The NHS is missing out on millions of pounds a year because of a "chaotic" system for recovering cash from overseas patients, MPs have warned.
In a report, MPs from the Commons Public Accounts Committee said they were "not confident" the Department of Health is taking the required steps to recover money from people who leave the NHS with unpaid bills after treatment.
The committee warned the NHS was failing to identify patients who should be charged and said the Government was not recouping enough money from European countries where reciprocal agreements are in place.
In 2014/15, the UK recovered just £50m from these countries but paid out £675m.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Police investigate after battery found in Co-op Easter bunny chocolate
A criminal inquiry is under way following the discovery of a battery inside a Co-op chocolate Easter bunny.
Police and the National Crime Agency are investigating the alleged tampering following the incident in Nottingham, the supermarket said.
It comes after an incident at Christmas when batteries were found inside two of the store's chocolate Santas.
A nationwide recall of the hollow milk chocolate bunnies has been issued as police investigate.
Tammy-Louise Dundon, from Bulwell in Nottingham, bought the Easter bunny for her daughter Sophia Wood.
The three-year-old saw the single-cell battery, similar to those found in hearing aids, as she bit the ears off the rabbit.
Ms Dundon, 26, told the Nottingham Post: "If my daughter had swallowed it, it doesn't bear thinking about.
"This isn't just a choking hazard. It's corrosive - she could have lost her life.
A Co-op spokesman said: "We are concerned about one incident of alleged product tampering involving our hollow milk chocolate Easter bunny foil figure, which has been found to contain a small battery inside.
"This follows an incident at Christmas when two similar products were targeted and contaminated."
Just over 3,000 of the foil figure bunnies have been sold, at a cost of £1 each, and customers have been told they can return them to stores for a refund.
Police and the National Crime Agency are investigating the alleged tampering following the incident in Nottingham, the supermarket said.
It comes after an incident at Christmas when batteries were found inside two of the store's chocolate Santas.
A nationwide recall of the hollow milk chocolate bunnies has been issued as police investigate.
Tammy-Louise Dundon, from Bulwell in Nottingham, bought the Easter bunny for her daughter Sophia Wood.
The three-year-old saw the single-cell battery, similar to those found in hearing aids, as she bit the ears off the rabbit.
Ms Dundon, 26, told the Nottingham Post: "If my daughter had swallowed it, it doesn't bear thinking about.
"This isn't just a choking hazard. It's corrosive - she could have lost her life.
A Co-op spokesman said: "We are concerned about one incident of alleged product tampering involving our hollow milk chocolate Easter bunny foil figure, which has been found to contain a small battery inside.
"This follows an incident at Christmas when two similar products were targeted and contaminated."
Just over 3,000 of the foil figure bunnies have been sold, at a cost of £1 each, and customers have been told they can return them to stores for a refund.
Snooker star Jimmy White: 'Everything gone' after flat fire
Snooker star Jimmy White says he is "gutted" after he lost most of his possessions in a fire at his Surrey home.
The former Masters and UK Championship winner posted a picture on Twitter of smoke at the Epsom building where he has a flat.
He wrote "everything gone" after the blaze but said his snooker cue was fortunately in his car.
White, 54, added that "most importantly" no one was injured.
Despite the damage to his apartment, the six-time World Championship finalist was thought to be travelling to Germany to play in the country's masters tournament this week.
The former Masters and UK Championship winner posted a picture on Twitter of smoke at the Epsom building where he has a flat.
He wrote "everything gone" after the blaze but said his snooker cue was fortunately in his car.
White, 54, added that "most importantly" no one was injured.
Despite the damage to his apartment, the six-time World Championship finalist was thought to be travelling to Germany to play in the country's masters tournament this week.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Israel authorises 3,000 more settler homes in West Bank
Israel has announced the construction of 3,000 settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the fourth such announcement in the less than two weeks since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
"Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units in Judea-Samaria," the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, using a term Israel uses for the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967.
Since the January 20 inauguration of Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement areas of east Jerusalem and announced the building of 2,502 more in the West Bank.
On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem.
The plans had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of President Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution.
Trump however has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage.
"We are building and we will continue building," Netanyahu said last week, referring to settlement approvals.
The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Obama on Iran and settlements.
The announcements have deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The international community views them as a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
More than half-a-million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.
READ MORE: Palestinians decry Israel's settlement bill
In a telling break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned Israel's settlement expansion.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army issued an eviction notice to residents of Amona as it prepared to demolish their homes.
The order posted at the site on Tuesday gave the residents - some 40 families, including more than 200 children - 48 hours to leave their homes, according to media reports.
Israel's top court had ruled in 2014 that Amona, built on land belonging to Palestinians from surrounding West Bank towns, must be vacated by February 8.
Although all settlements are considered illegal under international law, there are more than a hundred outposts that were built without authorisation and are considered illegal by even the Israeli government.
In practice, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land since its military occupation of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip started as a result of the 1967 Middle East war.
"Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units in Judea-Samaria," the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, using a term Israel uses for the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967.
Since the January 20 inauguration of Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement areas of east Jerusalem and announced the building of 2,502 more in the West Bank.
On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem.
The plans had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of President Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution.
Trump however has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage.
"We are building and we will continue building," Netanyahu said last week, referring to settlement approvals.
The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Obama on Iran and settlements.
The announcements have deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The international community views them as a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
More than half-a-million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.
READ MORE: Palestinians decry Israel's settlement bill
In a telling break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned Israel's settlement expansion.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army issued an eviction notice to residents of Amona as it prepared to demolish their homes.
The order posted at the site on Tuesday gave the residents - some 40 families, including more than 200 children - 48 hours to leave their homes, according to media reports.
Israel's top court had ruled in 2014 that Amona, built on land belonging to Palestinians from surrounding West Bank towns, must be vacated by February 8.
Although all settlements are considered illegal under international law, there are more than a hundred outposts that were built without authorisation and are considered illegal by even the Israeli government.
In practice, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land since its military occupation of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip started as a result of the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel authorises 3,000 more settler homes in West Bank
Israel has announced the construction of 3,000 settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the fourth such announcement in the less than two weeks since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
"Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units in Judea-Samaria," the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, using a term Israel uses for the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967.
Since the January 20 inauguration of Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement areas of east Jerusalem and announced the building of 2,502 more in the West Bank.
On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem.
The plans had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of President Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution.
Trump however has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage.
"We are building and we will continue building," Netanyahu said last week, referring to settlement approvals.
The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Obama on Iran and settlements.
The announcements have deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The international community views them as a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
More than half-a-million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.
READ MORE: Palestinians decry Israel's settlement bill
In a telling break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned Israel's settlement expansion.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army issued an eviction notice to residents of Amona as it prepared to demolish their homes.
The order posted at the site on Tuesday gave the residents - some 40 families, including more than 200 children - 48 hours to leave their homes, according to media reports.
Israel's top court had ruled in 2014 that Amona, built on land belonging to Palestinians from surrounding West Bank towns, must be vacated by February 8.
Although all settlements are considered illegal under international law, there are more than a hundred outposts that were built without authorisation and are considered illegal by even the Israeli government.
In practice, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land since its military occupation of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip started as a result of the 1967 Middle East war.
"Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units in Judea-Samaria," the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, using a term Israel uses for the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967.
Since the January 20 inauguration of Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement areas of east Jerusalem and announced the building of 2,502 more in the West Bank.
On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem.
The plans had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of President Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution.
Trump however has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage.
"We are building and we will continue building," Netanyahu said last week, referring to settlement approvals.
The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Obama on Iran and settlements.
The announcements have deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The international community views them as a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
More than half-a-million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.
READ MORE: Palestinians decry Israel's settlement bill
In a telling break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned Israel's settlement expansion.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army issued an eviction notice to residents of Amona as it prepared to demolish their homes.
The order posted at the site on Tuesday gave the residents - some 40 families, including more than 200 children - 48 hours to leave their homes, according to media reports.
Israel's top court had ruled in 2014 that Amona, built on land belonging to Palestinians from surrounding West Bank towns, must be vacated by February 8.
Although all settlements are considered illegal under international law, there are more than a hundred outposts that were built without authorisation and are considered illegal by even the Israeli government.
In practice, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land since its military occupation of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip started as a result of the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel authorises 3,000 more settler homes in West Bank
Israel has announced the construction of 3,000 settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the fourth such announcement in the less than two weeks since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
"Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units in Judea-Samaria," the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, using a term Israel uses for the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967.
Since the January 20 inauguration of Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement areas of east Jerusalem and announced the building of 2,502 more in the West Bank.
On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem.
The plans had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of President Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution.
Trump however has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage.
"We are building and we will continue building," Netanyahu said last week, referring to settlement approvals.
The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Obama on Iran and settlements.
The announcements have deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The international community views them as a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
More than half-a-million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.
READ MORE: Palestinians decry Israel's settlement bill
In a telling break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned Israel's settlement expansion.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army issued an eviction notice to residents of Amona as it prepared to demolish their homes.
The order posted at the site on Tuesday gave the residents - some 40 families, including more than 200 children - 48 hours to leave their homes, according to media reports.
Israel's top court had ruled in 2014 that Amona, built on land belonging to Palestinians from surrounding West Bank towns, must be vacated by February 8.
Although all settlements are considered illegal under international law, there are more than a hundred outposts that were built without authorisation and are considered illegal by even the Israeli government.
In practice, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land since its military occupation of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip started as a result of the 1967 Middle East war.
"Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units in Judea-Samaria," the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, using a term Israel uses for the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967.
Since the January 20 inauguration of Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement areas of east Jerusalem and announced the building of 2,502 more in the West Bank.
On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem.
The plans had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of President Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution.
Trump however has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage.
"We are building and we will continue building," Netanyahu said last week, referring to settlement approvals.
The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Obama on Iran and settlements.
The announcements have deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The international community views them as a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
More than half-a-million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.
READ MORE: Palestinians decry Israel's settlement bill
In a telling break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned Israel's settlement expansion.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army issued an eviction notice to residents of Amona as it prepared to demolish their homes.
The order posted at the site on Tuesday gave the residents - some 40 families, including more than 200 children - 48 hours to leave their homes, according to media reports.
Israel's top court had ruled in 2014 that Amona, built on land belonging to Palestinians from surrounding West Bank towns, must be vacated by February 8.
Although all settlements are considered illegal under international law, there are more than a hundred outposts that were built without authorisation and are considered illegal by even the Israeli government.
In practice, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land since its military occupation of the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip started as a result of the 1967 Middle East war.
Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter Audition Is Just as Cute as You Remember
Daniel Radcliffe's original audition for Harry Potter has recently been making the Internet rounds again since the 26-year-old actor spoke about how difficult it was for him to watch the recording in a November interview for The Times. It shows him “at a stage when you hate your face anyway, and anything it does is repellent to you," he said.
But while it may be difficult for DanRad himself to watch, the adorable casting tape shows exactly why he landed the role of the boy wizard. Young Radcliffe is seen chatting with an off-screen Hagrid about the dragon egg that comes into play in The Sorcerer's Stone before performing a darker Prisoner of Azkaban scene during which he talks about Harry's deceased parents. To top it all off, the video ends with him trying on a pair of the iconic Potter glasses.
But while it may be difficult for DanRad himself to watch, the adorable casting tape shows exactly why he landed the role of the boy wizard. Young Radcliffe is seen chatting with an off-screen Hagrid about the dragon egg that comes into play in The Sorcerer's Stone before performing a darker Prisoner of Azkaban scene during which he talks about Harry's deceased parents. To top it all off, the video ends with him trying on a pair of the iconic Potter glasses.
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