News from the Guardian
Compulsory retirement at 65 to be phased out
Plan to end the so called default retirement age is outlined in a consultation document to be published todayPeople will be encouraged to work longer under government plans to phase out the so-called default retirement age of 65 by October 2011.Currently ...
Heart surgery 'must stop' after baby deaths
Inquiry calls for permanent closure of heart unit after three babies died in three monthsChildren's heart surgery should cease for good at a hospital where four babies died, a report is to recommend today.The babies died within three months ...
Squirrel meat flies off shop's shelves
Owner of north London Budgens store defends sale, saying squirrel is a sustainable meat and tastes lovelyThe owner of a local Budgens supermarket has defended selling squirrel meat as a sustainable way of feeding people and says it has a "...
Video: David Mitchell's Soap Box: Trains
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House prices fall for first time since February
Annual rate of house price inflation drops to 6.6% as demand from homebuyers remains subdued in face of uncertain climateHouse prices fell in July for the first time since February as demand subdued due to a lack of credit and nerves ...
George Osborne: Trident costs will be met by defence budget
Defence secretary Liam Fox rebuked by chancellor who says there are no exemptions for his budgetGeorge Osborne delivered a rebuke to the defence secretary, Liam Fox, when he declared that the costs of Britain's new Trident nuclear deterrent will come ...
BT to fight Ofcom over pension costs
? BT ready for battle with regulator? Pension deficit shrinks to £6.6bn? Profits up 17% to £446m? 240,000 broadband customers added last quarterBT is refusing to accept defeat in its battle to pass on part of the cost of its pension deficit to ...
Labour supports electoral reform ? but not this unfair bill | David Miliband
The coalition's proposal for political reform is undemocratic, partisan, and amounts to barefaced gerrymanderingI strongly believe in political reform. I think that reform is essential for all of us in politics to regain the trust of the people, which we ...
London cycle hire: a tale of two blues
From brand beautifiers Coley Porter Bell:The correct name for these cycle lanes is "Barclays Cycle Superhighways". And no, they are not a revolution in transport. They are a revolution in branding. They are a marketing putsch, an extraordinary corporate ...
Claudia Lawrence investigation scaled back by police
Missing chef inquiry to involve fewer detectives, though Channel 4 is set to air Claudia Lawrence documentary in AugustPolice investigating the suspected murder of missing chef Claudia Lawrence are scaling back the inquiry. There are currently 16 detectives involved, but this will ...
Man gets six weeks in jail for throwing eggs at Tory peer Lady Warsi
Gavin Reid convicted of disorderly behaviour under Public Order Act towards Conservative party co-chairmanA 23-year-old man found guilty of throwing eggs at a Tory peer was jailed for six weeks today.Lady Warsi, now co-chairman of the Conservative party, was ...
Draconian incapacity benefit tests are failing the sick | Melissa Viney
Inaccurate medical assessment and an inflexible benefit system are putting the most vulnerable at greatest riskA disturbing sleight of hand within the revised benefits system has been performed on the electorate and particularly on the sick and disabled. It goes ...
Ban on heart ops must stay, says review
John Radcliffe Hospital is told it may not resume heart surgery by independent review into deaths of four babiesSurgery at the smallest children's heart unit in England should remain "suspended until or unless the service can safely be expanded", an ...
Conservatives outspent Labour by £12m last year
Accounts released by the Electoral Commission show Conservatives spent £37.1m in 2009 compared with Labour's £24.7mThe Tories outspent Labour by more than £12m in 2009 as the parties geared up for the general election, according to party accounts published today.The accounts ...
Home Office bids to restrict jobs for asylum seekers
Limit sought so some asylum seekers can apply for work only in industries with staff shortagesHome Office ministers are trying to thwart the impact of a supreme court ruling lifting a work ban on 45,000 asylum seekers by severely restricting the ...
Q&A: Compulsory retirement age
Plans have been announced to phase out the compulsory retirement age of 65 by October 2011. But what will it mean to workers and pre-retirees?Why is the government doing this?Many people are not saving enough for retirement and risk not ...
Metro Bank launch: even the dogs are on-message
Media scrum turns its attention to Hugo, an attractive long-haired collie brought in by Jackie who is thinking about opening an accountEli Negbi must really, really hate Barclays. He's 57, and has banked with them for 27 years. But it's 8am and ...
British north-west passage ship found in Canada
HMS Investigator was abandoned in 1853 trying to find earlier mission searching for north-west passage across North AmericaCanadian archaeologists have found a British ship abandoned more than 150 years ago in the quest for the north-west passage, the fabled sea route ...
Asbos helped make Britain look broken | Julia Margo
Asbos focused public attention on low-level yobbery and youthful misdemeanour, and criminalised a generation of young peopleThe much maligned asbo agenda may be coming to an end: Theresa May has joined the troop of pointy-heads and generally sensible types who ...
Nick Clegg: I changed my mind on spending cuts before general election
Lib Dem leader says he was in favour of a faster programme of deficit reduction before the general election ? even though he did not publicly back the ideaNick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister, has admitted that ...
Sharp fall in pupils expelled from school
Dramatic drop in school exclusions prompts claims that problems students are being passed from school to schoolThe proportion of pupils expelled or suspended from school fell dramatically last year, government statistics revealed today, prompting claims of a "merry-go-round" system in ...
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Will Boris run (continued)?
I still believe he will, but his continuing public prevarication is becoming intriguing. Nick Ferrari raised the subject this morning by referring to one of Boris's bigger 2008 campaign promises:Ferrari: If you don't cut crime by 20 percent in four years ...
Asbos worked ? and Theresa May knows it | Alan Johnson
Labour didn't solve antisocial behaviour, but its measures did cut crime. The Tories' decision to scrap asbos will see it rise againThe public's collective memory doesn't operate in political cycles. They remember when burnt-out cars were ubiquitous, when communities were ...
Compulsory retirement: 'A burden on the state at 65'
Plans to scrap the compulsory retirement age of 65 will come too late for many retireesThe government's plan to scrap the default retirement age of 65 from October 2011 will come too late for many retirees who wanted or needed to work longer....
Wildlife conservation projects do more harm than good, says expert
New book claims western-style schemes to protect animals damage the environment and criminalise local peopleEcotourism and western-style conservation projects are harming wildlife, damaging the environment, and displacing and criminalising local people, according to a controversial new book.The pristine beaches ...
Tobin house search finds no evidence of crime
Police call off investigation of Brighton house where serial killer Peter Tobin lived in the 1980sPolice have found no evidence of crime at a seaside property where the serial killer Peter Tobin once lived.Search teams and forensic archaeologists have ...
Metro Bank rates 'won't trouble best-buy tables'
Financial experts underwhelmed by a lack of introductory offers and products which can usually be beaten by shopping around"The British banking revolution begins today," claimed Metro Bank. But many experts were underwhelmed by its first set of products and ...
David Cameron defends comments about Pakistan and terrorism
British prime minister says he has not caused offence in Pakistan and insists he is not accusing the Islamabad government of promoting terrorismDavid Cameron today launched a strong defence of his attack on Islamabad in which he claimed that elements ...
House prices fall by 0.5%, says Nationwide
Annual rate of house price inflation has dropped to 6.6% compared to 8.7% in June, a Nationwide report shows, and the outlook remains bleakHouse prices fell in July for the first time since February, reducing the average price of a UK property ...
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