Britons die in Egypt balloon crash

A NUMBER of Britons are among 19 tourists killed in a hot air balloon crash near the Egyptian city of Luxor today.

The balloon is believed to have caught fire and exploded, before plunging into a sugar cane field west of Luxor, which is 320 miles (510km) south of the capital Cairo.

The casualties are believed to include British and French tourists, as well as other nationalities, said a security official in the country.

Yard probes sex claims against peer

POLICE are investigating whether “criminal activity” took place following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women by the senior Liberal Democrat peer Lord Rennard.

Scotland Yard disclosed that it had been approached by party officials in the wake of claims Lord Rennard had exploited his former position as chief executive to proposition women and to touch them inappropriately.

“The Metropolitan Police Special Investigations Command has been approached by officials in the Liberal Democrat Party and is working with them to ascertain whether or not criminal activity has taken place,” a spokesman said.

Concern over dementia sufferer care

LESS than half of dementia sufferers living in care homes enjoy a good quality of life, a charity has warned as it revealed that record numbers of people in care homes have the condition.

An Alzheimer’s Society report states that 80% of people in residential care homes have either dementia or severe memory problems – a rise from previous estimates of 62%.

But the charity said that while excellent care exists, less than 50% of the 322,000 sufferers in care homes across the UK have a good quality of life.

‘Historic crisis’ for Catholics

THE resignation of Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric is the biggest crisis for the church in the country for around 450 years, a leading historian said.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, stepped down yesterday, a day after the Observer newspaper reported that three priests and a former priest had complained about him to the Vatican over alleged “inappropriate” behaviour stretching back 30 years.

A spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Media Office (SCMO) said the allegations were “anonymous and non specific” and the 74-year-old cardinal is contesting them and taking legal advice.

Arctic convoy vets to get medals

VETERANS the Second World War Arctic Convoys will begin receiving medals recognising their heroism and bravery “within weeks”, the Government will announce today.

Defence Minister Mark Francois will announce that production of the new Arctic Star and a clasp for veterans of the RAF’s Bomber Command will start this week.

The move follows David Cameron’s announcement in December that he was accepting the recommendations of a review of military decorations by the former diplomat Sir John Holmes.