Britain today: Cancer charities warn of benefit cuts danger

Cancer charities warn of benefit cuts danger

RADICAL reforms to the benefit system came under renewed attack today from an alliance of 30 cancer charities warning that the changes will leave sufferers "without vital financial support".

The organisations said they feared the planned overhaul could push people with the disease into poverty and debt.

Branding up in smoke

THE government was today set to unveil proposals that will force tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in plain, unbranded packaging in England.

Under the guidelines, packets will lose their logos, graphics and distinctive colours, leaving health warnings as the most noticeable marking.

Chicken 'empathy' find to ruffle a few feathers

DOmestic chickens display signs of empathy, the ability to "feel another's pain" that is at the heart of compassion, a study has found.

The discovery has important implications for the welfare of farm and laboratory animals, say Bristol researchers.

Empathy, long thought to be a defining human trait, causes one individual to be affected by the emotional state of another. Feelings are "mirrored" in the observer, leading to a shared experience.

Sickening blow for staff

BRITISH workers are among the worst protected in terms of benefits if they are sick, a new report claimed.

A study of 12 countries by think tank Demos put Britain in eighth place in the level of protection in case of ill health, below countries including France, Germany, the United States and Canada.

The report said savers and homeowners were "penalised" for savings above 16,000.

Allen battled eating woes

Lily Allen has admitted that she fought an eating disorder at the height of her fame. In a Channel 4 documentary the 25-year-old singer says there was a point last summer when she used to make herself sick after meals - and added that she lost weight but was unhappy.

Buckinghamshire: Small-budget film-makers will soon roll cameras alongside producers of blockbuster movies after studios giant Pinewood Shepperton revealed plans to invest millions of pounds in British cinema. Pinewood said it will invest up to a 20 per cent stake in films with production budgets of around 2 million.

London: The country's biggest fire brigade has unveiled plans to save 2 million over the next five years by cutting "unnecessary" overtime. A report said the capital's brigade could cut "pre-arranged" overtime by 400,000 a year.