News in brief

On Saturday 10 June, thousands of cyclists around the world participated in the 2006 World Naked Bike Ride.

Protesting against oil dependency, celebrating humanity and having a good cycle round town, naked cyclists and their colourful props (from flowers and masks to coffee-cup cock-holders) took to the streets in their droves. Perhaps the biggest set of rides to date, there seems no lack of enthusiasm for going au natural for the day. Rides took place in at least 50 cities worldwide. See http://worldnakedbikeride.org/ for the full monty.

For the past nine months, activists in Southend have been occupying a piece of land scheduled for destruction as part of the #21.5m F5 road scheme.

It is estimated that the scheme will shave a mere 2.5 minutes off the average journey, and it has been controversial since first proposed in the mid-1970s.

Campers have been busy building tree platforms and digging tunnels in a bid to delay possible eviction. PN had a chat with camp resident Ant in June and he said they'd really welcome more support - especially during the day. http://www.savepriorypark.org/