In the realm of fuzzy math and statistical manipulation, nothing sounds so wonderful as things that'll add years to your life and nothing so scary as things that'll take those years away. And though we're not scientists or number-crunching pros, we don't want to feel like suckers when it comes to fear mongering figures. So let's take a look at London's newest set of mortality figures, which supposedly triumph the roughly quarter decrease in......

Though this story would have been more appropriate for Valentine's Day, this love letter from long ago was returned a week late for that lovey-dovey deadline. Still, this sentimental stuff tugs at our little heartstrings, so we're happy to report that a stolen love letter, dumped in a garden at an empty house in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, and picked up by police has been returned to its author, who is still alive at 98.......

A former magistrate with a personality disorder and apparently plenty of time on his hands, scammed the London Underground out of £5,000. Between 2003 and 2006, 33-year-old Terrance Jolley made over 2,000 claims for refunds by saying his trains had been delayed. Not happy about receiving his fraudulent checks in a timely fashion, though, the small-time thief complained to London Underground's managing director about the slow process, and was found out after LU looked......

A major fire has broken out in Camden Town. Part of the Canal Market, Chalk Farm Road, caught fire around 7pm. As dense black smoke billowed out from beneath shutters at least four fire engines and a surveillance helicopter rushed to the scene. Nearby shopkeepers rallied together bringing buckets and extinguishers. The market appeared to be closed and there is no indication of any injuries. 7.50 This is a major, major fire. At least......

As far as we are concerned, McCartney should have retired years ago, just before he started Wings and released Mull of Kintyre. Sadly he didn't and continues to release albums to this day, such as this year's ridiculously mediocre left-handed mandolin tinged effort that was sold at Starbucks. Rock and Roll. I suppose we don't really mind him releasing new solo albums, what really gets our goat is his Beatles cover band show that......

From BBC News: London must become car-free if it is to substantially cut carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new report. Crikey. In response to the findings London Green Party member Jenny Jones said: "I have asked the London mayor to do a feasibility study into creating a car free pedestrian zone in central London linking all the main squares and parks. "We need to show that the car no longer rules in London......

In a residential road in North East London workmen in high visibility vests wrestle manfully down muddy holes with broken water pipes whilst smiling, perky local girls ferry tea and biscuits to the hard working hunks, exchanging playful banter. A scene straight out of a "Confessions..." farce? No. It's the BBC reporting on progress with water mains replacement in Walthamstow. Slow news day, then. It seems our BBC News team are astonished that local......

From BBC News: RMT general secretary Bob Crow said they now had the assurances, they had been seeking, in writing from the employer. However, he warned a 72 hour strike planned for next Monday remained, pending the outcome of further talks. "The three days of strike action is on next week," he told BBC News 24. "Our view the deal we have got is the best possible but if these people from Transport for......

The top two floors of an office building near Scotland Yard have collapsed following an explosion. The campaign office of Labour Deputy hopeful Hazel Blears is on a lower floor of the building. Reports suggest the upper floors were undergoing renovation, and only one person has been injured. According to the BBC: Eyewitness Barshan Ganwari said he heard a "huge noise" or "a blast" and saw "people running away" from the scene. Justin Linger......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 28th May 1908: Ian Fleming, creator of the character of James Bond and author of more than a dozen novels featuring the British agent, is born in Mayfair. He also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Tuesday – 29th May 1886: The current Putney Bridge is opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales, replacing an earlier bridge that was built in 1729. Wednesday – 30th May 1972:......

BBC: A woman has been taken to hospital after police were called to deal with a suspect package at premises in central London. Bomb disposal experts are at the scene in Victoria Street in Victoria after police received a call at 0940 GMT. London Ambulance said the female employee had suffered minor injuries. The main road outside the building, which is just 200 yards from Scotland Yard, was closed off with a cordon set......

Lord Mayor, John Stuttard, is planning to make London a centre of business education and professional learning. After today's bus strike which no-one seemed to know about, tomorrow will see technical staff behind BBC News walking out of work. So, Al Jazeera have picked a good day to launch their English language service tomorrow with a plan to 'build a bridge between cultures.' Michael Jackson's in town ahead of tomorrow's World Music Awards and......

You know how it is... you get to a certain age and the pressure builds for you to germinate. But what happens if you're well past your prime and your seed has seen better days? Well that arch enemy of superstition, Science, can step in and encourage a fresh spurt : Seeds which have been stored away since the time of George III have been persuaded into new life. Scientists from the Millennium Seed......

4pm: BBC: A flight from London to Washington DC has been diverted to Boston after the pilot declared an emergency because of a "passenger disturbance". United Flight 923, with 182 passengers, left Heathrow Airport and landed at Boston's Logan International Airport, an airline spokesman said. Three passengers are believed to have been involved with a confrontation with the crew on board the flight. State police are said to have taken control of the plane......

Londonist has just had a late-night phone call from friends in Bow Church saying there is a "huge fire" raging somewhere in East London, "somewhere to the east as you look from Bow Church/Pudding Mill Lane area towards Canary Wharf". We apologise for the inaccurate location - any late-night Londonist readers able to provide better information? The inferno is apparently "in an area about the size of a couple of blocks of flats"; the......

BBC News has come under fire from Welsh nationalist MPs, who have branded it "London-centric". Following on the bird flu stuff from yesterday: plans for the first clinical trials of the H5N1 vaccine in London have been presented to the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Ken's launched a new campaign to get Londoner's cycling. The slogan is 'You're better of by bike'. Lindsay Lohan's London Lover might be Rhys Ifans. But it......

We avoided using it in the headline but we can't resist... it's the end of the line (ho ho) for the Gatwick Express. BBC News says the government reckons it's a little inefficient to have a half-full train clogging up the lines when you could run a normal commuter service instead and, according to government calculations, get an extra 480 seats for commuters. We take this calculation with something of a pinch of salt,......

This week's big tech story surrounds a wearer of turtlenecks, stone washed jeans and white trainers. Not a member Status Quo luckily, but someone with a little less hair, yet with a lot more up there - at least when compared to the UKs most successful chart act. Apple computers' CEO Steve Jobs has invited a select number of the tech industry stalwarts to a special event entitled 'One More Thing' this coming Tuesday......

We tried to watch the live coverage on BBC News 24 of the family of Jean Charles de Menezes visiting the scene of his death, but found the whole thing too depressing. The running commentary didn't help - "His mother is breaking down...", nor the sight of the press pack all huddled round trying to get the 'best' photograph of the bewildered and traumatised family. Not one of the Beeb's best moments. Matozinhos Otone Da......

The BBC is reporting that a lorry carrying chemicals has exploded on the M25 south west of London. No real details yet, but all lanes are closed. We'll update as we know more. 13.05: It seems the lorry exploded between junctions 12 and 13 and was carrying hydrogen peroxide, but there is no news yet of anyone being hurt. BBC News 24 are reporting a major chemical incident and already there are reports that......

According to a rather fascinating report on BBC News, "a new form of accent is replacing the traditional Cockney in some parts of the East End". White youths have picked up words from their Bangladeshi neighbours, meaning you're more likely to hear someone say their new "creps" are "nang" than their new "trainers" are "good". This is bad news for the Daily Hell Mail, who will doubtless run an editorial on how "waves of......

Top of the Pops viewers (those that are left) were deprived of what little quality music they could have expected to see on Sunday when Richard Bacon introduced Londonist favourites The Magic Numbers by making a joke about their weight. According to the BBC News report: In rehearsals, Richard Bacon said the band had been put in a "fat melting pot of talent" - and they left in protest at the "derogatory, unfunny remarks".......

Police are confirming the shooting incident at Stockwell. It seems that a man jumped the barriers at Stockwell underground station and ran for a Northern Line train. One witness on BBC News 24 says he saw the man go down and then police shot him five times: "I was sitting on the train reading my paper. I heard a load of noise, people saying, 'Get out, get down'! I saw an Asian guy run onto......

News of incidents at Warren St, Oval and Shepherd's Bush, plus the no 26 bus in Hackney. No injuries reported but the tube network is down for the moment. Sky news: At Warren Street there were reports of a nail bomb explosion. Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said police believe this may have been the sound of detonators going off. Victoria Line train passenger Ivan McCracken told Sky News he spoke to an Italian man......

Well. This was meant to be a celebratory photothread yesterday cataloguing London bloggers' reactions to the Olympic decision. (If you don't want to know the result, look away now: we got it.) But, of course, the Britblogosphere barely had time to pop the champagne before more serious news took over. It's possible that this may come to be a defining moment for British blogs and bloggers, just as the 2004 presidential election was for......

Londonist likes stories that begin "It sounds like a scene from the Jetsons or Buck Rogers" because we feel that the story that follows should be about a new kind of robotic maid or a small gay robot that likes to boogie. What we actually got from the BBC News Magazine was a story about flying cabs. Calm down. Nothing like as interesting as the one that Bruce Willis used to pick up some......

Is there no limit to Ken Livingstone's ambitions? Not content with simply running one of the largest and most important cities on Earth, he's now conducting foreign policy as well. In an announcement timed to coincide with the Chinese New Year, Ken has announced that he is opening two embassies for London in the People's Republic. These far-flung outposts of the Livingstonian Empire - one in Beijing, the other in Shanghai - will promote investment......

London band Bloc Party had better prepare themselves for the inevitable 'New Kids on the Bloc' headlines as they came second in a BBC News poll of 110 critics and broadcasters. (New York band The Bravery topped the poll but we'll let our friends at Gothamist deal with them.) Bloc Party have been going for a while now, but there's a noticeable buzz around them as they featured on a cover for The Guide......