Hen harriers ‘being shot’

Gamekeepers are wiping out hen harriers on grouse moors to protect estate incomes, a scientific study for the RSPB claims. The harriers, which eat the chicks of red grouse, are being shot routinely and poisoned, says the report. RSPB figures show 34 birds of prey were shot and 49 were poisoned in the UK last year.

Baby gorillas are released

Three baby gorillas that had to be hand-reared at Howletts and Port Lympne Zoo parks in Kent, after being rejected by their mothers, have been returned to the wild in Gabon.

Lego is the favourite toy

Half a century after Lego went on sale in Britain it remains the favourite toy, a survey by Argos, the catalogue shop, found. Fifty-six per cent of those polled said it was their childhood favourite.

Four killed in car crash

Four people died when a pickup truck swerved across the A9 Perth to Inverness road and crashed into a foreign-registered car, bursting into flames. A man and woman in the truck were killed, as were a man and boy aged 2 travelling in the car. A woman and a four-year-old girl in the car were taken to hospital.

Insurance for Muslims

Salaam Halal, Britain’s first motor insurance company that conforms to principles of the Muslim faith, was launched today. Money is put into Sharia-compliant investments.

Fewer pints sunk in pubs

Beer sales in pubs, bars and restaurants have fallen sharply, by 144 million pints, down 1.6 million pints a day between April and June, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.

‘£1m Nimrod deaths offer’

The families of servicemen killed when a Nimrod spy aircraft suffered a fuel leak and exploded in Afghanistan two years ago are said to have been offered close to £1 million in compensation. The figure takes into account the loss of the men’s earnings and pensions. The Ministry of Defence made no comment.

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