Confectionery companies downsizing to beat VAT rise

Poundland has negotiated a lighter Toblerone,
with one less triangle

Confectionery companies like Nestlé and Cadbury are shrinking the size of some of their biggest brands, and simultaneously nudging up prices, in a bid to preserve their profit margins as a result of rising costs and before the rise in VAT (value added tax). Chief executive Jim McCarthy has negotiated to introduce a new, lighter Toblerone in 2011, which will be about one triangle shorter than the standard bar, so that the price can be held at one pound. Mintel Analyst David Jago says it is one of the tactics being used by confectionary groups to maintain their profit margins at a time when VAT is set to rise and the cost of ingredients such as palm oil, cocoa and sugar are soaring. Chocolate prices have risen since 2007. The Grocer magazine recently reported that Cadbury and Nestlé have pushed up the recommended retail price of top selling bars like Dairy Milk, Wispa, Kit Kat and Yorkie up to 7%, more than double the rate of inflation. From February onwards, a block of Dairy Milk will be 120g instead of 140g. This bar now costs 30% more than it did three years go.

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First of all, I am glad that we do not have this problem in the Netherlands yet, because I love chocolate. I think people in Britain will buy less chocolate now, so I am wondering if the companies are really going to make more profit. I am afraid the bars will not get bigger again if the companies will be making more profit. But maybe because of this, these companies can also help to fight the growing obesity problem in the UK.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/17/confectionery-companies-downsizing-vat

Doctors warn of flu crisis

GP (General practitioner) leaders said that because fewer people in “at-risk groups” are receiving the seasonal flu jab, Britain is facing a major flu crisis this winter. The British Medical Association (BMA) said that the increased efforts by the government and the National Health Service (NHS) are needed to persuade people to get immunized and dispel the “myths” surrounding the jab. The BMA is concerned that people whose health is vulnerable, like elderly people, pregnant women and patients with asthma, diabetes, chronic heart conditions and cancer, could get seasonal flu. The GPs are reporting that fewer of their ‘at-risk’ patients (just 40%) are coming forward to be immunized this year. The BMA asked the government to step up the public awareness campaign for seasonal flu immunization. The publicity campaign needs to encourage patients classed as “at risk” to have the jab, and highlight the risks involved in not doing so. Members of the various at-risk groups could become seriously ill if they do not protect themselves. Fourteen out of 17 people did not have the seasonal flu jab. The flu already claimed 17 lives since October, although many died from the swine flu strain.

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GPs are reporting high rates of seasonal flu,
according to the British Medical Association

I am surprised that just 40% of the people at the “at-risk groups” have received the seasonal flu jab. The flu can be dangerous, especially for those people. I think it is good to step up the campaign, to make people especially at the “at-risk groups” more aware of the risk they take if they do not get the flu jab. I hope the campaign will encourage them to take the jab.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/dec/17/doctors-warn-flu-crisis

Ex-private schoolgirl found guilty of manslaughter in homophobic attack

Ian Baynham

The 18 year old Ruby Thomas, a former private schoolgirl who hurled homophobic abuse at the 62-year-old gay civil servant Ian Baynham and stamped on him and kicked him during a deadly attack, was found guilty of manslaughter. Ian Baynham died from a brain injury 18 days after the drink-fuelled assault last September. His blood was found on Thomas’s handbag and shoes. She had smiled when she had put her boot into Baynham after he was knocked to the ground by teenager Joel Alexander, who also was convicted of manslaughter. When the verdicts were returned, Thomas put her head in her hands. She had a record for violence. She was 15 when she assaulted a bus driver in Northumberland Avenue in December 2007.  Both defendants will be sentenced in the new year.

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I hope that these teenagers will get the right punishment for their deeds. Even though they are just teenagers, according to me, they are old enough to realize what they are doing and take responsibility for that also. Just like every other person, gay people  should also be treated with respect. I hope that by this article, more people will realize what kind of consequences these kinds of deeds can have.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/16/ex-public-schoolgirl-guilty-manslaughter-homophobic

UK to enjoy brief thaw before freeze returns

A man waiting for a bus in Edinburgh, which has

seen its heaviest snowfall in nearly 50 years.

Forecasters said that Britain will enjoy a brief respite after more than a week of snow, ice and transport chaos. It is the worst December weather in almost 30 years in Britain. The temperatures will fall again at the beginning of next week and will stay low for the rest of the year. The army was called in to help clear up in Edinburgh city centre after major snowfalls. Soldiers from the First Battalion of Scotland were on the streets of the Scottish capital after being given formal clearance by the Ministry of Defence. The soldiers have been joined by personnel from the Royal Navy and the RAF. The temperature was -13C across northern England overnight, and the conditions on the roads were and still are extremely poor with delays throughout the country. The advice is still not to travel unless necessary. By the start of next week, north-easterly winds are expected to return the cold weather once more, with an increasing risk of snow showers, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the UK. It would stay cold for much of the rest of the month, with widespread risk of ice, frost and snow showers. 



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I was surprised to see so much snow in Britain and I am even a little jealous. I understand it must cause a lot of trouble on the roads, which is not nice for the people over there. I saw on the news that there were many accidents, but after reading this news article I think there will be many more accidents the coming weeks. 

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/09/uk-brief-thaw-temperatures

Shrien Dewani held on suspicion of conspiring to murder wife

Shrien and Anni Dewani

Shrien Dewani, the widower of Anni Hindocha (28), who got killed on their honeymoon in South Africa on the 13^th of November, was accused of ordering her death by taxi driver Zola Tongo as he was sentenced for his part in the killing in the South African court. Dewani voluntarily went to a Bristol police station where he was arrested by the Metropolitan police on behalf of South African  authorities. Dewani said that the allegation that he was involved in his wife’s murder is “absurd and obscene”, and that he is “totally innocent of the horrendous crime”. He is expected to appear at the court in Westminster. Tonga pleaded guilty in South Africa and claimed that Dewani was the instigator of the murder and paid him 1,000 rand (about £92) for staging a carjacking that would end in the murder of his wife in a township. He also said that Dewani was willing to pay 15,000 rand (£1,380) in total. Tongo was found guilty for kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder and obstructing justice. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Two other suspects, Mziwamadodo Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni have denied involvement and are due to stand trial on the 25^th of February.

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Some weeks ago I heard about the death of Anni Dewani during her honeymoon. I think it is terrible what happened. I do not believe that her husband paid other people to kill his wife. I just cannot imagine that a man would kill his wife on their honeymoon. I think the taxi driver made the whole story up to lower his punishment. 

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/08/shrien-dewani-suspicion-conspiracy-murder-wife

Figures show poorest boys in England still let down by school system

Government figures show that just 52.6% of 11-year old boys on free school meals (which is a key indicator of poverty) obtained level four in English and maths, which is the expected standard of children in their last year of primary school. At this level, children are able to write proper English sentences with commas and tackle basic mental arithmetic in maths. 55.8% of pupils (boys and girls) on free school meals obtained level four, compared to 77.1% from wealthier homes. This is the same as last year. With 50.1% reaching level four in both subjects, white boys from poor homes are the furthest behind, followed by poor black boys (56.4%), poor boys from mixed backgrounds (57.6%), poor Asian boys (62.9%) and poor Chinese boys (66.1%). School minister Nick Gibbs said that the figures were unacceptable and that the poorest boys were being let down by the education system. In 2018, the number of pupils in primary schools in England is expected to reach 4.5 million, an increase from 3.96 million right now.

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I think it is a bad thing that just 52.6% of these boys reach level four. I am wondering if this is a mistake from the government because they do not spend enough money on education, or if there is no good control at the education system. Probably these boys do not study enough, which according to me, is the responsibility of their parents. But I also think teachers can have influence on that. I hope these figures will improve soon.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/dec/09/poorest-boys-english-maths-sats

School sports: Half a million pupils protest against Michael Gove’s cuts

School sports day

Education secretary Michael Gove is under nationwide attack from children, headteachers and celebrities because of his plan to axe School Sport Partnerships (SSPs). SSPs share resources and ideas, overseen by school sport co-ordinators. It raises the standards of school sport and gives pupils the opportunity to try sports that in the old days only privately educated kids might have had access to. David Cameron will be urged this week by more than half a million students and teachers to drop all plans to reduce sports in school. They will do this by launching a “peaceful protest” in Westminster on Tuesday, lobbying their MPs and delivering a petition with more than half a million signatures. Since the plans to axe 162 million pounds in funding were announced in October, 450 SSPs are under threat. Cameron has said that ministers would look again at Gove’s decision to end the ring-fenced funding to SSPs. Gove said that the SSP system is too bureaucratic and locks schools into meeting unnecessary targets.

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I understand that the government have to cut money sometimes, but I do not think that this is the right place to cut money. Pupils should not become the victim of it. It is very important that kids get the chance to sport at school in a nice way. This gives them enthusiasm to keep sporting, which is good for their health. It is also better for kids to sport than watching television or playing videogames all day.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/dec/05/school-sport-partnerships-protests-michael-gove