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CHILLING video of the moments two of the July 7 suicide bombers brought death and carnage to London were shown for the first time yesterday to a hushed courtroom. Relatives of the 52 who died and the hundreds who were injured in England's worst terrorist atrocity were among those who watched the disturbing images. They were shown by the prosecution at the opening of the first trial of anyone charged in connection with the Al Qaeda inspired attack. Waheed Ali, 26, Sadeer Saleem, 27 and Mohammed Shakil, 31, are accused of conspiring with the four bombers, and others, to cause explosions and are alleged to have carried out reconnaissance for them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

TOWN halls were accused of a massive over-reaction after closing a third of the country's schools yesterday. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BRITAIN is facing a £3billion blizzard bill after being caught napping by the winter weather. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RECORD numbers of fake £1 coins are being pumped into the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A BABY with a mysterious condition which causes his stomach to swell has been cured by a probiotic drink, his mother says. Riley Anderson, who is 11 months, has struggled with the bloating syndrome since birth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A SCHOOLBOY was stabbed to death as he left a party organised by campaigners against black youth violence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE young graduate at the centre of an astonishing 'paternity fraud' case discovered she had been living a lie only when she stumbled across a secret diary, it emerged last night. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A HUSBAND was conned for 17 years by his wife into bringing up her lover's child as his own, a court heard yesterday. Mark Webb only found out the truth from DNA tests conducted after the girl turned 18, it is alleged. He has tried to sue his ex-wife Lydia Chapman for deceiving him over the paternity of her daughter. In the first 'paternity fraud' case to reach the Appeal Court, Mr Webb said his former wife and her alleged lover conceived the girl at a hotel in 1985. Mr Webb, 47, claims he was given no reason to believe the girl was not his and she was registered as the couple's child. He claims that three months after the girl was born, Mrs Chapman and her alleged lover again met at a summer barbecue, where they sneaked away to a nearby picnic area to have sex. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A RECORD number of female head chefs have been awarded Michelin stars, it emerged yesterday. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

WHETHER it's Oliver Twist himself or the Artful Dodger, it is expected that a young pickpocket steals the show in any production of Oliver! [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE provision of hospital beds in Britain has plunged in the past eight years to one of the lowest levels in Europe. The number of beds per person has dropped 14 percent since 2000 -- to below the rate for Latvia, Estonia and Macedonia. The UK has only 389 hospital beds per 100,000 inhabitants, even when taking into account both private and NHS beds. This is well below the EU average of 590 beds per 100,000 inhabitants. The UK is ranked 25th out of 32 European countries. Only Cyprus, Portugal, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Malta perform worse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

IT was no surprise to see Prince Harry emerge from a bar squiring an attractive young blonde. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE NHS trust which let a vulnerable patient starve to death in hospital has apologised to his family for his 'inexcusable' treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE rugby star boyfriend of Zara Phillips has been banned from driving for three years for taking the wheel the morning after a drink binge at the races. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A MARRIED luxury jet pilot sexually harassed an air hostess, an employment tribunal heard yesterday. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A VIOLENT gang stole and restole dozens of cars up to six times in a sophisticated scam targeting middle-class families. Ford Fiesta E055 BYV stolen from outside owner's house in summer of 2007 by hooking keys through the letter-box from a hall table. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

HICCUPS are usually nothing more than a minor inconvenience for most of us. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A YOUNG woman was killed and an eight-year-old girl is fighting for her life after their car smashed into a tree in the early hours of New Year's Day. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A MOTHER and her boyfriend have been arrested in connection with a murder investigation after the death of her 21-month-old son. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

CARS should be fitted with speed-limiters to prevent accidents and cut carbon emissions, Government advisers say. ALMOST half of speed cameras in some areas are switched off but have been left in place to encourage drivers to stick to the limit, it has emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE heroes of the Beijing Olympics are recognised today with a string of awards in the New Year's Honours List. AUTHOR Terry Pratchett said he was 'flabbergasted' after receiving a knighthood. THREE mothers have been awarded MBEs for their tireless work campaigning against crime. CHARLES SINCLAIR, who retired as group chief executive of the Daily Mail and General Trust in September, was awarded an OBE for his services to the newspaper industry. CITY bankers were licking their wounds after being spurned in the honours list. THERE was no knighthood for Bruce Forsyth, despite intense lobbying by supporters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

HE is the footballer who restored faith in the England team. She is the TV character whose romantic adventures gripped millions of teenagers. Although they may be worlds apart, Theo Walcott and Summer Roberts have been brought together in a list of the most popular baby names. Walcott, 19, (pictured right) scored a hattrick for England as they beat Croatia 4-1 in a World Cup qualifier in September. The Arsenal forward's dazzling display has helped make him among the biggest climbers in the boys' list of most popular names in Britain this year, rising from 70th to 58th compared with last year. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

FAMILY doctors are being asked to cut short their Christmas break and open surgeries on Saturday to cope with a surge in demand. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

VOLUNTEERS from the Red Cross and St John ambulance are being sent to 999 calls as the ambulance service is hit by a deluge of emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A POLICE investigation against Baby P's mother was dropped despite warnings from three doctors that his injuries could have been caused by abuse. Their statements said that his bruises were 'suggestive of non-accidental injury', but the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to bring the case to trial. The child's 27-year-old mother had been arrested twice on suspicion of assaulting him but gave a string of implausible and contradictory excuses to social workers, police and health officials. Scotland Yard's child abuse unit compiled a file on the case, which included the doctors' statements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

IT was a grandmother's cherished photograph -- and one which could have saved the toddler's life. This sepia-tinted portrait of Baby P shows markings to his face that could have alerted the authorities to the ordeal he was suffering at the hands of his abusers. His injuries were so serious he was admitted to hospital for two days where doctors, nurses and social workers all saw them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SCOTLAND Yard was dragged into the Baby P abuse row yesterday over claims that its detectives ignored warnings about the vulnerable child. Police and social workers were alerted eight months before the toddler's death that his mother was seeing a new man, but failed to investigate his background, the BBC documentary Panorama claimed. The sadistic thug's name was brought up during the very first strategy meeting about Baby P, held on December 12 2006, but was not investigated further, it was alleged. Had police seized upon the claims that the mother had a new boyfriend, basic background checks would have revealed that he had been prosecuted by the RSPCA for cruelty to animals and that he was suspected of torturing his own grandmother to make her change her will in his favour. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A GRANDMOTHER died after hospital doctors gave her penicillin even though her medical notes and drug chart made clear she was allergic to it. June Cutmore was even wearing a red wristband to draw attention to the allergy. The 71-year-old widow went into anaphylactic shock and died after being injected with Augmentin -- a form of the drug. St Bartholomew's Hospital in London admitted that 'human error' caused the death. Her family believe a catalogue of mistakes by medical staff led to the tragedy in May 2007. The grandmother of three from Basildon, Essex, was admitted to St Bartholomew's to have a heart valve replaced, and undergo a double bypass. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

IT'S the sort of news that will make a smoker's eyes light up. A company has created a fruit-flavoured herbal drink that claims to deliver the same fix as cigarettes. Called Liquid Smoking, it promises an instant high followed by a 'euphoric calming feeling'. It is targeted at those who can no longer light up inside public premises under the smoking ban but want to feed their cravings. Anti-smoking groups fear it could promote addiction at a time when the Government is trying to discourage smoking. The Dutch supplier, United Drinks and Beauty Corporation, hopes the drink will go on sale here in the week before Christmas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A JUDGE has called for checks on elderly drivers after an infirm 86-year-old man ploughed into three pedestrians, maiming one and contributing to the death of another. Allan Skoyles was registered deaf, had undergone eight heart operations and had suffered a stroke which left him barely mobile, but was still allowed to drive. He was pulling up in his Ford Focus outside a church in Gorleston, Norfolk, when he accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. The car mounted the pavement and hit an elderly couple, Joyce and Arthur Willett, and Emma Woolnough, 24. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A GUN enthusiast shot himself dead in a hospital ward after agreeing to sell his house to be near his wife in a care home. Ian Button, who had an incurable lung disease, wanted to live in the same complex as Christine, who suffers from Alzheimer's. Neighbours said the couple's illnesses and the upheaval of moving had tipped Mr Button over the edge. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A HOSPITAL patient who shot himself dead on a ward may have had the gun smuggled in for him, it was claimed last night. The 63-year-old is understood to have moved beds last weekend, and staff believe if he had a weapon at that time it would have been discovered. The patient had been on the ward for several weeks, and is understood to have been constantly on oxygen because of respiratory problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ANYONE would think she didn't want to be recognised. Or maybe she just felt that during her jet-setting life she's already seen quite enough of Heathrow airport, thank you very much. Either way, Victoria Beckham kept her hat pulled down firmly over her eyes as she made her way through check-in at the weekend. If it was an attempt to remain incognito by the 34-year-old singer, it was doomed to failure -- we'd recognise those famously skinny legs anywhere. And that pout. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A SPECIAL Branch officer was yesterday at the centre of a cover-up row after he admitted changing evidence during the Stockwell inquest. The policeman, named only as Owen, deleted a line in his computer notes last week, which claimed his boss Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick initially said Jean Charles de Menezes could 'run on to Tube as not carrying anything'. But yesterday he said: 'On reflection, I looked at that and thought I cannot actually say that.' Owen said he had spoken about the amendments he made to his notes to a Metropolitan Police solicitor the day after he submitted his evidence. He told the am sure of that, sir.' The missing passage contradicted evidence given by Miss Dick, who gave the order for her officers to 'stop' Mr de Menezes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THIS extraordinary sketch of the Stockwell shooting scene was drawn by a police officer just hours after Jean Charles de Menezes was killed. The innocent Brazilian lies on the floor of a Tube train beside three seats and a dot representing a yellow pole in the carriage. Beneath him are the words: 'Challenged. Shot 9-10 head'. The note concisely describes the killing of de Menezes, who was, in fact, shot seven times. The picture is signed by Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who gave the order to 'stop' him, as it is part of the official record of her activities on the day. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick told an inquest the innocent Brazilian was the victim of a series of 'unfortunate' coincidences. The 27-year-old electrician was shot dead on July 22, 2005, by officers who feared he was one of four men who had tried to bomb the Tube the day before. Miss Dick appeared confident and remained standing to give her evidence, watched by Mr de Menezes's mother and brother who had travelled from Brazil to come face-to-face with her for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SURVEILLANCE officers had a last-minute change of mind about whether Jean Charles de Menezes was a suicide bomber, an inquest heard yesterday. Members of Mr de Menezes' family listened attentively as a senior police officer in the control room when the innocent Brazilian was shot dead described the events of July 22, 2005. Detective Chief Inspector Angela Scott said surveillance officers watched the 27-year-old electrician leave his home in south London at 9.34am. They believed the address was connected to Hussain Osman, who they believed had unsuccessfully tried to detonate a bomb on the London Underground the day before. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

MUSLIM extremists have warned the publisher of a novel about the prophet Mohammed that he faces death after police foiled a firebomb attack on his home. Last night Martin Rynja was under armed guard at a secret location after three men dressed in black poured petrol through the letterbox of his £2.5million house at the weekend. The attack follows his decision to publish The Jewel Of Medina, a fictional account of the Prophet's child bride. The novel includes a description of the night they consummate their marriage, described by one academic as 'soft core pornography'. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SHE'S hardly the first woman you'd think of if you were in search of an amusing anecdote. But astonishingly Vicky Pollard, queen of the chavs, has made it into the Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations. The character, played by Matt Lucas in the BBC comedy Little Britain, is famous for her high-speed, often incoherent, chatter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A COLLEGE receptionist knifed to death by a jilted lover wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask may have been killed because her attacker was jealous of her impending marriage. Police are exploring the theory that 23-year-old Suhresh Waqar's killer could not accept she had chosen another man over him. In an attack described as 'truly evil', a 29-year-old man wearing the white mask and a curly black wig repeatedly stabbed Miss Waqar in the chest and neck. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A GIRL who went missing four years ago and became known as 'Italy's Madeleine McCann' was apparently found alive last night. Denise Pipitone was only four when she vanished in September 2004 from outside her grandmother's house in Sicily where she was playing. Last night police picked up an eight year-old girl matching her description on the Greek island of Kos following a tip-off. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A MURDERER and serial rapist was deported back to Britain after his release from jail, even though he had spent almost all his life in Australia. Weeks later, Simon Wilson carried out a brutal sex attack on a pensioner. Wilson, 50, who emigrated with his family when a toddler, committed a staggering 77 offences in Australia including six rapes and a savage killing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

RETURN OF SCHOOL GAMES BANNED BY 'COTTON WOOL SOCIETY': IT was a favourite playground game until health and safety fears led to its decline. But now tag is racing back into favour. Schools are being urged to bring back traditional playground games to combat childhood obesity. British Bulldog, What's the Time, Mr Wolf? and Oranges and Lemons are on the list of recommended games to play at break-time, with tag, Stuck in the Mud, hopscotch, skipping, hide and seek, French elastic and marbles. The list was drawn up by the Local Government Association, which says today's children are 'wrapped in cotton wool', rather than running around getting the cuts and scrapes their parents did when they were younger. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

EVER queued at the 'ten items or less' checkout at Tesco and found yourself muttering about the appalling grammar in the sign above your head? Probably not. But if you have, then salvation could be on its way. After a long-running and heated debate over whether the signs are linguistically correct, they will now be altered to say: 'Up to ten items.' Tesco has agreed to change the wording following criticism from supporters of good English who had argued that the signs should say 'ten items or fewer' rather than 'ten items or less'. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A RECORD two million Britons will flee the dreadful August weather by heading abroad this Bank Holiday weekend. Baking hot Ibiza, Spain, Turkey and Cyprus are the favourite destinations, with those left behind facing a weekend of sunshine, showers and traffic jams as 16.5 million drivers take to the road. Earlier this week, forecasters had said the weekend should be warm and dry. But last night, they warned that it will start with drizzle and strong winds before improving, although it will be Tuesday before dry weather with sunny spells really sets in. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

TENS of thousands of households have lost their Freeview reception because of a signal upgrade which made their set-top digital boxes obsolete. Some viewers watched as their televisions went blank without warning, after an upgrade to the Freeview digital network meant older set-top boxes could no longer handle the amount of information. Thousands of owners may still be unaware it has affected them, as it can take up to three weeks for the boxes to catch up with the upgrade, which ended last week, and stop working. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THEY admitted being close friends of the July 7 bombers and went on a trip round London landmarks which bore 'striking similarities' to where the bombs were detonated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A CHANCE to stop the 7/7 bombers may have been missed when a secret services fax to police went missing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]