World News joined 0008

[DUKE NUKEM]

thats just sad thanks for posting Eel

[DUKE NUKEM]

i dont like that idea at all thanks for posting Eel

[DUKE NUKEM]

things are hard all over thanks for posting Eel

[scorpionf]

And then people wonder why I avoid stores when they have massive sales like this....

Discounts like that bring out the worst in people... It's like waving a red flag at a group of thousands of bulls.

[scorpionf]

That was so sad when I read that today... poor whales

[JohnCenaFan28]

Another 2,000 jobs have been cut or threatened with the axe as two leading banks, a luxury car firm and a car accessory retailer shed labour in response to the economic downturn.

Union officials expressed anger and dismay that Credit Suisse, Aston Martin, HSBC and Halfords were announcing job cuts so close to Christmas.

Credit Suisse said it is cutting around 650 UK jobs, representing about 10% of the company's UK workforce.

Aston Martin said it was planning to axe up to 600 full-time and temporary jobs because of the downturn in the world economy, hitting the company's factory at Gaydon in Warwickshire.

The announcement, following a dip in sales, was described by the Unite union as "devastating news" for workers.

HSBC said it will reduce its UK workforce by around 500 following a review of the business and "current economic conditions."

Managing director Paul Thurston said: "We deeply regret taking this step, but we consider it essential to ensure our business is operating as efficiently as possible and that we are best placed to deal with the economic downturn and maintain our levels of customer service."

Unite's joint leader Derek Simpson said: "Unite is appalled that this news has been delivered so close to Christmas. As far as we can see, HSBC is simply using the economic downturn as an excuse to make job losses."

Car accessory retailer Halfords has announced plans to shed around 250 jobs due to the impact of the economic downturn.

The specialist chain said approximately 200 posts would be cut across its network of more than 450 stores, along with 50 more at its head office in Redditch, Worcestershire.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Three senior figures from Haringey Council have lost their jobs over the Baby P tragedy.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls said an independent report had painted a "devastating and damning" picture of failings in the north London local authority's systems.

He confirmed that council leader George Meehan and Cabinet member for children and young people Liz Santry had quit, while the head of children's services, Sharon Shoesmith, has been removed from her post.

Mr Balls said he had ordered a new serious case review into the death of Baby P, with an executive summary to be published by the end of March.

Mr Balls described the conclusions of the inspectors' report as "devastating" and said all of their recommendations must be accepted by Haringey.

He announced that he has directed the council to remove Ms Shoesmith and install Hampshire County Council's director of children's services, John Coughlan, in her place.

Mr Coughlan was seconded to Haringey last month to oversee children's services in the wake of the Baby P trial.

Mr Balls said: "Overall, the inspectors' findings are, I have to say, devastating. Their report sets out detailed recommendations, all of which must now be accepted in full.

"Having studied their report I've decided to take immediate action. My first priority is to put in place a new leadership and management team in Haringey children's services to ensure that vulnerable children in the borough are properly protected."

Mr Balls told a press conference the public had been "shocked" by the Baby P case. He said social workers, police and other officials who dealt with children's safety often worked in "challenging circumstances". But he added: "They must also be accountable for the decisions and when things go badly wrong people want to know why and what can be done about it."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Royal Bank of Scotland has announced that it will give struggling homeowners at least six months before launching repossession action.

The NatWest parent said it was doubling the three-month breathing space currently offered to borrowers who fall behind with mortgage repayments.

News of the move comes days after the Government bought 58% of the bank's shares for £15 billion - effectively bringing it under state control.

Stephen Hester, chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, wrote in the Financial Times that the bank was "conscious that many people face anxiety" about repayments in the tough economic climate.

He said: "In our UK residential mortgage lending, and as a banker to small businesses, we are determined to serve customers well in the difficult times ahead and have commitments to Government that we intend to meet in letter and spirit."

It is expected that other banks may also follow suit as the Government calls for greater help from banks for cash-strapped borrowers and businesses.

MPs are also reportedly working on plans for statutory codes of practice in the banking industry, which could replace the current voluntary system.

The move by RBS comes amid pressure from Chancellor Alistair Darling to ensure banks do more to help households in the current economic downturn.

RBS has already announced that it will guarantee overdraft rates and contracts for its business customers for at least a year. It will also return to "normal" lending levels, as part of the Government's recapitalisation package for the banking sector.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

The UK must cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 34% by 2020, the committee set up to advise the Government on climate change has recommended.

The Committee on Climate Change, chaired by Adair Turner, also said emissions should be cut by even more if an international deal on reducing greenhouse gases is agreed.

If the current UN negotiations lead to a new deal on climate change in Copenhagen next December, the UK's greenhouse gases should be cut by 42% on 1990 levels by the end of the next decade.

The significant reductions can be achieved at a cost of less than 1% of GDP in 2020, and using existing green technologies, a report from the committee said.

But stronger Government policies will be needed to move the UK to a low-carbon economy.

The cuts can be achieved by cleaner power generation from sources such as wind, which could make up 30% of the UK's electricity by 2020, and measures including energy-efficiency improvements in homes and offices and developing more efficient, electric and hydrogen-powered cars.

The report said nuclear power could play a role in low-carbon electricity generation, and did not rule out new conventional coal-fired power stations in the next decade.

It recommended the Government should make clear that fossil-fuelled power plants which do not have technology to trap and permanently store carbon emissions should not be allowed to generate electricity beyond the early 2020s.

New coal-fired power stations should only be built with the "clear expectation and certainty" that they should be retrofitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) by the early 2020s, Lord Turner said.

The climate change committee, set up under the Climate Change Act, has already recommended a cut of 80% on 1990 levels by 2050 - advice which has been accepted by the Government.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Five companies are to face prosecution in connection with the explosion at Buncefield oil storage depot three years ago, the Environment Agency said.

The agency and the Health and Safety Executive are bringing the prosecution following the blasts at the site in Hemel Hempstead, Herts, in December 2005 in which 40 people were injured.

Criminal proceedings have commenced against Total UK, Hertfordshire Oil Storage, British Pipeline Agency, TAV Engineering and Motherwell Control Systems 2003, the Environment Agency said.

The prosecutions follow a "thorough and complex" criminal investigation conducted by the two agencies, which are jointly responsible for regulating non-nuclear hazardous industrial sites in the UK.

Total UK is facing three charges, of failing to ensure the safety of its employees, of failing to ensure the safety of people it did not employ, and of polluting ground water with fuel and firewater chemicals.

Hertfordshire Oil Storage and British Pipeline Agency are both charged with failing to take all the measures necessary to prevent a major accident and with polluting groundwater with fuel and firewater chemicals.

TAV Engineering is facing one charge of failing to ensure its employees were not exposed to health and safety risks, while Motherwell Control Systems faces one charge of failing to ensure people it did not employ were not put at risk.

The initial court date for the case has been fixed for January 23 and the HSE and Environment Agency said they could not comment further on the decision to prosecute.

A fire began at the Buncefield depot close to the M1 and some 25 miles north west of London at 6am on Sunday December 11 2005 after a series of explosions at the site.

Local residents were evacuated, the M1 was closed twice and nearby offices and warehouses were badly damaged in the incident. The blaze was eventually extinguished on December 15.

-Nova