0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Fujitsu received £3.4bn from Treasury-linked contracts since 2019, MPs findFujitsu received more than £3.4 billion through contracts running with Treasury-linked organisations since 2019 despite its role in the Post Office scandal, MPs have found.Around £1.4 billion worth of deals have been awarded since the High Court ruled that there had been numerous bugs and errors in its Horizon software.More than £2 billion worth of deals were agreed before 2019 and remained active in the following period, the Commons Treasury Committee said.
Horizon scandal 'ongoing' as sub-postmasters pursued for thousands of poundsLord Arbuthnot, one of the key drivers in exposing the original scandal, has called for an 'urgent' investigation into the new claimsPostmasters are still being traumatised by wrongful demands for thousands of pounds due to continuing faults with the Horizon IT system, The Telegraph can reveal.The self-employed branch managers have warned of an “ongoing scandal”, with repeated letters from the Post Office, some as recently as last month. leaving many feeling they have to pay up.Some said they had paid back up to £10,000 as a result of glitches in recent years, despite the landmark Bates vs Post Office ruling in 2019, which found “bugs, errors and defects” in the Horizon software.Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, one of the key drivers in exposing the original scandal, has called for an “urgent” investigation into the new claims.Horizon was updated in 2017, with the High Court describing the new version as “robust” relative to comparable systems.However, The Telegraph has unearthed evidence of widespread and repeated shortfalls.Although the threat of prosecution has been removed, subpostmasters are still required to attempt to explain any shortfalls.However, wrongful repayments made after the 2017 Horizon update cannot be reclaimed via any of the compensation schemes, on the basis that the IT system has improved.
How old Christmas trees are helping to rebuild Lancashire's last remaining sand dunesTens of thousands of Christmas trees are buried on a beach near Blackpool.Some stick out of the sand in plain sight, others are buried underneath metres of sand dunes - exactly where they're supposed to be.Every February for two days, hundreds of locals descend on the beach wielding spades. They spend hours digging trenches in the sand and then fill them with old Christmas trees, buried up to their bottom branches. The next time the wind blows, the trees will catch grains of sand in their branches and begin to rebuild Lancashire's last remaining dunes.It takes six months to a year to build new dunes with this method, a process that can take hundreds of years in nature. The annual Christmas tree burial has completely changed the landscape along the beach - what was once flat is now hilly, covered in grasses and home to around 500 sand lizards.
Two wildfires break out on Zakynthos islandA wildfire broke out on Sunday in the village of Kato Gerakari on the island of Zakynthos. Strong firefighting forces swiftly responded to the scene as powerful winds, reaching up to 8 Beaufort, swept through the area. Meanwhile, the fire that erupted on Saturday in Exo Chora, Zakynthos and devoured over 65 hectares of forest land was brought under control by Sunday morning, despite challenging conditions with winds blowing at 8-9 Beaufort.
Plan for 50,000 free surgeries for those on waiting listsThe Health Ministry has announced a plan to pay for some 50,000 operations that have been pending at the National Health System in afternoon surgeries.The plan will apply for patients who have been on a waiting list the longest – in some cases over a year – and will be financed with funds from the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund. The surgeries are set to start in April. The aim is to encourage doctors to raise the number of afternoon surgeries, but also to reduce the long waiting times, which have also intensified due to the pandemic. There are currently 102,634 surgeries pending across the country, with the most common procedures being cataract removal, knee replacement, cholecystectomy, hip replacement, and tonsillectomy.
Minimum wage set to exceed €800 by April, says FMThe National Economy and Finance Minister, Kostis Hatzidakis, announced on Sunday that the minimum wage increase, set to exceed 800 euros, will be revealed by the end of March to take effect from April 1. In an interview on SKAI TV, Hatzidakis emphasized the government’s commitment to redistributing surplus in case of high growth rates. He mentioned that discussions with relevant stakeholders are ongoing, aiming to elevate the minimum wage to 950 euros by the end of the government’s four-year term.
No-fault eviction ban by next election, Michael Gove promisesNo-fault evictions will be "outlawed" in England by the next general election, Housing Secretary Michael Gove has told the BBC.The Conservatives first promised to end the right of landlords to evict tenants without needing a reason in 2019. Under the bill, landlords would only be able to evict tenants in England under certain circumstances, including when they wished to sell the property or when they or a close family member wanted to move in.The National Residential Landlords Association has called for improvements to the court system to enable landlords to regain possession of their properties more quickly when they have legitimate grounds to do so.Last year, Mr Gove told Conservative MPs no fault-evictions would not be abolished until the court system was reformed.
Greece poised to legalize same-sex marriage, bucking Orthodox traditionGreece is poised to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, despite urgent warnings from the Greek Orthodox Church.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, an ostensibly center-right politician, is relying on a coalition with left-wing lawmakers to push through the legislation next week without support from a significant faction of his own New Democracy party.The proposal has been vehemently opposed by the Greek Orthodox Church — the "prevailing religion" of Greece claiming approximately 90% of the population.The Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece ruled in a unanimous decision last month that the implementation of same-sex marriage and adoption of children by same-sex couples is inadmissible.
Hundreds of protesters opposed to bill allowing same-sex marriage rally in Greek capitalMore than 1,500 protesters gathered in central Athens on Sunday to oppose legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Greece. The bill is set for a vote in parliament in days.Greece’s conservative government is sponsoring the bill but it will require votes from center and left opposition parties to be approved. However, even some center-left lawmakers have gone on record as opposing the bill.Organizers of Sunday’s rally — religious groups — described the bill as a threat to the traditional family. Many of the protesters chanted “hands off our children.”
Farnham penguin finds 'guide bird' in one of her friendsA partially-sighted penguin at a bird park has found a "guide bird" in one of her friends.Squid, an African penguin based at Birdworld in Farnham, Surrey, developed cataracts as a chick.Her friend, named Penguin, steers Squid around their enclosure, helping when she gets disorientated at feeding time.Penguin was so ill at birth he was not expected to live so he was not named, and he did not join his group until later in life when he was better.Eventually, he became friends with Squid and the two have been helping each other since.
Author
Topic: 11/02/24 (Read 949 times)
