Rush hour started early tonight as millions of London commuters attempted to pack onto the last Tube trains before the network shut down. The Underground came to a standstill as the 6.30pm walkout began, with workers facing disruption until services resume on Friday morning. Queues were building outside Tube stations across the city, including at Oxford Circus (left) and at Canary Wharf (right), as commuters desperately tried to board the last Tubes (inset) as downpours hit the capital. The stations were then closed at 6.30pm promptly and they will remain shut for all of tomorrow before services resume as normal on Friday. The walkout has been taken over the deadlocked row over pay and conditions for the new Night Tube expected to launch on September 12. London Mayor Boris Johnson condemned the strike today as he made it clear that no more money would be offered to resolve the dispute.

A video purportedly released by ISIS shows a man wearing a yellow jumpsuit kneeling before a knife-wielding masked man in military fatigues. The militant, who remains silent, holds the knife in his left hand - just like Jihadi John, leading to speculation it may be the British murderer. In the film, ISIS threatens to kill the prisoner, a Croatian father-of-two Tomislav Salopek, 30, if Egyptian authorities do not release 'Muslim women' held in prison within 48 hours. The clip was shared online on Wednesday by Islamic State sympathisers.

The organisation has been hit by a string of allegations relating to financial impropriety in recent weeks and, on Thursday, police announced an investigation into sex abuse claims. It was confirmed today that Kids Company will formally close its gates at 7pm (inset), prompting protests by emotional parents (right) outside its headquarters in south London. Ms Batmanghelidjh (left) blasted the Government, claiming ministers had forced the demise of the charity.

Dark rings around the neck are a sign you might be at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, while acne on the chin can be a sign of polycystic ovarian syndrome, according to experts revealing what a person's face says about their health. They say giving up sugar can help reduce dark rings around the neck (which can be a sign of type 2 diabetes) while ditching red wine should stop the face flushing, which causes thread veins.

When Syed Raza Shah (inset) spent most of his life savings making over his 1960s bungalow, he was over the moon with the result. The businessman ended up with a lavish seven-bedroom home (left and top right) - complete with two extra storeys and sweeping balconies - which was valued at nearly triple the original price. But Mr Shah has now been ordered to raze his £2m bolthole to the ground - because his extension is up to four times bigger than it should've been. Mr Shah had been granted planning permission to add a new roof and to increase the floor space of the old house in Barton-Le-Clay in Bedfordshire by around 45 per cent. But Central Bedfordshire Council hit him with an enforcement notice, claiming the three-story mansion had been extended by up to 200 per cent. Now, after a two-year legal battle, a planning inspector has upheld the council's decision, ruling that the property 'harms the character' of the area and should be returned to its original size (bottom right).

Captured on camera is the incredible moment a pooch uttered the words 'mama' in a bid to get some food ahead of its human sibling learning to talk. The 30-second clip, which was filmed in Utah, features an Australian Shepard dog clearly speaking the word twice, much to the surprise and delight of its owners. The humorous video concluded with the youngster putting a hand to the dog's mouth in an attempt to stop it from talking.

After MailOnline shared the story of six-month-old Fergus Hillman, whose full head of hair already needs near-constant trimming, hundreds of parents have sent in photos of their own carefully coiffed cuties. Ivy-Rose McLaughlin is pictured (top row, far left) showing off her wavy locks at two-weeks-old. Louis Newman (top row, second left) had an impressive head of hair at just at one-day-old. He is pictured along with (top row l-r) Eddie Taylor rocking an impressive quiff, Mabel at just five-months and four-month-old Ava. Michael Heng sent in this picture of his adorable daughter (middle row, far left). She is pictured along with (middle row, l-r) Frankie, who wouldn't look out of place in a glam rock band, fluffy-haired Freddie Ryan who bears a striking resemblance to Boris Johnson at just five-months-old, Lola Gouck with a full mop of hair at just five-months-old and Sophia, who is already rocking a quiff at just six-weeks. Elodie Harper Burbridge (bottom row, far left) can be seen showing off her grown-up hairdo at just five-months-old. She is pictured along with (bottom row, l-r) Aurelia Courtney sporting a beautiful pink bow at just eight-months-old, Ruby Rose, who was 'born with this much hair', Mia rocking another mohawk cut and Edie Rose Connor at three-months-old.

Wiltshire Police say they are still speaking to a 'steady flow' of people who claim they may have been abused by the former premier. But their investigation was severely undermined today after the convicted brothel owner believed to hold the key to the Heath child sex abuse scandal denied any involvement. Myra Forde, 67, left, said she had 'no knowledge' of any child abuse by Sir Edward, said he never visited her brothel a mile from his mansion, and denied ever threatening to expose him as a paedophile.

The guest, named Chelsea, sparked a Twitter storm after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show with her boyfriend Jake this morning. Her brows were likened variously to tadpoles and sperm. The social media frenzy over Chelsea follows another two last month, including one over the show's 'prettiest ever' guest - hairdresser Joelle Hughes from Kent.

An intelligent parrot was successful in an argument with a dog after it barked at it during a heated debate. The hilarious debate between the two animals was captured on camera in what is believed to be Scotland and took place in a front room. In the clip the parrot barks at the dog for 30 seconds and even causes it to slip off the sofa in surprise.

A traumatised dog has been found buried up to its head in dirt in France, with the photos of the horrific incident sparking an out pour of anger on social media today. Police have confirmed that the owner of the dog has been taken into custody, who said his dog had run away. The French mastiff was discovered and then rescued on Saturday by a man walking his own dog on waste ground in Carrieres-sur-Seine, west of Paris.

Nicusor Paun, 34, and Vasile Radoescu, 39, were stopped by police as they drove south on the northbound carriageway of the M6 toll road near Shenstone, Staffordshire on 12 July.

Tamara Samsonova (pictured), 68, is thought to have beheaded and dismembered her victims over two decades. Dubbed the 'Granny Ripper', she then entered the gruesome details of her secret life in diaries which she kept in three languages - Russian, English and German. Police have have refused to disclose the details of the diary but they fear Samsonova may also have been a cannibal who ate her victims' body parts. She was arrested in St Petersburg, Russia, last week after being caught on CCTV removing the body of her latest victim in black plastic bag. Police are now comparing her elaborate diary entries with known cases of unsolved murder cases.

The bomb dropped on the Japanese city at 8.16am on August 6, 1945, destroying 90 per cent of the buildings and eventually killing 140,000 out of a population of just 350,000. But today, it is a thriving metropolis, boasting a population of 1.2million people, with little remaining to hint at its tragic past. Today, the only real reminder of the horrendous events of August 1945 is the Atomic Bomb Dome - the only building to remain standing near the epicentre (pictured then and now).

The crane driver had been moving material from a block of flats in Krasnoyarsk, in central Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai region, when it caught the overhead cable and burst into flames. His cab was quickly incinerated, as the huge electric surge escaped the wires.

Keirsie Carlile, the seven-year-old sister of bat boy Kaiser Carlile, threw the first pitch (left) at the Liberal Bee Jays' home game in Wichita, Kansas, against the Seattle Studs on Tuesday. Donning a pink top and leggings, the youngster hurled the ball in front of her, receiving cheers and applause from fans. She was then hugged by players, who wore jerseys sporting Kaiser's initials. Keirsie was later seen sitting on the shoulders of her visibly distraught father, Chad (right), as the amateur team held a moment of silence for her brother, who was struck by a practice swing during a National Baseball Congress World Series game on Saturday. The youngster (pictured, inset, on the day of his death) tragically succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Sunday evening.

A photographer who captures the heartwarming moments of childbirth and the bond between mother and baby when breastfeeding had her Instagram account disabled. Melissa Jean Wilbraham, from Queensland's Sunshine Coast, was so outraged by the move she took to social media to protest against it. Eventually her account, with more than 18,000 followers, was restored. Pictured left is new mother Elissa breastfeeding her twins in bed, inset is Dori in Budapest doing the same and right is Frankie staring into the camera while she drinks from her mother, Chloe.

Users of the secret sharing app Whisper have revealed why they called off the search for a soul mate and 'settled' for their current partner instead. Many expressed a fear of being alone while others cited practical reasons, such as a desire to start a family. Pictured: Two confessions from the site.

The images which make up this animation were taken between 3:50 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. EDT on July 16, showing the moon moving over the Pacific Ocean near North America. The North Pole is in the upper left corner of the image, reflecting the orbital tilt of Earth from the vantage point of the DSCOVR spacecraft. The same side of the moon always faces an earthbound observer because the moon is tidally locked to Earth. That means its orbital period is the same as its rotation around its axis.

In the nail-biting episode, the biker comes within millimetres of going under the vehicle after being unexpectedly forced into its path. The moment was filmed from a dashboard camera of a black cab as driver Aliraj Miah made his way along Mile End Road, east London, on Monday. In the footage, the cyclist is seen riding alongside a row of parked cars when one driver suddenly opens the door (left). As he swerves to avoid the impact, the taxi clips the cyclist (centre), knocking him to the floor (right). Luckily, Mr Miah slammed on his brakes just in time and the cyclist managed to walk away with just a few cuts and bruises. Mr Miah later posted the video on his Twitter account @AllInnLondon, saying: 'Dis was me earlier [sic], Was really close.' He later tweeted that the cyclist was 'nice n well' and had asked to take him for a drink.

Professional adventure photographer Travis Burke has spent 16 months and 60,000 miles touring some of North America's most stunning locations in a converted 1994 Dodge Ram Van. His fascinating work includes photographing the Milky Way Galaxy or backpacking in search of hidden waterfalls.

The hoverboard (shown in use in the image on the left) works using a combination of superconductors, magnets and liquid nitrogen - but will only run on a magnetic track. For the videos, Lexus hid the magnetic track to make it look like a skatepark (shown top right). The hoverboard is constructed from an insulated core, containing high temperature superconducting blocks. Unlike the hoverboard used by Michael J Fox in Back to the Future II, however, the Lexus hoverboard was even shown working over water after the company hid a magnetic rail beneath a small pond in the skate park.

Brian Ruebs had already said yes to the assignment when he realised it involved a gruelling 8.2-mile hike up the mountain in California for outdoor enthusiasts Enjis and Elina Perkons. They used vacuum packs to fit everything into a backpack - including Endijs' suit, Elina's wedding dress and bouquet, and a bottle of champagne to celebrate. In total, the hike, ceremony and shoot lasted more than 14 hours, ending at 7:30pm.

Offering a unique take on a room with a view, the wood and stone treehouses at Tsala Treetop Lodge boast high ceilings, kitchenettes and outdoor showers in a peaceful location between the coastal towns of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. Every suite and villa has a private deck with an infinity pool (top right) and a balcony offering sweeping views of a lush forest (left). When it's time to eat, guests dine on a deck suspended high above the forest floor (bottom right).

It might not be in the Oxford dictionary but 'blep' is fast becoming the latest fad to stake its place in the English language. Blep refers to a bizarre new trend of photographing animals with their tongues sticking out. And animal lovers across the world have not shied from showing off pictures of their adorable pets while they candidly blep.