News round up: Darling poised to slash spending and raise taxes

Alistair Darling poised to slash spending and raise taxes in Budget

Alistair Darling is considering fierce public spending curbs and deferred tax rises to convince the markets that Britain will emerge eventually from its massive debt.

Read more on this story in The Times

London suffering from shocking rise in rare ‘Dickensian’ diseases

London is suffering a startling rise in diseases associated with Victorian times, official figures reveal today.
Rare infectious illnesses including typhoid, whooping cough and scarlet fever have soared by 166 per cent in the past two years, with the number of cases of mumps – a disease easily prevented with vaccine – rising from 125 in 2007 to 393 last year – an increase of 214%.

Read more on this story in The Daily Mail