Salman Abedi killed 22 and injured 64 when he blew himself up at the Manchester Arena on Monday night - 20 people are in critical care.
Police arrested three men in south Manchester on Wednesday.
The UK terror threat level is now up to its highest level of "critical", meaning more attacks may be imminent.
It means military personnel will now be deployed to protect key sites.
Mrs Rudd said the attack was a "devastating occasion".
"It was more sophisticated than some of the attacks we've seen before, and it seems likely - possible - that he wasn't doing this on his own," she added.
Five of the victims are known to be eight-year-old Saffie Roussos, Olivia Campbell, 15, Kelly Brewster, 32, John Atkinson, 28, and Georgina Callander - thought to be 18.
Two Polish people are also among those killed, according to a Polish government minister.
The injured are being treated at eight Greater Manchester hospitals. Of those, some have lost limbs.
The wounded include 12 children aged under 16.
Several people are still missing, including Eilidh MacLeod, 14, from Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19.
Eilidh's friend, Laura MacIntyre, 15 - who was also reported as missing - was later identified as one of the seriously injured in a Manchester hospital.
Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham told the BBC that the attack had been the city's "darkest hour".
A hotline has been set up for people concerned about loved ones - 0800 096 0095.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a bombing at a pop concert in Manchester of United Kingdom which left 22 people dead.
In a statement released by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's official Amaq news agency, they said it was revenge for attacks on “Muslim lands”, reports the telegraph.
“One of the soldiers of the Caliphate was able to place an explosive device within a gathering of the Crusaders in the city of Manchester," it said, appearing to challenge the Manchester police theory it had been a suicide attack.
The jihadist group also claimed the attack, which killed at least 22 people - including children - and injured 59 more concertgoers leaving a packed Ariana Grande performance at Manchester Arena, was planned beforehand.
They described the venue as a “shameless”.
ISIL did not publish a name or picture of the assailant, which they have done for some major attacks in the past.
If confirmed, it would be the deadliest militant assault on the UK since four British Muslims killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London's transport system in July 2005.
US officials drew parallels between the blast and the coordinated attacks in November 2015 by Islamist militants on the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris, which claimed about 130 lives.
Katie Hopkins has been reported to police for calling for a “final solution” following the terror attack at Manchester Arena.
The Mail Online columnist swiftly deleted the tweet, which echoed the Nazi term for the Holocaust, amid widespread condemnation for the “despicable” post.
“Don’t you even dare,” read the tweet directed at Good Morning Britain host Phillip Schofield.
“Do not be part of the problem. We need a final solution. #Machester [sic].”
It was deleted and replaced with a re-worded message reading “we need a true solution", but critics are calling for Ms Hopkins to be fired by Mail Online and LBC radio.
Ms Hopkins has been reported to the Metropolitan Police over the tweet, which was part of a longer anti-Muslim tirade, but the force said it was too early to confirm whether an investigation would be launched.
It came after at least 22 people were killed and 59 injured in a suicide bombing at Manchester Arena on Monday night.
Thousands of people, including many children and teenagers, were leaving an Ariana Grande concert and heading towards Victoria Station when the blast hit the foyer.
It is the worst terror attack in the UK since 56 people were killed in the London bombings on 7 July 2005.
Police are treating the Manchester bombing as a terrorist incident and are investigating whether the bomber was acting alone or as part of a wider network.
No group has yet issued a claim of responsibility for the massacre, which has sparked an outpouring of grief and solidarity from leaders and musicians around the world.
The Prime Minister condemned the “appalling terrorist attack” and was chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee this morning.
Twenty-two people, including children, were killed and dozens injured when a man detonated a bomb at a pop concert by US star Ariana Grande, in Britain's deadliest terror attack in 12 years.
Screaming fans, many of them teens, fled the venue in panic after the bomb blast at the end of the concert in the northern English city of Manchester on Monday evening.
"There was heat on my neck and when I looked up there were bodies everywhere", Elena Semino, who was waiting for her 17-year-old daughter, told the Guardian newspaper.
Semino, who was herself injured, said she had been standing by the ticket office of the 21,000-capacity indoor Manchester Arena when the explosion went off.
"A huge bomb-like bang went off that hugely panicked everyone and we were all trying to flee the arena", said Majid Khan, 22, who was at the show with his sister.
Ambulances and bomb disposal teams rushed to the venue, as family members frantically searched for their loved ones, and residents opened their doors to stranded concert-goers after trains were cancelled.
There were children among the 22 killed in the attack, while 59 people were injured, Greater Manchester Police chief Ian Hopkins said early Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the "appalling terrorist attack" and suspended her campaign ahead of a general election on June 8 along with chief opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.
"All our thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been affected," said May, who was due to chair an emergency ministerial meeting at around 0800 GMT on Tuesday.
Grande, who was due to give a concert in London later on Tuesday, said she was "broken" in a tweet.
"Broken. From the bottom of my heart, I am so, so sorry. I don't have words," wrote the 23-year-old, who is popular with teens and pre-teens.
The attack was the deadliest in Britain since July 7, 2005 when four suicide bombers inspired by Al-Qaeda attacked London's transport system during rush hour, killing 52 people and wounding 700 more.
The Manchester blast recalled the November 2015 attack at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris in which armed men wearing explosive belts stormed in and killed 90 people. That attack was claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
'A massive flash'
Police were called to the scene at the Manchester Arena concert and sports venue at 2133 GMT.
Manchester Arena said the blast "took place outside the venue in a public space", while police said it was "within the foyer area of the stadium."
The foyer connects the auditorium with Victoria train and tram station, a major transport hub on the northern edge of the city centre.
One witness, Gary Walker, told BBC Radio 5 Live he was hit by shrapnel in his foot and his wife sustained a stomach wound as they waited for their daughters.
"We heard the last song go and then suddenly there was a massive flash and then a bang and smoke," he said.
Isabel Hodgins, an actress who had been at the concert, told Sky News: "Everybody was panicking, there was pushing up the stairs.
"The corridor was full, it smelled of burning, there was quite a lot of smoke as we were leaving.
"It's just shocking and we just feel very shaken up. We're just lucky to have gotten away safely," she said.
Calvin Welsford, 18, from Bristol told the BBC: "It almost sounded like a gunshot".
"I looked around and people were just spilling down, heading out of the building".
"I was actually having an asthma attack. It was sheer panic," he said.
US 'ready to assist'
Hopkins said investigators were "working closely with the national counter terrorism policing network and UK intelligence partners".
The US Department of Homeland Security, Britain's biggest intelligence partner, said it was "closely monitoring" the situation.
"We are working with our foreign counterparts to obtain additional information about the cause of the reported explosion as well as the extent of injuries and fatalities," the department said in a statement.
Tributes poured in for Manchester from around the world.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians were "shocked by the news of the horrific attack," while EU president Donald Tusk wrote: "My heart is in Manchester this night."
French President Emmanuel Macron said he was "horrified" by the attack.
Pop world rallies
The pop world also rallied, with Katy Perry tweeting: "Praying for everyone at Ariana Grande's show".
US pop princess Taylor Swift, a friend of Grande, wrote: "My thoughts, prayers and tears for all those affected by the Manchester tragedy tonight".
In Manchester, residents tweeted with the hashtag #RoomforManchester to offer a place to stay and there were reports of taxis taking passengers for free.
"We have a spare double bed and two sofas available if anybody needs a place tonight," tweeted @iamjesyrae.
Concerned relatives used the hashtag #MissinginManchester to locate loved ones.
Train services to and from Manchester Victoria Station -- located under the Arena -- were cancelled.
"Disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day," National Rail said in a statement.
Nineteen people died in a suspected terror attack at a pop concert in the British city of Manchester late Monday.
Here is what we know so far about the attack, which was the deadliest in Britain since 2005.
What happened?
Police said they were called at 2133 GMT to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena at a concert by pop star Ariana Grande, who is popular with teenagers.
British Transport Police said the blast occurred at "within the foyer area of the stadium" and the venue said it was "outside the venue in a public space".
The arena foyer connects the 21,000-capacity auditorium with Victoria train and tram station, a major hub on the northern edge of the city centre.
Eyewitnesses described a "huge bomb-like bang" and scenes of panic as young fans rushed out and parents waiting outside looked for their children.
Who is behind it?
Police said the incident was "currently being treated as a terrorist incident," but no one has so far claimed the attack.
British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned it as "an appalling terrorist attack".
Greater Manchester Police's chief constable Ian Hopkins said local police in the city were working with national counter-terrorism and intelligence officials on the investigation.
Who are the victims?
Police said 19 people were killed and around 50 injured, who are being treated in six hospitals.
The local ambulance service said on Twitter it had taken 59 casualties from the incident and treated "a number of walking wounded on scene".
Elena Semino from Lancaster told the Guardian she was with her husband waiting for her daughter by the arena's ticket office when the explosion went off.
"There was this heat on my neck and when I looked up there were bodies everywhere," she said.
Gary Walker from Leeds told BBC Radio 5 Live he was hit by shrapnel in his foot and his wife sustained a stomach wound as they waited for their daughters to come out of the concert.
"We heard the last song go and then suddenly there was a massive flash and then a bang and smoke," he said.
Other attacks in the UK
The incident in Manchester is the second terror attack to hit England in less than two months.
On March 22, five people were killed and more than 50 injured when a man drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in central London, before crashing into the fence surrounding parliament.
The attacker, 52-year-old Muslim convert Khalid Masood, was then shot dead by police at the scene after knifing a police officer to death.
Investigators described the lone-wolf attack as "Islamist related terrorism" but have not charged anyone in connection with the incident.
The deadliest bomb attack on British soil took place on July 7, 2005 when four British suicide bombers inspired by Al-Qaeda attack London's transport system, killing 52 and wounding 700.
At least 19 people were killed and about 50 injured in a possible terrorist incident on Monday night (May 22) at Manchester Arena, United Kingdom, where pop singer Ariana Grande was performing, reports CNN quoting Greater Manchester Police.
As concertgoers -- many of them adolescent fans of the singer -- were beginning to leave the arena following Grande's closing set, an explosion rocked the area. Confusion followed as people fled in search of safety, and the sound of wailing sirens soon cut through the smoky air outside the arena.
Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins made a public statement early Tuesday local time, saying "We are currently treating this as a terrorist incident" and said the wounded are being treated at six hospitals across the Manchester area.
The incident happened shortly after Grande had left the stage, about 10:30 pm (5:30 pm ET) according to eyewitnesses. Calvin Welsford, an 18-year-old concertgoer, said that he heard a "loud bang" a couple of minutes after Grande's set had finished.
"Ariana was off the stage, she'd finished her set," he told CNN. "I looked around because I heard this big bang, people screaming and crying and flooded towards the stage."
Investigators are looking into the possibility of a suicide bombing outside of the arena, according to a Western law enforcement official and a US law enforcement official. A male at the scene in Manchester has been identified as the probable bomber, and a US official said suicide bombing is now considered to be the "likely" reason for the blast.
After the initial incident, police carried out a precautionary controlled explosion nearby but the item turned out to be discarded clothing, not a "suspicious item," Greater Manchester Police said.
Earlier police had warned people to stay away from Manchester Arena after reports of two loud explosions. The crowd was made up of mainly younger people who had come to see Grande in her first of three scheduled concerts in the UK, on her European and Latin American tour.
Hotels opened their doors to people who could not get home due to an area lockdown. A nearby Holiday Inn hotel became a focal point for parents searching for their children who had been at the concert.
"I saw everyone running, I fell onto the seats on the floor my friend lifted me up."
Social media posts from the scene showed panicked concertgoers running down the arena's stairs in an attempt to get away.
Video from near the scene showed a caravan of ambulances heading to the arena.
Universal Music Group, parent company for Grande's record label, Republic Records, posted a statement on Facebook.
"We are deeply saddened to learn of tonight's devastating event in Manchester. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragedy," the post says.
Grande's publicist, Joseph Carozza, confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the performer was safe.
"Ariana is OK. We are further investigating what happened," he said.
British Prime Minister Theresa May issued a statement, confirming that police are treating the incident as a terror attack. She will chair a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee on Tuesday morning.
"We are working to establish the full details of what is being treated by the police as an appalling terrorist attack. All our thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been affected."
The leader of Britain's Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, offered support on Twitter.
US pop star Ariana Grande late Monday said she felt at a loss for words after a suspected terror attack at her concert in the British city of Manchester.
"Broken," she wrote in her first reaction on Twitter.
"From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don't have words," she wrote.
Police said at least 19 people were killed and around 50 wounded in the attack at the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena.
It was the deadliest attack in Britain since 2005.
Grande, a 23-year-old former child star, is not known for her political views and draws an audience of teenagers and pre-teenagers.
The international director of campaign group CAGE has been charged under anti-terror laws, after refusing to surrender his passwords to police.
Muhammad Rabbani was arrested last November after handing his laptop and mobile phone to officers but refusing to unlock them, after being stopped and searched at Heathrow Airport.
He has now been charged under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
“On 20 November 2016, at Heathrow Airport, he did wilfully obstructed [sic], or sought to frustrate, an examination or search under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, contrary to paragraph 18(1)(c) of that Schedule,” reads the Metropolitan Police announcement.
The 36-year-old is due to appear at Westminster Magistrate’s Court on 20 June.
CAGE describes itself as “an independent advocacy organisation working to empower communities impacted by the War on Terror”.
Mr Rabbani says he was unable to hand over the passwords because he was carrying “crucial evidence” and did not have permission to share the information.
“I’m going into this eyes wide open and I’m not a victim, but I’m not a hero either,” he said.
“I do believe I am doing what any reasonable person would do under the circumstances in order to protect the privacy of a client.”
Mr Rabbani told the Guardian he’d been detained by border officials 20 times over the past decade, and his devices were handed back to him every time he declined to disclose his passwords.
In 2013, David Miranda, the partner of former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained by the Metropolitan Police under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act.
He had been carrying encrypted records derived from data obtained by Edward Snowden.
Police seized his laptop, phones, DVDs, USB sticks and video games consoles after holding him for questioning for nine hours.
Top prosecutor Marianne Ny said his arrest warrant was being revoked as it was impossible to serve him notice.
Mr Assange, 45, has lived in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 2012. He fears extradition to Sweden would lead to extradition to the US where he is wanted over leaks.
Ecuador has called on the UK to allow him safe passage out of the country.
However, police in London said they would still be obliged to arrest him if he left.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said Mr Assange still faced the lesser charge of failing to surrender to a court, an offence punishable by up to a year in prison or a fine.
But the UK has not commented on whether it has received an extradition request from the US, where Mr Assange could face trial over the leaking of hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic documents.
Mr Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per Samuelson, said the prosecutor's decision on Friday represented "a total victory" for his client.
But the Wikileaks founder responded angrily in a tweet: "Detained for 7 years without charge... while my children grew up and my name was slandered. I do not forgive or forget."
The plaintiff in the rape case was "shocked" by the decision, her lawyer said, and maintained her accusations against Mr Assange, Agence France-Presse reported.
The decision coincided with the release by Wikileaks of another tranche of documents about the CIA's technical capabilities.
Britain's healthcare system has been ranked just 30th in a new global study – lagging behind other European countries including Germany, Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and Italy.
A report published in The Lancet medical journal rates 192 countries in terms of their quality and access to healthcare.
The UK scored a total of 84.6 out of 100, placing it on an equal footing with Cyprus, Qatar, Malta, Portugal and the Czech Republic – with an especially low score for cancer care.
Tiny tax haven Andorra was the top-ranking country with a score of 94.6, while at the bottom of the table, with just 29, was the Central African Republic.
Experts analysed data on death rates over the last 25 years from each country to draw up the list which they called the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index.
They found that globally, the quality of healthcare has improved from an average score of 40.7 in 1990 to 53.7 in 2015.
The UK’s score also improved from 74.3 in 1990 to its current level, but Britain is still underperforming in relation to its level of development, according to Professor Martin McKee, who co-led the study.
“The UK has made consistent progress since 1990, but with a score of 85, it now lags behind many of its European neighbours, including Finland, Sweden, Spain and Italy, all of which have health systems very similar to the British NHS and so are most directly comparable,” said Professor McKee, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
“The gap between what the UK achieves and what it would be expected to, given its level of development, is also wider than in other western European countries.”
The news comes the day after health experts called Conservative plans to give the NHS a £8bn funding boost “deeply disappointing,” saying it will not go far enough to deliver the improvements the health service needs.
The UK's health care performance score was better than that of the US, which was awarded 81.3 points, putting it in 35th place.
The HAQ index was based on numbers of deaths from 32 causes that could be avoided by “timely and effective” medical care, with a breakdown of each country’s performance on specific causes of death.
The UK achieved a top score of 100 for treating common vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus and measles.
It also earned a high score of 88 for treating cerebrovascular disease, conditions such as strokes caused by problems affecting the brain’s blood supply.
Professor McKee said this was probably due to the quality of general practice, leading to the early detection and treatment of blood pressure and better management of stroke.
However Britain performed poorly in other categories which included some cancers, an outcome blamed on lack of investment in specialist care. It scored just 58 for the blood cell cancer Hodgkin's lymphoma and 64 for lower respiratory infections.
US lead author Dr Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, said: “What we have found about health care access and quality is disturbing.
“Having a strong economy does not guarantee good health care. Having great medical technology doesn't either. We know this because people are not getting the care that should be expected for diseases with established treatments.”
As examples, he pointed to Norway and Australia, which each scored a high-ranking 90 overall. Yet Norway scored 65 for its treatment of testicular cancer, while Australia was awarded just 52 points for non-melanoma skin cancer.
“In the majority of cases, both of these cancers can be treated effectively,” said Dr Murray. “Shouldn't it cause serious concern that people are dying of these causes in countries that have the resources to address them?”
From 1990 to 2015, the gap between the best and worst-performing countries grew by almost five points, the study showed.
Overall in 2015, western European countries scored the highest and those in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania the lowest.
Cape Verde bucked the African trend by finding a place in the middle of the table.
South Korea, Turkey, Peru, China and the Maldives saw some of the greatest improvements in health care access and quality since the 1990s, said the researchers.
The top five performers were Andorra (94.6), Iceland (93.6), Switzerland (91.8), Sweden (90.5), and Norway (90.5).
The Apollo and Artemis Diamonds are described as “truly exceptional stones” which are in a “class of their own” when considered as a pair.
The stone Apollo is a 14.54 carat vivid blue diamond which has been cut and polished into a pear shape. And its Artemis partner is a 16 carat fancy intense pink diamond.
Both gems are phenomenally rare, with less than 0.1 per cent of diamonds having any blue in them. An “infinitesimally” small percentage of those are graded Fancy Vivid Blue like Apollo.
They were sold as separate lots at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva on Tuesday evening.
Apollo sold for £33 million and Artemis fetched £12 million – with both earrings snapped up by the same anonymous bidder.
The £45 million final figure ($57million) is a record for a pair of earrings.
David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s International Jewellery Division, said the prestigious auction house was proud to have been “entrusted” with the rare stones.
He said: “It has been a privilege for Sotheby’s to be entrusted with the superb Apollo Blue and Artemis Pink, which have now been renamed The Memory of Autumn Leaves and The Dream of Autumn Leaves.
“I am delighted that the stones will remain together as earrings.”
Despite the staggering figure paid, the final figure was short on what was expected – with the diamonds carrying an estimate of up to £55 million.
Prior to the sale, Mr Bennett described the diamonds as “the most important pair of earrings ever offered at auction”.
He added: “These exquisite coloured diamonds are enormously rare and each is a wonderful stone in its own right. Together, as a pair of earrings, they are breathtaking.”
It was a successful overall sale for Sotheby’s, with 90 per cent of the lots selling for a combined £118 million. Two-thirds of the gems sold for above their high estimate.
Gemma and Carl Lowery have arranged for fire-breathers, stilt-walkers and a disco for the cancer-battling Sunderland mascot on Friday.
They took to Twitter this morning to post the birthday message to his 103,000 followers.
It said: “Happy 6th birthday to our amazing little super star. #HappyBirthdayBrad #smileforbrad.”
His auntie Jade Lowery also posted an emotional message to the “strongest bravest boy I know”.
Bradley will spend his birthday in hospital but is looking forward to his party.
Mum Gemma told the Newcastle Chronicle: “He’s been excited about turning six for such a long time.
“He’s really excited to spend time with his friends, we’ve got a marquee, fire-breathers, stilt-walkers, a disco, it’s going to be massive, he will absolutely love it.”
Bradley’s parents have had to turn down an invite from Chelsea to attend their final Premier League match of the season on Sunday.
Thousands of fans backed a campaign for the mascot to present the trophy to the champions.
His parents wrote: “@ChelseaFC invited brad down on Sunday but unfortunately he is not well enough to go.
“Thank you for everyone for thinking of him.”
Earlier this week his devastated family revealed that the terminally ill Sunderland fan is still in a “lot of pain” and is likely to spend his birthday in Great Ormond Street Hospital.
A post on his “fight against neuroblastoma” Facebook page said there is “no doubt there are more new tumours and the disease is progressing”.
The family is hopeful that despite the brave lad being hospitalised for his birthday, he will be out for a party at a later date.
Last week Bradley’s mum Gemma told how an MRI scan showed his condition had taken a turn for the worse, telling supporters: “Things are moving too fast”.
She spoke of her anguish as her terminally ill son returned to hospital for treatment to help him “make as many memories as possible”.
In an emotional post on a Facebook page dedicated to Brave Brad’s fight against cancer she says “life is cruel and unfair” and reveals how she never imagined she would find herself in this position.
The youngsters inspirational smile featured on the front of the matchday programme for Sunderland’s match against Swansea City last weekend.
Two years ago the ill tot, who is battling neuroblastoma, was having his tubes removed from his body following successful treatment.
Tragically, the cancer came back in January last year and his devastated family were told it was terminal.
Speaking of his most recent hospital treatment, Gemma said: "This time it is so we can make as many memories as possible without being restricted in what he can do.
"This is heartbreaking for us and something that we never thought we would have to deal with.
"I question why us? Why Brad? Why any innocent child every single day, life is cruel and unfair.
"However we are so very grateful we get a chance to make the memories as we have met so many parents on our journey that didn't get the chance.
"We are going through a really hard time but there are other people that are going through a harder time.
"So if you can take anything from this status please be thankful for what you have got and never be jealous of what you haven't."
Bradley, from Blackhall Colliery near Hartlepool, is a massive Sunderland fan and the club have rallied around him since his terminal diagnosis last year.
He has been led out onto the pitch several times while clutching the hand of his hero Jermain Defoe – the team’s striker.
He was due to be a mascot at a game last month but his family were forced to cancel his appearance.
On his Facebook page they wrote: "Bradley is not good. He has been in horrendous pain with his leg since yesterday to the point he couldn't move in bed last night.
"We have had him to the hospital today and they have give him an x-ray but it didn't show anything.
"The doctors gut feeling is that it is his cancer progressing but we need to wait and watch for a few days to see what happens.
"Bradley was due to be mascot at the Riverside tonight but he is not well enough to go so we have had to cancel it.
"I am hoping and praying that it is nothing serious and he starts to improve as I'm not ready for this to happen yet."
The disease develops from special nerve cells, known as neuroblasts, which get left behind from the child's development in the womb.
It mostly begins in the sufferer's adrenal glands located above the kidneys but can occur in the nerve tissue that runs along the spinal cord in the neck, chest, abdomen or pelvis.
The vicious illness can then spread to other organs like the bone, bone marrow, lymph nodes and skin.
Neuroblastoma afflicts around 100 children a year in the UK but the cause of the disease is still not known.
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has called for closer economic ties with China as Britain enters a new, post-Brexit era.
Speaking at the start of a summit in Beijing celebrating President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road initiative”, Hammond heaped praise on his hosts and said Britain was a “natural partner” for Beijing as it pushed ahead with a massive infrastructure campaign some call the most ambitious in history.
“China and the UK have a long and rich trading history. Indeed, the English first attempted to find a trade route to China in the 16th century although it took us four decades to find one,” Hammond told the opening session of the two-day forum.
“I welcome the ‘Belt and Road initiative’ as an opportunity to strengthen these ties and I welcome the progress that has already been made.”
Relations between London and Beijing soured after Theresa May became prime minister in July and ordered a review of the controversial China-backed Hinkley Point C plant. That decision cast doubt on what had previously been cast as a “golden age” of ties under her predecessor David Cameron and former chancellor George Osborne. But the relationship appeared to recover after the £18bn project was approved.
On Sunday Hammond hailed China’s ability to drive “phenomenal economic development” and success in “lifting” 800 million Chinese citizens out of poverty over the past four decades. “Since 1980 the Chinese economy has grown by over 2,500%. This year, it is expected to account for a quarter of total global economic growth,” he told an audience of world leaders including Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Turkey’s Recep Erdoğan.
Britain now hoped to benefit from that growth as it charted its post-Brexit course, the chancellor added. “As we embark on a new chapter in our history, as we leave the European Union, we want to maintain a close and open trading partnership with our European neighbours and at the same time pursue our ambition to secure free trade agreements around the world with new partners and old allies alike.”
“Our ambition is for more trade, not less trade, and China clearly shares this ambition,” Hammond added.
The chancellor said that between now and 2030 about $26tn would need to be spent on infrastructure in Asia - $4tn of which China had pledged to help fund. “But the scale of infrastructure investment required cannot be met by public financing alone and the UK, I believe, can be a natural partner in delivering this infrastructure by supporting the finance, the design and the delivery needed to make the vision a reality.”
Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador in London, said that while Brexit and next month’s general election had brought “uncertainties”, Downing Street was now “in an excellent position to secure the opportunities [Xi’s] initiative has to offer”.
“Remarkable opportunities … are now up for grabs,” Liu told Xinhua, China’s official news agency.
Hammond added on Twitter: “Britain is ready to work with all [Belt and Road] partners.”
An Asian police officer was allegedly threatened with the sack after complaining about the racist treatment of a colleague involving a toy monkey.
The Metropolitan Police officer, who has not been named, acted after seeing a monkey soft toy wearing a police uniform and with an ID badge placed on a black colleague's desk in their central London office.
The badge carried the initials "ERO" (evidential review officer), which was the same job title as the black officer.
The Asian officer raised his concerns on an internal complaints form to senior officers in 2013, but was consequently the subject of investigation amid allegations he concocted the story himself.
The BBC, which uncovered the case, said the officer was told he faced the prospect of being sacked.
It took two years for the complainant to be vindicated, when a Scotland Yard misconduct hearing found the whistleblower had not breached the standards of professional behaviour.
He later took the case to an employment tribunal, alleging he had been racially discriminated against and victimised.
The BBC reported that the Asian officer received a settlement of £35,000 before the case was heard in full.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Martin, who is in charge of professionalism at the Met, said in a statement: "Over the last two years the Met has made significant investment in improving how we handle complaints made by our own staff linked to discrimination, bullying or harassment.
"We are committed to a system which everyone can be confident in and a genuine belief that it has fairness.
"We have long recognised that people do have concern that they fear being victimised if they raise a complaint, regardless of whether that fear is justified.
"That has never been acceptable and we continue to make it very clear to our staff that victimisation will never be tolerated, that it will be investigated, and will have serious repercussions if it occurs.
"For the last 18 months the officer in charge of the Met's anti-corruption command personally oversaw the implementation of and now manages the new whistleblowing policy. This helps to give staff, who are graded as reporters of wrongdoing, confidence they can raise the most serious of issues and will receive support and protection.
"At the start of this year a new unit was formed within the Directorate of Professional Standards which has oversight of all complaints - be those internal or external - that include an allegation of discrimination.
"This is to ensure that there is independent scrutiny of how these allegations are investigated and to embed fairness within the process."
Northumbria Police has taken part in a national initiative that tackles bogus callers and rogue traders who target vulnerable people.
Across the country police forces, Trading Standards, Department for Work and Pensions, Environment Agency, HM Revenue and Customs, the DVLA and VOSA the UK Border Agency Scambusters and other partners have worked together to catch rogue traders and to prevent people from becoming victims of crime.
The National Enforcement Day took place on Wednesday, May 10. The main focus of the day of action was on bogus and rogue traders who typically target areas where vulnerable people, including the elderly, live.
Rogue traders often offer gardening work or maintenance services at attractive rates but the quality of work is substandard, unnecessary or overpriced. They often use persuasive sales techniques to encourage people into making hasty decisions.
Northumbria Police motor patrol officers also took to the roads as part of the day of action and stopped around 40 vehicles. In addition to that, 25 other offences were identified. As part of the operation, officers from Operation Dragoon also helped carry out the vehicle stops with some successful results.
The campaign is being run by Operation Liberal (Police National Intelligence Unit) tackling Cross Border Criminality. All police forces across England Wales and Scotland are consortium members of Operation Liberal.
This is the 12th year that organisations, as part of a multi-agency campaign, have targeted rogue traders.
The last Rogue Trader Operation in 2016 saw nearly 300 people arrested, and nearly £3 Million worth of property recovered and over 5,000 vehicles inspected.
Rogue trading is a UK wide problem and evidence suggests that a number of distraction burglars’ network with each other and associate with rogue traders. Rogue traders often travel vast distances to commit offences, highlighting why having a national capability such as Operation Liberal is important.
Executives at The Sun are in talks with the paper's former editor, Kelvin MacKenzie about his departure from the tabloid after a series of controversial articles, reports suggest.
Mr MacKenzie, who edited the paper between 1981 and 1994 and until recently wrote a regular column, is said to be leaving the red top weeks after he was suspended for making what critics claimed were racist remarks, according to The Financial Times.
The journalist provoked widespread condemnation for writing a column comparing Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, whose grandfather was born in Nigeria, to a gorilla.
The column was printed after Barkley was punched in a bar in Liverpool last month.
Mr MacKenzie claimed the Everton player was “thick” and said that when he sees the footballer he gets “a similar feeling when seeing a gorilla at the zoo”.
He also claimed the only other people with “similar pay packets” in Liverpool were “drug dealers”.
The Sun responded to the row by suspending Mr MacKenzie.
At the time, a spokesman for News UK, which owns the paper, said: “The Sun’s columnist Kelvin MacKenzie has been suspended from the paper with immediate effect.
“The views expressed by Kelvin Mackenzie about the people of Liverpool were wrong, unfunny and are not the view of the paper.
“The Sun apologises for the offence caused.
“The paper was unaware of Ross Barkley's heritage and there was never any slur intended.
“Mr Mackenzie is currently on holiday and the matter will be fully investigated on his return.”
According to The Financial Times, Mr MacKenzie will not be returning to the paper. Sources said the decision was made by News UK’s chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, who was re-appointed by owner Rupert Murdoch after she was acquitted of phone hacking charges in 2014.
“Kelvin will not be employed by News [UK] for much longer,” the FT quoted one person involved in the talks as saying.
Mr MacKenzie was The Sun’s editor at the time of the Hillsborough disaster and was responsible for the widely-criticised front page, headlined “The Truth”, that suggested Liverpool fans were responsible for the crush that killed 96 fans.
The paper has since apologised for the story and admitted it was untrue.
Joe Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool, welcomed reports of Mr MacKenzie’s departure from The Sun.
“People in Liverpool will be delighted,” he said. “If The Sun wants to restore some form of relationship with the city it has to be on the basis that Kelvin MacKenzie has gone.”
A spokesman for The Sun only said Mr MacKenzie remained suspended from the paper when asked about reports of his departure, but refused to deny reports that he was leaving on a permanent basis.
A British man who was jailed for trying to shoot Donald Trump has said he heard voices in his head saying: “Kill him”.
Michael Sandford, 21, attempted to snatch a policeman’s gun at a rally ahead of last year’s US presidential election.
Now back in the UK, after serving nearly five months of a year-long sentence, he has admitted he was suffering from auditory hallucinations at the time of the incident.
“They’d been coming on for a while and getting stronger and more frequent. At one point they were screaming at me,” he told The Sun.
“My friends had said Donald Trump needed to be stopped. They said he was going to destroy the country — but it was the voices in my head which were telling me to kill him.
“Then one day I saw he was speaking in Las Vegas and I decided to drive there and do something myself.”
Sandford, who has autism, was diagnosed as having had a psychotic episode at the time of the incident, in June 2016.
But the 21-year-old was imprisoned in December after pleading guilty to charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function.
Police learned that Sanford had visited a shooting range in Las Vegas where he had fired 20 rounds from a 9mm Glock pistol before the assassination attempt.
Sandford, who is now back home in with his family in Dorking, Surrey, said: “There were times when I thought I might never see them again.”
In December, his mum Lynne urged Donald Trump, then president-elect, to allow her son to return home amid fears he might extend his jail sentence or block his return to the UK.
He is now receiving regular medical help following the psychotic episode, which led to the assassination attempt.
“Deep down I knew there was something wrong but I tried to convince myself it was OK,” he said.
His mum Lynne had attempted to stop her son, who has been diagnosed with a range of mental health problems, from travelling to the US.
She is now campaigning for new laws to help the families of people with mental illness to protect them from self-inflicted damage.
The number of EU residents applying for British citizenship has jumped by more than a third in the last year, with people seeking to retain the right to live and work in a post-Brexit Britain.
According to figures from the Passport Office, more than 13,000 people have applied for a British passport in the last year, up 35 percent from 2015.
The figures, released to the Financial Times through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, show that France is the country where the most EU citizens have applied for British passports, with 2,369 people applying last year, a 28 percent surge from 2015.
There was also a 60 percent rise in Germany, where 2,140 applications have been submitted. The surge was particularly noticeable in the month following the EU referendum in July.
According to figures from the FOI, two thirds of the applications were submitted by parents on behalf of their children, as in the case of Marjorie Wessel, a Briton living in the German city of Düsseldorf, who applied for a British passport for her daughter, a Dutch passport holder, so that she could have a “home” to return to in the future.
“I am always going to be a foreigner [in Germany],” said Wessel, who has a Dutch husband.
“The UK is one country where I really belong. And my children, too, want to put down some roots and call somewhere home,” she said, according to the Financial Times (FT).
Just which rights EU citizens in the UK, as well Britons living abroad, will retain in a post-Brexit scenario has been one of the main subjects of debate between the UK and the EU.
It is thought that a growing number of people are flocking to apply for British citizenship because they are concerned that they will lose important rights in a post-Brexit scenario.
There are currently 2.9 million EU citizens living in the UK, and up to 1.2 million Brits living elsewhere in the bloc.
Though Prime Minister Theresa May initially faced backlash for refusing to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK, at a meeting with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the beginning of the month, the two parties seem to have agreed that sealing a deal on expats’ rights should be a priority, with May saying a deal should be carved out as early as June.
The findings follow reports that emerged last month showing that a growing number of Britons are applying for French residency in order to retain EU citizenship after the UK withdraws from the bloc when the two-year negotiating process concludes.
According to the French consulate in the UK, the number of applications for French passports almost doubled in the first quarter of 2017 compared to that for the whole of 2016.
More than 1.3m Londoners voted for him - that's almost 57% of those voting - and he quit as Tooting MP straight away to become in his words a "full-time mayor".
Weeks later events overshadowed his win as the EU referendum result went against the wishes of almost 60% of Londoners and Mr Khan became a cheerleader for an "open" London.
And in March, he was faced with the news all London mayors dread, yet expect - a terrorist attack in the capital.
A year on and Sadiq Khan remains a popular figure in the capital. A YouGov poll commissioned by the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University in March found that 58% of those surveyed thought he was doing good job.
And like Ken and Boris before him, Sadiq has become known by his first name alone in what is now something of a tradition for London mayors.
When it comes to leadership style though, his approach has not been nearly as flamboyant as that of his predecessors.
Simon Danczuk has announced his resignation from the Labour party, who he claims have "lost touch.. with reality in 21st Century Britain".
Mr Danczuk was told last Tuesday that he would not be allowed to stand as the Labour candidate in Rochdale, where he was the sitting MP after being suspended over a sex-text scandal with a young constituent.
In a scathing resignation letter posted to his Twitter page on Monday - and photographed alongside a Labour Party membership card cut in two - he wrote: "The way in which the party are treating the Parliamentary seat of Rochdale as a 'safe seat'... which they can parachute a Corbyn supporting candidate is deplorable".
Mr Danczuk has held the Rochdale seat since winning it from the Liberal Democrats in 2010.
He was suspended from the party in December 2015 after sending explicit text messages to a 17-year-old girl, but continued to represent the seat as an independent.
The long-standing critic of leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed the party was "no longer the positive political movement" that he joined almost 30 years ago.
He wrote, under Mr Corbyn's leadership, the party has become "more interested in serving its own ends rather than hard working people for whom the party was established."
In the letter, addressed to Labour's general secretary Iain McNicol, he added: "With frontbench spokespeople, such as John McDonnell, continually obsessing about Karl Marx, the benefits of communism and celebrating the reign of Joseph Stalin [the party] has totally lost touch with its social democratic values.
"I hope that one day... the Labour party will see sense and return to a more moderate form of social democracy", he concluded.
