London braced for fresh travel chaos as tube workers vote for strike - Daily Telegraph
''These are the same key staff who keep services running when demand is at a peak and manage the problems when the lines are hit by breakdowns and failures.
"They deserve respect for the job that they do and not the imposition of inferior working conditions and the threat to jobs.''
But London Underground said the action was unnecessary as officials had already addressed most of the unions concerns.
''We have been in discussion with the unions across the entire Tube network, including the subsurface lines, since 2007 on the impact of changes arising from our upgrading of signalling systems," said Nigel Holness, London Underground's operations director.
''We have already addressed nearly all of the issues raised by the RMT, and I would urge the RMT leadership to continue working with us to help staff prepare for these changes, which will be implemented in five years' time.''
The news comes after staff running the capital's bicycle hire network also threatened to strike during the Olympics over bonus payment.
That 'Boris Bike' strike threat came after 21,000 bus workers in the Unite union are being balloted for strike action that could take place during the games.
Bus operators and TfL are not willing to fund bonus payments for drivers.
Vauxhall picks Rockingham for Astra VXR launch challenge - Expert Reviews
Posted on 12 Jun 2012 at 10:32
Vauxhall has confirmed that it is to use the Rockingham motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire to launch the AStra VXR, its most powerful Astra model to date, in a special motorsport event.
The Motor Sport Association-accredited Astra VXR Media Sprint Challenge will see a selection of motoring journalists compete in road and track testing to see who can post the best time in Vauxhall's latest Astra over a course comprising a three-hour 110-mile route on the roads surrounding Rockingham followed by a sprint event on the Rockingham track itself.
Sadly, the event won't be open to the general public: as an MSA-accredited event, participants are required to hold a relevant race licence, while mandatory safety training will be provided before the chosen few are let loose in the new Astra VXR.
Vauxhall has good reason to be cautious: the most powerful production Astra to date, the new Astra VXR has a 280PS 2.0-litre turbo-charged engine which can push the vehicle to 60mph from a standing start in 5.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 155mph. On a track, that translates into a hair-raising ride for the uninitiated.
The Astras used in the event, which is based on the Vauxhall Challenge theme used to launch the Astra GTC last year, will be full retail specification models including the mechanical limited-slip differential, bespoke Brembo brakes and FlexRide adaptive dampening system.
The general public will be given the opportunity to get their hands on the vehicles in July, when the Astra VXR goes on sale priced from £26,995.
Author: Gareth Halfacree
London 2012: Olympics opening ceremony details revealed - BBC News
The Olympic Stadium will be transformed "into the British countryside" for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games on 27 July.
A cast of 10,000 volunteers will help recreate country scenes, against a backdrop featuring farmyard animals and landmarks like Glastonbury Tor.
The opening scene of the £27m ceremony will be called "Green and Pleasant", artistic director Danny Boyle revealed.
He added the show would create "a picture of ourselves as a nation."
"The best way to tell that story is through working with real people," said Boyle, who has reserved a role for NHS nurses in proceedings.
There have already been 157 cast rehearsals and Boyle added: "I've been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the pure embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation."
The set will feature meadows, fields and rivers, with families taking picnics, people playing sports on the village green and farmers tilling the soil.
Real farmyard animals will be grazing in the "countryside", with a menagerie of 30 sheep, 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese and three sheepdogs.
One billion people worldwide are expected to watch the opening ceremony.
Boyle, best known for directing Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, said the show was inspired by The Tempest and would be about a land recovering from its industrial legacy.
Europe's largest bell will ring inside the stadium to start the Shakespeare-inspired spectacle, featuring 900 children from the six Games host boroughs.
The stadium's 27-tonne bell was cast at London's Whitechapel Foundry, where 13.5-tonne Big Ben was cast in 1856, and is inscribed with a quote from The Tempest's Caliban: "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises."
It will hang at one end of the stadium, and Boyle said he wanted people to hear it "for hundreds of years".
A full dress rehearsal will be held for a capacity crowd of 80,000 in the Olympic Stadium, which will be fitted with a million-watt sound system.
The production team at 3 Mills Studios is completing work on nearly 3,000 props, while staff in the production department are creating 23,000 costumes.
Lord Sebastian Coe, who chairs the Organising Committee Locog, said it would be one of the biggest sets ever built for a show.
"I'm sure [it] will be a fantastic celebration that will welcome the 10,500 athletes from around the world and make our nation proud," he said.
More to follow.
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