Author: Loveworld UK

UK workers are suffering the worst pay squeeze in 200 years with millions of children in poverty despite their parents having jobs, according to union figures. Wages, which have lagged behind inflation, are worth £24 a week less than during the 2008 financial crisis and are not set to return to pre-crash levels until 2025, said the Trades Union Congress.By that time, workers will have lost out by around £18,500 in real earnings, the TUC claimed.It comes as tens of thousands of union members and campaigners will join the biggest demonstration for four years today calling for a “new deal”…

Windsor council is warning people to make their plans now if they want to join the party on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s big day. From travel plans, to accommodation, to choosing your ideal viewing spot, the council for the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead has released what it’s calling its PRINCE plan to make sure visitors are prepared.With around 100,000 people from around the world expected to arrive in the royal borough, it has been described as a once in a generation event. Image: The wedding has been described as a once in a generation event Road closures…

Barclays boss Jes Staley has been fined £642,430 by regulators over his attempt to unmask a whistleblower. An investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) sharply criticised Mr Staley’s response to the receipt of an anonymous letter by the bank in June 2016.The fine and public censure of the Barclays boss is unprecedented for a serving chief executive of a major bank.Barclays said following Friday’s announcement it would cut the value of Mr Staley’s 2016 bonus by £500,000 meaning that his acknowledged mistakes over the episode have cost him more than…

Sellafield Ltd will be prosecuted after an employee was contaminated during an incident in February last year. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) announced it was taking action for offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act.The charge relates to an incident at a facility which handles special nuclear materials run by Sellafield Ltd on 5 February 2017.The incident resulted in the “personal contamination” of an employee.A spokesman for the ONR said: “For legal reasons we are unable to comment further on the details of the case which is now the subject of active court proceedings.”Sellafield Ltd confirmed it…

Armed police are at the scene of a standoff after a man threatened health workers with a crossbow. The officers have been at a property in Stoke-on-Trent since Thursday afternoon after being called in to support health workers on a planned visit in the Chell Heath area.A man in his 30s began threatening the workers with a crossbow, police have said.In a statement, Staffordshire Police said: “This morning specialist officers remain at the scene, including armed police and specially trained negotiators.”We continue to negotiate with the man to bring this incident to a safe and peaceful resolution and get him…

Twelve North Korean waitresses who defected to South Korea two years ago were tricked by the South’s intelligence services, their manager has said. The man, who also now lives in the South, was speaking on South Korean broadcaster JTBC, which described him as the manager of a restaurant in China where the women had been working.He was not identified but said he had carried out the group’s escape with the help of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.He also said the women did not know where they were going.This was confirmed by four women who told the same TV channel they…

Big Six energy supplier npower is to increase standard variable energy tariffs by 5.3% in a hike affecting around a million customers. The company, owned by Germany’s Innogy, blamed rising wholesale energy prices and the costs of implementing Government policy as it announced the hike, which will come into effect on 17 June.Npower said that more than 60% of its customers – such as those on fixed tariffs or using prepayment meters – would not be affected by the change.It follows a series of hikes announced by Big Six rivals British Gas, EDF and Scottish Power and the scrapping of…

Meghan Markle will find the realities of royal life challenging once she is married to Prince Harry, royal experts claim. The imminent royal wedding on 19 May at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle has sparked an infectious buzz across the nation.But the former Suits actress is preparing to face a lifetime of pressure as an official member of “The Firm” once the vows are said and done.Having earned her fame and fortune in Hollywood through hard work, Meghan’s life will change significantly once she enters an institution where protocol, deference and hierarchy are integral. Image: Prince Harry and Meghan…

Just three days after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal the US has begun to make good on Donald Trump’s promise to increase sanctions against Tehran. Along with the United Arab Emirates, the US treasury has moved against six individuals and three companies it claims are funnelling millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force (IRGC-QF).The treasury department also accused Iran’s central bank of aiding the group. 0:46 Video: ‘I want victory for the world’ US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said: “The Iranian regime and its central bank have abused access to entities in the UAE…

The Bank of England has left interest rates on hold at 0.5% and slashed its forecast for economic growth this year, but warned that borrowing costs may still have to rise in the coming months.  Until a few weeks ago the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee had been widely expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% today, amid signs of a strengthening economy.But instead, following some more recent signs of weak economic performance, including gross domestic product growth of only 0.1% in the first quarter of the year, the nine MPC members voted 7-2 to hold rates where they are.The minutes…