London 2012: London bus drivers vote to strike over bonuses - BBC News
Bus workers in London have voted to take strike action in a row over their workload during the Olympics.
Nearly 40% of Unite members working for 21 bus companies voted 94% in favour of strike action. No dates have been set.
The union, which is asking for a £500 bonus, says bus workers are the only London transport workers not to receive an Olympics bonus payment.
Transport for London (TfL) said bus workers were employed by private firms who set their pay.
Dates for strike action could be announced early next week.
Unison says it expects 800,000 extra passengers to travel on buses during the Games.
'Patience run out'It said workers on London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railways, Network Rail and Virgin would all receive between £500 to £900 in extra payments.
In May, a survey of 2,955 London bus and rail passengers commissioned by the union found that 88% were in favour of Olympic bonus pay.
Peter Kavanagh, Unite regional secretary for London, said: "It's a disgrace that London's mayor, Boris Johnson, and the bus companies have allowed this dispute to get this far.
"Our members are only asking for an extra £17 a day which will just about buy you a pint of beer and a portion of fish and chips at the Olympics.
"Our members want the Games to be a success but their patience has run out."
Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, has previously said: "London bus drivers are employed by private bus companies and their pay and conditions are set by those companies.
"If bus drivers are required to work additional hours they are always paid overtime accordingly."
London 2012 Olympic torch taking the scenic route to the Highlands - Stv.tv
The Olympic torch is taking the scenic route to the Highlands as it passes Loch Lomond and Loch Ness.
The flame is being carried 169 miles by 92 torchbearers from Glasgow to Inverness on Saturday, the second leg of its eight-day tour of the country.
The first torchbearer of the day was 16-year-old Emma Baird who was nominated for her determination in overcoming health problems to play sport.
Despite suffering Upper Femoral Epiphysis and spending time in a wheelchair she is now part of her school football team.
Emma passed the flame to veteran Olympian Hamish Hardie MBE who competed as a yachtsman in the 1948 London Olympics.
Mr Hardie, who is currently the vice-chair of the Clyde Maritime Trust, took the flame on board the restored Glenlee Tall Ship on the River Clyde.
He said: "It is a great pleasure and honour to welcome the Olympic Torch on board Glasgow's ship Glenlee. It is the only Clyde-built sailing ship still afloat in Great Britain and was built in 1896 - the same year that the first Olympic Games were organised by the International Olympic Committee."
The torch is being carried through Luss, Tarbet and Crianlarich on the banks of Loch Lomond before touring the Highlands.
The flame will travel across Loch Ness by boat from Fort Augustus to Drumnadrochit and visit the weekend RockNess music festival at Dores.
Soul-pop star Emeli Sande will carry the torch during the relay as well as perform at a torch celebration concert for the second night in a row.
Ms Sande will join dance acts and local performers at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness, following her performance in Glasgow last night.
The Brits' Critics' Choice winner said: "I think that's going to be a really special moment. It's a real honour to get to do that. I wasn't expecting it. I can't wait.
"I don't think within my lifetime we're going to be able to do this again, have the Olympics in my country, so it's definitely something I'll look back on and it will always be a fond memory."
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Ace boxer Vijender Kumar aims for gold at London Olympics - indiatoday.intoday.in
Four years ago in Beijing, he captured the imagination of sports fans across the country by winning India's first-ever Olympic medal in boxing. As the London Olympics approach, ace boxer Vijender Kumar, who now enjoys star status in India, is eyeing the top of the podium.
Vijender said he wants to complete the task he left unfinished in Beijing when he enters the ring in the British capital.
"Though I won a bronze in the Beijing Olympics, I feel I can improve on it in London. I feel I left a task incomplete in Beijing and can finish it in London by changing the colour of my medal to white or yellow," he told Mail Today.
The 26-year-old Vijender may be determined in his approach, but he faces an uphill task in London as young contenders, and a familiar nemesis, have prevailed over him on crucial occasions.
Vijender was beaten in the first round of the 2011 World Championships by Cuban Emilo Correa Bayeux, who also ended the Indian's campaign in Beijing in 2008. Vijender could qualify for the London Games only in the final qualifiers in Baku in April, and there too he lost in the semi-finals.
Will he cope with the stiff competition in London?
"Competition was there ever since I started boxing and will be there even after I will hang up the gloves. I don't think too much about competition because the more you think about it, the more your resolve is weakened. I train hard and give 100 per cent in the ring. This is all I am going to do in London," said the 2010 Asian Games gold medallist.
"Wearing the India colours also encourages me to do that extra bit, which probably works in my favour. I think support and affection of the people from India will help me get better results in London," said the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee.
The boxer, also the first Indian to win a medal at the World Championships in 2009, keeps a low profile, is reserved by nature, and carries himself with dignity, despite achieving much in his career. These qualities make him popular among boxing fans to the extent that three of the current Olympic qualifiers - Shiva Thapa (52kg), Vikas Krishan (56kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) - claim to have taken up boxing after getting inspired by Vijender.
The three have put Vijender on a pedestal and he is determined not to let them down at the Olympics.
"I used to take inspiration from my seniors in the early days of my career and now these youngsters take it from me. So, whenever on tour, I consider them as friends and help them in every possible way. In London, I would love to live up to their expectations," he said.
Vijender is a witness of the transformation in Indian boxing over the last few years. He has seen the sport grow in India from the time when boxers had the reputation of being punching bags to now when they are feared in the ring. He says India can expect a good return from their boxers in London.
"There was a time when boxers from other countries would hope to face an Indian in order to score an easy win. But my Beijing medal changed the psychology of Indian boxers. They feel they can dream and win, and that put pressure on our opponents. Our results in last four years are a testimony to that. And if we fight with the same resolve in London, we can came back with more than one medal," he said.
Will he be one with a medal dangling around his neck at the London Games? Only time will tell.
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