Welby And Carey Split Over Assisted Suicide

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has made an extraordinary U-turn by announcing he is backing legislation to allow terminally ill people to exercise their right to end their lives.

His support for Labour peer Lord Falconer's Bill, which will be debated in the House of Lords next week, goes against the Church of England's official line that the law on assisted suicide should not change.

Lord Falconer's Bill would allow adults to ask for help to die

Writing in the Daily Mail, Lord Carey said it would not be "anti-Christian" to legalise assisted suicide and that by opposing reform the Church risked "promoting anguish and pain".

"The fact is that I have changed my mind," he wrote, adding: "The old philosophical certainties have collapsed in the face of the reality of needless suffering.

"Today we face a central paradox. In strictly observing the sanctity of life, the Church could now actually be promoting anguish and pain, the very opposite of a Christian message of hope."

Lord Carey's comments come as a surprise because he was part of a coalition that helped put a stop to Lord Joffe's Assisting Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill in 2006 in the House of Lords.

But while the former Archbishop has come out in favour of a change in the law, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, has condemned the Bill as "mistaken and dangerous".

Writing in the Times, Archbishop Welby warned the "deep personal demands" of individuals should not blind people to the pressures others could be put under should the practice become legal.

"It would be very naive to think that many of the elderly people who are abused and neglected each year, as well as many severely disabled individuals, would not be put under pressure to end their lives if assisted suicide were permitted by law," he wrote.

Assisted suicide is already legal at clinics like this in Switzerland

Archbishop Welby said a law that permitted assisted suicide would "bound" to lead some people feeling they ought to stop "being a burden to others".

Under the 1961 Suicide Act, it remains a criminal offence carrying up to 14 years in jail to help take someone's life.

Despite the law, guidelines issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2000 made it clear that anyone who helped a loved one die while "out of compassion" would probably not be prosecuted.

If successful, Lord Falconer's Bill would allow mentally-capable adults in England and Wales to ask for help to die if they were suffering from a terminal illness and had less than six months to live.

Modelled on a system in place in the US state of Oregon, patients would be able to administer a fatal dose of drugs to themselves, but would not be able to be given help if they could not lift it or swallow it.

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Mums-To-Be Admit Drinking Too Much Booze

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs Editor

Thousands of women a year are giving birth after admitting having drunk too much during their pregnancies, a Sky News investigation has found.

Although government guidelines warn pregnant women against drinking more than four units a week - equivalent to two large glasses of wine -  hospitals have recorded a significant number drinking much more.

The first hospital figures of their kind suggest that more than 2,000 babies a year are born to mothers who have breached alcohol guidelines.

Heavy drinking during pregnancy increases the health risks to children

And experts say the problem is likely to be much worse as NHS trusts rely on women to honestly report how much they have drunk.

The figures - obtained by Sky News following a Freedom of Information request - show that in the last three years, 2,496 mothers-to-be told hospital staff in England they were drinking at least four units of alcohol a week.

In the worst cases, South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust recorded four women drinking more than 34 units a week over that period.

Liverpool Women's hospital recorded 17 women drinking more than 20 units a week, and two drinking more than 10 units every day.

However, fewer than half of all England NHS trusts (45 out of 108) were able to supply figures.

Figures obtained by Sky News also reveal gaps in monitoring of consumption

Extrapolating the figures suggests that just over 2,000 mothers-to-be admit to drinking too much during pregnancy.

Overall, the hospital statistics showed around 0.5% of pregnant women admitted drinking more than the Department of Health guidelines.

Heavy drinking during pregnancy increases the risk that babies will be born with foetal alcohol syndrome - a life-long condition that can leave children physically and mentally disabled.

One woman whose son was born with foetal alcohol syndrome after she drunk heavily during pregnancy following years of alcoholism, said little was done to help her break her addiction.

"When I was five months pregnant, I told the midwife that I was an alcoholic and that I couldn't control my drinking," said Samantha Marchant, 40, from Slough.

"They referred me to a drug and alcohol team which put me on a drinks diary ... I'd have liked them to say 'you can have a place in rehab', but it wasn't offered."

Samantha Marchant says more must be done to help mums-to-be break habits

"I didn't know about the biology of what happens if you drink in pregnancy," added Ms Marchant, who is now a recovered alcoholic and works to raise other women's awareness of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy.

Dr Raja Mukherjee, lead clinician for the national foetal alcohol spectrum disorder clinic at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: "All the research has shown that high level alcohol exposure causes significant damage to a developing foetus.

"We know that women are drinking more .. 90% of women in this country drink and they don't all suddenly stop when they are pregnant."

The figures obtained by Sky also reveal significant gaps in the monitoring of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

More than 90% of hospitals do not ask women about their alcohol consumption throughout pregnancy, and three of the NHS trusts did not ask pregnant women about their drinking at all.

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Moderate Drinking 'Could Be Bad For Your Heart'

By Harriet Hadfield, Sky Reporter

Advice that suggests alcohol could be good for your heart is wrong and should be updated, according to experts.

It follows decades of conflicting reports and previous research which suggested light-to-moderate drinking is good for the heart.

Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have published their new research - based on genetic studies - in the British Medical Journal.

The report analysed 56 studies on the drinking habits of 250,000 people

They believe a reduction in alcohol could improve the cardiovascular health of even light to moderate drinkers.

The research - conducted with the University of Pennsylvania - looked at 56 separate studies on the drinking habits of more than a quarter of a million people of European descent.

The study revealed that some people who carried a genetic variant associated with low alcohol consumption, tended to have a healthier cardiovascular profile than those without, and they had a 10% lower risk of coronary heart disease and lower blood pressure.

Professor Juan Pablo Casas, who worked on the study, told Sky News: "Current policy needs to be updated, in the light of new evidence.

"Drinking is certainly not good for your heart, so people need to be conscious about the effects of drinking. so the message is the less alcohol the better."

The results revealed people who drank less had lower blood pressure

It is frustrating news for drinkers who are often given conflicting advice about alcohol.

Dr Shannon Amoils, a research advisor at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Studies into alcohol consumption are fraught with difficulty in part because they rely on people giving accurate accounts of their drinking habits. 

"Here the researchers used a clever study design to get round this problem by including people who had a gene that predisposes them to drink less.

"The results reinforce the view that small to moderate amounts of alcohol may not be healthy for the heart although the study would need to be repeated in a larger group of people for definitive results."

Nutritionist Nicole Berberian explains; "There's a lot of information about dos and don'ts, but the same message always shines through; if you've got the healthy diet and the odd glass of wine or beer coming in on a week by week basis, that's going to be okay."

The advice in general seems to be that the best approach is to drink alcohol only in moderation. 

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Church Of England Severs Ties With Wonga

The Church of England has announced it has withdrawn its investment from controversial payday lender Wonga.

It comes a week after the firm agreed to pay £2.6m in compensation to 45,000 customers after it was found to have sent letters from two fake law firms.

In a statement the Church of England said: "The Church Commissioners no longer have any financial or any other interest in Wonga.

Wonga recently paid £2.6m customers that received fake lawyer letters

"The Church Commissioners estimate that if they had had to sell their entire venture capital holdings they might have lost £3-9m to remove the exposure to Wonga, which was worth less than £100,000.

"The Commissioners are pleased that another way forward has been agreed given their fiduciary duties to clergy pensioners and to all the parts of the Church they support financially."

The statement continued: "The Commissioners' focus remains the mission they share with the Archbishop of Canterbury - supporting the ministry and growth of the Church of England. 

Complaints about payday lenders have doubled since 2012

"The Commissioners will also continue to seek ways, consistent with their fiduciary duties, to support the Church's priority of promoting responsible credit and savings."

The declaration comes a year after the leader of the Church of England -  the Archbishop of Canterbury - vowed to "compete" Wonga out of existence, when it was first revealed the Church invested in the company.

The Most Rev Justin Welby said in July 2013 that he wanted to force Wonga out of business by expanding the Church of England's credit union plans.

The number of complaints about payday lenders has doubled since 2012. The most common complaint was from people who had been pestered for cash even though they had not taken out a loan.

In almost two thirds of cases that the Financial Ombudsman took on, the office found in favour of the consumer.

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Public Sector Strike Threatens Huge Disruption

Unions: Workers Can't Feed Their Families

Updated: 1:33am UK, Thursday 10 July 2014

Unions say they are angry at 'abysmal pay', working conditions and pensions. Here is a snapshot of each union's main complaints.

:: Unite

Members: 70,000 from various sectors, ranging from industry and manufacturing to education and agriculture.

Unite national officer for local government Fiona Farmer said: "Our members have endured four years of pay cuts in real terms and they voted overwhelmingly to strike on July 10 to drive home the message to ministers that poverty pay in local government must end.

"The depth of feeling on the pay issue is reinforced by the fact that local government unions, GMB and Unison, and members of the National Union of Teachers are all taking action on tomorrow.

"Poverty pay is widespread across local councils. Household bills continue to soar, but our members' buying power is constantly being eroded. The national minimum wage will soon overtake local government pay scales; members are choosing between heating and eating."

:: NUT

Members: 300,000 qualified teachers

Christine Blower, General Secretary National Union of Teachers, said: "Despite months in talks with Government officials, the real issues of our dispute have not been addressed. Teacher morale is at a low ebb.

"Changes to pay, pensions and a workload of 60 hours are unacceptable and unsustainable. Thousands of good, experienced teachers are leaving or considering leaving their job and a teacher shortage crisis is looming.

"The fact that teachers are prepared to take strike action is an indication of the strength of feeling and anger about the Government's imposed changes. Strike action is a last resort but, due to the intransigence of the coalition Government, it is one which we cannot avoid."

:: Unison

Members: 1.3 million workers from a range of roles within all public service areas, including people employed by public service authorities, private companies and community organisations.

Dave Prentis, Unison General Secretary, said: "Unison's local government and school members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland hold their first one day strike over an abysmal 1% pay offer. Faced with soaring food, fuel and housing costs, they have had to put up with three years of frozen pay, and now yet another below inflation offer.

"They have seen the value of their pay fall by nearly 20% since the coalition came to power and many struggle to make ends meet, to feed their families and pay their bills. Our charity is seeing more and more people asking for help and we know that many have had to resort to food banks to put food on the table.

"This is a national disgrace that these workers, who keep vital services running for their communities should be paid so badly, that they can't pay all their bills. And the lowest paid are still waiting for £250 promised by the Chancellor for two years' running. They have now voted to take strike action; that is not something they do lightly. But they are saying enough is enough. Work should pay enough for people to be able to live on."

:: GMB

Members: 617,000 workers, including school meal servers, street cleaners, binmen and carers.

GMB National Secretary, Brian Strutton, said: "We have tried sensible discussions, we've sought to negotiate reasonably, we've said we are willing to accept ACAS arbitration rather than go on strike - but to everything we've tried the employers have said 'no'. So we have no choice.

"GMB members serving school meals, cleaning streets, emptying bins, looking after the elderly, helping children in classrooms and in all the other vital roles serving our communities are fed up with being ignored and undervalued.

"Their pay has gone up only 1% since 2010 and in October even the national minimum wage will overtake local authority pay scales. Their case is reasonable, the employers won't listen and don't care, no wonder they have turned to strike action as the only way of making their voices heard."

:: PCS

Members: 270,000 civil servants.

A PCS spokesman said: "We're striking because, as well as tens of thousands of job being cut from the civil service since 2010 and the ongoing threat of more of the civil service being privatised, wages have been frozen and capped to such an extent that by next year incomes for many civil servants will be 20% lower than they would have been if they'd kept pace with increases in the cost of living. That is a huge hit in salary to take.

"There are other endemic issues, such as unequal pay. For example, staff in the Passport Office - in the eye of the storm at the moment - can be paid £3,000 less than their colleagues doing similar work elsewhere in the Home Office.

"Across the civil service, women are paid 10% less than men, 14% less for part-time workers. We've tried to negotiate but the Government refuses. Faced with this, it's inevitable that people will want to take industrial action."

:: RMT

Members: 80,000, of whom 361 TfL (Transport for London) backroom staff will be on strike.

RMT's Acting general secretary Mick Cash said: "While the political class, the bankers and the idle rich have all got their snouts in the trough, of course we are right to stand up and fight for the millions of workers told to take a hit despite the fact that they had no part in creating the financial crisis.

"We would be foolish not to maximise the unity of the trade union movement in the face of an aggressive, anti-union government that is mired in its own cesspit of scandal. We will take no lectures in morality from them.

"The front line of defence against cuts and austerity is the organised working class and that is why the Tories and big business want to tighten the legal noose around our necks. They will have a fight on their hands."

:: FBU

Members: 44,000 firefighters

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: "The government must realise that firefighters cannot accept proposals that would have such devastating consequences for their futures, their families' futures  - and the future of the fire and rescue service itself.

"We have tried every route available to us to make the government see sense over their attacks.

"Three years of negotiations have come to nothing because the government is simply unwilling to compromise or even listen to reason despite a huge amount of evidence showing their planned scheme is unworkable."

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Unions: 'Workers Can't Feed Their Families'

Unions say they are angry at 'abysmal pay', working conditions and pensions. Here is a snapshot of each union's main complaints.

:: Unite

Members: 70,000 from various sectors, ranging from industry and manufacturing to education and agriculture.

Unite national officer for local government Fiona Farmer said: "Our members have endured four years of pay cuts in real terms and they voted overwhelmingly to strike on July 10 to drive home the message to ministers that poverty pay in local government must end.

"The depth of feeling on the pay issue is reinforced by the fact that local government unions, GMB and Unison, and members of the National Union of Teachers are all taking action on tomorrow.

"Poverty pay is widespread across local councils. Household bills continue to soar, but our members' buying power is constantly being eroded. The national minimum wage will soon overtake local government pay scales; members are choosing between heating and eating."

:: NUT

Members: 300,000 qualified teachers

Christine Blower, General Secretary National Union of Teachers, said: "Despite months in talks with Government officials, the real issues of our dispute have not been addressed. Teacher morale is at a low ebb.

"Changes to pay, pensions and a workload of 60 hours are unacceptable and unsustainable. Thousands of good, experienced teachers are leaving or considering leaving their job and a teacher shortage crisis is looming.

"The fact that teachers are prepared to take strike action is an indication of the strength of feeling and anger about the Government's imposed changes. Strike action is a last resort but, due to the intransigence of the coalition Government, it is one which we cannot avoid."

:: Unison

Members: 1.3 million workers from a range of roles within all public service areas, including people employed by public service authorities, private companies and community organisations.

Dave Prentis, Unison General Secretary, said: "Unison's local government and school members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland hold their first one day strike over an abysmal 1% pay offer. Faced with soaring food, fuel and housing costs, they have had to put up with three years of frozen pay, and now yet another below inflation offer.

"They have seen the value of their pay fall by nearly 20% since the coalition came to power and many struggle to make ends meet, to feed their families and pay their bills. Our charity is seeing more and more people asking for help and we know that many have had to resort to food banks to put food on the table.

"This is a national disgrace that these workers, who keep vital services running for their communities should be paid so badly, that they can't pay all their bills. And the lowest paid are still waiting for £250 promised by the Chancellor for two years' running. They have now voted to take strike action; that is not something they do lightly. But they are saying enough is enough. Work should pay enough for people to be able to live on."

:: GMB

Members: 617,000 workers, including school meal servers, street cleaners, binmen and carers.

GMB National Secretary, Brian Strutton, said: "We have tried sensible discussions, we've sought to negotiate reasonably, we've said we are willing to accept ACAS arbitration rather than go on strike - but to everything we've tried the employers have said 'no'. So we have no choice.

"GMB members serving school meals, cleaning streets, emptying bins, looking after the elderly, helping children in classrooms and in all the other vital roles serving our communities are fed up with being ignored and undervalued.

"Their pay has gone up only 1% since 2010 and in October even the national minimum wage will overtake local authority pay scales. Their case is reasonable, the employers won't listen and don't care, no wonder they have turned to strike action as the only way of making their voices heard."

:: PCS

Members: 270,000 civil servants.

A PCS spokesman said: "We're striking because, as well as tens of thousands of job being cut from the civil service since 2010 and the ongoing threat of more of the civil service being privatised, wages have been frozen and capped to such an extent that by next year incomes for many civil servants will be 20% lower than they would have been if they'd kept pace with increases in the cost of living. That is a huge hit in salary to take.

"There are other endemic issues, such as unequal pay. For example, staff in the Passport Office - in the eye of the storm at the moment - can be paid £3,000 less than their colleagues doing similar work elsewhere in the Home Office.

"Across the civil service, women are paid 10% less than men, 14% less for part-time workers. We've tried to negotiate but the Government refuses. Faced with this, it's inevitable that people will want to take industrial action."

:: RMT

Members: 80,000, of whom 361 TfL (Transport for London) backroom staff will be on strike.

RMT's Acting general secretary Mick Cash said: "While the political class, the bankers and the idle rich have all got their snouts in the trough, of course we are right to stand up and fight for the millions of workers told to take a hit despite the fact that they had no part in creating the financial crisis.

"We would be foolish not to maximise the unity of the trade union movement in the face of an aggressive, anti-union government that is mired in its own cesspit of scandal. We will take no lectures in morality from them.

"The front line of defence against cuts and austerity is the organised working class and that is why the Tories and big business want to tighten the legal noose around our necks. They will have a fight on their hands."

:: FBU

Members: 44,000 firefighters

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: "The government must realise that firefighters cannot accept proposals that would have such devastating consequences for their futures, their families' futures  - and the future of the fire and rescue service itself.

"We have tried every route available to us to make the government see sense over their attacks.

"Three years of negotiations have come to nothing because the government is simply unwilling to compromise or even listen to reason despite a huge amount of evidence showing their planned scheme is unworkable."

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Mikaeel Kular 'Assaulted Over Four Days By Mum'

The mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular assaulted him over four days, wrapped his body in a duvet and shut it inside a suitcase, a court has heard.

Rosdeep Adekoya, 34, is accused of assaulting her son at their home in Ferry Gait Crescent, Edinburgh, before hiding his body in a wood more than 20 miles away.

It is claimed she murdered Mikaeel after punching him, causing his body to hit against a hard object and inflicting blunt force injuries on his head and body between January 12 and 15, 2014.

She is also charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice by lying to police, having allegedly made a 999 call in which she claimed her son had gone missing after climbing onto a stool and unlocking the front door of his home.

Mikaeel's disappearance in January sparked a huge search involving police officers, firefighters, mountain rescue teams and the coastguard, as well as members of the public.

His body was eventually found hidden beneath a bush in woodland behind a house in Dunvegan Avenue, Fife.

Adekoya, who is being held at Cornton Vale prison in Stirlingshire and has not yet entered a plea, made a two-minute appearance at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The judge Lord Boyd continued the case until July 25 at the request of both the prosecution and the defence, who said the case had a "number of complexities".

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Bomb Fears Lead To More Airport Gadget Checks

Airlines To Scrutinise Smartphones Amid Threat

Updated: 8:12am UK, Friday 04 July 2014

Airlines with direct flights to the US have been told to tighten their screening of mobile phones amid fears terrorists could use them in bomb attacks.

US officials singled out Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy handsets for extra security checks.

They will apply to US-bound direct flights from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the officials said.

The new precautions come in response to requests from US authorities, who fear attacks on planes flying to America.

US security officials said they fear bomb makers from the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have worked out how to turn the phones into explosive devices which can avoid detection.

They also are concerned that hard-to-detect bombs could be built into shoes.

A US official said that other electronic devices carried by passengers also are likely to receive more intense scrutiny.

Airlines or airport operators that fail to strengthen security could face bans on flights entering the US.

On Thursday, the US Homeland Security Department announced on plans to step up general security checks, but offered few details on how airlines and airports will implement them.

An official familiar with the issues said the US believes that while it is possible there may be some additional delays at security checkpoints, at most major airports passengers will not be seriously inconvenienced.

The official said most passengers taking long-distance flights arrive well in advance of scheduled departures, leaving time for extra screening.

But he said the US could not rule out disruptions in countries where airport infrastructure and security procedures are less sophisticated.

In the UK, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the additional security was not expected to cause "significant" disruption to flights.

He told Sky News: "There will be extra security checks but they will be made in the course of events people already go through and I hope there will not be significant delays."

But British aviation security expert Philip Baum said heightened security will inevitably mean longer queues and increased waiting times to board flights at UK airports.

"It will mean (more) random searches, secondary searches and an increase in the number of passengers asked to remove shoes and possibly all passengers being asked to remove shoes if they're going on certain flights," he said.

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Alzheimer's Test Could Be Ready In Two Years

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

A blood test that identifies patients likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease could be available in two years, according to scientists.

The test, which works long before there are recognisable symptoms, is almost 90% accurate, new research shows.

And the inventors believe it would allow drugs to be tested in the early stages of the disease, in the hope of delaying or even stopping further deterioration.

Professor Simon Lovestone, who devised the test at King's College London, said: "A drug that worked in that preclinical phase would feel like prevention.

"You would go to your doctor take a drug and in effect you would have the clinical symptoms prevented - even if the clinical disease had started in your brain."

Doctors know that Alzheimer's starts to affect the brain at least 10 years before there are outward signs of the disease.

The new test identifies 10 key proteins in the blood of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment who will go on to develop Alzheimer's in the next year.

Results of a major trial published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia show the test is 87% accurate.

Vivienne Hill, whose mother had Alzheimer's, has welcomed the research

"Alzheimer's begins to affect the brain many years before patients are diagnosed," said Prof Lovestone.

"Many of our drug trials fail because by the time patients are given the drugs, the brain has already been too severely affected.

"A simple blood test could help us identify patients at a much earlier stage."

The test has been welcomed by Alzheimer's Research UK, which funded the study.

But Dr Eric Karran, the charity's science director, cautioned that it needs further refinement before being used by GPs to routinely diagnose the disease.

He told Sky News: "You have false positives, which is where the test says you are liable to get Alzheimer's disease but in fact the test is wrong.

"If this was some benign condition one wouldn't be bothered.

"But we know that Alzheimer's Disease is the most feared diagnosis. So it is very important to understand that point."

Vivienne Hill was devastated that doctors could do nothing to slow her mother Mary's symptoms. She welcomed the new research.

"We knew she was going to slowly deteriorate from a vibrant happy woman to someone who was bedridden for the last three years of her life who could not talk or do anything for herself," she said.

"It's horrible knowing that."

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Briton Arrested In World Cup Touting Probe

A British director of a World Cup hospitality firm has been arrested as part of an investigation into illegal ticket sales.

Ray Whelan, who works for Fifa's exclusive official hospitality partner Match, was detained in Rio de Janeiro, police in the city confirmed.

Mr Whelan's arrest comes days after 11 people were arrested in Rio, suspected of being part of a multimillion-pound ticket touting operation.

Mr Whelan was arrested at the luxury Copacabana Palace Hotel

The arrests are part of Operation Jules Rimet, a probe by Brazilian police which has involved detectives tapping phones.

Authorities had been working on the theory that a senior official with links to Fifa was behind the scam, said Sky News Sports Correspondent Paul Kelso.

Mr Whelan was arrested at the luxury Copacabana Palace Hotel, a hotel also being used by senior Fifa officials, including its president, Sepp Blatter.

Kelso said: "It's embarrassing for Fifa. They don't want police crawling all over their hotel in the middle of Rio a few days before the final.

"Now they have more questions to answer about how tickets have apparently ended up on the black market.

Selling tickets for above face value is against Brazilian law

"According to local reports, he (Mr Whelan) was seized with up to 100 tickets in his possession."

Pedro Dantas, a spokesman for the Rio de Janeiro State Security Secretariat, said Mr Whelan would spend the night at a police station and would "answer to the charges of alleged crime committed on Brazilian soil".

Reselling tickets for more than their face value is illegal in Brazil.

A civil police officer outside the hotel after the arrest

According to Fifa's website, the Match hospitality programme "offers clients premium tickets bundled together with a wide range of services such as facilities at the stadiums (including private suites and lounges and marquee tents), gourmet catering, preferential parking, entertainment and gifts."

The arrest comes after the son of Fifa vice president Julio Grondona last week found himself facing accusations of selling on tickets at more than face value.

He denied the claims, but said he had given away some tickets to a friend.

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Two Men Escape From Open Prison In Lancashire

Two inmates - one serving a sentence for firearms offences - are on the run after absconding from an open prison in Lancashire.

Philip Stephenson, 33, and Gareth Robinson, 24, both from the Oldham area, fled together from HMP Kirkham on Saturday.

Robinson was in prison for burglary, Greater Manchester Police said.

Stephenson, according to the Oldham Chronicle, had been charged with selling or transferring an illegal firearm and possession of ammunition.

They are believed to have got into a silver Volkswagen Golf before heading in the direction of Oldham.

Anyone who offers the men help has been warned they may face action themselves.

Detective Chief Inspector John Mazzolai said: "Neither of these men has been seen since they escaped from prison on Saturday.

"They are not to be approached by members of the public, but if anyone sees them or knows of their whereabouts, please contact GMP on 101 immediately.

"If you would prefer to pass on information anonymously, then you can do this by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

"I would also like to remind people that if anyone is found to be assisting or harbouring these wanted men, they too will face being arrested and a possible prison sentence of their own. So please get in touch if you know where they are."

Open prisons have sparked controversy in recent months after a spate of incidents when inmates have gone on the run.

In the most high-profile case, Michael Wheatley, who is known as the "Skull Cracker", carried out a raid on a building society while on the run from HMP Standford Hill in Kent in May.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said swift action was being taken to try to stop future incidents,

"The Justice Secretary has been clear that keeping the public safe is our priority and has ordered immediate and major changes to tighten up temporary release processes and open prison eligibility.

"Absconds have reached record lows under this Government - down 80% over the last 10 years - but each and every incident is taken seriously, with the police contacted as a matter of urgency."

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Twin Girls Flee UK To 'Join Syria Militants'

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent

Twin sisters have fled their home in the UK and travelled to Syria where it is feared they may have joined ISIS fighters.

The 16-year-old girls from Manchester crept out of their bedroom in the middle of the night and boarded a flight to Istanbul in Turkey.

Police say their parents found their beds empty at 8pm last Thursday. They later found out the pair were on their way to Syria.

Counter-terrorism officers were then alerted after the girls made contact with their family from Syria where their elder brother is believed to be a jihadi fighter.

The girls have been missing for more than ten days, but a spokesman for Greater Manchester police told Sky News there was now "a contact strategy" with the twins.

"The girls flew from Manchester International to Istanbul. They then appear to have phoned home.

"We don't know exactly where they are but their family are obviously very keen to have them returned home.

"We are attempting to locate them and secure the well-being of both girls."

The family, of Somali origin, are believed to have moved to the UK 10 years ago.

It is not clear how the two college students were able to afford to pay for the flights.

A spokesman added: "It's unlikely that two 16-year-old girls would be able to afford two expensive flights.

"So we are looking at the possibility that they had a contact there.

"It's definitely a line of enquiry that their trip could have been bankrolled by a third party - that it was pre-planned."

The girls' flight to Syria comes the day after video footage emerged of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi calling on all Muslims to obey him.

In what were thought to be the first images ever taken of the self-proclaimed caliph, al Baghdadi was shown issuing a sermon in a Syrian mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.

Former government minister and Conservative MP Liam Fox said there was a limited amount that could be done to stop people travelling abroad to fight.

He told Sky News: "The British Government is taking it very seriously ... and has frozen the assets of those found to be fighting with ISIS.

"It is also the responsibility of the entire Muslim community, particularly the clerics, to make clear that this sort of behaviour is deeply un-Islamic."

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New Airport Security Checks 'Unavoidable'

Airlines To Scrutinise Smartphones Amid Threat

Updated: 8:12am UK, Friday 04 July 2014

Airlines with direct flights to the US have been told to tighten their screening of mobile phones amid fears terrorists could use them in bomb attacks.

US officials singled out Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy handsets for extra security checks.

They will apply to US-bound direct flights from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the officials said.

The new precautions come in response to requests from US authorities, who fear attacks on planes flying to America.

US security officials said they fear bomb makers from the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have worked out how to turn the phones into explosive devices which can avoid detection.

They also are concerned that hard-to-detect bombs could be built into shoes.

A US official said that other electronic devices carried by passengers also are likely to receive more intense scrutiny.

Airlines or airport operators that fail to strengthen security could face bans on flights entering the US.

On Thursday, the US Homeland Security Department announced on plans to step up general security checks, but offered few details on how airlines and airports will implement them.

An official familiar with the issues said the US believes that while it is possible there may be some additional delays at security checkpoints, at most major airports passengers will not be seriously inconvenienced.

The official said most passengers taking long-distance flights arrive well in advance of scheduled departures, leaving time for extra screening.

But he said the US could not rule out disruptions in countries where airport infrastructure and security procedures are less sophisticated.

In the UK, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the additional security was not expected to cause "significant" disruption to flights.

He told Sky News: "There will be extra security checks but they will be made in the course of events people already go through and I hope there will not be significant delays."

But British aviation security expert Philip Baum said heightened security will inevitably mean longer queues and increased waiting times to board flights at UK airports.

"It will mean (more) random searches, secondary searches and an increase in the number of passengers asked to remove shoes and possibly all passengers being asked to remove shoes if they're going on certain flights," he said.

12.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scotland Moves To Slash Drink-Drive Limit

By Niall Paterson, Scotland Correspondent

Drinking a pint or a single glass of wine could soon put you over the legal driving limit in Scotland, under proposals due to reach the Scottish Parliament in the next few weeks.

Currently more than 80mg of alcohol in the bloodstream per 100ml would make you a drunk driver - the Scottish Government wants to reduce that to 50mg.

That would bring Scotland into line with Germany, France and Spain - but create a situation where crossing the Scottish border after consuming one drink could lead to a drink-driving conviction.

Thirty people are killed on Scottish roads each year as a result of alcohol, and 150 seriously injured.

Across Scotland almost 7,500 people are convicted of drink-driving offences each year.

First Minister Alex Salmond recently branded Scotland a "nation of drunks".

A pint of beer could be enough to push drivers in Scotland over the limit

The proposals have been welcomed by many families of those injured or killed by drunk drivers.

Stacey Muldoon, a 23-year-old mother from Lanarkshire, was killed in 2008 when the driver of the car taking her home from a night out crashed into a lamppost.

He was later found to be twice over the legal limit. Her sister, Leigh Payne, believes lowering the limit will in future prevent many other deaths.

"We're coming into line with most of Europe and some of America", Ms Payne told Sky News.

"We've done loads of research and definitely bringing it down to 50mg is the way to go.

"I think that people will now realise that it's not acceptable to have a drink . Physically ordering a drink and drinking it with your dinner you cannot do with 50mg.

Stacey Muldoon died in a car where the driver was over the limit

"Stacey left a twin sister, Kelly. She left two wee girls. They are now 10 and eight. My mum and dad have lost something they can never get back."

The Scottish Government says lowering the limit is a priority. Yet it has been two years since it first consulted on the issue and, as a devolved matter, it does not require legislative action by Westminster.

There has been resistance from the alcohol and pub sector. 

"I think it will lead to loss of business," says Bridgit Simmons, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association.

"Of course pubs serve many soft drinks, there's been a growth in coffee, people eat there, but inevitably people do go to the pub to have one drink...

Bridgit Simmons is concerned the change will damage business for pubs

"They've understood what they can do until now but confusion will mean they just won't go out, and that's of concern to us."

The Scottish Government said it hopes to introduce a bill affecting the change some time in August.

A spokesperson said: "We are working with Police Scotland and the UK Government to prepare for a lower limit, including obtaining the necessary type approvals for the devices used by the police to test drivers. 

"As a lower limit cannot be brought in until the necessary approvals are obtained through the UK Government, we have made clear to the UK Government that we view introducing a lower limit in Scotland as a key priority which we want to introduce as soon as possible."

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