It appears that rubbish collection has become the hot topic of next week's local elections.The Telegraph leads with the story that
Plans to end weekly bin round hushed up
With Labour facing potential losses at next Thursday's polls, dropping weekly bin rounds has become a major political issue.
In what has been branded a cynical ploy to save votes by covering up an unpopular policy, a government agency told local authorities: "The timing of local elections may affect your thinking on when best to introduce the concept to members and to the public."
Miliband may face backlash over plan for new rubbish tax says the Times
Householders will face a new tax on rubbish from next year under proposals to be announced by David Miliband next month, The Times has learnt.
The Environment Secretary will disclose much tougher targets to recycle waste and will give councils new powers to levy charges on nonrecyclable rubbish. New regulations are expected to be attached to the Climate Change Bill to be introduced in July.
The new proposals are likely to aggravate a public outcry over fortnightly collections of domestic waste brought in by cash-strapped authorities. Some councils, particularly those facing town hall elections, have changed back to weekly collections.
The Guardian however looks on the positives
Fortnightly rubbish collection means more recycling, says government
The wide-scale change to fortnightly rather than weekly rubbish collections was defended yesterday after a study showed that it had increased recycling and saved public money with no harmful health effects.
A new analysis by the Local Government Association suggests that the 144 councils that collect household rubbish one week and food waste the next are managing to recycle or compost almost a third of what they pick up (30%). That compares with 23% among the authorities that are not using the new system. The association said that the top 10 councils in the national recycling league had all introduced alternate weekly collections.
If these systems were used across the country, it said, it could save the taxpayer £22m in landfill fees, and cut landfill by 1.2m tonnes.
Join the Mail's campaign to save weekly rubbish collections says the paper urging its readers to write
Dear Council Leader,
I wish to register my objection to councils abandoning weekly rubbish collections in favour of emptying bins fortnightly.
I urge you to consider the public health consequences of this practice and guarantee to provide a weekly service for all of your council tax payers.
It is not just bins that are at the centre of recycling.The Mail leads with
Supermarket war on packaging
Supermarket customers are being urged to return excess packaging to the store as part of the revolt against unnecessary waste.
Britain's second-biggest grocer, Asda, wants wrapping, plastic, card-board and cellophane to be dumped in huge wheelie bins in the foyer.
It will then pass on the evidence to suppliers. The scheme is being tried out at two Yorkshire stores, in York and Dewsbury but will be rolled out across the country if successful.
Terror leaks: both Home Office and police implicated is the main story in the Guardian
The row over allegations that lives were endangered by leaks about major anti-terrorism operations deepened last night as it emerged that there were a series of disclosures about one highly sensitive investigation.
As Tony Blair rejected calls for an inquiry, and Liberal Democrats called upon the police to investigate, it emerged that journalists received up to three separate briefings about an allegation that a group of men was planning to abduct and behead a Muslim British soldier.
Plans to end weekly bin round hushed up
With Labour facing potential losses at next Thursday's polls, dropping weekly bin rounds has become a major political issue.
In what has been branded a cynical ploy to save votes by covering up an unpopular policy, a government agency told local authorities: "The timing of local elections may affect your thinking on when best to introduce the concept to members and to the public."
Miliband may face backlash over plan for new rubbish tax says the Times
Householders will face a new tax on rubbish from next year under proposals to be announced by David Miliband next month, The Times has learnt.
The Environment Secretary will disclose much tougher targets to recycle waste and will give councils new powers to levy charges on nonrecyclable rubbish. New regulations are expected to be attached to the Climate Change Bill to be introduced in July.
The new proposals are likely to aggravate a public outcry over fortnightly collections of domestic waste brought in by cash-strapped authorities. Some councils, particularly those facing town hall elections, have changed back to weekly collections.
The Guardian however looks on the positives
Fortnightly rubbish collection means more recycling, says government
The wide-scale change to fortnightly rather than weekly rubbish collections was defended yesterday after a study showed that it had increased recycling and saved public money with no harmful health effects.
A new analysis by the Local Government Association suggests that the 144 councils that collect household rubbish one week and food waste the next are managing to recycle or compost almost a third of what they pick up (30%). That compares with 23% among the authorities that are not using the new system. The association said that the top 10 councils in the national recycling league had all introduced alternate weekly collections.
If these systems were used across the country, it said, it could save the taxpayer £22m in landfill fees, and cut landfill by 1.2m tonnes.
Join the Mail's campaign to save weekly rubbish collections says the paper urging its readers to write
Dear Council Leader,
I wish to register my objection to councils abandoning weekly rubbish collections in favour of emptying bins fortnightly.
I urge you to consider the public health consequences of this practice and guarantee to provide a weekly service for all of your council tax payers.
It is not just bins that are at the centre of recycling.The Mail leads with
Supermarket war on packaging
Supermarket customers are being urged to return excess packaging to the store as part of the revolt against unnecessary waste.
Britain's second-biggest grocer, Asda, wants wrapping, plastic, card-board and cellophane to be dumped in huge wheelie bins in the foyer.
It will then pass on the evidence to suppliers. The scheme is being tried out at two Yorkshire stores, in York and Dewsbury but will be rolled out across the country if successful.
Terror leaks: both Home Office and police implicated is the main story in the Guardian
The row over allegations that lives were endangered by leaks about major anti-terrorism operations deepened last night as it emerged that there were a series of disclosures about one highly sensitive investigation.
As Tony Blair rejected calls for an inquiry, and Liberal Democrats called upon the police to investigate, it emerged that journalists received up to three separate briefings about an allegation that a group of men was planning to abduct and behead a Muslim British soldier.
The Independent reports that
Anti-terrorism leaks blamed on spin doctors
Tony Blair is resisting demands for a full inquiry into accusations that lives have been put at risk by leaks from Whitehall about police anti-terrorism operations.
Peter Clarke, deputy assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner, provoked uproar when he denounced "misguided individuals who betray confidences" about raids on suspected al-Qa'ida sympathisers.
Mr Clarke, the country's most senior anti-terrorist police chief, suggested that those responsible were trying to "squeeze out some short-term presentational advantage" by giving secret information.
He cited the secret briefing to journalists over an alleged plot in Birmingham to kidnap and behead a Muslim serviceman in the British Army. He said the leak had hampered the investigation, disrupted the interviews of suspects and raised community tensions. Although he did not name the culprits, his comments were interpreted by opposition parties as an attack on Whitehall "spin doctors" working for cabinet ministers.
Peter Clarke, deputy assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner, provoked uproar when he denounced "misguided individuals who betray confidences" about raids on suspected al-Qa'ida sympathisers.
Mr Clarke, the country's most senior anti-terrorist police chief, suggested that those responsible were trying to "squeeze out some short-term presentational advantage" by giving secret information.
He cited the secret briefing to journalists over an alleged plot in Birmingham to kidnap and behead a Muslim serviceman in the British Army. He said the leak had hampered the investigation, disrupted the interviews of suspects and raised community tensions. Although he did not name the culprits, his comments were interpreted by opposition parties as an attack on Whitehall "spin doctors" working for cabinet ministers.
BLAIR FURY AT TORIES' LEAK SLUR ON RAIDS reports the Mirror
DAVID Cameron sparked fury yesterday when he accused Home Secretary John Reid of leaking anti-terror secrets to boost his tough image.
Police believe details of how terrorists wanted to behead a British Muslim soldier on leave in Birmingham were leaked.
And they are furious because they say it risked jeopardising both their chances of prosecutions and their informers.
Tory leader Mr Cameron made it clear in the Commons he suspected Mr Reid.
He asked Tony Blair: "Can you give a guarantee that leaks about the operation in Birmingham did not come from any minister, civil servant or special adviser?"
The PM said: "If I was being unkind I would call that a smear.
Police believe details of how terrorists wanted to behead a British Muslim soldier on leave in Birmingham were leaked.
And they are furious because they say it risked jeopardising both their chances of prosecutions and their informers.
Tory leader Mr Cameron made it clear in the Commons he suspected Mr Reid.
He asked Tony Blair: "Can you give a guarantee that leaks about the operation in Birmingham did not come from any minister, civil servant or special adviser?"
The PM said: "If I was being unkind I would call that a smear.
The Telegraph tells of the Home Secretaries comments about terrorism
Cyber terror threat is growing, says Reid
Terrorists could attempt to cause economic chaos or plane crashes in an electronic attack on the UK's computer networks John Reid, the Home Secretary, said yesterday.
Mr Reid's warning of the "devastating consequences" of cyber terrorism came as he said the reshaping of the Home Office would enable him to "wake up and think about the security of the nation first and foremost every morning".
The Independent leads with the headline LEST WE FORGET
Kingsman Alan Jones was killed, aged 20, in Iraq this week, just one of the 145 British soldiers who have died in this ill-conceived conflict. His death went largely unnoticed in the bloodiest month endured by British soldiers - another grim statistic, another coffin sent home, another grieving family, another young man who died in vain .
The Sun also reports from Iraq on its front page declaring
HARRY WON'T FIGHT
SENIOR officers may ban Prince Harry from combat in Iraq to avert a “disaster” overtaking other soldiers, it has emerged.
Sources said the young 2nd lieutenant could be kept well away from the battlefield because he would be a magnet for suicide bombers, snipers and other attackers.
Highly-publicised threats to kill or capture him have already been made by terror fanatics and top brass fear his presence would lead to a hugely increased risk of British casualties.
Army chiefs have now launched a late review of their decision to let the 22-year-old serve with his men from the Blues and Royals when they deploy next month.
A source said: “It’s very complicated. No one wants to gift a PR victory to the insurgents by withdrawing him.
Sources said the young 2nd lieutenant could be kept well away from the battlefield because he would be a magnet for suicide bombers, snipers and other attackers.
Highly-publicised threats to kill or capture him have already been made by terror fanatics and top brass fear his presence would lead to a hugely increased risk of British casualties.
Army chiefs have now launched a late review of their decision to let the 22-year-old serve with his men from the Blues and Royals when they deploy next month.
A source said: “It’s very complicated. No one wants to gift a PR victory to the insurgents by withdrawing him.
Whilst the Guardian reports that
US House votes to set Iraq withdrawal date
A sharply divided House of Representatives ignored the threat of a presidential veto last night and passed legislation that would order George Bush to begin withdrawing US troops from Iraq in October.
The 218-208 vote came as the top US commander in Iraq said that the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement.
The bill is now on track to clear Congress by the weekend and arrive on the president's desk as the first binding congressional challenge to Mr Bush's handling of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year.
The 218-208 vote came as the top US commander in Iraq said that the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement.
The bill is now on track to clear Congress by the weekend and arrive on the president's desk as the first binding congressional challenge to Mr Bush's handling of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year.
The start of the murder trial of record producer Phil Spector is covered in many of the papers
Four years after shooting, Spector arrives in court to face the music says the Times
The morning of Lana Clarkson’s death began with her telling Phil Spector: “I’m sorry, sir, you’re not on the list.” It was 2am on a Monday. The place was the aptly-named House of Blues — a bar and music venue owned partly by the actor Dan Ackroyd on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
The bar’s closed-circuit television captured Clarkson in fuzzy detail wearing the outfit in which she would end her life: a short, black shirt and fitted blazer, blonde hair swept back over the shoulders.
Three hours later, after the B-movie actress and waitress had been told by her manager to treat the celebrity record producer she had failed to recognise at the door “like gold”, and then accepted an invitation to have a drink with him at his “castle”, the emergency services received a phone call from Mr Spector’s terrified driver.
The eerie recording of the call was played to a Los Angeles court yesterday as Mr Spector’s trial on murder charges finally began, four years after Clarkson’s death.
“I think my boss killed somebody,” said the Hispanic driver, who was sitting in his Mercedes in the castle’s driveway. “He have a lady on the floor and he have a gun in . . . in his hand. He’s inside the castle. I saw him with the gun.”
The bar’s closed-circuit television captured Clarkson in fuzzy detail wearing the outfit in which she would end her life: a short, black shirt and fitted blazer, blonde hair swept back over the shoulders.
Three hours later, after the B-movie actress and waitress had been told by her manager to treat the celebrity record producer she had failed to recognise at the door “like gold”, and then accepted an invitation to have a drink with him at his “castle”, the emergency services received a phone call from Mr Spector’s terrified driver.
The eerie recording of the call was played to a Los Angeles court yesterday as Mr Spector’s trial on murder charges finally began, four years after Clarkson’s death.
“I think my boss killed somebody,” said the Hispanic driver, who was sitting in his Mercedes in the castle’s driveway. “He have a lady on the floor and he have a gun in . . . in his hand. He’s inside the castle. I saw him with the gun.”
THE VIOLENT TRUTH ABOUT PHIL SPECTOR says the Express
LEGENDARY music producer Phil Spector has “sinister and deadly” tendencies together with “a rich history of violence,” a jury at his murder trial heard yesterday.
More than four years after B-movie actress Lana Clarkson was shot dead at Spector’s hilltop castle, the prosecution was outlining its case to a hushed courtroom on the first day.Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson claimed Spector had a history of snapping into violent rages against women.
Both the Times and the Express lead with health stories.
First designer babies to beat breast cancer headlines the Times
Two couples whose families have been ravaged by breast cancer are to become the first to screen embryos to prevent them having children at risk of the disease, The Times has learnt.
Tests will allow the couples to take the unprecedented step of selecting embryos free from a gene that carries a heightened risk of the cancer but does not always cause it. The move will reignite controversy over the ethics of embryo screening.
An application to test for the BRCA1 gene was submitted yesterday by Paul Serhal, of University College Hospital, London. It is expected to be approved within months as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has already agreed in principle.
Opponents say that the test is unethical because it involves destroying some embryos that would never contract these conditions if allowed to develop into children. Even those that did become ill could expect many years of healthy life first.
Tests will allow the couples to take the unprecedented step of selecting embryos free from a gene that carries a heightened risk of the cancer but does not always cause it. The move will reignite controversy over the ethics of embryo screening.
An application to test for the BRCA1 gene was submitted yesterday by Paul Serhal, of University College Hospital, London. It is expected to be approved within months as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has already agreed in principle.
Opponents say that the test is unethical because it involves destroying some embryos that would never contract these conditions if allowed to develop into children. Even those that did become ill could expect many years of healthy life first.
HIDDEN KILLER HITS ONE IN FOUR says the Express
A QUARTER of Britons are unaware that they are suffering from the “silent killer” of high blood pressure, and run the risk of being afflicted by a stroke.
The problem is so common that free blood pressure tests are to be offered in an attempt to reduce the number of deaths from strokes.Doctors believe that the move could save thousands of lives a year. Strokes are the third biggest killer after cancer and coronary artery disease.
The death of one of England's 1966 heroes is covered in all the papers.The Mirror has it as its main story
FAREWELL TO A WORLD CUP LEGEND
THE heroes of the 1966 World Cup last night led the tributes to Alan Ball - the man who inspired England to victory.
Ball, 61, died of a heart attack as he tackled a fire in his garden.
His sudden death shocked millions of football fans who knew him as one of the game's greatest characters.
His son Jimmy, 31, said: "I would like him to be known as a nice man with a passion for football."
And England goalie Gordon Banks said of Ball's match-winning 1966 display: "The Germans didn't have a Bally and that swung it our way."
The Guardian reports on
The kid who embodied the spirit of '66
Alan Ball, who has died aged 61 of a heart attack while tackling a fire in his garden, was the kid in 1966. Barely 21, red haired, as cheeky as he looked, squeaky of voice, huge of heart, fuelled on desire, he ran those little legs into the ground. All his team-mates said he was man of the match, despite Geoff Hurst's hat-trick.
Ball remained the kid - despite every-thing that happened in the intervening years. Right to the end he was the red-haired pocket dynamo, his voice still unbroken, his enthusiasm undimmed.
Finally the Mail reports on another outbreak of eco friendly hysteria
Handbags at dawn (or how thousands started queueing at 2am for a £5 cotton carrier)
It's made of unbleached cotton, has handles resembling lengths of old rope and is not what anyone would call voluminous.
But when it went on sale yesterday morning, it was a genuine case of handbags at dawn.
The scenes of shopping frenzy were not at H&M or Primark.
Rather this was consumer chaos at usually sedate Sainsbury's as thousands of fashion devotees flocked to pick up the season's must-have - the Anya Hindmarch shopping bag.
Marked with the slogan "I'm not a plastic bag" - the bag (reusable cotton) is part of a campaign to make consumers more aware of the perils of plastic bags.
No comments:
Post a Comment