Saturday, August 31, 2013

Sharks 'Need To Stay Safe' In UK Waters



Campaigners fear Britain’s sharks will continue to be under threat unless tighter fishing catch limits are introduced in the EU.



The Shark Trust has launched its ‘No Limits’ campaign pushing for European fleets to adopt strict science based limits for certain species like the blue shark and smoothhound shark.



While fleets around the UK are setting a good example, the trust believes too many sharks are still ending up in nets from European boats meant for catch like tuna and swordfish, and not being returned to the sea.



More than 30 species of shark can be found off Britain’s coastline, but over 50% are under threat due to overfishing and damage to their natural habitats.



Basking sharks are a fully protected species and recently catch limits were introduced for spiny dogfish and porbeagle. But there are no limits for blue sharks, shortfin mako Shark, smoothhounds or catsharks.



Each year millions of highly-migratory blue and shortfin mako sharks are taken as ‘wanted bycatch’ in Atlantic high-seas tuna and billfish fisheries.



Between 2000 and 2004, blue sharks made up 61% of the landed catch in the Spanish longline fishery for Atlantic swordfish. Similarly, they can be 86% of the total catch in the Portuguese longline fishery for swordfish in the Azores.



In 2009, an EU community plan of action for sharks was introduced, but conservationists argue there has been little progress, leaving many species still vulnerable.



This year there has been some success. The ban on finning in EU waters has been tightened up – the practice involved shark fins being sliced off and the body thrown overboard.



The Shark Trust has also praised British fisheries for getting on board with their work, but say too many sharks continue to be caught up in fishing nets by European fleets and not returned to the sea.



Years of bad press and the legacy of the Jaws films may have hampered shark conservation, but experts insist more focused work is essential if these sometimes misunderstood creatures are to stay safe in our waters.



Most species of shark are completely harmless to people. According to the International Shark Attack File there have only been two unprovoked shark attacks in England since 1847, neither of which proved fatal.



 





Sharks 'Need To Stay Safe' In UK Waters

Sharks 'Need To Stay Safe' In UK Waters



Campaigners fear Britain’s sharks will continue to be under threat unless tighter fishing catch limits are introduced in the EU.



The Shark Trust has launched its ‘No Limits’ campaign pushing for European fleets to adopt strict science based limits for certain species like the blue shark and smoothhound shark.



While fleets around the UK are setting a good example, the trust believes too many sharks are still ending up in nets from European boats meant for catch like tuna and swordfish, and not being returned to the sea.



More than 30 species of shark can be found off Britain’s coastline, but over 50% are under threat due to overfishing and damage to their natural habitats.



Basking sharks are a fully protected species and recently catch limits were introduced for spiny dogfish and porbeagle. But there are no limits for blue sharks, shortfin mako Shark, smoothhounds or catsharks.



Each year millions of highly-migratory blue and shortfin mako sharks are taken as ‘wanted bycatch’ in Atlantic high-seas tuna and billfish fisheries.



Between 2000 and 2004, blue sharks made up 61% of the landed catch in the Spanish longline fishery for Atlantic swordfish. Similarly, they can be 86% of the total catch in the Portuguese longline fishery for swordfish in the Azores.



In 2009, an EU community plan of action for sharks was introduced, but conservationists argue there has been little progress, leaving many species still vulnerable.



This year there has been some success. The ban on finning in EU waters has been tightened up – the practice involved shark fins being sliced off and the body thrown overboard.



The Shark Trust has also praised British fisheries for getting on board with their work, but say too many sharks continue to be caught up in fishing nets by European fleets and not returned to the sea.



Years of bad press and the legacy of the Jaws films may have hampered shark conservation, but experts insist more focused work is essential if these sometimes misunderstood creatures are to stay safe in our waters.



Most species of shark are completely harmless to people. According to the International Shark Attack File there have only been two unprovoked shark attacks in England since 1847, neither of which proved fatal.



 





Sharks 'Need To Stay Safe' In UK Waters

Football Fans Clash With Police: 23 Held



Police have arrested 23 people after violence broke out between rival football fans in Staffordshire.



Officers were pelted with bottles and missiles following a highly-charged local derby match between Port Vale and Wolverhampton Wanderers.



They said two adults were treated for dog bites after police dog units were used to quell the trouble.



Staffordshire Police said they were “confronted by a significant group of home fans” involved in “violent disorder” who had gone out of their way to target police lines.



The force is now scouring CCTV from the day’s League One fixture, which away side Wolves won 3 – 1, in a bid to trace offenders.



Port Vale said it would fully back any police action against any of its fans involved.



After the final whistle, the trouble spilled over into nearby Burslem town centre in Stoke-on-Trent, where missiles were thrown at officers and a marked police car was smashed up.



There were reports innocent bystanders were also caught up in the melee.



Nine people were detained before kick-off while another four were arrested during the match for setting off flares and going onto the pitch.



Police said they were “disappointed” a “significant number” of fans had decided to cause trouble at the fixture despite lengthy preparation between club officials and officers aimed at preventing problems.



The force added fans from both sides had been involved but praised a group of Wolves fans who “co-operated with police by waiting in the away coach park while police worked to clear the area”.



Chief Inspector Dave Bird, of Staffordshire Police, said: “We are disappointed by the actions of this significant number of so-called fans who attended today’s fixture intent on becoming involved in disorder.



“All those arrested will be questioned about their actions and CCTV evidence from today will be examined by officers.



“The behaviour of this significant minority doesn’t represent the club or our city.



“We will now continue to work with Port Vale to reduce the opportunity for future disorder.”



Bill Lodey, Port Vale club secretary, said: “The club are bitterly disappointed regarding the violence that has been reported in Burslem town centre.



“We will fully support any actions taken by the police in apprehending those responsible and they can expect severe penalties.”





Football Fans Clash With Police: 23 Held

Spain: British Man Held Over Father's Death



A British tourist has been arrested on suspicion of killing his 69-year-old father during a fight at a holiday camp in a Spanish beach resort.



A security guard reportedly called police to the Castell Montgri camp in the village of L’Estartit near Girona after an argument broke out between the man, 45, and his father.



The man was named by Sky News sources as Ian Bennett, and his father as Douglas Bennett.



It is not thought any weapons were used in the lethal attack.



Police discovered the suspect’s father lying on the ground with serious head injuries and he was taken to hospital where he died later.



A police spokesman said: “Officers from the Mossos d’Esqudra have arrested a 45-year-old British man in connection with the death of his 69-year-old father.



“The victim was taken by emergency services to hospital to be attended for the wounds he suffered, while local police in Torroella de Montgri arrested the alleged perpetrator for domestic violence.



“The victim died this morning and investigators from the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan regional police) took on the case.”



A post-mortem examination is due to take place today to confirm the cause of death.



The Castell Montgri holiday camp is located at the foot of the Rocamaura mountain next to the town of L’Estartit in the Costa Brava region of northeast Spain. This resort is popular with British tourists during the holiday season.





Spain: British Man Held Over Father's Death

Spain: British Man Held Over Father's Death



A British tourist has been arrested on suspicion of killing his 69-year-old father during a fight at a holiday camp in a Spanish beach resort.



A security guard reportedly called police to the Castell Montgri camp in the village of L’Estartit near Girona after an argument broke out between the man, 45, and his father.



The man was named by Sky News sources as Ian Bennett, and his father as Douglas Bennett.



It is not thought any weapons were used in the lethal attack.



Police discovered the suspect’s father lying on the ground with serious head injuries and he was taken to hospital where he died later.



A police spokesman said: “Officers from the Mossos d’Esqudra have arrested a 45-year-old British man in connection with the death of his 69-year-old father.



“The victim was taken by emergency services to hospital to be attended for the wounds he suffered, while local police in Torroella de Montgri arrested the alleged perpetrator for domestic violence.



“The victim died this morning and investigators from the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan regional police) took on the case.”



A post-mortem examination is due to take place today to confirm the cause of death.



The Castell Montgri holiday camp is located at the foot of the Rocamaura mountain next to the town of L’Estartit in the Costa Brava region of northeast Spain. This resort is popular with British tourists during the holiday season.





Spain: British Man Held Over Father's Death

British government accuses political rivals of helping Syria's Assad



By Andrew Osborn


LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron‘s government on Thursday accused the Labour party of “giving succour” to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after the opposition party made clear it would not support an imminent military strike against Syria.


In a move that deepened a widening split that threatens to complicate Cameron’s efforts to secure bipartisan backing for military action, the defence secretary and Cameron’s head of communications levelled the charge at Labour leader Ed Miliband.


“I am disappointed with Ed Miliband’s behaviour frankly,” British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told Channel 4 TV news.


“Anything that stops us from giving a clear, united view of the British parliament tonight will give some succour to the (Assad) regime.”


Hammond was speaking as Britain’s parliament debated how Britain should respond to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria as lawmakers from across the political spectrum aired deep unease about the prospect of military strikes.


Earlier on Thursday, Craig Oliver, Cameron’s head of communications, had complained to reporters that “a lot of the arguments over this could give succour to the (Syrian) regime”.


Labour complained to Britain’s top civil servant Jeremy Heywood over what it said were “infantile” and “irresponsible” comments, demanding an apology and asking for the comments to be withdrawn.


“It is particularly disappointing given the serious nature of today’s debate and the fact that throughout the country people will be listening with great concern about events in Syria, some knowing their relatives could soon be involved in military action,” senior Labour MP Michael Dugher wrote in a letter to Heywood.


Cameron was forced to change tack on Wednesday evening and extend his timetable for military action against Syria after Miliband threatened to sabotage a parliamentary vote on the subject.


In a breach of etiquette that exposed unusual rancour within Britain’s political elite, an unnamed person in Cameron’s office used a string of strong expletives on Wednesday night to describe to the Times newspaper what the government thought of Miliband, which the paper duly published on Thursday.


(Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)





British government accuses political rivals of helping Syria's Assad

Shares for rights move 'a gimmick'



A controversial Government scheme to allow workers to swap shares for employment rights has been attacked by union leaders as an “expensive gimmick”.


The TUC said the scheme, which takes effect from today, will strip workers of basic employment rights and could end up costing the taxpayer £1 billion.


The employee ownership scheme, announced by Chancellor George Osborne at last year’s Conservative Party conference, allows workers to trade employment rights for shares in a company.


Unions have warned the move would make it easier for workers to be sacked, and could be used as a tax loophole by companies.


TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The Chancellor’s shares for rights gimmick may have cheered delegates at the Conservative Party conference but it could end up costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds.


“At best the scheme will be completely ignored and consigned to Parliament’s pointless policies ‘hall of shame’.


“But it could turn into a gaping new £1 billion tax loophole, allowing the super rich to dodge paying tax on company shares. At a time when the public finances are under strain, the Government should be closing these loopholes, not creating new ones.


“Ordinary workers who may be forced to become employee owners in order to find work could end up giving up basic rights such as redundancy pay for worthless company shares.”





Shares for rights move 'a gimmick'

In shock move, Obama puts Syria strike on hold



President Barack Obama postponed threatened missile strikes against Syria on Saturday in a risky gamble that he can win more support for his plan to punish Bashar al-Assad’s regime.


To general surprise, the US leader broke with decades of precedent to announce that he would seek approval from Congress for action against Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons.


This effectively pushed military action back until at least September 9, when US lawmakers return from their summer recess.


Obama insisted that he reserves the right to strike regardless of Congress’ decision, and a White House official said the pause would also allow him time to build international support.


The Arab League meets in Cairo on Sunday and is expected to condemn Assad, and Obama travels to Russia next week for a G20 Summit that will now be overshadowed by the crisis.


But the toughest battle, and perhaps the most dangerous for Obama’s credibility, may yet be with his own former colleagues in Congress, where support for strikes is far from assured.


Indeed, observers warned that he faces the same fate as Prime Minister David Cameron, who on Friday lost his own vote on authorizing military action in the British parliament.


“The chairman of the joint chiefs has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose,” Obama warned, in an address given in the White House Rose Garden.


“Moreover, the chairman has indicated to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time sensitive. It will be effective tomorrow or next week or one month from now.”


At least five US warships armed with scores of Tomahawk cruise missiles have converged on the eastern Mediterranean ready to launch precision strikes on Syrian regime targets.


And France says it is ready to deploy its own forces in the operation. Obama and his French counterpart Francois Hollande spoke before his announcement and renewed their “determination.”


Syria, meanwhile, said it has its “finger on the trigger” as it braces for what it had formerly feared was an imminent Western strike.


“The Syrian army is fully ready, its finger on the trigger to face any challenge or scenario that they want to carry out,” Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said.


And the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards warned that Western action would trigger reactions beyond the borders of Tehran’s key regional ally.


“The fact that the Americans believe that military intervention will be limited to within Syrian borders is an illusion,” said commander Mohammad Ali Jafari.


Shortly before Obama’s intervention, a team of UN inspectors left Syria after spending four days investigating last week’s alleged chemical attacks on suburbs of Damascus.


The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said that analysis of samples taken at the site would take up to three weeks.


A UN spokesman promised they would give a fair report after conducting these lab tests, but Washington and its allies insist they already know all they need to know.


Obama’s administration says it already has reliable intelligence that the regime launched a chemical onslaught that killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children.


That brought a contemptuous response from President Vladimir Putin of Russia, a close ally of Syria, who branded the claims “utter nonsense” and demanded proof.


Syria has denied responsibility for the alleged incident and has pointed the finger of blame at “terrorists” — its term for the rebels ranged against Assad’s forces.


In Damascus, the mood had been heavy with fear, and security forces were making preparations for possible air strikes, pulling soldiers back from potential targets.


Residents were seen stocking up with fuel for generators in case utilities are knocked out by a strike.


The United States, faced with an impasse at the UN Security Council and the British parliament’s shock vote, has been forced to look elsewhere for international partners.


Officials said Obama would lobby world powers on the sidelines of next week’s St Petersburg G20 summit, while at home the White House was reaching out to lawmakers.


Obama’s Democrats control the Senate but the House of Representatives is in the hands of his Republican foes and both sides are divided on the issue, making the outcome uncertain.


Republican Senator Bob Corker, who supports a limited “surgical” strike against Syria, said that Obama should use “every ounce of political capital that he has to sell this.”


“I think it is problematic and it could be problematic in both bodies,” Corker warned.


In a further complication, hawkish senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, said they could not support Obama’s plan for limited strikes that would not topple Assad.


More than 100,000 people have died since the Syrian conflict erupted in March 2011, and two million have become refugees, half of them children, according to the United Nations.




In shock move, Obama puts Syria strike on hold
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In shock move, Obama puts Syria strike on hold

23 held over football disorder



Police have been pelted with bottles and missiles after trouble broke out between football fans following a highly-charged local derby game.


Officers arrested 23 people when Port Vale entertained rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in League One.


Staffordshire Police said it was “confronted by a significant group of home fans” involved in “violent disorder” who had gone out of their way to target police lines.


The force is now scouring CCTV from the day’s fixture, which Wolves won 3 – 1, in a bid to trace everybody who had a hand in causing trouble.


Port Vale said it would fully back any police action against any of its fans involved.


After the final whistle, the trouble spilled over into nearby Burslem town centre in Stoke-on-Trent, where missiles were thrown at officers and a marked police car was smashed up.


There were reports innocent bystanders were also caught up in the melee. Two adults also suffered dog bites from police dog units and were treated by paramedics according to the force.


Among the arrests; nine people detained before kick-off while another four were arrested during the match for offences including setting off flares and going onto the pitch.


Police said they were “disappointed” a “significant number” of fans had decided to cause trouble at the fixture despite lengthy preparation between club officials and officers aimed at preventing problems. The force added fans from both sides had been involved but praised a group of Wolves fans who “co-operated with police by waiting in the away coach park whilst police worked to clear the area”.


Bill Lodey, Port Vale club secretary, said: “The club are bitterly disappointed regarding the violence that has been reported in Burslem town centre. We will fully support any actions taken by the police in apprehending those responsible and they can expect severe penalties.”





23 held over football disorder

23 fans arrested after 'disorder'



Police have arrested 23 fans after “disorder” following a football match.


Staffordshire Police said its officers made the arrests after a “minority of fans” confronted each other after the League One fixture between Port Vale and Wolverhampton Wanderers.


In a statement the force said: “Police and club are disappointed by a minority of fans who got involved in disorder at the Port Vale vs Wolverhampton Wanderers match – 23 arrested.”


Earlier, the force had posted a statement to its Twitter social media account which read: “A number of so-called fans from both clubs are attempting to seek confrontation with each other and the police.”


Port Vale lost their home tie going down 3-1 to visiting Wolves.





23 fans arrested after 'disorder'

23 fans arrested after 'disorder'



Police have arrested 23 fans after “disorder” following a football match.


Staffordshire Police said its officers made the arrests after a “minority of fans” confronted each other after the League One fixture between Port Vale and Wolverhampton Wanderers.


In a statement the force said: “Police and club are disappointed by a minority of fans who got involved in disorder at the Port Vale vs Wolverhampton Wanderers match – 23 arrested.”


Earlier, the force had posted a statement to its Twitter social media account which read: “A number of so-called fans from both clubs are attempting to seek confrontation with each other and the police.”


Port Vale lost their home tie going down 3-1 to visiting Wolves.





23 fans arrested after 'disorder'

Scores prosecuted for squatting



Almost 70 suspected squatters have been brought before the courts in the year since it became a crime, figures show.


Powers which came into effect on September 1 last year allow local authorities to call in the police to arrest squatters, rather than pursuing lengthy civil eviction proceedings through the courts.


The data, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by HuffPost UK, was provided by the Crown Prosecution Service and covered those charged up to July 2013.


According to the website, 69 people were charged, and many of those found guilty were handed fines, typically of around £100, while others were given conditional discharges, and one person received a jail term of 90 days.


Separate figures, obtained from police forces around the country by the website, revealed that 90 arrests had been made outside London since the Act came into force, but fewer than half of those had resulted in charges.


Many forces, including Cheshire, Hertfordshire and Hampshire, had not made a single arrest in the first year, while Kent police, with 27 arrests, had been the most active outside the capital, the website said.


A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said there had been 94 offences between September 1 2012 and May 19 2013.





Scores prosecuted for squatting

Analysis - Obama and Syria: The education of a reluctant war president



By Matt Spetalnick


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – He was the peace candidate who became a war president, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has regularly ordered executions by drone.


Just three months ago, President Barack Obama called for an end to America’s “perpetual war-time footing.” Now he has ordered the U.S. military into position for an aerial strike in Syria – with neither hopes it will end that country’s cataclysmic civil war, nor the backing of the broad global coalition he wanted.


If any more proof were needed that history can defy the most firmly held convictions, the Obama presidency is it.


Since the war in Syria began, the president has repeatedly denounced the killing of innocent civilians – more than 100,000 people have already died in the conflict – while declaring his determination to avoid getting the United States sucked in.


Obama’s announcement a year ago that Syria President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons would constitute a “red line” was followed by evidence this spring that that line had been crossed. Yet there was no military response. White House officials said Washington would respond by providing lethal aid to the opposition Syrian Military Council; but it is unclear if any has arrived.


After more than two years of tough talk and military restraint, some current and former aides believe the cautious president has now left himself no choice but to act forcefully against Assad.


“The 800-pound gorilla in the room is the question of maintaining American credibility,” a former senior administration official said as a U.S. military response loomed after a massive August 21 poison gas attack that U.S. intelligence blamed on Assad and his military.


With neither a United Nations mandate nor the expected British military support, the Obama administration faces the prospect of undertaking military action against Syria with even less international and domestic support than George W. Bush had for the Iraq war, which Obama voted against.


There is a crucial difference: Obama is contemplating a two- to three-day cruise missile strike, not a ground invasion. That, critics say, is the conundrum: What can be achieved by such a limited application of force?


‘NOBODY WANTS TO DO IT’


Underlying the humanitarian grounds and national security concerns that Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry laid out on Friday was a kind of resignation, an acceptance that – like it or not – there are still times the United States must serve as global policeman.


“Ultimately we don’t want the world to be paralyzed,” Obama said to reporters at a meeting with Baltic leaders at the White House on Friday afternoon. “And, frankly, you know, part of the challenge that we end up with here is that a lot of people think something should be done, but nobody wants to do it.”


For a man who entered the White House in 2009 promising a swift withdrawal from Iraq and a new era of multilateralism after eight years of the Bush administration’s so-called “cowboy diplomacy”, the predicament could hardly be more poignant.


Obama has hardly been or presented himself as a pacifist. While running for office he declared his opposition only to “dumb wars,” not all of them. And he continued the fight his predecessor had begun against al Qaeda, only with different means.


Once in the White House, he quickly turned the military’s focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, which his aides had touted as the “good war” in the fight against Islamic militants.


In 2010, he surged 33,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, but gave his generals fewer troops and less time than they wanted. The last of the surge troops returned home a year ago, and Obama plans to have U.S. combat forces out by late 2014.


Obama sharply expanded the Bush administration’s program of drone strikes, and the presidential “kill list” proved effective in taking out al Qaeda militants in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen without putting U.S. forces in harm’s way.


In May, against a background of civilian casualties, growing anti-American sentiment and escalating criticism of the drone strikes at home, Obama narrowed the targeted-killing campaign, saying it was time to step back from a “boundless global war on terror.” But the strikes continued.


Obama also deployed the military in NATO’s bombing campaign against Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, citing the need to avert a mass slaughter resulting from government assaults on rebel-held territory. His approach, predicated on Americans’ war-weariness, was described by one White House adviser as “leading from behind,” with U.S. forces supporting a British- and French-led air assault. But the mission succeeded.


ASSAD AND THE RED LINE


Then “Arab Spring” revolutions spread to Syria. On August 18, 2011, as Syrian government repression of protesters escalated dramatically, Obama called on Assad to give up power, a move he coordinated with leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Turkey.


Syria’s civil war, the one he seemed most determined to avoid, has become his thorniest foreign-policy challenge, leading to what critics describe as a record of half-steps and miscalculations.


Misjudging Assad’s staying power, the administration did little to hasten Assad’s departure. As the war escalated in 2012, the President resisted calls to arm the rebels, fearing that weapons might fall into the hands of radical factions.


Some say Obama strayed from his talking points a year ago when he said Assad’s use of chemical weapons would be a “red line.” Others say the statement was intentional.


Whatever the source of the rhetoric, the Administration put its full weight behind the assertion Friday that the intelligence is clear: Chemical weapons were used, and the Assad regime used them. Among the White House’s calculations now is that, if the United States does not act, others – including Iran, with its nuclear program – will see the West’s warnings as empty threats.


Obama’s friends say he is moved by a sense of moral imperative as well. “Knowing him,” said former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs, “the effects of what that attack did to innocent men, women and children …. are jarring to the point of requiring action.”


Some senior Republicans say the measured attack under consideration — a stand-off attack by missiles from outside Syrian airspace — will not be enough.


“It does not appear that the response to this historic atrocity being contemplated by the Obama administration will be equal to the gravity of the crime itself,” Republican U.S. Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said in a joint statement. “The purpose of military action in Syria should not be to help the president save face.”


At the same time, the strikes on Syria may give Obama political problems during his last three years in office with the anti-war camp that helped elect him in 2008 and re-elect him last November.


“The response I’m getting in Connecticut is overwhelmingly negative when it comes to military intervention in Syria, and I think those people deserve to have their voice heard,” said Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy. Like Obama, Murphy was elected, in 2006, as an anti-war candidate.


(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Arshad Mohammed and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Warren Strobel and Gunna Dickson)




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Analysis - Obama and Syria: The education of a reluctant war president

Endurance swimmer Nyad sets off from Cuba to Florida



By Marc Frank


HAVANA (Reuters) – U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad jumped into the calm turquoise waters of Cuba on Saturday and began making her way toward home, Key West, Florida, in pursuit of a dream that she says nearly took her life in an attempt last year.


“I’ve learned that if you see a beautiful calm sea like this you don’t say that is the way it is going to be forever … I admit I’m scared, I know what’s out there,” Nyad, 64, said, as she prepared to enter the water at Havana’s Hemingway Marina, just west of the capital.


Her biggest challenges during the 103 mile (166-km) swim, apart from fatigue, will be the poisonous jelly fish that float through the Florida Straits, the sharks, the man o’wars, storms, waves and the powerful and unpredictable Gulf Stream, the mighty ocean current that flows west to east between Cuba and Florida.


If she succeeds, Nyad, who has failed on four attempts to make the crossing, would become the world record holder for the longest unassisted open ocean swim, meaning no shark cage or body suit to protect her. She was not using flippers.


Nyad said on Friday that jelly fish stings were one reason for her undoing on an attempt last year, but this time she would be wearing a protective silicone mask to ward off their paralyzing stings.


She said the custom-made mask slows her and makes it more difficult to breathe, so it may take up to three days to complete the swim.


Nyad will have a small fleet of five support boats and a crew of 35 to keep her on course through the strong Gulf Stream current, provide food and water and keep away sharks.


She told reporters on Saturday this would be her last attempt.


“This is the last time, this is the end of the journey as they say, 100 percent,” she said.


The treacherous body of water known as the Florida Straits is the holy grail for marathon swimmers. It has been conquered only once, by Australian Susie Maroney, who used a protective cage at age 22 during her 1997 swim. The cage glided on ocean currents and enabled her to make the journey in just 25 hours.


A native New Yorker, Nyad was raised in south Florida by a French mother and Greek-Egyptian stepfather.


She is an advocate of improved U.S.-Cuba relations and says she repeatedly sings the Cuban song “Guantanamera” as she strokes her way toward Florida.


“I want to be a little part in the relations between Cuba and the United States,” she said on Friday.


Her long-distance accomplishments include swimming around Manhattan island and a swim from the Bahamas to Florida in 1979.


(Additional reporting by Nelson Acosta; Editing by Vicki Allen)





Endurance swimmer Nyad sets off from Cuba to Florida

Queen's Daimler Snapped-Up For £45k



The Queen’s Daimler limousine has been sold by auction house Historics in Surrey to a mystery buyer for £45,000.



The 2001 Super V8 LWB limousine was owned, and driven, by Her Majesty for three years until 2004.



It has a special space for a handbag and had “one careful lady owner”. Sporting a British Racing Green livery, the car was tested over 2,500 pre-delivery miles before being handed over to the Queen.



A further 11,000 miles were covered while the car was with Her Majesty before it was returned in 2004 to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, with whom it is still registered.



The car  comes with all its specifications, including original tyres, and with a mileage of 15,242. One feature is a factory-adapted centre armrest that has a sliding holder specifically designed for the Queen’s handbag.



The vehicle’s ashtray was crafted to house the security lighting controls, which remain fully functioning.



This includes a set of blue flashing strobes occupying the front fog lamp inserts, alternate flashing headlamps and alternate flashing rear lights.



A further feature is a pair of neon blue lights by the rear view mirror, which were used to identify the vehicle in which the Queen was travelling when approaching her destination.



In the vehicle’s capacious boot, the fittings can still be found for direct contact to the Home Office and Downing Street, although the working components have been removed.



Inside, there are deep lambswool floor rugs.





Queen's Daimler Snapped-Up For £45k

Merkel urges more market rules, co-opts challenger's pet issue



By Sarah Marsh


BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would push the G20 to make more progress on regulating financial markets and crack down on tax evasion, co-opting signature policy issues of her main challenger in September’s elections.


Merkel, who confronts leftist leader Peer Steinbrueck in a TV duel on Sunday, said she wanted to urge leaders of the G20 top world economies to agree a time frame for steps towards tighter regulation of the so-called “shadow banking” sector.


A key pillar of the campaign of Steinbrueck, who is trailing Merkel badly in opinion polls, has been to denounce what he calls the “dictatorship of financial markets”.


World leaders meet on September 5-6 in Russia to negotiate the final piece of their financial crisis regulatory reforms, rules for this sector, an assortment of financial intermediaries such as hedge funds that handle $60 trillion of transactions a year – roughly the same size as the global economy.


“I want us to agree a binding time frame so it is clear when we reach which steps on this,” said Merkel, leader of Germany’s conservatives, in a video podcast on Saturday.


“Regulation is still faltering here”.


Steinbrueck, who heads Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), has long argued policymakers have not gone far enough in tightening regulation to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. In 2010, he told Reuters “we do not yet have a legal framework to significantly curtail the shadow banking sector, if not dissolve it.”


Merkel said in her podcast Germany would ensure that the G20 continues to tighten regulation of financial markets, recalling its goal “to regulate every financial market actor, every financial product, and every financial centre”.


She added that she expected progress on the issue of tax evasion. “Here we will agree with the most powerful economies on an automatic exchange of information”.


Steinbrueck led a crackdown on tax evasion when he was German finance minister in Merkel’s 2005-2009 ‘grand coalition’ government of conservatives and SPD.


His party helped block an attempt by Merkel’s government last year to sign a bilateral deal with Switzerland that would have imposed taxes on assets stashed by German citizens. The SPD said the deal would have let off tax evaders too easily.


In a poll released earlier this year, over two-thirds of Germans thought Germany did not do enough against tax evasion.


Nonetheless opinion polls give Merkel’s conservative bloc, which includes her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), a 15-19 point lead over Steinbrueck’s SPD.


That virtually guarantees Merkel will remain chancellor. But it is unclear whether she will get enough votes to continue her coalition with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).


Should she fall short, Merkel would probably be forced into difficult talks with the SPD. So despite a formidable lead, Merkel cannot relax: the 1-1/2 hour prime-time debate on Sunday may be decisive for the shape of the next government.


(This story is refiled to add word ‘crack’ in lede)


(Editing by Toby Chopra)





Merkel urges more market rules, co-opts challenger's pet issue

Sabrina Moss: Police Appeal As Video Released



Police have released a video of Sabrina Moss taken a week before she was gunned down while celebrating her 24th birthday.



The film, which was shot on August 17, was released as family and friends paid tribute to the nursery teacher at a vigil one week from the day she was killed.



A friend of Ms Moss said she always loved her birthday but this year she had been having “one of the best nights”.



Meanwhile, police continue to appeal for information and witnesses to come forward to assist them with their investigation.



Ms Moss was shot in the chest in Kilburn High Road, north west London, last Saturday, and another woman, Sabrina Gachette, also 24, remains in hospital after suffering a gunshot wound.



Police believe the pair were “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when they were injured.



Friends of Ms Moss have expressed their grief in the form of letters, in which she is described as “a really loving, caring person” and “the epitome of a brilliant mother”.



Just a week before she was shot, Miss Moss and her partner moved in to a new home together with their young son.



Ms Moss’s friend, named as Lisa M, said she looked “stunning” and was “smiling the entire time” as she enjoyed her birthday celebrations before she was murdered.



“Sabrina always loved her birthday but this year I can happily say she had one of the best nights. She looked stunning, she was smiling the entire time and wouldn’t move from the dance floor,” she said.



Her friend Shona said: “My dear Sabrina and I had 14 wonderful years of true friendship. I remember giving you the nickname ‘bean’ – I will miss you Sabrina so much. You mean the world to me – you were a really loving, caring person.”



Her friend Natalie described Miss Moss as a key member of their group of friends. “Sabrina was the string that tied us together. There’s a hole within the girls, without her there’s no structure,” she said.



Charlotte recalled a holiday the group of friends enjoyed together, adding that people never know what life has in store for them.



“We were so carefree and had so many laughs on that holiday. Little did we know, this world we live in would take something beautiful away from us,” she said.



Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “A week on since this tragic event my team of detectives continues to appeal for witness to come forward and assist us with our investigation.



“From the extensive enquiries that we have carried out we know that there were a number of people in Messina Avenue at the junction with Kilburn High Road shortly before the shooting and there is a possibility that they would have seen two men loitering close to some cars parked in Messina Avenue.



“The two males were wearing dark clothing and hooded tops, with one wearing a lighter coloured top than the other.”



Martell Warren, 22, has appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court charged with murder. He was remanded in custody and must appear at the Old Bailey on a date to be fixed.



Anyone with information that may assist the investigation should call the incident room at Hendon on 020 8358 0300 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.





Sabrina Moss: Police Appeal As Video Released

Kent Fire: Huge Plume Of Smoke Seen For Miles



People have been told to keep their doors and windows closed after a huge tyre fire in Kent sent plumes of black smoke into the sky that could been seen over 20 miles away.



Twelve fire engines and more than 70 firefighters are tackling the blaze which broke out on an industrial estate in Gravesend.



Twitter users reported that the smoke could be seen by beachgoers in Southend in neighbouring county Essex.



And passengers on planes flying into and out of London airports could also reportedly see the plume.



Kent Fire and Rescue said crews were using three main jets to tackle the fire, which also involved caravans.



One person posted that water from the adjacent canal was being used to douse the flames.



Roads around the area have been closed and drivers have been warned to about poor visibility due to the thick smoke.



Photographs showed firefighters standing on top of what looked like a large gas container while assessing the blaze.



There are no reports of any injuries and Kent Police are also at the scene.



The Metropolitan Police helicopter has also flown to the area to assist the fire brigade.





Kent Fire: Huge Plume Of Smoke Seen For Miles

Man arrested over father's death



A British man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his father at a Spanish camping site, police said.


The 45-year-old was arrested in L’Estartit, a seaside town on north east Spain’s Costa Brava, after allegedly attacking his 69-year-old father.


The victim was taken to hospital but died, triggering a murder investigation by Catalan police.


It is not thought any weapons were used in the lethal attack.


A police spokesman said: “The incident took place this morning at around 1.45 in a camping site in L’Estartit when the arrested man is believed to have attacked his father.


“The victim was taken by emergency services to hospital to be attended for the wounds he suffered, while local police in Torroella de Montgri arrested the alleged perpetrator for domestic violence.


“The victim died this morning and investigators from the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan regional police) took on the case.”





Man arrested over father's death

Spain: British Man Held Over Father's Death



A British tourist has been arrested on suspicion of killing his 69-year-old father during a fight at a holiday camp in a Spanish beach resort.



A security guard reportedly called police to the Castell Montgri camp in the village of L’Estartit near Girona after an argument broke out between the man, 45, and his father. It is not thought any weapons were used in the lethal attack.



Police discovered the suspect’s father lying on the ground with serious head injuries and he was taken to hospital where he died later. Reports suggest 



A police spokesman said: “Officers from the Mossos d’Esqudra have arrested a 45-year-old British man in connection with the death of his 69-year-old father.



“The victim was taken by emergency services to hospital to be attended for the wounds he suffered, while local police in Torroella de Montgri arrested the alleged perpetrator for domestic violence.



“The victim died this morning and investigators from the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan regional police) took on the case.”



An autopsy is due to take place today to confirm the cause of death.



The Castell Montgri holiday camp is located at the foot of the Rocamaura mountain next to the town of L’Estartit in the Costa Brava region of northeast Spain. This resort is popular with British tourists during the holiday season.



Police have yet to name the deceased or his son.





Spain: British Man Held Over Father's Death

Queen's Daimler Limo Up For Auction



It has a special space for a handbag and had “one careful lady owner” and now a Daimler belonging to the Queen is up for auction.



The 2001 Super V8 LWB limousine was owned, and driven, by Her Majesty for three years until 2004.



Now it is being sold by the auction house Historics at Brooklands in Surrey and could fetch as much as £30,000.



Sporting a British Racing Green livery, the car was tested over 2,500 pre-delivery miles before being handed over to the Queen.



A further 11,000 miles were covered while the car was with the Queen before the vehicle was returned in 2004 to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, with whom it is still registered.



The car is being offered today with all its specifications, including its original tyres, and with a mileage of 15,242.



One feature is a factory-adapted centre armrest that has a sliding holder specifically designed for the Queen’s handbag.



The vehicle’s ashtray was crafted to house the security lighting controls, which remain fully functioning.



This includes a set of blue flashing strobes occupying the front fog lamp inserts, alternate flashing headlamps and alternate flashing rear lights.



A further feature is a pair of neon blue lights by the rear view mirror, which were used to identify the vehicle in which the Queen was travelling when approaching her destination.



In the vehicle’s capacious boot, the fittings can still be found for direct contact to the Home Office and Downing Street, although the working components have been removed.



Inside, there are deep lambswool floor rugs.



The car has a full service history by RA Creamer of Kensington and Guy Salmon of Ascot, and is sold with all original documentation, two sets of keys and original registration number, along with photographs of the Queen driving and being driven in it.





Queen's Daimler Limo Up For Auction

Spain: British Man Held Over Father's Death



A British tourist has been arrested on suspicion of killing his father during a fight at a campsite in a Spanish beach resort.



A security guard reportedly called police to the Castell Montgri campsite in the village of Estartit after a row broke out.



Police discovered the suspect’s father lying on the ground with serious head injuries and he was taken to hospital where he died later.



A police spokesman said: “Officers from the Mossos d’Esqudra have arrested a 45-year-old British man in connection with the death of his 69-year-old father.



“The arrested man is suspected of attacking his dad around 12.45am on Friday morning at a campsite in Estartit.



“The victim died after being admitted to hospital for treatment to his injuries while local police arrested his son.”



More follows…





Spain: British Man Held Over Father's Death

Countdown's Rachel joins Strictly



Countdown star Rachel Riley is swapping letters and numbers for waltzes and rumbas after signing up for Strictly Come Dancing.


The presenter, who recently racked up a milestone 1,000 appearances on the Channel 4 show, will join other celebrities including broadcaster Vanessa Feltz and golfer Tony Jacklin in the BBC ballroom show.


The maths whizz, who studied at Oxford, married Jamie Gilbert last year with guests including Countdown host Nick Hewer.


Other names rumoured to be in talks to battle it out for Strictly’s glitterball trophy include rugby player Ben Cohen, designer Julien Macdonald, singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, model Abbey Clancy and Hairy Bikers cook Dave Myers.





Countdown's Rachel joins Strictly

Pupils: Cheese 'not dairy product'



One in every 14 schoolchildren do not know that cheese is a diary product, figures suggest.


Education Quizzes said that 7% of youngsters don’t know which food group cheese belongs to.


The exam revision service also found that almost a third of children don’t know that fruit and vegetables provide essential vitamins and fibre.


Based on 1.6 million answers to quizzes undertaken by children aged seven to 16, the figures show that one in four are unaware that carbohydrates provide energy for the body.


And almost a fifth (18%) were flummoxed when they were asked to identify sources of protein such as meat or fish.


Meanwhile, 29% don’t know that cardiovascular exercise strengthens hearts and just over half didn’t know that drinking alcohol damages the liver.


The organisation said that too many children are “fundamentally clueless” about basic health and nutrition facts. But many were “comparatively savvy” about food hygiene, a spokesman said, with 92% knowing that separate chopping boards for raw and cooked foods could prevent the spread of bacteria. And 84% knew that good food hygiene prevents food poisoning.


Colin King, co-founder of Education Quizzes, said: “These findings should serve as an extra incentive for parents looking to kick start a healthy regime as their kids head back to school.


“Despite health and food appearing on the PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) and science syllabuses, clearly we’re failing. Not only are we seeing more inactive children, but too many are also fundamentally clueless when it comes to the basic facts about health.


“It’s also interesting to compare the results around food hygiene where young people seem comparatively savvy. My guess is it comes down to scaremongering from adverts for cleaning products that have a big impact on kids, perhaps suggesting that there’s room for a TV awareness campaign. If shock tactics gets more kids to eat their greens, then we should consider it.”





Pupils: Cheese 'not dairy product'

Friday, August 30, 2013

Mars Reality Show Draws 165,000 Applications



The application process to take part in a reality-style show and become one of the first people to land and live on Mars and never return home to Earth is drawing to a close.



More than 165,000 ‘wannabe astronauts’ have applied for four initial places to colonise the red planet despite it only being a one-way ticket.



Melissa Ede, 52, a transsexual taxi-driver from Hull, is one of 7,000 applicants from the UK hoping to be picked.



She said: “The attraction’s got to be going down in history, being remembered.



“Ever since a little child I’ve wanted to do something where I was going to make my mark on this Earth, this is the way of doing it.



“My parents always used to put me down. They always said I’m on cloud cuckoo-land and I live on a different planet. Well I could say actually, I do.



“On Earth I feel I’ve done enough now, I’ve completed all my challenges that I had in life. I’ll be able to wave down at everybody.”



As well as the UK, applicants from China, Brazil, India and Russia have paid on average £17 to cover the administration costs of the selection process for the Mars One project – the brainchild of Big Brother co-creator Paul Römer.



The applications close today.



By 2015, the astronauts selected for the trip will start their training, using a simulation of conditions on the planet where they’ll learn to repair their equipment, grow food and deal with long periods of isolation.



The team’s home on Mars will be operational by 2021. Their living pods will provide them with oxygen, water and electricity.



The first crew will set off for Mars a year later on a journey that will take between seven to eight months.



Dr Michael Martin-Smith, head of the Hull and East Riding Astronomical Society, said: “There will be rugged conditions with an inflatable habitat.



“Every rocket that lands with a crew will bring an empty stage, it won’t be dead metal, it will be useful.



“They can extract radiation protection which is another big issue-are we going to get fried living there? Yes, if we live out there in a swimsuit on the surface, but if you build a nice igloo-type structure using Martian soil radiation protection can be created.”



The estimated £4bn cost of the mission will be met by television rights and other kinds of media sponsorship and spin-offs.



Dr Adam Baker, an expert of space engineering at Kingston University, branded the project “a big publicity stunt”.



He said: “They’re doing very well to get the public fired up about going and some time in next decade or two we might see a commercial model … but in the current form it’s unlikely to succeed.



“There are a number of issues with Mars radiation. It doesn’t have the same level of atmosphere to protect you from things like solar flares, dust is a problem, how toxic it is to human life in the long run? We don’t know enough about that.”



But, the biggest challenge could be finding people who can cope with never returning home.



Psychotherapist Lucy Beresford said: “The main thing the organisers will be looking for is emotional resilience.



“Are these individuals capable of functioning on a different planet without any access ever again to their loved ones, friends and family? What are the qualities of their attachment needs and are they self-sufficient?



“The kind of people who might be attracted to this kind of expedition are adventure seekers, thrill seekers, people who want to have a life that’s very different to the norm, who find ordinary daily activity mundane, and they want a sense of adventure.



“They probably aren’t thinking ahead to the fact that they might not come back.”





Mars Reality Show Draws 165,000 Applications

Pupils: Cheese 'not dairy product'



One in every 14 schoolchildren do not know that cheese is a diary product, figures suggest.


Education Quizzes said that 7% of youngsters don’t know which food group cheese belongs to.


The exam revision service also found that almost a third of children don’t know that fruit and vegetables provide essential vitamins and fibre.


Based on 1.6 million answers to quizzes undertaken by children aged seven to 16, the figures show that one in four are unaware that carbohydrates provide energy for the body.


And almost a fifth (18%) were flummoxed when they were asked to identify sources of protein such as meat or fish.


Meanwhile, 29% don’t know that cardiovascular exercise strengthens hearts and just over half didn’t know that drinking alcohol damages the liver.


The organisation said that too many children are “fundamentally clueless” about basic health and nutrition facts. But many were “comparatively savvy” about food hygiene, a spokesman said, with 92% knowing that separate chopping boards for raw and cooked foods could prevent the spread of bacteria. And 84% knew that good food hygiene prevents food poisoning.


Colin King, co-founder of Education Quizzes, said: “These findings should serve as an extra incentive for parents looking to kick start a healthy regime as their kids head back to school.


“Despite health and food appearing on the PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) and science syllabuses, clearly we’re failing. Not only are we seeing more inactive children, but too many are also fundamentally clueless when it comes to the basic facts about health.


“It’s also interesting to compare the results around food hygiene where young people seem comparatively savvy. My guess is it comes down to scaremongering from adverts for cleaning products that have a big impact on kids, perhaps suggesting that there’s room for a TV awareness campaign. If shock tactics gets more kids to eat their greens, then we should consider it.”





Pupils: Cheese 'not dairy product'

Woman In Court Charged With Child's Murder



A 34-year-old woman will appear in court today charged with murder after an eight-year-old girl was found dead in a block of flats in east London.



Police arrested the woman at Bedwell Court, in Broomfield Road, Chadwell Heath, on Thursday after reports that a child was injured. 



The girl was later pronounced dead at the scene.



The woman will appear at Barking Magistrates’ Court later this morning.



The results of a post-mortem examination have yet to be announced.



The woman was taken to hospital in Romford for treatment for minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of murder after being discharged.



The death is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s homicide and major crime command (HMCC), Scotland Yard said.





Woman In Court Charged With Child's Murder

Pupils: Cheese 'not dairy product'



One in every 14 schoolchildren do not know that cheese is a diary product, figures suggest.


Education Quizzes said that 7% of youngsters don’t know which food group cheese belongs to.


The exam revision service also found that almost a third of children don’t know that fruit and vegetables provide essential vitamins and fibre.


Based on 1.6 million answers to quizzes undertaken by children aged seven to 16, the figures show that one in four are unaware that carbohydrates provide energy for the body.


And almost a fifth (18%) were flummoxed when they were asked to identify sources of protein such as meat or fish.


Meanwhile, 29% don’t know that cardiovascular exercise strengthens hearts and just over half didn’t know that drinking alcohol damages the liver.


The organisation said that too many children are “fundamentally clueless” about basic health and nutrition facts. But many were “comparatively savvy” about food hygiene, a spokesman said, with 92% knowing that separate chopping boards for raw and cooked foods could prevent the spread of bacteria. And 84% knew that good food hygiene prevents food poisoning.


Colin King, co-founder of Education Quizzes, said: “These findings should serve as an extra incentive for parents looking to kick start a healthy regime as their kids head back to school.


“Despite health and food appearing on the PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) and science syllabuses, clearly we’re failing. Not only are we seeing more inactive children, but too many are also fundamentally clueless when it comes to the basic facts about health.


“It’s also interesting to compare the results around food hygiene where young people seem comparatively savvy. My guess is it comes down to scaremongering from adverts for cleaning products that have a big impact on kids, perhaps suggesting that there’s room for a TV awareness campaign. If shock tactics gets more kids to eat their greens, then we should consider it.”





Pupils: Cheese 'not dairy product'

Woman In Court Charged With Child's Murder



A 34-year-old woman will appear in court today charged with murder after an eight-year-old girl was found dead in a block of flats in east London.



Police arrested the woman at Bedwell Court, in Broomfield Road, Chadwell Heath, on Thursday after reports that a child was injured. 



The girl was later pronounced dead at the scene.



The woman will appear at Barking Magistrates’ Court later this morning.



The results of a post-mortem examination have yet to be announced.



The woman was taken to hospital in Romford for treatment for minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of murder after being discharged.



The death is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s homicide and major crime command (HMCC), Scotland Yard said.





Woman In Court Charged With Child's Murder

Woman In Court Charged With Child's Murder



A 34-year-old woman will appear in court today charged with murder after an eight-year-old girl was found dead in a block of flats in east London.



Police arrested the woman at Bedwell Court, in Broomfield Road, Chadwell Heath, on Thursday after reports that a child was injured. 



The girl was later pronounced dead at the scene.



The woman will appear at Barking Magistrates’ Court later this morning.



The results of a post-mortem examination have yet to be announced.



The woman was taken to hospital in Romford for treatment for minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of murder after being discharged.



The death is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s homicide and major crime command (HMCC), Scotland Yard said.





Woman In Court Charged With Child's Murder

Woman accused of murdering girl, 8



A 34-year-old woman is due to appear in court charged with murder after an eight-year-old girl was found dead in a block of flats.


Police arrested the woman at an address in Chadwell Heath, east London, on Thursday after reports that a child was injured. The girl was later pronounced dead at the scene.


The woman will appear at Barking Magistrates Court, the Metropolitan Police said.


Officers were called to the property at Bedwell Court, in Broomfield Road, at 11.38am after paramedics reported there was an injured child at the scene.


The results of a post-mortem examination have yet to be announced.


The woman was taken to hospital in Romford for treatment for minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of murder after being discharged.


The death is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s homicide and major crime command (HMCC), Scotland Yard said.





Woman accused of murdering girl, 8

Man charged with teacher's murder



A 22-year-old man will be charged with the murder of a nursery teacher who was gunned down while celebrating her birthday.


Martell Warren is accused of killing mother-of-one Sabrina Moss who was shot in Kilburn High Road on August 24, the Crown Prosecution Service said.


He also faces three counts of attempted murder and two counts of possessing a gun.


Sarah Maclaren, from the CPS London Homicide Unit, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has today, 29 August, authorised the Metropolitan Police Service to charge Martell Warren, 22, with the murder of Sabrina Moss, who was fatally shot in Kilburn in the early hours of Saturday 24 August 2013.


“Mr Warren has also been charged with three counts of attempted murder and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.


“This decision was taken under the threshold test of the Code for Crown Prosecutors.”


He will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Friday.


Miss Moss was shot in the chest and another woman, also 24, remains in hospital after suffering a gunshot wound. Her condition is not life-threatening. Police believe the pair were “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when they were injured.


Scotland Yard confirmed that Warren, of Station Road, Hillingdon, west London, had been charged with Miss Moss’ murder and the attempted murder of Sabrina Gachette.


The two other counts of attempted murder related to two men who suffered gunshot wounds and were initially arrested in connection with the shooting, before being released without charge.





Man charged with teacher's murder

Man charged with teacher's murder



A 22-year-old man will be charged with the murder of a nursery teacher who was gunned down while celebrating her birthday.


Martell Warren is accused of killing mother-of-one Sabrina Moss who was shot in Kilburn High Road on August 24, the Crown Prosecution Service said.


He also faces three counts of attempted murder and two counts of possessing a gun.


Sarah Maclaren, from the CPS London Homicide Unit, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has today, 29 August, authorised the Metropolitan Police Service to charge Martell Warren, 22, with the murder of Sabrina Moss, who was fatally shot in Kilburn in the early hours of Saturday 24 August 2013.


“Mr Warren has also been charged with three counts of attempted murder and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.


“This decision was taken under the threshold test of the Code for Crown Prosecutors.”


He will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Friday.


Miss Moss was shot in the chest and another woman, also 24, remains in hospital after suffering a gunshot wound. Her condition is not life-threatening. Police believe the pair were “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when they were injured.


Scotland Yard confirmed that Warren, of Station Road, Hillingdon, west London, had been charged with Miss Moss’ murder and the attempted murder of Sabrina Gachette.


The two other counts of attempted murder related to two men who suffered gunshot wounds and were initially arrested in connection with the shooting, before being released without charge.





Man charged with teacher's murder

Man charged with teacher's murder



A 22-year-old man will be charged with the murder of a nursery teacher who was gunned down while celebrating her birthday.


Martell Warren is accused of killing mother-of-one Sabrina Moss who was shot in Kilburn High Road on August 24, the Crown Prosecution Service said.


He also faces three counts of attempted murder and two counts of possessing a gun.


Sarah Maclaren, from the CPS London Homicide Unit, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has today, 29 August, authorised the Metropolitan Police Service to charge Martell Warren, 22, with the murder of Sabrina Moss, who was fatally shot in Kilburn in the early hours of Saturday 24 August 2013.


“Mr Warren has also been charged with three counts of attempted murder and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.


“This decision was taken under the threshold test of the Code for Crown Prosecutors.”


He will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Friday.


Miss Moss was shot in the chest and another woman, also 24, remains in hospital after suffering a gunshot wound. Her condition is not life-threatening. Police believe the pair were “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when they were injured.


Scotland Yard confirmed that Warren, of Station Road, Hillingdon, west London, had been charged with Miss Moss’ murder and the attempted murder of Sabrina Gachette.


The two other counts of attempted murder related to two men who suffered gunshot wounds and were initially arrested in connection with the shooting, before being released without charge.





Man charged with teacher's murder

Kate's First Appearance Since Birth Of George



The Duchess of Cambridge wowed the mothers of Anglesey surprising them not only by her speedy return to duty, but also by how quickly she has regained her pre-pregnancy figure.



With grandma Carole Middleton on baby-sitting duty, Kate joined her husband for what is their last public engagement in Anglesey before the Duke’s tour at RAF Valley comes to an end in September.



Mother Louise Emery-Jones told Sky News: “I was actually quite impressed with her bottom after giving birth just a matter of weeks ago.



“She actually looked stunning, naturally beautiful, it was a great surprise to see her.”



Kate told those keen for an update about Prince George that the five-week-old was “sleeping, hopefully for a little bit longer”, before starting Anglesey’s ‘Ring of Fire’ marathon alongside her husband.



The Duchess also told well-wishers Prince George was “doing fine” and explained to Hollie Tomblin that her son “loves bright colours” as she received a card and flowers from the local schoolgirl.



Kate wasn’t scheduled to have returned to public engagements until mid-September when she and Prince William are due to attend an awards ceremony in London hosted by the Tusk Trust.



This earlier then expected engagement shows the Duchess of Cambridge was keen to thank those in Anglesey for the warm welcoming over the past three years.



It’s also an indication of just how eager Kate is to return to public duties.



Prince George is however unlikely to be seen in public until the day of his christening, expected to take place in October once the Queen returns from her summer holiday in Balmoral.



Friday’s engagements signify the end of a chapter for William and Kate. Where the family goes next will hinge on what new role the Duke undertakes after leaving RAF Valley.



That’s set to be announced in the coming weeks, and it seems likely they will move to Kensington Palace and closer to both families.





Kate's First Appearance Since Birth Of George

Kate's First Appearance Since Birth Of George



The Duchess of Cambridge wowed the mothers of Anglesey surprising them not only by her speedy return to duty, but also by how quickly she has regained her pre-pregnancy figure.



With grandma Carole Middleton on baby-sitting duty, Kate joined her husband for what is their last public engagement in Anglesey before the Duke’s tour at RAF Valley comes to an end in September.



Mother Louise Emery-Jones told Sky News: “I was actually quite impressed with her bottom after giving birth just a matter of weeks ago.



“She actually looked stunning, naturally beautiful, it was a great surprise to see her.”



Kate told those keen for an update about Prince George that the five-week-old was “sleeping, hopefully for a little bit longer”, before starting Anglesey’s ‘Ring of Fire’ marathon alongside her husband.



The Duchess also told well-wishers Prince George was “doing fine” and explained to Hollie Tomblin that her son “loves bright colours” as she received a card and flowers from the local schoolgirl.



Kate wasn’t scheduled to have returned to public engagements until mid-September when she and Prince William are due to attend an awards ceremony in London hosted by the Tusk Trust.



This earlier then expected engagement shows the Duchess of Cambridge was keen to thank those in Anglesey for the warm welcoming over the past three years.



It’s also an indication of just how eager Kate is to return to public duties.



Prince George is however unlikely to be seen in public until the day of his christening, expected to take place in October once the Queen returns from her summer holiday in Balmoral.



Friday’s engagements signify the end of a chapter for William and Kate. Where the family goes next will hinge on what new role the Duke undertakes after leaving RAF Valley.



That’s set to be announced in the coming weeks, and it seems likely they will move to Kensington Palace and closer to both families.





Kate's First Appearance Since Birth Of George

Clinton hails poet Seamus Heaney



Former US president Bill Clinton has praised Seamus Heaney as “our finest poet of the rhythms of ordinary lives” and a “powerful voice for peace”.


The farmer’s son who went on to become a world renowned Nobel laureate died in hospital in Dublin aged 74.


Mr Clinton and his wife Hillary said they were saddened to learn of the death of their “friend”.


“Both his stunning work and his life were a gift to the world. His mind, heart, and his uniquely Irish gift for language made him our finest poet of the rhythms of ordinary lives and a powerful voice for peace. And he was a good and true friend,” the Clintons said.


“We loved him and we will miss him. More than a brilliant artist, Seamus was, from the first day we met him, a joy to be with and a warm and caring friend – in short, a true son of Northern Ireland. His wonderful work, like that of his fellow Irish Nobel Prize winners Shaw, Yeats, and Beckett, will be a lasting gift for all the world.”


Heaney was remembered by friends, contemporaries, admirers and politicians as a humble, warm, funny and open man as tributes flowed in from around the world. He is survived by his wife, Marie, and children, Christopher, Michael and Catherine Ann.


A funeral mass will take place on Monday at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Donnybrook, south Dublin followed by burial in his birthplace of Bellaghy, Co Derry.


Irish prime minister Enda Kenny said it would take Heaney himself to describe the depth of loss Ireland would feel over his death. “He is mourned – and deeply – wherever poetry and the world of the spirit are cherished and celebrated,” he said.


The 1995 Nobel prize-winner was born in April 1939, the eldest of nine children, on a small farm called Mossbawn near Bellaghy in Co Derry, Northern Ireland, and his upbringing often played out in the poetry he wrote in later years.


Among the tributes, actor Adrian Dunbar led a round of applause at the bust of Heaney in the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. It will be followed with a celebration of Heaney’s life on Saturday night, which will include readings of his work and personal tributes. Books of condolence are also to be opened at Belfast City Hall on Monday and the Guildhall in Derry city.





Clinton hails poet Seamus Heaney

Analysis - Syria vote humiliates Cameron, strains special relationship



By Andrew Osborn


LONDON (Reuters) – He lost by just 13 votes, but Prime Minister David Cameron‘s failure to win parliamentary approval to launch military action against Syria may place a question mark over Britain’s role in the world as well as his own career.


Cameron’s inability to determine Britain’s foreign policy and join Washington and Paris in strikes against Syria will strain the “special relationship” with the United States – the foundation of Britain’s global role since World War Two.


It is a stunning reversal in international affairs, after a decade in which Britain was the only major power to join the United States on the battlefield in Iraq, and by far its most important comrade in arms in Afghanistan.


More than 600 British troops have died under U.S. command in those two wars, since Prime Minister Tony Blair declared he would stand “shoulder to shoulder” with America after the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States.


No more. After Cameron lost Thursday’s vote to support the principle of military action against Syria to deter President Bashar al-Assad from using chemical weapons, Washington can no longer rely on Britain for automatic military backup.


“I think there will be a national soul-searching about our role in the world and whether Britain wants to play a big part in upholding the international system,” said George Osborne, Cameron’s Chancellor and close ally. “Obviously, it would be better from the point of view of the special relationship if we were able to take part in any military action.”


There were lively scenes in parliament’s wood-panelled debating chamber as MPs digested the result. One minister was seen repeatedly shouting “disgrace” at those who voted against Cameron, saying they had given “succour” to Assad.


Loud cries of “resign resign” rang out from opposition Labour lawmakers before Cameron, visibly shaken, told parliament he would heed parliament’s will: “I get it”.


Historians dusted off old books to find a precedent. It was the first time a British prime minister had lost a vote on war since 1782, when parliament conceded American independence by voting against further fighting to crush a colonial rebellion.


Labour’s Ed Miliband – who led the parliamentary revolt saying he was not opposed to force in principle but unconvinced by Cameron’s case – was the first opposition leader to oppose government plans to deploy troops since the 1956 Suez crisis.


Back then, Britain and France tried to intervene in Egypt without U.S. support. Their failure was seen as proof that post-war Britain, which had given up its global empire, could now shape world events only by standing with its superpower ally.


Paddy Ashdown, a former international envoy to Bosnia and now a member of Britain’s upper house of parliament, echoed many in Britain’s divided political establishment in lamenting the erosion of British influence on the world stage.


“In 50 years trying to serve my country I have never felt so depressed/ashamed,” he said. “Britain’s answer to the Syrian horrors? None of our business! We are a hugely diminished country.”


But others said it was about time Britain gave up its great power airs and accepted the limits of its role in the world.


“The desire to re-order foreign states – still embedded in parts of the British establishment – has long been subsumed in the constitution of the U.N. and international courts of justice,” wrote Simon Jenkins in the Guardian. “Sometimes it takes courage to conclude of foreign conflicts that we can only do more harm than good by meddling in them.”


NO MORE POODLE


Cameron said he hoped President Barack Obama would understand, and he had nothing to apologise for.


“(This is) a government and a parliament that is deeply engaged in the world,” Cameron said. “We’ve the fourth largest military in the world and one of the best diplomatic networks any country has in the world. We have great strengths as a country and we should continue to use those.”


For Miliband – whose first act as Labour leader in 2010 was to repudiate the party’s support for the Iraq invasion – the stance distanced him from Blair, the former Labour prime minister whose support for U.S. wars saw him depicted savagely in political cartoons as George W. Bush’s snarling pet poodle.


“Being an ally of the United States and having a special relationship with the United States cannot simply be about doing what the American president says he wants you to do,” Miliband said. “We will have disagreements with the United States, we will take a different view to them but we have got to operate on the basis of the British national interest.”


DOMESTIC DEFEAT


Domestically, the defeat was the heaviest Cameron has suffered in his three years in power. It underlined his failure to pacify malcontents in his ruling Conservative party who complain he doesn’t listen to them.


He had begun to recover from previous party rebellions over gay marriage and Britain’s EU membership, had begun to erode Labour’s opinion poll lead, and, with the economy showing signs of recovery, was optimistically eyeing re-election in 2015.


But 30 of his 304 Conservative MPs rebelled against him and many others used a febrile debate on the subject to criticise him and the government for trying to rush into war.


Cameron’s critics are already circling. Their main allegations: He is not a conviction politician and fails to prepare the ground properly for his policies.


Public opinion was never on his side: a YouGov poll published on Thursday showed 51 percent of the British public opposed a missile strike, with just 22 percent in favour of it.


Cameron cut short his holiday to recall MPs for what he thought was going to be a swift joint strike on Syria, and tried to woo his own members of parliament before the vote.


His plan began to unravel on Wednesday evening when Miliband said he wanted major concessions before he could support action.


Cameron agreed to wait for a report from U.N. inspectors on last week’s suspected chemical attack in Syria before launching any strikes, and to hold two votes in parliament instead of one.


But Miliband, battling to establish his leadership credentials within his own party, said he still couldn’t back Cameron, leaving the prime minister relying solely on his own party and his Liberal Democrat junior coalition partners.


Nine of 55 LibDems joined the 30 Conservatives in rebelling. Cameron lost the motion by 285 to 272 votes.


“Were there question marks over his tactics and did they fail? Well yes, obviously,” one Conservative MP who voted against Cameron told Reuters.


Cameron himself said he regretted that it hadn’t been possible to build a consensus but said he had “worked hard” to try to achieve one and he thought the whips – party vote enforcers – “did do a good job”.


Government fury at Miliband’s stance boiled over into language normally unspoken in parliament. A national newspaper reprinted an extravagant expletive-laden tirade from a source in Cameron’s office denouncing the Labour leader.


A top Cameron aide accused Miliband of “giving succour” to Assad. The Labour leader demanded the accusation be withdrawn, but Defence Secretary Philip Hammond later repeated it.


Miliband said the vote defeat had exposed Cameron for the “reckless” and “cavalier” leader that he was.


Political allies believe Cameron will recover and his party leadership will not be challenged before the election. However, critics, some in his own party, think he is now vulnerable.


David Hartwell, a former British Ministry of Defence official, told Reuters Cameron had badly miscalculated.


“Cameron really only has himself to blame. He’s tied himself in a bunch of knots largely out of a desire to distance himself from his predecessors,” he said, referring to Blair.


“You can’t march your troops up to the top of the hill and then down again like that. He’s made so much noise on Syria on strikes and chemical weapons and arming rebels and at the end of the day he’s just been totally unable to deliver.”


(Additional reporting by William James, Peter Apps and Costas Pitas; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Peter Graff)





Analysis - Syria vote humiliates Cameron, strains special relationship

Kate's First Appearance Since Birth Of George



Looking slim and relaxed, the Duchess of Cambridge has appeared in public for the first time since giving birth to Prince George.



Kate joined William as he launches the gruelling, three-day annual “ultra” marathon run around the coast of the island of Anglesey, North Wales.



The Duke was attending one of his final public engagements on the island as his time there with the RAF comes to an end.



The couple met some of the runners and their families and volunteers before the start – but they did not take Prince George along.



Kate said her son was doing “very well” and that he was sleeping.



“Hopefully he’ll be like that for a little bit longer,” added the Duchess.



She was also overheard telling well-wishers: “He’s very sweet”.



William was introduced to a child called George. “Hello, George,” he said. “…much larger than our George.”



The annual event – known as the Ring O’ Fire – is a 135-mile foot race around the rugged coast, staged over three days and including 13,695 feet of ascent.



The presence of Kate was a surprise – it was revealed only on Friday morning that she would be joining her husband.



A fortnight ago, William said a public goodbye to Wales as he confirmed his young family would be leaving their Anglesey home and moving “elsewhere” when his posting comes to an end this month, having completed his three-year tour of duty as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot based at RAF Valley.



He is widely expected to leave North Wales and return to London with Kate and their baby son to take on more royal duties rather than stay in the service.



At the Anglesey Show, he spoke movingly about his time on the island, saying he would miss living and working in the area “terribly” and joked about the demands of looking after a newborn baby with Kate.



With the birth of George last month, the Cambridges are now a family unit and their Kensington Palace apartment is expected to become their main home.





Kate's First Appearance Since Birth Of George

Dan Evans' Sweet Revenge At US Open Tennis



British number three Dan Evans has said being told he wasn’t good enough to practise with Bernard Tomic inspired him to victory over the Australian at the US Open



The 23-year-old qualifier from Birmingham – ranked 179 – who had never won more than one match in qualifying at a grand slam before arriving in New York, has now won five in a row to reach the third round.



He built on three qualifying victories and a first round win over 11th seed Kei Nishikori by recovering from a set and a break down to defeat Tomic 1-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.



After the win, Evans revealed that last year at the Masters tournament in Miami he had been due to practise with Tomic only to be told to leave by the Australian’s father John.



“I was there playing qualies,” said Evans. “His dad sort of fobbed me off and said I wasn’t good enough to practise with him. I remembered that.



“We went to practise, it was all booked. I got to the court. His dad said, ‘No, no, he’s a qualifier, I’m not hitting with you.’ It was a bit embarrassing.”



Tomic, who is ranked 127 places higher than Evans at 52, said afterwards: “It wasn’t nerves. I was pretty relaxed. He just played so slow, so strange, that I basically did what he did. I wasn’t very good at it, was I?”



Evans’ family and friends watched the five-set match against Tomic from West Warwickshire Sports Club.



And there were tears of joy from his sister Laura Kitching as the crowd leapt to its feet in cheers.



She told Sky News: “It’s absolutely unbelievable. I’m so proud, more than ecstatic. I can’t put it into words how I feel right now. I’m just so emotional. He’s just done so well.”



Evans’ next opponent is 19th seed Tommy Robredo, and victory there would more than likely set up a fourth round match against Roger Federer, with whom he has already practised at the tournament.



Evans is guaranteed a £60,000 payout for getting into the third round.





Dan Evans' Sweet Revenge At US Open Tennis