Top Stories:
Times – PEERS who avoid tax or have criminal convictions – such as Lord Archer and Lord Black – are to be expelled from the House of Lords in the wake of the lords for hire scandal. The reforms are being drawn up by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, in an attempt to restore the Lords’ battered reputation after last weekend’s revelations in The Sunday Times. He plans to enact the legislation necessary to expel them before the general election, which has to be held by May next year. Peers who are “non-domiciled” or “non-resident” for tax purposes – there are thought to be at least seven – will lose their seats, as will those who have been convicted of a serious criminal offence.
News of the World – PICTURED: The astonishing photo which could destroy the career of the greatest competitor in Olympic history. In a NOTW exclusive photo Michael Phelps, who won a record EIGHT gold medals for swimming at the Beijing games last summer, draws from a bong. The glass pipes are generally used to smoke cannabis. And after sporting chiefs announced laws which mean four-year bans for drug-taking, Phelps’ dreams of adding to his overall 14 gold medal tally at the 2012 games in London could already be OVER. Those dreams seemed the last thing on his mind when he puffed from the bong during two days of partying with students last November, a quiet time in the swimming calendar when athletes would not expect to get tested for drugs.
Metro – The Prime Minister was accused of “inflaming” the increasingly bitter dispute over foreign labour after he condemned the outbreak of wild-cat strikes as “indefensible”. Paul Kenny, General Secretary of the GMB union urged the government to do more to try to resolve the row rather than “blame” British workers. Gordon Brown found himself under attack after he stepped into the dispute over the hiring of non-UK workers by criticising unofficial strikes that were held at up to 20 construction sites at the end of last week.
Sky – Pro-Tibetan protesters have clashed with police outside the Chinese embassy in London. It happened as Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao arrived for talks with staff. Police said five men were arrested for public order offences after trying to push past officers. Protesters said a small number of their group were trying to place the Free Tibet flag at the Embassy’s doors. Pro-Chinese deminstrators on the other side of the road beat drums and set off firecrackers to welcome Mr Wen.
Business:
Telegraph – GlaxoSmithKline, Britain’s biggest pharmaceuticals will announce it is cutting thousands of jobs when it posts full-year results this week, the Sunday Telegraph has learnt. GSK is putting the finishing touches to plans which will see in the region of 6,000 global positions axed as it faces up to the growing challenges in the industry. Competition from generic manufacturers and doubts about company pipelines are posing a serious threat to the sector and, in a bearish note last week, ING analysts warned of an “intellectual property meltdown” as top-selling products come off patent and sales slow dramatically. Glaxo’s UK rival, AstraZeneca, said on Thursday that it will cut 15,000 staff by 2013, 6,000 more than initially thought, while industry leader Pfizer has acquired US rival Wyeth for $68bn (£47bn) as it seeks a different route of consolidation.
Observer – A groundbreaking “people’s bank”, offering a full range of financial services and using the UK network of 12,000 post offices, is being promoted by Peter Mandelson, the business secretary. The plan to use the remaining post office outlets as the backbone of a new national bank would head off a Labour revolt over Royal Mail privatisation and provide the country with a fiscal impetus. Last night Pat McFadden, the minister for postal affairs, said he was keen to expand their operations and allow them to function more like fully fledged banks, but with a clear social purpose. “I am warm about the idea,” he said. “The secretary of state [Lord Mandelson] has said he wants to see a stronger role for the Post Office. This is something we are working on. We have asked the business and enterprise select committee to look into this.”
Also In The News:
ITN – Britons are being told to wrap up warm as snow storms start to brew over the North Sea. Wintry weather moving in from the east will bring freezing temperatures, biting winds and snow to the eastern half of the UK, forecasters said. Weather forecaster Stephen Davenport said temperatures would barely get above freezing, with icy winds making it feel even colder. He said: “There are snow storms growing over the North Sea that will hit the eastern half of the UK tonight. The maximum temperatures will barely get above freezing and in some places it will feel several degrees below because of wind chill.” Up to 10cm of snow could fall in places, with Lincolnshire and Yorkshire likely to be worst affected.
BBC – Danny Boyle has been named best director by the Directors Guild of America for Slumdog Millionaire – a key indicator of Oscar success. Only six times in the 60-year history of the awards has the winner failed to take an Oscar for best director. The movie, about a Mumbai slum-dweller who takes part in a game show, has now won prizes at four major awards.
Guardian – Half of British adults do not believe in evolution, with at least 22% preferring the theories of creationism or intelligent design to explain how the world came about, according to a survey. The poll found that 25% of Britons believe Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is “definitely true”, with another quarter saying it is “probably true”. Half of the 2,060 people questioned were either strongly opposed to the theory or confused about it. The Rescuing Darwin survey, published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, found that around 10% of people chose young Earth creationism – the belief that God created the world some time in the last 10,000 years – over evolution.
Telegraph – A bizarre new alarm clock uses the smell of freshly cooked bacon to wake you up in the morning. The Wake n’Bacon clock cooks a frozen rasher for 10 minutes before the time you need to rise from your slumber. Designer Matty Sallin says the sizzling sound combined with the classic aroma is enough to wake you. The user is also welcomed by the almost-instant breakfast of a bacon sandwich in bed. Mr Sallin altered a regular alarm clock so that instead of a sound going off, two halogen lamps are switched on. The lamps then take 10 minutes to cook a piece of bacon that was placed inside the clock the night before.
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