Ophelia bears down on UK

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Schools in Northern Ireland have been shut as a precaution while the Irish Republic is sending members of its defence forces to its southern and western coasts.

The UK’s Met Office said there was a “good chance” Northern Ireland could be hit by power cuts, flying debris, large waves in coastal areas and disruption to all travel services.

For the rest of the UK, Monday is set to be a “day of huge contrasts”, said BBC Weather, with the strong gusts of wind travelling over the Irish Sea and heading north to central and southern Scotland.

Eastern England though is instead expected to enjoy unusually warm weather, with predicted temperatures of 22C or 23C on Monday. The average mid-October temperature is more usually 15C.

You can keep up with all the latest developments on our live page.

They’re off for talks with the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker in a bid to end the reported deadlock in talks over the UK’s divorce from the 28-member bloc.

This top-level engagement by the prime minister kicked off on Sunday morning when she called German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the stalemate. Downing Street said the two women had agreed on the “importance of continued constructive progress” in the UK’s exit negotiations in the early morning phone call.

Hundreds more were wounded when a lorry packed with explosives detonated near the entrance of a hotel.

No group has said it was behind Saturday’s attack, but the country’s president has blamed Islamist extremist group al-Shabab group, which has been fighting an insurgency in Somalia since 2007.

Police official Ibrahim Mohamed told the AFP news agency the death toll was likely to rise. “There are more than 300 wounded, some of them seriously,” he said.

A new rule limiting sweets and chocolates sold in hospital shops and vending machines to 250 calories or fewer could see “super-size” bars banned, according to NHS England.

Its boss, Simon Stevens, says they are “stepping up” to tackle “an epidemic of obesity”.

It’s not just chocolate which is in the firing line, with pre-packed sandwiches also being trimmed to reduce calories and the nation’s waistlines. Under the proposals, 75% of sandwiches will come in at under 400 calories.

Alec Homewood was about five miles away from his childhood home when its roof fell in and killed his brother.

Cyril Homewood, known as Bob, was upstairs asleep in his bedroom when the chimney collapsed – the force of which pushed the legs of his bed through the ceiling into the kitchen.

“It just devastated the house,” his brother said. “Virtually all the roof came down. Mother said he’d been killed, but we didn’t know.”

Monday’s papers cannot quite agree on what is the lead, with the Daily Telegraph previewing next month’s Budget, saying Philip Hammond is planning a “raid on older workers” by offering tax breaks to those in their 20s and 30s. The chancellor wants to promote “intergenerational fairness”, the paper reports. The Times leads with Theresa May’s “surprise trip” to Brussels to break the impasse on Brexit, with the paper quoting a source saying the PM is having dinner with EU officials to discuss European and geopolitical issues. Crimes including burglaries, thefts and some assaults could be “ignored” by police forces, claims The Sun. It says a £400m cost-cutting drive means “hundreds of thousands” of offences would not be investigated.

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1996 The UK government announces plans to outlaw almost all handguns following the shocking massacre at Dunblane.