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Welby And Carey Split Over Assisted Suicide

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 12 Juli 2014 | 12.25

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.

180 lord falconer 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.

Dignitas in Switzerland 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.


12.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

Baby 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.

Pregnant woman in kitchen with glass of red wine 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."

Samatha Marchant drank heavily during her pregnancy 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.


12.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Moderate Drinking 'Could Be Bad For Your Heart'

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 11 Juli 2014 | 12.25

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.

A barmaid pulls a pint in a pub 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."

Alcohol 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 advert 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. 

A piggy bank as the children of the 1960s and 1970s 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

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 10 Juli 2014 | 12.25

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."


12.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

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."


12.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mikaeel Kular 'Assaulted Over Four Days By Mum'

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 09 Juli 2014 | 12.25

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

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 08 Juli 2014 | 12.25

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 daughter of an Alzheimer's sufferer talking to Sky News 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.

Copacabana Palace hote 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.

World Cup Tickets 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.

Police officer outside Copacabana Palace Hotel 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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