Working 55 hours or more per week is linked to a one third greater risk of stroke compared to a 35-40 hour work week, according to research published Thursday.

Based on a review of 17 studies covering 528,908 men and women followed for an average of 7.2 years, the increased stroke risk remained once smoking, alcohol consumption and level of physical activity were taken into account.

The study, published in The Lancet, found that compared with people who logged a standard week, those working between 41 and 48 hours had a 10 percent higher risk, while for those working 49 to 54 hours, the risk jumped by 27 percent.

Working 55 hours or more a week increased the risk of having a stroke by 33 percent, the study showed.

The long work week also increased the risk of developing coronary heart disease by 13 percent, even after taking into account risk factors including age, sex, and socioeconomic status, the study showed.

In looking at the link between long hours in the work place and heart disease, Mika Kivimaki, a professor of epidemiology at University College London, and colleagues analysed data from 25 studies involving 603,838 men and women from Europe, the United States, and Australia who were followed for an average of 8.5 years.

The underlying causes of stroke and heart disease are complex, involving a mix of genetic and environmental factors.

But the researchers suggest that physical inactivity, high alcohol consumption, and repetitive stress all enhance risk.

"The pooling of all available studies on this topic allowed us to investigate the association between working hours and cardiovascular disease risk with greater precision than has previously been possible," Kivimaki said in a statement.

Published: 21 August 2015

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Britain and France were to announce a new "command and control centre" Thursday to tackle smuggling gangs in Calais, as Europe grapples with its biggest migration crisis since World War II.

Under a deal to be signed by Home Minister Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve, British teams will be deployed to bust smuggling gangs and also reduce nightly attempts by desperate migrants and refugees to break into the Channel Tunnel.

But in an interview with AFP, the head of the Red Cross slammed the "indifference" of governments across Europe that has allowed a continental crisis to take hold.

"What will be the saturation point? When will everybody wake up to see that it is a real crisis?" Elhadj As Sy, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in Geneva.

His comments came as a barrage of alarming statistics showed that hundreds of thousands of migrants -- many fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria -- are pouring into the European Union, with no end in sight.

The new deal for Calais includes extra French policing units, additional freight searches, and making the railhead at the Eurotunnel entrance more secure through fencing, security cameras, flood lighting and infrared detection technology.

It also provides 10 million euros ($11.2 million) over two years to speed up asylum applications and boost humanitarian aid in the northern port city.

Some 3,000 people from Africa, the Middle East and Asia are camped in Calais, hoping to get to Britain where many have family and work is thought easier to find.

- Record highs -

The numbers trying to reach Britain are a tiny fraction of those entering other European countries, particularly Germany, which said this week it expects a new record 800,000 asylum seekers in 2015 -- far more than the 500,000 initially expected.

Cazeneuve was due to travel to Germany on Thursday evening to discuss the issue, which ChancellorAngela Merkel has warned could become a bigger challenge for the European Union than the Greek debt crisis.

EU border agency Frontex on Tuesday reported a record high of 107,500 migrants at the European Union's borders last month.

And the number of migrants arriving in debt-crippled Greece is accelerating dramatically, with nearly 21,000 landing on the overstretched Greek islands last week alone, the United Nations said.

Red Cross chief Sy said the only way to stop the traffickers was to increase legal means of migration.

"It's Greece today, it could be another entry point tomorrow," he said. "The more legal room you have (to migrate), the less room you will have for criminal activity."

The EU has approved 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion) of funding to help member states cope with the flood of migrants, but Sy insisted the response so far "is nowhere near the scale of the problems that we are seeing."

Published: 20 August 2015

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Seals and porpoises are becoming a common sight in the Thames Estuary and further upstream, survey results published on Thursday show.

A total of 2,732 marine mammals were spotted by members of the public in the river between 2004 and 2014, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said in a report.

Harbour seals were the most commonly sighted marine mammal, with 1,080 animals reported, while 333 grey seals were also recorded during the ongoing survey.

Another 823 unidentified seals were also spotted over the decade-long period while 49 whales, 398 harbour porpoises, 46 dolphins and three otters were also seen, the survey revealed.

The majority of sightings were of individual animals, but in September 2014 100 seals were spotted at Greenwich and in November 2014 30 pilot whales were spotted near Clacton-on-Sea.

A northern bottlenose whale famously swam up the Thames past the Houses of Parliament in 2006 but failed to survive.

Published: 20 August 2015

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A court in Britain dropped a controversial extradition case against Rwanda's intelligence chief on Monday, leaving him free to return home.

General Karenzi Karake was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant issued by Spain in June and had been on bail but the case was dismissed following a hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates Court.

After the arrest at London's Heathrow airport, a Spanish judicial source said Karake was accused of "crimes of terrorism" linked to the killing of nine Spanish citizens in Rwanda in the mid-1990s.

British police said the 54-year-old was arrested over alleged "war crimes against civilians".

Karake's defence lawyers and prosecutors in the case gave different reasons for why the general, a key figure in the regime of President Paul Kagame, had been freed by the court.

"The general has been freed unconditionally after the Spanish authorities conceded that the general has committed no offence that could be prosecuted in both England and Spain," a statement from Omnia Strategy, the firm representing him, said.

Omnia Strategy was founded by Cherie Blair, wife of Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair, whose Africa Governance Initiative has advised Kagame. Cherie Blair also led Karake's legal team.

But a Spanish judicial source told AFP that the judge in the case believed "the UK was not competent to hear such offences committed outside British territory."

The Crown Prosecution Service, which oversees prosecutions in England and Wales, said the case was dismissed because "the relevant laws on the conduct alleged in this case do not cover the acts of non-UK nationals or residents abroad."

Published: 13 August 2015

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Military personnel are Tuesday preparing to defuse an unexploded World War Two bomb which prompted the evacuation of hundreds of families in east London.

The bomb which was discovered at a building site in Bethnal Green at around 12:45pm on Monday, forced the evacuation of 150 people from nearby homes and businesses.

Families were forced to spend the night at a local school after the 500lb device was discovered at Temple Street.

Tower Hamlets Council extended an exclusion zone around the bomb from 100 to 200 metres, leading to major traffic delays as several key roads were closed.

Published: 11 August 2015

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A migrant arrested inside the Channel Tunnel connecting England and France is thought to have walked almost all of the treacherous 50-kilometre (31-mile) undersea rail link, reports said Thursday.

The Sudanese man was arrested close to the British entrance and "almost succeeded in walking through the tunnel", a spokesman for owner Eurotunnel told BBC News.

A spike in the numbers of migrants trying to make the crossing has become a sensitive political issue in Britain, and the story was splashed across the front pages of Friday's newspapers.

A spokesman for Britain's Home Office said it had improved security by paying for more fencing at the French side and drafting in border guards and dogs.

Published: 07 August 2015

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An acquisition of Scottish castle by a Russian tycoon Sergey Fedotov gave rise to a scandal in Russia. However, it is not the first real property bought by Mr. Fedotov in Britain On 30 of May 2015 Daily Mail published the information regarding forthcoming sale of former XIV century private railway station East Lodge in Morayshire, Scotland. In accordance with the publication, the citizen of Russia Sergey Fedotov acquired a 15th century Castle Grant - originally named Freuchie Castle - for £1m pounds. Nobody is surprised when Russian businesspersons and tycoons acquire real property in Great Britain, while this particular acquisition inspired a media and public scandal in Russia. The point is that Sergey Fedotov is the managing director of Russian author society - RAO, a non-commercial organisation that accumulates the copyrights in entire country. The activity of Mr. Fedotov was questionable by RAO shareholders for the long time. RAO is the monopolist with state accreditation. In the territory of Russia all copyrights for music are in RAO competence automatically. If an author or a publisher does not want that RAO collects his fees, he must withdraw his compositions and control it by himself. Those authors, who are not members of RAO’s board of directors or did not leave it by some reasons, are not satisfied by RAO’s business activity, believing that they were not paid in full. The fact of acquisition of ancient castle by the managing director of RAO - his monthly is about 2,000 pounds as the Russian press reports - gave rise to great repercussions in the cultural society. However, the castle in Morayshire is just a single event in Fedotov’s abroad activity. In 2013 Mr. Fedotov has been granted the investor visa in the UK. This led the reporters to exploring that apart from Castle Grant, Sergey Fedotov already has more real property in UK: several houses in Brighton and a flat in Greater London. One of his houses in Brighton at 25 Withdean Road is on sale now. Two-store house with a garden, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, 3 living rooms and double garage which was bought by Mr Fedotov for £1.3m pounds is on sale for £1.55m pounds. Sergey Fedotov owns another two houses on the same street, including a one-storey house with a swimming pool at 27 Withdean Road, acquired in May 2014 for £2.5m pounds.

Published: 07 August 2015

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Millions of Londoners were forced to walk, cycle or take packed buses to and from work Thursday as Underground staff staged their second strike in a month over plans to run trains all night

London Underground staff walked out on Wednesday evening and will not return until Friday morning, causing a shutdown of the world's oldest subway network and severely disrupting transport in the capital.

Four trade unions are locked in a months-long dispute with management over London Mayor Boris Johnson's plans to run a 24-hour Tube service on Fridays and Saturdays from September 12.

An extra 250 buses, additional rental bikes and increased river boat services were laid on to help ease the disruption, while overground trains were operating as normal.

But the Tube handles four million journeys every day, meaning many trains and buses were overcrowded Thursday.

Many of those who decided to drive into work found themselves in one of the hundreds of traffic jams recorded, with roads also clogged with cyclists and pavements filled with pedestrians who decided it was quickest to walk.

At the peak of rush hour there 800 kilometres (500 miles) of tail backs in and around the British capital, according to navigation company Tom Tom.

It is the second time the service has shut down in a month, after a similar strike on July 8 and 9 caused the first network-wide closure for 13 years.

While some commuters railed against the unions and their members, many of whom are paid well above the average wage, most were resigned.

"I took the bus, it was really crowded and took 45 minutes instead of 20 minutes," Amal , a 21-year-old accountant, told AFP in the City of London  financial district.

Tamara, a 43-year-old German tourist visiting London with her husband and two children, added: "We didn't know about the strike. So today we only walk!"

Many workers were expected to work from home, and others tried to see the positive side.

"Making the most of the tube strike by running into work today!" blogger Hannah Cox said on Twitter.

At the Victoria railway terminus, where huge lines of commuters formed waiting for buses, one enterprising company handed out free skateboards.

- Delayed Night Tube launch? -

The latest round of negotiations broke down on Monday, when union leaders rejected an offer of a two percent salary increase and bonus payments for night shift workers.

RMT union leader Mick Cash said it was "just a rehash of an earlier package and does nothing to tackle the fundamental issue of our members being called into work at the beck and call of management to plug staffing gaps in the mayor's botched Night Tube plans."

The unions have called for the launch of the service to be delayed pending further talks and are considering further strike action, saying that the plan would disrupt Tube staff's ability to spend time with family at weekends.

Published: 07 August 2015

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An oil company chaired by a former leader of Britain's ruling Conservative party is being investigated for alleged corruption in Somalia, claims the company slammed as "defamatory".

Soma Oil and Gas, a private company chaired by Lord Michael Howard, on Monday denied paying more than half a million dollars to government officials to protect an oil exploration deal signed in 2013.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Friday it had opened a criminal investigation into Soma following allegations of corruption in Somalia.

The allegations stem from investigations carried out by the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, set up to detail infringements of arms embargoes on the countries.

The investigators say that $690,000 (630,000 euros) worth of payments were suspicious. They allege that at least $580,000 paid since June 2014 as part of a "capacity building programme" may have been corrupt payments to Somali government officials.

An April 2014 "side letter" from Soma to Somalia's petroleum minister said the company would pay salaries and equipment costs to support the exploration programme up to a total of $400,000. The agreement was extended in April 2015, since when a further $90,000 has allegedly been paid.

Published: 06 August 2015

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Britain is to give up to £5 million for projects that tackle the illegal wildlife trade, which threatens animals such as elephants, rhinos and tigers, the government is to announce on Wednesday.

"The illegal trade in animal products is putting some of our most iconic species like elephants, rhinos and tigers in severe danger," Environment Department minister Rory Stewart will say, according to released remarks.

"This funding will help to reduce the supply of illegal wildlife products by supporting local communities to find new ways of earning a living and stopping poachers and criminal networks from controlling this barbaric trade.

"It will also support action to reduce demand for these products."

Published: 05 August 2015

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