Written By Unknown on Rabu, 17 Desember 2014 | 18.55
Petrol prices could soon fall below £1 per litre - the lowest level since the end of May 2009.
The RAC said the recent fall in the price of oil - now below the $60-a-barrel - would keep dropping.
Supermarkets have led the way in cutting pump costs in recent months - with Asda the latest to confirm another move in the right direction for drivers.
The chain said it was taking 2p-a-litre off petrol and 1p from diesel from Thursday.
It said the reductions would mean Asda customers would pay no more than 110.7p-a-litre for petrol, with the company's diesel costing 117.7p-a-litre.
Video:What's Causing Falling Oil Prices?
Sainsbury's later confirmed it would be cutting prices by the same amounts.
"What's currently happening at the pumps with falling fuel prices is something many motorists will not remember seeing before," RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said.
"Talk of prices going up like a rocket and falling like a feather could not be further from the truth as retailers have been quick to pass on savings at the forecourt since we forecast on December 6 that prices were due to come down by 7p a litre for petrol and 6p for diesel."
The RAC added that it was hopeful drivers would benefit from the fall in prices in the first few months of the new year.
The group's monitoring of fuel prices shows the average price of a litre of petrol is 116.9p - nearly 14p a litre cheaper than at the start of the year.
Video:Petrol Prices
Diesel is nearly 16p cheaper - 122.33p a litre now compared to 138.24p in January.
The average supermarket price of fuel is 114.26p a litre for petrol and 120.18p for diesel.
Mr Williams added: "Current forecasts are for average petrol prices to fall to below 110p a litre in the next fortnight and diesel to drop to under 116p.
"At these average prices across the country the cheapest retailers will almost certainly be selling petrol for around 105p a litre, or even lower."
The Supreme Court has overturned a ruling made in favour of two Catholic midwives objecting to any involvement in abortions.
As conscientious objectors, senior midwifery sisters Mary Doogan and Connie Wood had no direct role in abortions.
But they argued they should also be entitled to refuse to delegate, supervise and support staff involved in pregnancy terminations or providing care to patients during the process.
The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled in their favour last year.
Judges there said the right of conscientious objection "extends not only to the actual medical or surgical termination but to the whole process of treatment given for that purpose".
And the women said the ruling affirmed the rights of all midwives to withdraw from a practice that would "violate their conscience".
However, a health authority in Scotland appealed against the decision and the UK's highest court has backed them by overturning last year's decision made in the Scottish capital.
The case had centred on the extent of the right to conscientious objection under the Abortion Act 1967.
This provides that "no person shall be under any duty... to participate in any treatment authorised by this Act to which he has a conscientious objection".
Ms Doogan and Ms Wood said being called upon to supervise and support staff providing care to women having an abortion would amount to "participation in treatment" and would breach their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
But NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde argued conscientious objection is a right only to refuse to take part in activities that directly bring about the termination of a pregnancy.
The authority's appeal was unanimously allowed by five justices at the Supreme Court.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) had warned of the implications for services if the Court of Session decision was allowed to stand.
The first woman bishop in the Church of England has welcomed her appointment as a "historic day".
The church announced the Reverend Libby Lane would become the Bishop of Stockport 20 years after the first women were ordained as Church of England priests.
It ends 40 years of wrangling within the church and comes four weeks after it finally enacted the changes to canon law necessary to allow the appointment.
Celebrations after the first vote in favour of women bishops in July
In her first speech after the announcement the new Bishop of Stockport led a silence and prayer for the victims of the Pakistan school massacre.
She went on to say it was an "unexpected joy" and a "remarkable day" for her - and a "historic day" for the Church of England.
She paid tribute to all those who had fought the long and hard campaign for women bishops.
The 48-year-old, who was ordained a priest in 1994 and served as vicar of St Peter's Hale, Greater Manchester, for the last eight years, will be consecrated at a ceremony at York Minster on January 26.
The Prime Minister welcomed the appointment and said legislation to allow women bishops to sit in the House of Lords would be brought forward.
It is expected the new legislation will be announced on Thursday. Twenty-six Anglican bishops are allowed to sit in the upper chamber.
Mr Cameron said: "This is a historic appointment and an important step forward for the Church towards greater equality in its senior positions."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, previously said that the church was starting "a completely new phase of our existence" and estimated half of bishops could be women within 10 to 15 years.
He said: "It depends how quickly people retire or die - I rather hope they retire and have a long and healthy retirement.
"It has got to be 10 years, allowing for the fact that men will be nominated to some sees as well, and it could be longer."
The issue of women becoming bishops was first voted on by the General Synod in 1975. It was concluded that there was "no fundamental objection" to the ordination of women to the priesthood.
However, the first motion failed in 1978. In 1985 a vote allowed women to become deacons but it was not until 1992 the General Synod voted to allow women priests - the first 1,500 were ordained in 1994.
In 2005 a motion was approved to remove the legal barriers to women bishops but the first attempt at legislation failed by six votes in 2012.
Allegations of torture and murder, made against British soldiers by former Iraqi prisoners, are "wholly without foundation" a major investigation has concluded.
The Al Sweady Inquiry, which has cost the taxpayer £25m and taken five years, found accusations of war crimes were "entirely the product of deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility".
At the heart of the judge-led inquiry, the largest of its kind, was the claim that 20 or more Iraqis were unlawfully killed and mutilated after the so-called Battle of Danny Boy on 14th May 2004.
These claims were withdrawn earlier this year but the inquiry continued to examine claims British troops mistreated Iraqi detainees in their custody.
During the battle soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were ambushed by a number of insurgents and a fierce four-hour battle followed.
Video:Inquiry: Iraq Torture Claims 'Lies'
The Inquiry Chairman, Sir Thayne Forbes, noted that the British soldiers responded to the ambush with "exemplary courage, resolution and professionalism".
After the firefight British soldiers took the usual step of taking the bodies to base because they the military wanted to see if the prime suspect in the murder of six Royal Military Policeman in June 2003 was among the dead.
The bodies of 20 of them were recovered and taken back to Camp Abu Naji in southern Iraq. A further nine Iraqis were captured.
It was claimed some of the dead Iraqis were actually killed while in detention rather than on the battlefield. The prisoners claimed they were abused and tortured in custody by British soldiers.
The inquiry found no evidence of this and concluded the prisoners colluded to discredit the British Army.
Senior defence sources have told Sky News: "This has been a disgrace from start to finish. It has been the work of self-interested lawyers who, for whatever reason, have decided to take the word of those who sought to kill brave British soldiers"
However, the army did not escape criticism. Sir Thayne found there had been instances of ill-treatment during "tactical questioning" of the detainees on the night of May 14/15.
The inquiry found the prisoners were blindfolded or deprived of their sight for an unacceptable amount of time and not fed properly.
The former High Court judge also criticised British soldiers for "tasteless trophies" such as striking poses for photos with detainees but said none of the behaviour amounted to war crimes.
The inquiry, which is named after 19-year-old Hamid al Sweady, who died in British custody, received evidence from 610 witnesses.
The Defence Secretary Michael Fallon will comment on the conclusions of the inquiry this afternoon. He has been critical of the increasing cost and urged courts to treat compensation claims from Iraqi prisoners robustly.
Mr Fallon is expected to sharply criticise the legal teams acting for the Iraqis.
The report does makes nine recommendations for the British military including recording interrogations, making proper prisoner medical examinations and keeping records and making sure there are sufficient interpreters.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 14 Desember 2014 | 18.54
By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent
The head of the UK's Intelligence and Security Committee is demanding to see material documenting any British links to the CIA's use of torture.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chair of the Commons committee, is seeking any intelligence relating to the UK that was redacted from the explosive Senate report into the CIA.
It concluded that the CIA lied over its torture and interrogation programme developed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
Sir Malcolm told Sky's Murnaghan programme: "This is a major United States' report and so we are requesting, both our colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee ... but also it will ultimately be the United States government, that will decide whether some of the material that has been redated in the American report can be shown to us.
Jack Straw has been questioned by police over renditions, say reports
"We don't need to see everything that's been redacted, what we need to see are the bits that might refer to the UK government."
Asked whether that information would be made public, he said the ISC would only agree for it to be withheld "if the Prime Minister was able to convince us that there were legitimate national security reasons why it shouldn't be published".
Video:Former CIA Officer Michael Scheuer
He said there had been "justified" criticism of the ISC in the past, but it had new powers to order intelligence agencies to hand over requested files and for its staff to go to MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to "personally inspect files to make sure nothing's been left out".
He said once the ISC had looked through the written material, "we will come to a judgement as to which people, first of all who in the intelligence agencies we wish to take evidence from, secondly either current ministers or former ministers who have intelligence on these matters".
Sir Malcolm said he does not think a judge-led inquiry into any British involvement in the CIA's rendition and torture programme is necessary.
Video:MP Demands Torture Report Material
He agreed the ISC does not have the power to compel ministers to give evidence, "but, of course, it would be huge scandal if they did refuse to".
The British Government has admitted requesting the deletion of references to Britain's intelligence agencies for national security reasons.
UK Government representatives had 24 meetings with members of the US committee responsible for the findings.
Video:MI5 And MI6 Involvement Questioned
Some of the deletions are believed to relate to the British Overseas Territory of Diego Garcia.
There is escalating pressure on the British government not to extend an agreement allowing the US to use the territory in the Indian Ocean as a military base.
Andrew Tyrie, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on rendition, said any negotiations should address allegations that it was used by the CIA to render terror suspects around the world.
Video:UK Involvement in CIA Torture
"The negotiations on the lease can focus minds on establishing the scope and limits of Britain's involvement, direct or indirect, in extraordinary rendition," Mr Tyrie said.
"We are talking about kidnap and taking people to places where they may be maltreated or tortured."
The former Home Office minister, Lib Dem MP Norman Baker, who has taken a close interest in the atoll, said: "As it comes up for renewal, we need a full explanation of what happened in our name on that island."
Video:UK Wanted CIA Report Changes
It comes amid reports former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was questioned by police investigating the abductions of two Libyans who say they were handed to Colonel Gadaffi and tortured by his regime.
Mr Straw was interviewed as a "witness" by Scotland Yard following claims the Government was complicit in the rendition of the two men and their families, the Sunday Times said.
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Gallery: Geminid Meteor Lights Up Skies
Rottingdean Windmill, near Brighton. Pic: Sumitra Sri Sribhashyam
The sky was lit up in different colours. Pic: Mike Williams
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The display in the UK began just after midnight. Pic: Dave Algers
]]>
Another great view of the display, this time over Butser Ancient Farm. Pic: Adrian Jurd
]]>
Stargazers have enjoyed a celestial firework display as one of the year's most spectacular meteor showers reached its fiery peak in the UK.
Clear skies ensured good views of the Geminid meteor shower.
Just after midnight, some very bright meteors raced across the sky.
The official Geminid "maximum" is at 11am today, but daylight will prevent them from being seen then.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth ploughs through clouds of cometary dust.
1/5
Gallery: Previous Geminid Displays
A Geminid meteor between peaks of the Seven Sisters rock formation in Nevada, 2010
A meteor shower lights up the sky over the Mexican volcano Popocatepetl near the village San Nicolas de los Ranchos in Mexico, 2004
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The sky above the Seven Sisters rock formation in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, 2007
]]>
The tiny particles, some no bigger than a grain of sand, burn up brightly as they enter the atmosphere.
The Geminids are unusual in that they are not shed by a classic icy comet but a body that shares characteristics of both comets and asteroids.
Known as 3200 Phaethon, the three-mile-wide object was discovered in 1983 by two British scientists examining Nasa satellite images and initially classified as an asteroid.
But it has an eccentric orbit that looks more like that of a comet than an asteroid and brings it well inside the orbit of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, every 1.4 years. Nasa describes it as a "rock comet".
Traditionally asteroids are made of rock and comets mostly of ice.
Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: "It's not as clear-cut as it used to be. A lot of asteroids are quite icy. There are asteroids that look a bit like comets and comets that look a bit like asteroids."
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Geminid Meteor Lights Up The Night Skies
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
1/6
Gallery: Geminid Meteor Lights Up Skies
Rottingdean Windmill, near Brighton. Pic: Sumitra Sri Sribhashyam
The sky was lit up in different colours. Pic: Mike Williams
]]>
The display in the UK began just after midnight. Pic: Dave Algers
]]>
Another great view of the display, this time over Butser Ancient Farm. Pic: Adrian Jurd
]]>
Stargazers have enjoyed a celestial firework display as one of the year's most spectacular meteor showers reached its fiery peak in the UK.
Clear skies ensured good views of the Geminid meteor shower.
Just after midnight, some very bright meteors raced across the sky.
The official Geminid "maximum" is at 11am today, but daylight will prevent them from being seen then.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth ploughs through clouds of cometary dust.
1/5
Gallery: Previous Geminid Displays
A Geminid meteor between peaks of the Seven Sisters rock formation in Nevada, 2010
A meteor shower lights up the sky over the Mexican volcano Popocatepetl near the village San Nicolas de los Ranchos in Mexico, 2004
]]>
The sky above the Seven Sisters rock formation in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, 2007
]]>
The tiny particles, some no bigger than a grain of sand, burn up brightly as they enter the atmosphere.
The Geminids are unusual in that they are not shed by a classic icy comet but a body that shares characteristics of both comets and asteroids.
Known as 3200 Phaethon, the three-mile-wide object was discovered in 1983 by two British scientists examining Nasa satellite images and initially classified as an asteroid.
But it has an eccentric orbit that looks more like that of a comet than an asteroid and brings it well inside the orbit of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, every 1.4 years. Nasa describes it as a "rock comet".
Traditionally asteroids are made of rock and comets mostly of ice.
Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: "It's not as clear-cut as it used to be. A lot of asteroids are quite icy. There are asteroids that look a bit like comets and comets that look a bit like asteroids."
Tax bosses have promised the service offered by public helplines will be improved, after it was revealed that almost a third of calls are getting cut off.
Research by consumer group Which? found that, in a sample of 100 calls, only 71 were not cut off with an automated message saying the service was "very busy".
Those calls that did survive this initial cut waited an average of 18 minutes to speak to someone, with the longest waiting 41 minutes.
The system's voice recognition also made mistakes when directing queries to other departments, with more complex phrases being misunderstood.
For example, when asked "do I need to pay tax on premium bond winnings?" the system asked if the caller was inquiring about changing a name or about a VAT surcharge notice.
The research comes in the run-up to the self-assessment tax return deadline of 31 January.
HM Revenue and Customs admitted the service "isn't good enough" and that new technology is being brought in to improve responses.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "With large numbers of people soon to be seeking help with their self-assessment tax return, we want to see HMRC doing more to monitor and improve their call-waiting times."
A spokesman for HMRC said: "HMRC receives over 40 million calls a year but we know that some of our customers can struggle to get through on our helplines at very busy times. This isn't good enough, and we are working hard to improve the range of services we provide.
"This year we are introducing new technology to help us answer more calls quicker at busy times, and we are improving the digital services we offer so that more customers can find all they need online.
"There is more to do, and we are committed to improving the service we offer all of our customers at all times, to help them find advice and support when they need it."
The body in charge of Britain's air traffic control system was warned four months ago that its plan to deal with technical faults was not clear enough, it has been claimed.
A computer glitch at NATS control centre in Hampshire on Friday led more than 300 flights being cancelled or delayed and travel disruption for thousands of passengers.
The air traffic control organisation NATS said on Saturday that the computer meltdown was sparked by an unprecedented systems failure.
It was the second major problem to hit the Swanwick centre in just over a year.
A report in the Independent on Sunday says the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) warned NATS officials in the summer that they needed to be better prepared to deal with IT problems.
Video:Plane Chaos: Fault 'Unprecedented'
The newspaper also said that experts had warned NATS that a huge redundancy programme might deepen the problem, resulting in serious future meltdowns.
A spokesman for the CAA said: "We said to NATS that the report that they had produced as a result of their investigation into the December failing in 2013 lacked clarity ... and subsequently there was more work done on that."
He was unable to confirm whether or not that report contained information about plans NATS would put into action in the event of a technical failure.
But Business Secretary Vince Cable suggested Nats was using "ancient" computer systems after "skimping" on investment.
He told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show: "I think the Transport Secretary very sensibly is wanting a report on this on Monday morning to find out what has happened.
"In agencies like Nats, as in the banks and the private sector, they've been skimping on large-scale investment for very many years.
"Often the easy thing to do under financial pressure is to be penny wise and pound foolish and to forego capital investment so they've got very ancient computer systems which then crash.
"We have to maintain a high level of capital investment."
Meanwhile, an MP called for the top boss of NATS to lose his bonuses as a result of Friday's fault.
Richard Deakin, NATS chief executive, said the software glitch was "buried" among millions of lines of code written a quarter of a century ago.
Video:Flights Delayed In London Airspace
But Labour MP Paul Flynn told The Sunday Times that Mr Deakin earns more than £1m after receiving a 45% pay rise this year.
"I hope after the chaos, which was dreadful, though a rare event, he will have his bonuses stripped from him," he said.
NATS said operations were back to normal on Saturday with only minor delays and cancellations at some of the UK's airports as a result of a backlog.
A statement from NATS said: "Swanwick controller workstations provide a number of tools and services to the controller to enable them to safely control a high volume of air traffic.
"In normal operations the number of workstations in use versus in standby fluctuates with the demands of the traffic being controlled.
"In this instance a transition between the two states caused a failure in the system which has not been seen before.
"The failure meant that the controllers were unable to access all of the data regarding individual flight plans which significantly increases their workload.
"We immediately took steps to reduce the traffic into and out of the UK network. At no time was safety compromised in any way."
Mr Deakin said NATS is investing a "huge amount" in new technology, with £575m set to be spent over the next five years to move towards more resilient, internet-based systems.
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 13 Desember 2014 | 18.54
An investigation is under way into why Britain's air traffic control system malfunctioned for the second time in two years, causing transport chaos for thousands of people.
The focus of the probe will be hardware and software connected to the flight data system, which is believed to control the flight plans of the planes. The company has ruled out a power outage as the cause, however.
Air traffic control service NATS said: "Following a technical fault with the flight data system used by air traffic controllers at Swanwick, NATS can confirm that the system has been restored to full operational capability and a thorough investigation is continuing, to identify the root cause.
"Although operational restrictions applied during the failure have been lifted, it will take time for flight operations across the UK to fully recover."
More than 300 flights were cancelled or delayed after a computer failure at NATS headquarters in Swanwick, Hampshire, on Friday afternoon.
Video:Flights Delayed In London Airspace
By Saturday morning, timetables were returning to normal, although Heathrow said 38 flights had been cancelled before 9.30am and Gatwick Airport was cancelling a handful of flights.
Friday's problems came just over a year after hundreds of flights were affected when problems arose with a telephone system at NATS in early December 2013.
There were reports passengers on some flights were unable to collect their luggage and were told that it would be sent on to them by courier.
Other airports where travellers suffered delays on Friday included Manchester, Birmingham, Stansted and Luton, but airports as far north as Aberdeen and Edinburgh were affected.
Video:November: How Busy Is UK Airspace?
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the disruption was unacceptable.
He said: "Disruption on this scale is simply unacceptable and I have asked NATS for a full explanation of this evening's incident. I also want to know what steps will be taken to prevent this happening again."
Experts said part of the problem was that the system is operating at full capacity and anything that goes wrong has a huge impact.
Professor Martyn Thomas, visiting professor of Software Engineering at the University of Oxford, said: "Some of NATS' computer systems are very old - the National Airspace System that performs flight data processing is software that dates from the 1960s.
Video:Air Traffic Problem Delays Flights
"Interfacing new systems to this old software can create difficulties."
Air traffic control safety expert Philip Butterworth-Hayes said: "Swanwick ... has an incredibly complicated, customised software system, where you have to upgrade things all the time. A small upgrade can cause all sorts of problems.
"The issue we have in the UK, especially in the south eastern UK, is there's very little spare capacity, because the system is running at such high rates, it only needs a small little glitch to create a large problem."
Hundreds of British soldiers are to be sent to Iraq to help the fight against Islamic State, Sky News understands.
They will make up a training mission to assist the Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga.
The soldiers - expected to number a few hundred - will go to the region "within weeks" senior military sources have said.
The National Security Council is expected to rubber-stamp the mission when it meets on Tuesday.
Although small groups of British troops have conducted similar missions over the past few months, this will be much greater in size and on a more permanent basis.
Video:Troops Return To Iraq For IS Fight
A team of military advisors recently went to the country to scope out options.
It's believed the mission will be largely split between the capital Baghdad and Irbil in the Kurdish controlled north.
It hasn't been confirmed which regiments the troops will be drawn from.
The UK government has repeatedly insisted that any such training mission would not constitute 'boots-on-the-ground' although British Special Forces are operating in the region.
In October a dozen soldiers from The Yorkshire Regiment were dispatched to Irbil to train the Kurds to use heavy machine guns.
Video:October - Reaper Drones Footage
An advisory team has also been embedded in the Iraqi military HQ, working alongside the Americans.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman wouldn't confirm the specifics of the latest mission but did say: "The Defence Secretary announced the intention to provide further training to the Iraqi military in early November.
"No decisions on troop numbers, units or locations have been made, so this is purely speculation at this stage."
The British contribution will fit into a wider mission involving a number of nations.
Earlier this week, the most senior US Commander Lt Gen James Terry revealed that the coalition training mission would involve around 1,500 soldiers.
Video:British Troops Back In Iraq
US special operations troops have already set up a training base at the Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar Province.
Germany recently pledged around 100 soldiers to help train the Peshmerga in northern Iraq. That mission, if approved, will begin early next year.
NATO has also said it would explore options if the Iraqi government came forward with an official request.
The Alliance said that any training mission wouldn't necessarily be based in Iraq. Neighbouring Jordan has been used for similar projects.
