News in Brief

Dimbleby attacks history lessons

Education: Broadcaster David Dimbleby criticised the lack of history teaching in schools on Tuesday.

Mr Dimbleby told the Radio Times that the popularity of programmes delving into the nation's past suggested that people were hungry to know more because the school curriculum had failed to deliver on history.

"Maybe we are filling in the gaps left by the less impressive treatment of history in the school curriculum," he said of his current BBC1 series The Seven Ages Of Britain.

Plant lice join fight against knotweed

Wildlife: Foreign "jumping plant lice" are to be released in Britain in a bid to tackle the invasive and damaging Japanese knotweed plant, the government announced on Tuesday.

Wildlife Minister Huw Irranca-Davies gave the go-ahead for the release at several sites of the tiny sap-sucking insect, which is a predator to the rampantly growing plant in Japan.

Vodafone to axe hundreds of jobs

Job Cuts: Mobile phone giant Vodafone is cutting 375 jobs across its business from this month, it announced on Tuesday.

Vodafone said that the roles affected would be primarily in back office positions in a number of locations including its headquarters in Berkshire.

Chemist refuses to dispense pill

Health: A pharmaceuticals company launched an investigation on Tuesday after a woman was refused the contraceptive pill because it was against the pharmacist's religion to give it to her.

Janine Deeley was turned away by the female chemist at Lloyds pharmacy in Duke Street, Sheffield, when she went to pick up her routine prescription of the medication.

The mother-of-two was told she would not be given the tablets on religious grounds but could come back the next day when a different pharmacist was working.

Minister joins calls to change code

Finance: City Minister Lord Myners on Tuesday joined calls for an overhaul of the City takeover code in the wake of the Cadbury deal.

The Financial Services Secretary said takeovers "frequently fail to deliver on promises and allow no voice for other stakeholders, including employees and key customers and suppliers."

His comments came as it emerged that a complaint against Kraft has been lodged with the City takeover panel alleging the US group misled Cadbury employees and investors during its takeover battle.

Warning over blood collecting

Health: Maternity units and private firms which collect umbilical cord blood to preserve stem cells were on Tuesday warned they could be acting outside the law.

The Human Tissue Authority wrote to more than 150 organisations following concerns that parents, including new fathers, are collecting the blood themselves using kits delivered to their homes.