Winning ticket in record $222 million European lottery is in United Kingdom

Millions of people from nine European countries entered the 190 million euro jackpot. Picture: PHILIPPE HUGUEN Source: AFP

SOMEWHERE in the United Kingdom today, someone is $222 million richer. If they find their lotto ticket.

The British ticket-holder is entitled to a record 190 million euros ($A222.35 million) in the Euro Millions lottery, the Francaise des Jeuxannounced today.

It beats a 185-million-euro jackpot scooped by a Scottish couple in July last year who then became Europe's biggest ever lottery winners.

The previous British record jackpot holder, who won 129 million euros in October 2010, chose to remain anonymous.

The Euro Millions lottery, launched in 2004, is now played by nine countries across western Europe: Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

original: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/winning-ticket-in-record-222-million-european-lottery-is-in-united-kingdom/story-fnd134gw-1226448076966

Yours for just $1.50 - world's cheapest houses

Bond Street in Stoke has several abandoned buildings that are part of the project. Picture: Google Street View

• Council sells homes for nominal prices
• Scheme to reinvigorate crime-ridden areas
• Houses available for just $1.50

FOR less than the price of a cup of coffee, you can own your own home in England.

And if an established house with a back yard for a mere £1 (A$1.48) isn’t enough to pique your interest, there’s more on offer. The houses each come with a £30,000 ($44,000) low-interest loan for renovations.

The catch? The properties are being sold in crime-ridden parts of England in a bid to reinvigorate the areas.

Desperate to fill and fix up homes in Stoke, Staffordshire, the local council is trying to attract tenants by giving away property for a nominal fee to turn the fortunes around.

The owner must renovate the house and live in it five years before it can be sold.

Abandoned houses are a huge problem in the area with almost 5000 homes left empty in Stoke - Staffordshire's largest city - as of January 2011, according to council data.

The properties for sale, which have two-to-three bedrooms and a back yard, are in a variety of conditions from liveable to desperately needing refurbishment.

The empty-house plan - a multi-million dollar scheme funded by the British government - aims to "bring empty homes back into use to improve the standard of housing in the city and to bring life back into our communities", according to the council website.

original : http://www.heraldsun.com.au/money/yours-for-just-150-worlds-cheapest-houses/story-e6frfh5f-1226445964681