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Luis Suarez 'Bite': Striker Faces FA Probe

Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 April 2013 | 00.34

The FA says it will review match footage that appears to show Liverpool's Luis Suarez biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

More follows...


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Measles Victim Died 'After He Was Sent Home'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 April 2013 | 22.11

The first victim to die in the measles outbreak in South Wales had been sent home from hospital, his mother has claimed.

Gareth Williams, 25, was found dead on Thursday morning at his home in the Port Tennant area of Swansea.

Initial tests revealed that Mr Williams, who is believed to have suffered from asthma, was infected with measles at the time of his death.

Further investigations are being undertaken by the Swansea Coroner to establish whether his death was due to measles or something else.

Mr Williams' mother, Angela Colfer, said he had been admitted to Swansea's Morriston Hospital after breaking out in red spots.

However, she said he had been released from hospital after several days because doctors thought he was over the worst of it.

A nurse handles a syringe at a medical centre in Ashford, Kent More than 800 cases of measles have been reported in Swansea

Ms Colfer told the South Wales Evening Post: "He was covered in a rash, and what with the measles epidemic in Swansea we wanted to get him to hospital.

"He had been in Morriston Hospital for five or six days before he was sent home."

The claim came as hundreds more MMR jab vaccinations were administered over the weekend at emergency sessions at four hospitals around Swansea.

Thousands of children have received the MMR jab over the last three weeks amid rising concern at the rocketing rate of measles cases.

Morriston Hospital in Swansea, South Wales Mr Williams was treated at Morriston Hospital before his death

The headline rate rose to 808 on Thursday after 43 separate new cases of measles were recorded over a two-day period.

Up to 2,000 more children were vaccinated in school this week as efforts were targeted in communities most at risk.

With the pool of unprotected children reducing on a daily basis, hundreds have still turned out to hospital drop-in sessions.

Rapid vaccination teams at all four locations were well able to deal with the large numbers turning up.

Thousands of children missed out on MMR jabs from the late 1990s due to unfounded fears linking the vaccination with autism.

Despite the progress made in reaching thousands of unprotected children, the health board and Public Health Wales (PHW) are still urging those who have not been vaccinated to come forward.

They warn that people in the 10 to 18 age group, who missed out on the MMR jab in the past, are being hardest hit by the disease.


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Waterloo Good, But Not UK's Greatest Battle

Waterloo and the D-Day landings have lost the title of Britain's greatest battle to a vital - but lesser known - clash against the Japanese in World War Two.

The Battle of Imphal and the simultaneous Battle of Kohima saw British Empire troops fight Japanese forces in horrendous jungle conditions in northeast India in 1944.

Imphal/Kohima was picked over the more celebrated land battles in a contest organised by the National Army Museum in London.

Rorke's Drift in the 1879 Zulu War and the Battle of Aliwal in the Anglo-Sikh War in Punjab in 1846 brought up the rear.

"Great things were at stake in a war with the toughest enemy any British army has had to fight," historian Robert Lyman said of Imphal/Kohima.

Gurkhas and an M3 Grant tank advance on Japanese positions on the Imphal-Kohima road in 1944 Gurkhas supported by an M3 Grant tank advance along the Imphal/Kohima road

If Lieutenant General William Slim's army of British, Indian, Gurkha and African troops had lost, the consequences for the Allies would have been catastrophic, he said.

The criteria of the contest included the battles' political and historical impact, the challenges the troops faced, and the strategy and tactics employed.

Waterloo had topped an online poll which produced a list of 20 land battles fought since the English Civil War. The top five were then debated at the museum before going to an audience vote.

The winner was something of a surprise given the enduring prominence of Waterloo and D-Day/Normandy in Britain.

The troops who fought in India and Burma in World War Two called themselves The Forgotten Army.

The Defence of Rorke's Drift by Alphonse de Neuville Rorke's Drift saw just over 150 troops fight off up to 4,000 Zulu warriors

The Battle of Imphal/Kohima took place in 1944 in Nagaland when Japanese troops poured over the Burmese border to strike at India.

Fought over a vast area of jungle and mountain, it was marked by vicious hand-to-hand fighting.

The successful British defence meant they were then able to push into Burma and roll back the Japanese from mainland Asia.

"The victory was of a profound significance because it demonstrated categorically to the Japanese that they were not invincible," said Mr Lyman.

"This was to be very important in preparing the entire Japanese nation to accept defeat."

Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks on the set of Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan depicted the US view of the Normandy landings

He ranked it with Midway, El Alamein and Stalingrad as the main turning point battles of World War Two.

His adversary in the debate, former Parachute Regiment Colonel Stuart Tootal, argued a strong case for the D-Day landings and subsequent Battle for Normandy against Nazi Germany in 1944.

Although movies such as Saving Private Ryan have highlighted the US role in the campaign, the operation was under the command of Britain's Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.


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London Marathon: Tributes To Boston Victims

Thousands of runners at the London Marathon, including Olympic champion Mo Farah, observed 30 seconds of silence at the start of the race, which took place less than a week after the Boston attacks.

The poignant tribute was followed by applause as the runners gathered at the start line for the elite men's and mass race with large crowds lining the streets of the UK capital under heavy security.

Many of the 36,000 fun runners, athletes and fundraisers wore a black ribbon as a mark of respect to those affected by the attack.

Some had the name of the US city emblazoned on their vests, while some spectators held up banners saying "For Boston".

Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia won the men's race in , while Priscah Jeptoo of Kenya won the women's event.

London Marathon The marathon has drawn thousands of people

Huge crowds turned out to watch the races on a glorious spring day in London despite concerns raised by the bomb attacks on the Boston Marathon.

"It was incredible, the amount of support, people coming out from everywhere, just cheering the whole way. Unbelievable," said a breathless Farah.

Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter : "Congratulations to the inspiring runners in the #LondonMarathon - a fantastic showcase for the city."

Prince Harry, who waited at the finish line on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace to hand out medals to the winners, said the large turnout was "fantastic" and "typically British".

London Marathon Route

He also paid tribute to Boston, saying: "The way that Boston has dealt with it has been absolutely remarkable.

"It's never going to get anyone down here, the great thing about the marathon is no matter what colour you are, or religion, no matter what nationality you are, everyone comes together to run a certain distance to raise money for amazing causes.

"I think that you can never that take away from people," he told the BBC.

Virgin London Marathon has pledged to donate £2 for every finisher to The One Fund Boston, which was set up to raise money for the victims of the explosions.

Three people were killed in Boston, including an eight-year-old boy, and over 170 injured, some seriously.

London Marathon Priscah Jeptoo posing for photographers after winning the women's race

Following the attacks, hundreds of extra police were deployed in London - a 40% increase in the usual number of officers.

Authorities stressed the increased security was aimed at reassuring the public and was not a response to a specific threat.

Despite the sombre tributes and the increased police presence, the mood was a festive one, with spectators cheering the runners on and some competitors showing up in fancy dress.

"It means that runners are stronger than bombers," said Valerie Bloomfield, a 40-year-old participant from France.

Barbara Stephenson, charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in London, told Sky News the show of respect by London Marathon runners for the Boston victims underlined the "special relationship" between the two countries.

"We've had responses from Her Majesty the Queen, all through Twitter from the British people, and now we have got tens of thousands of London Marathon runners wearing a black ribbon in solidarity with the people of Boston."

London Marathon Mo Farah says he overslept ahead of the race.

She went on to say that "it's moments like this when you know what the special relationship's really all about."

The winding route from Blackheath to Buckingham Palace took the runners past some of the capital's most famous landmarks.

Farah, the Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion, ran about half the race, stepping off the course at  the 13.1 mile mark near Tower Bridge.

He revealed before the event that he had overslept. "I'm late! I woke up late! I'm going to miss the bus!" he joked.

Paralympic star David Weir said he was disappointed with his fifth place in the men's wheelchair race.

Speaking near the finish line, the six-time London Marathon champion said: "It was a tough race, but I knew it was going to be tough after four months out.

"I just had to do my best, and that's what I did today."

Virgin London Marathon 2013 The winners with Prince Harry and Richard Branson

Among the celebrities running this year were the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, and the singer Katherine Jenkins. Speaking on the finish line, Mr Balls said that the Chancellor, George Osborne, had sponsored him.


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Youth Crime Commissioner: No Further Action

No further action is to be taken against Paris Brown, formerly Britain's first youth crime commissioner, Kent Police have said.

The 17-year-old had been accused of racism and homophobia after making comments about gay people and others on Twitter when she was between 14 and 16.

Miss Brown became Britain's first Police and Crime Youth Commissioner after being awarded the £15,000-a-year job by Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes.

On April 9, only a few days after being appointed to the role, she was forced to resign when details of her earlier tweets emerged after an expose by the Mail on Sunday.

A spokeswoman for Kent Police said today: "We have spoken to the CPS about our findings, and given them our view that this case does not pass the evidential threshold for prosecution.

"We will make no recommendations to them for charges and will take no further police action having discharged our duty to investigate."

"Whilst some of the language used is offensive, particularly the comments which derogatorily refer to particular social groups, we do not believe that in the context they are grossly offensive on a reasonable objective assessment considering intent."

Miss Brown, from Sheerness in Kent, was forced to issue a grovelling apology for the offence she caused.

She denied being anti-gay or racist, and said she is against taking drugs, insisting that a reference on Twitter to making "hash brownies" was from a Scooby Doo film. The offensive tweets have now been deleted.

In tears as she made her statement, she told reporters: "I have fallen into the trap of behaving with bravado on social networking sites. I hope this may stand as a learning experience for many other young people."

Miss Brown was taken on by police to provide a young person's perspective on policing and to help prevent crime.

The teenager's Twitter account was not checked as part of the recruitment process.

On Saturday it emerged lawyers representing Miss Brown had written to the chief constable of Kent Police complaining of a "wholly disproportionate" response to the Twitter comments.

Her questioning by officers came after the force received more than 50 complaints from members of the public.

Her lawyers, Olswang, wrote to Chief Constable Ian Learmonth about the scope and nature of the investigation, including the decision to seize her phone and for Special Branch to quiz her.

As part of the investigation, Miss Brown was requested to attend an interview under caution on April 14.

In their letter, her lawyers said: "As we are sure that you will readily understand, being subject to a police investigation is highly distressing for any person, but especially so for a teenager, particularly one who has been recently subject to such adverse media coverage.

"In such circumstances, we believe that the police must weigh carefully the extent to which an investigation relating solely to social media activity is merited."

Olswang also referred to the interim guidelines from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Keir Starmer, regarding prosecutions relating to social media.

Another youth commissioner will be appointed later this year, but Mrs Barnes said there were "lessons to be learned" before that happens.


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Darling: 'How Long Will Osborne Lumber On?'

The outstanding question in British politics is how long the Government will "lumber on" with failing economic policies, according to Alistair Darling.

The former Labour Chancellor said his party was right to sit and wait to see what George Osborne's strategy actually becomes.

He told Sky News' Murnaghan programme Mr Osborne had lost credibility and insisted Labour would be "very wise" to "wait and see what he actually comes up with".

Mr Darling highlighted the latest ratings downgrade, the IMF's comments and the Treasury Select Committee's criticism of housing policy as three major blows to the current Chancellor's policies this week alone.

He said: "What you saw last week were more and more people saying (Mr Osborne's) policy isn't working.

"I've been saying that for the last three years, and it was pretty unfashionable to do so, but what you're now seeing are respected figures inside and outside the UK calling into question the strategy.

"The big question is how long does the present Government simply lumber on simply hoping something will turn up.

"I don't think my Labour colleagues need to take a position (on spending) until we see what the present Government is proposing - we don't actually know what they are doing.

"It's very difficult to plan ahead in any sort of sensible way. I think what we are better doing at the moment is concentrating our fire on the Government."

Mr Darling, who came under fire from his own side while Chancellor for predicting in 2008 this would be the worst downturn in 60 years, said Mr Osborne's plans had always been "fraught with difficulty" and now been "blown completely off course".

"It is manifestly obvious it is simply not working," Mr Darling added.

His comments came as it emerged that Britain is expected to narrowly dodge a triple-dip recession, although experts continue to label the UK a "crisis economy".

Most analysts are predicting gross domestic product (GDP) to have edged up 0.1% in the first three months of the year, which would mean the economy has avoided returning to recession.

The latest figures will be released on Thursday.

Incoming Bank of England governor Mark Carney added to fears last week by branding the UK a "crisis economy" alongside stricken eurozone countries and Japan.

His brutal assessment, made on the fringes of the International Monetary Fund's Washington meeting, came as IMF chief Christine Lagarde also voiced concerns over the UK economy, saying its growth numbers were "not particularly good".

Just days earlier the IMF cut UK growth forecasts from 1% to 0.7% for 2013 and 2014's projection from 1.9% to 1.5% as it said the private sector was being hampered by a lack of credit and economic uncertainty.

Also on Friday, ratings agency Fitch cut the UK's creditworthiness from the top AAA rating to AA+.

David Riley, managing director of Fitch, told the Murnaghan show Britain's "economic recovery has been very weak, almost non-existent".

He said: "It's not just about the austerity, the bottom line is the private sector borrowed too much in the UK, it's been very hard to rebalance the UK economy."

Mark Field, Tory MP for the City of London, told the show: "The big test isn't so much what the IMF say but what the markets say. The one lesson is that we have kept our interest rates very low."

A Downing Street a spokesman said: "Clearly from the Prime Minister's perspective these are very, very tough times.

"We are having to deal with the biggest peace-time deficit ... but the path that we are taking is the right one."


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Man Charged With Murders Of Mother And Son

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 20 April 2013 | 22.11

A man has been charged with the murders of a mother and son who were found with multiple stab wounds at their home in Bolton-le-Sands near Preston.

Paul Chadwick, 34, of Lowlands Road, Bolton-le-Sands, has been remanded to appear before Preston Magistrates on Saturday.

The Crown Prosecution Service had authorised Lancashire Constabulary to charge Chadwick with two counts of murder.

Police discovered the bodies of Lisa Clay, 40, and her six-year-old son Joseph Chadwick at their home address in Lowlands Road on Tuesday, April 9.

Double death inquiry The house where Lisa Clay and her son Joseph Chadwick were found

A post mortem examination by a Home Office pathologist revealed that both died from multiple stab wounds.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene and airlifted to the Royal Preston Hospital with serious stab wounds.

Police were called to the pebble-dashed dormer bungalow in the village of Bolton-le-Sands by a concerned relative.

Anybody with information is urged to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


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Prince Harry To Race To South Pole

Prince Harry has announced he will take part in a race to the South Pole with a team of wounded British servicemen and women.

The 28-year-old will take on teams from the United States and the Commonwealth in the 208-mile (335km) Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge in November and December this year.

Speaking at a conference in London at which the teams were announced, Prince Harry said: "It just remains for me to say to Soldier On Canada, Soldiers To Summits from the US and Soldier On Australia - welcome to the party.

"As a member of the British team, I will have a brew ready for you when you join us at the Pole."

Harry, who took part in the charity's trek to the North Pole in 2011 and is the event's patron, confirmed he will be competing as part of Team Glenfiddich.

He missed out on a bid to conquer Mount Everest with the group last year because of his military commitments and he withdrew early from the successful North Pole expedition to attend his brother's wedding.

Britain's Prince Harry gestures during t The prince had to drop out of a previous trek to the North Pole

He said of the South Pole race: "The format may be different. The scale is certainly different.

"But the aim remains the same - to enable our wounded to do what they and all other servicemen and women do better than anyone else I know - meet a challenge head-on and overcome it and inspire others to do the same.

"Ladies and gentlemen, these men and women have given their all in the cause of freedom, in our cause.

"That they should once again step into the breach - this time facing down the extreme physical and mental challenges of trekking to the South Pole - just underlines their remarkable qualities."

Harry, who is known as Captain Wales in the Army, will race in Team Glenfiddich with Sergeant Duncan Slater, 34, who lost both his legs in a blast in Afghanistan in 2009; Major Kate Philp, 34, who lost her left leg after a bomb blast in 2008; Captain Guy Disney, 31, who lost his right leg in a rocket attack in 2009; and Captain Ibrar Ali, who lost his right arm in a roadside bomb in 2007.


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Vinyl Releases Help Boost Record Store Day

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

Several big names in the music industry are releasing limited edition vinyls to mark national Record Store Day.

The annual event aims to deliver a much-needed boost to music shops, which are struggling to keep up with online sales and free downloads.

The sixth annual Record Store Day sees special vinyl and CD releases from artists including Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, Marc Bolan, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix.

Hundreds of live performances will take place in stores across the UK as musicians and DJs show their support for traditional music sales.

Marc Bolan The Marc Bolan Maxi Pack includes two 7" discs

Figures from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) show 15% more digital music was sold in 2012 than in 2011.

According to the Official Charts Company the amount spent on CDs and vinyl fell by more than a third between 2008 and 2012.

Last year, sales of music in shops were worth £447m. Digital sales are catching up, with £383m spent on downloads in 2012.

The chairman of the ERA, Paul Quirk, told Sky News: "Digital will always be there now, and it will develop and it will get better, but it will never ever completely replace buying a CD or buying an album.

"I think what may happen is we may get to the stage where you've got an album and you've actually got the download code as well available, so you're getting two things together.

"So you can download one and it'll go straight into your cloud and you can listen to it immediately on your phone as you walk out the store and you've still got the physical copy when you get home."

Bat For Lashes - whose real name is Natasha Khan Bat For Lashes is one of the more modern artists being released on vinyl

The recent woes of HMV were blamed in part on the growth in digital sales. The high street chain went into administration in January.

Earlier this month it was rescued by restructuring expert Hilco in a £50m deal which secured 2,500 jobs and will ensure 141 stores stay open.

Adam Helliwell, the owner of independent record store 3brecords in Liverpool, told Sky News that far from seeing HMV as a competitor, he is pleased there will still be a national music retailer on the high street.

He said: "In terms of the labels, they're more likely to press vinyl and CDs if there are people like HMV around to contribute to the amount of product they can sell.

"The less people in town the less people are likely to walk into our shop as well, so we need them as much as they need us."

Duran Duran p Neon Trees Perform At The Joint At The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Duran Duran's Is There Something I Should Know is another 7" single

Like many independent record store owners Mr Helliwell says 3brecords often struggles to break even.

He describes running the store as a "labour of love" and sells club tickets online to stay in business.

Customers at the store are divided on whether digital downloads are the future. DJ Michael Di Scala says 80% of the music he owns is digital.

He told Sky News: "I DJ with MP3s, but if I really want something on vinyl I will buy it."

Twenty-five-year-old customer Daniel Anderson-Heaps says he still prefers vinyl.

He explained: "It's just vintage really, it's like a throwback to the past. There's always that nice sentimental feeling about it.

"Just being really passionate about music, it just feels like there's something more when you've got it in your hand than wherever you got it off the internet."


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Planning Reforms To Give Neighbours A Say

Plans to relax planning laws covering the building of extensions are to be changed to allow neighbours to have a say if they object.

The original proposals led to a rebellion by 16 Tory MPs and eight Liberal Democrats in the Commons on Tuesday following warnings that they would trigger disputes between neighbours.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has now written to MPs setting out a "light-touch neighbours' consultation scheme" for building work which will not require planning permission under the new rules.

Eric Pickles Eric Pickles: Proposing a 'light-touch neighbours' consultation scheme'

Ministers announced last year that they intended a three-year relaxation of the depth of allowed single-storey extensions from 4m (13ft 1.5in) to 8m (26ft 3in) for detached houses and from 3m (9ft 10in) to 6m (19ft 8in) for all other houses.

In his letter to MPs, Mr Pickles said: "I believe colleagues' key concern has been about potential effect on neighbours' amenity, and the lack of any say for those neighbours.

"I propose we tackle this head on. We will seek to move ahead with these new permitted householder development rights, but introduce a new light-touch neighbours' consultation scheme."

Under the revised scheme homeowners wishing to build extensions under the new powers would notify their council with the details and the local authority would then inform the adjoining neighbours.

If the neighbours do not object the development can proceed, but if they do raise concerns the council will have to consider whether it had an "unacceptable impact on neighbours' amenity".

If councillors decided it was necessary the proposed extension could be considered by a planning committee.

Mr Pickles said the approach would build consensus, ensure uncontroversial projects were fast-tracked and save householders money.

In an attempt to win over rebels he said the scheme was similar to proposals set out in 2007 by Zac Goldsmith, a ringleader of the Commons revolt.

The Growth and Infrastructure Bill containing the measures is in its final stages in Parliament and the changes will be introduced in the Lords on Monday.

Mr Pickles told MPs: "I hope this shows that we have listened constructively and made a targeted and common sense improvement."

But Mike Jones, chairman of the Local Government Association's environment and housing board, said there were "serious questions" about the new system.

He said: "Councils have been calling for the right of neighbours to have a say to be protected, and we are pleased that Government is listening.

"However, there are serious questions to be answered as to how this new separate scheme will work in practice.

"Government needs to clarify how this new scheme, which will require planning departments to dedicate a significant amount of time and resources, will be paid for at a time when local authorities are already facing significant cuts to their budgets."


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