Scotland Independence: SNP Unveils White Paper

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

Scotland's SNP Government is set to present a vision of a "wealthier and fairer" Scotland ahead of next year's independence referendum.

The 670-page white paper will be launched at an event in Glasgow at 10am.

It is being billed as an "Independence Encyclopaedia" that will contain the answers to the questions surrounding a breakaway from the UK.

The SNP's opponents, however, insist it will force Scots into a "risky choice" they do not need to make.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond will unveil the document, entitled Scotland's Future - Your Guide, which he claims will make it better equipped than any other country at any other time to become independent.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News: "This is a document for the people of Scotland; it is their guide to independence, and it will provide both a vision for Scotland's future and the answers on independence that people have been seeking.

Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond will launch the guide in Glasgow

"As part of the guide we will be providing the answers to people's questions on how we become an independent country, what the opportunities are of independence, how our institutions of government will work and what the benefits can be of a vote for independence.

"Our message to the people of Scotland is simple: read this guide, compare it with any alternative future for Scotland and make up your own mind."

She added: "This guide to an independent Scotland will set out a vision for Scotland's future, the ways in which we can use the powers of independence to build a wealthier and fairer Scotland, and ensure that everyone benefits from our natural wealth and talent.

"This guide to independence will move the debate forward from how Scotland can become an independent country to the kind of country we can be."

Ahead of the document launch at the Glasgow Science Centre, the SNP's opponents have questioned the case for independence, particularly the SNP's stated aim to join a currency union with the remainder of the UK it plans to leave behind.

Pro-independence supporters marched through Edinburgh in September

They claim there is no guarantee that the rest of the UK would find that acceptable. 

Nor are there any guarantees surrounding the membership of an independent Scotland in the European Union or Nato.

Former chancellor Alistair Darling told Sky News: "We can have the best things about being a successful country and the best things about being part of something bigger.

"We simply don't have to choose between having a strong Scottish Parliament and the strength and security of being part of the United Kingdom. We can have both.

"We can be proudly Scottish and feel a sense of connection to friends and family in the rest of the United Kingdom.

"We can have a distinctive Scottish voice and we can keep the opportunities that come through sharing risks, rewards and resources with one of the biggest economies in the world."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sex Survey Says Brits Are More Adventurous

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

British men and women are having increasingly adventurous sex, with more partners, well into old age, according to the most comprehensive ever survey of its kind.

The study of 15,000 people's sexual behaviour also reveals the nation is more tolerant of same-sex experiences, but less forgiving of sex outside marriage.

The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles was first carried out in 1990 and has been repeated every 10 years.

Results published in The Lancet medical journal show that of those aged 16-24, 31% of men and 29% of women had sex before the age of 16.

That is unchanged from the last survey in the year 2000.

At the other end of the demographic spectrum, the survey shows pensioners are also having sex. According to the figures, 60% of men and 42% of women aged 65-74 reported having at least one opposite sex sexual partner in the previous year.

Lead author Dr Cath Mercer, from University College London, said: "As men and women are living longer, have healthier lives and continue to have active sex lives well beyond their reproductive years, we need to view sexual health and wellbeing as an issue of lifelong importance."

The anonymous questionnaire shows people are having less sex on average than they used to.

Compared with the last survey in 2000, the frequency of sex has fallen from just over six times a month to just under five.

This is partly because fewer people are married or cohabiting, but even those who live with their partner are having less sex, possibly because of pressures caused by the recession.

The results show people are becoming more experimental with their sexual practices, at all ages.

And women are closing the gap on men in the number of sexual partners they have.

Women aged 16-44 now have an average of 7.7 partners, compared with 3.7 in 1990. Men now have 11.7, up from 8.6 in the last survey.

There has been a small increase in men who have ever had a same-sex partner - up from 3.6% to 4.8%.

But there has been a big rise in women having a same-sex partner, up from 1.8% to 7.9%.

Professor Kaye Wellings, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who also contributed to the report, said: "The change in women's behaviour across the three surveys has been remarkable.

"In some areas of sexual behaviour we have seen a narrowing of the gender gap, but in others we have seen women overtaking men in the diversity of their behaviour.

"These trends need to be seen against the backdrop of the profound changes in the position of women in society, the norms governing their lifestyles and media representations of female sexuality."

The survey shows 20% of men see "nothing wrong" in a one-night stand, a figure that is unchanged from the 1990 survey. For women, the figure has risen from 5.4% to 13%.

The proportion of men disapproving of sex outside marriage has increased from 45% to 63%. For women it has risen from 53% to 70%.

The survey, the third in the series, was conducted between September 2010 and August 2012.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Birmingham Pensioner Died In Hit-And-Run

A 75-year-old man found fatally injured on a Birmingham street was the victim of a hit-and-run driver, West Midlands Police say.

The man's injuries were so severe that police believe he must have been hit by a 4x4 or a van and left for dead.

He was found lying in Beakes Road, Smethwick at around 9.30pm on Saturday night and rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.

Nobody has come forward to report a collision in the road that night and officers believe the man was the victim of a hit and run.

Inspector Paul Bennett, from the Regional Collision Investigation Unit, said: "We have launched a major investigation to determine exactly what led to this elderly man's death.

"At this stage we believe he has been struck by a large vehicle, possibly a 4x4 car or a van.

"Whoever was driving must have known they had hit a person but rather than stop to help, they left him in the road to die.

"The vehicle itself would have sustained collision damage and I want to hear from anyone who may have information that could lead us to the vehicle and driver involved.

"I would also appeal to garage repairs owners to be wary of any vehicles that are brought in with a large amount of damage that the owner can't explain.

Anyone with information should call Inspector Bennett from the Regional Collision Investigation Unit on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

More follows...

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

London 'Slavery' Case: New Homes Investigated

Detectives say they are investigating 13 addresses as part of their probe into claims that three women were held as slaves in London.

The inquiry began after one of three alleged victims told a charity she had been kept against her will for more than 30 years in a house in south London.

The three women - a 30-year-old Briton, a 57-year-old Irishwoman and a 69-year-old Malaysian - are believed to have suffered years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of a couple.

Police carried out house-to-house enquiries over the weekend in and around Peckford Place in Brixton, where the three women were found.

It has emerged that the couple - both 67 and of Indian and Tanzanian origin - were previously arrested in the 1970s, although police have not said why.

Officers have recovered a birth certificate for the 30-year-old woman, who is believed to have lived her entire life in servitude, but no other official documents for her have been found.

Police outside the property where the women were allegedly held

The case came to light after the Irish woman rang the Freedom Charity last month after seeing its founder Aneeta Prem in a Sky News report about forced marriages.

The Metropolitan Police said part of the agreement on October 25 when the women were removed from the address was that police would not take any action at that stage.

None of the women was reported missing after being rescued, police said. All three are now in the care of a specialist non-governmental organisation.

Some 37 officers from the Met's human-trafficking unit are working on the case.

On Sunday, Home Secretary Theresa May said tackling modern slavery in Britain was a "personal priority", saying many other victims were "hidden in plain sight" across the country.

"It is walking our streets, supplying shops and supermarkets, working in fields, factories or nail bars, trapped in brothels or cowering behind the curtains in an ordinary street: slavery," she wrote in The Sunday Telegraph.

"Something most of us thought consigned to history books, belonging to a different century, is a shameful and shocking presence in modern Britain."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bereavement: Workers 'Should Get Paid Leave'

Campaigners are urging the Government to give workers the legal right to paid leave if they have been affected by a family bereavement amid growing public support for the move.

Two thirds of people said it was unfair that bereavement leave was unpaid, a survey of more than 1,500 adults showed.

The poll, commissioned by the Change Bereavement Leave campaign, also showed that seven out of 10 people said they would back a national guaranteed minimum of paid leave.

The findings were welcomed by Lucy Herd, whose 23-month-old son Jack drowned in their garden pond in Cumbria three years ago and discovered that her partner could only take three days unpaid leave from work.

"David Cameron acknowledged he was able to take two weeks off after the death of his own son, but sadly not all parents have sympathetic or understanding employers or can afford unpaid time off," she said.

"We would like to see four weeks of paid bereavement leave for parents."

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Thinking about how they might cope following the death of a close family member is clearly not something many of us want to spend much time contemplating.

"Most people will be surprised to learn that unless they have an understanding employer, they may not be able to take much time off work following a death in the family, and if they are, any compassionate leave will almost certainly be unpaid.

"Coping with the sudden loss of a loved one is traumatic enough without having to worry about work too. The Government should do the right thing and give people a legal right to paid time away from their jobs after someone close to them has died.

"Employers can also help ease the upset of their bereaved employees a little by being more generous depending on someone's individual circumstances - for example a parent coping with the sudden loss of a child is likely to need much more time off work."

Labour MP Tom Harris has raised the issue in the Commons, saying that many bereaved parents go back to work too early after the death of a child because they have no right to employment leave.

"Most people are unaware that there is currently no right to bereavement leave for parents. This is an injustice that Parliament needs to address," he said.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Trott Quits Ashes With Stress-Related Illness

Batsman Jonathan Trott has left the Ashes tour due to a stress-related illness, the England and Wales Cricket Board has announced.

The 32-year-old will play no further part in the tour and will take a break from cricket "for the foreseeable future," the ECB said in a statement.

Trott scored 19 runs in two innings during England's first test defeat by Australia in Brisbane.

He said: "I don't feel it is right that I'm playing knowing that I'm not 100% and I cannot currently operate at the level I have done in the past.

"My priority now is to take a break from cricket so that I can focus on my recovery. I want to wish my team mates all the very best for the remainder of the tour."

England Cricket managing director Hugh Morris said: "Jonathan Trott is an incredibly talented cricketer who has proven himself time and again for England.

Australia's David Warner said Trott's batting was 'poor' and 'weak'

"The cricket side of things is unimportant now, all that matters is that Jonathan is given the time, support and space he needs to recover.

"We fully support his decision to leave the tour and the ECB will provide all the assistance we can to help Jonathan and his family through this period." 

England's first Test batting performances were branded "poor and weak" by Australian opener David Warner, who singled out Trott for criticism.

After day three of the Test, he said: "It does look like they've got scared eyes at the moment. The way that Trotty got out today was pretty poor and pretty weak.

"Obviously there is a weakness there and we're probably on top of it at the moment."

England captain Alastair Cook and coach Andy Flowers both said Warner's comments were disrespectful, but Flowers insisted they had no impact on Trott's decision to leave the tour.

More follows...

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stabbing: Mother Died From Multiple Wounds

Police have confirmed that a woman found dead in her home in Manchester died of stab wounds.

Officers called to a house on Mayford Road, Levenshulme on Friday discovered the body of 49-year-old Aisha Alam following reports a woman had been killed.

A Home Office post-mortem examination established that Ms Alam, who reportedly had lived at the address for 25 years and had four children, died from multiple stab wounds.

Neighbour and friend Saima Baber said that Ms Alam was "a very, very nice person".

"She was quite quiet and kept herself to herself but was such a lovely lady," Ms Baber told the Manchester Evening News.

"I would always stop and say hello and chat and I would do the same with her daughters as well who are lovely.

"We are all very shocked and scared by what's happened. I saw her daughter at about 8am and everything seemed fine."

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Larkin, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "A woman has been killed and our thoughts are with her family and friends at what is obviously a totally devastating time for them.

"I want to reassure her loved ones as well as those in the local community that we have a team of highly skilled detectives already working on this case but if anyone has any information please call us."

A 52-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody for questioning.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 4032 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Miliband Accuses PM Of 'Reaching A New Low'

Labour leader Ed Miliband has accused the Prime Minister of resorting to a strategy of mud-slinging in an effort to win the 2015 election.

He hit out at David Cameron for using the Paul Flowers scandal to attack his party's links to the co-operative movement.

Writing in the Independent on Sunday, Mr Miliband said Mr Cameron "hit a new low by trying to use the gross errors and misconduct of one man, Paul Flowers, to impugn the integrity of the entire Labour movement".

He said: "We all want proper answers as to what went on at the Co-operative Bank, and the public deserves better than the desperate attempts by the Tory party to score the cheapest political points, including ludicrous claims that Labour's historic links with the Co-op movement were the invention of Rev Flowers.

"Of course, the credibility of their smears was undermined when it emerged that the Chancellor himself was promoting the Co-op's bid to take over Lloyds Bank branches."

The Tories have attacked Labour's links with the Co-op Bank

The Tories have sought to highlight the close links between Labour and the Co-op, including "soft loans" at preferential rates and a £50,000 donation to Ed Balls' office from the Co-operative Group.

But Labour have used the row over the near collapse of the lender to put pressure on George Osborne over the Co-op's aborted bid for Lloyds branches.

Mr Miliband claimed the heated exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions over Labour and the Co-op, along with attacks over the trade unions and seeking to blame Andy Burnham for NHS failings, were part of a plan to fight the "dirtiest general election campaign" for 20 years, masterminded by Tory strategist Lynton Crosby.

"David Cameron cannot resist a low blow when the British public craves a politics on the high ground. His main political strategy is now to sling as much mud as possible in the hope that some of it sticks. When he does so, he demeans his office."

Mr Shapps accused Mr Miliband of 'evading serious issues'

Tory chairman Grant Shapps hit back at the Labour leader, highlighting the activities of Gordon Brown's former spin doctor Damian McBride.

"This is a pathetic attempt to evade the serious issues. Labour have big questions to answer, and when they are asked, they simply try to avoid them by claiming they are smears," he said.

"It is an obvious tactic from the party that brought you the most disgraceful smear operation of modern times, fronted by Damian McBride, and known about, encouraged and tolerated by Ed Balls and Ed Miliband.

"And McBride was simply the latest in a long line of bullying Labour spin doctors, including Alastair Campbell and Charlie Whelan. Incredibly, Labour's new campaign chief Michael Dugher used to be McBride's right-hand man - it's the same old Labour.

"We suggest they explain how the corruption at Falkirk happened, and how the Rev Flowers was allowed to become and remain an adviser, rather than dismiss legitimate questions as smears."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

London 'Slavery': Neighbours' Shock At Claims

People living near to a house where three women were allegedly held as slaves for more than three decades have spoken of their shock at the claims.

The women - a 69-year-old from Malaysia, a 57-year-old from Ireland and a 30-year-old Briton - were taken from the property in Brixton, south London, last month after calling a support charity asking for help.

Police said the women, two of whom who lived in a "collective" with a 67-year-old man they met through a "shared political ideology", had suffered "emotional and physical abuse".

The man and a woman, also 67, who came to the UK in the 1960s and are of Indian and Tanzanian origin, were arrested and released on bail.

Commander Steve Rodhouse, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Somehow that collective came to an end and the women ended up continuing to live with the suspects.

"How this resulted in the women living in this way for over 30 years is what are seeking to establish, but we believe emotional and physical abuse has been a feature of all the victims' lives."

Kamal Francis described the women as having unkempt appearances

As police carried out door-to-door inquiries to establish more details about the alleged victims, neighbours described the area around the block in Peckford Place, where the women had been living, as a "quiet" area.

One woman, who gave her name only as Valerie, said: "Seeing all this going on is quite surprising to me. It's shocking really."

Abdul Rogers said many people did not speak to each other, adding: "I don't even know my next door neighbour. If I met them on the street now I would not be able to tell it was my next door neighbour, which is not good for community cohesion."

Kamal Francis is a regular visitor to the block of flats as his partner lives directly above where the women were held.

He told Sky News: "One would be wearing a long, baggy, cardigan and a long skirt touching the floor. They had messy hair. They were not neat people."

Investigators believe the youngest of the alleged victims may have spent her entire life as a domestic slave.

Cmdr Rodhouse said police had found her birth certificate but no further documentation.

The women lived in the Angell Town estate in Brixton

"We believe she has lived with the suspects and the other victims all her life, but of course at this early stage we are still seeking out evidence," she said.

The woman who called Freedom Charity asking for help said she had been held against her will for more than 30 years.

Aneeta Prem, who founded the organisation, said it had seen an "extraordinary" rise in calls to its helpline since the rescue of the three women came to light.

"These women have had traumatic and distributing experiences," she said.

"What needs to happen now is that the three victims, who have begun a long process of recovery, are able to go through their rehabilitation undisturbed, without being identified."

Officers said they were taking "every step" to protect the "emotionally fragile and highly vulnerable" victims.

Lambeth Council has told Sky News it is investigating whether it had ever come into contact with any of the women.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greenpeace Goal: Have Events Shifted Focus?

When Greenpeace activists attempted to board an offshore oil platform they wanted to highlight what they see as the potential ecological disaster of Arctic Ocean oil drilling, but it was the hardline stance of the Russian authorities that got them noticed.

As members of the so-called Arctic 30 were being released on bail from detention in St Petersburg, the environment movement said the protest has significantly raised the profile of group and the issues they campaign on.

As well as reporting a huge increase in membership inquiries and donations, Greenpeace says more than two million people have now signed a petition calling for the activists to be freed - its fastest-ever growing petition.

The organisation's UK executive director John Sauven admits that putting the protesters behind bars gave the cause far more impetus than the initial protest itself.

The protesters were arrested after Russian authorities seized their boat

"We didn't actually aim to get the Arctic 30 into the nick and I think all of them would have preferred their freedom rather than to spend two months in prison," he told Sky News.

"But there is no doubt about it raised people's awareness about what is happening the Arctic that threats from the oil industry that want to drill in the Arctic is such that people globally are much more aware and I think this is quite important."

But Nina Gold, the partner of Frank Hewetson - one of the protesters bailed by the Russian courts - told Sky News that the use of direct action has to be carefully considered.

Activist Frank Hewetson is one of the Britons who have been bailed

"I believe he is working for a good cause and is trying to do what he thinks is right and I do think that direct action protest can help but you have to consider the consequences quite carefully," she said.

"My campaign is to ensure that Frank and the other 29 people are released, and actually get home - that's the campaign I'm interested in at the moment."

Greenpeace hailed Thursday as a "historic", when the rights of the Arctic 30 had been upheld by an international court of law.

Activists Mr Hewetson, Iain Rogers, Alexandra Harris and Anthony Perrett, and journalist Kieron Bryan were the first of six Britons to be freed on bail. Three Russian nationals were freed on Monday.

The sixth Briton, Philip Ball, has been granted bail, but has yet to be freed.

Journalist Kieron Bryon enjoys daylight again as he is released on bail

Speaking after his release, Mr Bryan told Sky News it felt "very, very good" to be free.

"It's good to be outside and see the sky for the first time for a while," he said.

"To everyone who's supported me and the rest of the group: Keep fighting, we're not free yet, this is first step. It's a glimmer of justice, but it's not finished."

He said being imprisoned had been "tough" and that he was looking forward to "a long shower", "never doing another Sudoku puzzle again" and "an improved diet".

Mr Rogers told Sky News: "It's lovely (to be out). It's been pretty traumatic, but it's good for the campaign.

"I think Gazprom have given us the ideal opportunity and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for publicising our campaign to stop drilling in the Arctic so much."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More