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US conglomerate Liberty Media said Friday it wants to buy the shares it does not already own in satellite broadcaster Sirius XM (NasdaqGS: SIRI - news) in a stock swap deal worth some $10 billion.

The holding company controlled by tycoon John Malone announced the proposal which would give Sirius public shareholders a 39 percent stake in Liberty Media.

"Our proposal will allow Sirius public shareholders to convert from a non-controlling stake in a subsidiary into a direct equity position in Liberty, the parent company," said Greg Maffei, Liberty?s president and chief executive.

"Sirius shareholders will continue to participate in Sirius' future prospects along with Liberty's broader portfolio of businesses and opportunities. We believe the combined company will have better access to capital and all of Liberty's shareholders -- both its current shareholders and the Sirius shareholders who become Liberty shareholders as a result of the proposed transaction -- will enjoy enhanced liquidity as shareholders of a $27 billion market capitalization company."

The offer at $3.68 per share represents a 4.5 percent premium for Sirius shareholders.

Liberty, which owns stakes in a variety of companies including cable operator Charter Communications (NasdaqGS: CHTR - news) and the entertainment operator Live Nation, bought a stake in Sirius in 2009 for $530 million. Its current stake is some 53 percent.

Liberty also owns the Atlanta Braves baseball club.

Health and safety can sometimes slip from ones mind on holiday, especially for daring Mollie King who posted a picture of herself grilling food on the BBQ dressed in skimpy swimwear.

The 26-year-old Saturdays singer can be seen showing off her toned body in a black bikini, with her shoulder length blonde hair masking her face whilst cooking some lean steaks and juicy peppers.

Mollie was clearly enjoying the sunshine in LA and not missing the English weather, captioning the picture: 'How's January back home!? #Sorry'

GPs are being paid nearly £1,500 a shift to work nights and weekends in crisis-hit A&E units.

Four in ten casualty departments are hiring family doctors – already paid an average £104,000 a year – to help deal with the soaring numbers of patients.

The figures emerged on the day doctors came under fire for suggesting that patients should be charged up to £10 a visit to a casualty unit to deter those who do not need to be there.

Critics said it was extraordinary that doctors, who for the past decade have been allowed to choose not to work out-of-hours, were moonlighting at stretched A&E units for extra cash.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the Mail asked all 130 NHS hospital trusts in England with A&E units whether they employed GPs in their casualty departments and, if so, how much they were paid. 

Of the 86 trusts which replied, 36 said they employed GPs in a range of roles including assessing patients when they arrived, treating the less seriously-ill and providing general cover.

Hourly rates vary from £50 at Wirral hospital in Merseyside to £98 at Wrightington, Wigan, and £100 at Portsmouth Hospitals.

At least one recruitment firm is offering family doctors £120 an hour for a 12-hour shift – a total of £1,440 – at St Thomas’ Hospital in South London.

Primary Care People, which recruits for hospitals across London, also said it would pay £115 an hour for a 12-hour overnight shift at the Royal London hospital in East London, or £90 an hour for a day shift.

A source at the firm said the rates were so good that doctors were travelling to the capital from all over the country, including one who drives 120 miles down from Birmingham to do two shifts a week.

The firm covers all travel expenses and pays for GPs to stay in a three or four-star hotel if needed, on a budget of £60 a night, which is billed back to the NHS.

A&E units across England are facing what is feared to be one of the worst-ever winters and many are struggling to cope with a huge influx in patients on top of desperate shortages of consultants.

Over the past decade the numbers of patients arriving in casualty has soared by 50 per cent and this has partly been blamed on failings of GP out-of-hours’ care.

GPs have been allowed to opt out of working evenings and weekends since a botched contract negotiated in 2004 and services are largely provided by out-of-hours firms, which many patients don’t trust.

Last night Roger Goss, of Patient Concern, said: ‘GPs can’t be prepared to turn out for their own patients but they are happy to work elsewhere for a lot more money.

‘So much for the interests of the patients, it’s the interests of the doctors which are paramount. The reason patients are going to A&E is because they can’t get into their own surgery. It’s ludicrous.’

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, a GP who sits on the Health Select Committee, said hiring GPs in A&Es could result in even more patients turning up as they realised they could see a doctor more quickly.

She added: ‘We need to make sure it’s easier for people to see a GP out of hospital.’

It emerged yesterday that a third of GPs want to charge patients up to £10 for going to A&E to try to reduce the number of ‘inappropriate’ attendances.

A poll of 800 family doctors by the website doctors.net.uk found that 32 per cent were in favour of fees – with the money being returned to patients if they were seriously ill.

John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Too often extra staff are needed because people turn to A&E when they can’t get a GP appointment.

‘So it’s particularly galling that GPs are then paid so much to provide cover. Providing a genuine out-of-hours service would ease the pressure on A&E, thereby reducing the need for expensive temps.’

Shadow health minister Jamie Reed said: ‘Family doctors are now being pulled into the chaos at England’s hospitals. David Cameron has left A&Es struggling to recruit – and the worse things get, the harder it will become.’

Only a fifth of GPs do any out-of-hours work and those who do undertake an average of four hours a week.

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘It’s not unusual for A&E departments to employ in-house GPs – they provide a valuable source of expertise and help patients to be seen and treated promptly.

‘We know that the whole system of out-of-hours care needs to be changed. That’s why we’ve agreed a new GP contract, backed by doctors, which is part of a longer-term plan to bring back the personal link with patients so GPs can focus on giving people the care they need and preventing unnecessary trips to A&E in the first place.’

The Toy Poodle is a lively, sensitive, playful, loyal, energetic, happy and loving dog who becomes attached not just to one person but to the entire family. He is a wonderful family companion who doesn't like to be left alone for hours. He is very human-oriented, and will turn mischievous and destructive if he is ignored or neglected. He's an extremely easy dog to train, and loves to learn tricks and games or participate in dog sports like agility or obedience. He is eager to please you and quick to learn. He has a remarkable way of seeming to understand your words and expressions and exactly what you want. He is playful and fun-loving, and likes to play fetch and chase balls. He's a very high energy dog with lots of stamina, and he needs a great deal of exercise. He can walk with you for miles, or run madly around the house or yard. He needs a daily walk as well as outdoor play. Without enough exercise, he can become high-strung or nervous. But if you play and work with him, he is able to settle and snuggle contentedly with you on the sofa. He has wonderful swimming abilities and loves to play and splash in water! He can occasionally be demanding or jealous, and is an instinctively protective dog. He makes an outstanding watchdog, as he will bark energetically at the approach of a stranger. He can sometimes bark too much. He is shy with visitors and new people, but generally gets along well with other animals and pets. A caring and generally calm and good-tempered friend, he can be patient and playful with children, but should be supervised with very young children, as he can become nervous and nippy around them. He virtually doesn't shed, and so would be a good pet if you like your home clean and free of hair.

The Toy Poodle is 10 inches tall (to shoulders) and weighs 7 to 9 pounds. He has a long, soft, curly coat. His coat color is usually solid, in white, black, apricot or gray.

Pet coat: His coat only needs to be brushed occasionally, and clipped short every few months. Show coat: Brushed for 10 to 15 minutes daily to prevent tangling and matting, and clipped short and scissored into shape every 6 weeks.

The Poodle's origins are uncertain, but what is known is that all Poodles, whether Toy, Miniature, or Standard, descend from the larger (Standard) breed. He was probably developed in either France or Germany. Although he is the national dog of France, his name comes from the German word "pudelin," which means "to splash in water." He was originally developed as a water retriever, and later also hunted truffles and performed on stage and in circuses. He was known throughout Europe by the 15th and 16th centuries, his image recorded by artists including Durer and Goya. He was a special favorite during the reign of King Louis XVI, and has remained an enormously popular breed in the centuries since. His AKC popularity was 8th out of 157 breeds in 2007.

Manchester United winger Ashley Young has been sidelined with a shoulder injury as a result of the controversial challenge from Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Referee Howard Webb took no action Lloris during United's 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford on New Year's Day, a decision described as 'scandalous' by David Moyes who thought it was worthy of a penalty and red card for the French keeper.

The United boss has followed it up by revealing that Young will miss Sunday's FA Cup tie against Swansea and could be out for even longer.

What could a tiny flat and a country estate have in common? These days both could come  with £1million price tags.

There has  been  a  huge  boom  in  seven-figure homes across the country, so much so that property  sales website  Zoopla claims there are now 8,230 UK streets which have at least one house or apartment worth a million or more.

Half are in central London or wealthy suburbs of the capital, but just over 4,000 of them are across the rest of the UK. 

Estate agency Hamptons International says 9,700 £1 million-plus homes were sold in 2013.

That is 10 per cent above the previous record, set in pre-credit crunch 2007.

Central London dominated the Million Market in 2013 (Fulham alone had 335 £1 million-plus sales) but almost every region of the UK also saw a large growth in such deals.

One reason behind the surge is that wealthy buyers are less reliant on borrowing than the rest of us.

They continued buying and selling when mortgages were hard to get.

Another reason is that in London and the South-East, where many £1 million-plus homes are located, prices have been rising in recent years even though elsewhere they have fallen.

This week, website Primelocation is advertising 9,600 houses and 3,100 flats with seven-figure price tags in England alone.

Experts advise that buyers should play clever.

‘If a home is on sale at just over £1 million, haggle the price down to something like £975,000. That way you avoid five per cent stamp duty, which kicks in as soon as you pay over £1 million,’ says Giles Warren, a Bristol-based buying agent. 

'If you have a choice about where you live, think hard. A price tag of £1million gets you little more than a  bedsit  in  parts  of  London,  but  a huge  house  and  grounds  in  other areas .  

We look at what  buyers can expect to pick up  for  £1million across the country.

Cambridge has eight of eastern England’s ten dearest streets clustered near the university, where you will pay £1million or more for a four-bedroom house. 

‘The market for £1million-plus homes had been quiet for several years but took off in 2013,’ says Mark Oliver of Savills in Cambridge.‘We anticipate  more in 2014.’

There are a few streets in Solihull and Leicester which have average prices above £1million while  market towns in Gloucestershire have one-off seven-figure homes.

A honey-coloured 17th  century vicarage in a pretty Cotswolds town like Broadway will cost £1million  but it will be good value, typically  you will get a whopping 5,000 sq feet.

Though there have  been  overall  falls  in prices in the North of England, there are still £1million  home  enclaves, such as Yorkshire’s Golden Triangle linking  Harrogate, York and Leeds. 

Houses  here have long fetched premium prices, and today a four-bedroom semi in Harrogate town centre costs a cool £1 million.

Macclesfield in Cheshire, favoured by Premier League footballers, has some streets with average  house prices nudging £2 million. Further north, Newcastle has £1million-plus family homes in its  Gosforth  and Ponteland suburbs.

The most popular coastal  towns  and  villages - St Mawes, Padstow  and Rock in Cornwall and Dartmouth, Salcombe and Topsham in Devon - each boast several seven-figure homes. Inland, on Dartmoor, a 19th century granite family house at Chagford (near the home of Jennifer Saunders and  Adrian  Edmondson) will set you back £1million to £1.5million.