The Nifty 250: News of the day in so many words

WALTON MP Peter Kilfoyle has called for a directly-elected mayor to run the Liverpool "city- region" – branding the current set- up a toothless "cosy cabal".

HE commissioned his own independent research to analyse the failings of an arrangement he claims is letting down Merseyside.

The study has been sent to fellow MPs and key city bodies including The Mersey Partnership and Liverpool Vision, urging them to embrace the need for radical change.

A LIVERPOOL HOSPITAL IS THE FIRST in Britain to use a 3-D heart scanner. The technology, now on offer at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, and will reduce the time it takes to operate on people with irregular heartbeats.

the operating time from four to two hours, with doctors hoping to increase procedures by 50 percent.

ONE MAN AND 10 children were rushed to hospital after being overcome by chemicals in the swimming pool at the council-run Garston Lifestyles Centre. Liverpool City Council has declared the pool safe but has launched a joint probe with Health and Safety Executive.

LIVERPOOL HAS JOINED other UK cities to cut greenhouse emissions under the watchful eye of former US president, Bill Clinton. The Core Cities Group of Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield have signed up to the programme run by the The Clinton Climate Initiative.

The cities will work with the Greater London Authority to cut gases and improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the next two years.