Other News In Brief

10m UK Tweeters

Twitter has revealed that 10 million people in the UK now actively use the social network – and 80%, an unusually high number, access it through mobile phones.

The data about the UK, revealed for the first time by the company, indicates that 8 million who logged in to the company's site in the past 30 days did so from a mobile phone, compared to Twitter's global average of 55%.

Independent studies suggest that the UK is the fourth-largest country for Twitter users in the world, behind the US, Brazil and Japan.

Lifeline for Ellesmere Port Car Plant

Following comments by the head of General Motors European business it is being speculated that the Ellesmere Port factory in north-west England will be saved, along with 2,100 jobs.

Speaking to workers in Germany Karl-Heinz Stracke said that production of the new Vauxhall Astra would be concentrate on just two factories. One of which is believed to be Ellesmere Port.

The business secretary, Vince Cable, and Steve Girsky, GM's vice chairman, have been pencilled in to visit Ellesmere Port on Thursday as the manufacturer prepares to confirm the creation of hundreds more jobs at the plant.

Bishop Of Durham Descirbes Pay-Day Loans As ‘Sinful’

The bishop of Durham has described the interest rates charged by payday lenders as sinful and usurious, but says they are the only resort for many families desperate for money.

Citing the 4,214% APR charged by the UK's highest profile short-term lender Wonga, the Rt Rev Justin Welby said his worry was people would get used to this "deeply shocking" level of interest and begin to think it was normal. "An interest rate of over 4,000% has been considered usurious since the time of Moses. It's no different now," he said.

The bishop said he was not describing the lenders as immoral or saying they were acting improperly, "but they have become the only resort for people in many parts of the country where traditional banks and credit unions are just not available".

(H)