Full Coverage: Northern Europe

31.03.2006 Ian Bretman of the Fairtrade Foundation replies to criticisms about the retail pricing of its products and points out that it is more than a charity - it is seeking to make changes in trading practices.

31.03.2006 Allowing almost 500,000 people living illegally in the UK to stay and pay taxes would allow the Treasury to abolish the starting rate of stamp duty or increase the Child Tax Credit by £150, according to new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research.

31.03.2006 The cost of cleaning up Britain's nuclear sites could have soared to £70 billion, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has revealed, and virtually all will have to be paid by the taxpayer.

30.03.2006 A terrorist attack on a train carrying waste nuclear materials across Britain could spread lethal radioactivity across an area of 100 sq kilometres, and result in the deaths of up to 8,000 people, according to a new report.

30.03.2006 The British public drink over three million cups of Fairtrade hot beverages and eat nearly 500,000 Fairtrade bananas every day, Fairtrade Foundation chief Harriet Lamb said yesterday as she was honoured at Buckingham Palace.

29.03.2006 "Detention is like a cage, and I was like a small bird with no food in it. I wished I could fly..." - seven year old Navid spent 32 days in detention. More than two thousand children a year are locked up by the UK Government for immigration purposes. Join the campaign to end this practice.

29.03.2006 The world’s 1.2 billion cellphone users will have increased to 2 billion by the end of the year, led by Africa – where mobile use is growing faster than anywhere else. A new exhibition looks at what happens to the phones that come to the end of the line.

29.03.2006 from The Independent:
It's time to take climate change out of politics. You can have your say on climate by sending your views to the all-party inquiry on climate change.

29.03.2006 Nearly 100 exiles from the Chagos islands will pay a brief visit to their homelands on Thursday, 40 years after their illegal removal by the British Government to make way for a US military base on the main island, Diego Garcia.

29.03.2006 Delegates to the annual general meeting of Britain's National Union of Students have been urged to vote to end business relationships with the Coca-Cola company.

28.03.2006 A leading environment group has accused ministers of lacking the political will to tackle climate change, following publication of the Government's review of its climate change programme.

28.03.2006 The India Resource Center is urging delegates to the National Union of Students (NUS) in the UK to vote to end business relationships with the Coca-Cola company. The (NUS) is holding its Annual General Meeting in Blackpool from March 27-30, and the issue of whether to renew contracts with the Coca-Cola company is expected to be debated widely at the conference.

28.03.2006 ActionAid UK has issued a warning over a hoax email that tells people the charity has awarded them £850,000 to help social and business development but is really a scam to obtain people's bank account details or tell them they must pay a small amount to collect their money.

28.03.2006 from the Carbon Coach:
Join the launch of the People's Power Station on Tuesday 4 April.

28.03.2006 The government will admit today that it will fail to meet its much repeated manifesto commitment of making a 20% cut in CO2 levels by 2010.

28.03.2006 Labour’s commitment to combating climate change in the spotlight
The UK Government's Climate Change Programme Review, due to be published today, is the acid test of its credibility on climate change, says a leading environment group that has gathered support from many MPs and tens of thousands of people in the UK for a climate change law.

27.03.2006 The £500 million spent on chocolate Easter eggs in the UK each year could be used to support thousands around the world out of poverty, says CAFOD.
*World gifts (CAFOD) *gifts4life (Plan UK) *Inspired gifts (UNICEF) *Oxfam unwrapped (OXFAM)

27.03.2006 A $20 million Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant was announced at a meeting in London yesterday at which UK representatives of leading food and retail companies were asked to help distribute affordable fortified foods around the world.

27.03.2006 Charity wristbands are Out and charity dog tags are In as this year's fashionable way to support good causes.

27.03.2006 The number of wind turbines dotted across Britain's landscape is set to surge over the next four years despite trouble getting planning permission, the wind power industry said today.