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Flooding Fund: £2.3bn To Protect 300,000 Homes

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 02 Desember 2014 | 23.22

Flooding Fund: £2.3bn To Protect 300,000 Homes

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More than 1,400 projects will receive a share of £2.3bn to protect against flooding for 300,000 homes.

But environmental group Friends of the Earth has suggested that figure is not high enough and there is still a £500m shortfall in the flood defences budget in the next parliament.

The spending includes major investment in areas including the Humber Estuary, with £80m set to be spent, and £196m for the Thames Estuary.

Ministers will also commit to spending £15.5m on flood defences in Somerset in the next six years - including £4.2m on the Somerset Levels which were hit badly by flooding last winter.

The Government has come under fire over funding for flood defences.

Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: "We all saw the destruction and heartache caused by flooding last year and that is why this investment is vital to build up Britain's defences for the future.

"The projects we are announcing today will protect some of the country's most at risk locations ensuring that we will be as prepared as possible for future severe weather."

1/8

  1. Gallery: Somerset Flooding - Before & After

    Before: a farm in West Yeo, near Bridgewater on the Somerset Levels. Pic: Bing maps

After: The flooded farmland in West Yeo

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  • Before: The village of Moorland near Bridgewater on the Somerset Levels. Pic: Bing maps

    ]]>

  • After: Flooded properties in Moorland

    ]]>

  • Before: Walton-On-Thames, Surrey

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  • But he admitted it was not new money, telling Sky News: "This is an Autumn Statement that's not a giveaway, where everything that we are doing is paid for.

    "These capital allocations on the flood defences the roads...we set that out last year and that's a choice we have made within the amount of money we have available."

    Officials said the six-year programme, announced ahead of the Autumn Statement on Wednesday, would help prevent more than £30bn of economic damage.

    Other projects which stand to benefit include more than £17m going to Tonbridge, Yalding and surrounding communities in Kent; £73m for a barrier at Boston, Lincolnshire; £42m for the Oxford western conveyance scheme and £47m for coastal defences in Rossall, Lancashire.

    Friends of the Earth (FOE) said documents from regional flood and coastal committees showed there were £1.6bn of viable projects that were not getting the go-ahead.

    FOE Campaigner Guy Shrubsole said: "A year after Britain's wettest winter ever, the Chancellor's leaked flood defence plans simply don't hold water.

    "Faced with rising sea levels, the Government needs to be investing far more in flood defences to protect households and prevent climate change from the outset."

    Shadow environment secretary Maria Eagle said: "Communities at risk of flooding won't buy Government spin on what is simply a re-announcement of capital funding confirmed a year ago.

    "This is not new money - at the beginning of this Parliament David Cameron cut the flood protection budget by over £100m a year. As a result we are playing catch up on flood defences."

    :: Watch Sky News for the Chancellor's Autumn Statement live on Wednesday, 3 December, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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    • Flooding Fund: £2.3bn To Protect 300,000 Homes

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    More than 1,400 projects will receive a share of £2.3bn to protect against flooding for 300,000 homes.

    But environmental group Friends of the Earth has suggested that figure is not high enough and there is still a £500m shortfall in the flood defences budget in the next parliament.

    The spending includes major investment in areas including the Humber Estuary, with £80m set to be spent, and £196m for the Thames Estuary.

    Ministers will also commit to spending £15.5m on flood defences in Somerset in the next six years - including £4.2m on the Somerset Levels which were hit badly by flooding last winter.

    The Government has come under fire over funding for flood defences.

    Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: "We all saw the destruction and heartache caused by flooding last year and that is why this investment is vital to build up Britain's defences for the future.

    "The projects we are announcing today will protect some of the country's most at risk locations ensuring that we will be as prepared as possible for future severe weather."

    1/8

    1. Gallery: Somerset Flooding - Before & After

      Before: a farm in West Yeo, near Bridgewater on the Somerset Levels. Pic: Bing maps

    After: The flooded farmland in West Yeo

    ]]>

  • Before: The village of Moorland near Bridgewater on the Somerset Levels. Pic: Bing maps

    ]]>

  • After: Flooded properties in Moorland

    ]]>

  • Before: Walton-On-Thames, Surrey

    ]]>

  • But he admitted it was not new money, telling Sky News: "This is an Autumn Statement that's not a giveaway, where everything that we are doing is paid for.

    "These capital allocations on the flood defences the roads...we set that out last year and that's a choice we have made within the amount of money we have available."

    Officials said the six-year programme, announced ahead of the Autumn Statement on Wednesday, would help prevent more than £30bn of economic damage.

    Other projects which stand to benefit include more than £17m going to Tonbridge, Yalding and surrounding communities in Kent; £73m for a barrier at Boston, Lincolnshire; £42m for the Oxford western conveyance scheme and £47m for coastal defences in Rossall, Lancashire.

    Friends of the Earth (FOE) said documents from regional flood and coastal committees showed there were £1.6bn of viable projects that were not getting the go-ahead.

    FOE Campaigner Guy Shrubsole said: "A year after Britain's wettest winter ever, the Chancellor's leaked flood defence plans simply don't hold water.

    "Faced with rising sea levels, the Government needs to be investing far more in flood defences to protect households and prevent climate change from the outset."

    Shadow environment secretary Maria Eagle said: "Communities at risk of flooding won't buy Government spin on what is simply a re-announcement of capital funding confirmed a year ago.

    "This is not new money - at the beginning of this Parliament David Cameron cut the flood protection budget by over £100m a year. As a result we are playing catch up on flood defences."

    :: Watch Sky News for the Chancellor's Autumn Statement live on Wednesday, 3 December, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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    Top Stories

    1. Heroin Misery Of The Trainspotting Generation
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    3. UK Households Spend More Than They Earn
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    5. Islamic State Leader's Wife Held, Reports Say


    • 23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More
    Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.22 0 komentar

    Islamic State Leader's Wife Held, Reports Say

    The wife of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and one of his children have been arrested at the Syrian border, according to Lebanese officials.

    They were detained by Lebanese troops in co-ordination with "foreign intelligence apparatus" about 10 days ago, according to local media.

    His wife is said to have been travelling with a fake passport and is being questioned at the headquarters of the Lebanese defence ministry.

    Her name was not released but she is understood to be a Syrian citizen. Islamist social media websites have previously reported that Baghdadi is married but it is unclear whether he has more than one wife.

    The country's security forces have launched a crackdown on IS sympathisers in Lebanon and the intelligence services have been extra vigilant at border crossings.

    Over the past few months they have arrested a number of Islamic militants suspected of staging attacks to expand IS in the country neighbouring Syria.

    Since taking the reins of the terror group in 2010, Baghdadi has transformed it from a local branch of al Qaeda into an independent transnational military force.

    He has succeeded in exploiting the turmoil in Syria and Iraq's weak central authority after the US military withdrawal to seize control of vast areas of land.

    In doing so he has positioned himself as a leading figure in the global jihadi community.

    Baghdadi, who has a $10m (£5.9m) US bounty on his head, has called for "volcanoes of jihad" around the world.

    According to the reward notice, he was born in the Iraqi town of Samarra in 1971.

    A US-led coalition has been seeking to roll back IS territorial gains in Iraq and Syria by launching airstrikes.

    President Barack Obama has pledged to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the group.

    The strikes are part of an effort to give Iraqi forces the time and space to mount a more effective offensive.


    23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More
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    Costa Concordia Captain Bullish At Trial

    By Tom Kington, In Grosseto

    Francesco Schettino, the captain of the doomed cruise ship Costa Concordia, has fiercely defended his navigational skills as he faced cross-examination for the first time in his trial for manslaughter and abandoning ship.

    In a spirited performance punctuated by jokes and constant hand gestures in which he frequently interrupted the prosecutor, Schettino tried to argue he followed procedure during the Costa Concordia's fatal collision, rather than steering recklessly.

    Schettino smashed the Costa Concordia into rocks off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 during an attempted "sail past".

    The holed vessel grounded and partially capsized in shallow water, forcing 4,200 passengers and crew to flee, with the loss of 32 lives.

    Speaking at his trial in Grosseto in Tuscany, Schettino denied that he had organised the sail past to impress Domnica Cermontan, a Moldavian dancer who was working on the ship and has told the court she was having an affair with the married captain. 

    "I didn't do it as a favour to Cermontan," Schettino said under questioning in Grosseto's theatre, which has been converted into a court room for the trial.

    When she entered the bridge, Ms Cermontan stood at the side the room, far from Schettino, he said.

    In a combative performance, during which he often challenged the questioning of prosecutor Alessandro Leopizzi, Schettino said he had sought to "kill three birds with one stone" by undertaking the sail past.

    He was doing a favour to a ship's official and paying tribute to a former cruise captain who lived on the island of Giglio, while making the cruise more attractive to passengers, he said.

    Asked about the number of people on the bridge as he took the command before the crash, Schettino argued he had always fought to keep numbers on the bridge down.

    The court played a recording of the voices on the deck in the minutes leading up to the collision, during which Schettino is heard on the phone asking the former captain living on Giglio if there was enough water to sail as close as one fifth of a nautical mile from the coast.

    When asked by the prosecutor why he asked that, since the ship was due to sail no closer than half a mile from the rocks, Schettino said he was not being serious.

    Schettino has previously blamed the crash on the maps he was given to navigate with, and claimed the Indonesian helmsman on the bridge did not understand his instructions.

    After attending the early hearings at his trial last year, Schettino has avoided the trial for five months, reportedly preparing for his performance, which is expected to run into Wednesday.

    "If he wasn't so sure of himself he would not have agreed to be questioned at the trial," said Schettino's lawyer Domenico Pepe before the hearing.

    "He has been studying the court papers and is here to highlight all the points in his favour which have not emerged yet in court."

    Schettino, who was dubbed Captain Coward after he was accused of abandoning the stricken ship before passengers had fled, has remained a notorious celebrity in Italy, and has spent this week denying rumours he was due to appear on Italy's version of I Am A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

    No longer under house arrest, Schettino has addressed a group of students at a Rome university about stress control, despite allegations he panicked after the collision and failed to manage the evacuation.


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    Heroin Misery Of The Trainspotting Generation

    By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent

    The number of adults over 40 seeking treatment for heroin and crack cocaine addiction in England has more than doubled in 10 years, new figures have revealed.

    While the total number of heroin and crack cocaine addicts has fallen below 300,000 for the first time since estimates began, there is a generation still hooked - the so-called Trainspotting generation.

    The disaffected, heroin-addicted young people immortalised in Irvine Welsh's bestselling novel are getting older.

    More than a third of the total population of adults in treatment centres are aged 40 or over, according to Public Health England.

    Many started using heroin in the epidemics of the 1980s and 1990s when good-quality, cheap opiate flooded the inner cities.

    But as they enter old age there are warnings that dwindling health and dependence on heroin could place an increased burden on the National Health Service.

    On the ageing generation of addicts, Louise Ford, deputy manager at the Smithfield Detox Centre in Manchester, told Sky News: "For many people of this age group there is a sense of 'now or never' in finally getting the treatment they need.

    "For the over-40s it could be redundancy, bereavement or failing health that finally prompts them to come in for help. The treatment is not easy and many relapse."

    For those who have not sought treatment, life is a cycle of "scoring" heroin and finding the money to pay for it.

    Homeless Paul, 42, has been taking heroin since he was 17-years-old.

    His partner Jill, 39, was introduced to the drug at the age of 14. They take heroin in the back streets of Manchester's city centre.

    He said: "I had a good life, what you'd call an average life, a car, a flat. I got laid off last year. I had never been out of work before.

    "Now I wake up, go and score, go and take it, go and find a pitch and start raising money again to score again and that goes on and on.

    "If I don't get help now I'll still be doing this into my 50s and 60s and I don't want that. Heroin just makes you feel bad when you don't have it. It doesn't make you feel good anymore."

    Meanwhile, new figures show the number of heroin-related deaths in England have risen sharply.

    The number of people dying through heroin and morphine abuse increased by around a third (32%) between 2012 and 13 from 579 to 765.

    And the number of people admitted to hospital with drug poisoning has soared by 76% over the last decade.

    But there is hope in the form of recovered addicts like Steve Cundell, who first dabbled in heroin so that he could come down from ecstasy fuelled raves in the 1980s.

    He went from experimenting to dealing in a matter of weeks.

    He said: "I thought it wouldn't grip me but it did and very, very fast.

    "I decided the best way to get my supply was to start dealing in it. My every waking hour was consumed by heroin.

    "It used to play on my mind so much that I was getting older and older and I had not achieved anything - that I was going to wake up one day 65 or 70-years-old still on heroin."

    Mr Cundell is now a peer mentor on a rehabilitation course run by Turning Point and tries to help others.

    He added: "I like to think I have something to give back and it helps my recovery - because I'm not out of the woods yet."


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    Did North Korea Hack Sony Over Kim Film?

    Did North Korea Hack Sony Over Kim Film?

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    A hacking attack that crippled key systems at Sony Pictures and led to blockbuster movies being leaked online is increasingly being blamed on Pyongyang after the FBI said some of the software used was compiled in Korean.

    The attack, by a group calling itself the Guardians Of Peace, left the firm's corporate email down for a week and enabled hackers to steal at least four movies, including Second World War drama Fury starring Brad Pitt, which is yet to be released on DVD.

    It has since been downloaded more than one million times.

    The Korean malware has led to increased speculation that Sony was targeted in revenge for its movie The Interview - a comedy about two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

    The Pyongyang government had previously described the film as "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism" and an "act of war".

    1/28

    1. Gallery: Kim Jong-Un Inspecting Things

      North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un makes regular public appearances across the country

    The state media follows him as he enjoys visits to factories, military installations and construction sites. Continue through for more pictures

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  • The FBI has given US firms advice on spotting and handling the malware in a five-page report, but it did not confirm if it was a response to the incident at Sony.

    Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone, in Beijing, said that while North Korea is yet to comment on the cyber attack on Sony, it "takes any slight on its leader very, very seriously".

    "When The Interview trailer came out the North Korean ambassador to the UN made representations to the UN saying that here would be a response," he said.

    "It is only a few months ago that a hairdresser in Ealing was offering a Kim Jong-Un haircut and two senior diplomats from the North Korean embassy went there and told him he couldn't do that because it was very disrespectful."

    He said it was a "plausible possibility" as Pyongyang had carried out previous hacking attacks, but he warned there is a lot of reporting about North Korea which is not correct because of the problems getting news out of the closed country.

    Some reports suggest North Korea may have enlisted Chinese hackers to carry out the attack.

    Last year, Sky News reported US security analysts had identified an anonymous-looking tower block in Shanghai as the possible headquarters of a global hacking operation allegedly run by the Chinese military - the People's Liberation Army Unit 61398.

    In May, five members of China's People's Liberation Army were charged with hacking US companies for trade secrets.

    Cybersecurity experts said the attack on Sony marked the first of its kind on a major US company.

    "Sony Pictures continues to work through issues related to what was clearly a cyber attack last week," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

    "The company has restored a number of important services to ensure ongoing business continuity and is working closely with law enforcement officials to investigate the matter."

    Hackers have used malware similar to that described in the FBI report to launch attacks on businesses in South Korea and the Middle East, including one against oil producer Saudi Aramco that knocked out some 30,000 computers.

    "I believe the coordinated cyberattack with destructive payloads against a corporation in the US represents a watershed event," Tom Kellermann, chief cybersecurity officer with security software maker Trend Micro Inc, said.

    "Geopolitics now serve as harbingers for destructive cyberattacks."

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    2. Costa Concordia Captain Bullish At Trial
    3. UK Households Spend More Than They Earn
    4. Islamic State Leader's Wife Held, Reports Say
    5. Father And Daughter Reunited On IS Front Line

    • Did North Korea Hack Sony Over Kim Film?

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    A hacking attack that crippled key systems at Sony Pictures and led to blockbuster movies being leaked online is increasingly being blamed on Pyongyang after the FBI said some of the software used was compiled in Korean.

    The attack, by a group calling itself the Guardians Of Peace, left the firm's corporate email down for a week and enabled hackers to steal at least four movies, including Second World War drama Fury starring Brad Pitt, which is yet to be released on DVD.

    It has since been downloaded more than one million times.

    The Korean malware has led to increased speculation that Sony was targeted in revenge for its movie The Interview - a comedy about two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

    The Pyongyang government had previously described the film as "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism" and an "act of war".

    1/28

    1. Gallery: Kim Jong-Un Inspecting Things

      North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un makes regular public appearances across the country

    The state media follows him as he enjoys visits to factories, military installations and construction sites. Continue through for more pictures

    ]]>

  • ]]>

  • ]]>

  • ]]>

  • The FBI has given US firms advice on spotting and handling the malware in a five-page report, but it did not confirm if it was a response to the incident at Sony.

    Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone, in Beijing, said that while North Korea is yet to comment on the cyber attack on Sony, it "takes any slight on its leader very, very seriously".

    "When The Interview trailer came out the North Korean ambassador to the UN made representations to the UN saying that here would be a response," he said.

    "It is only a few months ago that a hairdresser in Ealing was offering a Kim Jong-Un haircut and two senior diplomats from the North Korean embassy went there and told him he couldn't do that because it was very disrespectful."

    He said it was a "plausible possibility" as Pyongyang had carried out previous hacking attacks, but he warned there is a lot of reporting about North Korea which is not correct because of the problems getting news out of the closed country.

    Some reports suggest North Korea may have enlisted Chinese hackers to carry out the attack.

    Last year, Sky News reported US security analysts had identified an anonymous-looking tower block in Shanghai as the possible headquarters of a global hacking operation allegedly run by the Chinese military - the People's Liberation Army Unit 61398.

    In May, five members of China's People's Liberation Army were charged with hacking US companies for trade secrets.

    Cybersecurity experts said the attack on Sony marked the first of its kind on a major US company.

    "Sony Pictures continues to work through issues related to what was clearly a cyber attack last week," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

    "The company has restored a number of important services to ensure ongoing business continuity and is working closely with law enforcement officials to investigate the matter."

    Hackers have used malware similar to that described in the FBI report to launch attacks on businesses in South Korea and the Middle East, including one against oil producer Saudi Aramco that knocked out some 30,000 computers.

    "I believe the coordinated cyberattack with destructive payloads against a corporation in the US represents a watershed event," Tom Kellermann, chief cybersecurity officer with security software maker Trend Micro Inc, said.

    "Geopolitics now serve as harbingers for destructive cyberattacks."

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    3. UK Households Spend More Than They Earn
    4. Islamic State Leader's Wife Held, Reports Say
    5. Father And Daughter Reunited On IS Front Line


    • 23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More
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    UK Households Spend More Than They Earn

    Households with a single bread-winner spent more than they earned last year, as the typical outgoings of families increased, official figures show.

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said its Family Spending report found that households spent £517.30 per week in 2013, a rise of more than £16 on the previous year when adjusted for inflation but below 2006 levels.

    Income data had previously shown average weekly earnings at £517 per person during the period.

    Housing, fuel and power costs overtook transport to become the biggest area of spending at a record £74.40 per week.

    And it seemed people put a higher price on having a good time ahead of debt worries as recreation and culture was the third largest spending category, with an average £63.90.

    It includes spending on TVs, computers, newspapers, books, leisure activities and package holidays.

    The ONS said average weekly expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks in 2013 was £58.80 - with £15.60 of this being spent on meat and fish, £4.30 on fresh vegetables and £3.30 on fresh fruit.

    The figures showed around £22.60 is spent on clothing and footwear.

    There was a North-South divide when it came to the regional breakdown of the statistics.

    Householders in South East England spent more than Londoners by an average £6 extra at £585.40, partly reflecting higher commuter costs.

    The North East spent the least at £424.60 per week.

    The figures were compiled at a time when inflation easily outstripped earnings growth, further eroding family spending power.

    Rises in the cost of living are currently more evenly matched to wage increases.


    23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More
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    Police Appeal Over Student Protest Unrest

    Police have called on the public to help them identify eight people they want to talk to after violence erupted at a student protest in central London on 19 November.

    Images have been released of the individuals the Metropolitan Police want to question about offences, including criminal damage to barriers and fencing, assault on police and public order offences.

    The march began at midday in central London and moved on to Parliament Square where protesters climbed barriers in the square itself and began throwing missiles at a small group of police officers.

    Protective fencing around the grass verge was pulled down and the protesters moved on to occupy the area as officers withdrew from the area.

    Thousands of students - some wearing balaclavas or scarves over their faces - took part in the largely-peaceful march through the centre of the city.

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    1. Gallery: Riot Police Confront Student Protesters In London

      Student protests against tuition fees, debt and Government cuts turned violent in London

    Hundreds of police were deployed and at least 11 people arrested for offences such as affray and criminal damage

    ]]>

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    Father And Daughter Reunited On IS Front Line

    Father And Daughter Reunited On IS Front Line

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    A father and daughter have discovered they are both fighting Islamic State on the front line of the battle for the Syrian border town of Kobani.

    Pervin Kobani, 19, is one of many female fighters in the Kurdish army who are battling to fight off the extremist group.

    The farmer's daughter took up arms two years ago, signing up with the Syrian Kurdish women's self-defence force, known by its Kurdish acronym YPJ.

    They now fight with the men's unit, the YPG.

    After half a year away from Kobani fighting elsewhere in Syria, she returned two months ago to help keep IS at bay.

    She is part of a group of holding an eastern front-line position which is regularly attacked by the militants.

    Then, three weeks ago, Pervin bumped into her father, Farouk, on a street corner.

    She was surprised to see him holding a gun.

    Pervin had no idea her father had also decided to fight. Other family members have now left Syria - her mother is a refugee in Turkey and her brother is studying in Algeria.

    1/18

    1. Gallery: US-Led Airstrikes on Kobani

      Smoke and flames rise over a hill near the Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province

    US military forces again focused airstrikes on the area near the Syrian city in their campaign to turn back Islamic State forces and also hit oil facilities held by the militant group

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  • "My feeling at that time was very happy," she said.

    "Honestly, when I heard my father is fighting on the western front with the YPG I was so proud of him and it made me want to fight more."

    Farouk Kobani had joined the town's defenders in September.

    1/16

    1. Gallery: Archive: Kurds Celebrate Peshmerga's Kobani Mission

      Air strikes took place ahead of the peshmerga's arrival to take part in the battle for Kobani

    A series of explosions took place in Kobani

    ]]>

  • After months without news from his daughter, he was delighted to see her. And he had some advice for her.

    "I always say to her that, when you get into a fight, just keep your mind on the fighting," he said.

    "When the fighting is over, love your friends and Kurdistan with all your heart."

    1/10

    1. Gallery: Human Cost Of Battle For Kobani

      A Syrian Kurdish woman and her children at a refugee camp at Suruc, Turkey. These images have emerged as Islamic State (IS) continues to fight for control of the border town of Kobani in Syria

    Turkey dropped its refusal to allow Kurdish fighters over the border to defend besieged Kobani, saying it was now helping Iraqi peshmerga to cross the frontier in a major policy shift

    ]]>

  • Pervin has since returned with a journalist to the western front to see her father again.

    She is determined to stay and defend her town.

    "All Kobani is important for IS, they want to take the city," she said.

    "If we don't defend it well, they will enter. We cannot say they are only in the south. If there is no protection on two fronts, IS will enter the city. But we won't allow the terrorist groups in until the last drop of our blood."

    The Kurds and their Free Syrian Army allies, aided by US-led coalition airstrikes, have been defending Kobani since mid-September when IS launched their assault on the town.

    But the Kobani battle is a small part of a larger war in Syria which has killed more than 200,000 people in less than four years, according to a monitoring group.

    "We have documented the killing of 202,354 people since March 2011," UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

    Of those killed, more than 130,000 were fighters, the group said.

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    1. Heroin Misery Of The Trainspotting Generation
    2. Costa Concordia Captain Bullish At Trial
    3. UK Households Spend More Than They Earn
    4. Did North Korea Hack Sony Over Kim Film?
    5. Islamic State Leader's Wife Held, Reports Say

    • Father And Daughter Reunited On IS Front Line

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    A father and daughter have discovered they are both fighting Islamic State on the front line of the battle for the Syrian border town of Kobani.

    Pervin Kobani, 19, is one of many female fighters in the Kurdish army who are battling to fight off the extremist group.

    The farmer's daughter took up arms two years ago, signing up with the Syrian Kurdish women's self-defence force, known by its Kurdish acronym YPJ.

    They now fight with the men's unit, the YPG.

    After half a year away from Kobani fighting elsewhere in Syria, she returned two months ago to help keep IS at bay.

    She is part of a group of holding an eastern front-line position which is regularly attacked by the militants.

    Then, three weeks ago, Pervin bumped into her father, Farouk, on a street corner.

    She was surprised to see him holding a gun.

    Pervin had no idea her father had also decided to fight. Other family members have now left Syria - her mother is a refugee in Turkey and her brother is studying in Algeria.

    1/18

    1. Gallery: US-Led Airstrikes on Kobani

      Smoke and flames rise over a hill near the Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province

    US military forces again focused airstrikes on the area near the Syrian city in their campaign to turn back Islamic State forces and also hit oil facilities held by the militant group

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  • "My feeling at that time was very happy," she said.

    "Honestly, when I heard my father is fighting on the western front with the YPG I was so proud of him and it made me want to fight more."

    Farouk Kobani had joined the town's defenders in September.

    1/16

    1. Gallery: Archive: Kurds Celebrate Peshmerga's Kobani Mission

      Air strikes took place ahead of the peshmerga's arrival to take part in the battle for Kobani

    A series of explosions took place in Kobani

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  • After months without news from his daughter, he was delighted to see her. And he had some advice for her.

    "I always say to her that, when you get into a fight, just keep your mind on the fighting," he said.

    "When the fighting is over, love your friends and Kurdistan with all your heart."

    1/10

    1. Gallery: Human Cost Of Battle For Kobani

      A Syrian Kurdish woman and her children at a refugee camp at Suruc, Turkey. These images have emerged as Islamic State (IS) continues to fight for control of the border town of Kobani in Syria

    Turkey dropped its refusal to allow Kurdish fighters over the border to defend besieged Kobani, saying it was now helping Iraqi peshmerga to cross the frontier in a major policy shift

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  • Pervin has since returned with a journalist to the western front to see her father again.

    She is determined to stay and defend her town.

    "All Kobani is important for IS, they want to take the city," she said.

    "If we don't defend it well, they will enter. We cannot say they are only in the south. If there is no protection on two fronts, IS will enter the city. But we won't allow the terrorist groups in until the last drop of our blood."

    The Kurds and their Free Syrian Army allies, aided by US-led coalition airstrikes, have been defending Kobani since mid-September when IS launched their assault on the town.

    But the Kobani battle is a small part of a larger war in Syria which has killed more than 200,000 people in less than four years, according to a monitoring group.

    "We have documented the killing of 202,354 people since March 2011," UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

    Of those killed, more than 130,000 were fighters, the group said.

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    Passenger Dies On Flight From Heathrow To US

    A young plane passenger has died aboard a transatlantic flight from London to the United States.

    The woman, believed to be 23, reportedly fell unconscious on a United Airlines aircraft from Heathrow to Newark in New Jersey on Monday evening.

    It is believed a doctor tried to assist the victim, who was thought to be travelling alone, but she did not recover.

    A spokesman for the airline said: "United confirms that a passenger passed away on flight UA115 from London Heathrow to New York/Newark on 1 December, 2014.

    "We offer our condolences to the passenger's family. For privacy reasons, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further."


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    Pair Accused Of Cling Film 'Sex Game' Killing

    A man died during a sex game after being wrapped in black plastic sheeting and cling film, a jury has heard.

    Alun Williams, 47, was unable to regulate his body temperature and suffered dehydration which led to a heart attack, Canterbury Crown Court was told.

    Mr Williams, a head chef for P&O Ferries, who lived with his girlfriend, had an interest in bondage and mummification and would meet men online for sex, the trial heard.

    Richard Bowler, 35, and David Connor, 23, from Canterbury, are charged with Mr Williams' manslaughter, which they both deny.

    They also deny an alternative charge of manslaughter by gross negligence.

    Bowler, who has cerebral palsy, wept loudly as prosecutor Ian Hope opened the case and had to be asked by Judge Adele Williams to keep the noise down.

    He said Bowler and Connor lived together in a flat in Dover, Kent, with Connor acting as Bowler's "informal carer".

    The court heard Bowler had phoned his brother and texted his sister-in-law for help, before calling the police shortly before 6am on 20 August last year.

    He told them he had been involved in a "kinky sex session" with a friend who was wrapped up and had stopped breathing.

    He was put through to the ambulance service and told them Mr Williams had taken the drug ketamine.

    Mr Hope said Bowler cut open the cling film and plastic sheeting to perform CPR and told the emergency services: "I thought he was just sleeping.

    "I am sorry, I should have called before.

    "He takes ketamine and that mongs him out."

    The court heard that Mr Williams was found wrapped tightly from head to toe, with a space left around his nose and mouth so he could breathe.

    A hood had been placed over his head, allegedly at Mr Williams' request, and sexual acts involving the three men took place, the court was told.

    Connor told the police that he had left the flat at midnight after Bowler told him he had a man coming round for a kinky sex session, the court heard.

    He said he returned at 1am and that Bowler told him that Mr Williams had wanted to be wrapped in cling film, the jury was told.

    A laptop found in Mr Williams' car showed he had an interest in bondage and mummification, the trial heard.

    A post-mortem examination on Mr Williams' body confirmed that he had died suddenly following body wrapping while under the influence of ketamine and methamphetamine.


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