Tuesday, June 9

ENGLISH

Angela Merkel: David Cameron’s demands for EU reform ‘not impossible’
29May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, Europe

Angela Merkel: David Cameron’s demands for EU reform ‘not impossible’

    Following talks with Mr Cameron in Berlin, the German Chancellor said that European leaders "shouldn't be saying that changing the treaties is totally impossible". The Prime Minister is demanding major changes to Britain's relationship with Brussels before the in-out referendum he has promised to hold by the end of 2017. A number of EU countries, including Poland, have suggested that Mr Cameron's demands to change welfare rules will be blocked. The Prime Minister wants to stop EU migrants from claiming benefits in the UK for four years and has said treaty change will be necessary to achieve his reforms. A series of EU leaders have said that treaty change will be blocked by Brussels. However, Mrs Merkel said: "We have the desire to work very closely together. We would...
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Jobless Rate Falls And Wage Rises Accelerate
14May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Jobless Rate Falls And Wage Rises Accelerate

    Official figures show the UK's jobless rate has fallen to its lowest level in seven years and wage growth is accelerating. The Office for National Statistics reported a fall of 35,000 in the number of people out of work in the three months to March, leaving the total at 1.83 million and the unemployment rate at 5.5% - down from 5.6%. The rate, the ONS said, was now at its lowest level since May-July 2008 but the 35,000 decline in the jobless total was the smallest for almost two years. Employment rose by 202,000 over the three-month period to more than 31 million, the highest since records began in 1971. On the issue of pay, average earnings excluding bonus payments increased by 2.2% in the year to March, up by 0.2% on the previous month. Pay rises are boosting spending p...
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Investigators: Train in deadly wreck was speeding 106 mph
14May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
America, ENGLISH

Investigators: Train in deadly wreck was speeding 106 mph

    The Amtrak train that crashed in Philadelphia, killing at least seven people, was hurtling at 106 mph before it ran off the rails along a sharp curve where the speed limit drops to just 50 mph, federal investigators said Wednesday. The engineer applied the emergency brakes moments before the crash but slowed the train to only 102 mph by the time the locomotive's black box stopped recording data, said Robert Sumwalt, of the National Transportation Safety Board. The speed limit just before the bend is 80 mph, he said. The engineer, whose name was not released, refused to give a statement to law enforcement and left a police precinct with a lawyer, police said. Sumwalt said federal accident investigators want to talk to him but will give him a day or two to recover from th...
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MH370 Search Vessel Makes Fascinating Discovery Of Shipwreck
14May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
Asia, ENGLISH

MH370 Search Vessel Makes Fascinating Discovery Of Shipwreck

    A vessel involved in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has discovered a shipwreck on the seafloor in the waters off western Australia, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) announced Wednesday. The wreckage, described as a "fascinating find," includes lumps of coal and an anchor along with several man-made objects. The discovery was made by the Fugro Equator’s deep-tow system in the southern part of the search area, which is located about 1,100 miles off the western coast of Australia and 12 nautical miles to the east of the seventh arc, which is the area where the last known communication between Flight MH370 and a communication satellite is believed to have taken place. The sonar data was carefully analyzed and categorized as “of potentia...
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Sadiq Khan announces bid to become London Mayor
13May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, London

Sadiq Khan announces bid to become London Mayor

    Sadiq Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, has launched his campaign to be the party's candidate for the mayor of London in 2016. Khan's announcement comes just two days after he stood down as Labour's shadow justice secretary and shadow minister for the capital. His announcement also comes on the same day that the party's selection contest for its 2016 mayoral candidate official begins. David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, who many think is weighing up a leadership bid following Ed Miliband's resignation, became the first Labour figure to announce their mayoral aspirations when he came forward as a candidate in September 2014. The writer and transport expert Christian Wolmar has also officially declared his intention to stand in the party contest. Dame Tessa Jowell and D...
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Prince Charles secret letters to the British government are about to be published
13May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Prince Charles secret letters to the British government are about to be published

    Secret letters sent from Prince Charles to British government ministers will finally be published on Wednesday after a 10-year legal battle to reveal their contents. In 2005, Guardian journalist Rob Evans applied for a Freedom of Information Request to see letters from from the Prince of Wales sent to seven Whitehall departments between 2004 and 2005. The government has fought against publication of the letters because they could  expose Prince Charles' personal views on a variety of topics. This is damaging because the Royal family is expected to remain politically neutral (which is why, for instance, the Queen abstains from voting in general elections even though she is entitled to do so). However, after a decade-long battle between Whitehall and the Guardian, a c...
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British jihadi brides on the run
13May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

British jihadi brides on the run

    The girls, thought to be aged around 16, were married off to IS militants but have since been reported missing, with the terror group now "thoroughly searching for them" after their escape. The exact identity of the girls and their fate is not known. Reports suggest around 600 people from the UK have gone to join IS in Syria and Iraq, including young women. The information on the girls could not be verified. It was released on the Facebook page of Mosul Eye, who purports to be a blogger in Iraq, and set up the page "to communicate what's happening in Mosul to the rest of the world, minute by minute from an independent historian inside Mosul". He opposes ISIL and remains anonymous, writing in detail in both English and Arabic about the inner-workings of the group, thei...
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Air taxes scrapped for under-12s: how to claim £97 refund
10May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Air taxes scrapped for under-12s: how to claim £97 refund

    Air taxes have been scrapped for children under the age of £12, but some airlines who were quick to take the cash from you, have been much less keen to hand it back. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be difficult to get your cash back, and one quick step could earn you a refund of up to £97 per child. The scrapping of air passenger duty was announced in the March Budget, and kicked in on 1 May. However, those who had already booked tickets before March for travel after May, had already paid tax that should be refunded. Some airlines have decided to automatically pay the money back, so if you have booked your flights through British Airways, Air France, Virgin, American Airlines, KLM, Thomas Cook, Thomson, BMI regional, Aer Lingus, and First Choice, you don't have to do anyth...
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Job Loss Threat To Siemens Workers In UK
10May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Job Loss Threat To Siemens Workers In UK

    Job losses are threatened among the 14,000 British employees of the German engineering giant Siemens. The manufacturer of heavy industrial equipment has confirmed it is to slash a further 4,500 jobs worldwide as part of a cost-cutting drive. Around 2,200 of the jobs are expected to go in Germany, but the firm said it was unable to give a breakdown of where the other redundancies will be made. "We cannot disclose any details," a spokesman said, adding staff and their representatives would be informed first. Siemens employs around 343,000 people in 200 countries, including the UK. The job losses are on top of the 7,800 redundancies announced by Siemens in February. The fresh round of cuts come as the company reported profits had fallen by 5% to €1.7bn (£1.3bn) in the first t...
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Several dead after shooting in Switzerland
10May By Sumon AdminNo Comments
ENGLISH, Europe

Several dead after shooting in Switzerland

    Officers were called to the northern town of Würenlingen after gunshots were heard shortly after 11pm on Saturday night. Three bodies were reportedly found. Witnesses told local media that they heard three gunshots over the space of 20 minutes. Upon arrival, "several" bodies were found lying outside a house, as well as inside the building. Ambulance workers have been unable to give a cause of death. According to a police spokesman, speaking to local radio, the shooter is also thought to have been killed in the incident. All of those killed were adults, and investigators are working to identify the victims - as well as a possible motive. Würenlingen, which is northwest of Zurich, is home to a community of about 4,500 people. A news conference is expected later on Sun...
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