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Miscarriage ‘raises heart risk’
Having multiple miscarriages increases the risk of a heart attack later in life, according to researchers.
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School sport rethink ‘not U-turn’
Denise Lewis is among the top athletes to express concerns about the future of school sports funding Related stories
A rethink on cutting funding for school sports in England is “not a U-turn”, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.
“Michael Gove (Education Secretary) is saying we want to do competitive school sports better,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Last week Prime Minister David Cameron denounced the £162m Schools Sports Partnership as “a complete failure”.
But he signalled a rethink in the Commons on Wednesday, saying a new policy would be unveiled “soon”.
The Schools Sports Partnership – joint initiatives between primary, secondary and specialist state schools designed to increase sporting opportunities for children – has been axed but the government says it is looking at the best way to reallocate the funds.
Mr Hunt told Today the government’s goal was to increase the number of school children playing competitive sport, and to find a better way of achieving it.
On Wednesday, Downing Street said the prime minister had ordered ministers to look again at the money available following concerns “at local level”.
It is thought that any decision will not be taken until local government funding settlements are finalised later this month.
The rethink follows a growing backlash against the plans to end £162m in direct funding for the last government’s sports and PE strategy.
More than 70 top British athletes, including Olympic heptathlon champion Denise Lewis and world diving champion Tom Daley, wrote to Mr Cameron saying the policy was “ill-conceived” and risked efforts to deliver a “genuine legacy” from the Olympics in terms of encouraging sports participation.
Shadow education secretary Andy Burnham welcomed what he said was “a huge change in tone” on school sports.
He and two other shadow cabinet ministers have written to Mr Gove to offer to work with him to help retain the existing structure of partnership managers, which co-ordinate efforts between schools, while accepting overall funding will have to be reduced given the tough financial climate.
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Family-friendly UK ‘long way off’
Statutory paternity leave in the UK lags behind some other countries Related stories
Conditions for equal parenting in the UK are the fourth worst out of 21 countries measured, according to a new table published by a think tank.
The UK has a wider gender pay gap and less paid paternity leave than other nations, the Fatherhood Institute says.
Its “family fairness” table factors in proportions of women in management and men working part-time, and the ratio of fathers’ to mothers’ time spent caring.
A family-friendly UK remains a long way off, the institute argues.
Its chief executive Rob Williams said: “The fairness in families index gives a benchmark for where Britain stands in terms of how far policies allow families to share parenting and be more ‘equal’.
“Parents’ choices are restricted by an outdated distinction between fathers as breadwinners and mothers as homemakers. There is clearly a long way to go if we are to become ‘the most family-friendly country in Europe’ as the coalition has pledged.”
The institute, which lobbies for greater involvement by fathers in children’s lives, said it used Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data on 10 indicators and had the results validated by an international panel.
Despite the UK faring well in areas such as the amount spent per head on childcare, only Japan, Austria and Switzerland fared worse overall.
Men in Sweden, which headed the table, were eligible for 40 weeks’ full-time paid paternity leave, compared with just two days for their British counterparts, the research found.
Mr Williams said “We need to establish a better framework in the UK to support equal earning and caring. Much more needs to be done to make families fairer – and getting the paternity leave system right is a good place to start.”
A study published in April suggested the number of fathers who cared for children full-time had jumped 10% over the previous decade, to 600,000 or around 6% of all fathers.
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Mail deliveries hit by big freeze
Mail deliveries across large parts of Wales may be disrupted by the snow and ice, the Royal Mail says Related stories
Snow and ice could hit mail deliveries and collections in four Welsh postcode areas, the Royal Mail says.
The warning comes as fresh snow is expected to fall in mid and eastern parts of Wales as well as the south Wales valleys during the day.
The travel disruption across the UK has even hit the Queen’s plans to visit RAF Valley in Anglesey.
Meanwhile, councils in Wales are to have £7m extra for mending potholes and buying salt to grit roads this winter.
The Royal Mail has said the severe weather conditions in some areas is hampering its ability to operate normally.
As a result, it has suspended its next-day special delivery service and has warned that normal deliveries and collections may be affected in the LL, LD, SY and SA postcode areas.
The postcodes cover north Wales from Anglesey to Wrexham, parts of Powys and Ceredigion and south west Wales including Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.
Cardiff Airport is open but flights to and from Edinburgh are suspended as that airport is shut until at least 1200 GMT due to snow.
BBC weather forecaster Derek Brockway said high pressure over Scandinavia meant north-easterly winds for Britain.
He said: “It will bring a dusting of snow in the south but heavier in Powys, Monmouthshire and the north east.”
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh plans to tour RAF Valley in Anglesey has fallen victim to the weather, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
Heavy snow in England hit transport links for the royal visit but the event is to be re-arranged, a palace spokeswoman said.
Prince William, known as Flt Lt Wales, is based as Valley as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, but is currently in Zurich ahead of the 2018 World Cup announcement.
Wales’ 22 councils have learnt they are to share in an extra £7m made available by the Welsh Assembly Government for road repair work and winter gritting.
More school closures are also expected as the big freeze continues its grip.
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What if you can’t make it to work?
What are your rights if you can’t make it to work because of the snow?
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More heavy snow ahead for England
Widespread ice has caused disruption on the roads Related stories
Fresh snow has fallen across large parts of England, causing a major airport to close its runway and further disruption to schools and roads.
All flights at Gatwick Airport have been halted following snow showers overnight.
Up to 15cm (6ins) of snow fell in some areas of England and more showers are expected throughout the day.
Met Office heavy snow warnings remain for the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and the North East.
There are risks of drifting snow in London, the South East and the East.
Widespread ice is causing problems on roads across the whole of England.
Many schools have already announced they will shut on Wednesday as temperatures struggle to get above 0C.
Met Office forecaster David Price said: “It will remain bitterly cold today with the strong north-easterly winds continuing to bring snow showers and making temperatures feel as low as minus six or seven degrees.”
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He said the snowy conditions would continue on Thursday but Friday should see a reprieve, with more snow on the way over the weekend.
Gatwick Airport spokeswoman Sarah Baranowski said the runway was closed at 2230 GMT on Tuesday.
She said ground staff had worked working throughout the night but had not been able to clear the settling snow.
“It is vital that passengers do not make their way to the airport and check our website and with their airline for updates,” she said.
“We need to make sure the runway is safe before all flights can recommence but the snow has not stopped all night.”
Travel disruption:
In Kent, there are significant delays on the M25, A2 and A282 Dartford river crossing. There are at least 100 lorries stranded on the M25 at junction 2In Surrey, police are warning people in the Reigate and Leatherhead area not to travel, particularly not on the M25In South Yorkshire, bus services have been cancelled in Sheffield, Rotherham and DoncasterThere are no trains between Victoria and Dartford, Charing Cross and Hastings and between Strood and Paddock WoodNo flights in or out of Gatwick Airport and delays at London City airportDurham Tees Valley Airport is closed but is expected to reopen at 0900 GMT
Rail services have been disrupted by snow and ice Overnight, Southeastern said that at least three of its trains were stuck for about five hours due to problems with ice and snow.
About 60 passengers were affected when the night trains travelling from London to Kent became stuck in the Orpington and Sevenoaks area.
The UK has been experiencing the earliest widespread snowfall since 1993.
The unusual weather is being caused by high pressure over Greenland and low pressure in the Baltic states, forcing cold winds from the north-east across Europe.
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Russia ‘mafia state’ – Wikileaks
Latest leaked US cables question how close the Kremlin is to organised crime A senior Spanish prosecutor told the US Embassy in Madrid that Russia, Belarus and Chechnya had become virtual “mafia states”, new disclosures of classified material by Wikileaks show.
A cable also questions whether Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is implicated in the Russian mafia.
Another reveals that a powerful Ukrainian businessman told US officials he had ties to Russian organised crime.
The documents are among hundreds being released by the whistle-blower website.
On Wednesday the US online shopping giant Amazon reportedly blocked Wikileaks from its servers – a move welcomed by US officials.
Access to Wikileaks’ homepage was sporadic on Wednesday. The website had been using Amazon servers since its Swedish-based servers came under cyber-attack twice earlier this week.
The cables, published by the Guardian newspaper, show that in January 2010, Spanish prosecutor Jose “Pepe” Grinda Gonzales claimed that in Russia, Belarus and Chechnya “one cannot differentiate between the activities of the Government and OC (organised crime) groups”.
Judge Grinda led a long investigation into Russian organised crime in Spain, leading to more than 60 arrests.
A cable from the US Embassy in Madrid talks about the “unanswered question” of the extent to which Mr Putin is implicated in the mafia and whether he controls the organisation’s actions.
Judge Grinda reportedly said that former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko thought Russian intelligence controlled organised crime in Russia. Mr Grinda reportedly stated that he believed this thesis was accurate.
In the cable, the judge is reported as saying he has information that certain political parties in Russia operate “hand in hand” with organised crime.
The leaked cables also show that Washington believed Mr Putin was likely to have known about the operation to murder Mr Litvinenko in London in 2006. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.
Wikileaks also released another cable, from the US Embassy in Kiev dated December 2008, which reveals that the oligarch Dmytro Firtash – one of Ukraine’s most powerful people – told the US Ambassador he had ties to Russian organised crime.
The Main Leaks So FarFears that terrorists may acquire Pakistani nuclear materialSeveral Arab leaders urged attack on Iran over nuclear issueUS instructs spying on key UN officialsChina’s changing relationship with North KoreaYemen approved US strikes on militantsPersonal and embarrassing comments on world leadersFears over Pakistan’s nuclear programmeAfghan leader Hamid Karzai freed dangerous detaineesWikileaks cables: Key issues
He said he had needed the approval of a gangster called Semyon Mogilevich to get into business.
Mogilevich is believed by European and US law enforcement agencies to be the “boss of bosses” of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world.
In other developments, Interpol has issued a notice asking for information on the whereabouts of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Interpol said the Australian was wanted for questioning in Sweden over an alleged sex offence, which he has denied.
On Wednesday the US appointed an anti-terrorism expert to lead efforts to tackle damage caused by the documents’ release.
Russell Travers will try to find out how thousands of secret files were taken from government internet files. The White House said he had also been tasked with tightening security inside the US government’s computer network.
Wikileaks has so far posted only 505 of the 251,287 messages it says it has obtained. However, all of the messages have been made available to five publications, including the New York Times and the Guardian.
The US has condemned the disclosures as an attack on the world community.
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