1. FRESH U-TURN SPARKS OSBORNE CRITICISM
Former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson says George Osborne has “taken his eye off the ball” as another u-turn on policy is announced. Tax officials said yesterday they will alter their guidance on the 'skip tax' - the taxation of rubbish dumped in landfill - after skip operators complained that the Budget had hit them with unreasonable charges.
2. QUEEN BEGINS JUBILEE AT EPSOM
The Queen will attend the Epsom Derby today as the four-day Jubilee weekend gets underway. There will be a Red Arrows display over the course and Katherine Jenkins will sing the National Anthem. Tesco expects to sell 2.8 million Union flags this weekend, and 3,000 B&Q customers have already bought a royal garden gnome.
3. OBAMA 'ORDERED IRAN CYBER ATTACK'
President Barack Obama ordered the Stuxnet assault on Iran as part of a "wave" of cyber attacks and secret surveillance against the regime, according to a new book. Citing senior Washington sources the book claims the cyber attacks were codenamed "Olympic Games" and created with the assistance of a secret Israeli intelligence unit.
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4. PM CANNOT BLOCK HUNT PROBE
Jeremy Hunt could face a Whitehall investigation into his conduct after a committee of MPs announced that David Cameron is unable to block such an inquiry. The Commons public administration select committee stated that independent adviser on the ministerial code of conduct can investigate Hunt without a referral from the PM.
5. BISHOP MOURNS 'EPIDEMIC' DIVORCE
Promiscuity, separation and divorce are now at "epidemic proportions" claims the Bishop of London, Rt Rev Richard Chartres. He mourned the fact that "millions of children" grow up in unstable families, adding: "and that is not to count the hundreds of thousands more who don't even make it out of the womb each year".
6. AFGHAN AID WORKERS 'FREED'
Five aid workers who were kidnapped in north-eastern Afghanistan last month have been freed in an operation by Afghan special forces, officials say. Several hostages takers were reportedly killed during the operation. The two female foreign nationals, including a British doctor, and three Afghans were working for the aid group Medair when they were snatched last month.
7. MUBARAK CONSPIRACY VERDICT DUE
An Egyptian court is due to decide whether former President Hosni Mubarak is guilty of conspiracy in the killing of demonstrators during last year's uprising. If the court convicts him he could face the death penalty. He denies the charges. Mubarak is the first former leader to be tried in person since the start of the Arab Spring uprisings last year.
8. SYRIA 'MASS GRAVE' PHOTOS PUBLISHED
A US Government website has published photographs of what it claims are mass graves dug following the Houla massacre. Meanwhile, Russia's Vladimir Putin, an ally of Syria, has resisted the growing pressure from Western nations to lend his support for tougher action against the regime. Russia called the UN Human Rights Council resolution against Syria "unbalanced".
9. DON ATTACKS 'LAZY' MOCKERY OF OXBRIDGE
The "toff" caricature widely used to describe Oxford and Cambridge universities risks discouraging teenagers from applying to the institutions, warns a leading don. Cambridge's Prof Robert Lethbridge said Britain fails to celebrate academic success and is gripped by a “mindset which doesn’t want anyone to fail”.
10. HODGSON WILL LEAVE RACISM TO OFFICIALS
England Manager Roy Hodgson says he will leave it to match officials and Uefa to deal with any racist abuse at Euro 2012. "My stance is simple. It's a matter for referees and Uefa," he said. "You're talking about something that is abhorrent to anybody, not just in football but in every walk of life." The England squad was addressed by two Holocaust survivors this week.
