Hundreds of thousands of health workers will today go on strike in protest at the Government's controversial decision not to give them a 1% pay rise, including midwives taking action for the first time in their history.
Picket lines will be mounted outside hospitals and ambulance stations across England for four hours from 7am, while action will be taken later today in Northern Ireland.
Several trade unions will be involved in the action, including those representing nurses, paramedics, hospital porters and ambulance crews as well as the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
Parties regroup after UKIP bruising
Labour and the Conservatives will seek to recapture the political agenda today as Tory defector Douglas Carswell returns to Parliament as Ukip's first directly-elected MP.
Both parties are attempting to halt the Ukip juggernaut after being left bruised at the hands of the Eurosceptics in last week's by-elections.
Conservative Boris Johnson has underlined his calls for Britain to be ready to quit the European Union and demanded curbs on freedom of movement as he made his pitch to win back disaffected voters.
Tory 'rescue package' for schools
New powers to impose tough classroom discipline and immediately sack school leaders at failing state schools would be introduced under Conservative plans to rescue 500 failing English schools, David Cameron has announced.
A crack squad of teachers would also be set up under a Conservative government so the top talent in the profession could be swiftly despatched to classrooms that are not up to scratch, the Prime Minister said.
It comes amid concerns about the time it takes to turn around badly-performing schools and the impact that can have on the education of the 100,000 pupils affected.
PM's praise for brilliant school
David Cameron has told parents he wants their sons and daughters to enjoy the same "brilliant" education his children do.
Announcing plans to reform England's worst schools, the Prime Minister insisted no British youngster should endure "second-rate" schooling.
In an article for the Daily Mail, the Prime Minister reflected on his daughter Florence's first day at school last month and said she is "excited" to learn.
Ebola screening on NHS calls
Calls to the NHS's non-emergency 111 phoneline are to be screened for possible Ebola sufferers, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced.
Call handlers on the service are to question anyone ringing up with possible symptoms of the disease about their recent travel history, to see if they have been to west Africa, where the death toll has passed 4,000 people, Mr Hunt said.
The announcement comes as the United States announced its second case of the disease, in a Texas hospital worker who was in contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, who died from the virus on Wednesday.
Home hospital dementia care worry
Dementia sufferers are likely to experience poor care as they move between residential homes and hospitals because of an "unacceptable gap" in quality, a damning new report says.
Nine out of 10 units assessed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) were found to have some aspects of poor care, it said.
It criticised hospitals for focusing too much on patients' physical needs and said both hospital and care home staff had "a lack of understanding and knowledge of dementia care" and poor sharing of information.
Woman and children found dead
A woman and two young children have been found dead at a house.
Staffordshire Police was called to an address in Sherwin Road in the Stanfields area of Stoke-on-Trent at 6.35pm, yesterday, following an incident.
One man has been arrested and is being questioned by officers, as a forensic examination of the scene got under way.
Murder accused mother in court
A mother will appear in court today accused of murdering her three young disabled children.
Tania Clarence, 42, has already pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Olivia, four, and three-year-old twins Ben and Max by diminished responsibility.
But Clarence, of New Malden, south London, denies murdering the three children between April 20 and 23.
MPs to argue for Palestinian state
The Government should recognise Palestine as a state alongside Israel, MPs will argue today.
Huge public desire exists across the UK for the issue to be aired, according to the proposer of the debate, in what is considered to be the first lengthy talks on the issue in Parliament since 2012.
It follows the collapse of peace talks between Israel and Palestine and a summer conflict in Gaza, which claimed the lives of more than 2,100 Palestinians - mostly civilians - as well as 70 Israelis, all but six soldiers.
Time's up for Overload Generation
Boyband Overload Generation and sisters Blonde Electra were the first acts to be eliminated from this year's X Factor live heats.
Judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini voted to send the boys home for their "shockingly bad" performance in a sing-off with Stephanie Nala.
They were shown the door despite winning the votes of judges Mel B and Louis Walsh because they had fewer public votes than Nala.
