FRIDAY 6 JANUARY 2006

PM’s war on neighbours from hell
Neighbours from hell are to be evicted and left to fend for themselves in a crackdown on yobs planned by Tony Blair. The worst offenders will have their houses boarded up for at least three months, even if they are homeowners. The prime minister unveiled the most controversial part of his Respect agenda in an interview with The Sun.
Source:- The Sun, Friday 6 January 2006, page 6

Shocking rise in cirrhosis reported
Increased alcohol consumption has been blamed by medical researchers for a “shocking” increase in liver cirrhosis reported in The Lancet.
Source:- Financial Times, Friday 6 January 2006, page 4

Man charged with rape of girl, 3
A man aged 26 was charged last night with kidnapping and sexual offences against a three-year-old girl. Two other men, aged 34 and 47, were released without charge following questioning.
Source:- The Sun, Friday 6 January 2006, page 8

Teachers harden views on parent choice and academy schools
Opposition among teachers to key sections of education reform, such as academy schools and increased parental choice, has hardened over the past 12 months, according to research by the Sutton Trust.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 6 January 2006, page 9   

Hospitals in two counties on brink of collapse, says Audit Commission
NHS services across Surrey and Sussex are the brink of financial collapse that could disrupt services to patients, the Audit Commission said. Hospitals and primary care trusts are heading for a collective deficit of £75m by the end of March.
Source:- The Guardian, Friday 6 January 2006, page 14

Muslims boycott holocaust day
The Muslim Council of Britain is to boycott the national holocaust day for the second year running, saying it is not sufficiently inclusive.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Friday 6 January 2006, page 2

Scottish news
Glasgow girls win reprieve for another asylum family
A family of Armenian asylum seekers has been given a last-minute reprieve from deportation after a campaign by school pupils.
The Hakobians were arrested at their Glasgow home in December and taken to Dungavel detention centre in Lanarkshire, pending removal from the UK.
However, the removal was cancelled yesterday after a group of pupils known as the Glasgow girls and a psychiatrist opposed the deportation, claiming the mother and child were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Surce:- The Herald, Friday 6 January 2006

Cirrhosis death rate doubles in Scotland
Scots are drinking themselves to death at a faster rate than people anywhere else in western Europe.
Research shows that Scotland has the fastest growing level of cirrhosis deaths in Europe, making it the second worst country in Europe for the disease overall for women and third worst for men.
In the 1980s and 1990s, cirrhosis death rates for men more than doubled in Scotland and the numbers of women dying increased by almost a half over the same period.
Source:- The Herald, Friday 6 January 2006

Ex-pupil takes crown to court over abuse case
A former pupil who was repeatedly tortured and sexually assaulted at a notorious residential school in Stirlingshire has taken the Crown Office to court in his fight to bring his alleged abuser to trial. Emile Szula has been granted legal aid for a judicial review into the decision not to prosecute the alleged abuse “ringleader” at the St Ninian’s school run by the de la Salle Catholic order.
The move, a legal first in Scotland, follows the conviction in 2003 of three former staff who committed a string of offences against children at the school.
Source:-The Scotsman, Friday 6 January 2006

Welsh news
Cash to fight rural town’s urban deprivation
A deprived rural Welsh town is set to receive funding to tackle poverty levels usually only seen in inner city areas.
The Victorian spa town of Llandrindod is set to receive almost £400,000 after Powys councillors learnt that it was one of the poorest towns in the area.
Source:- Western Mail, Friday 6 January 2006

Man in court on child charges
A man will appear in court today charged with kidnap and four serious sexual offences after a three-year-old girl was snatched from her home in Cardiff.
Two other men who were being questioned about the incident have been released with no charges brought.
The police said that two men had been spotted trying to get young girls to get into their car near where the three-year-old girl lived on Monday, the same day she was taken.
Source:- Western Mail, Friday 6 January 2006