Police have found the body of a gunman responsible for killing five people in southern Finland. Reports suggest Ibrahim Shkupolli, 43, shot dead three men and one woman at a shopping centre in the city of Espoo this morning. The body of another woman, believed to be Mr Shkupolli's ex-girlfriend, was also later found in an apartment in the city.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:00:00

Transport secretary Lord Adonis has predicted 2010 will be the "year of high speed rail in the UK". His prediction yesterday came on the same day the government was handed a blueprint for the fastest railway in Europe. The plans submitted by the High Speed Two (HS2) company are for a new 250 mph line linking London with the West Midlands and proposes routes further north.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:14:11

The parliament in Iceland has today announced it has approved plans to repay £3.4 billion which was lost by savers in the UK and the Netherlands. When the country's banking system collapsed, more than 320,000 savers lost out. The money will be reimbursed to the British and Dutch governments who stepped in compensate savers when the online bank Icesave failed last year.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:00:00

The man who won the 'best job in the world' competition has been stung by a lethal jellyfish on his last few days on Hamilton Island in Australia. Ben Southall, 34, from Hampshire, won the job of a lifetime when he beat 34,000 applicants to become the caretaker of Hamilton Island. But as his dream job comes to an end, Mr Southall was stung by an Irukandji jellyfish, which can release lethal venom. The tiny jellyfish is no bigger than a human's little finger nail, and almost invisible to the naked eye.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:37:59

Gordon Brown has written a personal letter to Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi pledging his continuing support and praising her courage. In the letter, published on the Downing Street website on Wednesday, the prime minister expressed his dismay at her ongoing house arrest. "Your continuing detention is only the most visible evidence of the bad faith of a regime which has so far shown no signs of listening to regional or international calls for an end to its violent behaviour," Mr Brown said.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:37:42

Conservative MP John Gummer will leave the House of Commons at the next general election to pursue a career combating global warming, he has announced. The MP for Suffolk Coastal said that the failure of the Copenhagen talks was the catalyst in his decision to take on a more international role. "Since the very disappointing results of the Copenhagen negotiations, I have been forced to rethink my plans for the future," he declared.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:37:16

Eight members of the CIA were killed in Afghanistan yesterday when a suicide bomber infiltrated a military base and walked in to a meeting before detonating his explosives. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, telling Sky News that the bomber was a "well-dressed" official was of a high enough rank to walk through security at Forward Operating Base Chapman in south-eastern Khost province. Sky News also reports that he walked in to a meeting being held by the CIA officials in the complex, while other sources say he detonated his explosive vest in a gym facility.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:30:00

The kidnapping of Peter Moore and four other British men in Iraq in 2007 was masterminded by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, it has been claimed. The Guardian newspaper alleges the plot to take the five Britons was hatched in Iran and carried out by the elite troops. Unnamed former guards are quoted as claiming the men were moved to Iran just a day after they were seized from the finance ministry in Baghdad.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:00:00

The Conservatives have blamed the government for the rise in the number of mobile phones smuggled into prisons. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 8,099 mobile phones and sim cards were seized in 2008, more than triple the figure from two years previous. The number includes 388 sim cards and mobile phones found in high security jails.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:05:14

A woman whose daughter and former partner were both shot dead on Tuesday has also died. It is believed Andy Copland shot four-year-old Maisie and his ex-partner Julie Harrison, 40, before killing himself. Ms Harrison was in a critically ill state in a London hospital following the incident, but died yesterday. Police believe it was Mr Copland who carried out the shootings as Ms Harrison dropped Maisie off at his house in Aldershot.

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:04:48