Your morning news news briefing, Monday 11th November
11 November 2019, 05:42
Good morning and here is the latest in UK and world news you're waking up to on Armistice Day.
101 years ago today World War One ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918 the guns fell silent. Good morning, it's EJ here with all the news you need to start your week.
General Election 2019:
Both of the main parties used Remembrance Sunday to set out their plans for helping military veterans and their families.
Labour reiterated their ambitious reforms, first announced in June, to the way veterans and their families are housed calling for an end to reliance on private rented sector.
The party have also pledged to make school admissions easier for veterans whose children regularly move schools, alongside the creation of public body to "give a voice" to service men and women.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives say they will extend the HM Forces railcard to veterans and their family members who are not eligible for other railcards.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the railcard would support up to 700,000 former Armed Forces personnel and claims the move will save veterans and their families hundreds of pounds a year.
Monday will see election campaigning continue as the countdown to the General Election continues.
Rain And Floods
The military worked through the night to help shore up flood defences in South Yorkshire as more rain is forecast for Monday.
A Royal Air Force Chinook helped to move bags of aggregate on to flood banks in the Bentley area of Doncaster on Sunday evening - close to an area of housing which was inundated by floodwater on Friday.
Weather forecasters have warned the area will experience more heavy rain today and tomorrow, and 5 'danger to life' flood warnings are in place.
Remembrance
On Sunday the White Cliffs of Dover were showered with an ‘awe-inspiring’ three-quarters of a million poppies dropped from a WW2 plane.
The poppies were dropped from the original Second World War Dakota plane in a poignant tribute to fallen troops on Remembrance Sunday.
The bio-degradable flowers fell across the Kent countryside on Remembrance Sunday.
Essex Grafitti
Police in Essex are taking steps to reassure residents in Canvey Island after a spate of hateful graffiti hit the town on Sunday.
Officers are going door-to-door after antisemitic, racist and homophobic graffiti was spread across the local area in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The messages were sprayed in red paint across buildings and cars in the area, which Essex Police confirmed they were treating as a hate crime.
And Finally...
A murderer serving a life sentence has claimed he should be released from jail because he "died" during a medical emergency.
A judge turned down his imaginative attempt to gain freedom, pointing out he must still be alive to make the claim.
Benjamin Schreiber, 66, was convicted of beating a man to death in 1997 and has been in prison since.
The court said: "Schreiber is either alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or he is dead, in which case this appeal is moot."
That's it, you're up to date, I'll be back at the same time tomorrow, until then stay dry. EJ
