Written By Unknown on Selasa, 24 Februari 2015 | 16.12
By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent
Children with a high risk of developing life-threatening peanut allergies can be protected if given foods containing them when they are babies, according to new research.
Almost one in 50 children is allergic to peanuts, double the rate of ten years ago, and the condition kills more people than any other food allergy.
The Learning Early About Peanut Allergy study led by Professor Gideon Lack of King's College London involved 640 children who were considered at high risk of developing peanut allergy due to pre-existing severe eczema or egg allergy.
Half the children ate foods containing peanuts at least three times a week until they were five, while the others avoided peanuts altogether.
At the end of the study 3.2% of the children who had eaten peanuts had an allergic reaction to them, compared with 17.2% of the control group.
Professor Lack said it was an important clinical development that contravenes previous guidelines.
"Whilst these were withdrawn in 2008 in the UK and US, our study suggests that new guidelines may be needed to reduce the rate of peanut allergy in our children," he said.
Despite their findings, the study's authors warn parents not to give peanuts to infants or young children without taking medical advice and say further research is needed.
Farmers have warned that almost half of the UK's food will come from abroad by 2040.
Research by the National Farmer's Union (NFU) has found that over the last 30 years a downward spiral of self sufficiency means less and less of what we eat is British grown or reared.
Currently just 60% of food consumed in the UK is British. That is predicted to fall to 53% in 25 years time, with a warning it could fall below 50% by 2080.
NFU vice president Guy Smith said: "Currently, farming grows most of the raw ingredients for Britain's food and drink industry - worth £97bn - which provides jobs for 3.5 million people across the country.
"With that in mind, the prospect of the UK becoming less than 50% self-sufficient should ring alarm bells across all political parties.
"Our burgeoning trade deficit in food and drink isn't just worrying in terms of food security, it also has important implications for jobs and general economic health."
Mike Gorton has been farming in Cheshire for nearly five decades. He told Sky News it is important to protect the quality of the food we eat.
"Recently we saw the 'horsegate' scandal where you can't be as sure of products from abroad as you can from our domestic produce that has the red tractor where we're working hard as an industry to ensure the standards the public demand are met."
The NFU says it has the support of the public, citing a recent poll which found 85% of people want to see more British produce on supermarket shelves.
However many shoppers who spoke to Sky News in Handforth, Cheshire, admitted price dictates what they buy over whether it is British or not.
An excessive reliance on imported food led to rationing during World War Two. A subsequent drive to increase food production has now subsided since self sufficiency peaked in the 1980s.
The NFU says the UK's food security should be a priority whichever Government is in power after the general election.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said: "From farm to fork, our food industry is in good health - it generated a record £103bn for our economy last year, more than cars and aerospace combined.
"We are helping the industry become more competitive, at home and abroad, by opening up record numbers of international food markets to export our produce, making it easier for our schools and hospitals to buy local, helping consumers choose UK products through improved country-of-origin labelling, and investing in cutting-edge technology like GPS-guided tractors."
Pressure is mounting on Sir Malcolm Rifkind to step down as chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) after he was secretly filmed negotiating an advisory role with a fictitious Chinese company.
The Conservative MP was lured into a sting in which he told undercover reporters he could offer "useful access" to British ambassadors across the world.
The Prime Minister has not offered Sir Malcolm his confidence, and now a former chair of the group has said the allegations make his position as chairman "very difficult".
Sir Malcolm strongly denies wrongdoing but Kim Howells, a former chairman of the ISC, has cast doubt on whether the Conservative MP can carry on in his role.
He told Newsnight that the reputation of the committee – which has oversight of intelligence and security agencies - could not afford to be "dragged down" by a sting because it was "too important".
Video:Straw Says He's Done Nothing Wrong
He also questioned how Sir Malcolm could have the time for an advisory role given how busy he would be as chairman of the ISC.
The controversy has also left the MP fighting to save his House of Commons career – after the Conservatives removed the whip from him pending an internal investigation.
He will have to face his local association in Kensington, London, on Thursday, where there could be anger about his comments regarding how much free time he had. Sir Malcolm told the undercover reporters he spent "a lot of time reading, a lot of time walking".
Both Sir Malcolm and Labour MP Jack Straw were caught out after reporters posed as representatives of a fictitious Chinese company.Jack Straw boasted about working "under the radar" in a £60,000 consultancy role for a commodities company for whom he claimed to have altered EU regulation and Ukrainian law.
Sir Malcolm said he could offer "useful access" to British ambassadors across the world – and write to ministers for information without naming the client.
He also said: "I am self-employed – so no one pays me a salary. I have to earn my income." He told Sky News the comments were "silly", acknowledging that he has a £67,000 income as an MP.
Sir Malcolm said he was going to fight the allegations, and insisted the conversation with the fake company was completely unrelated to his role in the committee.
He said he had only talked about helping the company to source information in the public domain.
But there is disquiet among some committee members, who say the controversy has been harmful, but who also argue that without Sir Malcolm the group's latest investigation could be delayed.
Meanwhile, Mr Straw has also denied all wrongdoing but the affair has cast a shadow over the end of his House of Commons career.
The Labour leader Ed Miliband described the incident as "disturbing".
Some had assumed Mr Straw would move into the House of Lords but Labour sources say that could not happen while an investigation is ongoing. The MP agreed to be suspended from the Labour party.
Both men have referred themselves to the parliamentary standards commissioner – but an investigation could take months.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 23 Februari 2015 | 16.12
Rolf Harris Stripped Of Honours In Australia
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The 84-year-old was convicted of a string of indecent assaults last year
Disgraced veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has been stripped of his honours in his native Australia.
Harris was jailed for more than five years last year after being convicted of a string of indecent assaults, including one on an eight-year-old.
Another of his young victims was the best friend of his daughter Bindi,
The shamed 84-year-old artist and musician has now lost his Officer and Member of the Order of Australia honours.
A statement from the secretary of the order of Australia said: "It is notified for general information that the Governor-General has terminated the appointments of Officer and Member of the Order of Australia in the General Division, made to: Mr Rolf Harris".
1/10
Gallery: Rolf Harris' Career In Pictures
Rolf Harris was born on March 30, 1930, and grew up in Perth, Western Australia. As a boy, he became interested in art and his talent was recognised at primary school.
Harris had his first solo art exhibition in Perth at the age of 16. He spent two years at university but left to begin a course at teacher training college.
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He was a talented swimmer when he was a teenager but while he was at teacher training college, he contracted a virus that paralysed him for several months.
]]>
In 1952, aged 21, he left Australia to study art in London. He started at art school in 1953 but left after two years to work with the artist Hayward Veal.
]]>
During the 1950s, he worked for the BBC on children's programmes. In 1958, he married Alwen Hughes and worked on a TV show in Perth for a year.
]]>
There have also been calls for Harris to lose his CBE in Britain.
Honours given by Buckingham Palace can be revoked when the person is judged to have brought the system into disrepute.
The Honours and Appointments Secretariat can recommend to the forfeiture committee to remove an honour if a person has been found guilty of a crime.
The decision to strip an individual of an honour must be approved by the Queen.
During sentencing last year, Mr Justice Sweeney told Harris: "Your reputation lies in ruins. You have been stripped of your honours and you have no one to blame but yourself.
Video:Co-Author: Two Sides To Rolf Harris
"You took advantage of the trust placed in you because of your celebrity status to commit the offences."
Harris' BAFTA fellowship was removed following his conviction, while he was also stripped of an honorary degree from the University of East London.
During his seven-week trial, prosecutor Sasha Wass described Harris as a ''sinister pervert''.
She claimed he had a ''dark side'' and was a ''Jekyll and Hyde character''.
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Rolf Harris Stripped Of Honours In Australia
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
The 84-year-old was convicted of a string of indecent assaults last year
Disgraced veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has been stripped of his honours in his native Australia.
Harris was jailed for more than five years last year after being convicted of a string of indecent assaults, including one on an eight-year-old.
Another of his young victims was the best friend of his daughter Bindi,
The shamed 84-year-old artist and musician has now lost his Officer and Member of the Order of Australia honours.
A statement from the secretary of the order of Australia said: "It is notified for general information that the Governor-General has terminated the appointments of Officer and Member of the Order of Australia in the General Division, made to: Mr Rolf Harris".
1/10
Gallery: Rolf Harris' Career In Pictures
Rolf Harris was born on March 30, 1930, and grew up in Perth, Western Australia. As a boy, he became interested in art and his talent was recognised at primary school.
Harris had his first solo art exhibition in Perth at the age of 16. He spent two years at university but left to begin a course at teacher training college.
]]>
He was a talented swimmer when he was a teenager but while he was at teacher training college, he contracted a virus that paralysed him for several months.
]]>
In 1952, aged 21, he left Australia to study art in London. He started at art school in 1953 but left after two years to work with the artist Hayward Veal.
]]>
During the 1950s, he worked for the BBC on children's programmes. In 1958, he married Alwen Hughes and worked on a TV show in Perth for a year.
]]>
There have also been calls for Harris to lose his CBE in Britain.
Honours given by Buckingham Palace can be revoked when the person is judged to have brought the system into disrepute.
The Honours and Appointments Secretariat can recommend to the forfeiture committee to remove an honour if a person has been found guilty of a crime.
The decision to strip an individual of an honour must be approved by the Queen.
During sentencing last year, Mr Justice Sweeney told Harris: "Your reputation lies in ruins. You have been stripped of your honours and you have no one to blame but yourself.
Video:Co-Author: Two Sides To Rolf Harris
"You took advantage of the trust placed in you because of your celebrity status to commit the offences."
Harris' BAFTA fellowship was removed following his conviction, while he was also stripped of an honorary degree from the University of East London.
During his seven-week trial, prosecutor Sasha Wass described Harris as a ''sinister pervert''.
She claimed he had a ''dark side'' and was a ''Jekyll and Hyde character''.
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Straw And Rifkind Face 'Cash For Access' Claims
Breaking News: HSBC Annual Profits Fall 17% To £12.14bn
Stuart Gulliver, HSBC's chief executive, reportedly kept millions of his own money sheltered in the bank's private Swiss offshoot.
The Guardian says Mr Gulliver - due to announce the bank's full-year results this morning - kept $7.6m (£4.93m) via an account held by a Panamanian company.
Leaked files reportedly show that in 2007 he was the beneficial owner of an account held by Worcester Equities Inc.
It comes amid the ongoing scandal over claims HSBC's Swiss private banking arm helped wealthy clients evade and avoid tax, and provided services to criminals including arms dealers.
The Derby-born banking chief apologised for the behaviour of the Swiss division in national newspaper advertisements last week.
Video:Timeline Of Whistleblower's Claims
Mr Gulliver insisted it had been "completely overhauled" since 2007, when whistleblower Herve Falciani opened the door to the scandal, stealing company data and passing it to French authorities.
Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into allegations of money laundering after raiding the bank's offices in Geneva.
The 55-year-old - believed to have raked in a £7.4m reward package last year - is legally domiciled in Hong Kong after working there for many years, despite now working in the UK.
Video:HSBC Whistleblower Speaks Out
Representatives for the banking boss told the Guardian he had paid his bonus payments into HSBC Suisse until 2003.
They said Hong Kong tax had been paid and that Mr Gulliver had also told the UK taxman about the account a "number of years" ago.
A representative said: "Full UK tax has been paid on the entirety of his worldwide earnings less a credit for tax paid additionally in Hong Kong…"
Video:Cameron And Miliband Clash On HSBC
But, according to the newspaper, they would not say why a Panamanian company had been used to hold the money when Swiss accounts already offer secrecy.
MPs are set to grill HMRC tax officials on Wednesday over accusations they failed to act properly on the leaked files and potential evidence of tax evasion by more than 3,000 Britons.
HSBC, the global bank currently at the centre of a tax scandal, has blamed a 17% fall in annual profits on the cost of past mistakes.
The London-listed group said reported profit before tax fell to $18.68bn (£12.14bn) in 2014 and it reflected "lower business disposal and reclassification gains and the negative effect, on both revenue and costs, of significant items including fines, settlements, UK customer redress and associated provisions".
The explanation reflected the continued cost on the industry of a number of scandals, including the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI).
The results were announced just hours after HSBC's chief executive Stuart Gulliver, who has vowed to reform the bank in the wake of allegations of complicity in tax evasion at its Swiss arm, was dragged into a tax row himself.
Mr Gulliver, who denies any wrong-doing in connection with his own Swiss-based account, said he was "disappointed" in the group's performance last year.
"2014 was a challenging year in which we continued to work hard to improve business performance while managing the impact of a higher operating cost base.
"Profits disappointed, although a tough fourth quarter masked some of the progress made over the preceding three quarters.
"Many of the challenging aspects of the fourth-quarter results were common to the industry as a whole."
Banks have not only been negotiating the effects of record-low interest rates but also uncertainty over the global economy.
In relation to the Swiss tax scandal, HSBC chairman Douglas Flint said the bank needed to reinforce controls and demonstrate their effectiveness.
He added: "We deeply regret and apologise for the conduct and compliance failures highlighted, which were in contravention of our own policies as well as expectations of us."
The bank was also the subject of a £216m fine from the Financial Conduct Authority relating to HSBC's failure to prevent the rigging of foreign exchange operations.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 22 Februari 2015 | 16.12
More than £300m is to be spent over the next five years on research, medical trials and training to tackle dementia, the Prime Minister has announced.
David Cameron plans to set up an international dementia institute in England in a bid to make the UK a world leader for research and medical trials.
A separate multimillion-pound fund will be launched to help establish an international investment scheme to discover new drugs and treatments that could slow down the onset of dementia or even deliver a cure.
Some 1.3 million NHS workers, from surgeons to hospital porters, will be given training in how to give those with dementia the best possible standards of care.
Businesses and public services will be encouraged to offer greater understanding and support for people with the condition.
Video:Oct: Dementia Plan A 'Travesty'
And a further three million volunteers are to be recruited to train as "dementia friends" to help care for sufferers.
Mr Cameron said: "Dementia is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime, and I am proud that we are leading the world in fighting it.
"Because of the growing strength of our economy, we can invest in research and drug development, as well as public understanding, so we defeat this terrible condition and offer more hope and dignity for those who suffer.
"That way, we can help make Britain a country that offers security in retirement for all."
Video:2014: Dementia Care Plan Revealed
Other pledges include having the majority of people in England living in "dementia friendly communities" by making shops, transport and other public places more accessible to people with the condition.
And initial dementia assessments by GPs will take place in an average of six weeks and will be followed by better onward support.
There are around 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, with the number expected to hit a million within the next 10 years.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "Dementia Friends is truly changing attitudes and capturing the public's attention.
Video:June: Dementia: Threat To Humanity
"Together we are transforming lives today and reaching out for preventative treatments and a cure tomorrow.
"This Government has rightly prioritised dementia.
"We would all acknowledge the work that remains to be done, but the PM deserves credit for the phenomenal achievement in getting dementia on the national and global agenda and this has resulted in significant progress."
Mr Cameron visited High Wycombe on Saturday to meet people with dementia, and dementia friends.
Video:Sept: Cost Of Dementia Care Soars
He said: "What today's announcement is about is a very simple but bold ambition, and that is to make the United Kingdom the best place on the planet in terms of researching into dementia, in terms of diagnosing people with dementia and then in terms of treating, helping and caring for them.
"Not just hospitals and care homes, but the whole of our country making dementia friendly communities."
"Super tides", 50mph winds and large waves are threatening to combine to bring flooding misery for coastal communities in England.
The biggest flood risk is in the South West, with four "immediate action required" warnings issued by the Environment Agency (EA), mainly for the Somerset coast; and three for the North West.
Two warnings are also in place around the Wye Estuary in the Midlands. There are also dozens of lower-level amber flood alerts - meaning flooding is possible.
Most of the serious warnings are in England's South West (Pic: EA)
"It's possible we could see some large waves and spray and urge people to take care near coastal paths and promenades and not to drive through flood water," said the EA's flood risk manager Jonathan Day.
The spring "super tides" occur regularly when the gravitational pull of the sun and moon combine.
But the pull of the planets is also at an 18-year peak, making the tides slightly bigger this year, according to the EA.
The South East saw a dusting of snow on Saturday
Surfers on the River Severn made the best of the tidal boost, riding the incoming bore wave on Saturday morning.
Crowds gathered on the banks to watch the phenomenon, which at its peak can reach 13mph and three metres in height.
Saturday's wave was one of several large surges expected in February and March.
Meanwhile, heavy snow is also set to add to a turbulent mix of weekend weather, causing travel problems in Pennine areas and the Highlands.
A woman on a paddle board prepares for the Severn bore surge
Parts of England's South East have already had snow this weekend, with rural areas of East Sussex, Surrey and Kent seeing some picture postcard scenes.
The Met Office said freezing temperatures on Saturday night would see more wintry showers sweeping in in the morning.
"The whole of the country will experience strong winds and severe gales over the course of [Sunday], meaning it will be a wet and windy day for many - and a snowy and windy day for northern parts," said Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge.
A gang of men, believed to be Chelsea fans, are being hunted by police after being heard shouting racist chants at St Pancras station.
The men were returning from Paris by train on Wednesday, the day after the club played Paris St Germain in the French capital.
The incident happened at the central London station at around 8pm, and was reported by a member of the public who was "disgusted" by their behaviour, the British Transport Police (BTP) said.
It comes after police released images of three men - believed to be Chelsea fans - who they want to speak to in connection with a separate incident on the Paris Metro on Tuesday.
The three men police want to speak to
A group of fans were captured on video stopping a black man boarding a train and chanting: "We're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it."
Speaking about the incident at St Pancras station, Superintendent Gill Murray of the BTP said: "The men shouted as they walked through the station having alighted from the train a short time earlier.
Video:Victim: Metro Incident Was Racist
"If you travelled on the train from Paris or were at the station and have information which can assist our investigation I would urge you to get in touch as a matter of urgency."
The club has suspended five people from Stamford Bridge, the club's stadium, while it investigates the incident on the Paris Metro.
Chelsea said it had received "substantial information" following an appeal for witnesses.
The club has reiterated its vow to ban for life anyone proved to have been involved, and is helping police in the UK and France.
Video:'We Don't Want Them At Our Club'
Manager Jose Mourinho has said the club is "ashamed" of the supporters, and said he would welcome the victim - Souleymane Sylla - to a future home game.
But Paris-born Mr Sylla, who believes the fans who abused him should be jailed, has rejected the invitation.
"I appreciate Mr Mourinho's invitation, but I can't get my head around being in a stadium at the moment," he said.
In a coincidence, Chelsea's home match against Burnley on Saturday is the club's designated annual "Game for Equality".
Video:'It Was Raised By A Concerned Fan'
Before kick-off, fans of the London side unfurled a banner that read: "Black or white we're all blue."
The matchday programme also denounced the Paris abuse over several pages, including in a column by captain John Terry.
Terry was banned for four matches in 2012 after being found guilty of racially abusing then Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.
He wrote: "This club stands against all forms of discrimination.
Video:Chelsea Manager 'Ashamed'
"Football is a sport for everyone, that is one of the main reasons why we love it."
Club chairman Bruce Buck wrote: "We are all appalled at what we saw and the club would like to apologise unreservedly to Mr Souleymane S for the behaviour of a group of individuals and their unforgivable actions towards him.
He added: "The people involved in that incident in Paris do not represent Chelsea Football Club, they do not stand for the values of this club and they have no place at this club.
"This has been echoed loud and clear by the vast majority of Chelsea supporters."
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 21 Februari 2015 | 16.12
More than £300m is to be spent over the next five years on research, medical trials and training to tackle dementia, the Prime Minister has announced.
David Cameron plans to set up an international dementia institute in England in a bid to make the UK a world leader for research and medical trials.
A separate multimillion-pound fund will be launched to help establish an international investment scheme to discover new drugs and treatments that could slow down the onset of dementia or even deliver a cure.
Some 1.3 million NHS workers, from surgeons to hospital porters, will be given training in how to give those with dementia the best possible standards of care.
Businesses and public services will be encouraged to offer greater understanding and support for people with the condition.
Video:Dementia Plan Labelled A 'Travesty'
And a further three million volunteers are to be recruited to train as "dementia friends" to help care for sufferers.
Mr Cameron said: "Dementia is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime, and I am proud that we are leading the world in fighting it.
"Because of the growing strength of our economy, we can invest in research and drug development, as well as public understanding, so we defeat this terrible condition and offer more hope and dignity for those who suffer.
Video:Dementia Care: UK Plan Revealed
"That way, we can help make Britain a country that offers security in retirement for all."
Other pledges include having the majority of people in England living in "dementia friendly communities" by making shops, transport and other public places more accessible to people with the condition.
And initial dementia assessments by GPs will take place in an average of six weeks and will be followed by better onward support.
Video:Dementia: Threat To Humanity
There are around 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK with the number expected to hit a million within the next 10 years.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "Our researchers, staff and volunteers who are delivering support to people with dementia nationwide now sit as part of a national movement more than a million strong. Dementia Friends is truly changing attitudes and capturing the public's attention.
"Together we are transforming lives today and reaching out for preventative treatments and a cure tomorrow. This Government has rightly prioritised dementia.
Video:Sept: Cost Of Dementia Care Soars
"We would all acknowledge the work that remains to be done, but the PM deserves credit for the phenomenal achievement in getting dementia on the national and global agenda and this has resulted in significant progress."
