Heroes Named

The two UK servicemen killed on the same day in separate incidents in southern Afghanistan have been named by the Ministry of Defence. Royal Marine Adam Brown, of Alpha Company, 40 Commando, was killed on Sunday in an explosion in Sangin, Helmand, while on foot patrol. L/Sgt Dale Alanzo McCallum, from 1st Battalion Scots Guards, was shot dead in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand. See: Armagh-born Gurkha Officer Buried

Robbie Helps Heroes

Pop star Robbie Williams and Alexandra Burke are among the stars set to perform at a benefit concert for servicemen and women at Twickenham Stadium. The concert, which takes place on 12 September and will be shown on BBC One, will also feature comic talent including Bruce Forsyth and Jack Dee. Some 60,000 fans and troops are expected to attend the event and proceeds will go to the Help For Heroes charity, which raises funds for wounded service personnel and their families.

Migrants Go Hungry

More than 100 people in an immigration centre are on hunger strike. Officials at the UK Border Agency have confirmed they are "monitoring" the situation at Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, after detainees refused their evening meal.

Bankers Snub

Britain's biggest bank, HSBC, intends to defy any government-imposed targets for lending to businesses and households despite ministers' fears that the drought in credit is threatening the economic recovery. As HSBC kicked off the bank reporting season with a more than doubling in first half profits to $11.1bn (£7.2bn), it also revealed that its total lending fell. Customers in the UK repaid some £33bn more than it had paid out in new loans during the first six months of the year, it said. But the bank shrugged off the clamour for more credit by saying lending targets would not work.

Advert Cut Costs Jobs

As the central government freeze on non-essential advertising and marketing spend has resulted in significantly reduced volumes of work for the Central Office of Information (COI) the COI is restructuring to reflect the reduced volume of work and is to reduce its staff numbers by 40%, with the loss of 287 jobs. Staff numbers will be reduced from 737 to 450 said Chief Executive, Mark Lund, who commented: "Our future will be grounded in continuing to deliver excellent communications to achieve government aims, in the most cost efficient and effective way possible."

(BMcC/GK)