Jews in Britain were told to tighten up security after a 14-hour shooting rampage that left two victims dead and five police officers injured in Copenhagen
London: Jews in Britain were told to tighten up security after a 14-hour shooting rampage that left two victims dead and five police officers injured in Copenhagen. Security in Denmark had already been increased after the 17 murders in Paris a month ago but a lone gunman was able to kill one man at an event to discuss freedom of speech and a synagogue guard before dying in a hail of police bullets.
19 killed as militants attack another Shia mosque in Pak
Peshawar: Grenade-toting militants attacked a Shia mosque in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens more. The attack comes two weeks after a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in southern Pakistan killed 61 people. Police said four or five gunmen threw grenades before storming the Imamia mosque in Peshawar, the main city in Pakistan's restive northwest, around the time of the main Friday prayers. Doctor Mumtaz Khan of the Hayatabad Medical Complex said that at least 19 people had been killed and 63 wounded.
Smoking strong cannabis responsible for rise in psychosis cases
London: Experts said that people who smoke strong cannabis would develop psychosis up to five times more than those who smoke 'skunk' cannabis every day. They said that cannabis is far from being a “safe” drug and no one under the age of 30 should ever use it. One in four new cases of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia could be the direct result of smoking extra-strong varieties of cannabis, a new study concludes.
True adulthood begins after the age of 25
San Jose: A psychiatrist has claimed that true adulthood does not begin in the western world until 25 because young people are putting off settling down for longer. Although the transition from child to adult is traditionally marked at 18, in fact, crucial neurological changes are now still happening into the mid-20s.
Islamic State kills 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya
Cairo: Islamic State released a video that appeared to show the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that his country would respond to the deaths as it saw fit. Speaking on national television hours after the release of the video, Sisi said Cairo would choose the "necessary means and timing to avenge the criminal killings". The beheadings could stiffen Sisi's resolve in dealing with security threats from militants thriving in neighbouring Libya's chaos who want to topple his US-backed government. Egypt has denied reports in the past that it had taken part, along with its close ally the United Arab Emirates, in air strikes against militants based in Libya. The footage showing the deaths of the Egyptians appeared on the Twitter feed of a website that supports Islamic State, which has seized parts of Iraq and Syria and has also beheaded Western hostages.
Tesco to cut up to 10,000 jobs
London: Up to 10,000 people may lose their jobs at Tesco as boss Dave Lewis wields the axe in an attempt to turnaround Britain’s biggest retailer. The scale of the job losses highlights the challenge facing the company as it tries to recover from a slump in sales and profits. According to reports up to 6,000 jobs will go from Tesco’s head offices and 43 stores that it is closing, while the rest of the jobs are at risk from a dramatic overhaul of how the company runs its stores.
Nut allergy sufferers told to stay away from curry
London: Britain's Food Standard Authority (FSA) has told people who suffer from nut allergy to stop buying curry and other spicy products as they have started investigation into undeclared traces of nut in cumin. The investigation has been launched amid a growing number of product recalls, with Aldi’s Fiesta brand Fajita Dinner Kit becoming the third item to be recalled in the past fortnight on a precautionary basis as it may contain almond protein in the seasoning mix. Trade associations including the Food and Drink Federation, British Retail Consortium, and the British Hospitality Association have been urged by the FSA to instruct their members to carry out tests on all their cumin products.
Couples told to go for counselling before attempting sperm donation route
London: Fertility groups have warned that couples tempted to use sperm or egg donation from their immediate family must receive counselling before going ahead with the technique, or risk potentially serious problems in the future. Portas, the Government’s former adviser on high street regeneration, has disclosed how her own brother helped her become a mother for the third time, after becoming a donor for an IVF procedure. Portas, nicknamed the “Queen of Shops”, said her brother had been “honoured” to help the couple have their much-wanted child, providing a genetic link from Portas’ side of the family while Rickey carried the baby.
New contact lenses to help people see with inbuilt telescope
San Jose: Swiss scientists say that people with the most common form of sight loss could regain their vision with a new contact lens that has an in-built telescope. The lens, which could help 500,000 British sufferers of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), increases peripheral vision three-fold. It could be available in two years and is safer and cheaper than surgery, scientists say.
Teetotalism flourishes as young turn their back on drink
London: Teetotalism has become a major force in British life as a number of people are shunning alcohol. The number of under-25s opting for total abstinence from drink has leapt by 40 per cent in just eight years as young people overtake the elderly as the most sober generation. New figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that more than a quarter of young people do not drink alcohol at all and binge drinking is also in decline. In London, which is both the youngest and most ethnically diverse region of the UK, one in three people is now teetotal.
Financial worries major threat to marriage
London: According to official data, financial worries and long working hours are major threat to marriages now which may drive them apart. Having an affair is no longer considered a major threat to marriage. Only one in three couples said adultery would place a great strain on their relationship, while almost two thirds said paying the mortgage and other financial worries could split them up.
Two out of five said that long working hours could derail their relationship, according to new figures published as part of the UK’s official happiness index by the Office for National Statistics.
Households’ disposable income to rise at its fastest
London: Bank of England said that families will feel richer this year than they have for more than a decade as spending power soars. Signalling an abrupt end to the six-year decline in living standards, Mark Carney predicted that households’ disposable income would rise at its fastest rate since 2001.
The average pay rise would double to 3.5 per cent this year, while cheap oil pushed inflation down to zero or below, leaving families with more money in their pockets, according to projections in the Bank’s quarterly inflation report.
Tory peer criticises Ed Miliband
London: Lord Fink, a former Conservative party treasurer, retracted a threat to sue the Labour leader Ed Miliband over accusations that he avoided tax after admitting to “vanilla” measures to reduce his liability while living in Switzerland. The peer had accused Miliband of making “untrue and defamatory” claims in the Commons, and threatened to sue. Lord Fink said that transferring shares into family trusts was one of the “bland” measures he had taken. He added: “The expression tax avoidance is so wide that everyone does tax avoidance at some level.” Miliband was also forced to backtrack. His allegation that the Tories were supported by “dodgy donors” had never been personally directed at Lord Fink, he said.
Low pay blamed on influx of migrant workers
London: A group of MPs have asked the Bank of England to investigate the data more clearly that migrant workers are depressing wages. The Treasury select committee had heard warnings from the chancellor, a senior member of the Office for Budget Responsibility and a leading economist about the impact of migrant workers on the domestic labour market. Despite the widely acknowledged benefits of immigration for the labour market, all acknowledged the pressures caused by an influx of workers from the European Union and beyond.
In its report, the MPs call on the Bank and the government to examine the data more clearly.
Exercise can reduce chance of illness by more than a third
London: A new study has claimed that doing just 30 minutes of exercise five times a week could drastically reduce the chance of contracting illnesses including breast cancer and dementia. The report, based on an analysis of more than 200 pieces of research, found that regular physical activity was more beneficial than many drugs and was the elusive “miracle cure” that so many were looking for. It concluded that exercise could reduce the risk of breast cancer by 25 per cent, the risk of bowel cancer by 45 per cent and the risk of developing dementia by as much as 30 per cent.
The chance of having a stroke could be reduced by 30 per cent and the chance of developing heart disease could be cut by more than 40 per cent.
Chinese President to visit Pakistan this year
Beijing: China's President Xi Jinping will visit Pakistan this year in what will be the first trip by a Chinese head of state to its western neighbour in nine years, as Beijing looks to take a bigger role in South Asia. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the announcement in Pakistan's capital, where he spoke of the two countries' "all-weather" friendship. During his two-day visit to Pakistan, Wang also offered to help in mediating stalled efforts to engage the Afghan Taliban in peace negotiations, reflecting China's desire to play a more active role in a region it sees as part of its sphere of influence.
Lankan foreign minister to visit China next week
Beijing: Sri Lanka's foreign minister will visit China next week in the highest-level trip to Beijing by a member of the new government, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, as China seeks to ensure the safety of its investments there. Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena has unnerved China with his re-examination of certain key Chinese-invested projects, including a $1.5 billion "port city" project in Colombo that India is concerned as a security risk. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera would meet his Chinese counterpart and other officials on his Feb 27-28 trip.
