Posts

Showing posts from April 12, 2011

End tax break on second homes, says Shelter

Image
End tax break on second homes, says Shelter : " Homeless charity Shelter is calling for the council tax discount on second homes to be abolished. Its new report, 'Taking Stock', which looks at ways to maximise England's existing housing supply, shows that ending the discount for the 252000 second ... United Kingdom | Ireland

TB rises in UK and London

Image
TB rises in UK and London : "In London , where 40% of UK cases are reportedly diagnosed, the number of cases has risen by almost 50% since 1999, up from 2309 in 1999 to 3450 in 2009. The Guardian has also discussed the rising prevalence of the disease, which was detailed in a ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Radical approach to drugs recovery piloted

Image
Radical approach to drugs recovery piloted : "Eight areas in England will test innovative new ways to help drug addicts recover and achieve a sustained recovery, Public Health Minister Anne Milton announced today. The areas have been selected following a competition to pilot a Payment by Results ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Bradford on Avon boater faces losing home after ruling

Bradford on Avon boater faces losing home after ruling By Chris Melvin » A boater who lives between Bradford on Avon and Bath on the Kennet and Avon Canal is facing homelessness after a ruling at Bristol County Court which could also make other canal-dwellers homeless . A judge ruled on March 31 that Paul ...

Plan ahead in order to live your dreams

Image
Plan ahead in order to live your dreams : "Yet many people risk a life of poverty in retirement because they are significantly underfunding their retirement savings. We are all expected to live longer and there is a good chance many of us will live almost one-third of our lives in retirement so ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Ian Young said he loved Fatine even though he knew she was born a man

Ian Young said he loved Fatine even though he knew she was born a man The saga left the 32-year-old jobless and homeless and at one stage he tried to take his own life by downing a bottle of pills. Mr Young, who lived in Pear Tree but has since moved away, said he was re-building his life as the couple had split up after ...

World Bank urges rethink on aid

Image
World Bank urges rethink on aid : " The report says if there is not a major refocusing of aid in this direction, then other targets on poverty , health and education will not be reached. There is far more spent on alleviating the effects of conflict than preventing it from breaking out, ... BBC News "

U.K. commission proposes bank reforms

Image
U.K. commission proposes bank reforms : "The proposals, which are part of the interim report of the Independent Commission on Banking, also call for Lloyds Banking Group PLC ( LONDON : UK :LLOY) (NYSE:LYG) to sell significantly more branches than the 600 planned. European Union leaders gathered ... United Kingdom | Ireland

BAA's March Passenger Traffic In UK Airports Marginally Up

Image
BAA's March Passenger Traffic In UK Airports Marginally Up : "(RTTNews) - Privately-owned airport operator BAA Ltd. Monday said passenger traffic volumes increased marginally across its six UK -based airports, with London's Heathrow airport contributing a 2.3 percent hike. However, given a number of unusual events ... United Kingdom | Ireland

UK-Cannabis Culture Grows To 9% Of Population

Image
UK-Cannabis Culture Grows To 9% Of Population : " According to the Organisation For Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) the UK is ranking number 4 in the world, with 9 percent of the UK population being active users of cannabis . This would put the approximate number of active cannabis uk ... Nexadviser News "

Mail reporter lives on £1-a-day diet for a week

Mail reporter lives on £1-a-day diet for a week That's my challenge as I attempt to live below the poverty line, spending just £1 a day on food and drink for the next five days. The campaign kicks off on May 2 and will raise cash for the five charities Christian Aid, Salvation Army, Results UK , ...

Co-operatives help to narrow UK poverty gap

Image
Co-operatives help to narrow UK poverty gap : " “Our recently-launched Ethical Plan ensures that ten per cent of our profits available for distribution will be put into community investment by 2013 with £5million specifically used each year to tackle UK poverty around our outlets — a clear ... Co-Operative News "

London 'is the world's most popular retail city'

Image
London 'is the world's most popular retail city' : " London offices could prove ideal for retailers that want a prestigious UK base, after the country has been named the most international retail market in a new study. And the CB Richard Ellis How Global is the Business of Retail? investigation ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Vietnamese Stockton drug farmer to be deported

Vietnamese Stockton drug farmer to be deported by Simon Walton, Evening Gazette A VIETNAMESE cannabis gardener welcomed deportation to his homeland as he was jailed for his role in a 9kg drugs farm. Police found a professional set-up with cannabis growing in almost every room of a home in Stockton. ...

Government may move to allow prescribed cannabis into Ireland

Image
Government may move to allow prescribed cannabis into Ireland : "Ireland and the UK are not parties to the agreement, but the briefing notes says the Department of Health had been told by the Department of Justice and Law Reform that it should take whatever measures were necessary to give effects to a certain ... United Kingdom | Ireland

U.K. Inflation Slows

Image
U.K. Inflation Slows : "By JASON DOUGLAS And AINSLEY THOMSONT LONDON — UK inflation slowed to an annual rate of 4% last month as heavy discounting in supermarkets offset households' higher utility bills, official data showed Tuesday. The Office for National Statistics said the ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Transsexual wife 'dumped me after I got her a visa'

Image
Transsexual wife 'dumped me after I got her a visa' : " Mr Young, 32, who says that at one stage he tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills, is trying to rebuild his life after he was left jobless and homeless . He said: 'I used every penny I had and I lost everything. I lost my job, I lost my house and ... Daily Mail "

Poorest are losers in 'Big Society', Methodist leaders hear

Image
Poorest are losers in 'Big Society', Methodist leaders hear : "By staff writers The Methodist Council discussed the issues of UK poverty and the Big Society when it met at Royal Holloway College this past weekend. Council members gathering in Surrey from 9-11 April 2011 heard that while the Government is speaking ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Mencap/Enable Scotland and Co-operative Group

Image
Mencap/Enable Scotland and Co-operative Group : "In 2005, the group raised £1m for the homelessness charity Shelter . In 2007, £2.9m was raised for the Children's Society and Diabetes UK . In 2009 - charity of the year partnerships happen in alternate years - the RNID received £3.7m. ... United Kingdom | Ireland

A friend in need

Image
A friend in need : " This has helped lift millions out of poverty . Bluntly speaking we are struggling for existence, we are trying to perform our best in the midst of a crisis. We have very poor infrastructure.” This has led to some in the UK wondering if India is too ... BBC News "

UK Govt urged to end home tax breaks

Image
UK Govt urged to end home tax breaks : " The charity , Shelter , said in a report that the government is now spending an annual £42 million on discounts for 252000 second homes. "The council tax discount is effectively a tax break for people with second homes which often lie empty for large ... Press TV "

UK moves bank rules closer to US

Image
UK moves bank rules closer to US : "Global banking regulation took a step towards convergence on Monday as a UK commission proposed measures that will bring the country's financial rules closer to the US, reducing fears that British lenders will flee London for New York. ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Economy and green issues focus

Image
Economy and green issues focus : " ... a pledge to invest £50m in tackling fuel poverty and meeting climate change targets. ... Speaking from the Edinburgh International Science Festival, ... BBC News "

HIV charities surprised at gay blood ban reports

Image
HIV charities surprised at gay blood ban reports : "The National AIDS Trust and Stonewall also said they were not aware of any imminent announcement on the policy. A statement from SaBTO, which is carrying out the review, said: “SaBTO is currently reviewing the evidence base for donor exclusion and ... United Kingdom | Ireland

London Schoolboy Murdered in UK

Image
London Schoolboy Murdered in UK : "A schoolboy in the capital city of England; London , is said to have been stabbed to death during an attack on a street in the Northern area of the city. It is said that the boy was stabbed several times during the attack and that the young boy later ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Google's $61.7 Million Buy of BeatThatQuote to Get UK Review

Image
Google's $61.7 Million Buy of BeatThatQuote to Get UK Review : "By Erik Larson April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc.'s 37.7 million-pound ($61.6 million) acquisition of UK price-comparison website BeatThatQuote.com will get a preliminary review by Britain's antitrust regulator. The purchase of the London -based ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Cocaine's image as 'safe' drug is challenged by Government advisers

Cocaine's image as 'safe' drug is challenged by Government advisers ... Crime Survey more than quadrupled, increasing from 1.3 per cent to 5.5 per cent. For six out the last seven years Britain has been at the top of the European league table for cocaine abuse. It is the UK's second most popular drug after cannabis .

Cameron: Just say yes to UK royal wedding parties

Cameron: Just say yes to UK royal wedding parties LONDON (AP) — Britons: your country needs you to party. Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday urged local authorities not to use bureaucratic rules to prevent street parties celebrating the April 29 royal wedding. Cameron said civic councils should ...

SNP and Greens promise warmer homes

Image
SNP and Greens promise warmer homes : " ... £50 million in reducing fuel poverty and meeting Scotland's climate change targets, ... for Lothian region, launched the pledge at a house in Edinburgh . ... Bearsden Herald "

SpyEye Arrests Have Little Impact in the Grand Scheme

Image
SpyEye Arrests Have Little Impact in the Grand Scheme : "The arrest might temporarily stop drugs from being sold on that particular block in that particular neighborhood, but have virtually no impact on drug trafficking as a whole. Another thug will be standing on that same corner selling the same dime bags ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Nikon UK to produce London 2012 Olympics range

Image
Nikon UK to produce London 2012 Olympics range : "The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has confirmed that Nikon UK Limited has become a licensee of London 2012. The licence will be used on a range of binoculars, telescopes and laser rangefinders aimed at ... United Kingdom | Ireland

UK-Cannabis Culture Grows To 9% Of Population

Image
UK-Cannabis Culture Grows To 9% Of Population : "This would put the approximate number of active cannabis uk users as 6 million. Which has doubled since 1999-2001 when it was estimated that there were 3.2 ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Woman Dies in UK Train Fire, London Midland Services Disrupted

Image
Woman Dies in UK Train Fire, London Midland Services Disrupted : "By Blanche Gatt - Mon Apr 11 20:28:47 GMT 2011 A 43-year-old woman died in a fire on a London Midland train from Northampton to Euston station in London today, London Midland spokesman Richard Lakin said by telephone. Service on the West Coast mainline ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Cambridge 'cannabis' firm wins £20.6m Novartis deal

Cambridge 'cannabis' firm wins £20.6m Novartis deal Novartis will commercialise GW's Sativex – the world's first prescription medicine derived from cannabis – in certain key territories. They include Australasia, Asia (excluding Japan, China and Hong Kong), the Middle East (excluding Israel/Palestine) ...