WUFOOB … (Apr – Jun 2014)

All schools must promote ‘British values’, says Michael Gove

Telegraph Education, Wednesday 11th Jun 2014
Schools are being told to promote British values. If ministers believe so strongly in the concept of British values, then let the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta on June 15 next year be a national holiday.

D-Day veteran, 89, parachutes into Normandy again

ITV News, Thursday 5th Jun 2014
An 89-year-old veteran of the D-Day landings has parachuted into Normandy once more to commemorate 70 years since he did so the first time.

When the votes are all done and counted
The winners all stand up and shout it:
They’re listening again
And they all feel our pain.
(But they won’t do a damn thing about it.)

ITV, Tuesday 27th May 2014
Nigel Farage says “it’s as if nothing has happened” after he held meetings with European Parliament leaders in the wake of sweeping Eurosceptic victories in the recent EU elections. Speaking in Brussels, the Ukip leader said: “The mentality here is that things must just carry on as they are – there is a blank incomprehension about what the electorates have just said.”

Corruption scandal muddies FIFA waters

CNN, Monday 2nd Jun 2014
Soccer’s global governing body was engulfed in a new scandal following a British newspaper’s damning investigation into the bidding process for the World Cup finals. The story alleges a Qatari official paid more than $5 million in an attempt to secure support for his country’s successful bid to host the 2022 tournament.

Representatives from all 54 members of Uefa, including Football Association chairman Greg Dyke, will be asked to snub Sepp Blatter’s announcement that he is standing for re-election as Fifa president at its annual congress in Sao Paulo.

Under pressure Clegg defiant after Lib Dem election losses

BBC News, Monday 26th May 2014
Nick Clegg has rejected calls for him to stand down as leader of the Liberal Democrats after the party’s worst European election result for 25 years. “Uniquely in British politics, the Liberal Democrats decided to take on UKIP and argue for the things we believe in,” said Mr Clegg.

Yaya Toure may quit Man City over birthday party ‘snub’

talkSPORT, Tuesday 20th May 2014
Yaya Toure is feeling very, very sorry for himself. According to his agent, the Ivorian does not feel valued at the Etihad stadium, after the club failed to wish him happy birthday last week. Toure, who won his second Premier League with Man City recently, turned 31 on 13 May, but it appears success and vast riches count for nothing when your boss does not even have the decency to throw you a birthday party.

Sleep deprivation causing serious health problems

BBC News, Monday 12th May 2014
Scientists from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Manchester and Surrey universities warn cutting sleep is leading to “serious health problems”. Prof Russell Foster, at the University of Oxford, said people were getting between one and two hours less sleep a night than 60 years ago. There is a solution to sleep deprivation: an old-fashioned afternoon nap.

Top vet calls for ban on religious slaughter of animals

The Independent, Sunday 11th May 2014
Britain’s top vet has sparked controversy, calling for a ban on slashing animals’ throats in ‘ritual’ slaughters for halal and kosher meat products. John Blackwell, president-elect of the British Veterinary Association, said the religious slaughter of poultry, sheep and cattle caused unnecessary suffering to animals.

Faith leaders call for clearer packaging of meat

BBC News, Wednesday 9th May 2014
Faith leaders have called for clearer packaging after it emerged some meat is sold in the UK which could qualify as halal but is not labelled as such. Five leading UK supermarkets have defended selling such meat. Jewish and Muslim leaders called for “comprehensive labelling”. The government said it wanted people to be able to make informed choices.

Inability to stand on one leg may predict early death

The Independent, Wednesday 30th April 2014
A study by the Medical Research Council tracked 5,000 people born in 1946 throughout their lives. In the standing on one leg with eyes closed test, men and women who were able to hold the position for less than two seconds were three times more likely to die before the age of 66 than those who could hold it for 10 seconds or more. Those unable to do the test at all were more likely to die in the following 13 years.

Tories accuse Ukip of racism

The Huffington Post, Monday 28th April 2014
A Tory Cabinet minister has attacked Ukip for attracting racist activists. The party has also come under heavy fire for a hard-hitting ad campaign warning of the dangers of immigration.

The Telegraph, Saturday 26th April 2014
All the mainstream parties now publicly accept that unlimited migration has caused economic and social problems. This admission, and the need to reassert Britain’s control over its borders, has become part of David Cameron’s official renegotiation strategy with the EU.

Jamaica Inn: BBC receives thousands of complaints over ‘mumbling’

The Guardian, Tuesday 22nd April 2014
Viewers who tuned into the launch of Jamaica Inn were left frustrated after struggling to make out the dialogue in the BBC’s new period drama. The first instalment of the TV adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic gothic novel was broadcast on BBC1 on Monday.Viewers complained that they had to switch on the subtitles to understand what the cast was saying.

Ex-army chief attacks credibility of SNP defence plans

The Telegraph, Tuesday 15th April 2014
The SNP’s proposals for its future armed forces are risible and would undermine the UK’s safety. The SNP proposes to create an independent Scottish nuclear-free defence force with a budget of just £2.5 billion.

Svoboda demonstrates its democratic credentials

The Telegraph, Wednesday 9th April 2014
There were extraordinary scenes in the parliament building in Kiev as members of the Svoboda party fought with their rivals in the Communist party and the Party of Regions after the leader of the latter delivered a speech in Russian.

Ukraine is deeply divided into the Russian-speaking east and south, which favours close ties with Moscow, and the Ukrainian-speaking west, which wants Ukraine to ally itself with the West.