Friday 18th February 2005

By Maria Ahmed, Simeon Brody, Derren Hayes and Amy
Taylor

TV Violence ‘makes children aggressive’

Violent images on television and in computer games can increase
aggressive behaviour among young children.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have found that violent
imagery in the media had a “substantial” short-term
effect on children’s arousal, thoughts and emotions. The
study is published today in The Lancet journal.

Source:- The Independent Friday 18 February 2005 page
8

Pension strike talks break down

Talks aimed at averting a pre-election strike over pensions by
local government workers broke up last night without
agreement.

Unison said it would press ahead with a ballot on industrial action
in protest of regulations scheduled to come into force in
April.

Source:- The Independent Friday 18 February 2005 page
18

Still no fixed date for beleaguered CSA chief to quit

Douglas Smith, the head of the Child Support Agency, is still in
his job three months after the government suggested he had
resigned, and no date has been fixed for his departure.

The revelation provoked anger among MPs who accused Alan Johnson,
the secretary of state for work and pensions, of prematurely
announcing his departure in an effort to deflect difficult
questions about the CSA.

Source:- The Independent Friday 18 February 2005 page
21

Council tax rises held at 4.4 per cent – until after
election

Council tax bills will increase by more than twice the level of
inflation this year with town halls giving warning of even steeper
rise in 2006. Council leaders argued that they had curbed rises
because of a one-off “pre-election bribe” and threats
they would be capped.

Source:- The Times Friday 18 February 2005 page 1 and pgs
6-7

Blind worker kept idle for 2 years

A blind computer specialist won her discrimination battle yesterday
against a multinational advertising agency that gave her
“nothing to do” for two years.

Sue Williams was given her dream job as a worldwide IT developer by
the J Walter Thompson Group. But the firm was “ill-prepared
for her arrival” and gave her no suitable work throughout her
employment, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.

Source:- The Times Friday 18 February 2005 page 28

Alzheimer’s drug is found to speed up mental
decline

Quetiapine (sold as Seroquel) and rivastigmine (Exelon), two drugs
often prescribed to patients with dementia are ineffective and one
of them actually speeds mental decline, a study funded by the
Alzheimer’s Research Trust has shown.

Source:- The Times Friday 18 February 2005 page 29

Public sector pension cost doubles to £100bn

The cost of public sector pensions has almost doubled in the past
two years to £700 billion leaving a hole in the
government’s future finances, according to pensions
experts.

The TUC will stage a rally today to protest against increases in
the retirement age affecting seven million public sector
workers.

Source:- The Guardian Friday February 18 2005 page 1

Suicide fear from antidepressants

Antidepressants like Prozac and Seroxat may make people twice as
likely to kill themselves, according to a study published in the
British Medical Journal today.

Source:- The Guardian Friday February 18 2005 page 5

Dementia drug fear

A drug used to curb aggression and agitation in thousands of people
with dementia is be “carefully considered” by safety
watchdogs after research suggested it hastened their mental
decline.

Quetiapine, marketed at Seroquel, is taken by up to 45 per cent of
those with Alzheimer’s disease.

Source:- The Guardian Friday February 18 2005 page
11

Cell killing “maybe not racist”

The murder of Zahid Mubarek by a cellmate who wrote a string of
racist letters may not have been racially motivated, an inquiry has
heard.

A forensic psychiatrist said he did not believe Mubarek’s
ethnic origin was important and suggested his killer Robert Stewart
was psychopathic and might have killed him even if he was
white.

Source:- The Guardian Friday February 18 2005 page
12

Rise in school standards “exaggerated”

The Statistics Commission said government claims of a dramatic
improvement in primary school standards was a “substantial
overstatement”.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday February 18 2005 page
2

The feral boy abandoned to a life of misery

The 11-year-old banned from the centre of Nottingham earlier this
week was born to a single mother, was the fourth of five children
by four different men, did not know his father in his early life
and his greatest influence was a wayward older brother.

He was first expelled from school at age eight, began taking
cannabis at about the same time and made his first court appearance
aged 10.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday February 18 2005 page
6

Tories exploiting immigration fears, says Blair

Tony Blair accused the Conservatives of ignoring the economy and
public services to concentrate on trying to exploit public concerns
over immigration.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday February 18 2005 page
8

Warning: Violence on TV, video and computer games does make
your child aggressive, say doctors

Research from Birmingham University confirmed that watching screen
violence can have a “substantial effect” on effect on
young people, making them more likely to be aggressive or
fearful.

Source:- Daily Mail Friday February 18 2005 page 7

Scottish newspapers

Homeless kids can bank on help from Neil

Feature on the bank manager who has been named Individual
Volunteer of the Year at the first Royal Bank of Scotland
Chairman’s Awards for Community Excellence.

Edinburgh-based Neil Graham, Royal Bank of Scotland marketing
manager, has helped raise more than £100,000 – and given up
eight weeks of holiday – to build homes for deprived youngsters in
the Amazonian jungle.

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 18 February

Child porn teacher walks free

The deputy head of a secondary school avoided jailed
despite being found in possession of 1,400 indecent photographs of
children between May 1999 and June 2004 and was in possession of
another 1,810 indecent photographs of children on CD-Roms which he
had bought through the internet.

Child support agencies condemned the decision to sentence William
Fraser, who was caught by Operation Ore, to two years’
probation and 140 hours’ community service. Sheriff Alexander
Jessop said the images were at the lower end of the scale for
internet child pornography, even though some involved children as
young as five and others performing sexual acts.

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 18 February

Extra points for migrants who settle in
Scotland

Migrants to the UK will be offered extra incentives to settle in
Scotland under government plans to meet the country’s skills
shortages and counter population decline.

Des Browne, immigration minister, said the points system announced
last week would be weighted in favour of parts of Scotland where
there is specific labour shortages. The Home Office has indicated
the Scottish executive will be able to “sponsor” certain workers
and lobby for higher points to be granted where there is a specific
need.

Source:- The Herald Friday 18 February

Booze is all I’ve got

The teenager caught on camera giving two fingers to justice
minister Cathy Jamieson as she launched a crackdown on anti-social
behavior this week claimed: “Give us things to do and we’ll stay
off the booze”.

Jamie Smith,15, made the Record’s front page by flicking a V-sign
behind Jamieson’s back as she urged Scots to shop hooligans.
Jamie denied he was a ‘Ned’, said he wanted to joint he
army and defended his favourite drink – the fortified tonic wine
Buckfast – sales of which Jamieson would like to restrict.

Source:- The Daily Record Friday 18 February

Welsh newspapers

Church warden jailed for string of sex attacks

A church warden was jailed for 11 years yesterday for carrying out
22 sex offences against three young boys.

Lyndon Lewis of Blaenavon was branded “disgusting” by a
judge at Cardiff Crown Court.

Police clerk Lewis was nicknamed ‘the vicar’ because of
his church work.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 18 February

 

 

 

 

 

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