Tuesday 22 July 2003

By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Donson.
Love-tug mother wins back Tamina
A court has ruled that a six-year-old girl staying with her Italian
father should be returned to live with her British mother in
England.
Sibylle Guerri-Stephenson and her British husband Mark were
delighted when a court in Trieste awarded them custody of
Tamina.
The couple, who live in Sheffield, have been involved in a battle
with Tamina’s father for the past three months.
Jean Pierre Fighera refused to give his daughter back after her
mother left her for the night at her paternal grandmother’s house
in Fiume Veneto.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Tuesday 22 July page 6
New look at funding demanded
The head of an inquiry into how an 88-year-old woman died when she
was evicted from her care home has called on the government to
urgently review the way social care is funded.
Violet Townsend died in February, five days after she was moved
from Magdalen House care home in Gloucester because the owners felt
the council did not pay enough for her fees.
Townsend’s GP said stress from the move had been a contributing
factor in her death.
Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 22 July page 8
Rate of murder for cot deaths is
‘exaggerated’
The number of babies dying of cot deaths who have been deliberately
killed has been overestimated, according to new research.
The medical study said that a few as three per cent of cot deaths
could be caused by murder. Previously this figure had been believed
to be much higher with experts such as Professor Sir Roy Meadow,
whose evidence helped to convict solicitor Sally Clark of murdering
her two sons, putting it at around 20 per cent.
Professor Meadow is currently being investigated by the General
Medical Council after Clark was freed on appeal and another mother,
Trupti Patel, was found not guilty of murdering three of her
babies.
Source:- The Independent Tuesday 22 July page 7
Too old for nursery
A 38-year-old mother has been told that she is banned from taking
her toddler to a playgroup because she is too old.
Angela Hayes had been taking her three-year-old son Scott to the
Cosytoes nursery in Llanelli, south Wales, for the past 18 months,
but has not been told that it is only open to parents
under-30.
The Young Women’s Christian Association, which runs the group, said
that it wants to refocus its service, which is partly funded by the
National Lottery, on younger women.
It has also banned older women who look after their grandchildren
while their sons and daughters are at work.
Source:- Daily Mail Tuesday 22 July page 15
NUT challenges ‘anti-gay’ job rules
The National Union of Teachers is seeking a judicial
review of government regulations that it says will allow faith
schools to discriminate against gay teachers.
The regulations involve the implementation of an EU directive which
says employers with a “religious  ethos” could discriminate on the
grounds of sexuality or religious belief if it was a “genuine and
determining occupational requirement, provided that the objective
is legitimate and the requirement is proportionate”.
The department of trade and industry has refuted the NUT’s opinion
because it believes the government’s regulations will not apply to
faith schools.
Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 22 July page 9
Scottish newspapers
Missing millions
Around 60,000 older Scottish people are missing out on benefits
worth around £1,100 a year each.
A total of 58,500 Scottish older people fail to claim the average
“minimum income guarantee” benefit and this pension
top-up works out at around £22 per week.
The ‘Daily Record’ today launches a campaign to
encourage older people to claim what they are entitled to.
Source:- Daily Record Tuesday 22 July page 1
Street Scots forced to use B&Bs
A lack of support from the Scottish executive is resulting in
homeless people being forced to live in costly bed and breakfast
accommodation.
Homelessness charity Shelter has warned of a cash crisis as
councils predict a rise in the use of B&Bs, and the number of
homeless people rocketed by nearly a third last year.
Spokesperson Gavin Corbett said although the executive had provided
some money for temporary accommodation, it is not enough.
A Shelter study revealed that one in four Scottish councils are
already using bed and breakfast hostels for homeless people.
Source:- Daily Record  Tuesday 22 July page 19
Porno sacking racist
A council worker claims that bosses wrongly accused him of
accessing porn on office computers because of his colour.
Anand Moodley, dubbed “Black Jock” by colleagues, says
he was disciplined for looking at images from sex websites and
forced out of his job. But he claims he does not know how to surf
the internet and was bewildered when filthy images were emailed to
his account.
Moodley says another worker must be responsible and claims race
discrimination against Midlothian council.
Source:- Daily Record Tuesday 22 July page 20
Scots pensioner charged with shooting sick daughter in
Italy
An older Scottish woman accused of shooting her daughter in a
failed suicide pact was remanded in prison in Italy yesterday to
await her trial.
Margaret Allison from Glasgow was arrested last Friday at her flat
in Altamura, near Bari, following the death of her daughter Emilia
Mininni, who suffered a painful stomach condition.
Allison’s lawyer, Carmello Piccolo, said Allison did shoot
her daughter, but did not fire the fatal shots. She could not go
through with killing herself after her daughter’s
death.
Piccolo said a judge had decided the mother should remain in prison
until an indictment is handed down, probably in September.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 22 July
Welsh newspapers
Boy, 15 charged with school arson
Police have charged a teenage boy with starting a fire that gutted
a primary school in south Wales.
The 15-year-old from Rogerstone in Gwent has been charged with
arson with intent to endanger life.
The school which is also in Rogerstone, will have to be completely
rebuilt at an estimated cost of £7 million and the chairperson
of the governors, councillor Ernie Watkins, said that fire had been
traumatic for both pupils and their parents.
Source:- Monday 21 July South Wales Argus page 5
Poor students ‘driving themselves into the
ground’
Students are working a 50-hour week trying to juggle their studies
and part-time work.
Research from the University of Hertfordshire reveals that one in
10 students have fallen asleep during lectures or skipped lectures
because of work commitments.
Student welfare officer at the University of Glamorgan, Rhys Davies
says that students can suffer health problems as a result and they
can also be tempted to drop out of courses or let their work
suffer. He says that the reason so many students now combine work
and study is that the funding system is inadequate.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 22 July page 3