London 2012 Olympics torch passes over Clifton Suspension Bridge - Daily Telegraph
The Grade I listed structure, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was opened in 1864 and is considered to be the symbol of the city of Bristol.
London stocks slide on Greece exit warning - YAHOO!
London stocks plunged lower on Wednesday ahead of an informal EU summit and after the former Greek prime minister warned that Greece might leave the eurozone.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 2.53 percent to close art 5,566.41 points.
Sentiment was also tense after Germany reasserted its stance against eurobonds -- whereby strong and weak eurozone countries would pool their ability to borrow -- despite calls from other members and the IMF to consider this option.
"Today we have seen another leg of the downward trend as investors become anxious that the EU summit will not yield a solution to tackle the latest threats of the debt debacle," said Matthew Nelson, a sales trader with British-based spread-betting firm Spreadex.
"Even if a credible strategy does emerge from today?s meeting it is likely the markets will be nervy until the re-elections in Greece on the 17th June, offering short-term traders, such as spread bettors, an opportunity to trade the volatility."
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) was the most traded stock, with 152 million shares changing hands, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with 103 million.
The day's biggest riser was medical devices company Smith and Nephew, which rose 0.42 percent -- or 2.5 pence -- to close at 594.5, followed by satellite broadcaster BSkyB, which added 0.36 percent -- or 2.5 pence -- to 693.
The biggest faller was Vedanta Resources, which dropped 9.12 percent -- or 95.9 pence -- to end at 951.5, followed by fellow mining giant Kazakhmys, which fell 7.86 percent -- or 58 pence -- to 679.5.
On the currency markets, the pound was trading at $1.5686 at 17:10 BST, down from $1.5763 at the same time on Tuesday, while it reached 1.2486 euros, up from 1.2387 over the same period.
London 2012: Heathrow Airport in numbers - BBC News
Heathrow in numbers - how the UK's biggest airport is getting ready for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Some 500,000 people will be flying into London for the Olympics and Paralympics this summer.
That includes 100,000 athletes, 20,000 members of the media and 150 heads of state. Most of them will arrive via Heathrow.
It will be the start and finish line for the bulk of visitors, giving the country's biggest airport its busiest day ever.
That day will be Monday 13 August, the day after the closing ceremony and the day 65% of visitors are planning to leave.
Some 203,000 bags will be squeezed on to the baggage system - that's 35% more than on a normal day and about 13,000 more than it is designed to handle.
Of those bags, 15,000 will be oversized - full of canoes, javelins, bikes and poles for the pole vault. There will also be more than 980 firearms to check, plus ammunition.
'Heavily-congested skies'A special temporary terminal is being built just for the "Games family" - athletes and coaches to you and me.
It will be open for three days, snuggled between terminals four and five, and will boast 31 check-in desks and seven security lanes.
Meanwhile, hundreds of extra border staff - they will not give an exact figure - will be on hand to try to keep passport queues down.
Sixteen mobile teams of 10 guards each will be available to target trouble spots if, or should that be when, the queues build up.
It is not just Heathrow of course.
Air traffic control is facing its biggest ever challenge, coping with heavily-congested skies, the threat of a terror attack and possible bad weather. Twenty-five controllers are practising in the simulator every day.
In all, 400 have been specially trained over the past four years to deal with the extra workload.
Any rogue planes should be spotted within two to three minutes, after which military controllers take over that zone and a decision is made whether or not to scramble fast jets.
Extra plane?The Paralympics is a third of the size of the main event but it is still a huge challenge.
“Start Quote
End QuoteThe Chinese team are arriving on 27 different planes and they'll probably need an extra plane at the end to carry all their medals”
Heathrow will have to deal with a month's worth of wheelchair users in just a week - about 1,800 in total.
Thirteen new scissor lifts and 100 new ramps have been deployed to load and unload wheelchairs while there are six new powered stair climbers to move large electric wheelchairs.
Two-hundred extra staff will welcome the Paralympians and help with the biggest challenge of all - making sure every athlete is reunited quickly with their chair.
As one Paralympian put it, you wouldn't expect able-bodied athletes to leave the plane in someone else's trainers would you?
The Chinese team are arriving on 27 different planes and they'll probably need an extra plane at the end to carry all their medals. I made that last bit up.
Finally, 1,000 local volunteers will greet athletes off the plane, help with their luggage and welcome them to London.
Then a few weeks later, as the Olympic flame dies, those volunteers will wave them off again as they head for home.
One thousand people will be standing there waving goodbye at planes, so if you happen to be going on holiday that day, you might want to wave back.
FBI are not worried by London 2012 security, insists NYPD chief - Daily Mail
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New York's police chief says he is impressed with security planning for this summer's London Olympics, rejecting suggestions that US officials were concerned about arrangements for the Games.
Commissioner Raymond Kelly said London's police and security planning was far more comprehensive and organised than had been the case for the Atlanta games in 1996, when he was personally involved in a federal government role.
'It seems they really have a handle on just about any contingency that might take place,' Kelly said in London during a trip to meet Olympic security chiefs, senior London police and officials at MI5 domestic security agency.
'We've been universally very much impressed with everything we've seen. As far as I can see they have done an excellent job preparing all of their forces.'
No concerns: Raymond Kelly has dismissed security fears
Last November, the United States denied that there had been a diplomatic row over the Olympic security planning, following a newspaper claim that 1,000 agents including some 500 from the FBI, would be sent to protect US athletes and officials.
Chris Allison, Britain's national Olympic security coordinator, said the claim was 'rubbish' and that the reported FBI contingent had been grossly exaggerated.
'I think the FBI role is a supportive one. I don't think they're here with specific concerns,' Kelly said, dismissing the idea that the London police needed their assistance.
He added than rather than lecturing the British, his visit had been a learning one.
'We were takers rather than givers, put it that way,' he commented.
Allison and other senior British security figures have said protests and public order issues rather than al-Qaeda and international terrorism were the most likely threats to the Games.
Last year, Britain suffered its worst rioting in decades and there have been high-profile anti-capitalist protests in London, some inspired by New York's Occupy Wall Street moment.
Kelly said he had discussed the riots with his London counterparts and it was an issue that they had factored in, with plans for a rapid mobilisation to deal with any unexpected events.
'Will there be demonstrations, will there be protests of some sort? Sure. That's a given in this day and age. It's something that happens in New York and London literally everyday,' Kelly said.
'But the Met is well experienced. They're well prepared to handle it.'
London 2012 Olympics: Call to ban sponsors from Olympic lanes - Daily Telegraph
The lanes were created to avoid the chaos which beset the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, where competitors struggling to reach events on time after being stuck in heavy traffic.
Critics of the London arrangements fear that motorists will be caught in gridlock, although the restrictions have been watered down by Boris Johnson, the mayor.
The changes will see the lanes suspended between the Olympics and Paralympics, ditching the original proposals which would have seen them in force for three months over the summer.
London mayor announces housing board members - InsideHousing
Homes for London board members:
• Nick Salisbury, former head of structured finance for the Barclays corporate bank property
• Mike Youkee, former head of housing at Quintain and former joint chief executive of the Greenwich Peninsula project
• Charmaine Young CBE, outgoing director of developer St George
• Sir Steve Bullock, London Councils’ executive member for housing
• Councillor Stephen Carr, leader of Bromley Council
• Councillor Chris Roberts, leader of Greenwich Council
The Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the biggest sporting event in the UK this year. Will you be travelling to the UK to see the Games? Please send us your comments and experiences.