This week's UK news: 7 August 2009
7 August 2009


Famous prisoner let out of jail

There has been lots of argument about the release of Ronnie Biggs from jail this week.

Biggs was one of a gang who robbed a train and got away with £3m. The driver of the train was injured and died a few years later. Biggs, sentenced to 30 years in jail, escaped and went abroad, ending up in Brazil where he had a son.

The London police made many attempts to get him back to the UK, but Biggs stayed away until 2001, when he chose to return. He has been serving his sentence in prison since.

The authorities wanted to keep him there because he has never apologised for his crime. But he is now extremely ill and has been released because of this. Many people do not think this was the right thing to do.

Football kicks off again

The new football season has begun after a summer break. This is good for many sports fans who have been disappointed by England’s poor performance against Australia in the Ashes cricket series.

The Premier League may be made more unpredictable by the vast amounts of cash being spent on new players by Manchester City, whilst Chelsea has another new manager. More new players may arrive too before the deadline of September 1.

Flu cases down

The number of people infected with H1N1 flu dropped significantly last week. There were around 30,000 new cases, compared with 100,000 the week before.

Numbers of people in hospital have also dropped. The Government’s chief doctor says the worst of the pandemic may be over for now. However, the experience of other countries suggests that the number of infections may rise again later in the year.

Can you have a baby?

British doctors want women to be tested at 30 to find out how easy it will be for them to have a baby. Many women are delaying motherhood until 36 or older, because of their job, and then find it very hard to become pregnant.

Doctors say people do not realise that the chance of having a baby drops quickly as women get into their 30s. They want the test to show people their own chances of becoming pregnant. They also want people to understand that they should have children earlier, or risk not having any.

 

by Susan Young - susan@englishuk.com

 

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