David Cameron is said to be considering making the job of immigration minister a Cabinet-level position and handing it to current party chairman Grant Shapps.

A senior Conservative Party source told The Huffington Post UK that the move could be made at the next reshuffle, expected at the end of May in the wake of the European parliamentary elections.

The change would allow Downing Street to stress the importance the prime minister places on addressing voters' concerns about immigration.

At present the job of immigration minister sits in the Home Office below home secretary Theresa May and is held by James Brokenshire.

The move would also permit Cameron to appoint a new chairman ahead of the 2015 general election and draw a line under what is likely to be a damaging third place finish for the party behind Labour and Ukip in the European elections.

The appointment could be seen as a demotion for Shapps, who was only made party chairman in September 2012 when he replaced Baroness Warsi.

Since then there have been some grumblings about his performance. The Conservatives slipped to third place behind Ukip in the Eastleigh, South Shields and Wythenshawe and Sale East by-elections. One Tory MP told the Daily Mirror in December that Shapps was a "dead man walking" as Cameron's election strategist Lynton Crosby wanted to ditch him.

Some conservative commentators have also been agitating for a new Tory chairman. The Daily Telegraph's Iain Martin recently said that while Shapps was "enthusiastic", the job should be given to education secretary Michael Gove.

The senior Tory source told HuffPost UK that Conservative business minister and former deputy party chairman Michael Fallon is being lined up for Shapps' job at CCHQ.

It was suggested that the new immigration job would not be a full cabinet minister post but it would allow the holder to attend cabinet meetings - as Baroness Warsi, Ken Clarke and Dominic Grieve do at present.

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David Cameron Plans To Sack Grant Shapps As Party Chair And Make Him Cabinet-Level Immigration Minister

Woman still inside home when crews begin to board-up windows Woman still inside home when crews begin to board-up windows

Updated: March 11, 2014 10:54 PM 2014-03-12 17:58:47 GMT

A woman was inside her home with her nine-month-old baby, when suddenly she hears drilling at the doors.

A woman was inside her home with her nine-month-old baby, when suddenly she hears drilling at the doors.

Updated: Wednesday, March 12 2014 6:11 AM EDT2014-03-12 10:11:35 GMT

It's no secret Americans love meat.

It's no secret Americans love meat.

Updated: Wednesday, March 12 2014 12:28 PM EDT2014-03-12 16:28:42 GMT

Police are searching for the driver of a vehicle that hit a gas line in Pulaski County late Tuesday night.

Police are searching for the driver of a vehicle that hit a gas line in Pulaski County late Tuesday night.

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KYTC announces I-24 work zone shift at Tennessee River Bridge

ELLWOOD CITY Placement of the truck detour for a bridge replacement project to begin this spring has threatened the Soap Box Derby-style tournament planned for later this year.

Earla Marshall of the Kitchen Cabinet, which is organizing the racing event, told the borough council on Monday that the inaugural 2014 tournament will have to be canceled if a venue is not determined and approved by council at next Mondays monthly meeting.

But borough council members said after Mondays council committee meeting that a site will be approved in time for plans to still go off.

Marshall said the delay in determining a location for the tournament has already deprived Kitchen Cabinet members of the opportunity of holding assemblies in Ellwood City Area schools to promote the event. With the PSSA tests coming up next month, district officials will not permit the organizers to hold an assembly.

We cannot formally put out information on the derby until a location is determined, Marshall told council Monday.

The Kitchen Cabinet is calling the event, scheduled for Sept. 27, the Main Drag Derby because it is not an official Soap Box Derby tournament. But Kitchen Cabinet members are consulting with organizers of the regional Soap Box Derby qualifier in Ambridge, Marshall said.

Ellwood City had played host to an official Soap Box Derby qualifier for nearly 40 years until the late 1960s, when the race was discontinued.

In January, Kitchen Cabinet members had proposed two locations along Line Avenue in the boroughs North Side, and Fourth Street near the Lawrence Avenue business district. But its possible that neither site will be acceptable.

Because of the ramps and grandstands necessary to hold the derby, any street used in the tournament would have to be closed for nearly 24 hours, until about 4 p.m. on race day.

That would preclude using the Fourth Street location for a derby this year, with replacement of the Second Street Bridge scheduled to begin this spring. A portion of Fourth Street including the area earmarked for the derby has been designated to serve as truck detour for the Second Street Bridge project, said council President Brad Ovial.

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Truck detour could crash Main Drag Derby plans

London SE1 website team London SE1 community website

Southwark Council will this summer open a temporary public library at Elephant & Castle as part of The Artworks, a 'retail and creative business hub' built from 50 recycled shipping containers.

The new library at the corner of Walworth Road and Elephant Road will serve as a temporary replacement for Newington Library which has been closed since a devastating fire swept through the adjacent town hall building in January 2013.

Plans for the 1.2 million library which could remain in place for up to five years are due to be approved by Southwark Council's cabinet next week.

Last spring opening hours were extended at John Harvard Library and East Street Library to compensate for the closure of the Newington branch.

"Demand for the use of other library facilities has increased since the closure of Newington Library with around 400 additional customers using the John Harvard Library on a daily basis which is creating additional pressures for the service and leading to delay and other frustrations for customers," said a report prepared for cabinet members.

"This additional demand is creating extra costs including security. The loss of quiet space for use by students to undertake revision/homework (particularly at exam time) and access to IT facilities is a particular issue for the area which needs to be addressed in the short term."

The council is also proposing the temporary relocation of the Cuming Museum which has also been shut for more than a year to Chumleigh Gardens in Burgess Park.

Next Tuesday's cabinet meeting will approve the project mandate for the future of the fire-damaged former town hall in Walworth Road.

The long-term redevelopment of the old town hall could include the relocation of the Southwark Local Studies Library currently situated at the rear of John Harvard Library as part of a centralisation of the borough's art and heritage services.

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1.2m library to open in Elephant & Castle shipping containers

The Cabinet Office has completed its trial of consumer laptops, tablets, collaboration software and Wi-Fi access.

The users gave regular feedback on how the new tools affected their day-to-day working, and in a blog post, the Cabinet Office said this would feed into the solutions it will take forward.

Lightweight laptops and tablets; Google Apps for mail, calendar, document creation and collaboration; Evernote for notetaking; and Libre Office for offline document creation were all trialled.

The Cabinet Office also introduced a "lightweight secure layer" device management solution, portable 4G Wi-Fi and printers on a trial basis.

Civil servant Will van Rensberg said that the solutions had been welcomed by staff, and that users were "extremely reluctant" to return equipment.

"Some of the clearest evidence of the difference the technology made came when we asked for the kit back - without exception, every team on the trial asked to keep the equipment beyond the trial end date," he claimed.

Rensberg stated that participants were able to easily start using the real-time document editing functionality in Google Docs, and that being able to work on the document resulted in "higher quality output, achieved faster". However, when the users wanted to collaborate with people outside of the trials, they weren't able to.

"This highlighted the need to make sure the applications and file formats work together," he said.

Although Google Docs was well received, Rensberg said that many users did not see it as a replacement for the products they are used to.

The iPad and Android tablet devices trialled were generally popular, but employees questioned whether the devices would actually help them work, because they either weren't mobile workers or they rely heavily on their existing laptops, which provided additional functionality that the tablet couldn't match.

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Cabinet Office completes trial of Google Apps, Evernote, Libre Office, Android and iOS devices

AAP West Australian Treasurer Troy Buswell has resigned after having a breakdown.

The colourful, charismatic and controversial ministerial career of West Australian politician Troy Buswell is over, as he begins a battle to recover from a mental breakdown.

At an emotional press conference, Premier Colin Barnett confirmed Mr Buswell had tendered his resignation during a phone call when he also admitted crashing his government car into security gates at his Perth home.

The February 23 incident sparked a brief police investigation on the night and then prompted Mr Buswell to take personal leave for the past two weeks.

But the full details of the crash, which occurred after Mr Buswell had driven home from a wedding, only emerged publicly on Sunday after the witness who reported the erratic driving to the police told the same story to local media.

"It is a very sad day and a sad situation he found himself in. He has had a breakdown," Mr Barnett said.

Since taking leave, Mr Buswell had been in hospital undergoing treatment in both Perth and Sydney, Mr Barnett said.

He has been released from hospital and returned to Perth but is still under medical care.

Mr Buswell resigned as WA treasurer and transport minister but remains MP for the regional seat of Vasse.

The dramatic day began with a West Australian newspaper report of a witness saying they had to stop their vehicle to avoid being struck by Mr Buswell's white Holden Caprice on Roberts Road, Subiaco.

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WA Treasurer quits after breakdown

Western Australia Treasurer Troy Buswell has resigned from Cabinet following a breakdown, two months before he was due to deliver the state budget.

Buswell is still receiving medical treatment after more than a week in hospital, state Premier Colin Barnett told reporters today. Barnett confirmed media reports that Buswell had crashed a ministerial car into a gate last month and had been emotional and upset.

Hes had a breakdown, hes been hospitalized for about 10 days, Barnett said. Hes facing up to reality.

As Treasurer, Buswell was spearheading the states attempt to regain a AAA credit rating after it was cut one level by Standard & Poors in September. The state government said in December it expected an operating surplus of A$437 million ($395 million) in 2013-14, about a A$50 million improvement on the surplus forecast in August.

Buswell lost the leadership of the state Liberal Party in 2008 after he admitted sniffing a female staffers chair in Parliament House. He stepped down from the front bench in 2010 after an affair with a lawmaker in the Greens Party.

Barnett said he would be sworn in as acting treasurer and intended to appoint a replacement this week.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net Malcolm Scott

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Western Australia Treasurer Buswell Resigns After Breakdown

Van Persie set to waive 10million loyalty bonus to leave United: Disillusioned Robin van Persie is so keen to leave Manchester United this summer that he is willing to waive a 10 million loyalty bonus, report the Sunday Mirror. Reported interest from Juventus is said to have turned the player's head and convinced the striker that his future lies away from Old Trafford. Speculation has mounted that the former Arsenal man has been unhappy in Manchester since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and the report cites the Dutchmans reaction to being substituted in yesterdays 3-0 win against West Brom as further proof of this.

Paper rounds view: RVP is not happy at Old Trafford of that we can almost be certain. His demeanour suggests so, as does his form and a move to the slower-paced Serie A would indeed suit RVP as he enters his 30s. However, how unhappy is he? Is he willing to forgo 10 million for happiness? While it is a lot of money, a player of his quality will not be short of a few quid and a move to Juventus would almost certainly see him add to a surprisingly threadbare trophy cabinet.

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United set to swoop for 58million Cavani: United will happily let RVP leave Old Trafford but only if they can lure Edinson Cavani from PSG as his replacement, report the Sunday People. The paper report that David Moyes is ready to cut his losses with the Dutchman and will look to recoup 15 million for the player they shelled out 24 million for a year and a half ago. Moyes is, reports the paper, confident of signing Uruguayan star Cavani as his replacement.

Paper rounds view: We have been in this territory before in Moyess United reign. If United fail to make the Champions League then they will struggle to make marquee signings such as Cavani even this season when they were in the Champions League they struggled to make signings of his calibre: think Thiago Alcantara or Cesc Fabregas. This move appears a pipe dream.

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PSG set to swoop for Oscar: PSG are weighing up a 41.5 million offer for Chelsea midfielder Oscar, report the Telegraph. Barcelona and Monaco are said to also be interested in the Brazilian playmaker, who has three years left to run on his current contract.

Paper rounds view: Highly, highly unlikely. Chelsea moved on their two-time player of the year Juan Mata in favour of Oscar so the chances of them letting him go appear slim to none. Granted PSG have financial clout but Chelsea are hardly in need of the money especially considering they got 37.5 million for Mata in January. Also, Oscar is very much a Jose Mourinho type of player so this deal makes absolutely no sense from a Chelsea point of view.

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Premier League - Paper Round: United line up 58 million Van Persie replacement

Photo: ThisDay

President Goodluck Jonathan.

Barely 24 hours after a sweeping sack in the aviation sector, President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday dropped the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi from his cabinet.

This is just as 11 new ministers were sworn in by the president.

Though Abdullahi was absent at the swearing in ceremony, Jonathan nonetheless announced his replacement.

Dr Tamuno Danagogo from Rivers State, replaced Bolaji Abdullahi as Sports Minister.

Senator. Muhammadu Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), is the new Minister of State Defence.

Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Minister of State for Power, Alhaji Abduljelili Adesiyan (Osun), Minister of Police Affairs, and Ambassador Aminu Wali (Kano), Minister of Foreign Affairs

Also, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom), is the new Minister of Land and Housing, Lawrencia Laraba Mallam (Kaduna State), Minister of Environment.

Minister of state for Agriculture is Hajia Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger), Gen. Aliyu Gusau (Zamfara), Minister of Defence, Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Minister of Youth Development, while Dr Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto State),is the new Minister of State for Health.

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Nigeria: Jonathan Drops Bolaji Abdullahi, Swears in 11 New Ministers

Armed with an initial tranche of government funding for a next-generation rocket, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to partner with a private company to lead development of a launcher to replace Japan's H-2A rocket by the early 2020s.

Concepts for the H-3 rocket in various configurations with and without solid rocket boosters. Photo credit: JAXA Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., the prime contractor for Japan's current H-2A and H-2B rockets, is almost certain to lead the industrial consortium to develop, manufacture and operate Japan's new H-3 rocket.

JAXA invited bids from Japanese industry Feb. 27 for an industrial partner on the H-3 rocket program. Selections are expected by the end of March.

"The Committee on the National Space Policy of the Cabinet Office recommended that the private sector be involved to play an important role throughout the new flagship launch vehicle project to make it an internationally competitive launch vehicle," JAXA said in its Feb. 27 announcement. "By including a private company, the committee said that the ability and power of the private sector should be fully leveraged in the development and ... that company shall also be able to provide launch services autonomously."

The preliminary schedule calls for the new flagship H-3 rocket to make its first launch in 2020.

"The new flagship launch vehicle will be freshly developed with a goal of securing Japan's autonomous launch capability of satellites and other payloads while acquiring international competitiveness in the space transportation field and maintaining and developing technical and industrial bases," JAXA said in a statement posted on its website.

Japanese officials say the two-stage H-3 rocket should be less expensive and flexible in launching often with different types of satellites for government and commercial customers.

A new hydrogen-fueled LE-X engine is in development for the H-3 rocket's first stage. Two of the engines, each generating about 300,000 pounds of thrust, will power the H-3 rocket's first stage.

The LE-X engine features an open expander cycle, in which hydrogen from the engine turbopump is diverted to the main combustion chamber's cooling channels and then used to drive the turbines before being injected into the combustion flow at the nozzle extension, according to a technical document produced by JAXA engineers.

Engineers say the open expander cycle, only used on upper stage engines up to now, allows the rocket engine to have a simpler design, reduces pressures and temperatures inside the engine, decreases heat on the turbines of the turbopump, and makes the engine more robust to failures.

Excerpt from:
Japan moves forward with replacement for H-2A rocket