Cancer: Ageing Population Blamed For Increase

By Hind Hassan, Sky News Reporter

Nearly a third of a million people are diagnosed with cancer every year, according to a UK charity.

Some 330,000 people were diagnosed with some form of the disease in 2011 - an increase of almost 50,000 per year over a decade. Researchers say an ageing population is one of the reasons for the increase.

Jessica Kirby from Cancer Research UK said: "People's risk of cancer goes up significantly as we get older; the more older people we have in our population the more people will develop cancer.

An aging population is one reason for the increase

"There are other reasons for the rise as well; changes in risk factors for example. We know that more and more people are overweight compared to the past which is one of the key factors for cancers."

But greater awareness, advanced technology and ongoing medical research means cancer is being detected earlier and those that have it are living longer.

Edward Scott believes an early diagnosis of testicular cancer saved his life. The 15-year-old discovered a lump last year and sought urgent advice.

"I went on the NHS website and I found all the symptoms for testicular cancer were symptoms that I had," he said.

"The same day I went to my mum and said 'Mum there is something really wrong, I have to go get this sorted out'.

"I went into the GP and the same day I found out I had cancer."

Cancer Research UK's chief executive Dr Harpal Kumar said: "These figures reinforce the vital need for more research to better prevent, treat and cure cancer.

"Research is the only way we'll be able to reduce the devastating impact of the disease. One day we will beat cancer. The more research we do, the sooner that day will come."

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Food Safety: Worst Councils Named And Shamed

Local councils that are failing to ensure food businesses comply with hygiene regulations have been named and shamed by a consumer watchdog.

The investigation into 395 local authorities by Which?, using data obtained from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), revealed more than a third of high and medium-risk food businesses are not complying with safety rules.

The hygiene risk of a business was based on the type of food, the number of consumers at risk, the method of processing and confidence in the management.

Local authority food checks are in decline according to the study

Local authority rankings were based upon criteria such as the number of premises compliant with hygiene requirements, the number of visits performed by council inspectors and the percentage of premises yet to receive a risk rating.

Bexley in London was exposed as the worst-performing local authority, with five further London councils appearing in the bottom 10, including Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Richmond upon Thames and Southwark.

The study revealed that overall, food testing fell by 6.8% from the previous year, while testing for correct labelling and presentation fell by 16.2%.

The figures showed no hygiene sampling at all was carried out by Bexley, Christchurch, Isles of Scilly, Medway, Tamworth, West Lindsey and West Yorkshire authorities.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd, said: "No one wants another horse meat fiasco, so it is very worrying that local authority food checks are in decline.

"We want to see a more strategic approach to food law enforcement that makes the best use of limited resources and responds effectively to the huge challenges facing the food supply chain."

But the Local Government Association defended local authorities it said were "working hard" to improve food hygiene standards in the face of government funding cuts.

The Local Government Association's regulation spokesman Nick Worth said: "Random sampling is just one tool available to councils and a reduction in testing does not mean an increased safety risk to the public.

"Targeting high-risk businesses and acting on complaints is a far more effective use of their limited resources and also allows councils to free up responsible businesses from unnecessary inspections and red tape."

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Sam Wanamaker Playhouse To Open Its Doors

By Richard Suchet, Arts And Entertainment Correspondent

A new indoor space next to Shakespeare's Globe theatre will be opened officially on Wednesday, fulfilling the dream of the theatre's founder - the late Sam Wanamaker.

The newly-built Jacobean theatre called the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse - a candlelit venue - will stage plays throughout the year, to complement the open-air Globe theatre on London's South Bank.

The playhouse will seat 340 people with two tiers of galleried seating and an historically-accurate pit seating area. 

A memorial plaque to Sam Wanamaker near the Globe theatre (pic: Oosoom)

Artistic director Dominic Dromgoole said: "The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse offers us a unique opportunity to explore the theatre practice of Shakespeare's day and the theatrical context within which he worked.

"We hope that the Wanamaker Playhouse will afford as many insights, and prove as theatrically rejuvenating, as the Globe has proved over the last 16 years."

The inaugural production to be staged at the new venue is John Webster's The Duchess Of Malfi, starring Gemma Arterton.

It will be followed by a production of Francis Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle.

The first part of Sam Wanamaker's vision was realised in 1997 with the completion of Shakespeare's Globe.

The second phase was to build an amphitheatre next to the Globe that would replicate the indoor playhouses of the Jacobean era (1603-1625).

Unlike the Globe, it is not a replica of one particular theatre.

The layout has been based on drawings found in a book in the 1960s that would appear to be a design for an indoor playhouse and £7.5m has been spent fitting out its wooden interior.

Every performance will be lit by candlelight and in many cases the cast will carry their own candles, as they would have done 400 years ago.

Sam Wanamaker (R) with a model of the proposed Globe Theatre in 1972

As well as William Shakespeare, Jacobean theatre is associated with playwrights such as Ben Jonson, John Marston and Thomas Dekker.

The official opening kicks off a season of early modern drama, opera and exclusive one-off performances and concerts, with tickets starting at £10 each.

American film director and actor Sam Wanamaker died in 1993. He is the father of British actress Zoe Wanamaker, who has starred in the Harry Potter series of films and the sitcom My Family.

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N Ireland Child Abuse Inquiry: Hundreds Respond

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

More than 400 people have applied to speak to the state inquiry into historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland, the largest tribunal of its kind anywhere in the UK.

Most applications, some 280, were from people living in Northern Ireland, but 63 came from Great Britain, 61 from Australia, 20 from the Republic of Ireland and the remainder from elsewhere.

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry was established by the Stormont Executive this time last year and will hold its first public evidence session today at Banbridge Courthouse in County Down.

It has a remit to investigate historical child abuse and/or neglect in institutions over a 73-year period up to 1995 and is currently investigating 13 establishments, including Kincora Boys' Home in Belfast.

Kincora was the scene of a notorious sex scandal and while three members of staff were convicted in the 1980s, questions remain about who knew what and why it continued.

The inquiry's chairman, Sir Anthony Hart, a retired senior high court judge, will make a short statement before an opening address from senior counsel to the inquiry, Christine Smith QC.

More than 300 witnesses are expected to give evidence during the public sessions, the majority in person although some may give their evidence in writing or via a live video-link.

Applications to participate in the statutory inquiry are now closed but potential witnesses can still apply to speak to the Acknowledgment Forum, a less formal evidence-gathering process operating in parallel.

The first "thematic module of evidence" will focus on two former institutions run by the Sisters of Nazareth: St Joseph's Home and Nazareth House Children's Home, both in County Londonderry.

The public hearings are expected to continue until June 2015 and under the terms of reference, the inquiry must complete its investigation by mid-summer and submit its report by January 2016.

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Obesity Crisis 'To Surpass Doomsday Scenario'

The true scale of Britain's obesity crisis may have been seriously underestimated, a report has found.

The National Obesity Forum said the UK is in danger of surpassing predictions of a 2007 report which estimated that 50% of the nation would be obese by 2050.

The organisation's latest report calls on health officials to introduce hard-hitting awareness campaigns - similar to those for smoking - to try to curb the problem.

It also called on family doctors to proactively discuss weight management with patients and to check waist circumferences.

The report said: "It is entirely reasonable to conclude that the determinations of the 2007 Foresight Report (i.e. that half the population might be obese by 2050 at an annual cost of nearly £50bn), while shocking at the time, may now underestimate the scale of the problem."

Professor David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: "We're now seven years on from the Foresight Report. Not only is the obesity situation in the UK not improving, but the doomsday scenario set out in that report might underestimate the true scale of the problem.

"There needs to be concerted action. There is a lot more we can be doing by way of earlier intervention and to encourage members of the public to take sensible steps to help themselves - but this goes hand in hand with government leadership and ensuring responsible food and drink manufacturing and retailing."

Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, said: "Obesity is an international problem. It is a complex issue that requires action at national, local, family and individual level.

"Everyone has a role to play in improving the health and wellbeing of the public, and children in particular. PHE are committed to helping to tackle obesity through a range of approaches that support action on the local environment to make eating less and being more physically active easier."

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'Fracking' Councils Could Pocket Millions

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

Financial rewards worth more than £1m a year will be given to councils which give permission for fracking projects in their areas.

The move, announced by David Cameron, has angered campaign groups opposed to the controversial method of extracting shale gas from deep underground.

The Prime Minister has declared that shale gas exploration is part of his long-term economic plan and says local authorities that allow drilling will receive 100% of the business rates collected from the scheme - double the current 50%.

Whitehall officials estimate that could be worth £1.7m extra a year for each site a council agrees.

The move coincides with French energy giant Total announcing it is investing millions of pounds in firms with drilling licences in the UK.

Anti-fracking protesters at a rally at a driling site in Salford on Sunday

The news is a blow for hundreds of people who object to fracking in their communities.

On Sunday, protesters from across the country took part in a march in Salford close to an exploratory drilling site in an area known as Barton Moss.

Among the campaigners was Jackie Anderson, a teacher who lives within a mile of the site.

She told Sky News: "For the local residents it's got no benefit whatsoever. More and more the businesses and the councils are going to benefit because the incentives are going to them and we're getting none of the benefits at all."

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a process that involves drilling thousands of feet down into the earth to create a narrow well. Water and chemicals are then pumped in at high pressure to create fractures in the rock. Gas then flows from the cracks and is captured.

Vanessa Vine, who founded the British Anti-Fracking Action Network, travelled to Salford for the demonstration.

She has taken part in a long-running protest against a test site near her home in Balcombe, West Sussex.

The protest was against an exploratory drilling site known as Barton Moss

She told Sky News: "Concerns of local residents range from everything from heavy traffic through villages, damage to the roads, right up to triggering of earthquakes and permanent, potentially permanent contamination of the groundwater, of the aquifer, of drinking water."

The Government estimates the industry could attract £3.7bn a year in investment and support 74,000 jobs.

Last year, new data from the British Geological Survey showed up to double the amount of shale gas could be extracted in the UK than previously thought.

Then, the Government pledged to give local communities £100,000 for each test-drilling project and a further 1% of the revenues if shale gas was discovered.

It is thought there may be as much as 1,300 trillion cubic feet at the Bowland site in Lancashire alone.

Tory peer Lord Howell of Guildford sparked anger in northern communities in July by suggesting fracking should take place in "desolate areas" in the north, a comment for which he later apologised.

Announcing the latest financial incentives, David Cameron said: "A key part of our long-term economic plan to secure Britain's future is to back businesses with better infrastructure.

Vanessa Vine, founder of the British Anti-Fracking Action Network

"That's why we're going all out for shale. It will mean more jobs and opportunities for people, and economic security for our country."

Writing in the Sun on Sunday, business minister Michael Fallon said it could "drive down the cost of power for hard-working families and businesses".

But environmentalists have dismissed those claims.

Lawrence Carter, from Greenpeace, said: "This is a naked attempt by the government to bribe hard-pressed councils into accepting fracking in their area.

"Cameron is effectively telling councils to ignore the risks and threat of large-scale industrialisation in exchange for cold hard cash.

"But the proposal reveals just how worried the Government is about planning applications being turned down.

"Having had their claims that fracking will bring down energy bills and create jobs thoroughly discredited, the Government is now resorting to straight up bribery to sell their deeply unpopular fracking policy."

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Missing 12-Year-Olds: Police Search For Girls

Police are searching for two 12-year-old girls reported missing after a walk to a local bus stop, Scotland Yard has said.

Friends Wiktoria Popiel, from Wood Green, and Vitalija Sidlauskaite, from Tottenham, north London, were last seen together on Morley Avenue in Wood Green at around 5pm on Saturday.

Wiktoria was walking Vitalija to a bus stop on nearby Lordship Lane but did not return home.

The pair were walking to this bus stop

The Metropolitan Police said they may have got on a bus towards Tottenham or have gone to the ice rink at Alexandra Palace.

A police spokesman said: "Their disappearance is completely out of character for both girls and they have never gone missing before.

"Their families and police are extremely concerned for their welfare and urge anyone who sees them or who has information about their whereabouts to call police on 101."

The street where the girls were last seen

Wiktoria was wearing glasses, a brown jacket with fur around the hood, blue jeans and blue trainers. She speaks English and Polish.

Vitalija was wearing blue jeans and a black jacket. She speaks English and Russian.

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Man Who Saved Two Sons Was 'Amazing Father'

The family of a man who died after rescuing his two children from strong currents at an Australian beach says they are "devastated" by his death.

Andrew Priestley, from Leicestershire, died in hospital after getting into difficulty at Burrill Beach, around 155 miles south of Sydney on Australia's east coast.

The 44-year-old was with his family when the tragedy happened at around noon on Friday.

"The family of Andrew are devastated about his death in Australia. He died after saving his children," the family said in a statement released by the Foreign Office.

"Andrew was the most amazing husband and father that any family could wish for.

"The support and messages we have received have been overwhelming and we are thankful for that.

"It is heartbreakingly impossible at this moment to imagine our lives without him. We would ask that our privacy is respected at such a sad time."

Emergency services at the scene on Friday

Mr Priestley lifted his sons onto a surfboard before onlookers ran into the water and brought them to safety.

He was then overcome by waves and was unconscious by the time emergency services arrived.

Police and paramedics tried to revive him on the beach. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Milton Hospital.

A statement from New South Wales Police Force said: "Emergency services were called to Burrill Beach just after midday, where they found a man unconscious.

"The 44-year-old was taken to Milton Hospital where he was pronounced dead."

It was the second drowning on the beach in two months, after a Filipino national died there in December.

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Iraq Torture Claims 'Go Right To The Top'

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The International Criminal Court has been asked to investigate allegations of abuse and torture by British soldiers in Iraq, Sky News has learned.

It is understood that a German human rights organisation and a British law firm have presented a dossier to the ICC containing accusations of more than 1,000 cases of torture against Iraqi civilians, and 200 cases of unlawful killings, including many in custody.

The Berlin-based European Centre for Constitutional Rights and Britain-based Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) will launch their case at an event in London on Tuesday.

Phil Shiner, a solicitor from PIL, told Sky News: "This is historic. The UK has never been investigated by the ICC. There is clear evidence this goes right to the top."

The British Government has set up a body to investigate accusations of abuse arising from the Iraq conflict.

The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) investigates allegations of abuse against Iraqi civilians by British troops between 2003 and 2009.

It is led by a retired detective and is due to complete its investigations by the end of 2016.

Commenting on the reports, the Ministry of Defence said: "These matters are either under thorough investigation or have been dealt with through various means including through the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, independent public inquiries, the UK and European courts and in Parliament.

"As such, further action through the ICC is unnecessary when the issues and allegations are already known to the UK Government, action is in hand and the UK courts have already issued judgments.

"Should we be approached by the ICC, we will take the opportunity to explain the very extensive work under way to deal with historic allegations of abuse.

"We reject the suggestion that the UK's Armed Forces - who operate in line with domestic and international law - have systematically tortured detainees.

"But of course the UK Government regrets the small number of cases where abuses have taken place.

"Wherever allegations have been substantiated, we have compensated victims and their families."

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Armed Forces Launch New Recruitment Drive

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The British Armed Forces have launched a new recruitment campaign in an attempt to reverse the dwindling number of new entrants, particularly to the Army Reserve.

Television, radio, cinema and print adverts will be broadcast and published nationally.

Titled 'More Than Meets The Eye', the ads aim to demonstrate the wide range of roles available in the military after a survey carried out by the Ministry of Defence revealed that nearly one in four Britons were unhappy with their current career.

The research, carried out by OnePoll on behalf of the army, also found that many people were unaware of the diversity of jobs on offer.

Of the 2,000 people polled, 28% thought Army Reserves would not get paid, while 40% did not think a commitment to the reserves was flexible, and 40% also thought signing up to the army was a lifetime commitment.

The campaign hopes to capitalise on New Year's resolutions which see people wanting to transform their lives and careers.

Commenting on it, Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall, said: "The Army offers people unique opportunities for challenge and adventure, both at home and overseas, during peacetime and on operations.

"It develops personal qualities that are key to success in any walk of life: leadership, judgement, determination, and physical stamina."

A new simplified online application form, a more streamlined medical clearance process, and an Army fitness app, will all also be launched this month.

The campaign is just the latest attempt by the military to boost recruitment numbers and there is much riding on it.

The Ministry of Defence's last Quarterly Personnel Report showed that the number of Reservists decreased between July and September 2013.

By the end of that period there were 1,630 fewer Reservists than at the beginning.

The total strength of the Reserve Force, which includes the Maritime Reserve and Royal Auxiliary Air Force is 21,870, of which the Army Reserve makes up 19,090.

The MoD has committed to increasing the size of the Army Reserve to 35,000 by 2015 - despite recent poor figures, senior officials are adamant they will achieve that target.

A total of £1.8bn has been committed over 10 years to supplement training and equipment for reserve soldiers in order that they receive the same level of kit as their regular counterparts.

A fourth tranche of redundancies will be announced later this month.

Around 5,000 people will be affected, almost exclusively in the Army.

Although running a recruitment campaign alongside a redundancy scheme might seem illogical, the MoD explains that it must always maintain a constant flow of younger, junior recruits to train for the future.

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