News
Home gas bills to soar as oil link strengthens
Gas prices are going to be more strongly influenced by global oil markets for the foreseeable future and householders will have to get used to spending much more on energy unless the surge in oil costs is reversed, Eclipse Energy Group said.
Treasury to set rules for next cycle
The Treasury said it would set out fiscal rules for the next economic cycle when the current cycle ends, dismissing a report that it was about to relax its framework to allow more borrowing.
Online retail spending up 38 percent
Online retail sales in Britain leapt 38 percent in the first half of the year to account for 17 pence in every pound spent, and this figure could rise to as high as 50 pence in five years, a report said on Friday.
Overall crime figures down
Official figures released on Thursday revealed there were more than 22,000 serious offences in England and Wales involving knives in 2007-8 but overall crime fell significantly.
Government admits it will miss 2010 CO2 target
The government admitted on Thursday what experts have been saying for some time - that it will miss by a large margin its own target of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2010.
British drugs girls free after year in Ghana jail
Two British teenaged girls left a jail in Ghana on Thursday after a year in detention for trying to smuggle cocaine to Britain, prison officers said.
Hospital superbug cases falling
The number of cases of hospital superbug C. difficile rose by 6 percent in the first three months of the year, but the number of MRSA infections fell sharply, the Health Protection Agency said on Thursday.
U.S. to establish presence in Tehran
The United States will announce in the next month that it plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Tehran for the first time in 30 years, a London newspaper said on Thursday.
Israel buries soldiers after swap with Hezbollah
Thousands attended Israeli funerals on Thursday for two slain soldiers returned in a prisoner swap with Hezbollah and their grief contrasted with Lebanon's joy over guerrillas freed in the deal.
Gene variant common in Africa ups HIV risk: study
A gene variant that emerged thousands of years ago to protect Africans from malaria may raise their vulnerability to HIV infection but help them live longer once infected, researchers said on Wednesday.
M&A bankers help environment by staying at home
The dark clouds of the credit crisis may have an unexpected silver lining for the environment - a smaller carbon footprint from investment bankers.
Public to have greater say in policing
The public are to get a greater say in tackling crime as part of a "new deal" between communities and police announced by the Home Secretary on Thursday.
Pope says young inheriting squandered earth
Pope Benedict on Thursday told a huge gathering of young people that they were inheriting a planet whose resources had been scarred and squandered to fuel insatiable consumption.
World Council of Churches in Indonesia to strengthen efforts against violence
Churches working for peace in Indonesia - a country which over the last decades had to cope with repeated outbreaks of ethnic and religious conflicts, the integration of internally displaced people as well as refugees from outside its borders - will receive a solidarity visit of an international ecumenical delegation sent by the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 17 to 24 July.
Churches are 'critical' partner in reducing knife crime, says CTE report
'Who is my neighbour?' report from Churches Together in England pleas for united action against gang-related crime.
How Israeli PM wooed, and lost, Christian dollars
An Israeli investigation into fraud and corruption has turned a spotlight on how Ehud Olmert, when mayor of Jerusalem, raised funds from rich American Jews.