Britain's Premium Credit Rating Downgraded

Rating agency Moody's has stripped Britain of its top-grade AAA credit rating, citing slow growth and a rising debt burden.

After the international agency announced the one notch drop to AA1, Chancellor George Osborne said it was a "stark reminder" of the country's debt problems, but said the coalition was determined to stick by its plan for economic recovery.

The downgrade is a major blow for Mr Osborne, who has been coming under increasing pressure to take action to stimulate the economy.

Moody's said Britain's recovery was proving to be significantly slower than previous rebounds from recession and it did not expect the situation to change.

"[There's] increasing clarity that, despite considerable structural economic strengths, the UK's economic growth will remain sluggish over the next few years," it said.

Moody's is the first of the major credit rating agencies to knock the UK off of its top rating.

Moody's said it did not expect Britain's slow recovery to change

The ratings agency also cut the Bank of England's AAA rating by one notch, also to AA1.

Sky Economics Editor Ed Conway said: "The fact that Britain has lost its AAA crown for the first time since credit ratings were given to the UK back in the 1970s, it's a really big blow to Britain's reputation.

"It's something of an economic blow, but in a way it's more of a political problem for George Osborne. He made a key part of the Conservative election pledge to safeguard Britain's credit rating."

On Friday evening, the Chancellor said: "We have a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country - and the clearest possible warning to anyone who thinks we can run away from dealing with those problems.

"We are not going to run away from our problems, we are going to overcome them."

Moody's said that the British economy is constrained both by the troubled global economy and the drag from businesses and the Government slashing its debt burdens.

"Moreover, while the Government's recent Funding for Lending Scheme has the potential to support a surge in growth, Moody's believes the risks to the growth outlook remain skewed to the downside," it said.

Mr Osborne has used maintaining the top credit rating for government bonds as one of the key arguments for the Government's austerity programme.

However, Labour has insisted that withdrawing demand from the economy has put it more at risk by stunting growth.

Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "This credit rating downgrade is a humiliating blow to a Prime Minister and Chancellor who said keeping our AAA rating was the test of their economic and political credibility.

"In the Budget the government must urgently take action to kick-start our flatlining economy and realise that we need growth to get the deficit down. If David Cameron and George Osborne fail to do so and put political pride above the national economic interest we face more long-term damage and pain for businesses and families."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Food Bills May Rise Amid Growing Meat Tests

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Consumers are being warned that food bills may rise if high demand for meat testing continues.

Since the start of the horsemeat scandal, laboratories all over the UK have been inundated with requests to test different meat products.

The latest Food Standards Agency results last week showed 29 positive results for horse DNA out of 2,501 tested beef products.

At Worcestershire Scientific Services laboratory staff have been working early mornings, late nights and weekends to keep up with demand.

Even some of the equipment has been unable to keep up with almost continual testing.

Laboratory manager Paul Hancock told Sky News that funding is tight, explaining: "The FSA do support the laboratory to a degree but things are very very difficult.

"If the consumer wants quality food they have to be prepared to pay for a degree of policing that."

Checking a meat sample for DNA from other species takes three days and costs between £75 to £100 per sample.

The number of labs capable of carrying out proper testing though has fallen over recent years due to funding cuts. In April, Somerset County Council will close its lab.

Those that remain open operate as competitive businesses rather than sharing information, equipment and practices with each other.

Mr Hancock added: "Ten or 15 years ago the labs used to work closely together that relationship has broken down because of commercial activity and that makes life a whole lot more difficult as well."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pentagon Grounds Fleet Of F-35 Fighter Jets

The Pentagon has grounded the US military's entire fleet of F-35 fighter jets after discovering a cracked engine turbine blade in one plane.

The problem was discovered during what the Pentagon called a routine inspection of an F-35A Lightning II, the US Air Force's version of the new plane.

The US Navy and the US Marine Corps are buying other versions of the F-35, which is intended to replace older fighter jets like the Air Force's F-16 and the Navy and Marine Corps' F/A-18.

All versions - a total of 51 planes - were grounded on Friday pending an investigation.

The Pentagon said it was too early to know the full impact of the newly discovered problem.

It said: "On February 19, 2013, a routine engine inspection revealed a crack on a low pressure turbine blade of an F135 engine installed in a CTOL test aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

"Engineering teams are shipping the turbine blade to Pratt & Whitney's Engine Facility in Middletown, CT, to conduct a thorough evaluation and root cause analysis.

"It is too early to know the fleet-wide impact of this finding, however as a precautionary measure, all F-35 flight operations have been suspended until the investigation is complete and the cause of the blade crack is fully understood.

"The F-35 Joint Program Office is working closely with Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed Martin at all F-35 locations to assess the integrity of the engine, and to return the fleet safely to flight as soon as possible."

The F-35 is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons programme, with a total estimated cost of nearly $400bn (£262bn).

The Pentagon has planned to buy more than 2,400 F-35s, but some members of Congress are hesitant due to the hefty price tag.

The UK has ordered 48 F-35s to fly off the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth carrier once it is built in 2018. Britain has also invested in the development of the jet.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fuel Prices 'Head For Highest Level Ever'

Motorists have been warned that petrol prices may soon reach their highest level ever.

The AA said sterling's slide and market speculation could push prices to record levels by Easter.

The warning comes as tanker drivers at the Grangemouth refinery, which supplies Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, begin a three-day strike in a row over pay and pensions.

After surging 5p a litre over a month, the price of petrol at the pumps has gone up a further 1p in the last five days, the AA said.

It revealed that the average cost of petrol in the UK is now 138.32p per litre, with diesel having risen 4.78p from its mid-January price to stand at an average of 145.10p.

The latest figures show that petrol has risen 6.24p since early January, adding £3.12 to the cost of refilling a typical 50-litre tank.

The AA said filling up the 70-litre tank of a Ford Mondeo now costs £4.37 more than it did six weeks ago.

A two-car family's monthly petrol cost has risen £13.25 with the current price surge.

Petrol price breakdown over the past decade

It added that drivers have been caught between the pound weakening against the dollar and soaring wholesale prices, both due to stock market speculation.

Regionally, Yorkshire and Humberside and the north of England are the cheapest for petrol at the moment at 137.6p a litre, with prices in London and Scotland at an average of 137.8p. Northern Ireland is the most expensive at 138.7p.

Yorkshire and Humberside remains the cheapest region for diesel, averaging 144.2p, while East Anglia, Northern Ireland and southeast England are the most expensive at 145.2p.

AA president Edmund King said: "This latest surge in fuel prices and its impact on spending indicates that UK drivers and families can't take any more.

"We're no longer talking of the motorist as a cash cow for tax and speculator greed, but a horse slowly but surely being flogged to death.

"This is the third 10p-a-litre wholesale price surge in 11 months, given extra vigour by currency speculators betting against the pound."

Government revenue from fuel duty has also been hit hard as Britons reduce spending by cutting back on non-essential journeys.

HM Revenue and Customs figures showed that January's UK petrol sales fell to the lowest tracked by the Government in 23 years.

Drivers consumed 1.465 billion litres of petrol last month, down 14 million litres on the previous all-time low set in March last year and nearly 100 million litres below December's consumption of 1.564bn litres.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Oscar Pistorius: Prosecution's Closing Speech

A judge is today expected to decide on whether to grant bail to Oscar Pistorius, the athlete accused of shooting his girlfriend dead in South Africa.

Prosecutors have argued he is a cold-blooded killer and should be kept locked up, while his own lawyers say that he is far too famous to flee prosecution.

The bail hearing, which began last Friday, resumed this morning.

In a closing statement, the prosecution said Pistorius' version of events was "improbable" and that the level of violence used was "horrific".

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel added that the athlete - who has often cried during proceedings - was feeling sorry for himself, and feared that his career was over.

He also said that Pistorius had decided not to be "tested" by court questioning and chose to submit a written affidavit instead.

Oscar Pistorius claims the death was a tragic mistake

Earlier, his coach Ampie Louw said that if the athlete is granted bail, he will start training again next week.

On Thursday, police were forced to pull their lead detective off the athlete's case after it emerged he himself faces attempted murder charges for shooting at a minibus.

Defence lawyers for Pistorius say the athlete shot dead his girlfriend by a terrible mistake, and deserves bail to prepare for his case.

They say the case has been marred by a bungled police investigation.

The 'blade runner', whose lower legs were amputated in infancy, is said to have killed model Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of St Valentine's Day at his home.

Prosecutors have told the court it was a premeditated murder, with Pistorius firing four shots through a locked toilet door at Ms Steenkamp on the other side.

She was hit in the head, arm and hip.

Witnesses said they heard gunshots and screams from the home in a gated community surrounded by three-metre-high stone walls and an electric fence.

Pistorius contends he was acting in self-defence.

He says he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and felt vulnerable because he was unable to attach his prosthetic limbs in time to confront the threat.

The 26-year-old said he grabbed a 9-mm pistol from under his bed and went into the bathroom.

Pistorius described how he fired into the locked toilet door in a blind panic in the mistaken belief that the intruder was lurking inside.

Bail hearings in South Africa allow for prosecutors and defence lawyers to lay out their basic arguments, based on preliminary evidence.

The arrest of Pistorius stunned millions who watched in awe last year as the Olympic and Paralympic sprinter reached the semi-final of the 400m in the London Olympics.

The impact has been greatest in sports-mad South Africa, where Pistorius was seen as a rare hero who commanded respect from both blacks and whites, transcending the racial divides that persist 19 years after the end of apartheid.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Oscar Pistorius Arrives For Bail Verdict

Pistorius: Prosecution vs Defence

Updated: 2:01pm UK, Tuesday 19 February 2013

Two very different versions of what happened in the moments before Reeva Steenkamp's death have been heard at a bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius.

The athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine's Day. He denies murder.

Below are the key arguments from the prosecution, along with Pistorius' account of events as read from his statement in court.

:: The Prosecution

Pistorius fired his gun four times into the door of a bathroom, knowing that Ms Steenkamp was inside after an argument.

She had locked herself in the room after fleeing down a seven-metre passage from the bedroom following the row at Pistorius' luxury home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius followed her with his 9mm pistol, first putting on his prosthetic legs.

He shot his gun four times through the door, killing an "unarmed and defenceless" woman. The door was then broken open from the outside.

There was "no possible explanation" to support Pistorius' claim of mistaken identity - that he believed the person inside the bathroom was a burglar.

If that were the case, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued, why wasn't Pistorius' first thought to the whereabouts of his girlfriend?

Mr Nel argued there was a motive for the killing.

:: The Defence

Pistorius had "no intention" of killing his "beloved" Ms Steenkamp and he is "absolutely mortified" by her death.

In the early hours he heard a noise and thought an intruder had come through a bathroom window and was hiding there. He felt vulnerable and shouted for the intruder to get out and for Ms Steenkamp to call police.

It was dark and Pistorius thought Ms Steenkamp was lying on her bed, not that she was in the bathroom. He wanted to protect her.

Pistorius hobbled to the bathroom on his stumps and fired his gun, a 9mm pistol he kept under his bed because he had received death threats.

After the shooting, he returned to his bed and saw that Ms Steenkamp was not there.

He shouted for help, broke open a door with a cricket bat and found her still alive. He carried her downstairs.

He had got up to fetch a fan from the balcony when he heard the noise in the toilet earlier, which is why he did not notice Ms Steenkamp was not on the bed.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Spurs Fans Attacked By Gang In Lyon Bar

Three Tottenham fans are reported to have been taken to hospital after a group of up to 50 masked thugs attacked a bar on the eve of Spurs' game in Lyon.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers smashed doors and threw cast iron chairs, wooden objects and a flare in to the Smoking Dog pub in Lyon.

Up to 150 Spurs fans were drinking in the bar, popular among ex-pats in the French city, ahead of tonight's Europa League match.

It is the second time that Tottenham fans have been targeted in apparent anti-Semitic attacks in the last three months.

In November, fans of the club, which has a traditionally strong Jewish following, were ambushed inside a pub in Rome on the eve of their game against Lazio.

Damaged caused inside the Smoking Dog pub

Eyewitnesses inside the Smoking Dog said the thugs attacked the bar at 10.18pm on Wednesday night and then returned shortly after to launch another assault on the pub, which was damaged extensively as a result.

The pub's landlord, Dave Eales from Retford, said: "At 10.18 the pub was rammed with Tottenham fans watching the Champions League on the television.

"The front of the pub, which is made up of reinforced glass, was attacked by 20-25 people.

"They threw projectiles through the windows. There was a stand off. They didn't get in to the bar. Then it calmed down. Then they came back a second time and it all started again.

"There were three injured Tottenham fans taken away by ambulance. One of them had a head injury. I'm not sure how bad it was."

Far-right thugs were blamed for the knife attack on Tottenham's supporters in Rome and two eye-witnesses claimed the attack could have had an anti-Semitic motive.

Scene of the attack on Spurs fans in Rome in November

One, who did not want to be named, said: "There were 50 who attacked in the first wave and 25 in the second.

"It's a pretty scary thing when you're confronted by people doing Nazi salutes."

Spurs fan Christian Radnege, who was in the bar at the time of the attack, said: "They came in making Nazi salutes. It was frightening."

Mr Eales, 42, said he had anticipated trouble may occur and that he had told the Lyon police as much earlier this week.

He added: "The most disappointing thing is that I spoke to the police a couple of days ago about the potential for trouble because of what people associate Tottenham being."

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We are aware of reports of an attack on British nationals in France and are offering consular assistance."

Tottenham said they were aware of reports of the attack.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pistorius Cop Faces Attempted Murder Charges

The police officer leading the Oscar Pistorius has been charged with seven counts of attempted murder from 2011.

Hilton Botha and two other officers reportedly opened fire on seven passengers in a taxi mini-bus in an attempt to stop it. It is alleged that the officers, who were on duty at the time, were drunk.

They were arrested after the event in October 2011 and charges were initially dropped but were reinstated by the state prosecutor in the days before the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp.

Prosecutors are understood to be in discussions with police about whether to drop Botha from the investigation, however, police are insisting that no decision has been made.

An earlier report from Eyewitness News had quoted a National Prosecuting Authority spokesman as saying that Botha "cannot continue with this case".

Hilton Botha arrives at court to give evidence at Pistorius' bail hearing

Botha only discovered the charges against him had been reinstated yesterday. He is set to appear in court in May to face the charges, but police plan to keep him on the Pistorius murder case despite them.

The South African Police Service has confirmed the charges against the detective and launched an investigation which may see Botha suspended.

Spokesman Neville Malila said: "We were only informed yesterday that attempted murders charges against Hilton Botha have been reinstated."

He said that Botha remained on the Pistorius case and that the charges would not hamper Botha's investigation into the circumstances of the Valentine's Day shooting at Pistorius' Silver Lakes home.

It is unclear why the charges against Botha were reinstated. He denies being drunk and  has told a South African news channel that he was chasing suspects.

Oscar Pistorius is due to find out whether he will be granted bail

Medupe Simasiku, the spokesman for National Prosecution Agency, said: "The (Pistorius) prosecutors were not aware of those charges (against Botha)."

Under cross-examination during Pistorius' bail hearing, Botha was accused of contaminating the crime scene in the paralympic star's home and backtracked on key details, including the distance of witnesses from the house.

In his often confused testimony, Botha, who was described as a 24-year police veteran with 16 years as a detective, conceded that police had left a 9 mm slug from the barrage that killed Steenkamp inside a toilet at the scene.

Police also lost track of illegal ammunition found inside the house, Botha said, and the detective himself walked through the crime scene without wearing protective shoe covers, potentially contaminating the area.

He also claimed in court that police found boxes of testosterone and needles in multiple Paralympic champion Pistorius' bedroom following the Valentine's Day shooting last week, but then said later he wasn't sure what the exact name of the substance was.

The lead defence counsel Barry Roux accused the police of oversights and mistakes on their initial investigation.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

New 4G Phone Operators Announced By Ofcom

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom has granted permits for more mobile phone firms to operate faster 4G networks.

The four new winners are Hutchison 3G, a division of BT called Niche Spectrum, Telefonica O2 and Vodafone.

Existing 4G operator Everything Everywhere was also given expanded bandwith.

The auction raised £2.34bn for the taxpayer but the Government had hoped for a total of £3.5bn. Britain's last big mobile phone spectrum auction was in 2000 for 3G services and raised more than £20bn.

Ofcom said the purpose of the auction was to "promote strong competition in the 4G mobile market".

It said in a statement: "This is expected to lead to faster mobile broadband speeds, lower prices, greater innovation, new investment and better coverage.

"Almost the whole UK population will be able to receive 4G mobile services by the end of 2017 at the latest."

New entrants in the sector, including Chinese-owned firms, failed in their bids.

The regulator said that was simply because their bids were too low.

Ofcom also revealed that it was "planning now to support the release of further spectrum for possible future '5G' mobile services".

It said that by 2030, demand for mobile data could be 80 times higher than it is in 2013.

Future development of 5G would be needed to meet this demand and avoid a feared "capacity crunch".

Ofcom added: "More mobile spectrum is needed over the long term, together with new technologies to make mobile broadband more efficient."

Initial 4G operator EE has already rolled out coverage to 28 towns and cities, to more than 46% of the population.

Demand for the new services has extended as penetration of smartphones has increased in recent years.

4G can supply data stream feeds typically five times faster than 3G.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Oscar Pistorius: Prosecution Outlines Case

Pistorius: Prosecution vs Defence

Updated: 2:01pm UK, Tuesday 19 February 2013

Two very different versions of what happened in the moments before Reeva Steenkamp's death have been heard at a bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius.

The athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine's Day. He denies murder.

Below are the key arguments from the prosecution, along with Pistorius' account of events as read from his statement in court.

:: The Prosecution

Pistorius fired his gun four times into the door of a bathroom, knowing that Ms Steenkamp was inside after an argument.

She had locked herself in the room after fleeing down a seven-metre passage from the bedroom following the row at Pistorius' luxury home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius followed her with his 9mm pistol, first putting on his prosthetic legs.

He shot his gun four times through the door, killing an "unarmed and defenceless" woman. The door was then broken open from the outside.

There was "no possible explanation" to support Pistorius' claim of mistaken identity - that he believed the person inside the bathroom was a burglar.

If that were the case, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued, why wasn't Pistorius' first thought to the whereabouts of his girlfriend?

Mr Nel argued there was a motive for the killing.

:: The Defence

Pistorius had "no intention" of killing his "beloved" Ms Steenkamp and he is "absolutely mortified" by her death.

In the early hours he heard a noise and thought an intruder had come through a bathroom window and was hiding there. He felt vulnerable and shouted for the intruder to get out and for Ms Steenkamp to call police.

It was dark and Pistorius thought Ms Steenkamp was lying on her bed, not that she was in the bathroom. He wanted to protect her.

Pistorius hobbled to the bathroom on his stumps and fired his gun, a 9mm pistol he kept under his bed because he had received death threats.

After the shooting, he returned to his bed and saw that Ms Steenkamp was not there.

He shouted for help, broke open a door with a cricket bat and found her still alive. He carried her downstairs.

He had got up to fetch a fan from the balcony when he heard the noise in the toilet earlier, which is why he did not notice Ms Steenkamp was not on the bed.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tesco: Supermarket Bottom Of Which? Survey

Tesco is the UK's least popular supermarket - and Waitrose is the most liked - according to a new survey.

Waitrose received an overall satisfaction score of 82%, including five-star ratings for its customer service and the quality of its fresh produce.

Meanwhile Tesco scored just 45% - placing it at the bottom of the poll of 11,492 people by consumer watchdog Which?

It also received poor marks for its pricing, store environment, quality of fresh produce and customer service.

Discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl came second and third best with scores of 74% and 69% respectively, beating some of their bigger rivals such as Morrisons (59%), Sainsbury's (58%) and Asda (53%).

Aldi and Lidl were the only supermarkets to get four-star ratings for their pricing, with 97% of those surveyed saying they both offer good value.

Fourth place went to Marks & Spencer with 68%, while the Co-operative scored just above Tesco with 48%.

Ocado took top spot in the online ranking with 81%, followed by Waitrose (74%), Sainsbury's (71%), Tesco (63%) and Asda (61%).

The poll revealed that consumers' biggest irritation when shopping is not being able to easily compare prices because of different unit measurements, with 37% reporting that this annoyed them.

They also wanted supermarkets to keep special offers simple, with 55% preferring straight discounts ahead of other offers such as petrol vouchers (16%) or buy-one-get-one-free deals (11%).

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "Millions of customers shop regularly with Tesco and we are always looking at ways to improve their shopping experience.

"We have made a £1bn commitment to make Tesco better for our UK customers and since this survey in October 2012, we have had an encouraging Christmas and New Year and are delivering further improvements this year.

The survey was conducted before horsemeat was discovered in products sold as beef, triggering a probe by the Food Standards Agency which has embroiled British supermarkets.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hilary Mantel: Kate Is A 'Plastic Princess'

Pregnant Kate: Baby Bump On Show

Updated: 12:16am UK, Tuesday 19 February 2013

By Paul Harrison, Royal Correspondent

Kate's baby bump will be on show for the first time in the UK later today as she visits a project for women recovering from substance dependence.

The visit to Hope House, a project run by her patronage Action on Addiction, comes just days after photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge wearing a bikini on holiday in Mustique were published in some magazines overseas.

The engagement also follows the announcement Action on Addiction will receive support from the philanthropic organisation 100 Woman in Hedge Funds.

As Kate approaches the half-way mark of her pregnancy, she will meet women recovering from drug abuse at the 23-bed residential treatment centre.

Action on Addiction was one of four patronages chosen by the Duchess in January last year.

Kate's last public appearance was in January when she unveiled her first official portrait in London.

Her baby bump was first photographed while she and Prince William took a private holiday on the private Caribbean island of Mustique.

Italian Magazine Chi and the Australian publication Woman's Day both decided to publish the photographs of the couple, on holiday with the Middleton family.

Today's engagement in Clapham will be the Duchess' first solo engagement of 2013.

St James' Palace has also announced the details of her next public engagement on March 5th.

The Duchess will conduct three public engagements in the Lincolnshire town of Grimsby.

The royal mum-to-be will visit the town's National Fishing Heritage Centre, the Havelock Academy and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.

The fire-and-rescue service has been working in partnership with The Prince's Trust since 2011 and it will be the first time Kate has visited project run by her father-in-law's trust.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Supermarkets 'Now Take 58% Of Retail Spend'

Nearly 60% of all retail spending is now made in supermarkets, according to a new report.

The Payments Council study found that 58p in every retail pound is handed to them, up from 46p a decade ago.

The changing trend shows that in the last 10 years supermarkets have taken an extra 26% of retail sector spending.

The Payments Council said the latest data also showed that the UK spent £58bn on entertainment last year, 60% more than in 2001 and outstripping growth in consumer spending by over a quarter.

However, the wide-ranging survey was carried out before the discovery of horsemeat in a number of processed meat products across several supermarkets which is believed to have hit sales.

It came as spending in restaurants and cafes was revealed to have almost doubled in the same period.

According to the report, The Way We Pay, a number of consumer trends have been combined for the first time.

It said cash purchases continue to migrate to debit card payments but it warns that plastic spending may become history. The study said that mobile phones, led by the smartphone revolution, look increasingly likely to become the primary payment vehicle.

Smartphones are expected to become an important payment vehicle

The Payment Council also said cheque usage halves every five years.

In 2003, 43% of our retail spending by value was with cash, but now it is just 30% - with the majority being for payments under £5.

Chief executive Adrian Kamellard said: "We scarcely notice the steady changes in the way we pay, yet someone in their thirties today will see more change in their lifetime than in the entire history of money.

"Even recent innovations such as payment via a mobile phone, which ten years ago some felt to be science fiction, will soon be commonplace. The 2000s were the decade of the debit card.

"The 2010s are likely to be the decade of the mobile phone.  Just as we can't imagine how we ever did without the internet, many people will soon wonder how we used to be so dependent on cash and cheque - 20 years from now even cards may seem archaic."

The report also looked at how leisure pursuits continues to shift for many people

Spending in furniture and homeware shops is down by nearly half during the last decade, as is spending in DIY stores.

Meanwhile, the digital revolution of the media has now hit the delivery of publishing - newsagents have lost nearly 20% of their trade in the past 10 years.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Oscar Pistorius 'Put On Legs To Kill Partner'

Prosecutors claim Oscar Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend through a bathroom door in a premeditated murder.

During the bail hearing, prosecutors argued the Paralympian put on his prosthetic legs, walked seven metres and fired four shots at unarmed Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door.

The 29-year-old died from "three shots" last Thursday at Pistorius' home in South Africa. Hundreds are expected to attend her funeral in Port Elizabeth this morning.

Meanwhile the athlete's defence lawyer said there was no evidence of premeditation, insisting he did not know it was Ms Steenkamp in the bathroom. He said her death was "not murder".

Pistorius broke down in tears during the hearing which will determine whether he should get bail.

Sky's Alex Crawford said his "face was creased in pain" and he was "weeping" as he was formally charged with murder.

The prosecutor said he "killed an innocent woman".

For the first time, Pistorius is expected to explain how his girlfriend died during the hearing.

Crawford said his defence team will detail why he should be given bail, arguing that he is not a danger to society or himself and is not going to abscond.

More follows...

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Horsemeat: Minister To Meet Supermarket Bosses

The Environment Secretary is meeting supermarkets and food retail bodies to press for details on how they will restore the confidence of shoppers.

Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons are among those confirmed to be attending the meeting with Owen Paterson in Westminster.

They will be joined by the Institute of Grocery Distribution and the Food and Drink Federation.

It comes as a leading charity claims the Government was made aware that illegal horsemeat was in the food chain more than a year ago.

World Horse Welfare says it had a sit-down meeting with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2011, to flag up the problem of horse passports being faked to allow the animals to be slaughtered.

Roly Owers, the charity's chief executive, told Sky News that problems had been reported ever since the passport system was set up in 2005.

"We know that in November 2011 we attended a meeting where the issue of the passport system ... was discussed with Defra and local authorities," he said.

John Young, a former manager at the Meat Hygiene Service, now part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), told The Sunday Times he helped draft a letter to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in April that year.

But he told the paper the letter to former minister Sir Jim Paice on behalf of Britain's largest horse meat exporter, High Peak Meat Exports, which warned that flesh with possible drug residue getting into food could blow up into a scandal, was ignored.

The FSA revealed on Friday that 2,501 tests were conducted on beef products, with 29 results positive for undeclared horsemeat at or above 1%.

The 29 results related to seven different products, which have already been reported and withdrawn from sale - Aldi's special frozen beef lasagne and special frozen spaghetti bolognese, Co-op frozen quarter pounder burgers, Findus beef lasagne, Rangeland's catering burger products, and Tesco value frozen burgers and value spaghetti bolognese.

Pub and hotel group Whitbread became the latest company to admit horse DNA had been found in its food, saying its meat lasagnes and beefburgers had been affected and removed from menus.

Horsemeat was also discovered in school dinners, with cottage pies testing positive for horse DNA sent to 47 Lancashire schools before being withdrawn.

The results of tests on further products are not expected to be available until later in the week.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fat Tax On Sugary Drinks Urged By Doctors

Britain's doctors want the cost of sugary drinks increased by a fifth and a ban on unhealthy food in hospitals, according to reports.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says the moves would help to break the cycle of "generation after generation falling victim to obesity-related illnesses and death".

The Guardian cited a report by the academy which says doctors are "united" in seeing obesity as the greatest public health crisis facing the UK.

The academy said government efforts so far have been "piecemeal and disappointingly ineffective", given the scale of the problem.

Figures show that one in four adults in England is obese. Obesity can lead to heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

The academy's chairman, Professor Terence Stephenson, said the report did not claim to offer a full solution to obesity, but "it does say we need together to do more, starting right now, before the problem becomes worse and the NHS can no longer cope".

Its recommendations include an experimental 20% tax on sugary soft drinks for at least a year, to see what effect it has on sales.

The academy believes the potential £1bn annual tax yield could help fund an increase in weight management programmes.

Local councils are also urged to limit the number of fast food outlets near schools and leisure centres.

And NHS staff should routinely talk to overweight patients about their eating and exercise habits, the report adds.

Chef and anti-obesity campaigner Jamie Oliver welcomed the report as "the clearest warning sign yet that the medical profession is deeply concerned about obesity".

But the Food and Drink Federation, which represents produce manufacturers, said the report was a "damp squib" that added "little to an important debate".

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Murder Probe After Body Found In Salford

A murder investigation has been launched after the body of a 19-year-old man was found in Salford.

The man was found with multiple injuries by police officers who were called to Light Oaks Road shortly after 9.20pm on Sunday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination will take place later today to establish the cause of death.

Detective Superintendent Jon Chadwick said: "A young man has been tragically killed and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.

"I want to stress that we are at the early stages of our enquiries. We have a team of detectives working to establish the full circumstances that led to his death.

"I know residents will be alarmed by this incident, but I want to reassure the community that a thorough investigation is now taking place and there are extra patrols in the area."

Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Home Secretary Pledges New Deportation Law

Home Secretary Theresa May is planning a new law to stop foreign criminals avoiding deportation, according to reports.

She told the Sunday Telegraph that the actions of some immigration judges were "not acceptable" and that they were "subverting" British democracy.

A new immigration bill will be published later this year, the newspaper claims, to give full legal weight to ministers' demands that foreign criminals should not routinely be able to dodge deportation by citing Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Article 8 permits the right to a family life which can be a barrier to removal, but ministers and MPs say it should be balanced with the need to protect the public.

The new law is expected to state that Article 8 allows deportations to prevent "disorder or crime", meaning judges will be forced to take that into account when considering appeals by criminals.

The Sunday Telegraph also reported that new restrictions could also be included in the new law on migrants coming to Britain from countries including Romania and Bulgaria.

Last summer the Home Secretary changed immigration rules to make clear that foreign criminals should be deported if they were serious or persistent offenders.

But while the rules were backed by the House of Commons, they do not carry the full weight of law and are often ignored by judges on the Immigration Tribunal.

Ms May told the Sunday Telegraph: "The European Convention on Human Rights is clear - there is a right to a family life, but that right should be balanced with the wider public interest in controlling immigration and protecting the public.

"That's why we introduced new immigration rules last year.

"Those rules were debated in full and passed unanimously by the House of Commons. So it is not acceptable that some immigration judges are denying the democratic and legal validity of them.

"I said at the time that if the courts did not heed the changes to the rules, I would introduce primary legislation to force them to do so. That is exactly what I now intend to do.

"I am determined that Article 8 must not stop us deporting dangerous foreign criminals."

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Ms May said: "The law in this country is made by the elected representatives of the people in Parliament. And our democracy is subverted when judges decide to take on that role for themselves."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brit Backpacker: I Feel Lucky To Be Alive

A British backpacker missing in the scorching Australian outback for three days has told of how he did everything he could to survive - including drink his own urine and contact lens solution.

Sam Woodhead, 18, became lost after he set out for a jog from the remote Queensland cattle station where he had worked for less than two weeks.

But the chance discovery of packets of lenses in his rucksack - put there by his father, Peter - helped to keep him going for 72 hours in blistering temperatures of around 40C (104F).

Sam Woodhead was a keen long distance runner

The former Brighton College student, from Richmond upon Thames, London, also used his rugby shorts and other items of clothing to create an SOS sign that led to his rescue.

He was found about three miles away from the ranch by rescuers in a helicopter. He had lost two stones in weight and was just hours from death.

He told Sky News: "I feel very fortunate to be alive and to be standing here.

"I know that so many people helped out ... and I genuinely believe that if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here today.

"It was a really amazing feeling to be actually picked up and realise that I was actually going to make it through ... and it wasn't going to be the end."

His mother, Claire Derry, has visited him in hospital in Longreach, about 50 miles away from where he was discovered. She said he had lost weight and his kidneys were not working properly due to dehydration.

Mr Woodhead with his mother and sister Rebacca before the ordeal

She said: "His birth was one of the best moments of my life, and this is pretty close to it, getting him back again, because I was pretty convinced it was touch and go. I did an awful lot of praying during that flight.

"He looks fantastic, he's suntanned, his mouth isn't blistered, he looks great, he's thinner and questionably a lot thinner than when I last saw him.

"The only concern is that his kidneys are not quite functioning normally and his blood's not normal. But that, the doctor says, is completely typical of somebody who's been completely dehydrated."

Ms Derry added: "He  tried to drink his own urine. He said he'd run out of the contact lens fluid and the contact lens capsules said they were 69% water. But they'd all gone so the urine had become very, very concentrated.

"So he said he couldn't stomach it, so he had nothing, he had nothing to keep him going, by the time the helicopter crew got to him."

She told Sky News: "Sam is an amazingly cool guy and he said 'hi mum' and I said 'Sam I didn't think I would be holding you in my arms again frankly'.

Mr Woodhead is helped by medical personnel after his helicopter rescue

"But he didn't cry and didn't show very much emotion at all. He just said I'm really happy to see you."

Mr Woodhead, who is set on joining the Armed Forces and is a keen long distance runner, is expected to leave hospital on Sunday.

Mike Curtin from Queensland State Police said: "He was quite disorientated but, you know, his body seemed to bounce back fairly quickly once he knew that obviously he was located and so forth and he was quite happy of the fact that someone had found him."

Mr Curtin warned of the harsh Australian climate and called on young people to be careful when travelling or working in the remote Australian Outback.

He said: "It's one of those things and I think there's a lesson to be learned here from any of these young fellows who do take, or young boys and girls, who take jobs in areas like this isolated part of the state, to be careful, to be safe, and prepare.

"And never take the harshest Australian environment and our climatic conditions here for granted."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Horsemeat: 'Ministers Were Warned In 2011'

Government ministers were warned in 2011 that horse meat was illegally entering the human food chain, it has been claimed.

John Young, a former manager at the Meat Hygiene Service, now part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), told the Sunday Times he helped draft a letter to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in April that year. 

But he told the paper the letter to former minister Sir Jim Paice on behalf of Britain's largest horse meat exporter, High Peak Meat Exports, which warned that flesh with possible drug residue getting into food could blow up into a scandal, was ignored.

In the letter the company warned the Government that its passport scheme designed to stop meat containing the anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone, known as bute, getting into the food chain was not working, calling it a "debacle".

"Defra gave nearly 80 organisations the authority to produce passports and some of them are little better than children could produce... It's a complete mess," he said.

Sir Jim said he did not remember seeing the warnings, telling the Sunday Times: "If this information was in Defra and was not being acted upon, it warrants further investigation. I would like to know why on earth I was not being told about it."

He admitted the horse passport scheme to stop bute getting into the food chain was not working, saying: "We now know that and we need to know why."

Seven percent of people have stopped eating meat altogether, poll suggests

Meanwhile the boss of one of the country's leading supermarkets warned that consumers could end up paying the price for the horse meat scandal, as ensuring food has the best safety guarantees means it can no longer be regarded as a "cheap commodity".

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mark Price, the managing director of Waitrose, said rising costs of rearing animals could mean that "somewhere along that long supply route, somebody has looked to cheat and take advantage of these circumstances either for their own personal greed or to keep a company afloat".

Waitrose has not been affected by the scandal, which Mr Price puts down to its rigorous verification processes.

On Friday, the Food Standards Agency released test results for possible horse meat contamination.

The watchdog said 2,501 tests were conducted on beef products, with 29 results positive for undeclared horse meat at or above 1%.

The 29 related to seven different products, which have already been reported and withdrawn from sale.

:: Almost a third of voters (31%) have stopped eating ready meals as a result of the scandal, a poll suggested, and as many as one in 14 (7%) have stopped eating meat altogether.

The ComRes survey for the Sunday Mirror and the Independent on Sunday, also found a majority in favour of a ban on all meat imports "until we can be sure of their origin" by 53% to 33%.

There was encouraging news for the Government as well: 44% said it had responded well to the crisis against 30% who disagreed.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More