The sprawling, congested city of London speeds towards a greener, nimbler future Friday with the launch of a new bike hire scheme aimed at kick-starting a cycling revolution ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

Commuters and tourists infuriated by heavy traffic and often overcrowded, unreliable public transport finally have a two-wheeled alternative, similar to schemes already in place in Paris, Shanghai and dozens of cities worldwide.

Olympic chief Jacques Rogge on Wednesday praised London’s 2012 Games delivery team for being on time and within budget as the two-year countdown to the event gets under way.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President also complimented Rio de Janeiro for the city’s initial preparatory work for the 2016 Games and expressed his hopes that an African country could soon win the right to host an Olympics.

A cross-border trading strategy that takes advantage of regional copper price differences is further obscuring the red metal’s demand outlook.

The per-ton price for copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was recently about $60 more than a similar price on the London Metal Exchange, the main global hub for base metals. A difference this big means it is cheaper for traders to buy copper on the LME, which allows contract holders to take delivery of the actual metal in Asia, and ship it to China than to buy in Shanghai.

Last we saw David Beckham, he was inadvertently creating an eardrum-piercing cascade of screams as he walked into Centre Court at the All-England Club.

Now, he’s gone ahead and created More >

Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday said those killed in the 2005 London bombings would “never be forgotten”, as low-key ceremonies marked the fifth anniversary of the attacks.

The July 7, 2005 suicide bombings on three London Underground trains and a bus left 52 innocent people dead.

No official commemoration events took place, although wreaths were laid on behalf of Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson at the official memorial to the victims in London’s Hyde Park.

The news of rejoice come for the Londoners as city commuters will be able access the net on-the-go with the recent proclamation of installing Wi-Fi internet connections in the public transport systems.

It came from the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who made this declaration public at the Greater London Authority’s annual ‘State of London’ debate.

According to the formulated proposals the underground station platforms, bus stops and street lights will have Wi-Fi technology installed transforming them all into Wi-Fi hotspots.

As police continue to investigate a series of bizarre kidnapping allegations made by actor Jeremy London; several new twists to the story have emerged.

With London claiming he was abducted, robbed at gunpoint and then forced to smoke drugs, Palm Springs police have denied claims by London’s wife Melissa that similar incidents have taken place in the California desert region.

Detective Steve Douglas said: ‘There haven’t been any incidents that I can recall of gang members kidnapping tourists with flat tyres and then forcing them to do drugs.’ More >

After arriving to lead London’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup, Johnson clutched a yellow vuvuzela and blew on it occasionally before and during his press conference.

“We are thinking of not having the vuvuzela, wonderful instruments though they are,” he said.

Rome is considering a hotel tax on the 9 million visitors to the Eternal City each year, a revenue- raising measure that may hurt tourism in the Italian capital and put further pressure on its credit rating.

The family lives near me and I can attest to the shocking brass neck of the local wildlife.

A cheeky fox trotted into my kitchen one afternoon and proceeded to lope round the pine table, pursued, at a safe distance, by the dog. Eventually I managed to herd the creature onto the patio, and it exited the garden with what can only be described as an air of disdainful leisureliness.