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17/02/2008 23:57

UK today Editoweb, 17 feb. 2008


Al-Fayed takes centre stage at Diana inquest - London's 'billionaire's avenue' defies economic gravity - Northern Rock To Be Nationalised - Brown set to boost Holyrood powers - Government condemns 'abhorrent' Kandahar attack.



Al-Fayed takes centre stage at Diana inquest
More than a decade after his son Dodi was killed in a Paris car crash with Princess Diana, Mohamed al-Fayed finally gets his moment in court on Monday to accuse the royal family of ordering their deaths. The owner of the Harrods luxury store says the couple were killed on the orders of Prince Philip. Al-Fayed's string of accusations -- he says the royal family could not bear the idea of the mother of the future king marrying a Muslim -- have dominated the inquest into Diana and Dodi's deaths and provoked a host of sensationalist headlines.

London's 'billionaire's avenue' defies economic gravity
Even as Britain's property market shows signs of struggling, one north London street is defying the gloom-mongers: houses on "billionaire's avenue" are still selling for record prices. Like an oasis of wealth in an increasingly parched real estate desert, The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead remains a booming property hotspot -- despite, for some, little in the way of elegance or discretion.

Northern Rock To Be Nationalised
The troubled Northern Rock bank will be nationalised but Chancellor Alistair Darling insists it will only be under temporary public ownership. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and a rival in-house management team had both tabled offers for the lender. But Mr Darling rejected them, saying under the current market conditions neither of the two private proposals delivered "sufficient value for money to the taxpayer".

Brown set to boost Holyrood powers
Prime Minster Gordon Brown has signalled his willingness to look at new powers for the Scottish Parliament, including tax raising powers. But while declaring his willingness to consider new powers, Mr Brown said that the review process launched by Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander could also see some powers switch back from Holyrood to Westminster, and gave as examples some aspects of terrorism legislation and control over future foot-and-mouth outbreaks.

Government condemns 'abhorrent' Kandahar attack: foreign minister
Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned the "cowardly and abhorrent" suicide blast that killed up to 80 men and boys at a dog fight in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Sunday. "Today's attack on the people of Kandahar and the nation of Afghanistan was a cowardly and abhorrent act of terrorism," he said in a statement.

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