Six In 10 Britons 'Hooked' On Smartphone

The UK is spending more time online than ever with the average person on the internet for 25 hours each week, according to an Ofcom report.

On average Britons spend eight hours and 45 minutes a day using media and communications including TV and the internet - more time than they spend asleep.

To escape the flood of information, 15 million internet users have tried a digital detox - purposefully logging off from connected devices.

Jane Ramble, director of market intelligence at Ofcom, told Sky News: "What we've found in the last few years is that the smartphone has become more and more important to people as the main means of going online and that many people are attached to their phone.

"It's a great way of staying up to date with what's happening at home and at work, but today six in ten people have said they are hooked on these portable devices and I think it's that shift that is causing people to reflect on this and decided to get a bit of a breather."

However, exactly the same proportion of those surveyed - 34% - said they would never like to try a digital detox.

Some 71% of UK adults now own a smartphone - up from 66% last year, the survey of 2,025 adults and 500 teenagers found.

The figures also showed 86% of adults now have home internet access and 75% say the internet is important to their lives.

Four in 10 adults feel that they are ignored by a friend or relative at least once a week because they are glued to their smartphones.

And 12% of people say they bump into someone on the street at least once a week while they are looking at their mobiles.

Although older people are spending more time online and using smartphones more, a generational divide remains.

Of those aged 65 and over, 39% think it is "unacceptable" to take a selfie in public places.

By comparison only six per cent of teenagers felt that way.

Terror Police Probe Deadly Knife Rampage

Terrorism is being examined as a potential motive for a knife rampage in central London that left one woman dead and five others injured.

Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer Commander Mark Rowley said while mental health may have been a "significant factor" in the attack, terrorism was "one line of inquiry that we should explore".

Police were called to reports of an armed man attacking people in Russell Square at 10.33pm on Wednesday.

A woman in her 60s was killed and five other people injured in a knife attack in central London.

A 19-year-old was arrested six minutes later at 10.39pm after a Taser was fired by one of the officers.

He is now under police guard in hospital.

Officers attending the incident found up to six people injured.

An unnamed woman was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later. 

The other victims - a woman and four men - are said to have suffered "various injuries". Their condition is not known.

Extra police were drafted in following the rampage

As a precautionary measure Commander Rowley said extra police would be deployed in London on Thursday to provide reassurance and urged members of the public to be "calm, vigilant and alert".

He said it would be "inappropriate at this time" to give any more personal details about the dead woman. 

Motorist Paul Hutchinson, who drove past Russell Square an hour after the attack, told Sky News: "The area was taped off and there were loads of armed police and lots of cars, and a couple of ambulances.

One side of Russell Square was closed after the attack

"The traffic was slow but moving. Only one part of the square was closed, the side with hotels and businesses."

One witness, Helen Edwards, wrote on Twitter: "#Police guarding cordon around #russellsquare #bedfordplace #southamptonrow Saw armed police & paramedics earlier."

Another witness, Abdulrahman Muammar, tweeted: "#London Russell Square locked down & surrounded with police officers."

Russell Square is close to the British Museum in Bloomsbury

The attack came on the day the Met announced it was to increase the number of armed patrols in London as part of anti-terrorism plans.

On Sunday Metropolitan Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe warned a terror attack in the UK was a case of "when, not if".

Counter-terror police are also probing the attempted abduction of a serviceman at knifepoint from a road near RAF Marham in Norfolk on 20 July.

Anyone with information about the Russell Square rampage is asked to contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

US Pesticide Controls Targeted In Zika Fight

The White House has not ruled out calls for restrictions to be relaxed on some pesticides to control the spread of Zika.

President Barack Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest, said US officials were willing to consider a range of options to combat the virus.

"We'll certainly rely on the advice of experts in making decisions about the most effective strategies to deploy to fight the mosquito population," the White House spokesman told a news briefing.

US health officials announced last Friday that mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the mainland.

There have been more than a dozen cases of Zika in Miami, Florida

They advised pregnant women to avoid a part of Miami, Florida, where the insects are suspected of transmitting the virus directly to humans.

More than a dozen people have been infected, mostly men.

Republicans have been arguing that pesticide regulations, introduced by US environmental health authorities to prevent water supplies being polluted, should be loosened, ostensibly to fight Zika.

The Obama administration warned on Wednesday that money to fight Zika will run out by the end of August.

The President requested $1.9bn (£1.4bn) in February to fight the virus.

But the US Congress went on summer recess last month without approving any legislation for Zika funds, amid the usual partisan bickering.

A British firm, Oxitec, which engineers genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, has said the insects could be let loose in Florida's battle against Zika.

The company said a decision is expected imminently by US regulators.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes - genetically altered so their offspring die before they are able to reproduce - are under review by the Food and Drug Administration for possible use in the US.

Oxitec's tests in Brazil, Panama, and the Cayman Islands showed its GM mosquitoes could reduce local Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90%.

The Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size.

US Pesticide Controls Targeted In Zika Fight

The White House has not ruled out calls for restrictions to be relaxed on some pesticides to control the spread of Zika.

President Barack Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest, said US officials were willing to consider a range of options to combat the virus.

"We'll certainly rely on the advice of experts in making decisions about the most effective strategies to deploy to fight the mosquito population," the White House spokesman told a news briefing.

US health officials announced last Friday that mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the mainland.

There have been more than a dozen cases of Zika in Miami, Florida

They advised pregnant women to avoid a part of Miami, Florida, where the insects are suspected of transmitting the virus directly to humans.

More than a dozen people have been infected, mostly men.

Republicans have been arguing that pesticide regulations, introduced by US environmental health authorities to prevent water supplies being polluted, should be loosened, ostensibly to fight Zika.

The Obama administration warned on Wednesday that money to fight Zika will run out by the end of August.

The President requested $1.9bn (£1.4bn) in February to fight the virus.

But the US Congress went on summer recess last month without approving any legislation for Zika funds, amid the usual partisan bickering.

A British firm, Oxitec, which engineers genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, has said the insects could be let loose in Florida's battle against Zika.

The company said a decision is expected imminently by US regulators.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes - genetically altered so their offspring die before they are able to reproduce - are under review by the Food and Drug Administration for possible use in the US.

Oxitec's tests in Brazil, Panama, and the Cayman Islands showed its GM mosquitoes could reduce local Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90%.

The Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size.

US Pesticide Controls Targeted In Zika Fight

The White House has not ruled out calls for restrictions to be relaxed on some pesticides to control the spread of Zika.

President Barack Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest, said US officials were willing to consider a range of options to combat the virus.

"We'll certainly rely on the advice of experts in making decisions about the most effective strategies to deploy to fight the mosquito population," the White House spokesman told a news briefing.

US health officials announced last Friday that mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the mainland.

There have been more than a dozen cases of Zika in Miami, Florida

They advised pregnant women to avoid a part of Miami, Florida, where the insects are suspected of transmitting the virus directly to humans.

More than a dozen people have been infected, mostly men.

Republicans have been arguing that pesticide regulations, introduced by US environmental health authorities to prevent water supplies being polluted, should be loosened, ostensibly to fight Zika.

The Obama administration warned on Wednesday that money to fight Zika will run out by the end of August.

The President requested $1.9bn (£1.4bn) in February to fight the virus.

But the US Congress went on summer recess last month without approving any legislation for Zika funds, amid the usual partisan bickering.

A British firm, Oxitec, which engineers genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, has said the insects could be let loose in Florida's battle against Zika.

The company said a decision is expected imminently by US regulators.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes - genetically altered so their offspring die before they are able to reproduce - are under review by the Food and Drug Administration for possible use in the US.

Oxitec's tests in Brazil, Panama, and the Cayman Islands showed its GM mosquitoes could reduce local Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90%.

The Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size.

US Pesticide Controls Targeted In Zika Fight

The White House has not ruled out calls for restrictions to be relaxed on some pesticides to control the spread of Zika.

President Barack Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest, said US officials were willing to consider a range of options to combat the virus.

"We'll certainly rely on the advice of experts in making decisions about the most effective strategies to deploy to fight the mosquito population," the White House spokesman told a news briefing.

US health officials announced last Friday that mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the mainland.

There have been more than a dozen cases of Zika in Miami, Florida

They advised pregnant women to avoid a part of Miami, Florida, where the insects are suspected of transmitting the virus directly to humans.

More than a dozen people have been infected, mostly men.

Republicans have been arguing that pesticide regulations, introduced by US environmental health authorities to prevent water supplies being polluted, should be loosened, ostensibly to fight Zika.

The Obama administration warned on Wednesday that money to fight Zika will run out by the end of August.

The President requested $1.9bn (£1.4bn) in February to fight the virus.

But the US Congress went on summer recess last month without approving any legislation for Zika funds, amid the usual partisan bickering.

A British firm, Oxitec, which engineers genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, has said the insects could be let loose in Florida's battle against Zika.

The company said a decision is expected imminently by US regulators.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes - genetically altered so their offspring die before they are able to reproduce - are under review by the Food and Drug Administration for possible use in the US.

Oxitec's tests in Brazil, Panama, and the Cayman Islands showed its GM mosquitoes could reduce local Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90%.

The Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size.

US Pesticide Controls Targeted In Zika Fight

The White House has not ruled out calls for restrictions to be relaxed on some pesticides to control the spread of Zika.

President Barack Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest, said US officials were willing to consider a range of options to combat the virus.

"We'll certainly rely on the advice of experts in making decisions about the most effective strategies to deploy to fight the mosquito population," the White House spokesman told a news briefing.

US health officials announced last Friday that mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the mainland.

There have been more than a dozen cases of Zika in Miami, Florida

They advised pregnant women to avoid a part of Miami, Florida, where the insects are suspected of transmitting the virus directly to humans.

More than a dozen people have been infected, mostly men.

Republicans have been arguing that pesticide regulations, introduced by US environmental health authorities to prevent water supplies being polluted, should be loosened, ostensibly to fight Zika.

The Obama administration warned on Wednesday that money to fight Zika will run out by the end of August.

The President requested $1.9bn (£1.4bn) in February to fight the virus.

But the US Congress went on summer recess last month without approving any legislation for Zika funds, amid the usual partisan bickering.

A British firm, Oxitec, which engineers genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, has said the insects could be let loose in Florida's battle against Zika.

The company said a decision is expected imminently by US regulators.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes - genetically altered so their offspring die before they are able to reproduce - are under review by the Food and Drug Administration for possible use in the US.

Oxitec's tests in Brazil, Panama, and the Cayman Islands showed its GM mosquitoes could reduce local Aedes aegypti populations by more than 90%.

The Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size.