News in brief

AA warns petrol costs are rising again

Fuel: The price of petrol at the pumps is back up towards near-record levels, according to the AA.

The increase comes as European refinery profits have risen to a five-year high, the company added.

Petrol in Britain now costs an average of 139.71p a litre - within 3p of the record price of 142.48p a litre in mid April.

Diesel now costs an average 143.98p a litre compared with the mid-April record of 147.93p, the group said.

Bomb squad at victims' home

Crime: A bomb disposal squad searched the Surrey home of the French Alps shooting spree victims today, after police raised concerns about items found at the property.

Neighbours were evacuated as experts examined the house in the village of Claygate.

Saad al-Hilli, his wife Iqbal and Ms Hilli's mother were murdered along with a French bypasser on Wednesday. Each was shot twice in the head.

Man charged after Oldham blast

Courts: A man has been charged with the manslaughter of a two-year-old boy in a suspected gas explosion that flattened a number of homes in Oldham in June this year.

Infant Jamie Heaton died in the blast in his home in Shaw, Oldham, on June 26.

Andrew Partington, 27, has been charged by Greater Manchester Police with manslaughter and causing criminal damage worth more than £1 million.