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Muamba is forced to quit after ‘dying’ on the pitch BOLTON midfielder Fabrice Muamba, the player who collapsed and “died” during a game at Tottenham last season, has retired from professional football. The decision was recommended by his medical team, following consultations with leading cardiologists in the UK and on mainland Europe. The 24-year-old’s heart stopped beating for 78 minutes following his collapse at White Hart Lane on 17th March. He spent a month in the London Chest Hospital before being discharged. The popular star said in a club statement: “Since suffering my heart attack and being discharged from hospital, I have remained utterly positive in the belief that I could one day resume my playing career and play for Bolton Wanderers once again. “As part of my ongoing recovery, last week I travelled to Belgium to seek further medical advice from a leading cardiologist. “But the news I received was obviously not what I had hoped it would be. and it means I am now
announcing my retirement from professional football. “Football has been my life since I was a teenage boy and it has given me so many opportunities. “Above all else, I love the game and count myself very lucky to have been able to play at the highest level. “While the news is devastating, I have much to be thankful for. I thank God that I am alive and I pay tribute once again to the members of the medical team, who never gave up on me. “I would also like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout my career, and the Bolton fans, who have been incredible. I am blessed to have the support of my family and friends at this time.”
Taxmen on the warpath BRITAIN’S tax officials are sending penalty notices of £1,200 and more to 500,000 people who have failed to return self-assessment returns. They were prompted after several reminders about returns from the 2010-11 tax year were ignored. HM Revenue and Customs introduced changes in April last year to boost incentives to file them, and cut the cost chasing up the missing forms. It means that those still ignoring self-assessment forms will be penalised more than in previous years. The letters being issued include a maximum £900 penalty for non-filing,
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together with another latefiling penalty of £300, or 5% of the tax due, whichever is higher. Stephen Banyard, HMRC’s Director General for personal tax, said:“We want the returns, and not the penalties. ”If someone has a reasonable excuse for not sending in a return on time, we will waive the penalty. “We also recognise that there will be some people who don’t need to be in selfassessment, and we will be happy to remove them from that system and cancel their penalty.” The tax office says people can appeal against the charges if they believe they have a reasonable excuse for not sending their tax return, such as a family illness or a bereavement.
So how much sunshine is really good for you?
THE health benefits and risks of spending time in the sun are being put under the microscope by Cancer Research UK. The world’s largest cancer research charity hopes the study will help solve years of controversy surrounding vitamin D, known as the sunshine vitamin - and how much sun is too much. Sun exposure needed to make enough vitamin D varies from person to person, depending mainly on skin colour. As yet, though, there are no clear guidelines about what level of sun exposure is
required to produce enough vitamin D without causing excessive DNA damage to the skin, which can cause skin cancer. The trial will use simulated sunlight to determine how much sun is needed for different skin types. Study leader Professor Lesley Rhodes, from the University of Manchester, said: “There’s no doubt that too much sun can seriously increase skin cancer risk, but we know there are also important benefits to going out in the sun, such as making enough vitamin D. “This study is about finding that balance, so we can offer people of all skin colours the
best possible advice about how much sun is safe for them.” Seventy-five healthy volunteers, aged 18-45 and with a range of skin colours, are being recruited to take part in the study at the Photobiology Unit, Dermatology Centre at Salford Royal in Greater Manchester. Those taking part will be exposed to simulated sunlight - equivalent to that of a summer’s day in Manchester - for short periods. Blood and urine samples will be taken after exposure and examined for chemicals which indicate vitamin D levels and DNA damage.
Small skin samples will also be taken from some volunteers and analysed for any signs of DNA damage. Kalani Hargrove, one of the first volunteers to take part in the trial, is studying sociology at the university. “Before I signed up, I was given an information sheet that explained everything,” she said. “Taking part has been really simple and straightforward so far. “And it has been fascinating to see, first-hand, how medical research is carried out. “I’m delighted to be taking part in research which will, hopefully, lead to a better understanding of how people of all skin colours can enjoy the sun safely.”
IKEA to build 100 hotels … but they’re definitely not flat-packs! IKEA, the world’s largest homes retailer, is planning to build 100 budget hotels across Europe - but they won’t include their famous flat-pack furniture. The hotels, aimed at priceconscious business travellers, will not feature IKEA’s brand name, yet they represent the Swedish company’s biggest real estate development. Demand for stylish-yetaffordable rooms from austerity-hit business guests and leisure travellers is high and growing.
That’s the view of Harald Muller, senior executive at the property unit of Inter IKEA, the firm which owns the IKEA brand and concept, who adds: “Budget-designer hotels is the fastest-developing hotel segment.” Motel One, citizenM and B&B Hotels are all part of a new breed challenging established budget brands such as Travelodge, Whitbread’s Premier Inn (WTB.L) and Accor’s Formule 1 (ACCP.PA). IKEA’s first hotel will probably open in Germany in 2014, and the chain will be run by an international hotel operator.
“There is no IKEA furniture in it,” stressed Muller “It is not an IKEA hotel. It’s a continuation of our normal investment activities in real estate.” Inter IKEA already owns a few hotels and has more in the works, but the new project would be its first chain. And it will top its 26acre home, office and hotel scheme around London’s
Olympic Park. The company is identifying and buying sites for future hotels in the chain, which will be launched in Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Britain and Poland. Inter IKEA’s property assets total around 750 million euros, and it has the financial clout to become a larger developer. In its fiscal 2010-11 year, IKEA Group, which operates most IKEA stores under franchise from Inter IKEA, raised net profit by 10% to a record 2.97 billion euros on revenues of 25.17 billion euros, which was another all-time high.
17 August - 23 August 2012