UK news archive

30.06.2005 The BBC cleans up at the Race in the Media awards, scooping almost half the gongs on offer. But black journalists fear Corporation bosses are about to axe diversity.

29.06.2005 The government is under mounting pressure to permit more than 100 Zimbabwean failed asylum seekers to stay in the UK.

28.06.2005 A team of peace messengers trained in dealing with street conflict are tackling some of London’s warring gangs head-on as part of a groundbreaking project to curb gun crime.

27.06.2005 Ninety-seven Zimbabwean asylum seekers are refusing food and water in protest over the UK government’s plans to send them home despite the potential dangers. The Church of England has also demanded a stop to ongoing deportations.

24.06.2005 The Glastonbury Festival is one of the few places in England where you have to walk to collect water and where the sanitation facilities may be somewhat challenged. Just the place for WaterAid volunteers to draw comparisons with Africa and raise funds.

23.06.2005 As Tesco prepares to announce more record profits, Friends of the Earth says that the government is paying insufficient attention to the implications of the increasing monopoly over the life of British consumers.

23.06.2005 The government is acting as though the possibility of child trafficking into the UK lies in the realms of tabloid exaggeration. But UNICEF says that this is a real problem in need of urgent action.

22.06.2005 If you have seen the condition of parts of the coastline along the west of Scotland, you will understand why the Scottish parliament is proposing a tax on the use of plastic bags. A similar tax in Ireland has been successful.

17.06.2005 The Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to press any charges against the policemen involved in the death of Roger Sylvester during arrest in 1999. His family feel that the criminal justice system is inadequate in dealing with deaths in custody.

15.06.2005 The government is under attack from all sides for its denial of human rights to asylum-seekers and migrants. Whilst the issue of detention tends to capture the headlines, the progressive withdrawal of legal aid over the last 12 months has persuaded many law firms to abandon this area of work.

14.06.2005 Genetically modified (GM) animal feed is used in production of milk and meat products offered in Sainsbury's supermarkets but without appropriate labelling to inform shoppers. Campaigners are protesting throughout the week.

14.06.2005 Adult education courses in England offer increasingly diverse learning experiences. But how many of these present a vision of interdependent global society and citizenship? Organisers of The Global Learning Award 2005 seek nominations for projects and programmes which feature the global dimension.

12.06.2005 The Freedom of Information Act has yielded up a list of 537 locations deemed geologically suitable for nuclear waste disposal. Check out which is closest to you and start thinking about how you will react to any government plans for new nuclear power stations.

10.06.2005 The chief executive of OneWorld partner, The 1990 Trust, is one of the elite winners of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust's centenary search for "visionary individuals" to change the world. Karen Chouhan will strive for radical change in the position of black and ethnic minorities in the UK.

06.06.2005 ITDG is one of the most respected development charities in the UK. But supporters and stakeholders at home and abroad have fallen out of love with the name. From July, the organisation will be called Practical Action.

06.06.2005 Christian Aid has issued a statement providing reassurance that concerns over conditions for Chinese workers producing silicon white bands for the Make Poverty History campaign have been investigated and addressed.

03.06.2005 The Inquiries Act 2005 was rushed through Parliament just before the election. It gives the government unprecedented control over the publication of reports and evidence. The inquiry into the death of Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane will be an early test.

01.06.2005 "Volunteer Week" starts today and of course this is also the Year of the Volunteer for good measure. An Oxfam survey finds that the vast proportion of young people are keen to volunteer for charities.

01.06.2005 Civil society groups met last week to input to the UK government's preparation for the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) in November. Although the UK will be in a strong position as the voice of the EU, there is little sign that the government will adopt key NGO concerns on internet freedoms and the digital divide, let alone the unsuitability of Tunisia as host for the event.

01.06.2005 Students are living up to the principle of "think global, act local" by campaigning for their universities to adopt environmental strategies. After 12 months, there are some success stories to report.