Egypt begin work on second Suez Canal which will run alongside the original 145-year-old waterway in five years' time Daily Mail

  The new 45-mile section would run alongside the existing Suez Canal

  Project could be complete in five years at a cost of more than £2.4billion 

  101-mile-long Suez is the fastest shipping link between Europe and Asia 

  New waterway will allow ships to travel in both directions for half that length

  Egyptian authorities believe it will boost annual revenues to $13.5billion  

Egypt is planning to build a new Suez canal alongside the existing 145-year-old waterway in a multi-billion pound bid to boost its economy.

The 45-mile corridor will expand what is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and is part of several 'mega projects' designed to breathe new life into the nation.

Warplanes flew overhead in a ceremony broadcast on state television from the canal city of Ismailia as Egypt's president Abdel-Fatteh el-Sisi officially launched the military-led scheme, set to cost £2.4bn.

He said that digging of the new canal will allow ships to travel in both directions for just under half of the canal's 101-mile length. And although the initial time frame for completion was five years, el-Sisi estimated it could be finished in just 12 months.

Egypt is the gatekeeper of the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest water corridors and the strategic link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

Read more here:

Scotland 'likely to be worse off after independence' Daily Telegraph

Economic think tank Fiscal Affairs Scotland draws the conclusion after analysing oil and debt figures produced by both the UK and Scottish Governments.

Scotland is far likelier to be worse off as a separate country, according to an impartial analysis published today as the man who hired Fred Goodwin at RBS accused Westminster of scaremongering over the country’s banks.

Fiscal Affairs Scotland said the wide range of estimates for oil revenue and national debt provided by the UK and Scottish Governments made it impossible to predict exactly what would happen following a Yes vote.

But the economic think tank said that for Scotland to be wealthier, it would have to strike a deal with Westminster to repay only half of its population share of the UK’s national debt while receiving almost twice the predicted income from the North Sea.

If Scotland inherited its full population share of the UK’s national debt, as expected, then oil revenues would have to meet the First Minister’s most optimistic possible forecast if it was not to be poorer.

The analysis was conducted in the wake of the Treasury’s claim the Union is worth £1,400 annually for every Scot, while Mr Salmond claimed independence could be worth £1,000 per person after 15 years.

Read more here:

Further Reading:

Alex Salmond's borrowing plans 'prove currency union won't happen'

“Fiscal Affairs Scotland’s independent analysis demonstrates again that the Scottish Government’s fantasy figures do not stand up to scrutiny. A separate Scotland means higher taxes and less money to spend on vital public services.”

Independent Scotland's debt 'would force spending cuts or tax rises'

Scots to to set their own income tax if they reject independence, under deal between Cameron, Clegg and Miliband. Daily Mail

  Joint declaration promises more financial powers if independence is blocked

  David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have backed the deal

  Comes on the day of a TV debate between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling

  Scotland currently raises 15 per cent of its £30billion budget

David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have signed a joint declaration that promises more financial powers for Scotland if it rejects independence.

The move by the leaders of the three main parties is an attempt to rubbish claims by Alex Salmond that Westminster will not deliver more devolution if Scots vote ‘no’.

It comes ahead of tonight's TV debate between Scottish First Minister Mr Salmond and Alistair Darling, the former Labour Chancellor who fronts the pro-union Better Together campaign.

There are just over six weeks to go until voters in Scotland decide whether to remain in the UK or become an independent nation in the September 18 referendum.

Polls have so far failed to show a majority in favour of independence, but both campaigns are hoping to receive a boost as a result of tonight’s TV debate. The six leaders’ declaration states: ‘We support a strong Scottish Parliament in a strong United Kingdom.

‘We now pledge to strengthen further the powers of the Scottish Parliament, in particular in the areas of fiscal responsibility and social security.’

Currently, control over council tax and business rates means the Scottish Government raises about 15 per cent of its £30billion budget, with the majority of public spending funded by a block grant from the UK Treasury.

Read more here:

Scottish Independence, a Vehicle for Alex Salmond's Grandiose Ego ?

Calais immigration chief's plans to solve border crisis? Free ferry tickets to Britain and move the French boundary to Dover - as immigrants jump into lorries stuck in traffic to get across the Channel, Daily Mail

  Philippe Mignonet warns the French town is under 'serious pressure

  Wants Britain to share burden of migration so it 'understands problem'

  Predicts up to 5,000 people could be camped in Calais by end of year

  Police delay raids on Jungle 2 camp after tensions erupt into clashes

Migrants massing in Calais should be put on a ferry and sent to Britain, the port’s immigration chief said last night.

Warning that the French town was under ‘serious pressure’ as 1,000 Africans gathered at an illegal camp, Philippe Mignonet also called for the border to be moved from Calais to Dover.

He said he wants Britain to share the burden of migration so it ‘understands how difficult the problem is’.

Last night Mr Mignonet said his town was struggling to cope and predicted that up to 5,000 people could be camped out in Calais by the end of the year.

‘What we want to do is buy the migrants ferry tickets to Britain and let them deal with the problem,’ he said, adding that more than 30 already make their way across the Channel every day.

‘We want the border to be moved from Calais to Dover and Folkestone for one month so Britain understands how difficult the problem is.’

The comments came as the area’s police chief delayed raids on the camp, known as Jungle 2, after tensions erupted into clashes between migrant groups the night before.

Jungle 2 and another camp had been ‘due to be dismantled’ after court orders to evacuate expired yesterday.

Comment:

I don’t understand why the French insist that these ill-legal immigrants should move to the UK, surely the  French or any other European Government that these poor people pass through,  should take  the responsibility to care, support and provide financial assistance for these unfortunate people, why should the British Tax Payer be responsible?

Read more here:

Further Reading here:

A hero for our time: Inspired by the man who built his own toll road? He's one of countless Britons rising up to solve problems the State's too useless to fix Daily Mail

1.      Businessman Mike Watts spent £150,000 of his own money to build toll

2.    It was after part of the A431 in Kelston, Somerset collapsed and closed

3.     He took matters in own hands to solve chaos caused by 14-mile diversion

4.    Mr Watts has shown up council 'jobsworths' who say road can't be fixed

The businessman who has built his own toll road around a road closure in Somerset should be knighted in the next honours’ list. He is an inspiration.

By taking matters into his own hands to solve the chaos caused by a 14-mile diversion on a busy commuter route, Mike Watts has set a shining example to anyone who has ever moaned about public services.

Faced with months of roadworks and upheaval, and the loss of business at the party supplies shop he runs with his wife Wendy in Bath, the pioneering  52-year-old didn’t just complain.

He put his money and his effort where his mouth is, rented a nearby field and built an alternative road to allow traffic to bypass the closure, charging drivers £2 each way.

He spent £150,000 on the gravel track next to the A431 in Kelston and says he will probably spend that again to maintain it. He says he only wants to break even before December when the council is due to re-open the proper road, which was closed after a landslip.

Of course, the council has been quick to question his efforts, citing that mealy-mouthed old staple — health and safety. 

Rather than thanking him, they’ve subjected Mr Watts to all sorts of snooty checks and inspections. Well, they must be furious. They have been utterly humiliated by him.

Mike Watts, British Hero

Businessman sets up private toll road just 340 yards long charging motorists £2 a time to bypass closed section of main road.

Rail commuters are hit by up to 40,000 bogus parking fines: 'Pirates' accused of demanding money from commuters using the wrong law, Daily Mail

  £100 fines handed out when drivers outstayed permitted period at car parks belonging to Chiltern Railways

  MET Parking Services was using the wrong law to issue the parking tickets

  Company also issues fines on behalf of McDonald's car park users

  Firm, which manages car parks on line between Marylebone and Birmingham, admitted that 1,025 tickets were incorrectly issued

  DVLA earns £10m a year from private parking firms for right to access its database

Parking ‘pirates’ are accused of issuing thousands of bogus penalty notices to travellers using railway station car parks on a busy commuter line

.

Fines of £100 a time were handed out when drivers stayed beyond the permitted period at car parks belonging to Chiltern Railways.

But MET Parking Services was using the wrong law to issue the tickets, and is now accused of demanding money under false pretences from as many as 40,000 commuters.

The tickets were issued using a law introduced in 2012 which banned the use of wheel clamping on private land, but allowed the owners to issue penalty notices. However railway car parks are covered by different byelaws.

Commuter Trevor Carvey took on MET after receiving a ticket in Ruislip, Middlesex. He used the Freedom of Information Act to discover MET was using automatic number plate recognition cameras to identify drivers via the DVLA database, then pursue them for payment – often with the threat of court action.

Read more here:

Further Reading:

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said rogue firms will not be tolerated, and launched Government investigation

A single beam pierces the sky as the lights go out across Britain: Tributes to the fallen a century since World War One was declared. Daily Mail

  Idea inspired by former foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey's famous words when war was declared 100 years ago

  Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace all took part in London

  PM David Cameron urged families to join in the 'gesture of remembrance' by leaving on a single light

The London Eye, 10 Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament were among Britain's landmarks which turned out their lights for an hour at 10pm last night to remember those who died in the First World War.

Homes, businesses and public buildings across the UK were asked to leave on a single light or candle to commemorate the moment then-prime minister Herbert Asquith declared Britain had entered the First World War at 11pm on August 4, 1914.

Buildings around the country yesterday took part in the 'hour of reflection' between 10pm and 11pm, leaving just a light illuminating a window.

The plan was inspired by the words of then-foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey, who said just before the announcement: 'The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.'

Other buildings taking part in an hour-long lights switch-off last night were Broadcasting House in London, the Eden Project in Cornwall, St Paul's and Durham cathedrals, and Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.

See more here: