WUFOOB … (Jul – Sep 2014)

Ed Miliband forgets key section of conference speech

The Guardian, Wednesday 24th Sep 2014
Ed Miliband admits he forgot key section of Labour conference speech. The opposition leader fails to deliver passages on deficit and immigration but insists he talked clearly about Labour’s plans.

No boots on the ground

CBS News, Thursday 11th Sep 2014
President Obama on Wednesday night put forward a plan to destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) that was short on details but included one clear assurance: The effort “will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.”

Tesco’s pied wagtail

BBC News, Thursday 11th Sep 2014
Plans to employ a marksman to shoot a small bird living in a Tesco shop in Norfolk have been put on hold after criticism from TV star Chris Packham. The BBC Springwatch presenter tweeted his opposition to the plan to shoot the pied wagtail at a Great Yarmouth branch of the supermarket chain.

The Times, Wednesday 10th Sep 2014
A terrorist attack linked to Islamic State (Isis) militants was a “very real threat” to the Nato summit in Wales. Officers in charge of one of the biggest security operations in UK history said their planning included preparing for the possibility of an attack by people associated with the extremist group.

The Guardian, Tuesday 9th Sep 2014
This year’s badger cull in Somerset and Gloucestershire is under way, the government has announced. The second year of a four-year scheme has started in the two counties in an attempt to prevent the spread of bovine TB in cattle.

UK in danger of losing its head over devolution

Express, Monday 8th Sep 2014
Last night Royal sources said the Queen had “a great deal of concern” that the United Kingdom was on the brink of breaking up. Alarm was triggered in Downing Street and at Buckingham Palace after a YouGov survey showed Alex Salmond’s nationalists are poised to win in the referendum on Scotland’s future on September 18. One Royal source was reported to have said: “The Queen is a unionist. There is a great deal of concern.” Senior aides are worried the monarch will be thrown into a crisis that threatens her status as Scottish head of state.

The ‘No Strategy Yet’ President

Fox News, Monday 1st Sep 2014
The leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees criticized President Obama on Sunday for failing to decide yet on whether to hit Islamic State targets in Syria and urged him ahead of this week’s key NATO summit to take decisive action.

Salmond wins TV debate

The Telegraph, Tuesday 26th Aug 2014
Alex Salmond was back in the fight in the battle over Scottish independence on Monday night after being declared the victor of a TV debate with Alistair Darling that descended into an angry shouting match.

Didcot Power Station demolished

BBC News, Sunday 27th Jul 2014
The three enormous cooling towers at the disused Didcot A Power Station in Oxfordshire have been demolished. The blast, conducted with more than 180kg of explosives, flattened 36,000 tonnes of material in seconds. The coal-fired power station ceased generating in March last year after dominating the skyline around the town since 1970.

MMBC News Bulletin

‘Trojan Horse’ Islamic takeover plot in schools

The Scotsman, Wednesday 23rd Jul 2014
In the febrile atmosphere created by scary stories of Muslim manipulation of the Midlands education system, Ofsted, the education watchdog, found that Park View Academy hadn’t done enough to shield children from extremism. Instead of venting hot air about a Trojan Horse, perhaps Westminster should be discussing the elephant in the room, that is, the teaching of religion in schools.

Hamas militants sporting the latest in body armour – the neighbourhood children

NBC News, Wednesday 16th Jul 2014
Innocent and Gone: Israeli Strike on Gaza Kills Four Children.

Scientists create worms that can’t get drunk

Independent Science, Wednesday 16th Jul 2014
Neuroscientists from the University of Texas have used genetic engineering to create worms incapable of getting drunk no matter how much alcohol they ingest.

Tour de France starts in Yorkshire

BBC News, Sunday 6th Jul 2014
The second stage of the Tour de France has got under way in York with thousands of people lining the route.

Andy Murray appears distracted as he surrenders Wimbledon title

Telegraph, Thursday 3rd Jul 2014
Andy Murray appears distracted as he surrenders Wimbledon title.

The Independent, Thursday 3rd Jul 2014
Andy Murray appeared to have been unsettled by something shortly before his quarter final match at Wimbledon, which he lost in straight sets. A courtside photographer said that he had heard Murray complaining to his entourage during the second set about something that had happened “five minutes before the match”.