Texting Driver Susan Noble Jailed Over Death

Police are again warning drivers not to use mobile phones while on the road, after a woman was jailed for three years for causing the death of a man while texting.

Susan Noble, 29, of Armthorpe, Doncaster, was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court for causing the death by dangerous driving of Alexandru Braninski, 25, in December 2011. She had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

Mr Braninski, a Romanian, suffered traumatic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene on the northbound carriageway of the A19 near Northallerton.

The car in which he was travelling was stationary because of a puncture at the time of the crash and Mr Braninski was standing behind it while the wheel was being changed.

Noble's car crashed into him, pushing the stationary car into a field at the side of the road.

It was found that she had been texting a friend at the time of the crash.

As well as receiving three years' imprisonment, Noble was also disqualified from driving for six years and will have to take an extended driving test.

Traffic Sergeant John Lumbard, of North Yorkshire Police's roads policing group, said: "Susan Noble has fully accepted that she is responsible for the tragic death of Mr Braninski due to a serious error of judgment.

"I want this tragedy to send a very clear message to drivers that using mobile phones whilst driving can and does lead to horrific consequences.

"Research from around the world has shown time and time again that this behaviour does cause drivers to lose concentration on the road ahead.

"Ideally you should turn phones off while you are driving so that you are not distracted by an unexpected call. However, if you must use a phone while on the move, it is essential that you use a hands-free kit.

"As well as leaving one man dead, the collision has left a family grieving for their loss and a young woman with the knowledge that she is responsible for his untimely death."

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

Teenager Killed In Police Chase Is Named

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

A schoolgirl killed when her family's car was caught up in a police chase has been named as 13-year-old Wiktoria Was.

Wiktoria was a back seat passenger in the VW Polo when it was hit by another car that was being pursued by police through southeast London.

She was pronounced dead at the scene on Ilderton Road, close to Millwall Football Club on Sunday evening.

Staff at Goffs School in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, where Wiktoria was a year nine pupil, confirmed that they have been helping students cope with the loss of a talented pupil.

Headteacher Alison Garner paid tribute to her.

"Wiktoria was a highly valued member of our community, funny, charming, bubbly and with a bright future ahead of her.  She will be much missed by us all."

She added: "I have spoken with all of year nine and arranged for Wiktoria's form to be talked to separately in their form group. 

"The school counsellor will be available at least this week for students and staff, and we will be encouraging students to think about how they would like to remember Wiktoria - for example via a tree, bench, and memorial assembly - once the initial shock has subsided."

The crash happened in southeast London

The Metropolitan Police and the Independent Police Complaints Commission are both investigating the pursuit and subsequent collision.

Devon Newell, 32, of Meeting House Lane, Peckham, southeast London, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, and driving with no insurance and no licence.

He appeared by videolink at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody to appear before Woolwich Court on January 15.

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

N-Dubz Frontman Dappy Accused Of Mob Attack

Rapper Dappy sparked a "mob attack" at a petrol station when he spat at two young women who refused to get into a car with him, his trial has heard.

Prosecutor Brian Stork said the 25-year-old, whose real name is Costadinos Contostavlos, pulled up in a car at a Shell garage in Guildford, Surrey, at about 3.30am on February 28 last year.

Mr Stork said Dappy and his friend Kalonji Stewart got out of the car along with a third man.

While Stewart went inside the shop Dappy began talking to Grace Cochran and Serena Burton, who were in a group sitting on the kerb outside.

Mr Stork alleged that Dappy tried to persuade the pair to come with them in their car.

The prosecution says the fight "kicked off" due to Dappy's behaviour

When they refused he called the women "sluts", said one was ugly and then spat at them, but missed, the prosecutor said.

A man who just met the women, David Jenkins, stood up to defend them, and Dappy is said to have spat at him and it made contact before swinging a punch at him.

Tests on a saliva stain on Mr Jenkins' t-shirt showed a DNA link to Dappy, Mr Stork said.

Mr Stork told Guildford Crown Court: "It all kicked off."

He said Dappy was then joined by two other men, Kieran Vassell and Alfred Miller, who had arrived in a second Mercedes car with other unidentified men.

Mr Stork showed the jury CCTV footage, lasting just moments, from the garage.

It showed the men attacking Mr Jenkins and his two other friends, resulting in Mr Jenkins' teeth being damaged and a fractured nose to another man. They then all got into cars and drove off.

Miller and Vassell are alleged to have used their feet and fists in the attack, and Dappy is alleged to have got involved when he was released from a head lock.

Stewart also got involved, but less so, the prosecution claims.

Dappy denies two counts of common assault on the two women, one of assault by beating, of Mr Jenkins, and one of affray.

Vassell, 25, of Hammersmith, west London, and Stewart, 32, of Harborne, Birmingham, are each charged with affray.

Miller, 28, of Brentford, west London, has pleaded guilty to affray and his case was adjourned for sentence at the end of the trial.

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Moira Anderson Police Dig Up Grave In Search

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

A grave is being exhumed in an effort to solve a 56-year murder mystery.

A forensic team pumped water from the plot at Old Monkland Cemetery in Lanarkshire as a first step in the operation to establish whether or not 11 year-old Moira Anderson is buried there.

Wet, sodden ground is an added complication to the delicate dig, which is being conducted with small shovels and trowels.

The team is investigating suspicions that Moira was abducted and killed when she went missing in 1957 and her body concealed within a grave that lay open at the time.

Her family now believe her killer may have dumped her body in the grave of one of his friends, Sinclair Upton, who died around the time of Moira's disappearance.

They have sought permission through the courts to have the grave exhumed. Mr Upton's family has agreed to the request.

The exhumation may take days to complete

The prime suspect behind Moira's disappearance is convicted paedophile Alexander Gartshore, who died in 2006.

The young girl disappeared after taking a trip on a bus that he drove.

Underground radar checks on the grave in 2007 indicated an anomaly consistent with the presence of the remains of a child.

The exhumation is being conducted under the direction of forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black.

Police believe the burial plot has three layers and there may be up to eight people interred there.

Chief Inspector Kenny McLeod, of Strathclyde Police, said: "There may be no necessity to exhume all eight human remains but that does remain a possibility.

The site dates back to 1908

"The site does present significant problems and challenges, not only in terms of ground conditions but also record-keeping as you can imagine, going back to 1908, it may not detail every person in the burial plot."

Officers in overalls went in and out of the tents as work started on Tuesday morning.

Mr McLeod said: "There was a petition before Airdrie Sheriff Court last year from the Moira Anderson Foundation and the Crown Office then instructed Strathclyde Police to facilitate the excavation.

"It comes from new information presented to the court.

"Operations like this are not taken lightly as we remain sensitive to Moira Anderson's family and also the families who have relatives buried elsewhere in the cemetery."

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Ivory Poachers Kill Elephant Family In Kenya

A family of 11 elephants has been killed by poachers in Kenya in what officials describe as the biggest single mass shooting of the animals on record in the country.

A gang of about 10 attackers hacked off the elephants' tusks in Tsavo East National Park on Saturday, officials said - the latest sign of a rise of mostly Asian demand for ivory jewellery and ornaments.

"It shows the great lengths these criminal cartels are ready to go to get ivory. It's really tragic," Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Paul Udo said.

He said it was the worst single incident of its kind recorded in the East African country.

Smuggled elephant tusks recovered from Nairobi airport last year

Elephant poaching in Kenya fell sharply after 1989 when the government banned trade in ivory.

But there has been a rise in the illegal practice in recent years.

Demand for ornamental ivory is rising fast in Asia in tandem with growing Chinese influence and investment in Africa.

The Kenya Wildlife Service said foot, dog and aerial units were hunting the gang.

"The entire family of 11 elephants have been confirmed poached and tusks chopped off. All the carcasses had bullet wounds," the service said in a statement.

In May last year, 359 tusks weighing 1.6 tons impounded in Sri Lanka were found to have come from Kenya's Mombasa port.

Then, last October, police found 214 tusks worth £820,000 hidden in a coffin and fertiliser bags in neighbouring Tanzania.

Smugglers had planned to transport the ivory to Kenya for onward shipment to Asia, police said.

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British Soldier Shot Dead In Afghanistan

Green On Blue Attacks Worsening

Updated: 12:19pm UK, Tuesday 08 January 2013

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

The central role of the foreign forces deployed in Afghanistan is to train the national army and police to a level so they can maintain order in the country and counter the threat of the Taliban when Nato withdraws by the end of 2014.

Given the scale of the task and the speed with which it has to be completed, many have always doubted it could be achieved to anything but a mediocre level.

The advent and increasing growth of so-called "Green on Blue" attacks, where Afghans turn their weapons on their foreign mentors, is in danger of making even that mediocre goal seem almost impossible.

The bulk of the training and mentoring is carried out by British and American forces based in Helmand and Kandahar.

These are the two most deadly provinces, where the Taliban are strongest and where the production of opium-providing poppies gives them an unstoppable revenue stream.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the latest attack that killed a soldier from 28 Engineer Regiment. That may or may not be true, but they have promised to infiltrate for years and the poppy revenue gives them the ability to pay would-be converts far more than the Afghan government pays its armed forces.

Isaf force commanders have attempted to introduce protocols to protect their people.

On patrol and in remote camps soldiers regularly appoint a colleague, a so-called Guardian Angel, to watch their backs while they work, soldiers always carry loaded weapons, counter-intelligence has been boosted and recruitment procedures have been tightened to better assess who is signing up.

The effect: Relations between Nato personnel and their Afghan colleagues have worsened and the Green on Blue attacks have actually got worse.

Nato commanders and the Afghan government have continued to maintain that these attacks are largely a clash of cultures.

It is claimed Afghan soldiers angered by a perception of Western decadence and lack of respect, or angered at carrying out orders from foreign mentors, "snap" and attack unexpectedly.

Certainly this has happened. I have been on many joint patrols where relations between the two forces have been terrible. But in my experience the British soldiers do almost all the hard work; manually stacking water and food, lighting fires and - oh yes - actually doing all the fighting.

I have witnessed many instances where young British soldiers have slept outside in freezing conditions rather than risk being sexually molested by Afghan soldiers and thereby avoiding an understandable and likely confrontation.

However, there have been some well documented atrocities by American soldiers on civilians and also stories about the desecration of the Koran and the bodies of dead Taliban fighters. Those, and the policy of night raids (now greatly controlled and reduced) on villages that have led to civilian casualties, certainly acted as a recruiting sergeant for the Taliban.

But in reality, having realised they couldn't defeat the Western forces, the Taliban have moulded their war of attrition to suit their strengths. Persuading men to turn against the army, the police and their mentors is certainly part of their plan.

The Taliban know that the war is unpopular in the West. They know that more deaths, when the withdrawal is imminent, seem a pointless waste to much of the population in the coalition countries.

The decision to announce a timetable for the withdrawal, and sticking to it, means the Taliban have no desire to negotiate anything. They can bide their time and undermine the credibility of the whole Afghan project.

When the withdrawal happens the Taliban will strengthen its grip on the south of the country and use its opium revenues to fund a potential civil war with the cities where the government clings to power.

President Karzai travels to the US this week to meet President Obama for talks about future troop levels. He can be certain that the Green on Blue issue will be at the top of the agenda.

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India Gang Rape: Two Men To Plead Not Guilty

Two of the men accused of gang-raping and killing a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in Delhi will plead not guilty to all charges, their lawyer has said.

Mukesh Singh and Akshay Thakur are among five suspects charged with abduction, rape and murder over the December 16 attack on the medical student.

A sixth accused, who is 17, will be tried in a separate court for juveniles.

M L Sharma, who says he represents Thakur and Singh, the brother of the bus driver involved in the attack, said: "They will plead not guilty to all charges.

"Nothing has been proven yet."

Protesters are calling for the death penalty

Officials at Tihar jail, the maximum security prison where the accused are being held, said Mr Sharma had met the two defendants earlier on Tuesday.

Police earlier told reporters they have identified bloodstains linking the men to the attack, but Mr Sharma said he would challenge police over their handling of evidence.

Mr Sharma refused to give further details.

On Monday, the five accused men faced court for the first time since the attack.

But the hearing had to be closed after noisy protests from lawyers objecting to the suspects being given defence counsels, and a crush of journalists straining to hear proceedings in the tiny room.

The next hearing, which will be held behind closed doors, has been scheduled for January 10 when a magistrate is expected to transfer the case for trial in a special fast-track court.

The case has sparked massive protests across India, where statistics show a woman is raped every 20 minutes, and protesters are calling for all rape suspects to be hanged.

Two of the accused, hiding their identity, at the court appearance

Further protests erupted after a popular Indian spiritual guru said the 23-year-old victim should share blame with her attackers for the December 16 attack.

Asharam, known to his followers as "Bapu", or father, told his devotees the victim was also at fault because she should have begged for mercy.

"This tragedy would not have happened if she had chanted God's name and fallen at the feet of the attackers. The error was not committed by just one side," he said in video footage which has been widely circulated on the internet.

The 71-year-old's remarks drew a chorus of condemnation, including from Ravi Shankar Prasad, spokesman for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mr Prasad said: "For him to make the statement in relation to a crime which has shocked the conscience of the country is not only unfortunate but deeply regrettable."

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Terror Suspect 'Escaped In Black Cab'

Missing terror suspect Ibrahim Magag escaped surveillance by simply ringing for a black cab, the Shadow Home Secretary claims.

Yvette Cooper told MPs that a tweet from London taxi news service Cabwise suggested Somali-born Magag had evaded detection by picking up a ride less than half-a-mile from Euston station on Boxing Day.

In a fierce exchange with Home Secretary Theresa May, Ms Cooper said: "Are you worried that surveillance can be shaken off simply by jumping into a black cab?"

Magag, 28, who is understood to have attended terrorist training camps in Somalia, absconded from a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (Tpims) notice after ripping off his electronic tag.

Mrs May insisted the police and security services did not believe Magag was involved in current terrorist planning and that great efforts were being made to find him.

Magag, who is thought to have raised funds for al Qaeda, was originally handed a control order and forced to live in the West Country away from his network of friends.

But under the new Tpims regime, introduced last year due to support from the Liberal Democrats, he was able to move back to London.

He is described as a black man of Somali origin, 6ft 2in and slim to medium build. He has a beard, but detectives warned he may try to change his appearance.

Ms Cooper questioned the use of Tpims

He was last seen wearing a khaki robe, a black Berghaus windcheater and navy Converse trainers.

Asking an urgent question in the Commons, Ms Cooper claimed Magag's escape had been made easier by the Government stopping relocation of suspected terrorists.

"You allowed Magag to return to London," she said.

"You have not answered the question about whether it would have been harder to abscond in the West Country, where he was made to live under a control order - harder to get help from his associates, harder to hide, harder to get forged papers."

Ms Cooper said absconds had stopped under control orders once the powers were toughened up - including greater use of relocation.

And she added: "You chose to ditch relocation, you have personally made it easier for people to abscond.

"Other people previously relocated under control orders are also now back in London on Tpims. Could any one of them simply jump in a black cab tomorrow and be off?"

Keith Vaz, who is chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, told the Commons it was understood Magag had forged passports when in Somalia.

He asked Mrs May if Magag was in possession of his passport when he went missing.

The Home Secretary said she must consult the details of a previous anonymity order before providing an answer.

Defending Tpims, she said terror suspects had absconded before while under the old restriction - several of whom were never found.

She said: "In six years of control orders, there were seven absconds and of those seven cases, six were never apprehended.  Magag's abscond is serious and the authorities are doing everything they can to locate him."

23.21 | 2 komentar | Read More

Benefits Cap Vote On George Osborne's Plans

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has accused Labour of bribing voters with tax credits during a bitter debate about the 1% cap on benefit payments.

Mr Duncan Smith attacked the Opposition for criticising legislation to sever the link between welfare handouts and inflation in a fiery Commons session.

He claimed the previous government had created a system in which nine out of 10 families with children could claim tax credits, including those on £70,000-a-year.

"They think that helping people is about trapping more and more people in benefits," he told MPs ahead of a vote on the controversial move later.

"The result of all of this is that the debt we all had to pay off was costing us £30,000 every single minute," Mr Duncan Smith said.

He accused Labour of failing to face up to the need to slash the deficit, pointing out the party had opposed £83bn of savings set out by the Government.

"That's the equivalent of adding another £5,000 of debt for every working family in the country," he said.

But shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne claimed the coalition's approach was turning into a "hit and run on working families".

He accused Chancellor George Osborne of "battering the life" out of the economic recovery and Mr Duncan Smith of living "in a fantasy land".

George Osborne's 1% cap is opposed by Labour's Ed Balls

"The Tory way is to hit working families. The Labour way is to help people work," he told MPs.

MPs will vote on the cap following the heated debate and Labour as well as some Lib Dem rebels are set to vote against it.

What amounts to a real-terms cut will hit most working age welfare payments and tax credits, including jobseeker's allowance and maternity pay.

The Government insists it is unfair that state handouts have been rising twice as fast as wages during recent years of austerity.

But Labour argues that the move will mostly affect people who are actually in work, citing analysis that shows seven million working households will lose £165-a-year.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "While millionaires get a tax cut, seven million striving working families are paying the price for David Cameron and George Osborne's economic failure.

"The best way to get the benefits bill down is to get the economy growing and people back to work, not hit striving families."

Mr Duncan Smith, appearing earlier on Sky News, condemned the Opposition's stance as "pathetic", "unrealistic" and "ridiculous".

"We have to still continue to try and tackle the deficit left for us by Labour which is fuelling huge borrowing and will cost taxpayers enormously unless we get it under control," he said.

"It is also about trying to do it in a way that is fair to those who are in work and are paying the taxes for those who are on welfare.

"The reality is they have seen their welfare payments rise far faster over the last six or seven years than anybody in work."

Labour was "a pathetic opportunistic group who spend their time trying to pretend to people there are soft options out there", he added.

However, anti-poverty campaigners have warned that families will increasingly struggle to properly feed children if benefits fail to keep pace with rises in the cost of living.

Former children's minister Sarah Teather has already broken ranks, warning the the measure would make poverty "significantly worse" and accusing Mr Osborne of "playground politics".

She has now been joined by South Manchester Liberal Democrat MP John Leech, who said he found the Tories' language "objectionable".

"I strongly support raising the tax threshold for low paid workers, but this cut will wipe out much of that good work," he said ahead of this evening's Second Reading division.

Meanwhile, the Tories are trying to distance themselves from the "skivers against strivers" rhetoric sparked by Mr Osborne's original announcement.

Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston insisted that the "vast majority" of her party did not use those terms and it was not how they "feel generally".

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has estimated seven million working families will be £165 worse off a year, compared to £215 for the 2.5 million workless households.

Mr Duncan Smith says the £165 figure only reflects the benefits cap and claims working families will actually be £125 better off each year due to the rise in the income tax threshold.

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Weather Map Scale Changed Amid Australia Heat

Record temperatures have forced the Australian government's weather bureau to increase its scale to 54C to reflect the extreme highs forecast for next week.

The temperature in parts of central Australia could soar to above 50C next Monday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

Head of climate monitoring and prediction David Jones said the new scale, which features a purple and pink colour code for temperatures from 52 to 54C, shows there is potential for records to be smashed.

"The scale has just been increased today and I would anticipate it is because the forecast coming from the bureau's model is showing temperatures in excess of 50 degrees," Mr Jones told local newspapers.

Australia's all-time record temperature is 50.7C, set in January 1960 at Oodnadatta in the state of South Australia.

The nation as a whole experienced its hottest day on record on Monday with the average maximum temperature across the country hitting 40.33C, surpassing the previous mark of 40.17C set in 1972.

More than 100 fires blazed in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, where officials described the heat, wind and dry vegetation conditions as among the worst the state had ever seen for bushfires.

Dunalley in Tasmania has been destroyed by bushfires

"We had the hottest day on record for Australia (on Monday) and today it looks like we may well go better again," said Mr Jones.

"This really puts the national dimension of this heat event into bigger context."

Speaking about devastating bushfires that razed 100 homes in the southern island state of Tasmania at the weekend, Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned this week that Australia would see more extreme events due to global warming.

"Whilst you would not put any one event down to climate change, weather doesn't work like that, we do know over time that as a result of climate change we are going to see more extreme weather events and conditions," Ms Gillard said.

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