Exotic dancers, vibrant music and the smell of Caribbean food have livened up London as Europe's biggest street festival hit the capital.

Thousands of people cheered Notting Hill Carnival's colourful procession through the sunny streets to the beat of steel drums and sound systems.

Lines of traditional floats and brightly costumed dancers paraded along the three-and-a-half mile route during the event which marks the carnival's 48th year.

The party atmosphere saw face-painted children and families dancing on the side-lines and even police officers showed off their moves in front of the crowds.

Published: 26 August 2012

Read more ...

More than 12,000 NHS job posts have not been filled after people have retired, quit or moved on to other organisations, figures suggest.

Between May 2011 and May this year, there were 89,926 people who left the NHS in England but just 77,522 of the roles were filled, data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows.

The figures, based on NHS hospital and community health service staff, showed that the overall headcount of employees has reduced by almost 20,000 people since September 2009.

The number of people classed as "NHS infrastructure support" workers fell by about 20,000 from 236,000 to 216,000 from 2009 to 2012. Managers and senior managers lost 5,000 and 2,000 positions respectively.

Health Minister Anne Milton said: "There are 2,400 more clinical staff working in the NHS than there were two years ago in May 2010, including over 3,700 more doctors, and over 900 extra midwives.

"In contrast, the number of admin staff has fallen by over 17,500, creating savings that will be reinvested into frontline patient care. Funding will increase by £12.5 billion over the next three years, protecting the NHS for the future."

The figures showed that qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff posts have reduced by almost 5,000 in the last two years.

Published: 21 August 2012

Read more ...

Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic on Tuesday said it would enter the short-haul market with the launch of a London-Manchester flight following rival British Airways' takeover of bmi.

"Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd today announced plans to fly from London Heathrow to Manchester Airport (in northwest England) from March 2013 -- providing competition to BA's short-haul service.

"The new route is the airline's first foray into domestic flying; signaling the start of a new network which will provide regional feed to its long-haul service," the company added in a statement.

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway added: "Flying between Heathrow and Manchester is just the start for Virgin Atlantic's new short-haul operation.

"We have the means to connect thousands of passengers to our long-haul network as well as to destinations served by other carriers. Our new service will provide strong competition to omnipresent BA; keep fares low and give consumers a genuine choice of airline to fly to Heathrow and beyond."

Published: 21 August 2012

Read more ...

Commodities giant Glencore said Tuesday its net profit slipped 8.0 percent in the first half of this year to $2.27 (1.8 billion euros) although sales rose by 17 percent to $108 billion.

The company said increased volumes helped compensate for the drop in commodities prices due to dampened global growth outlook and an aggravation in the eurozone debt crisis hitting sentiment.

"Against the backdrop of this challenging economic environment, which saw most commodity prices down over 15% period-on-period, we are pleased to report that Glencore has continued to deliver a healthy financial performance," chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said in the earnings statement.

However he added: "Looking forward, we neither anticipate nor assume any material improvement in overall market or economic conditions in the near term."

Published: 21 August 2012

Read more ...

The bank holiday weekend is set to be a washout, with wind and rain threatening to ruin music festivals, sporting events and trips to the coast.

After a blisteringly hot spell last weekend, forecasters are predicting that areas of low pressure will sweep in from the west, bringing wet weather and much lower temperatures.

To add to travellers' misery, the AA reported that those who take to the road will have to contend with rapidly-rising petrol prices.

Weather-wise, the late August bank holiday is mirroring the Jubilee bank holiday weekend in June, when rain hit many street parties as well as the spectacular Thames river pageant.

Just as now, the Jubilee weekend had followed very warm weather the week before. Last weekend, temperatures as high as 32C (90F) were recorded, but the thermometer is not expected to struggle beyond 20C (68F) over the bank holiday weekend.

"Last week's hot weather is being shoved aside rather rudely by a succession of areas of low pressure coming in from the west," said Paul Knightley, a senior forecaster with the Press Association's weather company, MeteoGroup.

He said rain would hit Wales and south-west England on Friday, while southern England could expect showers and longer periods of rain on Saturday.

Published: 21 August 2012

Read more ...

Apple on Monday dethroned longtime rival Microsoft as the most valuable company in history based on the value of its stock, which climbed to approximately $622 billion.

Published: 20 August 2012

Read more ...

The diplomatic row between the UK and Ecuador over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has deepened after the Foreign Office said the Government would seek to extradite him even if he is granted political asylum by the South American nation.

The Ecuadorian authorities have accused the Government of threatening to enter its embassy in London to seize Mr Assange, who faces sexual assault charges in Sweden.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the UK had a legal duty to extradite Mr Assange and that would not change if he was granted political asylum.

She said: "It does not change our position. Our legal position is not changing at all.

Published: 16 August 2012

Read more ...

Sir Richard Branson has threatened to walk away from the rail industry after Virgin Rail lost its West Coast main line franchise to rival transport company FirstGroup.

Sir Richard said he was "extremely disappointed" that the Department for Transport (DfT) had preferred FirstGroup to Virgin which had run the London to Scotland West Coast line since 1997, adding: "Based on the current flawed system, it is extremely unlikely that we would bid again for a franchise."

FirstGroup, which already runs a number of franchises including Great Western and ScotRail promised cheaper fares, more services and improved stations. But Sir Richard said bankruptcy had hit former East Coast main line operators GNER and National Express who had "overbid" for the East Coast franchise.

Sir Richard added that this was the fourth time Virgin had been outbid in a franchise tender process. He went on: "On the past three occasions, the winning operator has come nowhere close to delivering their promised plans and revenue, and has let the public and country down dramatically

"GNER and National Express over promised in order to win the franchise and spectacularly ran into financial difficulties in trying to deliver their plans. The East Coast is still in Government ownership and its service is outdated and underinvested, costing passengers and the country dearly as a result. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When will the Department for Transport learn?"

FirstGroup will take over the West Coast line on December 9, with the franchise running for 13 years and four months. The DfT said the franchise deal was worth £5.5 billion over the lifetime of the contract.

Published: 15 August 2012

Read more ...

A couple who claimed the massive £148.6 million EuroMillions jackpot are expected to tell of their plans for the future as they celebrate their win.

It was revealed on Monday that the pair were from the town of Haverhill in Suffolk, but their identity has been kept a closely guarded secret.

They are due to go public when they accept their super-sized cheque, which will make them the nation's second richest lottery winners.

The staggering sum - of £148,656,000 - is just behind the £161 million landed by Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in North Ayrshire, last July.

A difference in the exchange rate means this week's jackpot was slightly lower.

The couple were the only winners in Friday's draw.

Published: 14 August 2012

Read more ...

Police chiefs will have to make "very difficult decisions" as cuts bite in the wake of the Olympics, the National Olympic security coordinator said.

Met Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison asked chief constables around the country to delay cutting specialist officers until after the Games.

Forces have been told to cut millions from their budgets and chief constable of West Yorkshire Police Sir Norman Bettison warned last week that any further cutbacks would leave officers unable to cope with a repeat of last year's riots.

It also emerged that Devon and Cornwall Police did not pursue more than 36,000 cases reported to them, representing 40% of all crime files, due to budget cuts.

Mr Allison said: "When the comprehensive spending review was announced a couple of years ago we were told we would have to reduce policing costs by 20% over a four year period.

"Thankfully I've been fantastically supported by my chief constable colleagues up and down the country because I asked them to delay any cuts in specialists until after the Games because I needed those specialists to deliver the Games, and we've been able to deliver what I think has been a fantastic event.

"But those cuts are starting to bite, they're starting to hit the service and nationally chief constables are having to make some very difficult decisions about what they're going to stop doing to ensure that they live within the budget that's now been given to them.

Published: 13 August 2012

Read more ...