Monday

A universal therapy or vaccine for every type of influenza is within reach, according to scientists who have identified proteins that can neutralise most strains of the virus that affect humans. The discovery could help to prevent many of the 250,000 seasonal influenza deaths that occur worldwide each year.

Tuesday

Excess red tape is putting academy schools in doubt, their leaders say. More than 70 academies belonging to the Independent Academies Association wrote to Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, to warn that the steady erosion of their independence was making it difficult for them to raise standards. Twelve ‘sink’ schools have been rated as outstanding for achieving excellent results. The Ofsted report praises the headteachers, who transformed the near-failing schools’ despite a history of truancy. Many pupils come from disturbed backgrounds, have low parental expectations or a poor grasp of English.

Wednesday

A London police station has been accused of operating an apartheid system of discrimination. The claims were made in legal documents by Asad Saeed, a suspended Asian community support officer, before anemployment tribunal. He claims that officers were told to use different police vans depending on skin colour. Council tax is expected to rise by an average of 3 per cent across England from April – more than 30 times the rate of inflation, local government chiefs said. An average household band D bill will rise by £40 to £1,414.

Thursday

There has been a 40 per cent increase in the number of people having bariatric surgery – including stomach stapling and gastric bypasses – to treat morbid obesity on the NHS. The NHS in England performed 2,724 weight-loss operations in the year to April 2008 compared with fewer than 2,000 in the previous year. At least 40,000 council workers could be made redundant this year with two thirds of councils saying jobs must go because of the recession. A survey by The Times showed that 65 councils planned to cut 12,144 jobs – if extrapolated across all 442 councils in Britain this would amount to more than 40,000 job losses.

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