Sir Paul McCartney to get married for the third time

Sir Paul and Ms Shevell have been together for four years and got engaged in May

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney is expected to marry for a third time later by tying the knot with Nancy Shevell at a London register office.

New Yorker Ms Shevell, 51, is an heiress to a trucking fortune.
The wedding is expected to take place at Old Marylebone Town Hall, which is where Sir Paul married first wife Linda Eastman - also an American - in 1969.
She died in 1998 and Sir Paul, 69, split from second wife Heather Mills during an acrimonious divorce in 2008.
Mirror showbiz journalist Clemmie Moodie said she expected Sunday's wedding to be a low-key affair.
"Given his last marriage to Heather Mills obviously was a fairly lavish, spectacular do and look how that ended... I think this time round it's going to be a far quieter, more civilised affair," she said.
"It's just close family, a few friends - we believe about 30 people - so far more intimate."

Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman in 1969

Earlier this month Ms Shevell moved in with Sir Paul at his home in St John's Wood, London, where it is believed a reception will take place.
Ms Shevell, who was married for 20 years to American lawyer and political candidate Bruce Blakeman, became engaged to Sir Paul in May.
The couple began dating four years ago in the upmarket Hamptons area of Long Island.
Life-long Beatles fan Chiara Amato said she had sat outside the register office every day since September 29 in anticipation of the couple's wedding.
She said: "This marriage is going to last. She seems to be really nice and deeply in love with him. I have been listening to The Beatles since I was six-years-old. I have been to see Sir Paul in concert 27 times."
Sir Paul's eldest daughter, Mary, also married at the register office last year.
Ms Shevell is a board member of New York's transportation authority and vice-president of her family haulage firm.
But the wedding is expected to mean an end to her work in the family business and her leaving her position on the board of the transportation body.
Ms Shevell told the New York Post she would "love" the couple to live in the US but she would "probably" move to England after the wedding.

Shakira and Viktor Yanukovych open new Ukraine stadium

Pop star Shakira joined hundreds of performers in an elaborate ceremony

The Colombian pop star Shakira and Ukraine's President, Viktor Yanukovych, have opened a 70,000-seat stadium in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

The stadium will host the final of Euro 2012 football championships, which are being played in Ukraine and Poland.
The reconstruction of the Soviet-era stadium is seen as a milestone on Ukraine's path to hosting the tournament.
There had been concerns that key facilities would not be ready in time.
"The reconstruction and opening of the stadium demonstrates to the whole world that we can have business in the Ukraine," Mr Yanukovych said during the ceremony.

Car-free Sunday for smog-struck Milan

Milan is one of Europe's most polluted cities

The northern Italian city of Milan is banning all traffic from its streets for 10 hours on Sunday in an attempt to reduce smog.

The measure, first imposed on a trial basis in 2007, is triggered whenever pollution exceeds the statutory limit for 12 consecutive days.
Satellite imagery shows Milan to be one of the most polluted cities in Europe.
An estimated 120,000 vehicles will be affected by the move, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
The most polluting vehicles have been banned from driving through the city centre since Thursday.
But on Sunday, there will be no traffic at all permitted between 0800 and 1800 local time (07:00-17:00 GMT).
The ban is imposed when pollution exceeds 50 micrograms of particulates per cubic metre of air over 12 days. The last time the full ban was in force was in February.

The move is not popular with all environmentalists, who argue that the city's public transport system should be improved to discourage people from using their cars.
Local Green Party councillor Enrico Fedrighini said cars with three or four people inside should be offered free parking, for example.
"One or two car-free Sundays each month won't do anything to tackle the smog crisis," he told Corriere della Sera.
Public transport will be bolstered during the day, with an extra metro trains and buses operating.

Libya NTC fight Gaddafi forces in streets of Sirte

Commanders say they are mounting fresh tank and artillery attacks on areas still held by Gaddafi loyalists

Street fighting has raged in Sirte for a second day as troops loyal to Libya's transitional government confront the remnants of ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Interim authority forces seized control of a key boulevard, isolating a conference centre where Gaddafi loyalists have been holed up.
Thousands of civilians remain trapped.
Once Sirte falls, Libya's leaders say they will declare liberation, even if Col Gaddafi remains on the run.
"There is a very vicious battle now in Sirte," said National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil in the capital Tripoli.
"Today our fighters are dealing with the snipers that are taking positions and hiding in the city of Sirte."
UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox, on a visit to Libya on Saturday, pledged to maintain Nato air strikes even after the fall of Sirte, saying the international military action would continue as long as pro-Gaddafi elements threatened the people of Libya.
"We have a message for those who are still fighting for Gaddafi that the game is over, you have been rejected by the people of Libya," he told reporters in Tripoli.

Snipers on rooftops

On Friday, NTC forces launched what they called a final assault on Sirte, pushing pro-Gaddafi fighters back from their positions and towards the city centre.

But on Saturday, their rapid advance slowed down as they fought street by street to take control of the city, Col Gaddafi's birthplace and a symbolic second capital for Libya.
Pro-Gaddafi snipers fired from the rooftops of the Ouagadougou conference centre, the university and a complex of flats.
However, the NTC side won control of a key boulevard which connects the Ouagadougou centre to central Sirte.
NTC fighter Faraj Leshersh told Reuters the Gaddafi loyalists were experts at operating unseen, using trenches or burning tyres to give themselves cover to move between buildings.
"They took advantage of the dust and they advanced a little," he said. "There is 500m [yards] between us and them."
Civilians continued to leave Sirte on foot and by car. They were stopped and searched by NTC forces at checkpoints.
The NTC gave civilians the opportunity to leave before the assault began.
However, thousands remained in the city, unable to get out or fearful after warnings from pro-Gaddafi fighters that they would be attacked by the interim forces if they surrendered.
Efforts to negotiate with loyalist commanders have also failed. On Thursday, Col Gaddafi delivered an audio message urging Libyans to take to the streets "in their millions" to resist the interim leaders.
Pro-Gaddafi forces also control the desert enclave of Bani Walid, but it is seen as less significant as it does not lead to any exit routes from the country.

Archbishop of Canterbury on 'healing' Zimbabwe trip

Dr Williams served porridge to people at a parish church in Malawi

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is visiting Zimbabwe as part of an African tour to try to heal deep divisions within the Anglican Church.

Dr Williams is due to preside over an open-air Eucharist in the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
There have been reports of violence between rival factions of Anglicans ahead of the archbishop's two-day stay in the country.
Dr Williams has also asked to meet Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Dr Williams hopes to address the issue directly with Mr Mugabe despite warnings it could give the president an opportunity to make political capital.
The service was moved to the stadium after the city's Anglican cathedral was taken over by a renegade bishop, BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said.

The archbishop is also due to visit grassroots church projects caring for orphans and HIV sufferers.

The Church in Zimbabwe has been bitterly divided since 2007, when the former Bishop of Harare Nolbert Kunonga separated from the Anglican communion amid rows over the ordination of gay priests and the policies of Zimbabwe's government
Dr Williams expelled Mr Kunonga - a staunch supporter of Mr Mugabe - but Zimbabwe's courts ruled the ousted bishop should retain control of church buildings in the capital.
Tear gas has been fired into churches which have remained loyal to Dr Williams, and churchgoers have been beaten as they have taken part in services.
Critics have accused Mr Kunonga of using people loyal to President Mugabe's Zanu PF party to carry out the attacks.
The country's violent regime has come under criticism from the Church in the past.
In 2007, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, cut up his clerical dog collar in protest at Mr Mugabe's regime, saying he would not wear it again until the president had left office.
The archbishop's nine-day tour started in Malawi on Thursday, where he marked the 150th anniversary of its branch of the Anglican Church. He also visited Church initiatives, including a Mothers' Union literacy circle.
Dr Williams' spokeswoman has said he aims to "show solidarity" with fellow Anglicans and their bishops who serve the community despite "disruption, intimidation and even violence".
The archbishop closes his tour in the city of Kitwe, in Zambia's copper belt, where he will preach at another outdoor Eucharist and attend a national clergy conference.

Poland votes in general election

Mr Tusk (left) is hoping to defeat Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Law and Justice party

People in Poland are voting in a parliamentary election which the governing centre-right hopes to win.

If successful, PM Donald Tusk's Civic Platform would become the first Polish party to win two consecutive terms since the fall of communism in 1989.
Mr Tusk has presided over four years of strong economic growth.
Analysts say turnout will determine the make-up of the governing coalition. Civic Platform is currently allied with the Peasants' Party (PSL).
Opinion polls suggest Civic Platform (PO) is likely to win Sunday's general election.
However low turnouts have traditionally favoured its main rival, Jaroslaw Kaczynski's conservative-nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has a more loyal core constituency.
"Nothing is prejudged yet, we will be fighting for our coalition to the very end," Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, also a deputy head of PO, said this week.
Analysts say a low turnout could force the party to seek a less natural partnership with the opposition Democratic Left Alliance (SLD).
'Aspirations'
Mr Tusk has campaigned on Poland's strong growth and has vowed to pursue a steady rapprochement with Russia, despite rows over missile defence and gas pipelines as well as the conduct of an inquiry into a plane crash that killed Poland's president last year.
Poland's relatively large domestic market, which reduces its dependence on exports and EU-funded public sector investments, helped it through the first wave of the financial crisis.
The country has been was the only EU member state to avoid recession and, this year, its economy is forecast to grow by about 4%, the highest rate among the EU's seven largest economies.
But, according to Andrzej Rychard, of the Polish Academy of Sciences, such economic success might not translate into votes at the ballot box.
"Poles are not comparing themselves continuously with other nations - they are comparing themselves with their aspirations and expectations," he told the BBC.

Liam Fox under further pressure as meeting video emerges

Adam Werritty was the defence secretary's best man at his wedding in 2005

Video footage has emerged that appears to show Liam Fox and his close friend Adam Werritty at a meeting with the Sri Lankan president last year.

It comes as the defence secretary is facing a Ministry of Defence inquiry into his working relationship with Mr Werritty, who has no official role.
Prime Minister David Cameron has asked for the preliminary findings to be given to him on Monday.
Labour is demanding Mr Fox makes a full statement in the House of Commons.
According to the Observer, the video images show Mr Werritty at a meeting Mr Fox had with Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa in a London hotel last year.
The MoD said the meeting had been a private one and no special advisers had been in attendance.

The video adds to the pressure Mr Fox has been under over revelations that Mr Werritty made regular visits to see him at the Ministry of Defence and arranged a meeting for him with a group of businessmen in Dubai.

Mr Werritty, 34, also used to carry business cards which said he was an adviser to Mr Fox, despite having no official capacity within the MoD or the Conservative Party.
The defence secretary Mr Fox has previously said in a parliamentary answer: "Mr Werritty is not an employee of the MoD and has, therefore, not travelled with me on any official visit."
He has since responded to the controversy by saying he has "absolutely no fear of complete transparency in these matters".
He told the Sunday Telegraph: "I think there are underlying issues behind these claims and the motivation is deeply suspect."
Mr Fox ordered the MoD inquiry into whether his working relationship with Mr Werritty, a former flatmate and his best man in 2005, had breached the ministerial code or security.
Then on Saturday, Mr Cameron said he wanted the cabinet secretary to examine the report and he wanted the initial findings on his desk on Monday.
The ministerial code requires ministers to ensure there is no conflict between their public duties and private interests.
Mr Werritty is said to have brokered a meeting with businessmen in Dubai as Mr Fox was returning from a visit to British troops in Afghanistan in June.
The defence secretary and the businessmen reportedly discussed technology that allows service personnel to make encrypted phone calls home.
Mr Fox, who was in Libya on Saturday for talks with the new regime, said defence industry representatives had asked for the meeting in Dubai "when they happened to be sitting at a nearby table in a restaurant".
However, later on Saturday, email correspondence seen by the Guardian appeared to call into question Mr Fox's version of events by suggesting there had been a certain amount of planning to get the meeting organised.
It prompted a spokesman for Mr Fox to clarify that the MP had been referring to Mr Werritty and not himself having been at the impromptu restaurant meeting.
Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy responded by saying "fresh questions" had been raised about the working links between Mr Fox and Mr Werritty.
"This issue has gone from being embarrassing to being controversial and has now moved way beyond that. This will cause alarm bells to start ringing even more loudly in Downing Street," Mr Murphy said.
He added: "The secretary of state's version of events appear to be unravelling and he now has even bigger questions to answer."
The MoD said that Mr Werritty "never has been part of Dr Fox's official travelling party when the secretary of state is abroad on official business".
A spokesman said: "Mr Werritty's meetings with the secretary of state at the MoD have concerned entirely private matters, not to discuss MoD business.
"At no time has he had access to any classified MoD documents or information."

Jerry Brown signs 'California Dream Act' into law

The legislation has sparked debate on campuses across California

The governor of California, Jerry Brown, has signed into law legislation allowing illegal immigrants to receive state aid to attend college.

Supporters of the California Dream Act, as it is called, say it will benefit the state economically.
However, critics argue that it condones entry into the US without proper documentation.
About 2,500 students are expected to qualify for grants under the new legislation.
Governor Brown, a Democrat, said the law would benefit the state by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and, he said, "the lives of all of us".
But, in a state with a huge immigrant population, critics say the law encourages the illegal immigration by granting access to state resources previously reserved for legal residents.
Opponents of the law add that it should not have been passed without major overhaul of America's immigration rules.
California's last governor, the Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, refused to sign the legislation.

First UK-built bamboo bike unveiled

The bike was unveiled at the 2011 Cycle Show, which was held at the NEC, Birmingham

The first UK-built mountain bike made out of bamboo has been unveiled at a major cycling exhibition.

Its designers, from Oxford Brookes University, say the natural material has the strength of steel but the responsiveness of carbon fibre.
They added that it was these properties rather than the plant's environmental credentials that prompted them to build a bamboo frame.
The bikes, built by Yorkshire-based Raw Bikes, will cost from £1,750.
Co-designer James Broughton, head of Brookes' Joining Technology Research Centre, said the idea of using bamboo started out as just a possible exercise for the centre's students to test alternative materials.
"Bamboo has a genuine performance benefit where it has this ability to dampen frequencies quite nicely," he told BBC News.
"In terms of ride quality, we thought that it might have nice characteristics."
Dr Broughton said his colleague and co-designer, Shpend Gerguri, thought the giant grass could offer a different experience for a bike rider from standard frame materials.
"Particularly hard frames like carbon fibre, where the material is so stiff, means you feel everything from the road," he explained.
"This can be very advantageous; you make things stiff because then all the power you put in through your legs goes straight into turning the wheels round, it does not go into bending the frame.
"However, when you go to longer distances then the (frequency) feedbacks that the bike gives to the rider can be quite detrimental as they build up and result in rider fatigue."
Grow your own
The pair decided to test whether a bamboo-framed bike could do what it was supposed to: transmit power, and withstand what a mountain bike rider throws at it.

With the help of their students, the two engineers took the idea from a drawing-board concept to a finished product.

The environmental merits of bamboo as a fast growing, carbon absorbing, sustainable construction material did offer an extra dimension, it was not the main focus for the project.
But, Dr Broughton added: "Obviously, materials such as wood, timber and other grasses are in vogue at the moment because of the requirements to reduce CO2 emissions."
He explained that one of the main challenges was finding the right sort of bamboo.
"There are very few suppliers of bamboo of the right quality in the UK at the moment.
"You have to be quite specific in what you select, and then be quite thorough when conditioning the bamboo to make sure it dries out and has the right moisture content."
He said that bamboo, as with wood, will expand with moisture and shrink with dryness. Its properties are also inherently much more variable than those of standard frame materials such as steel.
The researchers identified a particular kind of bamboo from the estimated 1,500 species growing on the planet, as well as a certain grade of the harvested grass, that was best for the job.
But they added that they were not at liberty to reveal the details because the information could be used by possible competitors.
Bamboo bug
The bikes are being commercially produced by Yorkshire-based Raw. Managing director Rachel Hammond said she had been interested in producing bamboo bikes for a number of years.
"As soon as I rode one I realised that they gave such a different ride and I was absolutely hooked," she recalled, ahead of the bike being unveiled to traders at the 2011 Cycle Show at the NEC, Birmingham.
"They were mainly made in North America, and there was no one really importing them."
Ms Hammond explained it took three days to build one bike: "This is because there are various stages when you have to let various resins cure. If you started one on Monday, then you could probably finish it by Wednesday lunchtime."
While the material's strength and durability made it an attractive frame material, she acknowledged that the bamboo bike's starting pricetag of £1,750 meant it would not have mass market appeal.
"It is not aimed at someone who spends no more than a few hundred quid on a bike, it is aimed at someone who really loves cycling."
Dr Broughton said that seeing the bike develop from an idea to being sold in shops was "hugely satisfying".
To put the frame through its paces, he and Dr Gerguri rode two bamboo bikes in this summer's eight-stage TransAlp race, covering 385 miles (620km) from Germany to Italy including 13 miles (21km) of climbs.
"Everywhere we went, people [riding bikes with standard material frames] were having punctures and technical problems. We did not have a single problem with either bike; that was really satisfying.
But, he quickly added: "We don't want to extrapolate that too much and think that the bamboo frame stopped us from having punctures."

Warp Films' new breed of Brit flick

Warp Films made (clockwise from top left): This Is England, Tyrannosaur, Four Lions and Submarine

With This Is England, Submarine and Four Lions, Sheffield-based Warp Films has become a major force in British film with a vision for innovative, uncompromising films.

Comedy terrorists, 1980s skinheads, lovelorn teenagers, vengeful ex-paratroopers and evil cults - if the subjects of Warp's films have anything in common, it is difficult to spot.
The company has quietly become a creative powerhouse by making films that range from gritty dramas to quirky rom-coms to graphic thrillers.
Often acclaimed by critics and award judges, the relatively low-budget productions are not aiming for commercial success, but nor are they lacking in ambition.
Rather than plumping for a formula involving gangsters or plucky underdogs with floppy fringes, the only thing connecting Warp's films is that each is the product of a distinctive artistic vision.
Warp Films began as a sideline for Warp Records, the similarly uncompromising Sheffield label that launched electronic pioneers like Aphex Twin and Autechre.
The first screen project was a Bafta-winning short film made by comedian Chris Morris, who had released a CD of sketches through Warp in 2000.

Shane Meadows (left) and Mark Herbert picked up a Bafta Award for This Is England in 2008

My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117 starred actor Paddy Considine, who then suggested that Herbert should meet the director Shane Meadows.
"He showed me five or six short films where he'd gone out with his camcorder and an idea of a character and let Paddy improvise," Herbert says.
"These were incredible, absolutely amazing, some of the best shorts I'd ever seen. I said: 'Why don't you make films like that?'"
Meadows, who had made his name with Twenty Four Seven and A Room For Romeo Brass, replied that feature films involved too much financial pressure and too little creative freedom.
"I said: 'Well, I don't believe that,'" Herbert says.
Two months later, the pair, along with Considine, a group of largely unknown actors and a half-finished script, were filming the revenge thriller Dead Man's Shoes, Warp's breakthrough feature.
Meadows and Herbert teamed up again on This Is England, the story of a 12-year-old boy befriended by a group of skinheads in 1983, which won the Bafta for best British film in 2008 and spawned a Channel Four spin-off.
'Let's do it' Another small screen instalment, this time set in 1988, is due on screen this December. How long will the franchise continue?
"Until Shane and Jack [Thorne, co-writer] run out of stories, really," replies Herbert.
One Warp trait is a go-ahead attitude that seems far removed from the stereotype of movie studio development hell.
When filming began on Meadows' latest feature Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee, which came out in 2009, Herbert says they did not quite know how the film would turn out.

Paddy Considine directed Olivia Coleman in Tyrannosaur

"We knew we had a great character, we had a great backdrop, but you don't know until you start that process what's going to happen," he says.
"We just said, well, we'll do it. We'll put our own money in, we'll just go away for a week with a camera and a character and a wig and see what happens. So we do have that 'let's do it' attitude."
The company also produced Richard Ayoade's directorial debut Submarine, the horror Kill List and Chris Morris's first feature film Four Lions, about a group of incompetent Islamists, which also won a Bafta.
Now Considine has gone behind the camera for the first time for Tyrannosaur, a brutal story of friendship and cruelty on a Leeds housing estate, which won three awards at the Sundance Film Festival in January and opened in UK cinemas on Friday.
"I always look back to the original mission statement, which was to make bold and innovative films, and to work with artists over a number of years, not just on one project," Herbert says. "And I think we've kept very true to that."

Mark Herbert Warp Films

Warp is admired in the film industry for the way it has grown while staying true to its independent vision, according to Wendy Mitchell, news editor of industry bible Screen Daily.

"It has been - and continues to be - a huge supporter of new British talents and has made some of the boldest British films in recent memory," she says.
Mark Herbert points to an early £20,000 grant from Screen Yorkshire, a Leeds-based regional film development and promotion body, as a key moment in the company's story.
"Without them there wouldn't be a Warp Films to be honest," he says.
That money was used to employ another staff member to run operations while Herbert raised money for the next film in London.
"That small amount of money was the key for our next jump, which was making This Is England, which won a Bafta, and then the rest," he says. "But had we not got that, I don't think I could have got the next film off the ground."
'Precarious position' However, the regional screen agencies, including Screen Yorkshire, had their responsibilities for distributing National Lottery funding transferred to a new body, Creative England, on 1 October.
The screen agencies also distributed funding from regional development bodies and the European Union, but that has now dried up. And Creative England aims to have "hubs" in three cities, compared to the original eight screen agency offices.
"Screen Yorkshire being in a bit of a precarious position now is really alarming for me," Herbert says.
"We're alright now, but I worry about the next bit of talent. I just hope that they continue to look for the next Shane Meadows and the next Warp. If they look out of those big city hubs then it could be good."
In response, Caroline Norbury, chief executive of Creative England, says it is getting staff in place around the English regions and will announce new talent development funds next month.
"Creative England knows that 'boots on the ground' are crucial," she says. "Regardless of where our offices are, we will grow both film-makers and companies wherever they are based.
"We will make sure that, just as Warp Films was helped in those crucial first years, the next generation gets the support it needs."

Bank of England governor fears crisis is 'worst ever'

Sir Mervyn King: "The most serious crisis since the 1930s, if not ever."

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has said this financial crisis could be the worst the UK has ever seen.

His comments came after the Bank authorised the injection of a further £75bn into the economy through quantitative easing (QE).
Explaining the move Sir Mervyn told Sky News: "This is the most serious financial crisis we've seen at least since the 1930s, if not ever."
The Bank has already pumped £200bn into the economy.
It has done this by buying assets such as government bonds, in an attempt to boost lending by commercial banks.
Sir Mervyn said: "We're having to deal with very unusual circumstances and to act calmly and do the right thing. The right thing at present is to create some more money to inject into the economy."
The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has been split for months over whether the UK needs a boost to the economy through QE, an increase in interest rates to stave off inflation - which at 4.5% is well over double its target - or to leave things as they are.
Only one member, Adam Posen, has consistently pushed for more QE.
Slow money Sir Mervyn said the economic landscape was unfamiliar and the world had changed in the past three months and so had the policy response necessary.
He said the amount of money in the economy was not growing quickly enough.
Sir Mervyn also said he could not rule out a further bout of QE.
On Wednesday, data showed the UK economy grew by 0.1% between April and June, which was less than previously thought.
"The deterioration in the outlook has made it more likely that inflation will undershoot the 2% target in the medium term.

Central banks increase the supply of money by "printing" more. In practice, this may mean purchasing government bonds or other categories of assets, using the new money. Rather than physically printing more notes, the new money is typically issued in the form of a deposit at the central bank. The idea is to add more money into the system, which depresses the value of the currency, and to push up the value of the assets being bought and to lower longer-term interest rates, which encourages more borrowing and investment. Some economists fear that quantitative easing can lead to very high inflation in the long term.

Glossary in full

The CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) business groups welcomed the Bank's move to expand the QE programme to £275bn, but said that on its own, its impact would be limited.

"This measure will help support confidence, but we need to recognise that its impact on near term growth prospects is likely to be relatively modest," said Ian McCafferty, the CBI's chief economic adviser.
"Only once the turmoil in the eurozone is resolved will confidence be fully restored."
'Radical' David Kern, chief economist at the BCC, said: "Higher QE on its own is not enough and we urge the MPC [Monetary Policy Committee] to look at other radical methods.
"There is a strong case for the MPC to help boost bank lending to businesses by immediately raising its purchases of private sector assets."
However, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) is calling for an urgent meeting with the pensions regulator to discuss ways of protecting UK pension funds from the negative effects of QE.
QE tends to push down long-term bond yields, therefore reducing the return on the investments made by pension schemes.
"Quantitative easing makes it more expensive for employers to provide pensions and will weaken the funding of schemes as their deficits increase," said Joanne Segars, chief executive of the NAPF.
Complementary actions

Mervyn King wrote to the chancellor earlier on Thursday, setting out the MPC's case for expanding the asset purchasing programme.

In his letter of response, in which he authorised the move, Chancellor George Osborne said: "I agree that an increase in the ceiling would provide the MPC with scope to vary the stance of monetary policy to meet the inflation target."
In his speech to the Conservative Party conference earlier in the week, Mr Osborne said that the Treasury would look into "credit easing" - a way to underwrite loans to small businesses who are struggling to get credit now.
He confirmed this in his letter to Mr King: "Given evidence of continued impairment in the flow of credit to some parts of the real economy, notably small and medium-sized businesses, the Treasury is exploring further policy actions. Such interventions should complement the MPC's asset purchases."

Childcare support 'extended to 80,000 more families'

Parents eligible for tax credits can get help with up to 70% of their childcare costs

Parents on low incomes who are working less than 16 hours a week will be eligible for childcare support from 2013, under new government plans.

Some £300m has been allocated for the move, worth up to £175 a week for one child and £300 for two or more.
Ministers say it will benefit 80,000 families receiving universal credit.
Charities had been calling on them to increase the amount they planned to spend on childcare support as part of sweeping welfare reforms.
Under the universal credit system, a single payment will replace child tax credit and working tax credit, as well as income-related jobseeker's allowance, housing benefit, income support and income-related employment support allowance.
The switchover will begin in 2013 and continue into the next parliament.
'First steps' The universal credit budget had been set at £2bn, but ministers say an additional £300 million has been found to extend childcare tax credits.
At present, families can get credits to cover up to 70% of their weekly childcare costs, but only if they work more than 16 hours a week. The exact amount given depends on income level, but couples with an income up to £41,000 can qualify.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: "We are determined to help more parents take their first steps into work, but under the current minimum hours rule parents are trapped in state dependency without the childcare support they badly need - providing yet another barrier to work."

Liam Byrne Shadow work and pensions secretary

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Childcare support is vitally important. It's a lifeline for families up and down the country, particularly for mums who want to get back into work, maybe for just a few hours a week after they've had children.

"This will help an extra 80,000 families who have previously had no help at all with childcare costs."
Childcare costs vary widely, but the government says the benefit would help low income families pay for an average of about 40 hours a week.
Labour said the government had already reduced support from 80% to 70% of weekly costs.
Liam Byrne, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "Today's announcement is frankly smoke and mirrors. It won't mean a penny more help for parents already struggling on childcare tax credits.
"Universal credit is now set to lock in a 'parents' penalty' that cuts back childcare payments so hard that many parents will be forced to give up work.
"With parents struggling to make ends meet, it beggars belief that the Tories are stopping parents working the hours and shifts they need by taking away their childcare."
In a recent survey of 4,359 parents by the Daycare Trust and Save the Children, nearly a quarter said the cost of childcare had put them in debt.
A quarter of those on the lowest incomes said they had given up work and a third had turned down work because of childcare costs.

Dangerous driving - new injury offence plan

Driving offences: Sometimes difficult to prosecute

Dangerous drivers could face longer jail terms under a proposal to go before Parliament.

A new crime of causing serious injury by dangerous driving will carry a maximum sentence of five years.
Most people jailed for dangerous driving receive sentences of less than two years.
The proposed new crime will be an amendment in the government's mammoth sentencing and rehabilitation bill.
Dangerous driving offences can be difficult to prosecute because it can be hard to prove that an injury was caused by a brief lapse in concentration.
Fill a legal gap Last year, more than 3,000 drivers were convicted of dangerous driving and 154 of causing death by dangerous driving.
The proposed new offence has been designed to fill a gap between standard dangerous driving charges and the death offence.
The maximum jail term for dangerous driving is two years - while those who kill through their mistakes behind the wheel can face up to 14 years.
While the lower sentence is thought to cover most acts of dangerous driving, road safety campaigners have long argued that there needs to be tougher jail terms for drivers who cause life-changing serious injuries.
The proposed new offence will be triable at both magistrates and crown courts and drivers could also face an unlimited fine alongside a jail term.
Drivers in Scotland, which has its own legal system, will commit an offence where they cause "severe physical injury".

Brake campaign group

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said: "We have listened to the victims of dangerous drivers, their families, MPs, judges and road safety groups and their experiences have directly informed these changes.

"Making our roads safer is a priority - five people died on our roads each day last year, so we need to do everything we can to further improve safety."
Some 1,850 people died on British roads in 2010 and Ellen Brook of the Brake road safety campaign welcomed the new offence.
"As a charity that supports bereaved and seriously injured victims of road crashes, we repeatedly see victims' families being grossly let down by the justice system, which only adds to the terrible trauma they must endure.
"This new offence finally means that serious injury is recognised within the title of the offence, and this recognition is vitally important to victims and their families.
"It also means that dangerous drivers who inflict serious injuries can expect to see higher sentences to better reflect the terrible trauma and injuries they have caused."
The former Labour government had said it wanted to increase jail terms for dangerous driving but ran out of time before it could do so.
The new offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving will be introduced as an amendment to the government's Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

Official data 'masking suicides'

Official figures have shown the suicide rate falling

Suicide rates in England and Wales may be higher than officially stated because the way coroners record deaths has evolved, research suggests.

Academics say narrative verdicts, which describe the circumstances surrounding a death, make it more difficult for statisticians to identify suicides than traditional inquest recordings.
The Office for National Statistics says 4,648 people took their lives in 2009.
It says it is confident in data showing rates falling but is reviewing methods.
Coroners argue that their legal duties remain unchanged and that they require a high standard of proof to record a suicide.
Most of the 30,000 inquests conducted each year in England and Wales are concluded with traditional short-form verdicts, such as death by unlawful killing, accident or natural causes.
But narrative verdicts have grown in use - from 111 in 2001, to 3,012 in 2009 - often as a result of coroners raising matters of public concern, such as inadequacies in the procedures of a hospital or care home where someone has died.
'Misleading evaluation' However, the University of Bristol's Prof David Gunnell says these verdicts make it difficult for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to classify deaths.

"As the use of narrative verdicts rises, so too may the underestimation of suicide," he wrote in an editorial in the British Medical Journal, with colleagues from the Universities of Oxford and Manchester.

This could lead to misleading evaluation of national and local suicide prevention strategies and a masking of the effects of economic difficulties on suicide rates, they suggest.
"Furthermore... suicide rates may (falsely) seem to decline in areas served by coroners who make most use of such verdicts," they add.
While coroners must be sure of intent to be able to record suicide verdicts, statisticians use less stringent criteria to identify when someone has killed themself.
The academics note that in verdicts containing phrases like "deceased took his own life with an accidental overdose", intent is not mentioned.
But despite suicide being strongly implied, the ONS might class it as an accident.
Some coroners may also give short-form verdicts in the belief that this avoids adding to a family's distress, Prof Gunnell suggests.
While the ONS is reviewing its coding of narrative verdicts, a spokesman said it was confident "the overall picture of current suicide trends shown by national statistics is reliable".
However, he added: "The variation in practice by different coroners means that local figures could be less reliable. We are working with coroners, and others concerned, to resolve these issues."
'Nothing new' The ONS estimates that if all deaths from hanging or poisoning given narrative verdicts by coroners and coded as accidents by the ONS were suicides, the 2009 rate would have been underestimated by up to six per cent.
Andre Rebello, of the Coroners' Society of England and Wales, said the society was "well aware of the ONS problem in codifying deaths".
But he said: "If suicide is proved, no other conclusion is considered.
"Training has been delivered to coroners explaining the problem with a request subject to the evidence received that there be as much clarity as possible as to intention in any narrative verdicts."
Prof Louis Appleby, chairman of the government's National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, said there was "nothing new" in finding probably underestimation of suicide numbers because of doubts about intent.
"There is no reason to doubt the fall in suicide in England in the last decade," he added.

Rare flame brocade moth is established in the UK

The location of the new colony is being kept under wraps in order to protect the rare moths

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The charity Butterfly Conservation says that the rare moth typically found in the Mediterranean has become established in the UK.

The flame brocade moth appears to have started a new colony on the south coast of England.
Researchers from the charity have attributed the arrival of an unusually high number of migrant species to the recent warm weather.
They described this year's migration season as the best in years.

Some of the insects will have flown for three or four days to get to the UK, on the back of a helpful southerly tailwind.

The organisation's head of moth conservation, Mark Parsons, said: "Autumn is usually a good time for immigrant species, but it's the sheer number and diversity this year that's special."
The flame brocade, perhaps the most significant arrival, was first spotted by chance in a back garden in Sussex.
Michael Blencowe, BC's officer in the county said: "I'd never seen one of these moths before so I grabbed my net and went off to find out if there were any others about at a suitable site nearby.
"I saw 10 that night and there have been recordings of 20 or more there every night since"
In the past just a few flame brocades have been spotted on UK shores; this is the largest number seen in the country for 130 years. It has led experts to suggest that there may now be a moth colony on the site.
Strange visitors In Dorset, the moth made famous by the film Silence of the Lambs has been seen at an RSPB nature reserve. The death's head hawk moth has a striking skull-like pattern on its thorax.
Large numbers of vestal moths and several crimson speckled moths have also been flying around the south coast of England and Wales. And the extremely rare tropical species, Spoladea recurvalis, has been recorded this year for the first time ever in Ireland, and for only the second time in Scotland.
It all adds up to the best year for migrating moths since 2006, which contrasts with a rather more bleak picture for the UK's native species.
Overall numbers of have fallen by a third in the last 35 years. Their natural habitat is slowly being eaten away by development and commercial farming.
There will be more on this story on Autumnwatch which begins on Friday at 2030 on BBC Two.

US and Nato 'far from goals' in Afghanistan

International forces have yet to bring peace to Afghanistan

After 10 years in Afghanistan, the US still lacks the knowledge to bring the conflict to a successful end, retired Army Gen Stanley McChrystal has said.

Gen McChrystal said US and Nato allies were barely over half-way towards reaching their goals in the country.
"Operation Enduring Freedom" was aimed at tracking down Osama Bin Laden after 9/11 and eliminating the Taliban.
The UN says more than 10,000 Afghan civilians have died because of the fighting in the past five years alone.
More than 2,500 international troops have been killed - most of them American.
The conflict has already surpassed Vietnam to become the longest war in US history.
'Superficial understanding' Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, Gen McChrystal, who commanded coalition forces in 2009-10 before being forced to resign after a magazine interview, said the most difficult task would be to create a legitimate government that ordinary Afghans could believe in and that would balance the influence of the Taliban.

"We didn't know enough and we still don't know enough," he said. "Most of us - me included - had a very superficial understanding of the situation and history, and we had a frighteningly simplistic view of recent history, the last 50 years," he said.

He added that while the choice to engage in Afghanistan may have been understood, the decision to invade Iraq had been seen as illegitimate by many in the Muslim world and had diverted some military resources that could have been put to good use in Afghanistan.
Gen McChrystal's comments come as a coalition of aid groups said despite billions of dollars in aid, improvements were only patchy.
The Acbar group said health and education sectors in particular remained in dire need of improvement.
Few gains

Discrimination against women has been reduced over the last 10 years

The BBC's Paul Wood, in Kabul, says that Western officials admit that parts of the country will remain violent after 2014 when Nato relinquishes its combat role. Without a peace deal with the Taliban, he says, few really expect the war to be brought to an end.
Some $57bn (£37bn) of aid has been spent over the past decade, according to the non-governmental organisations who form part of the Agency Co-ordinating Body for Afghan Relief, but, while some gains have been made, the spending has not always translated into real improvements for many Afghans.
For example, now 80% of Afghans have access to health services, compared to just nine percent in 2001, according to data from the Public Health Ministry.
But many of the brand new clinics are often closed or poorly equipped.
"Behind the headline numbers there lies a picture of people struggling to reach clinics which lack medicines or doctors, and school children trying to learn without textbooks or classrooms," said Acbar director Anne Garella.
The country is also facing its worst drought for a decade, with the World Food Programme saying it expects that 2.6 million people will need aid.
Rights group Amnesty International earlier this weeks welcomed progress in new human rights laws, the availability of education and health services and reduced discrimination against women, but said in some spheres - including justice and policing, security and displacement - the situation had remained stagnant, or even deteriorated.
"The Afghan government and its partners can't continue to justify their poor performance by saying that things are better than during the 1990s," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty's Asia Pacific director.

Samsung forecasts dip in profits amid falling TV demand

Falling demand and prices of flat-screen TVs have hurt profits at various electronics makers

Samsung Electronics has forecast a dip in profits for the third quarter amid falling demand for flat-screen TVs and computer chips.

Samsung said it expected an operating profit of 4.2tn won ($3.5bn; £2.3bn) a 14% dip from a year earlier.
However, compared to the previous quarter, the projected profit is up 12%.
Analysts said Samsung's handset business had helped offset the falls elsewhere.
"Its telecommunications business is seen very positive as shipments of smartphones and other high-end handsets expanded," said Park Jong-Min of ING Investment Management.
Advantage Samsung?

Kim Young-Chan Shinhan Investment Corp

Analysts said they expected Samsung's handset business to keep growing robustly, not least due to the Apple's decision to upgrade its existing model of iPhone4 with new features and technology, rather than launch a new version.

Apple had been expected to launch an iPhone5 at a media event held earlier this week.
"Given Apple's relatively unchanged new iPhone, Samsung will have the opportunity to eat into Apple's market share with its hardware build-up and growing software power until next year," said Jang In-Beom of Bookook Securities.
Samsung has also been growing its presence in the tablet PC market.
Last month the Korean electronics manufacturer announced that sales of the Samsung GALAXY S II had crossed the 10 million mark, doubling from five million in just eight weeks.
'Major risk' Despite the optimism about the growth potential of its handset business, analysts said that external factors remain a big threat to the company in the short to medium-term.
There have been concerns that a slowdown in the US coupled with the ongoing debt crisis in Europe may hurt global growth and dent consumer demand.
"The macroeconomic situation will remain a major risk for Samsung in the fourth quarter," said Ahn Seong-Ho of Hanwha Securities.
At the same time, there are fears that volatility in the currency markets may also have a bearing on its earnings.
The Korean won has fallen as much as 10% against the US dollar since the start of July.
A weaker won makes Korean goods cheaper for foreign buyers.
"The weakening won may have inflated third-quarter profits," said Kim Young-Chan of Shinhan Investment Corp.
However, Mr Kim added the exchange rate remained a threat to Samsung as any recovery in the won would have a counter effect.

US Senate delays vote on currency bill amid differences

President Obama has said that any action by the US has to be consistent with international treaties

The US senate has postponed its vote on the much-debated currency bill until next week amid differences between the Republicans and Democrats.

The bill would make it easier to impose penalties on goods from countries seen as keeping their currencies artificially low.
Politicians and some business groups have accused China of using its policy of limiting the yuan's value to boost exports.
Leaders differed on certain amendments.
"I think China needs to carefully think about and process the substance of what people are saying here on the floor of the United States Senate." said John Kerry, chairman of the Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
'Very aggressive' The debate on China's currency policy has become the centre of attention amid a slowdown in the US economy.

Barack Obama US President

President Barack Obama said "China has been very aggressive in gaming the trading system to its advantage and to the disadvantage of other countries, particularly the United States."

"It is indisputable that they [China] intervene heavily in the currency markets and that the RMB [yuan], their currency, is lower than it probably would be if they weren't making all those purchases in the currency markets."
Politicians and policy makers have said that undervalued yuan has not only given an unfair advantage to Chinese exporters an unfair advantage, it has also contributed to the unemployment situation in the US.
"We cannot continue to let China flaunt the rules," said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.
Mr Schumer added that if not action was taken against China's policies the US "may never recover as a country. This is serious stuff".
Cautious approach However, President Obama warned that the US needed to take a cautious approach while handling the matter.
"My main concern and I've expressed this to Senator Schumer, is whatever tools we put in place, let's make sure that these are tools that can actually work, that they're consistent with our international treaties and obligations." he said.
President Obama's comments come as China has accused the US of using the currency dispute to take protectionist measures.
At the same time, some politicians and trade groups have said that such a bill may do more harm than good to the US economy.
They have warned that any such action by the US may start a trade war with China.
"Unilateral action by the United States will only serve to increase trade tensions and negatively impact the US economic recovery during this fragile period in the global economy," Bruce Josten of the US Chamber of Commerce wrote to the Senators earlier this week.

US South Korea free trade deal clears first hurdle

The trade deal is expected to dominate President Lee Myung-bak's visit to the US later this month

The free trade agreement between the US and South Korea has cleared the first hurdle four years after the deal was first agreed.

The House Ways and Means Committee has voted to advance US free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama to the full House.
The push for a swift approval of the deals comes amid a slowdown in the US economy and high rates of unemployment.
Backers of the deals said they will boost US exports and create jobs.
"With zero jobs created last month and the unemployment rate hovering around nine percent, we must look at all opportunities to create American jobs," said David Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Tariff concerns The deal with South Korea is the largest US trade pact since it signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.
According to some estimates, it is expected to increase US exports to the Asian economy by as much as $10bn (£6.5bn).
Though the deal was agreed in 2007, there had been concerns in the US over tariffs imposed by South Korea on the US carmakers.
The two sides finally managed to reach an agreement on the issue last year. South Korea said it would halve its tariff on US cars to 4% and lift it completely in four years.
At the same time, US said it would also lift its 2.5% tariff on Korean cars during that period.
South Korea had also agreed to allow the US to export up to 25,000 cars a year that do not meet its more stringent safety requirements.

Six ways to never get lost in a city again

 

Many people now rely on their smartphones, sat-navs or other GPS devices to find their way around. But when these fail us, and there's no-one to ask for directions, there's a more natural way to navigate, says Tristan Gooley.

It's not every week that a massive solar flare knocks out the GPS network, but all it takes is a flat battery or a mechanical fault to hobble your automated orientation aids.
And if there's no-one around to ask and no paper map on hand, you could be in trouble.
Natural navigation may be just what you need. This involves working out which way to go without using maps, compasses or any other instruments. It relies on awareness and deduction, so does depend on retaining some awareness of direction throughout each journey.

1. TV satellite dishes

Look for satellite dishes and signs of weathering

These really are the "get out of jail free" cards in an urban area.
This is because the dishes point at a geostationary satellite, one that stays over the same point on the Earth's surface.
In the UK there is a dominant satellite broadcaster, hence nearly all the dishes tend to point in the same direction - close to southeast.
The same applies in rural areas - especially those blessed with pubs screening sport.

2. Religious buildings

East is east

From earliest times, religious buildings and sacred sites have been laid out to give clues as to direction.
Christian churches are normally aligned west-east, with the main altar at the eastern end to face the sunrise. Gravestones, too, are aligned west-east.
To find direction from a mosque, you need to go inside and look for the niche in one wall, which indicates the direction for prayer. This niche, known as al-Qibla, will be the direction of Mecca, wherever you are in the world.
And synagogues normally place the Torah Ark at the eastern end, positioned so worshippers face towards Jerusalem. (Synagogues in countries east of Israel will face west.)

3. Weathering

The prevailing winds carry rain and pollution. These then hit the buildings, leaving patterns.

The wind comes from the southwest in the UK more often than from any other direction. This results in asymmetrical weathering patterns on buildings - similar to the erosion seen in nature.
Look up, above the cleaned glass and metals of the lower floors, to the natural stone or weathered bricks higher up.
Notice how the building's corners all show subtly different weathering patterns.
The contrast between southwest and northeast corners is the greatest. But the shifts in colours, where the rain and pollutants have left their mark, can be read on all sides with a little practice.
Trees, too, indicate direction, with the very tops combed over by the prevailing wind.

4. Flow of people

Rush hour crowds point the way

Pacific navigators learned to follow the birds in their search of land. They quickly realised that while an individual bird can behave eccentrically, a pair - or even better a flock - will follow a pattern.
The same is true of human beings. There is no point following an individual, you could end up anywhere. But following a crowd in the late afternoon will take you towards a station or other transport hub. In the mornings, walk against the flow to find these stations.
At lunchtime in sunny weather, crowds move from office blocks towards the open spaces of parks and rivers.

5. Road alignment

Wind direction and road layout can help

Roads do not spring up randomly, they grow to carry traffic - and the bulk of traffic is either heading into or out of a town. So the biggest roads tend to be aligned in a certain way, depending on whether you are in the centre or on the outskirts.
In the north or south of town, the major roads will tend to be aligned north/south. In the northwest or southeast, they will have a bias towards northwest/southeast. This is why road maps of big towns show a radial pattern.
It is common sense, but very few people realise this when they feel lost in a big city.

6. Clouds

Look up into the skies

One of the best ways not to lose your sense of direction is to hold onto it. My favourite way of doing this in a city is to orientate myself - using some of the clues above - and then note the direction the clouds are moving.
The wind pushing the clouds will remain fairly constant, providing there's no dramatic change in the weather.
This technique really earns its keep on underground journeys, especially to a new part of town. Simply look up before you head underground, and remember the direction of the clouds. When you emerge in a strange part of the city, look up again and you'll be able to work out which way is which from the clouds overhead.