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Thursday 19 July 2012

Police investigating Javaid Ali's murder in Crimewatch appeal - BBC News

Police investigating Javaid Ali's murder in Crimewatch appeal - BBC News

Police investigating the murder of a Renfrewshire shopkeeper are to appeal for help in catching his killer on the BBC's Crimewatch programme.

Javaid Ali, 48, was stabbed in Sunshine Grocers, Paisley, on 15 June. He died in hospital on 29 June.

More than 60 officers are working on the inquiry and a reward of £50,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible.

A new police appeal will be made on Crimewatch, on BBC 1 at 21:00.

Two weeks ago, Abbas Ali, 25, one of Mr Ali's three sons, issued a statement appealing for help.

'Trauma and hurt'

He urged anyone with information to "think of the trauma and hurt" caused to his family and contact police.

The statement read by Mr Ali said: "Our family is absolutely devastated at the loss of my father, Javaid Ali. He was a wonderful father, husband, son and friend.

"He meant so much to us and it is heartbreaking to know we will never see or speak to him again.

"I cannot put into words the suffering this has caused our family and it will take a long time for us to come to terms with what has happened."

Mr Ali said he could not have asked for more from his father whom he described as "an exceptionally hard worker and a great provider for our family".

"He always put our needs first and did his best to provide my brothers and I with opportunities that he did not have when he was younger," he said. More than 60 officers are working on the inquiry and have visited 700 homes and taken up to 170 statements so far.

Detectives are still trying to trace a man who was seen walking from the direction of Sunshine Grocers at about 15:00 on the day Mr Ali was attacked, and a young woman carrying Aldi shopping bags.

She was walking towards Green Road in the direction of the cycle track.

Det Ch Insp Duncan Sloan said: "As Mr Ali's son said at a press conference, Javaid was an exceptionally hard-working man who was an integral part of his community.

"I am now asking the local community to help and come forward with information to find the person responsible for his murder.

"I would also remind everyone that there is a £50,000 reward for information which brings the person, who robbed the Ali family of their father, to justice."


Source: www.bbc.co.uk

London's Gatwick airport eyes second runway - Reuters UK

LONDON | Thu Jul 19, 2012 1:05pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) - London's Gatwick airport may need to build a second runway to cope with an expected 30 percent rise in passenger numbers by 2045, it said in a masterplan published on Thursday.

A second runway cannot be built at London's second largest airport, which moves around 34 million passengers a year through its two terminals, before 2019 under a long-standing local agreement.

The airport's chief executive Stewart Wingate said Gatwick, which could be handling 40 million passengers a year by 2022 and 45 million by 2030, would likely need a second runway in the next decade.

"We need to anticipate that, in the long term, a second runway at Gatwick may be needed," he said.

"This means we will continue to work in partnership with our local authorities to safeguard land for future expansion because we believe it to be sensible business practice and it supports current government policy."

South-east of London, Gatwick is a point-to-point airport, mainly focused on the leisure market, whereas rival airport Heathrow operates as a hub with around a third of its customers being transfer passengers. Only about 10 percent of those using Gatwick are transfer passengers.

Building a second runway at Gatwick could transform it into an international hub.

Bosses at Gatwick, owned by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) - an investment fund founded by Credit Suisse and General Electric - plan to invest another 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) in the airport to increase passengers numbers and create an extra 1,200 jobs.

In the last three years GIP has invested 750 million pounds modernising its two terminals and revamping its security, baggage and inter-terminal shuttle services.

Wingate told Reuters in April he believed that Gatwick will increase traffic by attracting long-haul carriers from emerging markets, taking advantage of capacity constraints at the capital's Heathrow hub.

BAA-operated Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, is operating at almost full capacity after Britain's Conservative-led coalition government blocked development of a third runway when it came to power in 2010, as further expansion of the west London site would mean a huge increase in the number of planes flying directly over the capital.

Heathrow believes it is now falling behind other airports in the battle for lucrative routes to emerging markets because of constraints on growth.

($1 = 0.6401 British pounds)

(Reporting by Rhys Jones, editing by William Hardy)


Source: uk.reuters.com

London 2012 Olympics: Opening ceremony now a week away, will we WOW the world? - Daily Mail

By Alison Boshoff

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[headerlinks

There’s just a week to go until the Olympic Games open in London. The eyes of the world will be on us — more than one billion are expected to tune in — so what sort of show will we be putting on?

Preparations for the three-hour Opening Ceremony are in full swing, with the 10,000 volunteer performers now attending thrice-weekly rehearsals. If any of them miss a single rehearsal, they are told not to come back.

Danny Boyle, who directed Slumdog Millionaire, is in creative charge, and as new pictures of the scenes inside the stadium reveal, the show will essentially tell the story of the making of Britain — culturally, socially and politically.

The Olympic Stadium is being prepared for the opening ceremony taking place in less than a week

The Olympic Stadium is being prepared for the opening ceremony taking place in less than a week

The high point will be the lighting of the flame — almost certainly by Olympic hero Daley Thompson, who happens to be good friends with Seb Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games.

So what do we know about the show so far? And will it be the Greatest Show On Earth?

A giant snub

Both of them are too gracious to say anything, but there are two miffed theatrical titans out there. Lord Lloyd-Webber and Sir Cameron Mackintosh were passed over in favour of leftie darlings Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry, director of the Billy Elliot movie.

Michael Coveney, the critic at large at Whatsonstage.com, said: ‘I think there’s a sense of a snub. Both Mackintosh and Lloyd Webber would be the obvious choices.

‘Indications are that this is going to be a highbrow event — a kind of imagining of a mythical England.’

Late night

Organisers have flouted the usual 7.30pm start because they require dark for fireworks. The finish is expected to be after midnight.

At least 100 Team GB competitors won’t march in the parade because they’ll be competing next morning. And the 75-strong track and field team, including Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Dai Greene, will be in Portugal at a preparation camp, as their events start in the second week of the Games.

The home nation is traditionally the last to appear of 204 national teams in the athletes’ parade. Those staying in the main athletes’ village have been told they will get back at 12.30am. The rowers, who are based further away, will return to their beds by 2.30 am.

Gents: Dressed in a way which has been deemed to represent Britain, performers prepare for the rehearsals at the Olympic stadium in Stratford

Gents: Dressed in a way which has been deemed to represent Britain, performers prepare for the rehearsals at the Olympic stadium in Stratford

Female performers clutching hot drinks and passes are taking a break from the rehearsals

Female performers clutching hot drinks and passes are taking a break from the rehearsals

Isles of Wonder

The cultural part of the ceremony has been titled Isles of Wonder after a line by Prospero in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The reason for the plural is that Boyle is presenting the many different sides of Britain — from the green Tellytubbyland vista which he unveiled last month, to the grim and grey industrial landscape which will follow it.

Artists perform during the Team Welcome Ceremony Rehersal at Olympic Park in London earlier this week

Artists perform during the Team Welcome Ceremony Rehersal at Olympic Park in London earlier this week

Boyle says: ‘Our Isles Of Wonder celebrates the exuberant creativity of the British genius in an Opening Ceremony that we hope will be as unpredictable and inventive as the British people.’

Pastures green

The main stadium will be transformed into a meadow, with real grass laid over the infield and a game of cricket unfolding in one corner. At one end there’ll be a replica of Glastonbury Tor, the ancient site in Somerset which is linked to Arthurian legend.

In front of the Tor will be a mosh-pit, to replicate the dance area in front of the stage at the Glastonbury Festival. Here, up to 100 members of the public who have bought tickets will be allowed to stand.

At the other end of the stadium, beneath a giant bell, will be the ‘posh-pit’ — so named by Danny Boyle because the public there will be reflecting the spirit of promenaders at Last Night of the Proms.

There will also be four giant Maypoles representing England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Urban jungle

The green will give way to an industrial landscape with models of The Gherkin, the Houses of Parliament and the Royal Albert Hall which have been built at a site in Dagenham. Performers will recreate the Jarrow march of 1936, when 200 men walked to London to protest about unemployment and poverty in the North-East.

The NHS will be honoured by  real nurses pushing hospital beds around the arena, and there’ll also be a tribute to the suffragette movement. Performers will also pay homage to The Beatles.

Pitch perfect: The stadium and the performers are nearly ready for the ceremony which has a cast of over 10,000 people

Pitch perfect: The stadium and the performers are nearly ready for the ceremony which has a cast of over 10,000 people

Soundtrack

Music will play during the ‘cultural element’ of the show. The 86 tracks have been mixed by techno favourites Underworld. Among the tunes are the Eton Boating Song, the theme from Chariots Of Fire, Firestarter by The Prodigy, London Calling by the Clash, the theme from EastEnders and the Dambusters March.

Fakery

There will be clouds of fake rain, which will sprinkle the volunteers and some of the audience. There’ll also be miming by the London Philharmonic, which recorded its parts of the show some weeks ago in the Abbey Road studios. Boyle says the problem is that the orchestra will be at the mercy of the weather on the night, which could ruin the sound.

Formalities

As Head of State, the Queen will be received at the entrance of the Olympic Stadium by the President of the IOC, Jaques Rogge. This will be followed by a procession of the participating teams, nation by nation. Seb Coe will give a speech, then Jacques Rogge, and they will invite the Queen to officially declare the Games open.

Lighting the cauldron

The climax of proceedings is the arrival of the flame at the Olympic Stadium. It will be carried through the streets of East London by the final torch-bearer and will arrive at the stadium around midnight.

Bookies have now stopped taking bets on who gets to light the flame, though they say they had quite a lot put on Sir Steve Redgrave.

Coe said: ‘I have no role in choosing who lights the flame because I have absented myself from the process. I would nominate Daley Thompson, not only because he’s a mate but because I believe he is the greatest Olympian we have produced in this country.’

P.S. forget Beijing

Yes, the last Opening Ceremony was spectacular — but the budget is thought to have hovered around 200 m. Ours, which has cost 27 m, is not trying to compete.

Spokesman Paul Woodmansey says: ‘This will be a ceremony which is appropriate for our times.’

A river runs through it: The Thames takes centre stage for the Olympic opening ceremony seen in this aerial shot of the ceremony preparations

A river runs through it: The Thames takes centre stage for the Olympic opening ceremony seen in this aerial shot of the ceremony preparations

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

Please - and I include you DM - will everyone get behind the olympics? Its a once in a generation opportunity to show the world all the good things about the UK. And yes, in spite of this paper sieving out good news stories for doom and gloom - Britain is a wonderful place to live. Go Team GB!!!

I'm really looking forward to this! I think it'll be great, really wish I could fly out there and see for myself :)

London always wows me.

Good luck to everyone in the show. I can't wait for the games to start and I'm sure the OC will be amazing!!! The negativity is to be expected. A domestic games being scrutinised by a hard faced domestic media. With obviously the DM leading from the front as usual.

I just hope it isn't a giant pop concert with special effects or something all about the queen... China really did a spectacular job and set the standard, so hopefully this is not the usual fare.

I am in the show. Can't tell you what or I would have to shoot you, but it is going to be FABULOUS. Danny is inspirational with real vision, the stadium is awe-inspiring, and can I correct some negative spin from the DM, all the soldiers we spoke to are delighted to be there and being well looked after: "beats lying in a wet ditch in Wales eating rations" sums it up well. Get behind us - I have met countless volunteers and every single one has given time, commitment and paid loads of costs out of our own pockets to be in a dream show Look out for me on your screen close to the end in 8 days time!!

Good luck to them all - I'm looking forward to it. Bring on the negative ninnies

We have paid for it now come on Britian enjoy it ,,,,,,, it will never happen again... be proud just like we was at the jubliee i cant wait to see the opening cermony it will give me a lump in the throat i bet ... CANT WAIT ........

Just thought I'd get in before the negative hoardes and say: I can't wait.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.


Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Austerity could last a decade, warns Cameron as he says he cannot see a day when the economy is not under pressure - Daily Mail
  • Despite inflation and unemployment dropping PM says cuts may continue for 5 years longer than planned
  • 'I don’t see a time when difficult spending choices are going to go away,' he said

By Jason Groves

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Fears: Mr Cameron, pictured yesterday in Afghanistan, said the economic picture remained tough in Britain

Fears: Mr Cameron, pictured yesterday in Afghanistan, said the economic picture remained tough in Britain


Britain faces years more austerity, David Cameron warned last night as he admitted there was no end in sight to the Government’s programme of spending cuts.

The Prime Minister said that despite some recent good news, such as falling inflation, the economic situation remained ‘a lot tougher’ than had been predicted when the Coalition took office in 2010.

In a gloomy analysis he could not envisage a time when the Government’s finances would not be under pressure.

And he refused to rule out having to extend the package of public spending cuts right through to 2020, five years longer than the Government initially promised.

In 2010 the Government set out a five-year austerity programme but Chancellor George Osborne has already been forced to extend that to 2017.

Last month Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood suggested Britain could face a decade of spending cuts, with austerity lasting until 2020.

In a newspaper interview last night, the Prime Minister appeared to confirm this was now a real possibility.

Asked if the austerity programme may continue right through the next five-year parliament, Mr Cameron said: ‘We have to deal with our deficits and we have to have sustainable debts.

‘I can’t see any time soon when the pressure will be off. I don’t see a time when difficult spending choices are going to go away.

'That doesn't mean you can't cut people's taxes. You can do exciting and radical things at the same time as having overall difficult spending choices.'

Mr Cameron insisted that Britain’s straitened circumstances need not prevent ministers pursuing a radical programme in office, including possible future tax cuts.

A poll yesterday suggested that public confidence in the Coalition to deal with the economic crisis had more than halved since it came to power, to just 28 per cent.

But Mr Cameron indicated that he did not believe people had made up their minds.

Hopes for a return to economic growth this quarter were dealt another blow as new figures showed construction output dropped 6.3 per cent in May

Hopes for a return to economic growth this quarter were dealt another blow as new figures showed construction output dropped 6.3 per cent in May

He said they wanted to know that ‘as we get out of this mess, it won’t be the same group of people that benefited in the past.

‘There won’t be a splurge of public spending, mass immigration, wasted money on welfare, bankers paying themselves enormous salaries.’

Hopes for a return to economic growth this quarter were dealt another blow as figures earlier this week showed construction output dropped 6.3 per cent in May – despite an extra working day.

Construction output between March and May fell by 7.4 per cent, compared to the same quarter in 2011, while new work decreased by 9.9 per cent, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

The data follows more bad news from the building sector earlier this month, which showed construction activity fell at its fastest pace in two-and-a-half years in June.

Mr Cameron said he 'cant see any time soon when the pressure will be off'

Warning: Mr Cameron, pictured yesterday, said he 'cant see any time soon when the pressure will be off'

Labour leader Ed Miliband said Mr Cameron should be 'giving hope to people' rather than promising 'more of the same'

Labour leader Ed Miliband said Mr Cameron should be 'giving hope to people' rather than promising 'more of the same'

Labour leader Ed Miliband said Mr Cameron should be 'giving hope to people' rather than promising 'more of the same'.

'I am afraid that what the Prime Minister is offering is more of the same - more of the same that is not working,' he told an event in central London.

'The Prime Minister simply telling people that there is nothing on the horizon and they are going to carry on as they are not only says something about his approach but it is not good for confidence either.'

Mr Miliband added: 'I would have thought they had learned their lesson on this.

'I think the powerful in society saying to the powerless, ‘look, I’m afraid there is going to be eight more bad years and there’s nothing that is going to be done about it, and you’re the people who are going to suffer’, I think is not the solution.

'I am not one of the people who thinks there is nothing that can be done, and things cannot be different.

'I think the Prime Minister should be giving hope to people, and not just promising more of the same - and more of the same of a grim kind.'

POSH SHOPPERS HIT IN THE POCKET AS AUSTERITY MEASURES BITE

The austerity measures sweeping the country have begun to hit upmarket shoppers as spending on premium own-label products slowed for the first time since 2008.

Posh supermarket Waitrose also saw its growth fall back, pointing to data from market research firm Kantar Worldpanel that suggests the premium sector is beginning to slow.

The increase in grocery sales slowed during the past month as shoppers flocked to budget chains Aldi and Lidl in the face of the economic downturn.

Growth in the grocery market fell to 2.1 per cent in the 12 weeks to July 8 compared to growth of 4.2 per cent in the 2011 period, and growth of 3.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to June 10.

Among the big four supermarkets, fortunes continue unchanged with market share growth for Asda and Sainsbury’s and dips for Tesco and Morrisons.

Tesco has been struggling since the beginning of the year when it issued its first profit warning in recent times.

The UK business has been hit hard by fierce competition from rivals who stole a lead by offering better promotions and vouchers.

Morrisons has been focused on repairing its business since the acquisition of Safeway. It is behind in rolling out its convenience store concept and has not even started to sell groceries online.

Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: ‘The success of the discounters, Aldi and Lidl, is a clear example of shoppers watching their purses, with both retailers continuing to surge ahead.’

Both achieved an all-time record market share and growth of 26.1 per cent for Aldi and 11.5 per cent for Lidl.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

It's not really austerity, it's about living within your means. The problem is that production has shifted away from the west to emerging markets. The .com bubble then the property bubble and lots of borrowing created the illusion that everything was fine. Successive governments have inflated bubbles for short term political gains without regard to long term stability. The west has lived beyond its means for a long time and now needs to live below them for an even longer time. Governments have over promised to secure votes and have created a dependent society. The economy and peoples attitudes need severe rebalancing and this will take an awful long time. This is not just a recession but a new reality that people need to get used to irrespective of who the government is.

There appears to be no difference between the leadership of Cameron and that of the Socialism of the E.U. and U.S.A.

JUST GIVE US OUR REFERENDUM!!!!!!

what Janice replied I'm impressed that anyone able to get paid $6405 in 4 weeks on the internet. have you seen this page mcaf.ee/70lsb

this is my 3 atemp to say,ill keep it short,cameron you are in your power and i hope it dosent last eny longer. Your up with the rest of the money and thats what you think will get you through. I dont think so,i think theres more,without money,since you came in and even the average person,is trying to make ends meet. I have done 3 jobs at the same time,good jobs to keep my head above the water. You dont no how to struggle.but my main thing. How can you treat the british army,the whay you have done,some died and some came back with lost limbs and you dont give,your cutting back,on the soldiers. They went to war,to come back for there p45,were the justes in that,and yet you can spend mill on other things. I hope it wont be long till you get OUT.

Not if we kept our money and built up our country, instead of exporting it under the guise of legal aid.

I don't blame the conservatives for the mess we are in, but I don't think their plan is working and for the pm to make that statement is unacceptable. The threat of 10 years of austerity must surely force a change of direction. No one really knows the right way to get out of this mess but surely this is an admission that things are not working

Britain should do exactly what Iceland did. You won't hear about it in the mainstream media, so google 'Iceland's revolution.

"Austerity could last a decade, warns Cameron" - WOW what a surprise!?! Time for the rich boys to have a whip round.................

only if we keep this clueless Tory boy in power. Thank God we wont make this mistake again

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.


Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

London Fund-Raisers Put Romney in a Scandal’s Glare - New York Times

But the two receptions that Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, will hold for donors next week during a swing through Europe are turning into an ill-timed public relations headache for him.

Several of the events’ hosts are top executives at banks tied to the interest rate-fixing scandal that is now engulfing London’s financial and political world, linking Mr. Romney, however superficially, to a messy moment in the continuing debate over Wall Street excesses.

The British and American authorities are examining the role of more than 10 banks in the possible manipulation of key interest rates that affected how consumers and companies borrowed money around the world.

The former chief executive and a top lobbyist for Barclays, the bank at the center of the scandal, helped organize a Romney fund-raiser. The former chief executive, Robert E. Diamond Jr., has since withdrawn his name as the event’s co-host. The bank’s lobbyist, Patrick J. Durkin, remains a co-chairman: he has bundled $1.1 million for Mr. Romney from friends and business associates, more than any other lobbyist, according to federal records.

In late June, Barclays agreed to pay $450 million to resolve accusations that it had tried to manipulate rates to benefit its bottom line. Shortly after, Mr. Diamond resigned from his position.

In a sign of just how politicized the scandal has become, 11 members of Parliament recently signed a resolution, naming Mr. Romney, that called for Barclays executives to “cease fund-raising for political candidates” and focus on rebuilding consumer confidence in the banking system.

Soliciting donations abroad, as exotic as it sounds, is by no means new. Election laws permit candidates to accept contributions from citizens living outside the United States, and John McCain and Barack Obama did so.

Barclays was the ninth-biggest source of contributions to Mr. Romney’s campaign either directly or through his joint fund-raising effort with the Republican National Committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, with employees contributing $234,650 through the end of May.

But Democrats may be loath to draw attention to Mr. Romney’s donations from big banks like Barclays. Employees of the bank have contributed $34,800 to Mr. Obama and his joint effort with the Democratic National Committee. (Mr. Obama does not allow registered lobbyists to bundle for his campaign.)

This month, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. attended a fund-raiser in Park City, Utah, co-hosted by Mark Gilbert, a top executive at Barclays, who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Mr. Obama’s re-election bid.

Representatives of the Romney and Obama campaigns declined to comment.

Besides Barclays, executives at several banks under investigation, including HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse, are co-chairmen for the Romney fund-raisers in London.

Mr. Romney appeared to take all the normal precautions for his events in London: an invitation to one of the fund-raisers reminds guests that they “must provide copy of U.S. Passport.”

Still, any ties to the firms under investigation could detract from a trip intended to highlight Mr. Romney’s history with the Olympics. Mr. Romney, who ran the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, plans to attend the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Games next Friday.

What is more, it may give ammunition to his left-wing critics, since Mr. Romney has railed against Wall Street regulation, like the Dodd-Frank Act.

Despite the controversy, the co-host of one fund-raiser, Karl Dasher, said there was “strong excitement” for Romney among expatriates in London.

Republican fund-raisers described the London receptions as a case of awkward timing, noting that scrutiny of presidential donors always intensifies when a company is under investigation.

“You want to make sure that you don’t wind up with egg on your face because you got some money from some guy who pulled a stunt. But you can’t screen everybody that writes your check,” said Alfred Hoffman Jr., a Florida developer who is a top Republican fund-raiser but is not raising money for the Romney campaign. “You do the best you can — you make sure that they’re an American citizen.”

Sarah Wheaton contributed reporting.


Source: www.nytimes.com

Suspected stabbing near Morrisons supermarket in Tunbridge Wells - thisiskent.co.uk

A SUSPECTED stabbing near a Tunbridge Wells supermarket has forced police to cordon off the road.

UPDATE: Woman arrested after incident in Tunbridge Wells town centre

  1. Suspected stabbing near Morrisons supermarket in Tunbridge Wells

  2. The air ambulance over Tunbridge Wells earlier this evening

  3. Suspected stabbing near Morrisons supermarket in Tunbridge Wells

Witnesses report a man was stabbed near the Morrisons supermarket in Vale Road this evening.

An air ambulance was seen landing in Calverley Park at around 5.40pm, with medical staff rushing towards the back of Tunbridge Wells Railway Station.

Taxi driver Abdul Latifniazi said he saw the incident: "He [the victim] said to call an ambulance; somebody had come at him with a knife.

"It was on the right hand side of his chest. It looked like a big knife [wound].

"My friend called the ambulance and 10 minutes later it came. Police then came and an ambulance then a helicopter.

"There was lots of blood and the pavement was covered in blood."

Fellow taxi driver Ahmed Baseer said: "I was on the phone and saw a guy full of blood."

Police were diverting traffic down to the High Street and people who had parked in the Torrington Car Park were also diverted around the scene.

One man who the Courier spoke to said shoppers had been penned in the supermarket for around 10 minutes before being directed to the pavement and out of the police cordon.

One commuter said for a small period of time both exits to the railway station were closed.

The air ambulance was seen passing over Tunbridge Wells rail station at around 6.19pm.

Police have yet to release details.


Source: www.thisiskent.co.uk

Chick-fil-A, Aldi preliminary plans get the green light from Aberdeen - Baltimore Sun

The Aberdeen Planning Commission approved the site plan for a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the southwest corner of Beards Hill Road and Route 22, arguably the city's busiest intersection, at its Wednesday meeting.

The panel also gave similar approval to an Aldi supermarket planned for Route 40.

The Chick-Fil-A will be next to the Holiday Inn hotel. Chick-fil-A is requesting a subdivision plan approval.

Traffic issues at the already busy intersection raised concerns for planning commission members, who said they are excited to have Chick-fil-A in town but are also worried about the impact on traffic from the restaurant's popularity.


John Landbeck, representing the Aberdeen Fire Department, read a statement from police Lt. Kirk Bane about expecting more crashes at the site.

"The conversation is, when there's an accident there – not if – we're going to have some issues getting to the scene of the accident," Landbeck said.

The intersection was the scene of a fatal accident involving a car and a tractor trailer earlier this year.

The restaurant will be 4,750 square feet and have 52 parking spaces, with one access point off Beards Hill Road that would allow only right turns in and right turns out.

The site plan has incorporated the planned State Highway Administration road improvements for Route 22.

Landbeck suggested eliminating any direct entrance from Beards Hill to Chick-fil-A and using an access road near the former Harco lot, or possibly from West Bel Air Avenue.

"The folks from the fire department are very excited to have Chick-fil-A," he said but added: "We have very serious concerns about the ingress and egress combined with the fact that the main entrance to Olive Tree is less than 30 feet to that entrance."

"We anticipate a myriad of problems at that site," Landbeck said.

Commission member Terry Preston said she frequents the Hunt Valley Chick-fil-A, where the cars often stretch out of the parking lot and down the road.

"I am a huge Chick-fil-A fan," Preston said. "I can see that it is going to be so popular that they are going to be lined up and it's the traffic flow that concerns me."

Joseph Uciferro, of Bohler Engineering, said the Hunt Valley site recently got a second order point, which the Aberdeen restaurant will also have.

Matthew Stellmaker, representing Chick-fil-A, said the Aberdeen site will also have more room for stacking cars than the Hunt Valley restaurant.

He said the average Chick-fil-A restaurant processes 205 or 210 cars per hour, or three per minute.

The store will employ 60 to 90 employees, he said.

City's role questioned

Uciferro also said he met with Holiday Inn manager Tammy Lowry, landowner Nick Hapsis, Mayor Mike Bennett and City Manager Doug Miller regarding the extension of water and sewer to the site.


Source: www.baltimoresun.com

London 2012 falls short of 'greenest ever' targets, report shows - The Guardian

The "greenest Olympics ever" could have been a great deal greener than they will be, according to a critical new report that finds fault with the handling of the Games' environmental impact.

On key issues such as energy, waste and the use of resources, as well as the effects on public health, the management of London 2012 has fallen short, according to WWF and BioRegional, two green campaigning groups. They found that the Games would neither be zero carbon nor zero waste, with not enough new renewable energy generated to cover the amount consumed, while many opportunities have been lost – which may be in part owing to the practices of the sponsors and major commercial partners – to use locally grown food and Fairtrade products. Air quality is also likely to fall short of targets.

Sue Riddlestone, executive director of BioRegional, who was involved in drawing up the original strategy, said: "London 2012 has set the sustainability bar high for future summer Olympics [but] there were some promises made in 2005 which London 2012 didn't keep, even though we know they tried. We were especially disappointed about the failure to meet the renewable energy targets. So the journey to deliver a sustainable Olympics will continue."

But the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog) defended its performance, saying that it had met the majority of its targets, even though the blueprint for the environmental aspects of the games had been published eight years ago and that expectations for environmental sustainability had increased in that time.

David Stubbs, head of sustainability for the Games, told the Guardian: "We have kept the spirit, and in most cases the letter, of what was promised, and we will leave a long-term legacy that is positive, environmentally. To use a footballing analogy, we did not necessarily win every match but we did win the league."

He said that the committee had been thwarted in some of its attempts to improve the environmental performance – for instance, in trying to set up a wind turbine close to the main Olympics site in east London, and that its attempts to ensure a legacy of drastically cutting the waste sent to landfill from the sites proved impossible to fulfil because of local conditions beyond the organisers' control.

The report found that the games would score well on some environmental indicators, such as public transport and ensuring the upkeep of local natural habitats and wildlife.

David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, which co-wrote the report, said: "We are pleased that London has set the bar higher and has moved faster than previous comparable events. But as batons are passed in the next few weeks to those responsible for delivering a legacy from London 2012, and for putting on future Games, we expect that a stronger commitment to sustainability will continue."

Riddlestone added: "It is important that all the great things which London 2012 have achieved and the lessons learned are passed on and that a commitment to sustainability is a key criteria by which the 2020 summer Olympics bids are judged."


Source: www.guardian.co.uk

How supermarket claims about 'dolphin-friendly' tuna are misleading shoppers - Daily Mail
  • Three quarters of people surveyed want to know if their fish is sourced sustainably

By Emily Allen

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Supermarkets have been criticised for using 'meaningless' and 'unhelpful' labels on the fish they sell.

Consumer watchdog Which? claims labels on fish sold in some supermarkets don't give shoppers the right information about how and where their fish is caught.

It comes despite research which shows more than three quarters of people surveyed want to know if fish is sourced sustainably.

Consumer watchdog Which? claims labels on fish sold in supermarkets are misleading and aren't giving shoppers the right information about how and wherer their fish is caught.

Consumer watchdog Which? claims labels on fish, like tuna, pictured, sold in supermarkets are misleading and aren't giving shoppers the right information

The watchdog, which has called for clearer labelling, said that many brands and supermarkets, including Asda and Morrisons, label their tinned tuna 'Dolphin friendly' - but Which? said this is 'usually irrelevant'.

Most tinned tuna is Skipjack tuna which don't swim with dolphins and it's only an issue for Yellowfin tuna from the Eastern Pacific, where the two species swim together.

In addition, the investigation found some tuna which claim to be 'dolphin friendly' is caught using large nets which can result in other species being caught.

Tuna

John West said the plan to move to 100 per cent 'line and pole' tuna, which is friendlier, in the next few years

It said the logos on the packaging don't consider whether tuna is from over-exploited stocks.

Which? said tuna sold by John West, Morrisons and Princes don't specify how their tuna was caught.

Meanwhile, it said all pre-packed cod was labelled as coming from the North East Atlantic, like the North Sea. However, parts are overfished and unless the cod is labelled as MSC-certified it is not possible to tell if it's sustainable.

Marks & Spencer, Tesco, The Co-op and Sainsbury’s have the most sustainably-caught fish, according to the investigation.

Marine charities said the findings show that it is difficult for shoppers to know what they are buying.

Eighty per cent of Europe's wild fish are believed to be overfished or depleted.

A Which? spokesman said: 'Whole and filleted fish in the EC must be labelled with the fish's commercial name, whether it's farmed or wild and the area it was caught.

'Information on the specific area the fish occupies or the method of catch aren't required - but these details tell you if it's sustainable or not.'

The spokesman added: 'Labelling has improved since we last looked at fish sustainability two years ago.

'But some products still don't carry enough information to allow consumers to make sustainable choices.

'Which? would like retailers and brands to use consistent and reliable certification schemes, such as the Marine Stewardship Council and the recently launched Aquaculture Stewardship Council scheme for farmed fish, to help shoppers recognise sustainable products at a glance.'

Morrisons said it is trying to improve its labelling while Lidl said it is changing it cod packaging with details about where the fish is caught.

Princes, Morrisons and John West said the plan to move to 100 per cent 'line and pole' tuna, which is friendlier, in the next few years.

Meanwhile, Asda said it is 'committed to ensuring' that the food it sells is 'sustainably sourced'.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

Stop and ask people in the street whether they want to know whether the fish they are buying comes from a sustainable system and of course they will tell you yes. When they are then faced with the choice in the supermarket or fishmongers where the sustainable fish is nearly twice the price of the other they will choose the cheap fish every time. People tend to tell you what they think you want to hear. Its called human nature.

No one should eat fish. It's smelly and there are pies, pasties and hot dogs that you eat instead.

havent bought or knowingly eaten any Tuna in over 10 yrs due to the decimation of the species or any other fish which wasn't line caught in 10 yrs. If you sit for a couple of minutes and think about how much tuna is eaten every day just in the UK never mind the rest of the world, how on earth can these species of fish ever be fished sustainably? - guinuk, Havant, 19/7/2012 13:42----------------I'm thinking about it ok, thought about it, I'm not going vegan sorry. I'll continue to eat fish. I don't eat meat just fish.

I havent bought or knowingly eaten any Tuna in over 10 yrs due to the decimation of the species or any other fish which wasn't line caught in 10 yrs. If you sit for a couple of minutes and think about how much tuna is eaten every day just in the UK never mind the rest of the world, how on earth can these species of fish ever be fished sustainably? - guinuk, Havant, 19/7/2012 13:42=====Good, that means more Tuna for me. I love Tuna me.

Since the laws changed some years ago on honest pricing and honest sales etc, the supermarkets at first kept to the rules. But with modern dishonesty spewing down from governments, MPs, the banks, the police, judges, FIFA, plus thousands more, all they have done is joined the bandwagon. So lying and dishonesty is now the modern state of affairs and will not change until a revolution by the ordinary people, who will soon be sick and tired of it all.

if wild animals were caught on land using helicopters equivalent to the way commercial fishing conducts its business there would be uproar yet doing it in water which makes up two thirds of the planet is fine. Out of sight, out of mind. Farmed fish is no better as the food is made up of ground wild fish! I do like my fish but I have yet to see any genuine ways of having sustainable fishing? Governments and industry just bury their heads in the sand and build bigger boats with larger nets!

I havent bought or knowingly eaten any Tuna in over 10 yrs due to the decimation of the species or any other fish which wasn't line caught in 10 yrs. If you sit for a couple of minutes and think about how much tuna is eaten every day just in the UK never mind the rest of the world, how on earth can these species of fish ever be fished sustainably?

M&S is not as squeaky clean as they like to project. The plaice fillets are that small they can only be from juvenile and undersized fish, hardly a sustainable method of fishing.

old news this DM running out of storys are we

Does it turn out that the dolphin friendly tuna, are actually marauding gangs of tuna that beat them up?

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.


Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

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