London Welsh denied chance of promotion to the Premiership - The Guardian
Newcastle will be playing in the Premiership next season after the Rugby Football Union today ruled that London Welsh, who play the first leg of their Championship play-off final against Cornish Pirates in Penzance tonight, did not meet the entry criteria for the top flight.
London Welsh, who have never been in the Premiership, proposed playing at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium, the venue of next week's second leg, because their Old Deer Park ground did not have a big enough capacity or floodlights.
The RFU's board of directors this morning considered a report from the auditors, PMP Legacy, which found that "various failures" of the minimum standards criteria demanded of clubs who win the Championship meant that London Welsh should not be promoted.
The Pirates did not subject themselves to the criteria test so the ruling means the Championship winners will not be going up, reprieving the Falcons who finished at the bottom of the Premiership despite a late rally, one point below Wasps.
That will mean a return in the top flight for the club's director of rugby, Dean Richards, whose three-year ban for masterminding the Bloodgate affair while he was in charge of Harlequins ends in August.
The main failure of London Welsh cited by the auditors was that they did not have primacy of tenure at the Kassam Stadium, raising concerns that they would not be able to play their home matches at a time demanded by Premiership Rugby or the tournament's broadcasters.
Under the regulations, teams who share grounds must nominate a second stadium. It is understood that Welsh's nominated fallback was Brentford's Griffin Park, which is more than the stipulated 30 miles away from the Kassam Stadium.
London Welsh have 14 days in which to appeal and they have indicated they will take up that option. The Exiles have maintained throughout that they met the primacy of tenure clause, pointing out that in the history of the Premiership, no club has been forced to use its nominated second ground.
The Championship clubs met earlier this year and considered whether to mount a legal challenge against the minimum standards criteria, arguing that they amounted to a restraint of trade. London Welsh's chairman, Bleddyn Phillips, is a senior partner at the law firm Clifford Chance and in recent weeks has expressed his confidence that the club met the criteria.
The last time a club from the second tier was denied promotion was Rotherham 10 years ago. They were rebuffed because the RFU ruled the club had not signed a legally binding agreement to play at Rotherham United's ground and received £720,000 in compensation, cash that had been earmarked as a parachute payment for the bottom club in the Premiership, Leeds, in the event of relegation.
The RFU board today felt it had no option under the minimum standards criteria but to reject London Welsh's bid. It is open-minded about whether they are too restrictive, but that will be a matter for the professional game board, a body made up of members from the union, Premiership Rugby and the Professional Rugby Players' Association.
Newcastle's commercial director Duncan Edward said: "To be given the lifeline of playing in the Aviva Premiership next season and keeping top-class rugby in the region is unbelievable."
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 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.
India among top defaulters of London congestion charge - Economic Times
As of May 2, 2012, the Indian High Commission owes Transport for London (TfL), the government body responsible for transport in Greater London, 2,405,560 million pounds, official sources told today.
The US embassy is the biggest defaulter with an outstanding amount of 6,532,680 pounds, while Russia (4,734,480 pounds) and Japan (4,389,300 pounds) among other top defaulters, latest figures indicate.
Paul Cowperthwaite, head of TfL's Contracted Services, said that two-thirds of foreign missions in London pay the congestion change, but a "stubborn minority" refused to do so, despite representations through diplomatic channels.
The key issue in the row is whether the congestion charge is a charge for a "service" or a "tax".
Several foreign missions believe that it is a "tax", and thus they are exempt from paying it under the Vienna Convention.
A spokesperson of the Indian High Commission said: "The Government of India has decided not to pay congestion charges on diplomatic cars as these are in the form of a tax and Diplomatic Missions are not subject to taxation."
Cowperthwaite said: "TfL and the UK Government are clear that the Congestion Charge is a charge for a service and not a tax. This means that diplomats are not exempt from paying it. Around two thirds of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels."
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
London Mining starts the year well - stockmarketwire.com
He said: "Turning to each of our assets, at Marampa, we are pleased to say that the plant is successfully processing tailings and weathered ore to a consistent high quality and we are on track to achieve our full year target of 1.5Mtpa of iron ore concentrate. The logistics from mine to ship have been proven to work as designed and over the first quarter we produced 300,000 dry metric tonnes of iron ore and shipped over 230,000 dry metric tonnes to Europe and China.
"This was shipped in five Supramax vessels, four of which went to China and one to Europe. Since the end of the quarter, we have successfully reached an average run rate of 4,300 tonnes per day which is in line with our ramp up plans and puts us firmly on track to reach the 2012 production target.
"Expansion works at the first plant continues apace, and we have commenced works for the second plant which when combined together will ensure we continue to grow capacity at Marampa and reach our production targets of 1.5Mt in 2012, 4.2Mt in 2013 and 5Mt in 2014.
"Work on the Bankable Feasibility Study for a further expansion to 9Mtpa is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, with completion of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments expected after that sometime in the fourth quarter.
"In Colombia, construction of the coke ovens continues although we were severely hampered by the unexpected rains caused by La Nina. None the less we produced 5,800 tonnes over the quarter. We have caught up some lost ground and we continue to aim for our target of 200,000 tonnes production capacity in the first phase. We are also exploring and undertaking feasibility studies on nearby coking coal concessions.
"Briefly turning to Isua, as we announced on 29 March, we have now completed the BFS for a 15Mtpa operation. The BFS defined a three year construction period to begin producing 70% Fe premium grade iron ore pellet feed with a payback period of 3.5 years. Since the BFS, we have commenced the permitting process.
"To realise our growth plans we know we must continue to attract and retain talented people and also ensure that the communities and countries in which we operate are able to see tangible and long-lasting benefits from our activities. We are particularly proud to provide employment and training for over 2,000 Sierra Leoneans.
"2012 is significant as we will contribute directly to the economy of Sierra Leone through payments of royalty and taxes to the Government of Sierra Leone; and indirectly through our social development royalty, local employment and local supply chain initiatives.
"As we enter a new phase of operations, construction and development we are ever more appreciative of the need to minimise the impact of our operations to the surrounding environment and communities and to keep our employees safe."
At 10:46am: (LON:LOND) share price was -3.62p at 242.63p
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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.
London Welsh vow to fight for Premiership status as Newcastle look likely to avoid drop - Daily Mail
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London Welsh will 'explore all possible avenues' as they continue their quest for Aviva Premiership status next season as Newcastle look to have won a relegation reprieve.
The Exiles, even if they win a two-legged Championship final against Cornish Pirates, have been told they do not meet minimum standards criteria to play in English rugby's top flight.
The decision was confirmed by Rugby Football Union directors just six hours before London Welsh took on the Pirates in Penzance.
Setback: London Welsh have been told they will not be promoted if they win their play-off game due to their ground not meeting required standards
RFU directors ratified findings of a report carried out by independent auditors that identified various London Welsh failures, including not having primacy of tenure at their nominated Premiership ground - Oxford United's 12,500-capacity Kassam Stadium.
The Pirates did not choose to have an independent audit of their Mennaye Field ground, so were therefore ineligible for promotion prior to tonight's first leg and the return fixture in Oxford next Wednesday.
Welsh, whose chairman Bleddyn Phillips is a partner with the law firm Clifford Chance, have 14 days in which to lodge an appeal.
The club's board of directors have responded to the RFU announcement by saying they will be 'exploring all possible avenues off the pitch to ensure that if successful in winning the Championship, London Welsh will take its rightful place in the top flight of English rugby.'
As things stand, though, Premiership bottom club Newcastle will remain among the elite next term with no promotion taking place from the second tier.
The London Welsh statement continued: 'London Welsh RFC would like to express its grave disappointment on learning of this decision, coming as it does just a few hours ahead of the first leg of the club's Championship final against the Cornish Pirates.
'The club firmly believes that it has met the minimum standards criteria for promotion to the Premiership, particularly as regards the issue of primacy of tenure, and reaffirmed its belief in this respect in a detailed communication to the RFU as recently as Monday May 21 highlighting its case for having satisfied the MSC.
'The club has already sought clarification on this point, the detailed reasoning behind why primacy of tenure was not satisfied (among other things) having not yet been given by the RFU.
'The club is especially disappointed in this regard as a firm binding agreement, subject only to promotion to the Premiership, has already been concluded with Kassam Stadium - a ground with facilities the club believes to be at least the equal of many other grounds already hosting Premiership rugby.'
Staying up: Newcastle's Peter Stringer looks like he and his club will be playing in the Premiership next season
Newcastle propped up the Premiership by a point despite winning their final game of the 22-game regular league season against fellow strugglers Wasps earlier this month.
But the Falcons have now survived - barring any successful London Welsh appeal - and they can look forward to the 2012-13 campaign when Dean Richards will take charge as rugby director.
Falcons commercial director Duncan Edward said: 'To be given the lifeline of playing in the Premiership next season and keeping top-class rugby in the region is unbelievable.'
In a statement, RFU directors said: 'The Rugby Football Union's board of directors has considered the findings of the independent audit report requested by London Welsh, which determines a club's eligibility for promotion to the Aviva Premiership in line with the minimum standards criteria (MSC).
'The report, carried out by independent auditors, found that London Welsh has not met the MSC for the Aviva Premiership.
'The independent auditors identified various failures, including not having primacy of tenure at their nominated ground. This states that a club must demonstrate that they can host home fixtures at the time stipulated by Premiership Rugby and/or the host broadcaster.
'The RFU board ratified the findings and agreed, should London Welsh win the RFU Championship final following the second leg on May 30, they would not be eligible for promotion and Newcastle Falcons would remain in the Aviva Premiership.
'Cornish Pirates did not choose to have an independent audit of the Mennaye Field and so do not fulfil the criteria for promotion should they win the final. As a result, there will be no promotion from the RFU Championship this season.'
The minimum standards criteria are set by the Professional Game Board (PGB) - a joint group from the RFU, Premiership Rugby, RFU Championship clubs and the Rugby Players' Association.
But Wednesday's outcome will inevitably stir the hornet's nest issue of promotion and relegation between the Championship and Premiership, giving further ammunition to those who believe the Premiership is destined to become a closed shop.
London Welsh, founded in 1885, currently play at Old Deer Park in Richmond, which has a capacity of just under 6,000.
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.