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Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered hope to millions of house buyers today as he announced a stamp duty holiday extension alongside new 95% mortgages for buyers. The new mortgage guarantee scheme, first confirmed last week, will help raise home ownership numbers from April, the Chancellor said. Sunak confirmed the news in the Commons earlier amid a record low in 95% mortgages. Right now, there are just eight products on the market, with banks pulling the 'risky' loans since the start of the pandemic. But there are already fears that the new scheme - designed primarily to help first-time buyers get onto the ladder - will lead to a surge in demand and rising house prices, putting properties further out of reach for many. "This is a policy that gives people who can't afford a big deposit the chance to buy their own home," Sunak told MPs. "As the prime minister has said, we want to turn generation rent into generation buy. "Lenders who provide mortgages to homebuyers who can only … [Read more...] about Budget 2021: Return of 95% mortgages confirmed – but fears raised of ‘hidden cost’

The Crystal Palace conundrum: Premier League stability, but unsatisfied supporters How Fulham's shrewd recruitment is powering their Premier League survival chances W ith Roy Hodgson content to steadily edge Crystal Palace towards Premier League safety, this point earned is another feather in their pragmatic manager’s cap on his 150th game at the helm. For their increasingly dissatisfied fans it is a rather different story. This was the second successive game in which Palace have been totally outplayed and the four points they unexpectedly have to show from those matches will do little to placate their disgruntled supporters after watching their unimaginative side somehow keep a Fulham second-half onslaught at bay. Does continued Premier League survival – which Hodgson looks likely to deliver again – override all semblance of ambition? Given Palace’s lack of effort to win, this must go down as a missed opportunity for Fulham, but it serves as further proof that … [Read more...] about Fulham dominate Crystal Palace but again come out with only a point

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been told to "pack a bag" for a return to prison after being summoned to court over new charges, according to her husband. The British-Iranian mother has been detained in Iran since 2016 when she was sentenced to five years in jail over allegations of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government - which she denies. Richard Ratcliffe said his wife - who has been out of prison on furlough but under house arrest in Tehran since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic - was told she needed to pack a bag to bring to a new court hearing on Monday as it would end in her being jailed again. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Richard Ratcliffe says his wife is 'held as a bargaining chip' "We don't know what will happen on Monday; we don't know how far and how soon they will take forward their prison threat," he said. "But we do know that the Revolutionary Guard are signalling something to the British … [Read more...] about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ‘told to pack’ for return to prison over fresh charges, husband claims

Iran will face the "strongest sanctions in history" if it doesn't change course, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned. Following US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Tehran has now been issued with a list of 12 demands by Washington. In his first major policy speech since taking on the role of America's top diplomat last month, Mr Pompeo detailed the requirements Iran must abide by in a new agreement. This would replace the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed under Barack Obama but branded the "worst deal ever" by Mr Trump even before he took office. The US will "apply unprecedented financial pressure" to force Iran into new negotiations, Mr Pompeo said on Monday. Advertisement "These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete," he declared, also issuing a promise that the US will ensure "Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon, ever". The … [Read more...] about US warns Iran will face ‘strongest sanctions in history’ if it doesn’t change course

WITH a machete at his throat and a gun at his head, Mike Farmer noticed the kid holding the firearm was shaking – they were scared, and that made the situation even more dangerous. "I was just thinking: 'I'm glad my wife stayed at the hotel today – this sucks, I'm actually going to die here'," Mike tells The Sun. It was 2011 in Kenya and he'd been beaten, abducted and driven into the jungle by thieves who knew he had cash – lots of it. That's because Mike, 48, is a meteorite hunter from Tucson, Arizona. He sells his extraterrestrial minerals to amateur astronomers and billionaire businessmen alike, all of whom want to get their hands on a tangible emissary from outer space. A fireball over the skies of Britain last Sunday alone could have scattered thousands of rocks in the fields below. And while the financial and scientific rewards in finding meteorites are great, so are the risks – but Mike lives for the thrill of the chase. "I see myself as like Indiana … [Read more...] about I’m a meteorite dealer who makes millions selling space rocks – I’ve been kidnapped and robbed in the brutal trade