Morning news headlines for October 29, 2012

Oct 29 2012 By Cheryl Mullin

Stars targeted over mental health

Ed Miliband will today launch a broadside at celebrities who make light of mental illness, as he unveils plans to tackle what he terms “the biggest unaddressed health challenge of our age”.

The Labour leader will criticise writers and TV personalities Jeremy Clarkson and Janet Street-Porter for articles which he claims insulted and belittled people with mental illness and contributed to a national taboo on the issue.

Many people in Britain could get treatment for mental problems but are “intimidated” from seeking help by the fear of being mocked and subjected to “lazy caricatures”, he will say.

Regions ‘can rely on city no more’

ENGLAND’S regions can no longer rely on handouts from tax receipts collected in the City, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will say today as he announces Government plans to hand more local authorities wider spending powers.

A selected group of 20 cities and regions will no longer have to meet strict diktats from Whitehall, as part of plans to give some councils the right to spend tax revenues collected by companies based in their area, Mr Clegg will say.

Ministers have already handed eight cities, including Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle, more powers over strategic planning decisions and transport budgets.

America braced for superstorm Sandy

HURRICANE Sandy is threatening 50 million people on America’s heavily-populated East Coast today and forecasters warned that New York could bear the brunt of the one-of-a-kind superstorm.

Federal Emergency Management Administrator Craig Fugate warned that the “time for preparing and talking is about over” as Sandy made its way up the Atlantic on a collision course with two other weather systems that could turn it into one of the most fearsome storms on record in the US.

“People need to be acting now,” he said.

Fifth ‘paid less than living wage’

ONE in five British workers are paid less than the living wage, a study showed today.

Some 4.82 million UK workers receive less than the living wage, the rate of pay designed to enable workers to afford a basic standard of living, the KPMG research showed.

The rate is currently £8.30 an hour in London and £7.20 in the rest of the country, compared with the national minimum wage rate of £6.19 an hour.

Imports of ash trees to be banned

IMPORTS of ash trees are to be banned from today in an attempt to stop the spread of a disease which has devastated them in Europe.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said on Saturday he was “ready to go” with legislation to ban ash imports which have been blamed for introducing the Chalara fraxinea fungus to the UK.

The fungus, which causes leaf loss and crown dieback and can lead to tree death, has wiped out 90% of ash trees in Denmark in just seven years and is becoming widespread throughout central Europe.