UK & World News
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
Queen leads tribute to the war dead
12:05, Nov 8 2009
The Queen has led the nation in remembering Britain's war dead at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony.
The monarch was joined by other members of the Royal Family, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and opposition party leaders at the wreath-laying event at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
Thousands of veterans also gathered to pay their respects to the fallen.
After the Two Minutes' Silence, the Queen laid the first wreath, followed by the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Harry on behalf of the Prince of Wales who is on an official visit to Canada, Prince William, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Kent.
They were followed by Mr Brown, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, high commissioners from Commonwealth countries and defence chiefs. Approximately 7,500 ex-service men and women and 1,600 civilians were taking part in a march past the Cenotaph.
At Saturday night's annual Festival of Remembrance in London the mounting death toll of British troops in Afghanistan dominated everybody's thoughts. There were constant references to events in Afghanistan during the evening and the audience at the Royal Albert Hall - including the Queen and the Prime Minister - were shown film of operations to fly wounded servicemen back to Britain and interviews with soldiers expressing sadness at the loss of their colleagues.
The event, for many years devoted to remembering the dead of the First and Second World Wars, had a change of emphasis this year in the wake of military losses in Afghanistan, where the British death toll since operations began there in 2001 has risen to 230.
Before Armed Forces sweetheart Hayley Westenra sang We'll Meet Again in honour of the original Armed Forces sweetheart, Dame Vera Lynn, Dame Vera appeared on film saying; "It's a song that suits the situation at the moment, with the boys in Afghanistan, and so far away from home.
Romney returns to winning ways 00:05, Feb 12 2012
Mitt Romney has won the Maine caucuses by a slim margin, giving him a much needed boost following losses in three other contests in the past week, Maine Republican Party chairman Charlie Webster said. more
Salmond insists on no-strings poll 00:05, Feb 12 2012
Alex Salmond has again insisted that plans for an independence referendum must have "no strings attached" from Westminster. more
Call to embrace community energy 00:05, Feb 12 2012
The Government must overhaul the "closed shop" energy market by embracing community schemes, according to a new report. more
PM quashes Lansley speculation 00:05, Feb 12 2012
David Cameron has sought to quash speculation over the survival of health secretary Andrew Lansley and his controversial NHS shake-up. more
PM 'plans football racism summit' 00:05, Feb 12 2012
David Cameron is expected to step into the row over racism in football by staging a Downing Street summit on the issue. more
Anger over marriage tax breaks 00:05, Feb 12 2012
George Osborne has infuriated Tory MPs by reportedly ruling out tax breaks for married couples in the Budget. more
Murdoch expected in wake of arrests 22:05, Feb 11 2012
Rupert Murdoch is expected to fly to London next week after reassuring staff he would not sell The Sun in the wake of a second wave of arrests at the newspaper. more
Man charged with stabbing murder 21:05, Feb 11 2012
A man has been charged with murder after another man was stabbed to death on, police said. more
Protesters show Syria solidarity 19:05, Feb 11 2012
Hundreds of demonstrators have gathered in London in a show of solidarity with protesters across the Middle East and North Africa. more
Six bailed in corruption probe 19:05, Feb 11 2012
Six people arrested as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption have been released on bail, Scotland Yard said. more
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
