News

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The NHS is trying to tackle the obesity crisis in its own restaurants and vending machines. There are plans to create a sugar tax in hospitals to address the issue of the "national sugar high," which is ruining the nation's health. English hospitals will charge a higher tariff for high-sugar content snacks and drinks available in vending machines and cafes. it is hoped these inflated prices will mean staff, patients and visitors are less likely...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor SNP MP, Alison Thewliss, has raised her concerns about the plans to scrutinise females who have a third child due to a sexual assault. She believes it is stigmatising and has no place in the modern world. Thewliss is challenging the government's tax credit proposal requiring a woman to justify her position to avoid losing tax credits, if she has been raped. She was joined by other campaigners on Saturday in Glasgow to launch a...

New Oxfam research has revealed runaway inequality has created a world where 62 people own as much as the poorest half of the world's population. The report, published ahead of the annual gathering of the world's financial and political elites in Davos, found the wealth of the poorest half of the world's population - that's 3.6 billion people - has fallen by a trillion dollars since 2010.  This drop has occurred despite the global population increasing by around 400 million people during...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A poll claims that no Icelanders under 25 think God created the Universe and over 90 per cent of the respondants believe that the big bang theory created the universe. The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association, who commissioned the poll, said 93.9 per cent in the under 25 category were favourable to the big bang theory. None of the respondents believed that the universe had been created by God or any religious entity. 6 per cent...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A woman from the USA has told how a group of Syrian refugees helped her during the shocking amount of sexual assaults that occurred on New Year's Eve in Cologne, Germany. The victim, 28-year-old Caitlin Duncan, a student from Seattle had lost her boyfriend in the crowded square outside the main railway station and cathedral. She told of a man robbing her hat then another "grabbed" her from behind, rifling through her pockets. If that...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Since moving into Downing Street in May 2010 to take up his role as Prime Minister, he has been renting out his home in the astronomically expensive Notting Hill, in London. It has been claimed that Cameron has earned almost half a million pounds in rent on this property while living at Number 10. These claims have arisen only days after the Tory Government voted against a proposed amendment to the new Housing Bill, which...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor One might expect an enlightened Scandinavian country to have banned tobacco but not so; the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan has actually taken the revolutionary step. In a country where life expectancy is just 65 years, it could be seen as a positive policy decision. The news must be taken with a note of caution as it is a tightly controlled nation and the media is totally owned by the Government. Reporters Without Borders rates...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Jeremy Corbyn has taken a tough stance against businesses who pay dividends to shareholders, but don't pay their workers the living wage at the same time. He said a Labour Government could ban companies carrying out this practice, if they were elected to form a Government. Corbyn believes that too much profit from the UK economy is passed to the upper echelons of society and not to the majority of workers. He wants to "institutionalise...

By Rose Taylor A hospital in Nepal that has barely emerged from the ravages of last April’s earthquake is struggling to stay open because of the continuing fuel shortage caused by a trade blockade. Operations have been cancelled at Anandaban Leprosy Hospital as have outreach clinics held in remote villages where patients affected by leprosy receive diagnoses, treatment and after-care. Shovakhar Kandel, Nepal Country Director with The Leprosy Mission, which supports the hospital said: “Many operations have been cancelled, including...