Besides Scunthorpe steelworks in England, Tata Steel has sold mills in Teesside and northern France, whcih employ a total of 4,800 people, the company said in a statement.

The sale is for a “nominal” fee, it said.

“Tata Steel UK today announced the completion of the sale of its Long Products Europe business to Greybull Capital LLP,” the statement said.

The company, which had in March announced plans to sell all its UK operations after years of losses, had been in exclusive talks for the long products business with London-based private equity firm Greybull since December.

Greybull had previously said it will invest 400 million pounds ($569 million) in the new business.

“From today the Long Products Europe business, which in the UK includes the Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, and associated distribution facilities, as well as a rail mill in northern France, will trade under the name of British Steel. All together the business employs 4,800 people – 4,400 in the UK and 400 in France,” it said.

Tata Steel said, in last one year, the Long Products Europe business has implemented a transformation plan including a portfolio restructuring of assets, underpinned by committed support from employees and their trade unions.

“This has focused the business on higher-value markets supported by a more competitive cost base,” it said.

Bimlendra Jha, Executive Chairman of the Long Products Europe business and CEO of Tata Steel UK, said: “As a responsible seller, Tata Steel is delighted to have secured a buyer for this business and we hope that under Greybull ownership, the business will continue the momentum of the improvement programme that has been initiated in the last 12 months.”

He said employees and trade unions have worked closely with the Long Products Europe management team to improve the business’ prospects, putting it in a more competitive position than it has been for many years.

“It is through their dedication and hard work that we are in this position today in spite of continued challenges in the market,” he added.

@Agency report.

Wildlife officials found the tiger cubs during a continuing operation to remove dozens of adult cats from the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple in the western province of Kanchanaburi.

“We found 40 tiger cubs today, they were aged about one or two days when they died but we don’t quite know yet how long they have been dead,” police colonel Bandith Meungsukhum, a local officer, told AFP.

Adisorn Noochdumrong, the deputy head of Thailand’s parks department, said they would file charges against the temple for keeping the carcasses without permission.

“A keeper said he was told to place the carcasses when they died in cold storage,” he told AFP.

 The temple has long proved a hit among mainly foreign visitors who flock there to be photographed — for a fee — next to the scores of exotic feline pets.

Wildlife officials say the whole complex is illegal and have battled the monks for years to try and close it down. The dispute has been complicated by the fact that secular Thai authorities are often reluctant to intervene in the affairs of the clergy.

Many tunnels today crisscross the Swiss Alps, and Gotthard Pass already has two – the first, also a railway tunnel, was built in 1882. But the Gotthard Base Tunnel is a record-setter: It eclipses Japan’s 53.8-kilometer Seikan Tunnel as the world’s longest and bores deeper than any other tunnel, running about 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) underground at its maximum depth.

The thoroughfare aims to cut travel times, ease roadway traffic and draw cargo from pollution-spewing lorries trucking between Europe’s north and south. Once it opens for commercial service in December, the two-way tunnel will take up to 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains per day.

 Swiss planners have dreamt of such a tunnel for decades. And it should have an impact far beyond Switzerland for decades to come.

Mary Kom (51kg) had missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after bowing out in the second round of last month’s World Championships — the second and final qualifying tournament for women for the Games.

The 33-year-old was required to make at least the semifinals to be assured of an Olympic berth in the mega-event in Astana, Kazakhstan.

“She has been a phenomenal athlete and looking at her overall contribution to the sport, we have decided to request for a wild card for her. However, her application will be among the many that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) will examine before taking a final decision,” chairman of the ad-hoc committee currently running boxing in India, Kishen Narsi, told PTI.

Mary Kom, who is called ‘Magnificent Mary’ by AIBA, is a five-time world champion besides being a bronze-medallist from the London Olympics.

                                                  The multiple-time Asian champion could not get an Olympic quota place in either of the two qualifying events for women boxers and is keeping her fingers crossed for a wild card.