Thursday 20 April 2006

Charities back new rival to Lottery
A rival to the national lottery that promises to allow punters to choose which cause will get 30p in every £1 ticket will be launched next week with the support of charities fed up with the official game. Widespread concern that obscure groups are being favoured over better-known causes has led 70 charities to sign up to the new lottery.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 20 April 2006, page 1

Elderly to be assured dignity
Inspection procedures of nursing homes and hospitals will be intensified to ensure that the “dignity” of older people becomes an NHS priority, the government promised yesterday in a department of health document A New Ambition for Old Age.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 20 April 2006, page 2

Leniency for ‘ignorant’ woman who hurt baby
A Bangladeshi woman shook a baby boy so violently that he suffered brain damage walked free from court yesterday because a judge conceded that she did not know how to behave in the West. Rahella Khanom, 24, caused her five-month-old baby in her care to suffer fractures to his breast bone and ribs as she tried to rid him of evil spirits, Southwark Crown Court was told. She was given an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 20 April 2006, page 11

Warder jailed
A prison officer who tried to smuggle almost a kilogram of cannabis to an inmate was jailed for two years by Maidstone Crown Court. Martin Nelson, 25, was caught with 991g of cannabis resign during a routine search at Swaleside Prison, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 20 April 2006, page 31

New Asbo to track the violent criminals
Courts are to be given powers to control the movement of violent criminals after they leave jail on probation. Home Secretary Charles Clarke will today announced proposals for a Dangerous Persons Order.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Thursday 20 April 2006, page 6

Prescott to stop funding wardens
John Prescott has stopped paying for the neighbourhood wardens hailed as a key weapon in Labour’s fight against anti-social behaviour. The deputy prime minister has axed £50 million of Whitehall funding for the 3,000 wardens.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Thursday 20 April 2006, page 19

Humber Bridge mother ‘did not get enough help’
Friends of Alison Davies, who is thought to have jumped to her death from the Humber Bridge with her autistic son, said yesterday that she had been “badly let down” by social services.
Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 20 April 2006, page 14

Scottish news

Asylum student and family can stay
An Albanian student threatened with deportation will remain in Scotland after university chiefs appealed for her to be allowed to complete her studies.
Merita Hazizi was due to be flown out of the country today along with her family after their claim for asylum had been rejected.
However, in a last-minute reversal, immigration officials agreed to release the family, after Strathclyde University promised to pay for Ms Hazizi’s accommodation and living expenses until November to allow her to complete a degree in maths and physics.
Source: The Herald, Thursday 20 April

Syringe disposal bins to be installed in two of Edinburgh’s historic cemeteries
Two historic cemeteries in Edinburgh have been fitted with special syringe bins in a bid to cut the number of used needles being dropped by drug addicts.
The project is being piloted at St Cuthbert’s on Lothian Road and the Canongate Churchyard, identified as having a particular problem with abandoned syringes.
If successful the project, led by Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh along with police and the council, could be rolled out across the city.
Source: The Scotsman, Thursday 20 April

Suicide sparks fears for Scots under mental pressure
Mental health campaigners have warned of the growing pressures facing Scots men after a 30-year-old who once set himself on fire was found dead at his home.
The Choose Life campaign said there was evidence men were finding it increasingly difficult to cope with life crises, while women were growing more independent.
The warning followed the death of Brent Reid whose body was found on the floor of his Milton Street home after friends raised the alarm when he could not be contacted.
Source: The Scotsman, Thursday 20 April

Welsh news

Asbos ‘create as many problems as they solve,’ warns criminologist
Anti-social behaviour orders may be causing more problems than they solve and make situations worse for some people a leading academic has warned at a conference at the University of Wales, Newport.
Jo Brayford said that she had conducted a survey in Newport and different people had different opinions of what constituted anti-social behaviour.
She said there were more effective ways of dealing with anti-social behaviour than Asbos.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday 20 April 2006