Motorway speed limit to be raised

 

The speed limit on Britain’s motorways is set to rise to 80mph but with a big expansion in the number 20mph zones in cities and towns, The Independent has learnt. As part of a deal negotiated with the Liberal Democrats the Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond is expected to announce the Government’s intention to bring in the new speed limit at the Conservative conference. Ministers will then consult on the proposal later in the year along with plans to significantly expand the number of areas in Britain covered by 20mph zones.

Ferdinand loses privacy action

 

Rio Ferdinand has lost his privacy action over a "kiss and tell" story. The England and Manchester United centre back was not at London's High Court to hear Mr Justice Nicol dismiss his claim against MGN Ltd. Ferdinand, 32, brought his case for misuse of private information over an April 2010 Sunday Mirror article in which interior designer Carly Storey gave her account of their 13-year relationship in return for £16,000. The judge said: "Overall, in my judgment, the balancing exercise favours the defendant's right of freedom of expression over the claimant's right of privacy." Ferdinand had branded the piece - "My affair with England captain Rio" - a "gross invasion of my privacy", and said he had not seen Ms Storey for six years by the time it appeared. At a hearing in July, his lawyers asked for a maximum of £50,000 damages and a worldwide gagging order. Afterwards, Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver said in a statement: "The Sunday Mirror is very pleased that the court has rejected Rio Ferdinand's privacy claim. "The judge found that there was a justified public interest in reporting the off-pitch behaviour of the then England captain and discussion of his suitability for such an important and ambassadorial role representing the country. "There has never been greater scrutiny of the media than now, and we applaud this ruling in recognising the important role a free press has to play in a democratic society."

Treasure hunters eye huge shipwreck haul

 

When the SS Gairsoppa was torpedoed by a German U-boat, it took its huge silver cargo to a watery grave. Seventy years later, US divers said they are working to recover what may well be the biggest shipwreck haul ever. Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration on Monday confirmed the identity and location of the Gairsoppa and cited official documents indicating the ship was carrying some 219 tons of silver coins and bullion when it sank in 1941 in the North Atlantic some 490km off the Irish coast. That's worth about $200m today, which would make it history's largest recovery of precious metals lost at sea, Odyssey said. "We've accomplished the first phase of this project -- the location and identification of the target shipwreck - and now we're hard at work planning for the recovery phase," Odyssey senior project manager Andrew Craig said in a statement. "Given the orientation and condition of the shipwreck, we are extremely confident that our planned salvage operation will be well suited for the recovery of this silver cargo." Recovery is expected to begin next spring. After a tender process the British government awarded Odyssey an exclusive salvage contract for the cargo, and under the agreement Odyssey will retain 80% of the silver bullion salvaged from the wreck. The 125m Gairsoppa had been sailing from India back to Britain in February 1941, and was in a convoy of ships when a storm hit. Running low on fuel, the Gairsoppa broke off from the convoy and set a course for Galway, Ireland. It never made it, succumbing to a U-boat's torpedo in the contested waters of the North Atlantic. Of the 85 people on board, only one survived. The Gairsoppa came to rest nearly 4 700m below the surface, but Odyssey is insisting that won't prevent a full cargo recovery. "We were fortunate to find the shipwreck sitting upright, with the holds open and easily accessible," Odyssey chief executive Greg Stemm said. "This should enable us to unload cargo through the hatches as would happen with a floating ship alongside a cargo terminal." Odyssey, a world leader in deep-ocean exploration, recently conducted remotely operated vehicles from its main ship, the Odyssey Explorer, to inspect the shipwreck. It said it acquired still and video imagery from the site which were used to confirm the identify and evaluate the condition of the Gairsoppa.

THE Queen gave Prince William the go-ahead to rip up the official guest list for his wedding to Kate Middleton

Prince William (pic: Handout)

THE Queen gave Prince William the go-ahead to rip up the official guest list for his wedding to Kate Middleton, he has revealed.

He told how he never knew a soul on the official paper of hundreds of people and was not happy with the line-up.

“They said: ‘These are the people we should invite’. I looked at it in absolute horror and said: ‘I think we should start again’.”

The 29-year-old said: “I came into the first wedding meeting, post-engagement. And I was given this official list of 777 names, dignitaries, governors, all sorts of people, and not one person I knew.

William told how he then approached the Queen for help. He added: “I rang her up the next day and said: ‘Do we need to be doing this?’

“And she said: ‘No. Start with your friends first and then go from there’. And she told me to bin the list.

“She told me there are certain times when you have to strike the right balance.”

Jonathan Dimbleby has admitted he tried cocaine and marijuana in his 20s.

 Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian

Veteran broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby has admitted that he tried cocaine once and called on middle-class people dabbling in drugs to think again about the misery they are causing in south America.

 

The host of long-running BBC Radio 4 show Any Questions? said he has a "contempt for cocaine sniffers in this country who are intelligent middle-class people but do not realise that they are fuelling a drugs war that is leading to misery for millions".

 

He revealed he took the drug when he was in his early 20s and also tried marijuana but did not enjoy either.

 

"I had cannabis twice in my early 20s. And once, in America [at around the same age], I did a line of cocaine. I sneezed it all over the place much to the dismay of people around who saw it as this precious substance," Dimbleby said. "It tickled my nose, and then it blocked my nose. And I had no experience from it at all."

 

Dimbleby, 67, made his remarks in an interview with the Daily Telegraphto publicise his new BBC2 series A South American Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby.

 

He was shocked by the effects of the cocaine trade in Colombia. "By our criminalising the use of cocaine, of people stuffing their noses with coke, we are causing mayhem to the lives of millions of people in South America," he said.

 

He did not go as far as calling for the decriminalisation of the drug but said "we should take the matter more seriously".

 

He added: "I think the criminalisation of drugs globally has produced far greater trouble for everyone than it if were not criminal."

 

He said it was "ridiculous" to attack public figures such as politicians for having taken drugs when they were at university.

 

"I think it is ridiculous to lay into adults who happen to have responsibility on the basis of what they did or didn't do at university," Dimbleby said.

Gadhafi spotted as rebels capture parts of south Libya town

 

Fugitive Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi was spotted in the southern city of Sabha a few days ago, the regional daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday, citing an eyewitness. The witness claimed that Gadhafi was living in the city, located around 750 kilometers south of the capital Tripoli. Anti-Gadhafi fighters firing a cannon near Sirte, the hometown of deposed leader Muammar Gadhafi, September 17, 2011. Photo by: Reuters Gadhafi's whereabouts have been unknown since rebels took over Tripoli in August. However, he continues to send statements and voice messages through the Syria-based al-Rai channel. The report comes after the anti-Gadhafi rebels said they took over parts of Sabha city as well as its airport. "The airport of Sabha has been liberated by our fighters," a military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Bani, said in Tripoli on Monday. "Also two villages near Sabha have been liberated." For around a week the rebels have been fighting pro-Gadhafi fighters, who have put up stiff resistance in his birthplace of Sirte and the desert town of Bani Walid, south-east of Tripoli. Almost a month after they overran Tripoli, the rebels are at pains to take control of the two strongholds before their leaders can declare all of the North African country "liberated."

Charlie Sheen to pocket $25 million from settlement over ‘Men’ firing

Washington: Looks like Charlie Sheen is close to settling his 100-million-dollars legal dispute with Warner Bros. over his firing from the hit sitcom ‘Two and a Half Men’.

 

A person familiar with the talks, has revealed that the studio is wrapping up a deal to end the litigation.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Sheen is expected to receive about 25 million dollars from the Hollywood studio. The figure represents Sheen’s participation in profits from the show.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Warner Bros. denied there is a settlement and declined to comment further.