Workers lose one and a half weeks of work each year to sleep deprivation December 22, 2015 Most of us lose 8.5 working days each year to tiredness resulting from sleep deprivation, according to a survey by digital medicine company Big Health. But for people who regularly don't get enough sleep and report spending a “below average” amount of time in bed, this rises to 14.6 days, or three weeks worth of [...]
These are the professions where people are most likely to have to work on Christmas Day December 22, 2015 While most of us head home for Christmas and push work firmly to the back of our minds, that isn't the case for everyone – almost three per cent of Britons will be heading to work as usual. Figures from Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveal that across the nation, 900,000 people will work on Christmas Day [...]
Watch live: Astronauts at the International Space Station go on spacewalk while Tim Peake assists December 21, 2015 Two astronauts based at the International Space Station (ISS) are currently walking in space. Wearing their astronaut suits, they have exited their spacecraft are now floating around, gravity-free. The purpose of their space walk is to mend a key component of the ISS’ machinery, the mobile transporter, a rail car that moves a robotic arm along [...]
Standard Chartered share price rises as Ruth Markland and Paul Skinner announce plans to step down from board December 21, 2015 Standard Chartered has revealed a number of changes to its board of directors, including departures of two of its longest-standing members. Non-executive directors Ruth Markland and Paul Skinner will both step down on 31 December this year, following the bank's decision in February to cut its total number of board members to 14. In addition, independent non-executive director [...]
SpaceX is about to launch its upgraded Falcon 9 rocket – but will it be successful this time? December 21, 2015 Elon Musk's SpaceX is getting ready to launch its upgraded Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station, after a series of delays. It's the first time the rocket is being used in a mission, and will be a crucial test for SpaceX – when it launched the older version of the Falcon 9 in [...]
England’s nurse shortage: 90 per cent of hospitals don’t have enough to cover all shifts December 21, 2015 NHS hospitals in England are suffering a “dangerous” shortage of nurses, according to new figures published in the Health Service Journal. A study of 232 hospitals across the country revealed 90 per cent did not meet “safe staffing” levels to cover all daytime shifts, raising concerns the NHS is not equipped to deal with the [...]
Government accused of doing too little to protect UK steel industry December 21, 2015 A committee of MPs has accused the UK government of taking “little action” to safeguard the nation's steel industry. The group said unlike other European nations, Britain was not alert enough to the implications of falling prices, and as a result didn't do enough to stop the crisis from escalating. Thousands of jobs have been slashed [...]
Eurotunnel services are back to normal following overnight delays December 21, 2015 Eurotunnel and Eurostar services are now operating as usual, following overnight delays caused by damage to the track. On Sunday night, passengers travelling from Folkstone in the UK to Calais faced delays of up to eight hours, while there were also disruptions to Eurostar services between London and The continent. According to Eurotunnel, this was [...]
Britain’s A&E departments aren’t prepared to deal with higher demand in winter months, report finds December 18, 2015 Hospitals across the UK are struggling to keep up with rising demands placed on their A&E departments, figures from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine show. Currently, more than one in 10 patients waits for four hours or more to be seen in A&E – 14 per cent in total, which is above the NHS [...]
Dutch court says Nigerian farmers can sue Royal Dutch Shell over oil spills in Niger Delta December 18, 2015 Royal Dutch Shell could have to pay compensation for oil spills in Nigeria, following a landmark ruling by the Dutch appeals court. During a five minute verdict given this morning, judges at the Hague ordered the oil giant to hand over documents relating to oil spills in the Niger Delta, where the company's subsidiary Shell [...]
