A body found in the search for a missing policeman has been confirmed as that of PC Bill Barker. Police confirmed that the body of a man had been found on a beach in west Cumbria. It was reported that the man was wearing a police uniform, and local police have now confirmed it is the body of the missing policeman. PC Bill Barker, 44, went missing when a bridge he was believed to be on collapsed during severe flooding in north-west England.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:58:22

A man who strangled his wife because he dreamt she was breaking into their camper van has been cleared of her murder. Brian Thomas, 59, admitted to killing his wife Christine in July 2008 as they stayed in Aberporth, Ceredigion. But today he walked free from court after a judge told him "in the eyes of the law you bear no responsibility for the events" due to a rare sleep disorder.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:01:00

The convention on the rights of the child is at a "pivotal" moment, 20 years to the day since it was first signed. Every country in the world save the US and Somalia have signed the convention guaranteeing the rights of children, while 70 countries have incorporated it into their national laws. In the last two decades the annual number of deaths of under-fives has fallen from 12.5 million to 8.8 million, while 84 per cent of primary-school-age children are in class.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:17:00

Google has unveiled a beta version of its open source operating system, Google Chrome OS. The free code, described by Google as an "initial sketch" of the product, is being released a year before a finished version will be made available to consumers. First announced in the summer, Chrome OS is vastly different from traditional operating systems in that it runs as a web browser and sees users' data stored on Google servers.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:45:00

At least 15 people are feared dead after a suicide bomber blew himself up in south-western Afghanistan. The blast took place at a market just 50m from the compound of the governor's house in Farah city, Farah province, which borders Iran. Up to 30 people are thought to have been injured in the explosion, including eight children, while three police officers are said to be among the dead.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:11:00

The family of the UK soldier killed in Afghanistan this week have led tributes to him after he was named by the Ministry of Defence. Sergeant Robert Loughran-Dickson of the royal military police (RMP) died from gunshot wounds he sustained while on routine patrol in Nad-e-Ali district, Helmand province, on Wednesday. The 33-year-old, from Deal, Kent, had been in the RMP since 2001 after first joining the Royal, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:37:00

Britain will remain at the heart of Europe and its interests on the continent will be protected with the selection of Catherine Ashton as the EU's foreign policy chief, Gordon Brown has said. Baroness Ashton, who spent eight years as a minister before replacing Peter Mandelson as EU trade commissioner last year, was last night chosen as the European Council's high representative for foreign affairs. Her appointment was announced last night after a summit of EU leaders in Brussels that saw Belgian prime minister Herman van Rompuy chosen as the first-ever president of the European Council.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:16:25

The number of people applying to build new homes has reached a record high since the start of the financial downturn. The National House Building Council (NHBC) received 9,163 registrations in October 2009, the highest since July 2008. And between August and October, the council saw a 27 per cent increase in applications to build new homes in Britain from the same period last year, at 24,896.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:30:00

School closures and sick days from work are likely to have more of an impact on the UK economy during the swine flu pandemic than the disease itself. Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) researchers said regardless of the severity of a swine flu pandemic, time of work and school could have serious implications on the economy. They say having sufficient stocks of an effective vaccine will play a major role in mitigating the cost of a pandemic and planning for the pandemic must include both the health and economic effects.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:30:00

Budget airline Ryanair is to increase its aircrafts and flights from Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) in time for summer 2010. The airline announced that it will be adding two new Boeing 737-800 aircraft to its existing fleet of six aircraft at the Liverpool-based airport. Ryanair will open three new routes, taking their total number of destinations to 44 in total from March 2010. The three new routes from Liverpool are to Rimini on the Italian east coast, Trapini on the west coast of the Italian island of Sicily and Lodz in Poland.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:00