A Few Things Here And There ...

The Spectator reports that the total number of students in grammar schools has risen by over 20% since Labour came to power (127 780 children in 1997 ... 150 750 in 2004 ... 156 800 in 2007). Research from the University of York has found that, of the 22,000 pupils entering grammar schools each year, just 2% receive free school meals - amounting to fewer than 500 children. I don't see how a 20% expansion squares with social democracy under Labour, let alone socialism.

Oxfam in partnering with Bangladeshi curry restaurants to put an extra £1 on each meal, to be donated to the relief effort for Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh. 903,000 homes have been damaged and 273,000 completely destroyed. There is no sanitation or fresh water in many areas, meaning that there is a serious risk of numerous cholera outbreaks.

Sexually-transmitted infections were up 2.2% in 2006. 73,000 adults are now living with HIV in the UK. A third of the people in Britain with HIV don't know they have the virus. Here are some contact points for getting yourself tested in Coventry, for both STIs and HIV.

30 animal rights activists in Hampshire have received letters from the CPS inviting them to provide passwords that will decrypt material held on seized computers. This is the first time that such a law has been used in Britain.

An activist, who wished to remain anonymous, said that even if others disagreed with animal rights activists the use of the law had grave implications for personal privacy. "Even if they hate our guts, my personal view is that this is a matter where there's great issues of public interest that should be being talked about," they said.