Boy, 4, Dies After Falling From Flat Window

A four-year-old boy has died in hospital after falling from a window on the third floor of a block of flats in Glasgow, police have said.

He was rushed to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Yorkhill but doctors were unable to save him.

Strathclyde Police are investigating the incident, which happened in St Andrew's Drive in Pollokshields at around 10.20am on Friday.

Norman MacLeod, SNP councillor for the Pollokshields ward, said: "This is distressing news of a young boy in my ward.

"Clearly the proper authorities will require to undertake a full investigation into all the circumstances surrounding this incident.

"In the meantime, I hasten to extend my most profound and heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the youngster."

Scottish Conservative councillor for the area, David Meikle, said: "I'm shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic death of a young boy falling from a block of flats in Pollokshields.

"My thoughts go out to the family who have lost a child."

He added: "There needs to be a full investigation into this incident so we can get to the bottom of what happened and ensure nothing like this happens again."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Care Home Staff 'Must Have Proper Training'

Compulsory training for care home staff will be introduced under Government plans to better protect the elderly from abuse and neglect, according to reports.

Health minister Norman Lamb said the lack of basic requirements for training care workers was leaving pensioners in the hands of staff who have "no idea what they are doing".

Proposals are expected to include national minimum standards for preparing new recruits to work in nursing homes.

Carers who help with tasks such as washing and dressing elderly people in their own homes will also be required to have the training, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Lamb, the Liberal Democrat care minister, said it was not acceptable that there were no "clear standards of the training that must happen in a care home".

He said: "I would not want a loved one of mine - or indeed myself - to be cared for by someone who has no training."

Criminal prosecutions must follow in the "most outrageous" cases of abuse but reforms are needed to improve the quality of care more widely in nursing homes and in pensioners' own homes, he said.

But Mr Lamb said the new regime must not create "a tick box" culture.

A Department of Health spokesperson told Sky News: "No one should feel that they or their loved ones have to settle for poor quality care.

"Whilst there are many providers that deliver high quality care, more needs to be done to make improvements across the board.

"There are no excuses for failing to keep people safe from abuse or not treating them with kindness, dignity and respect."

Campaigners want all staff to have training in dispensing medication, promoting dignity, the basics of nutrition and hydration, and using equipment such as hoists and lifts.

The reforms, expected by the end of the month, follow a number of scandals involving the treatment of the elderly.

Similar arrangements could be introduced in hospitals after Prime Minister David Cameron said he wanted to end the ability of nursing assistants to "give hands-on care in a hospital ward with no training at all", the newspaper said.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abu Qatada Arrested For 'Breaching Bail'

Abu Qatada has been arrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions, days ahead of a new Government attempt to have him deported.

The radical cleric, who has been convicted of terror charges in Jordan, was arrested by UK Border Agency officials on Friday following raids by the Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism unit.

Searches at two residential homes and a business in northwest and west London began on Thursday, while a search on a third property in northwest London is ongoing, Scotland Yard said.

The searches were carried out in connection with ongoing inquiries by the Counter Terrorism Command, a spokesman for Scotland Yard said.

However, no arrests have been made in connection with the police investigation, he added.

The Home Office said: "The UK Border Agency arrested a 52-year-old man from north London for alleged breaches of his bail conditions imposed by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC)."

He added that the breach will be considered by SIAC at the earliest opportunity.

Qatada was reportedly arrested by officials outside his family home in London.

The Sun newspaper showed pictures of him being escorted out of his house with his hands hidden under a jacket.

Qatada is due to appear at the Court of Appeal on Monday for Home Secretary Theresa May's attempt to overturn a judge's decision to allow him to stay in the UK.

Ms May will challenge the decision in front of three Court of Appeal judges led by Lord Dyson, the Master of the Rolls.

Once described by a Spanish judge as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe", Qatada has used human rights laws to fight deportation for more than a decade.

SIAC decided last November that Qatada could not lawfully be deported to Jordan, where he was convicted of terror charges in his absence in 1999.

SIAC judges ruled there was a danger that evidence from Qatada's former co-defendants Abu Hawsher and Al Hamasher, said to have been obtained by torture, could be used against him in a retrial in Jordan.

He was granted bail following the ruling by three SIAC judges and released from Long Lartin prison in November last year, returning to his home.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police Hunt For Missing 10-Year-Old Boy

Police are appealing for the public's help to trace a missing 10-year-old boy.

Shaequan Farquarson was last seen at about 8am on Wednesday on Mauldeth Road, Withington, in Manchester.

The youngster is described as black, 4ft 10in tall, with dreadlocks and brown eyes.

He has a Manchester accent and a one inch scar over his left eye.

When he was last seen he was wearing a blue anorak, blue jogging bottoms and white trainers.

Anyone who has seen him, or who knows of his current whereabouts is asked to call police on 101.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Will Smith Makes Surprise Visit To Brixton

Will Smith has delighted hundreds of schoolgirls by making a surprise visit to their school in Brixton - and leading an impromptu rendition of the theme tune to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

The 44-year-old actor turned up at St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls, where he was met by some of the academy's 940 students.

A video of him on stage, with hundreds of screaming girls in the background, was later posted on YouTube.

It happened during a walkabout of the south London suburb with local MP Tessa Jowell and shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna.

Tessa Jowell, Will Smith and Chuka Umunna (Pic: Tessa Jowell/Twitter)

The Men In Black and I Am Legend star is in London because his 14-year-old son Jayden is supporting Justin Bieber on his Believe tour, which includes four dates at the O2 Arena in London.

Writing on Twitter, Mr Umunna - who joined Smith for the Fresh Prince of Bel Air singalong - said the Hollywood star received a "proper Lambeth welcome".

Ms Jowell added: "Will Smith wanted to see 'London's Harlem'! So proud to show him the best of Brixton!"

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tim Farron: Lib Dems 'Strong As Cockroaches'

The Liberal Democrats are in a "critical state" and should not assume their survival is guaranteed, the party's president has told a parliamentary journal.

But Tim Farron indicated recent allegations that former party chief executive Lord Rennard sexually harassed activists would not fuel their downfall "because 99% of the people out there just don't care".

He also likened Lib Dems to cockroaches for their resilience and described the party's MPs as "nutters".

Mr Farron told journal The House: "We are a bit like cockroaches after a nuclear war, just a bit less smelly, we are made of sterner stuff."

He added: "The party is in a critical state. We may well be cockroach-ish, but we shouldn't take that for granted.

"One day someone will stand on us if we are not careful. We shouldn't assume our survival is guaranteed."

Lord Rennard denies the allegations against him

The party has faced intense pressure to reveal exactly who knew what and when about allegations - strongly denied by Lord Rennard - that women activists were sexually harassed.

Mr Farron, who previously suggested the party had "screwed up" - said the Lib Dems "certainly appear to have let people down" but insisted it was crucial that they did not now go into "institutional self-defence mode".

He added: "I think 99% of the people out there just don't care, it's not been raised.

"I've done a lot of door knocking both in Eastleigh and in my patch this last week. It was mentioned to me once, and that was in sympathy."

Mr Farron suggested the party was "judged more harshly" because it was not in the pockets of powerful people.

And he hit out at coalition colleagues suggesting Prime Minister David Cameron had become "very weak", and claiming the Lib Dems had at least three candidates "who could do a better job" as Chancellor than George Osborne.

He added Lib Dems could not be "parachuted" into safe seats so the only way to get elected "is by being a nutter and working your socks off".

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gucci Ram-Raid: Sloane Street Shop Targeted

Ram-raiders have smashed their way into the flagship London store of luxury fashion brand Gucci.

The suspects struck in busy Sloane Street (Picture: Layla Al-Naif/Twitter)

A black Mercedes, which is believed to have been stolen, was reversed into the glass doors of the Sloane Street shop on Wednesday.

A number of suspects, possibly three, fled the scene with handbags from the store and got away in a blue Audi A4.

There have been no arrests, Scotland Yard said.

Pictures taken at the scene showed a black Mercedes with its headlights switched on facing the entrance to the store.

Gucci opened its Sloane Street branch more than 20 years ago.

Some of the Italian company's handbags sell for more than £2,000, while women's shoes can cost upwards of £700.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Deer Cull Urged By Experts As Numbers Soar

By David Crabtree, Sky Correspondent

Experts are urging drastic measurers to cull the soaring deer population in Britain.

New research suggests that only by killing 50-60% of the animals can their numbers be kept under some control.

The number of deer in the UK is estimated at 1.5 million - meaning a cull could result in more than 750,000 animals being shot.

They are having a damaging effect on woodland and farmers' crops. They are also causing an increasing number of accidents.

Each year about 450 people are injured or killed on the roads and more than 14,000 vehicles are severely damaged as a result of collisions with deer.

Research Fellow Kristin Waeber, from the University of East Anglia, said: "I think deer belong in the landscape, but if we let the deer numbers increase even more, then we have to make a decision that we lose our woodlands, our bluebells, our oxlips, because the deer will just eat them.

"So are we okay in compromising that in just having a lot of deer about? I think it is important to keep a balance."

The common red deer is Britain's largest land mammal

She says the deer are disturbing the ecology so much that native birds are being wiped out. The fact that nightingales are now so rare is largely blamed on deer.

Thetford Forest has about 14,000 deer in 52,000 acres. They shoot about 2,000 a year and the bodies are sent to local game dealers.

Trevor Banham, chief wildlife ranger at Thetford Forest, said: "We have a part to play in this. We have to try to manage this population and if we don't, we have this process that is going on now where they are starting to go out of control.

"It is needed, the cull is needed all the time."

The RSPCA says it is opposed in principle to the killing or taking of all wild animals unless there is strong evidence to support it.

It is urging controlled methods, where a cull must be taken on a case-by-case basis. They do not want it to be rolled out in a uniform way across the country.

Although they were kept on private land belonging to the nobility, native wild deer were virtually unknown in England for 1,000 years until their re-introduction by the Victorians.

Today, there are more deer in the UK than at any time since the Ice Age.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Daw Mill Mine Closes Leaving 650 Jobs At Risk

The owner of Daw Mill Colliery confirms it will close, ending 47 years of coal production at the Warwickshire mine.

UK Coal Mine Holdings said the majority of its 650-strong workforce face redundancy.

The move comes after what the company's chief executive described as a "ferocious" underground fire at the colliery last month.

The fire - believed to be the largest in a UK coal mine in more than 30 years - is still burning at a depth of 740 metres with no signs of stopping, the company said.

"This has been a terrible week, not just for the company and its employees but also for the energy security of the country," Kevin McCullough said in a statement.

"Having successfully completed the restructuring, and being only weeks away from returning to healthy production, this ferocious fire has dealt a blow to everything we tried to achieve over the last 12 months - in just ten days."

He said the company is exploring the possibility of transferring some staff to other mines, but added: "this news is likely to see the majority of the Daw Mill workforce being made redundant."

A small team will remain on site to secure the mine over the coming months, the company said.

It added that it is in discussions with the Department of Energy and Climate Change over managing the closure of Daw Mill and seeking a way forward for its remaining collieries.

Its deep mines at Kellingley in North Yorkshire and Thoresby in Nottingham - along with its surface mines - will continue to produce coal for use in the UK's power stations.

News of the closure comes after Hargreaves Services said Maltby Colliery - which has been producing coal for more than 100 years in Rotherham - was no longer viable on health and safety grounds.

UK Coal Mine Holdings supplies about 5% of the UK's energy needs making it the country's largest coal producer.

Daw Mill has been at risk of closure since March last year when it said restructuring was needed to safeguard its future.

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Payday Loans: Firms Face Tougher Ad Rules

Payday loans firms are facing tighter advertising rules as the Government tries to ensure that companies do not take advantage of people drowning in debt.

The plans include limiting the number of adverts firms are allowed to put out per hour, the times they can advertise and forcing them to make sure that interest rates are clearly displayed.

The Government will work with the Advertising Standards Authority and the industry to make sure advertising does not tempt consumers into taking out payday loans that they cannot afford.

The clampdown emerged as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) prepares to publish the results of a wide-ranging probe into the payday lending industry later.

The OFT has carried out spot checks of 50 major lenders and obtained information from all 240 lenders in the market.

The regulator said in its interim report last autumn that formal investigations have been launched into several firms over their debt collection methods.

Charities have reported rocketing numbers of complaints about payday lenders from borrowers.

The Money Advice Trust (MAT) recently said that complaints about payday loans have doubled year-on-year to reach a record of 20,000 across 2012.

The charity warned that "something is drastically wrong" with the way that expensive loans are being dished out to people who cannot afford them, with lenders often rolling over loans.

New regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which will oversee the consumer credit market from next year, will prioritise tighter rules on payday lending that could come into effect from April 2014.

The FCA's rules will be binding and if they are broken the regulator will have tough enforcement powers including imposing unlimited fines and the ability to claw consumers' money back.

The Government is also planning to do more to encourage greater communication within the industry to stop consumers taking out multiple loans from different lenders.

Sajid Javid, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: "The Government is introducing a fundamentally new approach to regulating consumer credit, which will ensure that irresponsible firms and bad practice will have no place in the consumer credit marketplace.

"Consumers can have greater confidence that the new FCA will intervene early and decisively in their interests - thanks to its more focused remit, objectives and powers."

16.12 | 0 komentar | Read More