London: Religious groups have warned animal rights groups that their repeated calls for a ban on the religious slaughter of animals would damage wider community relations. Jewish and Muslim leaders have accused animal welfare lobbyists of campaigning against the non-stun religious slaughter of animals to the exclusion of almost all other welfare issues.
British mum staging legal bid to become pregnant
London: A 59- year -old British woman is staging a desperate legal bid to become pregnant with her own grandchild – using her dead daughter’s eggs. The woman and her husband would claim it was their daughter’s dying wish that her eggs be fertilised by donor sperm and implanted into her own mother’s womb. It would be the couple’s only chance to become grandparents after their daughter, an only child, died of bowel cancer four years ago while still in her 20s. She chose to freeze her eggs in the hope that she could have children in the future, but tragically lost her battle with the disease. No UK-based clinic has agreed to treat the mother, who is now hoping to export the eggs to New York, where a clinic is lined up to provide fertility treatment.
Al-Shabaab calls for attacks on Oxford Street, Westfield centres
London: Somalia-based terror group Al-Shabaab has threatened to attack London’s Oxford Street and the Westfield shopping centres in the latest jihadist threat to the UK. A video released by the terror group called on its followers to “hasten to heaven” by attacking some of the country’s busiest shopping areas. It also threatened venues in America and Canada as well as “Jewish-owned” centres.
Sir Malcolm, Jack Straw suspended by Tories
London: The Conservative Party has suspended Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw, two former foreign secretaries, in the wake of the 'cash for access' scandal. They were accused of offering to use their positions as politicians on behalf of a fictitious Chinese company in return for payments of at least £5,000 a day. Shortly after the announcement that he had been suspended, Sir Malcolm said: "I do also want to have the standard of living that my previous professional life should entitle me to have."
Bishop who fights for poor enjoying lavish life
London: Reverend Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester, who helped the church to launch an attack on the government’s approach to the poor enjoys pay, perks and allowances worth more than £250,000 a year, according to official documents. He was a prominent supporter of last week’s letter to David Cameron condemning the welfare cap. The bishop had earlier criticised the prevalence of food banks, opposed the decision to limit benefit increases to 1% and worked with Labour to back an amendment to defeat the welfare reforms.
Fat Americans urged to diet
Washington: A panel of experts said that Americans should consider the health of the planet as well as their bulging waistlines when deciding what they eat. Beef, in particular, has been identified as harmful to the planet, producing more greenhouse gases per calorie than chicken or pork. The proposed government guidelines also recommend a tax on sugary drinks and snacks as a way of coaxing Americans into eating better.
Family lawyers seek urgent reforms in divorce laws
London: Family lawyers sought urgent reforms to divorce laws and said that the present one is outdated, inadequate and unfair. They call for the scrapping of fault-based divorce, in which spouses accuse each other of unreasonable behaviour, creating bitter court battles. At present, spouses must apportion blame unless they have lived apart for two years. In 2012 there were more than 72,000 divorces in which adultery or unreasonable behaviour were cited.
Chanting 'Om' will soothe the brain, confirm scientists
Lucknow: scientists have now confirmed that chanting of “Om” really does soothe the brain. The finding emerged from a study in which 21 men listened to the mantra while lying in a scanner that monitors brain activity. Researchers found that, as the chanting progressed, the parts of the brain used in day-to-day activity slowed while those involved in emotional awareness took over. “Listening to the ‘Om’ sound . . . activates areas of the bilateral cerebellum, left middle frontal gyrus and right precuneus,” said Uttam Kumar of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, India. “Listening to ‘Om’ recruits neural systems implicated in emotional empathy,” Kumar said. To make sure “Om” was the key sound, the researchers also played recordings of people chanting “Tommmm” - and found this did nothing to relax the 21 men.
Om is regarded as a a divine word by Hindus and Buddhists, who believe it can open the mind. Ideally, the subjects should have chanted it themselves but the vibration made it hard to scan their brains. Kumar said the next step was to repeat the research with people from other cultures to see if the sound is “universal and independent of culture or belief.”
Fire deaths suspect arrested after global manhunt
London: Shahid Mohammed, a suspect in the the murder of eight members of a family in a house fire in Birkby, Huddersfield, in May 2002, has been arrested after a global manhunt. Five children and three adults from the Chishti family died in the fire and one man was convicted of murder and two of manslaughter following the attack. However, Mohammed failed to answer bail and has been sought by police ever since - with numerous appeals made for his whereabouts. Reports say he has been arrested in Pakistan. Police said his re-arrest came after close work between authorities in the UK and those abroad and they are working on bringing him back to this country.
Steep rise in childcare costs in just five years
London: The Family and Childcare Trust Survey has found that despite the government spending more, the childcare costs have skyrocketed in five years. Nurseries have been accused of profiteering after costs rose by a third to as much as £11,000. With the economy recovering, nurseries are now choosing to dramatically put up prices that were kept down during the recession, the report said.
Miliband wants to ban MPs from having paid directorships
London: Labour leader Ed Miliband has written a letter Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to ban MPs from having paid directorships or consultancies in the wake of the latest "cash for access" allegations. Miliband said he would ban his own MPs from paid consultancy roles and will consult on barring MPs from earning more than 15 per cent of their salaries in private roles. More than five years ago, David Cameron warned that lobbying was the "next big scandal" and promised to tighten the rules - a pledge which has not been fully enacted. Since taking office, Cameron has increased the period in which ministers cannot lobby the government after leaving office from 12 months to two years. The Coalition has also brought in legislation for a statutory register of consultant lobbyists. However, the register itself has yet to be implemented and critics say it is not enough.
3 per cent minimum wage rise recommended
London: Business Secretary Vince Cable said that an independent body that advises the government on the minimum wage is to recommend an increase of 3%. He said the wage rise in the adult rate from £6.50 to £6.70 an hour would be the biggest since 2008, worth £416 a year to a full-time worker. Each year, the Low Pay Commission submits recommendations on the future level of the minimum wage. The increase, yet to be accepted by the government, would apply from October.
A 3.3% increase - from £5.13 to £5.30 - is recommended for 18 to 20-year-olds, along with a 2.2% increase to £3.87 for 16 to 17-year-olds.
Maths prodigy enrols on degree course
London: Esther Okade, one of the UK's youngest university students, is studying for a maths degree with the Open University. She enrolled three weeks ago and is already top of the class, scoring 100 per cent on a recent test. Esther, from Walsall, in the West Midlands, isn't the only member of her family with a talent for numbers - her six-year-old brother Isaiah is already taking an A-level in maths. Her mother, Efe, said applying to the university was "an interesting process because of her age." She said: "We even had to talk to the Vice Chancellor. After they interviewed her they realised that this has been her idea from the beginning. From the age of seven Esther has wanted to go to university. Finally, after three years she told me, 'Mum I think it is about time I started university now."
