A job advertisement open only to black and minority ethnic graduates has created furore in Britain. Bristol City Council’s offer of two-year management training programme, with an annual salary of £18,000, to two non-white graduates has led to criticism of so-called “political correctness.”
These traineeships, which open only to black and ethnic minority graduates, have been advertised in accordance with Section 37 of the Race Relations Act 1976, the council explained in the advice on its jobs website. The job description, which does not guarantee a job at the end of the two-year training, reads: “You should have a strong interest in the delivery of local public services, be able to take the initiative and have the confidence to relate to people at all levels within the council. You will need to be flexible and able to learn quickly in changing environments.”
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Churchill cigar to be auctioned
London: A huge collection of diaries, letters and even a pristine cigar belonging to Winston Churchill, Britain’s World War II Prime Minister, was up for auction in London on Wednesday. The sale, which is expected to raise around £1 million, is being billed by auctioneers Christie’s as part of the most important private Churchill collection in the world.
It features his engagement diary for 1939 to 1945 which records meetings with leaders including US President Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin of Russia and Britain’s King George VI. It could fetch up to £120,000. The Havana cigar — which along with the ‘V for victory’ sign was Churchill’s trademark - is unsmoked and dates from 1963, when it was given by Churchill to a fellow diner at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo.
It is tipped to sell for up to £1,500. The collection was amassed by United States publisher Steve Forbes. Christie’s is holding a second Churchill sale in New York in December and a third in 2011 in London.
—AFP