This week's UK news: 6 December 2013
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6 December 2013


Olympic star says he has a boyfriend

Tom Daley, who won a bronze medal for diving in the London Olympics, is a very well-known athlete in the UK. This is partly because he was a young teenager when he started to do well in competitions, and because he was supported by his father who had suffered from brain cancer.

This week, Daley made a short YouTube video to explain that he was in a serious relationship with another man. He added: "Of course I still fancy girls but... right now I'm dating a guy and I couldn't be happier."

Daley is probably the best-known British athlete to announce that he is gay or bisexual and has had lots of support from people on Twitter.


Huge seas flood UK towns

The highest tides for 60 years have flooded towns along the east coast of the UK.

A winter storm and high tides together caused lots of damage on Thursday night, and forecasters warned that there might be more problems with the high tide on Friday.

More than 9,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes and more than 50 flood warnings were issued for different areas. The storm had already caused travel chaos in Scotland and the North of England, after 100 mile an hour winds damaged trees and power supplies.


Nine die in helicopter crash

Nine people died this week when a police helicopter crashed on to a pub in Glasgow.

The pub, called the Clutha Vaults, was full of customers at the time. It was Friday night and there was a band playing music. The pilot of the helicopter died with two police officers who were on board. The other six victims were in the pub. Another 32 people were injured and 10 are still in hospital.

Lots of local people helped to rescue wounded people from the pub. Investigators are examining the wreckage of the helicopter to find out why it crashed without warning.


God gets an app

If you go to church in the UK, you will usually find religious books there to help you through the service. These might include books explaining what will happen in each kind of service, or containing the words for prayers or hymns.

Now the Church of England wants to make its image more modern. It has announced that some of this information will be included in a special app for mobile phones and tablets.

 

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