Margaret Thatcher: Critics Party In Brixton

Police were called to Brixton in South London after people celebrating the death of Margaret Thatcher gathered in the streets.

Some revellers climbed onto the Ritzy cinema building and rearranged letters on its film listings board to spell out the words: "Margaret Thatchers (sic) dead LOL".

Britain's first and only female prime minister died on Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 87.

Other critics gathered in Windrush Square celebrated with cheers of "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, dead, dead, dead".

A banner celebrating Margaret Thatcher's death hangs from the Ritzy cinema

The area was the scene of fierce riots in 1981, two years into Lady Thatcher's first term in office.

Pictures of anti-Thatcher graffiti scrawled on walls in Brixton also appeared on Twitter, with one reading: "You snatched my milk! & our hope"

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said extra officers were brought in to control the crowds, who "caused low level disorder" and threw "a small number of missiles" at officers.

There were no reports of any arrests and the group dispersed in the early hours of the morning, according to police.

Some revellers sprayed champagne as they celebrated in Brixton

A spokesman for Ritzy said there was some damage to its building, adding that staff helped clear up the streets after the demonstration.

Meanwhile in Glasgow, up to 300 people gathered in George Square, 24 years after poll tax protests were held there.

Some anti-capitalist campaigners wore party hats and launched streamers into the air, while a bottle of champagne was sprayed.

Six police officers were injured after bottles and cans were thrown during a street party in Bristol.

Earlier, David Hopper, general secretary of Durham Miners' Association, said he was celebrating on his 70th birthday after learning of Baroness Thatcher's death.

"She was a heartless woman who tore the heart out of the mining communities of the North," he said.

George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bradford West, wrote on Twitter: "Thatcher described Nelson Mandela as a 'terrorist'. I was there. I saw her lips move. May she burn in the hellfires."

Parliament is being recalled on Wednesday for a special session to allow politicians to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher.

A full ceremonial funeral will take place at St Paul's Cathedral next week.

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Serbia: Gunman Kills 13 In Shooting Spree

A gunman has killed 13 people, including his mother and son, as he went house to house on a shooting spree in Serbia, authorities have said.

The 60-year-old suspect, identified by police as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, allegedly opened fire at around 5am local time with a pistol in a village near the capital Belgrade.

Residents told reporters the gunman first killed his son before leaving his home and shooting his neighbours, some of whom were still asleep.

The victims in the apparently random shootings in Velika Ivanca were six men, six women, and a two-year-old child.

Twelve were killed at the scene, 30 miles southeast of the capital, and one person died in a Belgrade hospital, police said.

The gunman, who had a semi-automatic 9mm pistol, also shot his wife before turning the gun on himself.

The pair were both seriously injured and in a critical condition in hospital.

Police officers among those at the scene of the atrocity

Another person was also hurt in the attack, which lasted around half an hour.

Police, who blocked off the village while they investigated the attacks, said the motive for the killings was unclear.

They added the suspect lost his job in 2012 and fought as a Serb soldier in the war in Croatia in 1992.

Villager Radovan Radosavljevic said of the shootings: "He knocked on the doors, and as they were opened he just fired a shot.

"He was a good neighbour and anyone would open their doors to him. I don't know what happened."

Milorad Velijovic from the interior ministry said: "Most of the victims were shot in the head as they slept.

"They were killed in five houses, mainly relatives and neighbours."

Mr Velijovic said the gunman had a firearms permit and he and his son had been made redundant last year.

Belgrade emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said the suspect was not believed to have a history of mentally illness.

Although such apparently random shootings are rare in Serbia, weapons are readily available mostly from the war in the Balkans in the 1990s and there is a tradition of possessing firearms.

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North Korea: Japan Deploys Missile Defence

By Mark Stone, on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea

Japan has deployed missile-defence systems in its capital as North Korea warned foreigners in the South to take evacuation measures in case of war.

The interceptors were set up as a precautionary measure, and the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported that North Korea would launch a missile test on Wednesday.

Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air missile launchers were stationed at the defence ministry in Tokyo before dawn, and other batteries are to be installed in the semi-tropical island chain of Okinawa, officials said.

The deployment isn't unusual. Japan has responded to North Korea tests in the past by positioning interceptor missiles.

"The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people's lives and ensure their safety," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.

In addition to the PAC-3, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles have been deployed in the Sea of Japan.

A Musudan missile, pictured in 2010

North Korea's latest warning to foreigners intensified the threat of an imminent conflict, keeping up the fiery rhetoric employed for weeks by officials in Pyongyang.

"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermo-nuclear war," said the statement by the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.

"Once a war is ignited on the peninsula, it will be an all-out war, a merciless, sacred, retaliatory war waged by the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)," it went on to say.

"We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war."

Last week, the North Korean government told embassies in the capital it could not guarantee the safety of their staff.

However, US and South Korean defence officials have said they have seen nothing to indicate that Pyongyang is preparing for a major military action, in which it would be heavily outgunned.

North Korea has also suspended its operations at the Kaesong industrial complex, its last major economic link with the South, and recalled all 53,000 of its workers.

North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, is seen as unpredictable

The work stoppage at a key source of hard cash for the North suggests Pyongyang is willing to hurt its own shaky economy in order to display its anger with South Korea and the US.

Amid rising tensions on the peninsula, the US and South Korea have also raised their defence postures.

North Korea is believed to have moved two missiles - possibly the medium-range Musudan - to its eastern coast on the Sea of Japan, loading them on to mobile launchers.

The Musudan missile has a range of about 3,000km (1,800 miles), meaning it is capable of reaching South Korea and Japan and perhaps also the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

There has been speculation that Pyongyang might schedule a missile launch to coincide with the birthday of the country's late founder Kim Il-Sung - the current leader's grandfather - in mid-April.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the threat posed by North Korea must be treated "very seriously" and the US has delayed the testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in an effort to defuse the situation.

US Secretary of State John Kerry visits Seoul this week

North Korea is furious at UN sanctions imposed after Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test in February, and at joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, with B-2 stealth bombers dispatched from US bases.

Seoul and Washington say those exercises are routine but Pyongyang has unleashed a torrent of threats against the allies.

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Rapist Given Payout For Human Rights Breach

A convicted rapist is to receive damages from the Government after European judges ruled his human rights had been breached.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Somali national Mustafa Abdi was unlawfully detained for two-and-a-half years as he awaited deportation.

The court ordered the UK Government to pay 1,500 euros (£1,277) in damages and 7,000 euros (£5,960) for legal costs because of the breach of his right to liberty.

Abdi, who is currently in custody in Brixton, was originally sentenced to eight years in jail in 1998 for rape and indecency with a child.

In 2002, the then-home secretary David Blunkett ordered Abdi's deportation and issued an authority for detention until the making of a deportation order.

But from August 2004 until July 2006 it was not possible to remove him because the last carrier prepared to take "enforced returns" to Somalia withdrew and Abdi refused to return voluntarily.

In September 2006, he was granted permission to apply for judicial review of the decision to detain him.

After a previous legal challenge, the Court of Appeal held that the period of detention between December 2004 and June 2006 was lawful because Abdi could have returned to Somalia voluntarily and he was refused permission to appeal to the House of Lords.

He was then released in April 2007 but re-detained in April 2008 after breaching his bail conditions.

The ECHR has now ruled that his detention pending his deportation was not lawful under UK law because regular reviews required were not carried out.

The decision by the Strasbourg-based court comes three months after it awarded damages to a funfair worker who had raped a teenager after forcing her to drink alcohol.

Samuel Betteridge, 58, from Mablethorpe, was jailed after he pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one of attempted rape at Lincoln Crown Court in 2005.

A 13-month delay between the end of his minimum term and his first parole hearing was a breach of his right to a speedy hearing, the ECHR found.

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Weatherman Fred Talbot Held Over 'Sex Abuse'

TV weatherman Fred Talbot has been arrested by police investigating historic sexual abuse at a school where he taught.

The 63-year-old is being held on suspicion of three counts of indecent assault and four counts of inciting a child to commit acts of gross indecency.

The alleged offences relate to his time as a biology teacher at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys in Trafford, Greater Manchester, between the early 1970s to early 1980s, where four alleged victims were pupils.

Mr Talbot's home in Bowdon, Cheshire, was raided by police last December while he was out of the country.

He is best known for his colourful appearances on the weather map for ITV's This Morning programme when hosted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan at Liverpool's Albert Dock.

Mr Talbot remains the weatherman on the station's North West regional news programme Granada Reports.

The school at the centre of sex abuse allegations

Detective Chief Inspector Sellars said: "Since allegations were made to police in December, we have made good progress with this investigation and with tracing and speaking to former pupils of Altrincham Grammar school.

"However, as part of our ongoing enquiry I am eager to trace anyone who attended the school between the early 1970s and 1980s, who feel they may have information to assist the police investigation."

Mr Talbot remains in police custody.

The police inquiry was prompted following media reports of another probe into historic sexual abuse at a Catholic boys' school in Altrincham.

Last month, a 63-year-old former teacher at St Ambrose College in Hale Barns was held on suspicion of indecent assault of an ex-pupil and possession of indecent images dating back to the early 1980s.

He was later bailed pending further inquiries.

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'Mild-Mannered' Family Dog Killed Baby Boy

A mother whose eight-day-old son died after being bitten by the family dog has told an inquest of her shock at the attack, saying the Jack Russell was "mild-mannered".

Mikayla Bell, 19, said the seven-year-old dog called PJ had never been aggressive towards children, adults or other dogs.

Miss Bell, whose son was in his cot when he was bitten, said she didn't "blame anyone" for what had happened but that it "was a really tragic accident".

She said that she had been upstairs at the family home in Ketley, Shropshire, while her mother had been caring for her son, Harry Harper, downstairs.

The sales assistant said she had been woken by an alarm at 6.30am on November 20 but shortly afterwards heard her mother, Teresa, screaming and shouting.

In a statement to Telford Coroner's Court, Miss Bell said: "I immediately ran downstairs and saw mum holding Harry over the sink.

"Mum was repeatedly saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry' and I heard mum say 'He's been bitten'. I think at some point mum said it was PJ that had bitten him."

Harry was pronounced dead in hospital around 90 minutes later.

Miss Bell said: "I feel angry about what happened but I don't blame anyone. I am shocked to know it was PJ because he wasn't vicious at all."

Her mother said in her statement: "I know it was a tragic accident but I will always wonder if I could have done something differently that morning."

The tragedy happend at the family home in Ketley, Shropshire

The inquest was told that the dog had not followed Miss Bell's mother into the kitchen but remained in the sitting room where he attacked the baby, who was sleeping in a cot.

Detective Inspector Phil Shakesheff told the inquest that the family had an "unblemished history" of caring for dogs over a period of many years and that neither PJ nor the family's German Shepherd had previously displayed signs of dangerous behaviour.

He said: "There is no evidence to suggest that the death of Harry is anything other than a tragic incident that can't be ruled out from occurring in any other dog-owning household where children are present."

The inquest heard dogs had killed six children and two adults around the country since 2007.

Telford's Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Barkley, recorded a verdict of accidental death.

He praised the family for their dignity and said: "One can only hope that if anything positive can come out of what has been a deeply distressing case, it's that the public recognise the dangers associated with babies and small children being around dogs."

After the hearing, the family released a statement saying: "As a family, we remain absolutely devastated by Harry's death.

"Although he was only with us for eight days, he had brought enormous happiness to us all and his loss is a tragedy that we will carry with us forever.

"We will treasure every single moment we enjoyed of him and we will never forget the joy he gave us when he arrived."

23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More

Margaret Thatcher: Funeral Next Wednesday

Baroness Thatcher's funeral will be held at St Paul's Cathedral next Wednesday and attended by the Queen, it has been announced.

Britain's longest serving prime minister and the only woman so far to hold the role will be given a ceremonial funeral with full military honours.

It is the same status as that accorded to the Queen Mother and Diana, Princess of Wales, although some Tories want a full state ceremony.

The funeral will be the first ceremonial funeral for a former prime minister the Queen has ever attended. She attended Sir Winston Churchill's state ceremony in 1965.

The Queen will attend Lady Thatcher's funeral next Wednesday

She will be accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, and other heads of state and foreign dignitaries from around the world are expected to attend.

Lady Thatcher died at The Ritz in central London on Monday morning after suffering a stroke. She had battled ill health for a number of years.

Downing Street said the date of her funeral was agreed at a meeting attended by her family and officials from Buckingham Palace.

The day before the ceremony, Lady Thatcher's coffin will be transferred to the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster.

Newspaper front pages were dominated by the former PM's death

There will be a short service following its arrival before the coffin rests in the chapel overnight.

The streets will then be cleared for a procession taking the former leader's body from parliament to Church of St Clement Danes, the RAF Chapel on the Strand.

At the church, it will be transferred to a gun carriage drawn by the King's Troop Royal Artillery. The streets will be cleared for the procession on to St Paul's.

There the coffin will be met by a guard of honour as members of the armed services and pensioners of the Royal Hospital Chelsea line the steps.

A private ambulance taking Lady Thatcher's body from the Ritz

The public will not be able to attend the funeral service itself but will be able to line the route of the procession.

Parliament is expected to be suspended for the event, which means the first Prime Minister's Questions since the Easter break could be cancelled.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, who is in charge of some of the funeral arrangements, said: "There's already a huge amount of interest.

"There's a guest list and people will be invited over the coming days. It will be a big event. I think there's a huge amount of people - not just in Britain, but around the world - who will want to pay their respects to her."

A flag flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament

Some Tory MPs have expressed disappointment that the 87-year-old has not been granted a state funeral, as wartime leader Churchill was.

Peter Bone, MP for Wellingborough, said she should have "the highest kind of funeral that can be allowed".

"I would have thought a state funeral would be very appropriate. She was the first female prime minister. She was also the greatest peacetime prime minister we ever had," he told the Daily Mail.

However, her friends have indicated she did not want such treatment. She did not want to lie in state and thought a fly-past would be a waste of money.

The former PM sitting for a 70th birthday photograph

For a state funeral to be granted to a non-royal, a parliamentary vote would have to be passed to permit the release of public funds.

Parliament is being recalled on Wednesday to allow MPs to voice their tributes, although the decision has angered some MPs.

Labour's John Mann questioned why taxpayers' money was being spent on bringing back MPs when tributes could have been paid next week, when parliament was due to resume.

"It is perfectly valid that, when a prime minister dies, MPs can pay tribute, but this could be perfectly properly done on Monday," the MP said.

Mrs Thatcher in a tank on a British base in Germany in 1986

He added that he would not be attending the session tomorrow, saying: "I will be at the dentist's."

Prime Minister David Cameron, who has already hailed Lady Thatcher as "a great Briton", is expected to give a statement to the Commons, followed by Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Mr Miliband said on Monday that while he "disagreed with much of what she did", he respected "her extraordinary achievements and her extraordinary personal strength".

The former Tory leader was hailed across the world as a towering politician, although there was also jubilation at her death from critics angry at some of her most controversial actions in office.

Flowers outside her home in Belgravia, London

While some mourners laid flowers in tribute outside her home in Belgravia, London, others took to the streets to celebrate her demise.

Some 200 revellers took to the streets in Bristol, where six police officers were injured in a scuffle as bottles and cans were thrown.

There were similar scenes in south London, where more than 100 people gathered in Brixton - the scene of fierce riots in 1981, two years into Lady Thatcher's first term in office.

A crowd of 300 also gathered in Glasgow's George Square, where in 1989 protests at the introduction of the infamous poll tax took place.

Crowds celebrating the death of the former Tory PM in Brixton

Many on the Left have condemned the social impacts of Lady Thatcher's policies encouraging the free market and stripping power from unions during her 11 years in power.

Her death was also welcomed by veterans of the Falklands conflict in Argentina, who blamed her for the deaths of the 649 troops who died during the 74-day war.

But the news was received with "great sadness" by islanders on the Falklands, who flew the union flags at half mast and hailed her intervention 31 years ago.

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Sir James Crosby: Ex-HBOS Chief Forgoes Title

Former HBOS chief executive Sir James Crosby will ask for his knighthood to be removed and give up 30% of his pension after last week's damning report into the bank's collapse.

The 57-year-old said he was "deeply sorry" for what happened at HBOS and the "ensuing consequences" for the bailed-out bank's staff, shareholders and taxpayers.

He had stepped down from his job with private equity firm Bridgepoint on Friday.

The bank's former boss was given a knighthood after leaving HBOS in 2006, but said he believed "it is right that I should now ask the appropriate authorities to take the necessary steps for its removal".

The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards had described Sir James as the "architect of the strategy that set the course for disaster" and held primary responsibility for the collapse along with former chairman Lord Stevenson and fellow chief executive Andy Hornby.

The report blamed the trio's "toxic" misjudgments for the bank's downfall and £20.5bn taxpayer bailout at the height of the financial crisis.

It also said the financial regulator should consider whether the three should ever be allowed to work in the financial sector again.

Sir James said the report made for "very chastening reading".

"Although I stood down as CEO of HBOS in 2006, some three years before it was taken over by Lloyds, I have never sought to disassociate myself from what has happened," he said.

"I would therefore like to repeat today what I said when I appeared in public before the Commission in December; namely that I am deeply sorry for what happened at HBOS."

His decision to forgo 30% of his pension will still leave him with an annual pay-out worth £406,000.

He said he was also standing down from his voluntary position as a trustee of Cancer Research UK with "great personal sadness".

But it is understood he remains a senior independent director at catering giant Compass and also chairman of the car credit company Money Barn.

The Honours Forfeiture Committee is responsible for considering cases where people could be stripped of awards.

It can look at cases where individuals are found guilty of criminal offences, or reprimanded by a regulator. However, it has scope to take into account other factors.

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Man Arrested For Murder Of Partner And Son

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his partner and son at a house in Bolton-le-Sands near Preston.

Police were called to the house at 11.40am where they found a man suffering from stab wounds and the dead bodies of a woman and her young son.

He has been arrested on suspicion of murder and has been airlifted to the Royal Preston Hospital where he is said to be in a serious condition.

Detective Superintendent Paul Withers, who is leading the investigation, said: "We are still in the very early stages of this investigation, but we are conducting a number of enquiries in order to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the deaths.

"This is being treated as a murder inquiry. If anybody has any information which they believe could assist our investigation I would urge them to contact police."

The home in Bolton-le-Sands has been cordoned off and post-mortems will be carried out to establish the causes of death.

The ages of the woman and child have not yet been released.

Anybody with any information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.

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Youth Crime Commissioner: Paris Brown Quits

Britain's first youth crime commissioner has withdrawn from the role after it emerged she posted a string of offensive comments on Twitter.

Paris Brown, 17, was forced to apologise after appearing to use homophobic, racist and violent language in tweets posted before she took the job.

After police revealed they were investigating whether she had committed any offence, she announced she was not taking the one-year post.

"I have made the decision to decline the offer of the position of Kent Youth Police and Crime Commissioner," she said.

"I have made this decision after a great deal of thought and consultation with my family.

"As I made clear over the weekend, I accept that I have made comments on social networking sites which have offended many people. I am really sorry for any offence caused.

Miss Brown made a tearful statement amid a media storm over her comments

"I strongly reiterate that I am not racist or homophobic. 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."

She added that she felt the "recent media furore" would continue to hamper her ability to perform the job to the level required.

Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes said: "It is a very, very sad day."

She said Miss Brown was "an extraordinary young person with exceptional skills and a proven track record with working with young people" who has "turned down the position of a lifetime".

"I was not recruiting an angel," she said. "I was not recruiting a police officer. I was recruiting a young person, warts and all. It is personally sad for Paris and her family.

"An enthusiastic young woman with exceptional skills and a proven track record in working with young people has ended up in a position where she has turned down the job of a lifetime for her."

One of Miss Brown's controversial tweets said she was pleased her brother had thumped someone.

In another, she wrote: "Im (sic) either really fun, friendly and inclusive when Im drunk or Im an anti social, racist, sexist, embarrassing a*******. often its the latter."

Other posts seemed to refer to immigrants as "illegals" and gay people as "fags", while others appeared to endorse binge drinking.

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