Manchester casino ‘set for scrapheap’
Manchester’s proposed supercasino last night appeared close to being formally scrapped, although 16 smaller casinos elsewhere are expected to get the go-ahead.
The decision, which is to be made public within weeks according to the BBC, comes after a review ordered by Gordon Brown when he became Prime Minister last year.
If approved, large casinos will be built in Great Yarmouth, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton.
The sites chosen for smaller venues are Bath and North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton.
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Patients face a long wait for hearing aid
Patients with hearing and balance disorders can wait years to be seen by an appropriate specialist, a report from the Royal College of Physicians says (Nigel Hawkes writes).
A lack of specialist services means that patients often remain without a diagnosis and inadequately managed, in spite of the frequency of conditions such as tinnitus and balance disorders.
Specialised services are available only in a few centres, with no provision at all in most of the country, an RCP working party concludes. There is also a shortage of modern clinics for testing hearing and diagnosing balance disorders — yet at least half the population suffers from such disabilities at some point.
4,000 NHS computer cards ‘missing’
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More than 4,000 NHS smartcards providing computer access to confidential medical records have been lost or stolen, with 1,400 going missing in the past year.
Connecting for Health, the Leeds-based agency overseeing a £12.4 billion upgrade of IT systems in the health service, said that 4,147 cards were unaccounted for — but insisted that they could not be used without PINs. The new National Programme for IT allows healthcare professionals to share the medical records of 50 million patients. The records include sensitive information about mental illness, HIV status, pregnancy, drug-taking and alcoholism. So far, 429,691 NHS staff have been issued with Smartcards, with the number of users expected to reach 1.2 million. The medical magazine Pulse, which contacted NHS trusts individually using the Freedom of Information Act, suggested yesterday that as many as 6,000 of the Smartcards could be missing.
Hairspray leads Olivier nominations
The hit West End musical Hairspray has received a record 11 nominations in the Laurence Olivier Awards. Its star, Leanne Jones, 22, is a contender for best actress in a musical for her role as Tracy Turnblad. Other nominations the show received include best new musical and best actor in a musical for Michael Ball.
The stage version of The Lord Of The Rings – the most expensive show ever staged in the West End – is also a contender for best new musical, as well as being nominated for best lighting, set design, costume and sound.
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The best actor category will be contested by Sir Ian McKellen (King Lear), Patrick Stewart (Macbeth), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Othello), Mark Rylance (Boeing Boeing) and John Simm (Elling). Nominees for best actress are Anne-Marie Duff (Saint Joan), Kelly Reilly (Othello), Kristin Scott Thomas (The Seagull), Fiona Shaw (Happy Days) and Penelope Wilton (John Gabriel Borkman).
The awards are on March 9 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
Barriers return amid Real IRA threats
Armed checkpoints returned to Northern Ireland for the first time in years yesterday as police responded to the threat of a renewed terrorist offensive by the Real IRA.
An interview in a Sunday newspaper, purportedly with the leadership of the Real IRA, said that the terrorist splinter group had reorganised and was ready to resume its campaign of violence to force a British withdrawal from Ireland. Police have been wearing flak jackets since November when the Real IRA shot and wounded two officers. Police have also urged store-owners and shoppers to be vigilant.
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Internet cables cut
Two of the world’s most vital internet cables are being repaired after they broke last week, causing havoc on networks across the Middle East and India. Ships dropping anchor in heavy seas may have cut the cables off the coast of Egypt. A third, near Dubai, was also cut, leading to suspicion of sabotage.
Environment boost
Research into the threats posed by climate change to the poorest countries and the best ways to help them will be stepped up with a tenfold increase in funding. Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, pledged £100 million towards the work over the next five years.
Teacher shortage
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Schools face a shortage of new maths and English teachers after applications for postgraduate training courses fell by 9 per cent over the year, according to Education Data Surveys. The researchers found that physics applications had fallen by 30 per cent while those for maths and English were down 15 per cent.
Headless corpse
A headless body was found wrapped in blankets behind a supermarket in Kilburn, North London. The man’s body was found in a storage cage, wrapped tightly and secured with tape. Police have not yet been able to establish his ethnicity. The body has been removed as investigators search the area.
Gangs ‘threaten city’s revival’
A senior police officer fears a lack of funding means his force has become “almost an irrelevance” to organised criminal gangs (Adam Fresco writes). David Lindley, Deputy Chief Constable of Leicestershire, speaking before a vote on increasing the force’s budget by almost 16.5 per cent, said the economic revival of Leicester city centre would be in danger if criminals were allowed to take over.
Doctor killed in skiing accident
A British anaesthetist was killed in a skiing accident in the French Alps. Police said that Robert Bruce, 40, from Winchester, Hampshire, died instantly when he hit a rocky outcrop in thick fog at Val d’Isère, where he had been attending a seminar.
Police recover lost pictures
Prints and photographs thought to have been stolen more than ten years ago from private collections have been recovered by police. It is believed that the personal items, which were found in West London, had been stolen for sale.
Check-up for dead patient
Frederick Allen, who died aged 68 in 1968, was invited for a check-up by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. His daughter Margaret, 71, said she was hoping not to get a letter asking why he hadn’t turned up for the appointment.