RBS and NatWest hit by ‘technical’ problems

UK bank RBS continues to do itself no favours after millions of shoppers who bank with NatWest and RBS were unable to use their credit cards or access their accounts after ‘technical glitches’ struck on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

It seems they are all at it

The French newspaper Le Monde reported that the NSA spied on 70.3 million phone calls in France in just 30 days between 10 December last year and 8 January 2013, sparking what is being seen as token ‘official’ outrage from the French Government – there are reports that the French Government has been carrying out similar spying operations.

A change of name

After 126 years, the International Herald Tribune has today become the International New York Times.

Must tell us something

The world’s most valuable individual prize, the Mo Ibrahim prize for good governance in Africa, has gone unclaimed for the fourth time in five years. The $5m prize is supposed to be awarded each year to an elected leader who governed well, raised living standards and then left office. The prize was launched seven years ago by Sudan-born telecoms entrepreneur …

Bees are not daft

Intrigued by the headline: Honey could run out by Christmas I followed the link. Turned out to be ‘Honey produced by bees in Jersey could run out by Christmas, according to an island beekeeper.’ Bees are obviously intelligent creatures and heeded the warning.

Worst places to live

Everyone will have their own opinions but a new book has named, and shamed, these as the top ten worst places in Britain. Quite an unexpected and bizarre list in many respects and it will no doubt cause the odd bit of healthy debate.

In what universe?

Lord Sugar has been investigated by police after a complaint by one person, Liverpool shop owner Nichola Szeto, that he had posted a racist message on Twitter.

Tom Clancy dies aged 66 years

Best-selling author Tom Clancy has died at the age of 66 in a Baltimore hospital near his Maryland home. Clancy wrote a series of best-selling spy and military thrillers and his 17th novel, Command Authority, is due out in December.