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More than 3,000 rural post offices face 'armageddon' without a £50million bailout, campaigners warned yesterday. They are calling on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the annual subsidy after April next year, when it is due to expire. The cash keeps afloat 3,100 branches that are too small to make a profit and are now being battered by the pandemic.  The fate of the subsidy will be decided in the spending review tomorrow.  More than 3,000 rural post offices face 'armageddon' without a £50million bailout, campaigners warned yesterday (file image) Andy Furey, of the Communications Workers' Union, said: 'We're already at a tipping point – if we don't get the subsidy it's armageddon.' Post offices have become crucial for many elderly or isolated people because hundreds of banks and cash machines have shut, prompting the Mail to launch the Save Our Post Offices campaign last year. SNP MP Marion Fellows, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for

Hector Enrique Valencia , 21, was arrested in Aruba in February over the death of Sydney sex worker Kimberley McRae A Colombian student arrested overseas over the death of a sex worker has been returned to Sydney and will today be charged with her murder. Hector Enrique Valencia, 21, was nabbed by local authorities on the Caribbean island of Aruba in February over the death of Coogee identity Kimberley McRae. The 69-year-old transgender woman's body was found inside her apartment on Mount Street, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on January 14. Police alleged that in the days after her death Valencia fled Australia, and after a two-month long manhunt tracked him down in Aruba where local authorities arrested him.  But due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international travel, Valencia's extradition to Australia was delayed. Daily Mail Australia can reveal that after nine months in custody Strike Force Onshore detectives went to Aruba to collect Valencia and returned hi

There are already two other vaccines – why’s this a big deal? Such strong results from the Oxford-AstraZeneca team gives Britain – and the world – real hope of an end to the pandemic early next year.  While the Pfizer and Moderna jabs will play a vital role, the Oxford vaccine is much better suited to mass immunisation involving billions of people.  The Oxford results also suggest that the vaccination will stop someone becoming infected and passing it on.  The previous results only showed a jab would stop someone getting ill. Why is it easier to roll out? The Oxford vaccine can be stored and transported in a normal fridge, while the other two require deep freeze.  Such strong results from the Oxford-AstraZeneca team gives Britain – and the world – real hope of an end to the pandemic early next year This jab is also much cheaper – £2 to £3 per dose, compared to £15 for the Pfizer version and between £19 and £28 for the Moderna vaccine.  And the Oxford jab is based on well-established te

Rudy Giuliani was on Monday still insisting 'this will turn all around' hours before Donald Trump gave the green light for the transition to Joe Biden to begin.  The president's personal attorney, 76, told Fox Business: 'One fair decision, one good hearing, and this will turn all around.' Trump, who had refused to concede the election, later tweeted to say he is directing his team to cooperate on the transition but is vowing to keep up the fight.  Michigan certified Biden's victory Monday, and a federal judge in Pennsylvania tossed a Trump campaign lawsuit on Saturday seeking to prevent certification in that state. Giuliani had told Lou Dobbs: 'Deadlines are urgent, no question about it.  'There isn’t a lot of time, but there’s time. And the fact is that the facts are there, we just need to get them before a trier of fact or before a court that’ll be fair and will listen.' Rudy Giuliani , pictured, was on Monday still insisting 'this will turn al

More than 350,000 new mothers are missing vital postnatal check-ups every year, according to a major study. Experts have warned the well-being of thousands of women is being put at risk by the missed appointments, which can pick up serious problems such as postnatal depression. Teenage mothers and those living in the most deprived parts of the country were most likely to miss the checks – which look at a woman's health and recovery in the weeks immediately after birth. More than 350,000 new mothers are missing vital postnatal check-ups every year, according to a major study The appointments, usually offered six to eight weeks after giving birth, also provide an opportunity to discuss matters including breastfeeding, contraception, stopping smoking, return to physical activity and diet. But the largest study of its kind found two in ten women had no consultation with a GP within this time frame, while four in ten had no official record of the checks – so they may or may not have had

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to cancel a proposed five per cent rise in the national living wage for two million workers, amid fears it could put firms out of business.   Hourly rates were due to rise from £8.72 to £9.21 - in April, but the chancellor is set to cancel those plans amid fears over the impact it will have on businesses already struggling in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The minimum pay rate will instead rise by around two per cent, in line with inflation, to £8.90 an hour, he is expected to reveal on Wednesday.  It means many low-paid workers, including men and women working on the front line in care homes and other areas, will not see an increase in their pay in real terms.  Rishi Sunak is set to scrap a five per cent rise in the national living wage when he announces his spending review on Wednesday  Mr Sunak's plan comes following a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission, which according to The Times, said the the previous proposal was unaffordable. Anyon

A bipartisan group of state attorneys general plans to file an anti-trust lawsuit against Alphabet's Google as early as next month, according to two people briefed on the matter. The states argue that Google is illegally protecting its dominant position in the market for search and search advertising with the deals it has struck with companies like Apple.  Google pays Apple billions of dollars a year to have its search engine set as the default option on iPhones and other devices.  The lawsuit is separate from a widely anticipated Texas antitrust action that could also come before the end of the year. The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in October, and this group of states has said it planned to combine its case with the government's.  The states are Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. Google, whose headquarters in Mountain View, California, is pictured, is facing a series of suits One source said the states plan

The four-person split-party panel who certifies presidential elections in Michigan voted Monday afternoon 3-1 to confirm Joe Biden's popular vote win in the swing state. The vote is yet another blow to Donald Trump's pressure campaign to overturn the presidential election, which includes mounting several lawsuits in battleground states like Michigan. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers Vice Chairman Norman Shinkle, a Republican, expressed his objections to certifying Biden's victory due to irregularities and errors in the voting and tabulation process – and he voted to abstain on Monday. After hearing from clerks and volunteers who worked at and observed ballot tabulation, the four members voted to certify the election. Shinkle's fellow Republican panel member Aaron Van Langevelde voted to certify the election, but maintained a post-election audit needs to be conducted. He also said any complaints of election fraud need to be investigated and, if found, prosecuted. A

Amazon hired operatives from the Pinkerton detective agency to spy on warehouse workers, track labor unionization efforts and keep tabs on social justice groups, a new report claims.  Motherboard described a trove of internal Amazon reports that it said outlined the online retail giant's 'obsessive monitoring of organized labor and social and environmental movements' in an article published Monday.   The reports leaked to Motherboard were written in 2019 by intelligence analysts with Amazon's Global Security Operations Center, the security division that is responsible for protecting employees, vendors and assets at its facilities worldwide.   They revealed how Amazon recruited operatives from Pinkerton, a US-based spy agency with a decades-long record of infiltrating labor unions to thwart strikes, to monitor workers' labor and union-organizing activities around Europe.   Jeff Bezos' firm also tracked European activists - including Greta Thunberg's climate g

Victoria is officially COVID-free after the last patient from the state's horror second wave was released from hospital.   The state's last active case, a man in his 90s, was discharged from Monash Medical Centre on Monday.  It is the first time since February 21 there have been no active coronavirus cases in Victoria's hospitals.  The man's departure follows his wife's, aged in her 80s, who was discharged from the same hospital on Thursday.  The husband and wife spent more than a month battling the virus at the Melbourne health facility and were at one point critically ill.  Victoria has no active coronavirus cases for the first time since February after a man, aged in his 90s, was released from Monash Medical Centre on Monday To the amazement of medical teams, the elderly couple's health miraculously turned around after they were reunited with family members who were brought into the hospital to say their goodbyes.  Monash infectious diseases physician Rhonda

Tough coronavirus curbs will last at least until Easter despite another stunning vaccine breakthrough yesterday. Oxford University confirmed its cheap, easy to store and simple to deliver jab had proved 'highly effective' in preventing illness. It could be approved by regulators in as little as a fortnight and start to be administered next month. Britain has ordered 100million doses, with almost 20million due by Christmas. Boris Johnson praised the breakthrough, saying all vulnerable Britons could be vaccinated by Easter, allowing a gradual return to normality through spring. But he also warned against 'over-optimism', saying there were 'hard months ahead' until stringent restrictions could be eased. Setting out plans for a tougher tier system to replace the lockdown that ends on December 2, he said onerous rules would have to remain in place until at least March 31. Business leaders said the new system was 'purgatory' for firms already reeling from two