War on Isis: US-led forces carry out 22 airstrikes on Islamist targets in Iraq and Syria in 24 hours

The US and its allies have carried out 22 air strikes on Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in the past 24 hours, it has emerged. There were three strikes near Hasaka in northeast Syria hitting a tactical unit and destroying Isis fighting positions, bunkers and excavators, according to a Coalition Joint Task Force spokesman. Another strike near Aleppo hit an Isis tactical unit. Kobani, near the Turkish border, also took a hit destroying three fighting positions and a tactical unit. And in a co-ordinated attack with the Iraqi Government,...

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Morgan Freeman's step-granddaughter E'Dena Hines stabbed to death on street in New York

Morgan Freeman’s step-granddaughter was stabbed to death on a New York street in the early hours of Sunday, police have confirmed. E’Dena Hines, 33, whose grandmother was Jeanette Adair Bradshaw, the actor’s first wife, was stabbed several times in front of her home in Harlem’s West 162nd St. The New York Post said that a 30-year-old man man who was at the scene was taken into custody and moved to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Freeman issued a statement saying: "The world will never know her artistry and talent, and...

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Toddler has his Minions Fart Gun confiscated at Dublin Airport for posing security 'threat'

A family in Dublin has discovered the harsh reality of airport security restrictions after their toddler’s Minions toy was confiscated for posing a ‘threat’. The toddler had a Minions Fart Gun taken off them at Dublin Airport on Saturday because toy guns – especially those with a trigger mechanism – are on the prohibited items list. “Can’t believe that a minion fart gun was taken from friends toddler, security felt it posed a threat [SIC],” a friend of the child’s family wrote on Twitter yesterday. A spokesperson for Dublin Airport explained...

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Yvette Cooper interview: Leadership candidate makes emotional call for Labour to be the party that 'makes a difference'

It is easy to be cynical about politicians – to think that they are in it for themselves, that they will say anything to get into power, and don’t know anything about the “real” world. But when you’re sharing the back seat of a three-door Fiat Punto with a politician who is choked up and on the verge of tears, it sort of makes you reassess. When that politician is Yvette Cooper – the Labour leadership candidate and shadow Home Secretary – it is all the more surprising. We’d met earlier in the day at one of her campaign events, and I was...

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Labour leadership contest: Party aids fear 'purge' if Jeremy Corbyn is elected

Dozens of Labour staff members and Shadow Cabinet aides could be dismissed within hours of Jeremy Corbyn winning the party’s leadership, it has emerged. The Independent understands that large numbers of Labour staff members are on contracts that expire the day after the new leader is elected. This means Mr Corbyn and his new shadow cabinet team will have a completely free hand at choosing who works for the party, with little or no legal obligation to existing staff. Labour aides, who have worked for the party for the past five years,...

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