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After using it to teach his children English, a father retired his Harry Potter book to its shelf for 21 years. But he was stunned to find he'd stashed a fortune – after learning it was a 'seriously scarce' first edition which could sell for £50,000. The hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – of which only 500 were printed in 1997 – is a 'holy grail' for collectors.  The seller, a retired British expat who asked not to be named, bought the book to help his children learn English after moving to Luxembourg.  He plans to pay off his daughter's student loan after the sale. The hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – of which only 500 were printed in 1997 – is a 'holy grail' for collectors (file photo) It will go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers on October 13 with an estimate of £20,000 to £30,000 – but could fetch £50,000 due to its good condition.  The seller said: 'I bought the book for my childr

A former Army commander who stepped down in 2010 after mocking then-Vice President Joe Biden endorsed the Democratic nominee Thursday – at the same time George W. Bush's 2004 campaign manager also said he will not vote for President Donald Trump in November. Retired General Stanley McChrystal told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough during 'Morning Joe' on Thursday that he will be voting for Biden despite his previous criticisms of him. 'I think my willingness to endorse him now should signal to people that there was a respectful relationship then, and just how important I think it is to replicate that kind of relationship between senior military leaders now,' McChrystal said. 'We have to believe in our values. You have to believe that your commander and chief, at the end of the day, is someone that you can trust, and I can trust Joe Biden,' McChrystal said.  McChrystal came under fire in 2010 after a Rolling Stone article quoted him as mocking Biden, among other to

An Oxford-educated museum curator who sparked outrage after tweeting a guide about vandalising statues has left her job after an independent review. American-born Madeline Odent posted messages to her 5,000 Twitter followers in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement explaining how they could use household goods to permanently damage monuments. A police probe was launched after she revealed that covering bronze busts in 'a tone of tomatoes' could irreparable damage them and make them impossible to display. Her comments sparked calls for her to be sacked from her taxpayer-funded job at at Royston and District Museum in Hertfordshire from MPs and local residents.   Mrs Odent is no longer employed, but the council had refused to say if she was fired or quit — despite previously saying it 'condemns all criminal acts including damage to statues and monuments and incitement to commit unlawful acts'.  Madeline Odent posted messages to her 5,000 Twitter followers in the wak

Geneva is set to introduce 'the world's highest minimum wage' which will equate to £41,430 ($53,370) a year – around £3,500 ($4,510) a month.  The Swiss city, which has a voter population of around 500,000, held a referendum with two-thirds backing the new measure.   The alterations, which had been rejected by voters twice before in both 2011 and 2014, will now come into effect from October 17.  Geneva is set to introduce 'the world's highest minimum wage' which will equate to £41,430 a year – around £3,500 a month How the basic hourly rate compares Geneva 's new minimum wage will equate to just under £19.50 ($25.12) per hour - this is how it compares:  Australia : £11 ($14.17) an hour France : £9.28 ($11.95) an hour  UK : £8.72 ($11.23) an hour  United States : £5.63 ($7.25) an hour Geneva is the world's second most expensive city, according to a cost-of-living index compiled by Expatistan. But it was hit particularly hard by the outbreak of Covid-19 d

Kaitlyn Yozviak died on August 26 from cardiac arrest and severe anemia after being excessive bitten by lice A 12-year-old Georgia girl who died as an indirect result of a severe lice infestation, lived in a house of horrors where her bedroom was infested with rats.   Kaitlyn Yozviak died on August 26 from cardiac arrest with a secondary cause being severe anemia, as it's believed repeated bites from the lice lowered her blood iron levels and may have triggered the cardiac attack. When agents got to the home and found her body, the inside was filthy and in disrepair with vermin covering the mattress, stuffed animals and other furniture in Kaitlyn's room.   Her parents Mary Katherine 'Katie' Horton, 37, and Joey Yozviak, 38, said she hadn't bathed for a week-and-a-half.  Her mother made the 911 call saying she was unresponsive and she later died in hospital.  Wilkinson County Superior Court Judge Brenda Trammell agreed there was enough evidence for second-degree murd

A former Victorian minister has accused Premier Daniel Andrews of the 'biggest public policy disaster in Australian history' over the handling of his state's coronavirus outbreak in a scathing opinion piece. Adem Somyurek was sacked as minister for local government and small business by Mr Andrews in June following a 60 Minutes expose on his alleged Labor branch stacking. Mr Somyurek later resigned from the party. The Turkish-born politician has since launched an attack on the Victorian premier, writing the 'buck stops with him' in an opinion piece published in The Herald Sun.   Mr Somyurek said he shares responsibility for the deaths of more than 780 Victorians because he was working as a minister when the Victorian government decided to use private security guards in hotel quarantine. Adem Somyurek was sacked in June as the minister for local government and small business, following a 60 Minutes expose on his alleged Labor branch stacking. 'Not because I was p

Retired AFL star Harley Bennell is under investigation for a potential COVID-19 breach after hugging his family at the airport on his return to Western Australia. The former Melbourne Demons player landed in Perth on Thursday after he was ordered out of Queensland for leaving his club's bubble to visit an 'unapproved premises' in Maroochydore on September 19. The 28-year-old hugged his mother Kayleen and three other family members on arrival at the airport before heading home for 14-day quarantine. WA Police are investigating the interaction.  Harely Bennell (pictured with girlfriend Amy Crellin) hugged his family on arrival in Perth from Gold Coast on Thursday 'The community of Western Australia is reminded of their responsibilities to help limit the spread of COVID-19,' a police spokesman told Herald Sun.   Bennell remained on the Gold Coast with friends after his September 19 breach while the Demons tried to organise his flight home.  The club was fined $50,000

A Lithuanian model has avoided jail again, this time for a string of burglaries, just one year after she was blasted by a judge for acting like a 'bored princess'. Jonita Ragaisyte, 29, pleaded guilty to 12 charges including trespassing, stealing bank cards and dishonestly obtaining property in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Ragaisyte visited her rented storage unit at Port Melbourne Storage on Lorimer Street along with three unknown men at 1.50am on February 16. Jonit Ragaisyte, 29, pleaded guilty to 12 charges including trespassing, stealing bank cards and dishonestly obtaining property in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday  Ragaisyte visited her rented storage unit at Port Melbourne Storage on Lorimer Street along with three unknown men at 1.50am on February 16  CCTV footage caught the group going in and out of the storage space for two hours, the Herald Sun reported. Throughout the night they got into the office of a used car dealership at the same facility and

A review of Parliament's art collection should not be 'overwhelmed by wokeism', Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has said. Former prime ministers including William Gladstone, Robert Peel and Lord Liverpool could soon be accompanied by plaques detailing their links to slavery after a review was prompted by the Black Lives Matter movement.  More than 230 works of art in the Parliamentary art collection have been found to have links to the transatlantic slave trade, while  189 of the pieces listed in the study by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art depict 24 people who had ties to the slave trade. Forty pieces depict 14 people who were abolitionists. Among those listed as having 'financial or family interests in the slave trade' are prime ministers Robert Peel, who served two terms between 1834-35 and 1841-1846, Lord Liverpool, who served from 1812-1827, and William Gladstone, who served as prime minister for 12 years over four terms between 1868 and 189