There are in truth only a handful of magazines, newspapers and websites that are actually worth one's time on a consistent basis. Naturally I consider The London Economic to be one of them (Flattery will get you everywhere – Ed.) for its over-all consistency of writing, broad range of subjects and a willingness to state a fact-based opinion and stick to it. For much the same reasons I enjoy The New Yorker, The Guardian, and The Times even though I...

A toddler has died after doctors discovered she had been pierced with seven PINS - as part of a sick ‘black magic’ ritual. The unnamed three-year-old was taken to hospital after her distraught mother discovered she had been allegedly sexually abused. Medics in Kolkata, West Bengal, in India, removed seven two-inch-long pins from her body - some of which had punctured her organs. Horrifying X-ray pictures show at least seven two-inch long pins stuck inside a three-year-old girl by a...

These photographs show the ghostly wreck of a steamship which sank on Christmas Eve 117 years ago. Lodged in the sands of the Severn Estuary, the remains of the boat were captured by sonar imagining for the first time. It was thought to be cargo vessel The Brunswick, which overturned in deep fog when she ran aground on a sandbank. Sailors who escaped with their lives eventually managed to retrieve the bodies of three men who were in the cabins...

By Michael McNulty “Whad-da-ya hear, whad-da-say, ” Warner Brother’s 1939 gangster offering saw James Cagney earn the first Oscar nomination of his career. Directed by Michael Curtiz, Angels with Dirty Faces is a gangster film that’s morally conscious. The film opens as a young Rocky Sullivan and friend, Jerry, hang on the steps of a ramshackle building in a poverty stricken neighbourhood. The two, without a penny to their name and nothing to do, decide to knock off a goods...

Although folding bicycles were employed by the military as early as the late 1800s to be dropped by parachute, it wasn’t until around the 1980s that the modern, compact folding bike was ‘born’. Throughout this illustrious history, any number of iterations have emerged, though designs that boast the optimum blend of transportability, efficiency and rideability, have been rare. The trouble comes with finding a suitable middle ground between weight, strength and foldabilty – which requires a sophisticated knowledge of engineering....

A devastated mother has expressed sympathy with the families of the two men convicted of killing her son, saying their lives were ruined too. Russell Robertson, 27, died after falling into the Forth and Clyde Canal following an altercation with two men on May 29 last year. Mark Munro, 31, and James Robertson, 27, were on trial accused of murdering Russell, but were convicted of the reduced charge of culpable homicide. Russell's mum, Margaret Girvan, told of her grief after...

A school has become one of the first to change its term times - so parents can take advantage of cheaper out-of-season HOLIDAYS. Kids at Severn Vale School are still at their desks this week despite the rest of the country's pupils beginning their summer holidays. Staff have cut short the summer break by a week so they could add an extra seven days holiday to the half-term break in October. Headteacher Richard Johnson said the shift in term dates...

Millennials are driving a pet-friendly office boom in London, with firms introducing new policies on office animals to attract the best talent. New research has found 42 per cent of 18-34 year-olds would like or enjoy a dog-friendly workplace, and businesses are doing their all to accommodate their needs. A quarter of millennials say companies with dog-friendly policies are more attractive to them, and a massive 74 per cent of them say they see the benefits of dogs at work....

Commuting to work leaves workers stressed and tired before they walk through the office door, according to new research. The ASICS study of 2,000 UK commuters found those who take the train, tube or bus to work are three times more stressed and twice as tired as those who walk. Rather than tiring workers out, eight in 10 people actually feel more energised when they commute to work by foot. The average worker commutes to work for up to one...