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Whale rescuers' £300 parking bill

Rescue attempt
Rescue charity workers notched up £300 worth of parking fines as they battled in vain to save a whale found swimming up the River Thames.
British Divers Marine Life Rescue chairman Alan Knight said cars were parked by Vauxhall Bridge on meters.

But in a race against time to get the mammal to safety, volunteers jumped on the rescue barge on Saturday afternoon and did not return until the evening.

Westminster Council has said it will now waive the fines.

The 19ft whale, confirmed as an adolescent female, first surfaced on Friday morning in central London and throughout the day captured the attention of thousands of people who flocked to the river banks.

But she rapidly became disorientated and distressed, prompting the seven-hour rescue operation aimed at getting her back to her natural habitat in deep sea waters.

 

Blair's education 'highwire act'

Tony Blair has described trying to get his flagship schools reforms through the Commons as a "highwire act".
More than 90 Labour MPs oppose the plans for the introduction of trust schools with greater independence.
At his monthly media conference, he said: "It's a bit of a highwire act... because I've got significant numbers of my own side who are against it."
The issue raised "very, very important" questions for Labour about the role of central and local government, he added.
He said he had no intention of losing the legislation, but simply wanted to "level up" standards, adding that the reforms were not a return to academic selection.
Parent power
The Labour rebels have said they will vote against the legislation when it comes to the Commons next month unless the government changes its plans.
They fear the proposals would mean children from poorer families losing out because middle class families would work the system to their advantage.
They are also concerned the changes would open the door to schools selecting children on academic ability in the future.

But Conservative leader David Cameron has said he will support the government's school reforms.
Shadow education secretary David Willetts said the party will "stand shoulder to shoulder" with Mr Blair on the plans because "he is endorsing a principle we have long believed in."
At his press conference, Mr Blair said the role of government was to help, not hinder parents.
"Whenever I look at education, I speak as a parent first and as a politician second," he said.
"I know what I wanted for my own children, what I want for my own children and that is what I expect other parents to want and our job should be to help them to get it, not to stand in the way of them and say we know better than you what's good for your child."

 

Atlantic rescue for two UK rowers

Two Cornish rowers who capsized in severe weather near the end of the gruelling Atlantic Rowing Race have been saved in an overnight rescue.
Rowers Bob Warren, 40, and Chris Barrett, 41, sent an SOS and took to a life raft after their boat Spirit of Cornwall failed to right itself.
The pair, from the Roseland Gig Club at St Mawes, were rescued 100 miles east of the finish line in Antigua.
They are safe on race support ship Aurora which is heading to Antigua.

A full-scale rescue was launched by Falmouth Coastguards in Cornwall who received an SOS from an emergency beacon on the boat at 1641 GMT on Sunday.
The men were picked up by the Aurora after a red flare was spotted by rescue vessels, which included UK warship HMS Southampton, at 2230 GMT.
Bob Warren's father Charles told BBC News: "The weather conditions have been the worst for living memory.
"Some boats have reported not seeing the sun for several weeks."
He was waiting to speak to his son on the Aurora where the men were resting after their ordeal.
"They are weary, exhausted and bitterly disappointed, but they are on their feet," he said.
Norma Fowler, from the Spirit of Cornwall team, said: "Both of them are highly experienced in the water - they know and respect it. It's just a disaster for them."
Coastguards who received the alert brought the merchant vessel Rainbow, race support vessel Aurora and HMS Southampton to the area.
At first, the men could not be seen but a red flare was spotted and the life raft located.
Andy Cattrell, watch manager of MRCC Falmouth, said: "This was a prolonged operation with some difficult communications involved.
"The vessels involved are to be commended for their professionalism in carrying out this rescue in darkness and difficult sea conditions."
It is the fourth major rescue during the race, which is organised by Devon-based Woodvale Events.
Olympic champion James Cracknell and TV presenter Ben Fogle survived a terrifying capsize en route to a third place finish.
On 17 January a full-scale search and rescue was launched for Moveahead, crewed by Colin Briggs and Bobby Prentice.
Two Irish rowers - Ciaran Lewis and Gearoid Towey - were rescued in their Digital Atlantic Challenge boat.
Teresa Page, spokeswoman from Woodvale, told BBC News: "Everything we do to organise the event is to try to ensure the safety of all the rowers.
"But the weather conditions we've been having this year are very, very, very unusual and unpredicted. "
The race was won by All Relative, a family rowing team from Beer in Devon.
They finished the race more than 800 nautical miles (920 miles) ahead of their nearest rivals.

 

UK diplomats in Moscow spying row

Russia's state security service, the FSB, has accused British diplomats of spying in Moscow.
It backed claims made in a Russian TV report which showed footage of what it said was British agents retrieving data from a fake rock planted on a street.
The programme also said a UK diplomat made regular payments to Russian non-governmental organisations.
The UK Foreign Office said it was "concerned and surprised", and denied any improper conduct with Russian NGOs.
Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed FSB spokesman as saying that "everything that was shown [in the programme] was true and based on our information".

The programme said four officials from the UK embassy and one Russian citizen, allegedly recruited by the British secret service, downloaded classified data from a transmitter in the rock onto palm-top computers.
According to the programme, the Russian citizen was later arrested.
Hidden camera footage appears to show individuals walking up to the rock.
One man is caught on camera carrying it away.
'New technology'
The programme contained a number of interviews with people claiming to be Russian intelligence officers, who made the allegations.
An unnamed FSB spokesman told AFP news agency one of the accused diplomats was a 30-year-old archivist.
A FSB officer told Rossiya television the hi-tech stone was "absolutely new spy technology".
The UK embassy in Moscow has refused to comment, but the UK Foreign Office in London issued a statement.
"We are concerned and surprised at these allegations. We reject any allegation of improper conduct in our dealing with Russian NGOs," it said.
The Foreign Office said it was well known that the UK government had given financial support to projects implemented by Russian NGOs in the field of human rights and civil society.
"All our assistance is given openly and aims to support the development of a healthy civil society in Russia," the statement said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin drew widespread criticism earlier this month when he signed a law giving authorities increased powers to monitor the activities and finances of NGOs.

More top grades in A-level exams

As students across the country receive their A-level grades, figures show Welsh pupils have achieved above average results.
The Welsh pass rate has increased to 96.5%, which is half a percent higher than the UK average of 96%.
The number of papers awarded the top A grade have also increased by 0.5% and now account for just under a quarter of the total.
This is 1% higher than the UK average, according to the statistics from the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC).
Girls continue to outperform boys across the UK although the gap is said to be narrowing.
Thursday's results will be a cause for celebration for thousands of teenagers and were welcomed by Welsh Education Minister Jane Davidson.
She said: "This is an absolutely tremendous set of results.
"I am delighted that once again students in Wales have made 2004 another successful A-level year.
"These results are a tribute to the hard work and application of our young people coupled with the dedication and professionalism of our teachers.
"Everyone must be congratulated on their tremendous achievements."
Ms Davidson strongly denied that examinations were getting easier, pointing out that the overall pass rate in Wales went up by just 0.1% compared to last year, the smallest statistical increase which could be measured.
She told BBC Wales: "In all my years as minister - this is the fourth year I have responded on A-levels - people have carped about standards.
"But nobody has ever shown me or my colleagues in Westminster or my colleagues in Scotland any evidence that all the things the regulatory bodies put in place to determine standards year-on-year are failing.
"I do not believe they are."
The WJEC accounts for 64% of A-level and AS papers taken in Wales.
There was an increase of 3.5% in Advanced Subsidiary (AS) entries in Wales however there was a reduction of 0.2% in the pass rate compared to 2003.
Teaching unions too have welcomed the higher pass rate - saying the results are a tribute to the hard work of pupils across Wales - and of the teaching staff.
Heledd Hayes of the National Union of Teachers said it showed standards had been maintained.
She said: "I think today the thing we need to do is celebrate and congratulate our young people on achieving magnificent results yet again and indeed thank their teachers for the hard work they have put in."