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Designer's 'Magical Journey' Closes For Good

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 16 Desember 2014 | 16.12

A Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen-designed Christmas experience is closing early, just weeks after it was widely criticised.

The Magical Journey experience at the Belfry Hotel, near Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, had originally closed just a day after it was originally launched in late November but later reopened after a series of "improvements".

On Monday it closed for good after a major financial backer pulled out with nine opening days left.

The organisers said they had been "left in the lurch" and could not find a replacement backer.

The celebrity interior designer told the Press Association he was "extremely surprised" after finding out on Twitter his experience had been shut down.

Mr Llewelyn-Bowen, who shot to fame on BBC's Changing Rooms, said he had not given any financial support to the project and was unaware who the backer was.

He said: "It's absolutely shocking. We found out by Twitter. Everybody was in bed feeling Christmassy and now we are not feeling very Christmassy at all.

"I was really impressed with the way they addressed all the issues the first time around and the energy and resources that went into it so I'm extremely surprised the towel's been thrown in at this stage.

"I feel appalling it is not the happy experience I really want it to be. I feel extremely sorry for everybody let down in the next nine days and also for the staff who worked on the front-line. I'm hoping they will get their money back.

"On a personal level I was so excited by the idea of designing Christmas."

He said in hindsight the group he worked with to deliver the project was not experienced enough for the type of event.

"I was just commissioned to create some design concepts for the experience," he said. "There was no financial backing from my point of view and no involvement in the management.

"I feel very much I was the designer and I'm a very public face so people are cross with me."

The presenter added he would be donating his fee, the amount of which he would not confirm, to a Birmingham children's hospice and said: "I do not want to make any money at all out of this experience."

A statement on the Magical Journey's website said: "We are really sorry to have to tell you this, but as of tomorrow (Tuesday 16 December 2014) The Magical Journey, based at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, will no longer be in operation.

"We are truly sorry. After all we've been through having to shutdown in the final week is devastating. Although we had quite the time of it in the press and on social media, feedback was great with over 600 four and five star reviews."

The website said that anyone who has bought tickets and wants their money back should use the Chargeback scheme.

The experience is the latest in a series of Christmas-themed attractions to suffer criticism over the last couple of years for providing poor value for money.


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Four Boys Bailed Over Murder During Argument

Four teenage boys have been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of the murder of a 52-year-old man in London.

The 52-year-old victim was attacked apparently during an argument with a group of youngsters as he tried to get into a block of flats where he lived in Edmonton on Sunday night.

Police say the victim - who was with a woman - continued into the block but was followed by two of the boys and he was then stabbed.

The youngsters did not know the man, who died at the scene shortly before 8.40pm.

Three 14-year-olds and one 13-year-old arrested on suspicion of murder must return to an east London police station on a date in late January pending further enquiries, Scotland Yard said.

A second 13-year-old, also held on on suspicion of murder, remains in custody at an east London police station.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a stab wound to the chest.

Detective Chief Inspector Neale Baldock said: "Our initial enquiries have established that there was a supervised party taking place at another address within the block and the group of males were trying to gain access to this.

"The victim and this group were not known to each other - what started as a minor verbal altercation has escalated into a shocking act of violence."

Sky Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "There is a good deal of police activity at the scene, much of it focused on talking to people that live in this block of flats.

"They're trying to establish how what appears to have been an altercation turned into such a drama."


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'English And Welsh Votes' Plan To Be Set Out

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

The Conservatives will today set out plans to reduce the influence of Scottish MPs over laws that affect only England and Wales.

William Hague, the leader of the House of Commons, will publish a Command paper with three options. They are expected to be:

:: A total ban on Scottish MPs having any say in English or Welsh legislation

:: A veto for English MPs over laws that only affect their constituents

:: A committee of England-only MPs that would scrutinise legislation, with a say during at least the early stages of policy-making

Many Tory MPs would like to see a full system of English votes for English laws.

They have been loudly demanding the change ever since the Westminster parties made a "vow" of further devolution to Scotland.

But Labour is cautious about any change because it has 41 MPs north of the border and fears the impact of English-only votes.

It is possible that Labour could have a UK-wide majority that is lost without their Scottish MPs, meaning they could be in power but unable to pass key legislation, such as a Budget, through Parliament.

A Conservative source told Sky News that the party would set out three options and hope for a "vote in the new year".

There is a suggestion that Downing Street favours the veto option, while Labour would prefer a committee with much weaker powers.

The Lib Dems want a grand committee composed in proportion not to the number of MPs that each party has in Westminster, but to their vote share at the election.

David Laws, the Lib Dem schools minister, said that would be consistent with how power was devolved to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in the late 1990s.


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Glitch Causes Items To Be Sold On Amazon For 1p

Written By Unknown on Senin, 15 Desember 2014 | 16.12

Businesses are furious after a piece of software used by retailers on Amazon went wrong, causing hundreds of items to be sold for 1p.

Some firms which use RepricerExpress say they risk going bankrupt because the problem has resulted in them losing so much money.

The software is designed to keep businesses competitive by automatically repricing items of stock so they are cheaper than others in the digital market.

The firm states on its website: "We are here to increase your sales on Amazon and Rakuten's Play.com and make your efforts as profitable as possible."

For an hour on Friday, between 7pm and 8pm, a problem with RepricerExpress led to hundreds of items being sold on Amazon at a fraction of their normal price. At the same time, some customers said, Amazon charged its usual fees for every item sold.

One of the sellers, Judith Blackford of Kiddymania, told Sky News she could be forced out of business as result of the error.

She said: "I started using Repricer Express - a repricing tool as did a lot of other businesses a few months ago.

"Last night through an error in their programme they listed my stock on Amazon at 1p per item including delivery.

"I have lost about £20,000 overnight. Having asked Amazon to cancel the orders they are still sending them out and charging me horrendous fees.

"Surely someone has to be accountable for this. I will be bankrupt at this rate by the end of January."

Another online trader Belle thinks her company, which sells toys and games, will lose around £30,000 and she will probably be put out of business.

She told Sky News: "It's disgusting really because this third party software, that is their business, this should not have happened, this is 2014.

"We have to pay for this software every month, we've been using it for 18 months no problem.

"At the busiest time - this was predicted to be our busiest weekend of Christmas - turnover is zero."

As a result of the error, several buyers commented on Twitter at how pleased they were to have bought the items for so little.

One person wrote: "Amazon are having a glitch on their site and loads of stuff is selling for 1p. I just bought an incense holder, don't even need it."

An email to some customers from the CEO of RepricerExpress, Brendan Doherty, said the problems with the software caused incorrect pricing to be sent to Amazon.

A statement on the company's website from Mr Doherty said: "I am truly sorry for the distress this has caused our customers.

"We have received communication that Amazon will not penalise sellers for this error. We are continuing to work to identify how this problem occurred and to put measures in place to ensure that it does not happen again.

"Everyone here is devastated and disappointed that you have experienced this problem.

"We understand that you are angry and upset and we will endeavour to work to make good on this issue."

A spokesman for Amazon said: "We are aware that a number of Marketplace sellers listed incorrect prices for a short period of time as a result of the third party software they use to price their items on Amazon.co.uk.

"We responded quickly and were able to cancel the vast majority of orders placed on these affected items immediately and no costs or fees will be incurred by sellers for these cancelled orders.

"We are now reviewing the small number of orders that were processed and will be reaching out to any affected sellers directly."


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UKIP Candidate Quits Over Offensive Remarks

UKIP Candidate Quits Over Offensive Remarks

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

A high-profile UKIP Westminster hopeful has quit as the party's candidate in a top target seat after making offensive comments.

In recordings of phone calls obtained by the Mail on Sunday, Kerry Smith is said to have mocked gay party members as "poofters", and referred to someone as a "chinky bird".

He also joked about shooting people from Chigwell in a "peasant hunt".

In a statement released on Sunday evening, he said: "I have this evening offered my resignation as UKIP PPC for South Basildon and East Thurrock.

1/16

  1. Gallery: The UKIP History In Pictures

    1993: UKIP is founded by Alan Sked in response to the Maastricht Treaty, which set out the modern day EU and paved the way for the Euro. He left the party in 1997 saying it had become a "racist party for the far-right". He is now the leader of New Deal, which has been called UKIP of the Left.

1999: The party takes its first three seats in the European Parliament, under the leadership of the millionaire businessman Michael Holmes. Nigel Farage is one of those MEPs.

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2000: Michael Holmes resigns and Jeffrey Titford takes over as leader of UKIP. He leads the party to field 420 candidates at the 2001 General Election and secure 1.5% of the vote.

]]>

2002: Former Conservative Roger Knapman takes over at the helm.

]]>

2004: The party wins 12 seats at the European Elections, among the UKIP MEPs is the chat show host Robert Kilroy Silk.

]]>
UKIP Candidate Quits Over Offensive Remarks

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

A high-profile UKIP Westminster hopeful has quit as the party's candidate in a top target seat after making offensive comments.

In recordings of phone calls obtained by the Mail on Sunday, Kerry Smith is said to have mocked gay party members as "poofters", and referred to someone as a "chinky bird".

He also joked about shooting people from Chigwell in a "peasant hunt".

In a statement released on Sunday evening, he said: "I have this evening offered my resignation as UKIP PPC for South Basildon and East Thurrock.

1/16

  1. Gallery: The UKIP History In Pictures

    1993: UKIP is founded by Alan Sked in response to the Maastricht Treaty, which set out the modern day EU and paved the way for the Euro. He left the party in 1997 saying it had become a "racist party for the far-right". He is now the leader of New Deal, which has been called UKIP of the Left.

1999: The party takes its first three seats in the European Parliament, under the leadership of the millionaire businessman Michael Holmes. Nigel Farage is one of those MEPs.

]]>

2000: Michael Holmes resigns and Jeffrey Titford takes over as leader of UKIP. He leads the party to field 420 candidates at the 2001 General Election and secure 1.5% of the vote.

]]>

2002: Former Conservative Roger Knapman takes over at the helm.

]]>

2004: The party wins 12 seats at the European Elections, among the UKIP MEPs is the chat show host Robert Kilroy Silk.

]]>

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David Cameron To Launch Home Discount Scheme

A scheme offering 100,000 first-time buyers new homes with a discount of 20% as part of a drive to help people onto the property ladder will be launched by David Cameron later.

Those under 40 who have never owned their own home can register their interest in buying via the Starter Home Initiative from the start of 2015 - six months earlier than planned.

Because of a change to the planning system set to come into force, under-used or unviable brownfield land will be freed from certain costs in return for a below market value sale price on properties constructed on the site.

Developers and councils are being urged to ensure the changes unlock a variety of sites across the country.

Mr Cameron said: "Hard-working young people want to plan for the future and enjoy the security of being able to own their own home. I want to help them do just that.

"Under this scheme, first-time buyers will be offered the chance of a 20% discount, unlocking home ownership for a generation.

"This is all part of our long-term economic plan to secure a better future for Britain, making sure we are backing those who work hard and get on in life."

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "The 2008 housing crash blocked millions of hard-working, creditworthy people from becoming home-owners, at a time in their lives when they should have been able to expect to get on the property ladder.

"We're turning that around with Help to Buy, but today's new Starter Homes scheme will offer a further boost, giving young people (under 40) the opportunity to buy low-cost, high-quality new homes for significantly less than they would normally expect."

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, said the initiative is "another positive step" in tackling the shortage of housing.

At the moment, developers can face an average bill of £15,000 per home in Section 106 affordable housing contributions and tariffs.

But under the scheme, developers offering Starter Homes would not have to pay certain charges.

To ensure the savings are passed onto buyers, the homes will not be able to be re-sold at market value for a fixed period.

More than 30 house builders have already backed the plans, and say they would consider bringing forward land to be developed from next year.

A design panel will be set up to ensure the homes are not only cheap, but also high-quality.

Renowned architect Sir Terry Farrell, who is on the panel, said it could make a real difference.

He added it would build on the recommendations of the Farrell Review, which raised the need for more proactive planning.

Sir Terry said: "Only by planning and designing our villages, towns and cities together with local communities can we create the kind of built environment we all aspire to and should be demanding."

Shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds said no-one would believe the PM's promises on the issue, and added: "The only way to restore the dream of home ownership is to build more homes and Labour has a plan to get at least 200,000 homes built a year by 2020.

"We are in favour of building starter homes but it is not clear how the Government is going to deliver these homes 20% cheaper than market price."


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Air Traffic Was Warned About Fault Risks: Report

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 14 Desember 2014 | 16.12

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) told NATS officials in the summer that they needed to be better prepared to deal with IT problems.

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.

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.

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.


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Tax Helplines Cut Off Almost A Third Of Calls

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."


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Top MP's Demand Over CIA Torture Report

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 The Observer newspaper: "I am not going to go into the details of how we might try and achieve this, there are various ways we can try and advance it, but at the end of the day the actual decision on the American redacted material is for the Americans to take.

"One additional point is that the only issues we are going to be asking them about are issues relevant to the United Kingdom.

"We don't need to see the whole of their redacted report."

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.

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.

"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."

:: Sir Malcolm Rifkind will appear on Sky's Murnaghan programme at 11.30am this morning.


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Hundreds Of British Troops To Be Sent To Iraq

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 13 Desember 2014 | 16.12

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

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.

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.

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.

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.


16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More
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