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Thousands of drivers stranded every hour as temperatures fall to -10C... and it's going to get even COLDER tonight

A police car

Britain is gripped by a deep freeze as temperatures plunge to -10C - colder than the Antarctic - and 2,800 motorists call for assistance every hour after accidents or breakdowns.

One of world's richest men kills himself after £1bn loss in stock market gamble

A family spokesman said: 'The desperate situation of his companies have broken the passionate family entrepreneur and he took his own life'

A German tycoon who lost £1billion of his fortune in a stock market gamble last year has killed himself.

One in ten shops to close by February as experts warn many high streets will become ghost towns

ghost towns

One in ten shops will stand empty by February as the crisis on the high street pushes store vacancy rates to record levels, according to research out today.

40 die as Israel bombs UN school in Gaza

gaza

Tanks shells killed at least 40 Palestinians sheltering in a United Nations school today in what Gordon Brown described as the 'darkest moment yet' in the Gaza crisis which would affect 'the whole world'.

200 bail hostels to open secretly in residential streets across Britain - with NO public consultation

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert described the plan as 'covert'

A secret leaked memo last night revealed 200 bail hostels for dangerous criminals are being opened in residential streets across Britain without any consultation with the public.

Model dubbed the new Twiggy dies of cancer at just 23

chorley

Father who promised to buy son a toy shop if he won the Lotto, scoops £1million jackpot

Trina and Mark Myatt

A man who promised to buy his son a toy shop if he won the Lottery had to backtrack when he scooped more than £1 million.

Baby dies and seven others sick after outbreak of deadly bug in hospital special care unit

Birmingham Heartlands Hospital

A baby has died and seven other are in an isolation ward after the outbreak of a deadly bug at a hospital neo-natal unit.

Europe plunged into energy crisis as Russia cuts off gas supply

putin

Russia cut gas exports to Europe by 60 per cent today, plunging the continent into an energy crisis 'within hours' as a dispute with Ukraine escalated.

Boy, 12, dies after GPs refuse to make house call, telling mother to 'give him paracetamol'

Daniel Farr

A boy of 12 died after out-of-hours doctors refused to make a house call - and told his mother to treat his mystery illness with paracetamol.

First picture of driver killed on level crossing who was due to marry in months

Moira Koune

This is the first picture of the woman who died when the car she was in was hit by a train after getting stuck on a level crossing..

Vicar takes down crucifixion sculpture 'because it's a scary depiction of suffering'

christ

A vicar has removed a sculpture of the crucifixion from the front of his church because it was a 'horrifying depiction of pain and suffering' that was scaring off worshippers.

Jail for millionaire boss of carjacking gang that targeted dozens of lone women drivers

Nokhiaz Khan

A violent criminal gang stole and re-stole dozens of cars up to six times in a sophisticated criminal fraud which targeted middle-class families.

'Obsessive' pensioner 'stalked Judge John Deed actor Martin Shaw and accused him of having affair with yoga teacher'

shaw

Two married priests who ran away together are banned from the Church

Rev James Tipp and Rev Elaine Northern

One person in Britain is diagnosed with diabetes every THREE minutes

Overweight man walking

The scale of Britain's obesity epidemic has been laid bare as it was revealed someone is diagnosed with diabetes every three minutes in the UK.

Teenage couple suffocate after having sex in their car and leaving the engine running

A lovestruck teenage couple died when they fell asleep after a late night sex session in their garage - because they left the car engine running to keep them warm.

A teenage couple suffocated when they fell asleep after a late night sex session in the back of their car - leaving the engine running to keep them warm.

Fugitive who escaped prison on day-release used car as 'battering ram to seriously injure female detective'

Catherine Corbett

A fugitive who escaped from prison while on day-release used his car as a 'battering ram' to serious injure a female detective during a sting operation to recapture him, a court heard yesterday.

Woman who didn't even know she was pregnant dies of blood loss after going into labour at home

Elizabeth Tevenan: Friends said she had carried on life as normal

A woman who did not realise she was pregnant died after haemorrhaging when she went into labour at home. Friends of Elizabeth Tevenan said she had no idea she was pregnant.

'Hi y'all this is the latest on my ******': Britney has her Twitter account hacked

Britney Spears

The Twitter accounts of celebrities, broadcasters and politicians have been hacked into leaving a variety of crude, humorous and malicious comments.

'Mercy' judge gives paedophile shorter jail term... so that he can be at the birth of his second child

Addicted: Neil Porter had around 2,000 pornographic images of children on his computer but was only jailed for six months (file photo)

A paedophile who downloaded hundreds of child sex images has been given a shorter jail term so that he can be at the birth of his second child.

Fury at TV advert for cold remedy Benylin which urges you 'to throw a sickie'... while website tells you how

A TV advert is encouraging cold sufferers to call in sick

Bosses are furious over a TV commercial for a cold remedy which encourages sufferers 'to throw a sickie'.

Baby girl kidnapped by Serb soldiers in Bosnian war and thought dead is reunited with her father after 16 years

Reunited: Bosnian Muhamed Becirovic (centre) poses with his daughter Senida (L) during their first meeting in Belgrade, on May 2008 after 16 years of separation

Hunt for mother of two who vanished on New Year's Day

Gillian Merrick

Police hold grave concerns over the whereabouts of a missing mother who disappeared on New Year's Day.

The Pill causes male infertility, says the Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Epiphany mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican today as the Vatican newspaper claimed the Pill causes male infertility

The contraceptive Pill is polluting the environment and is a major cause of male infertility in the West, the Vatican has said.

George Bush to honour Tony Blair with America's highest civilian honour

blair

Tony Blair is to be awarded the highest civilian award in the US - the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He receives it for being a staunch ally.

'There's probably no God... now stop worrying and enjoy your life': Atheist group launches billboard campaign

God

A controversial advertising campaign featuring the slogan 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life' was launched today on Britain's trains and buses.

Woman repeatedly slashed after confronting gang 'as young as 13' who stabbed her dog to death

Yorkshire terrier

A disabled woman was slashed repeatedly with a knife after confronting a gang who had stabbed her dog to death in her garden.

Three-second memory myth: Fish show they can remember for up to five months

Fish

Fish do not have a memory span of just three seconds and can actually remember things for up to five months at a time, according to new research.

British tourist plunges 200ft to his death after slipping from paragliding harness

 David Mather and girlfriend Lydia Brown

A British man plunged to his death in a paragliding accident in Argentina when he slipped loose from his harness.

Benedict Brogan
Robin Page
Peter Hitchens
Mary Ellen Synon