UK News: Lack of aircraft spares grounds top RAF pilots

PILOTS of the RAF's most advanced fighter jets are being grounded because shortages of aircraft spares mean they cannot put in enough flying hours to keep their skills up to date, MPs warned today.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee said five Typhoon pilots had to be temporarily grounded last year.

Transport could ruin Games

TRANSPORT problems could yet wreck the smooth running of the 2012 Games.

The London Assembly Transport Committee is concerned about the amount of extra transport capacity needed, the Olympic Route Network (ORN) and the reliance on people changing their normal travel behaviour.

Teachers notice increase in poverty among pupils

RISING numbers of children may be turning up for school tired, hungry and dressed in worn-out clothes because they are living in poverty, a survey of teachers suggests.

Almost four-fifths of teachers (79 per cent) say they have pupils who are living below the poverty line.

One in four believe poverty amongst their pupils has increased since the start of the recession, according to the poll by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

Seascape protection urged

THE UK's most special "seascapes" should be given the same kind of protection as the country's treasured landscapes, countryside campaigners urged today.

Seascapes play a significant role in people's well-being, according to a National Trust poll which found two-thirds of those quizzed thought visiting the coast or seaside was important to their quality of life.

Assisted suicide to be shown

THE last moments of a terminally ill man who travelled to an assisted suicide clinic to end his life will be shown in a documentary presented by best-selling author Sir Terry Pratchett.

The BBC2 show will see the writer in Switzerland with Peter, a 71-year-old motor neurone disease sufferer.

BELFAST: Dissident republican violence will not be thwarted in the short term but police are approaching a "tipping point" in the fight, Northern Ireland's Chief Constable said. Matt Baggott said while he remained a realist about the current threat posed, he was optimistic the authorities were getting the upper hand.

LONDON: Two suspects were being questioned today after a 21-year-old man was killed in a shooting. Police and ambulance crews arrived at the scene at a garden in south-west London yesterday morning, where the victim was pronounced dead.