Author: Loveworld UK

A spate of suicides at a leading French company will see a number of top executives stand trial over alleged workplace bullying. The former head of France Telecom Didier Lombard, six other executives and telecoms operator Orange, formerly France Telecom, are to be taken to court over their alleged role in a wave of staff suicides.They are accused of engaging in or assisting psychological harassment, according to the court order.An April 2010 report from labour inspectors found that 19 employees took their own lives, 12 attempted suicide and eight suffered from deep depression or were forced to stop work as…

Some transplant patients are not getting the best treatment because of a national shortage of heart valve donations. Although the NHS can generally meet demand on most transplant tissue such as eyes, skin and tendons, they are currently struggling to provide enough human heart valves. It means that surgeons are having to use tissue from pigs or mechanical valves which are not generally as reliable.Kyle Bennett, a manager at the NHS Blood and Transplant centre in Liverpool, urged people to have a conversation with loved ones about donating tissue and organs.He said: “It’s just trying to think what would you…

Two ships carrying hundreds of people who have become the focus of a Europe-wide disagreement over migration have docked in Valencia. The Italian coast guard vessel Dattilo arrived in the Spanish port just before 7am local time on Sunday, and was followed by the Aquarius migrant rescue vessel a few hours later.An Italian navy ship, the Orione, will follow. The total number of migrants being transported is 630. They were rescued a week ago off the coast of Libya and have been at sea ever since after the Italian government refused to allow the vessel they were aboard to dock…

The industrialists who bought GKN, the British engineering group, in a controversial £8bn takeover this year are plotting the £1.5bn sale of one of its most valuable divisions. Sky News has learnt that executives at Melrose are drawing up plans to kick off an auction of GKN’s Powder Metallurgy arm as soon as this autumn.Rothschild, the investment bank, is understood to be in line to advise Melrose on the sale, although it has not yet been formally hired.Sources close to the industrial turnaround group confirmed that Powder Met – as the business is known – would be sold in the…

A controversial clampdown on immigration has caused nearly 2,000 children to be separated from their families at the US border over a six-week period. Stories of weeping children torn from the arms of their frightened parents have emerged since a “zero tolerance” policy on illegal entries was enforced, with all cases now being referred for criminal prosecution.Because the children are not charged with a crime, US rules state that they cannot be detained with their parents.Politicians and religious groups have been among those criticising the policy, describing it as inhumane. Image: A battle in Congress is now brewing over the…

Outrage and anger was sparked when a law to ban upskirting was stopped in its tracks when Sir Christopher Chope objected to it. The Voyeurism (Offences) Bill has been prevented from being given a second reading in parliament as a result.The Christchurch MP has a record of blocking private members’ bills and is on a crusade to challenge many of them.Who is the man with a vendetta against these bills?Mr Chope has been branded a “maverick” by Culture Minister Margot James, who accused the 71-year-old Tory of bringing the Conservatives into disrepute. 0:09 Video: ‘Shame’: Moment upskirting bill blocked He…

Somewhere behind the sorry-looking compound walls of Remand Prison no. 6, an hour’s drive south of St Petersburg, sits a 23-year-old fresh-faced computer programmer called Viktor Filinkov. On a recent visit by officers from Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the FSB, Mr Filinkov said he was asked in words far cruder than this whether he’d been raped yet.According to his lawyer, Vitaly Cherkasov, the FSB officer in question “was trying to convince my client that if he hadn’t been raped it would definitely happen soon” and was delighted at the prospect. Image: Russia’s FSB agency has been accused of torture Mr…

US cable giant Comcast’s £22.1bn takeover bid for Sky plc, the owner of Sky News, has been cleared unconditionally by the European Commission. The decision removes the last regulatory hurdle that stood before Comcast as the bidding war for Europe’s largest pay-TV operator hots up.Sky’s largest single shareholders, the US media giant 21st Century Fox, was last week given the go-ahead by the UK government to bid for Sky on the condition that it sells Sky News to another approved owner ahead of any takeover.Fox is currently negotiating with officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) about…

The prime minister says she is “disappointed” after a proposed law to make upskirting a specific criminal offence was blocked by a Tory MP. The Voyeurism (Offences) Bill was stopped in its tracks when Christchurch MP Sir Christopher Chope objected to it being given a second reading in parliament.The bill, which was proposed by Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse and supported by ministers, was expected to get the nod through the Commons on Friday.After it was blocked, Theresa May said: “Upskirting is an invasion of privacy which leaves victims feeling degraded and distressed.”I am disappointed the bill didn’t make progress…

The high street billionaire Sir Philip Green has sparked a legal battle with regulators over a probe into the audit of BHS’s accounts during the year before the now-collapsed chain was sold for £1. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Sir Philip’s company Taveta Investments has made an urgent application for a judicial review aimed at forcing the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to amend its report on the issue.A hearing is understood to have been scheduled to take place at the High Court on Friday, but has been postponed after lawyers for the FRC requested more time to prepare their…