The sum is a £200000 increase on last year The rest of the increase, from a total of 41,700 diagnosed cases in 2001, was due to sufferers' blood being tested without their knowledge.The number of new cases was 15 per cent up on the 4,982 diagnosed in 2001 and is expected to rise to 6,400 when all the reports are received. The epidemic in the UK has also speeded up because of complacency among young people about the risks of unprotected sex and the mistaken belief that the disease has been beaten by modern treatments.There were 5,711 new diagnoses of HIV to the end of September last year, the highest since records began in 1987. Soaring rates of all sexually transmitted infections are fuelling the rise, with an estimated 49,500 people living with HIV in 2002, an increase of 20 per cent on the previous year. The global epidemic of HIV, the virus that causes Aids, is tightening its grip on Britain with a record number of new cases diagnosed last year. "The chemical industry is contaminating the nation and the Government is rolling over and allowing it to continue," he said.. "Our point is that every single person tested had detectable levels of these chemicals. It's not just concentration, it's whether it's there or not," he said.Justin Woolford, a WWF campaigner, said the Government should encourage the EU to introduce legislation to phase out the most harmful chemicals in favour of safer alternatives. But Matthew Wilkinson, the toxins policy officer of WWF-UK, said the findings were significant because they showed that many chemical pollutants, even those that were banned 20 years ago, continued to accumulate within the body. Most people are contaminated with a cocktail of potentially harmful man-made chemicals, the environmental pressure group WWF-UK says.
Scientists from Lancaster University analysed blood samples for 78 industrial substances such as chemicals used as flame retardants, banned organochlorides such as polychlorinated biphenyls and pesticides.Concentrations of the substances - such as the banned insecticide DDT- were well within recommended safety levels. He is delighted that the number of children aged from four to 11 playing tennis has increased by 81 per cent over the past year."Our task now is to keep those kids in the game," Crowther emphasised. "We've got to make sure that tennis is a cool sport." A Sport England grant of £750,000 earlier this year will help to link tennis clubs and schools.The annual surplus donated by the All England Club to the LTA appears to be levelling off as a consequence of decreasing overseas television revenue and increasing insurance premiums for the world's most prestigious tennis tournament.First passing the £1m mark in 1981 - the year the turbulent McEnroe did just about everything except pick up the ball and run with it - the surplus rose to a peak of £33m in 1998, tapering to £25m for the past two years.. Jonny Wilkinson, indisputably the "Big W" of the day, attended Wimbledon this year. Wilkinson, a tennis enthusiast, was invited to the LTA's Kid's Zone, where he hit with the children and signed autographs and posed for photographs.Although tennis is an individual sport, some tenets are all-embracing. McEnroe spoke to the LTA's young hopefuls about the importance of playing the big points: "How good are you when it comes down to the wire?" The image of Wilkinson's drop goal came to mind.McEnroe said he hoped the British youngsters who hit with him would be inspired in the same way that he was inspired by hitting with his idol, the great Australian Rod Laver. "That was huge for me," McEnroe said.His nine students yesterday - Miles Casini, Ross Hutchins, Richard Wyre, Matt Lowe, Niki Peel, Josh Goodall, Jonathan Marray, David Sherwood and Andre Banks - gave him their full attention.John Crowther, the LTA's chief executive, says the governing body's grass roots development programme will succeed. McEnroe, a New Yorker who, as a youngster, played the round ball code of football, inevitably chose the motivational value of England's inspiring triumph in the Rugby World Cup as his theme for the day.The LTA hopes to persuade McEnroe to become a frequent visitor in a campaign to invigorate the pursuit of excellence - in McEnroe's words: "Put a bit of fire in the bellies of the players." Cross-pollination may help the LTA's quest to attract more young people to the sport. The Lawn Tennis Association, which would be overjoyed to find five players to take on the world, never mind 15, was encouraged for two reasons yesterday. The sum is a £200,000 increase on last year.Secondly, John McEnroe arrived at Queen's Club to conduct a training session with a group of junior players. He may also be interviewed on the pitch and sign autographs.3 December: Newcastle City Council to discuss whether he should be given the Freedom of the City.Next two weeks: A victory parade along Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, The Mall and Parliament Square, including a champagne reception with Tony Blair at Downing Street.20 December: England squad play against a New Zealand Barbarians side in a celebration non-cap game at Twickenham.. |
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