball of feathers after being hit by golfer's drive in video

This is the horrible moment a golfer killed a seagull after teeing off and hitting the bird head on with a wayward shot. After hitting his tee shot, the man recoils in horror as the unfortunate bird explodes into a ball of feathers upon impact (middle). The video was uploaded to YouTube by Jordan Wright of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Suspect, 23, is arrested after man and woman are brutally murdered at house in quiet Essex village 

Police were called to the property in this street in the village of Stansted Mountfitchet at around 11pm where they discovered the man and woman inside.

New prenup that means partners who stray will lose everything

Certificate of pre-nuptial agreement (prenuptial agreement).

Growing numbers of brides and grooms drawing up a prenuptial agreement are insisting on an infidelity penalty clause, top divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag has revealed.

E-cigarettes are just as addictive as the real thing, researchers warn

In this photo illustration a woman smokes an e-cigarette on April 2, 2014 in London, England. Wales is considering a ban on the smoking of electronic cigarettes in enclosed public places.  (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

A new study warned that because e-liquids contain the most addictive form of nicotine and many bottles of the liquid are mislabeled as to their level of the drug, they are causing major problems.

'You're killing people Harry!' Bin man recalls moment he realised driver had collapsed in Glasgow lorry crash which left six shoppers dead

Mother of Jacqueline McQuade hears how Glasgow bin lorry crash driver was slumped

Matthew Telford (right) and Henry Toal (left) were in the refuse truck with driver Harry Clarke when it mounted a pavement in the city centre and ploughed into shoppers, just days before Christmas. Today, at an inquiry into the tragedy, Mr Telford told families of the victims at Glasgow Sheriff Court how there was nothing he could do to stop the runaway lorry, and spoke of his terror as it hurtled through the city before crashing into a hotel.

Major Alzheimer's breakthrough as scientists unveil new drug that slows progression of the disease by 30%

Clinical trials show solanezumab can slow the progression of the illness, if given to patients early enough, according to data presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International conference.

Scientists say humans really could become IMMORTAL like the characters in new film Self/Less, but only if they're wealthy

University of Arizona researcher, Wolfgang Fink, says that while the technology remains in the realm of science fiction, the ability to create immortal humans may not be all that far-fetched.

Mother was right! Scientists find the secret to feeling fuller for longer is to eat slowly 

A study by scientists from the University of Bristol found people who eat more slowly feel fuller and think they have eaten more than those who eat quickly.

How your supermarket oregano is bulked up with cheaper leaves

Nineteen out of 78 products tested by experts at Which? contained other ingredients - raising suspicions that other dried herbs and spices on supermarket shelves may not be what they seem.

ISIS thugs chop off suspected robber's hand in front of massive crowd of men and young boys

ISIS thugs chop of 'robber's' hand in front of crowd of men and young boys

GRAPHIC WARNING: In front of a massive crowd of men and very young boys, three masked ISIS fighters hold the suspected robber down while their fellow militant strikes the sharpened blade resting on their wrists. In April, MailOnline uncovered a document which detailed the punishments ISIS has set out for those who disobey its strict interpretation of Shariah Law. It clearly states that thieves will have their hands cut off. Adulterers who engage in a sexual relationship are stoned to death, while couples who have an affair without sexual contact can expect the more lenient punishment of 100 lashes and 'banishment' from the community.

Trail of destruction: The world heritage tourist sites wiped off the map by ISIS in their relentless rampage against history

As ISIS continue to seize control in Iraq and Syria some of the world's most prized Unesco tourism gems have crumbled in their wake, and 2,000-year-old relics are turning up for sale on eBay.

EXCLUSIVE - British jihadi bride did nothing as I was raped and beaten with a pipe by her brutal ISIS thug husband: Yazidi sex slave reveals her horrifying ordeal

The Yazidi woman (pictured) recognised her captor's British accent - and after being shown pictures of potential Britons, she pointed to the one of Manchester schoolgirl Salma Halane.

'ISIS will fill the streets of Paris with dead bodies': French jihadi's vile threat as he shoots Syrian soldier in the head and kicks his body off a cliff

In a vile 'message' directed towards the people of France, the masked militant spoke in perfect French before brutally executing a Syrian army prisoner by shooting him in the head

I'm not a love bird! The awkward moment a US backpacker was targeted by an amorous emu as he lay on his back to take photos of it in the Australian outback

The moment an emu tried to mate with a US backpacker in the Australian outback

A US backpacker who went to extra lengths to take a photo with an emu while lying on the ground in outback Australia was left speechless when the giant bird attempted to have sex with him. His friend who stood on the side, laughed uncontrollably while he captured the whole scene on camera.

EasyJet is accused of selling tickets for seats that don't exist and then forcing passengers to take roundabout routes to destinations when flights sell out 

EasyJet, the UK's biggest budget airline, has been accused of overbooking tickets for flights and then forcing passengers to take longer routes to their destination when the flights sell out.

Worse than the Yorkshire Ripper: Former prison officer who guarded Peter Sutcliffe and Charles Bronson claims notorious prisoners have nothing on child vandals terrorising his home 

Former prison warden Ronald Kent, 71, from Llansamlet, in Swansea, guarded Yorkshire ripper Peter Sutcliffe and serial killer Dennis Nielsen during his 25-year career before he retired.

Does taking the Pill make women better at loading the dishwasher and map reading? Hormones in contraceptives 'boost spatial awareness', study claims

Pennsylvania State University researchers found women taking pills such as Cilest and Yasmin, which lower the amount of the hormone oestrogen in the body, performed better in spatial awareness tasks.

Is this the end of cataract operations? New eye drops dissolve the deposits that cause cloudy vision

Opthalmologists from University of California discovered that a chemical called lanosterol that is naturally present in healthy eyes can break up the clumps that cloud the lens.

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DON'T MISS

Haven't we met before Mr Bond? Spectres from the past are revealed in trailer for 007's £200m new movie

Spectre trailer includes figures from previous James Bond movies

The latest, £200million instalment in the 007 series, Spectre, appears to have lifted key scenes, characters and set-pieces from previous Bond movies. The two-and-a-half minute clip, released yesterday to much excitement from fans, contains sequences (top left and top right) reminiscent of classics such as From Russia With Love (bottom left) and For Your Eyes Only (bottom right). The opening seconds show Bond, played by Daniel Craig, blasting his way through Mexico's Day of the Dead festivities, harking back to 1965's Thunderball when Sean Connery's 007 is pursued through the Junkanoo Mardi Gras celebrations in Nassau by agents of Spectre - the same criminal organisation that gives the new film its name. In Mexico a character is shown in a skeleton mask (top, second from right), similar to the look of the villainous Baron Samedi (bottom, second from right) in 1973's Live And Let Die. Christoph Waltz, 58, is the new film's villain (top, second from left), although there is also a resemblance to Dr No (bottom, second from left).

Pythons kill by heart attack: Snakes actually cut off the blood supply of their prey rather than kill them by suffocation 

Snakes fed anaesthetised rats in a study in Pennsylvania first bit them, then constricted them with at least two loops, creating two points of pressure around the ribcage or abdomen.

I've adder really bad day! Boy survives falling 100ft from a cliff... before poisonous snake bites him 

Brock Leach, 14, of Tintagel, Cornwall, tumbled over a cliff edge and bounced off outcrops and rocks before landing on a ledge. As he tried to get up he was bitten on the arm by an adder.

Ex-Sock Shop boss in £4,000 benefits fraud: New disgrace for former tycoon who had previously been jailed for corruption and defrauding his high-street empire 

Stephen Hinchliffe, 65, from Sheffield, Yorkshire, lied to welfare officials about a change of circumstances affecting his entitlement to pension credits, but was spared jail this time.

Incredible bravery of the Afghanistan war hero blown apart by a Taliban bomb taking his first steps towards his dream of walking unaided to the Cenotaph and laying a wreath on Remembrance Sunday

Afghanistan war hero Rick Clement blown up by Taliban bomb takes first steps after losing

Sergeant Rick Clement, from Chatham, Lancashire, who lost both legs after stepping on a Taliban bomb while serving in Afghanistan in 2010, has now taken his first steps (pictured) since being blown up. With concentration etched on his face, the 35-year-old gripped a handrail as he tentatively took his first steps with the help of two £50,000 mechanical legs at the Specialist Mobility Rehabilitation Centre in Preston. It comes five years after the IED explosion in Helmand Province (pictured in Afghanistan, inset) which left him with life-changing injuries, unable to have sex or children and fearing he would never walk again. Since then, he has not only launched his own charity - A Soldiers Journey, which has already raised a quarter of a million pounds - but embarked on an intense rehabilitation plan. His goal now is to walk to the Cenotaph in London to lay a wreath on Remembrance Day.

One in five young drivers take selfies at the wheel: Motorists also found to be using tablets to make video calls and watch films

Up to one in five young drivers are risking their lives by taking 'selfies' at the wheel, while motorists are also using their phones and tablets to make video calls or watch films while driving.

'Science is telling us that time is running out': UN climate chief warns the world is 'playing with fire' unless agreement on climate change is reached at international summit

Christiana Figueres, climate chief, is trying to broker a landmark global climate deal with more than 190 nations in Paris in December in what could be the 'last chance for a meaningful agreement'.

Thug who subjected his girlfriend to a long-running campaign of violence stabbed her to death with a pair of scissors after a petty row over their pet lobster is jailed for life 

Investigators found a note from Joanne Harrison, pictured, that read 'you and I just aren't meant to be', when they found her dead in the house in Wigan she shared with Christopher Foley, pictured.

May pledges review of custody deaths: Home Secretary says she is determined to make process easier to help bereaved families get answers

Home Secretary Theresa May.
Theresa May who will join Barack Obama at a Washington summit on tackling international violent extremism.  


PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Wednesday February 18, 2015. See PA story POLITICS Terror. Photo credit should read: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire

Theresa May is set to announce an independent review into deaths and serious incidents which occur in police custody during a speech on the relationship between the public and the police.

Universities 'are doing too much research': Report says institutions are more concerned about their reputation for experiments than delivering good teaching 

The Institute of Economic Affairs warns universities are focusing too much energy into producing research instead of concentrating on helping students, who pay £9,000 a year , to learn.

Disgraced former News of the World editor Andy Coulson is ordered to pay £150,000 towards hacking trial costs by judge 

Prosecutors had asked for £750,000 towards the cost of the eight-month Old Bailey trial, at which Andy Coulson was convicted and ex- News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks was acquitted.

A visit from great grandad! Prince Philip joins George to celebrate his second birthday with a family party at Kate and William's home

Prince George's birthday at Kate Middleton and Prince William's Anmer Hall home

Prince George (pictured top right) turns two years old today and he is celebrating with a party at Anmer Hall in Norfolk. Guests started to arrive at 4pm for the bash, with Prince Philip among the first to show up (left) . Earlier, a postman was seen delivering presents (bottom right) to the country retreat on the Sandringham estate.

Secondary school crisis looms as pupil numbers soar by 20% in the next decade fuelled by immigration and baby boom

Picture (Device Independent Bitmap) 1.jpg

The Department for Education expects there to be half a million more pupils in secondary schools schools in England by 2024 compared today, push the figure to almost 3.3million.

A villa with a pool in Tuscany, a four-bed chateau in France or a one-bedroom flat in London: What £250,000 will buy you around the world revealed

In many areas of London quarter of a million pounds will buy you a one-bedroom flat, but elsewhere in the world, it can secure you a property with a swimming pool, stunning views and sprawling gardens.

United Airbus makes emergency landing after sick passenger sparks chain reaction of flyers feeling unwell

One person was taken to hospital after the flight from Denver to Los Angeles was forced to touch down in Grand Junction Regional Airport, Colorado. Fifteen people had reported feeling sick onboard.

PICTURE EXCLUSIVE She's found her sea legs! Rebel Wilson lives up to her name as she displays her daredevil side during flyboarding session in Ibiza

Rebel Wilson lives up to her name during flyboarding session in Ibiza

The Australian funnywoman, 35, is currently enjoying an extended break with boyfriend Mickey Gooch, but took time out of lying around the pool to play daredevil on Tuesday. Clad in a life jacket and a protective helmet, the Pitch Perfect star looked keen to show off her skills on the water, proving herself adept as she shot out of the sea and maintained her balance, all while under the watchful eye of an instructor on a jet ski.

SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Queen drops in on bash for her favourite man in tights

Her Majesty was guest of honour at the 55th birthday celebration of royal television commentator Alastair Bruce, which was held at the headquarters of the London Scottish Regiment this week.

George and William's most memorable moments: Photographer who has spent the last two years documenting the prince's life says the two are now MORE alike than ever

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran royal photographer Chris Jackson has chosen his favourite moments from Prince George's life so far - and says the prince, who celebrates his birthday today, is just like his father.

Incredible moment mother listens to her son's heartbeat 23 years on from his death in a road accident after putting her head to the stranger who received it in a transplant 

Embracing Daniel Titley, this is the moment that Gillian Norris was able to listen to her son's heartbeat, 23 years on from his death in a road traffic accident in Leeds, Yorkshire.

Incredible moment special needs Chinese orphan, 6, arrives in the US and meets her adoptive parents for the first time

Special needs Chinese orphan arrives in Texas and meets adoptive parents

In a highly emotional moment on Monday night, a six-year-old girl with down syndrome, named Lucy, met her new parents, having spent almost her whole life in a Chinese orphanage. Dozens of special needs children from China were met by their foster families at George H.W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, in the hope of finding permanent homes. Brent and Audrey Shook had already made the decision to begin adoption proceedings as they greeted Lucy that night as her new parents.

Britain is the eighth most indebted country in the EU and now owes £1,600,000,000,000

Picture (Device Independent Bitmap) 1.jpg

The report, from European statistics agency Eurostat, found only seven countries in the EU in a worse state than Britain - including basket cases such as Greece and Cyprus.

Doesn't that look like....? 'Angela Merkel' stars in lesbian advert for new German magazine for gay women

A video featuring a lookalike of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a lesbian relationship has been released in an apparent bid to mock her anti-gay marriage stance.

Could your car be the next to come under attack? GUY WALTERS explains how computer hackers can hijack your vehicle - and make you crash 

After tech wizards Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek used just a mobile phone and a laptop to access a Jeep's on-board system, Guy Walters explores how cars are already under attack from hackers.

The town dog-tired of barking: Italian village bans pets from making noise while locals are taking their afternoon 'riposto' nap

The bizarre new law has been ushered in by Controne (pictured) mayor Nicola Pastore after he became irate at dogs ruining the 'riposo' - a type of siesta popular in the region.

It's not a modern trend after all! Fascinating photos show the men and women with HEAD-TO-TOE tattoos from as early as the 1920s

Vintage photographs reveal tattoo-mad men and women with inkings from HEAD-TO-TOE

A new book called 100 Years of Tattoos features tattooed men and women across the decades. It includes flapper girls, US serviceman and tattooed world record breaker Janet 'Rusty' Skuse. (Pictured clockwise from left: British tattoo addict Janet 'Rusty' Skuse, an unknown woman in the late 1920s, Cindy Ray - who was one of the first famous Australian tattooed pin up girls, and a man at a gallery opening in the 1970s).

Now UN meddlers have their say on UK's prisoner vote ban: Ministers set for more 'human rights lecturing' over issues including surveillance powers 

A report published by the UN human rights committee today is expected to criticise the UK's prisoner vote ban, the treatment of gipsies and the use of surveillance powers.

Scientists say humans really could become IMMORTAL like the characters in new film Self/Less, but only if they're wealthy

University of Arizona researcher, Wolfgang Fink, says that while the technology remains in the realm of science fiction, the ability to create immortal humans may not be all that far-fetched.

Don't be scared of stripes: They can look a fright - but flatter too! The right stripes can do wonders for your figure

There's no need to be afraid of stripes and their wide margin of error any longer! Kathryn Riley takes you through the ins and outs of the tricky pattern - and reveals what k the best dress for your figure.

One death every SIX WEEKS: Shocking toll of training accidents on British troops over the past 15 years

New figures reveal the number killed while training, just days after chiefs were blasted for 'neglect and delays' which contributed to the deaths of three men during a training march in July.

'I am not the monster society thinks I am': US child killer Susan Smith who murdered her young sons and feigned their kidnap by a black man tries to explain herself on 20th anniversary of her life sentence

Susan Smith who murdered her sons tries to explain herself on 20th anniversary

Susan Smith is pleading for sympathy 20 years after she stunned America by confessing she drowned her two boys in a lake before telling the world they'd been kidnapped by an imaginary black man. Smith, now aged 43 and whiling her days away in a South Carolina prison, recently told a local reporter she wasn't in her right mind when she left her sons strapped in their car seats as she rolled her car into a Union County lake. 'Mr. Cahill, I am not the monster society thinks I am. I am far from it,' she wrote in a letter to The State 's Harrison Cahill. She is up for parole in 2024, when she'll be 53.

Seaside town say gulls are 'public enemy number one': Councillor say birds are killing tourist trade in Whitehaven after swooping on children and pensioners 

Locals in Whitehaven, Cumbria, said the brazen birds swooped on pensioners' fish and chips, snatched an ice cream from an eight-year-old boy's hand and left the town covered in litter.

Cut to solar subsidy will save you just £1.20 a year: Reduction in help for small scale firms as officials grapple with projected £1.5bn overspend by 2020 

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has announced proposals to close the subsidies scheme for 'small-scale' solar farms a year early in April next year.

Fury as town is 'turned into a warzone' after council installs concrete road blocks in a bid keep out gipsies 

Residents of the Ipswich suburb of Kesgrave are furious after huge concrete barriers were dumped across the area to keep out travellers.

Graduate and boyfriend denied room at Holiday Inn Express because 'clerk thought she was a Romanian prostitute'

Alecsandra Puflea, 22, who is from Romania, said she was told the hotel has a policy of screening guests after Romanian women were found to be using the rooms for prostitution.

Cooking on pointe and a pirouette to make the bed: Stunning photographs show ballerinas 'being themselves' at home

David Perkins' Home Stage photographs show ballerinas 'being themselves' at home

Photographer David Perkins has created a moving portrait series that attempts to explore the other side of a dancers life. Titled Home Stage , the series is absent of lights, studios, hair and make up; showing each ballerina 'just being themselves',

How many calories can YOU burn walking between Tube stops? New map shows exactly how much energy you will use (and it may surprise you)

The map, created by Treated.com's GP Dr Wayne Osborne, shows shopping along Oxford St, from Bond St to Tottenham Court Rd, will burn 66 calories, the equivalent of two squares of chocolate.

A third of homes will be owned outright by 2025 as older people pay off mortgages but millions will never get on property ladder

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While more older people than ever will own their own home outright, it is becoming increasingly hard for younger families to even get on to the first rung of the property ladder.

Baby boy who died eight hours after being born 'would have survived if he had been delivered 20 minutes earlier' 

Baby boy Casey Garrett died at Bedford Hospital after blundering medics failed to detect his deteriorating condition in the womb and speed up his birth, an inquest heard.

Catch me if you can: Dramatic footage emerges of boy racer leading police on an 85mph chase through the suburbs despite never even having passed his driving test 

Nicholas Fox, 26, of Blackley, Manchester, was driving almost three times the 30mph speed limit as he burst through red lights, careered across junctions and raced past a primary school.

Vroom with a view! Entrepreneur converts fleet of old campers, parks them around New York and charges £14 a night on Airbnb (except they don't come with toilets or showers)

New York City tourists can book a van on Airbnb for $22

A user of the short-term rental app by the name of Jonathan is advertising a fleet of converted vehicles on the app parked at scenic spots for budget prices. He has around 50 Airbnb listings, but some are rooms on wheels. They range from tiny vans for just two people, with a limited amount of fittings, to fully-converted camper vans complete with a kitchen and seating area with room for four people. Guests cannot move the vans, but are the only ones with access to it during their stay. He insists they are in good neighborhoods that are quiet at night and surrounded by restaurants, bars and galleries. Some of the vans even have WiFi inside.

Thug who claimed he was Jihadi John in hoax bombing calls made while on remand for brutal mugging is jailed for 12 years 

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Sebastian Yellowe, of Stevenage, Hertforshire, was on remand at Norwich prison after an attack on Tony Walton when he made the sickening phone calls

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Think it looks bonkers? This rainbow face paint can save you from sunburn AND the ageing effects of UVA rays

Rainbow face paint can save you from sunburn AND the ageing effects of UVA rays

Colin Firth's wife Livia (right) has been bragging about it on Instagram, but can colourful zinc oxide really protect you from sunburn and ageing UVA rays? FEMAIL's Claire Coleman (left) tests the rainbow face paint used by surfers in Australia who bask all day in the fierce sunshine.

World's oldest Koran found: Pages from ancient manuscript may have been written shortly after Prophet Mohammad died - but could 1,400-year-old parchment spark Elgin Marbles-style row?

Two pieces of parchment written on in ink were found bound with pages of another younger copy of the Koran in the University of Birmingham's library, but were discovered to be up to 1,448 years old.

Unseen New York of the 1940s: The stunning black and white shots taken by 'stealth photographer' who hunted for beauty in every day life

Snapped by Martin Elkort, the images show everything from families riding on the subway and mailmen at work to men and women shopping and children heading to the movie theater.

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But where have they gone? Hilarious moment pet cat Milo wakes from anaesthetic after routine op to get neutered 

Cat Milo wakes from anaesthetic after routine op to get neutered

Two photographs capture six-month-old Milo's priceless reaction to discovering he's lost his testicles while he was asleep. The kitten, from Cumbria, let out a huge screech (right) upon realising what had happened after checking his bits (left). Owner John Reed - who caught Milo's bemusement on camera - said the reaction was 'priceless'.

Sea levels may rise by 10 FEET in the next 50 years: Climate change targets could still lead to 'highly dangerous' global warming, warn scientists

Dr James Hansen, Nasa's former chief climate scientist who is now based at Columbia University in New York, and 16 other experts have warned ice sheets are melting 10 times faster than believed.

Think your child has no fear? Watch bike-mad tot Stance rocketing around the streets of California despite being just TWO years old 

Stance Williams, from Southern California in the US, enjoys nothing more than zooming around parks, lakes and skate parks while his proud parents Airin and Chris watch on.

Inside Japan's narrowest house: Property measuring only EIGHT feet wide built in-between two shops in Tokyo (and a couple actually live here)

Built between 2010 and 2012, the Tokyo property - called the '1.8m House' by designers and and builders by YUUA Architects - actually measures 2.5metres wide by 11 metres tall.

They really could be twins! The three-year-old Harper Beckham lookalike who is so similar to A-list toddler even SHE gets confused

Sienna Maunsell, from Manchester, has been signed to a lookalike agency at just three years old. Her mother called the company after family friends began to point out her similarities to Harper.

He's REALLY Letting It Go! Tone deaf teacher makes hilarious Frozen video to say goodbye to his leaving pupils

Bolton teacher Chris Hill sings Frozen's Let It Go in video for leaving pupils

Teacher Chris Hill (pictured), of Bolton St Catherine's Academy, dressed as princess Elsa (inset) from the Disney favourite musical to sing his own re-worded version of the film's smash hit, Let It Go. His lyrics - to the tune of the famous song - were re-jigged to pay tribute to the youngsters, wishing them the very best for their futures. The video of him singing the song throughout the school is now a YouTube hit.

   

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