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Ocean changes 'will cool Europe' Changes to ocean currents in the Atlantic may cool European weather within a few decades, scientists say. (BBC, 30 Nov 2005) Rumours of a riot It started with a claim that a young black woman had been raped in a shop - and exploded into a race riot that left a man dead. But what was the truth behind the rumour that set Birmingham alight? (Guardian, 29 Nov 2005) Teen locked up by mistake A teenager was held for two weeks after cops wrongly accused him of being an illegal immigrant. Maxwell Gordon was stopped in police routine checks in Streatham High Road on October 28, when he had a snooker ball in his pocket. (South London Press, 29 Nov 2005) De Menezes tube tribute A plaque commemorating Jean Charles de Menezes is likely to be put up in the Tube station where he died. (South London Press, 29 Nov 2005) It's war on the memorial to De Menezes It was the neighbourhood watch coordinator in the Stockwell Park conservation area who first drew attention to the problem. A picture of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian electrician shot and and killed at Stockwell underground station on July 22, had been added to the Stockwell memorial garden mural, and it had not been properly authorised.. ..."I have been asked by local residents for action to be taken regarding the graffiti desecration of the Stockwell war memorial," wrote David Tomlinson in an email addressed to Dominic Busby, the Stockwell community safety officer. (Guardian, 28 Nov 2005) Napoleon's genocide 'on a par with Hitler' A French historian has caused uproar by claiming Napoleon provided the model for Hitler's Final Solution with the slaughter of more than 100,000 Caribbean slaves. (Telegraph, 26 Nov 2005) Portrait of cop shooting victim is painted over Part of a mural commemorating the man mistakenly shot dead by police on the Tube has been painted over after complaints. The tribute to Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes, killed on a train at Stockwell by an undercover policeman on July 22, was covered up by an anti-graffiti team from Lambeth council. ...Was the council right to paint over the mural portrait? Write to South London Press, 2-4 Leigham Court Road, Streatham, SW16 2PD or email letters@slp.co.uk. (South London Press, 25 Nov 2005) Canada Pledges $4.3B to Indigenous Groups Canada on Friday pledged $4.3 billion in a landmark deal with native Indian and northern Inuit communities to help lift them from the poverty and disease that has plagued their neglected reserves for more than a century. (Guardian, 25 Nov 2005) Pensioners faced with 'crippling' council tax Council tax bills across Britain have risen at almost twice the rate of pensioner incomes in the last decade. (Telegraph, 25 Nov 2005) Pinochet turns 90 under detention Former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet is spending his 90th birthday under house arrest after being indicted for the second time in 48 hours. (BBC, 24 Nov 2005) You can take the boy out of Eton ... Can an Etonian become prime minister? I suspect that only weeks ago most journalists wouldn't have known how to answer this question. (Guardian, 23 Nov 2005) Middle class flight and poor design damaging cities, warns Rogers The middle classes are abandoning inner London and other cities for the countryside in a drift that threatens to cause a "deepening racial and social" divide, an urban taskforce warned yesterday. (Guardian, 23 Nov 2005) It may be beyond passé - but we'll have to do something about the rich The gap between extraordinary wealth and desperate poverty is growing steadily wider in Tony Blair's Britain. (Guardian, 23 Nov 2005) Venezuela gives US cheap oil deal The deal will help tens of thousands of poorer Massachusetts residents Officials from Venezuela and Massachusetts have signed a deal to provide cheap heating oil to low-income homes in the US state. (BBC, 23 Nov 2005)> Aceh aid 'may cause over fishing' The number of boats being provided to tsunami survivors in Indonesia's Aceh province could lead to problems of over fishing, relief workers warn. (BBC, 22 Nov 2005) Kenyan leader accepts poll defeat Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki has conceded defeat in a crucial vote on a new constitution. (BBC, 22 Nov 2005) Council tax 'to rise by £100 unless Brown plugs £2bn black hole' Council tax bills will rise in England unless the Government provides extra funding to meet a £2 billion black hole' in local authority finances, MPs were told yesterday. (Telegraph, 22 Nov 2005) Self-inflicted ill health 'should be penalised' A third of Britons believe that people who do not look after their health should be penalised and one in 12 thinks they should not be treated on the NHS, a survey says today. (Telegraph, 22 Nov 2005) ASBOs on trial The government has announced its determination to crack down on 'yob culture' and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) are increasingly being used as weapon in the battle. The BBC's Panorama programme has uncovered evidence that while some people's lives have been transformed for the better, ASBOs can have a potentially damaging effect when used against vulnerable children. (BBC, 20 Nov 2005) See Asbo Concern North African migrants drown in rough seas Nine migrants drowned and more were feared dead after their boat hit rough weather off Sicily's southern coast yesterday. More than 170 people survived. (Guardian, 19 Nov 2005) Hain in hot water over 'all-Ireland economy' Peter Hain faced calls for his resignation last night after suggesting that Ulster should embrace an all-Ireland economy. (Telegraph, 19 Nov 2005) Death penalty support falls as toll nears 1,000 Robin Lovitt used scissors to stab Clayton Dicks to death when the pool hall attendant blundered onto the scene of an after-hours till robbery. Daryl Mack strangled Betty May in her home in Reno. (Times, 19 Nov 2005) Telegraph Editor quits over interference Martin Newland resigned as Editor of The Daily Telegraph yesterday after a series of rows about interference by Murdoch MacLennan, the newspaper’s chief executive. (Times, 19 Nov 2005) No proper toilets for third of the world's population More than a third of the world's population lacks access to adequate sanitation, according to a survey by the British charity WaterAid. (Guardian, 19 Nov 2005) Convoluted benefit system loses £2.6bn a year, say auditors The Treasury is losing £2.6bn a year from fraud and error in the benefit system - caused largely by the complexity of its regulations, parliament's spending watchdog warned yesterday. (Guardian, 19 Nov 2005) 'They couldn't take away my dignity' This weekend Amnesty International is holding a conference in London which brings together the biggest gathering of former "war on terror" detainees. (Guardian, 18 Nov 2005) Ex-cop jailed for sex attack...43 years later A retired policeman who launched a depraved sex attack on his sister-in-law made legal history when he was jailed 43 years later. Disgraced John Staddon - now a 67-year-old silver-haired pensioner - pounced on terrified Kathleen Shone in 1962 as her new-born baby and two young children slept nearby. (South London Press, 18 Nov 2005) Home joy for black history A centre that celebrates the vast contribution black people have made to British culture has secured a permanent home. The Black Cultural Archives (BCA) - established more than two decades ago to promote how much African and Afro-Caribbean people have brought to our nation - will be housed in Brixton, considered the capital of Black Britain. (South London Press, 18 Nov 2005) UN debut for $100 laptop for poor A prototype of a cheap and robust laptop for pupils has been welcomed as an "expression of global solidarity" by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. (BBC, 17 Nov 2005) The police are listening at last. But they won't like what we say "The swine are using dum-dums!" In what thriller of my youth did I first read that cry of outrage - one of Sapper's Bulldog Drummond yarns, or a John Buchan adventure of Richard Hannay? Or does it date back even earlier, perhaps to a Kipling tale of the North-West Frontier, to the time when the hollow-nosed bullet had just been banned by the Hague Convention of 1899? Certainly Jean Charles de Menezes is past caring that he seems to have been the first man to be shot by British police with a dum-dum bullet. For Jean Charles is dead. People generally are when the dum-dum expands and splinters on impact with its devastating effect - instead of passing cleanly through the body as an ordinary full metal jacket shell may. (Telegraph, 17 Nov 2005) Changing the world in his name Family and loved ones of Damilola Taylor should have been meeting next month to celebrate his 16th birthday. (South London Press, 16 Nov 2005) The Jungle Beat Armed with the latest satellite technology, helicopters and weapons, the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's enforcement agency, Ibama, are taking on the illegal loggers in the Amazon forests below. We follow Walmir de Jesus, the head of Ibama, as he sends an inspection team into the remote sawmill town of Sao Domingos do Guapore. (BBC, 18 Nov 2005) Ex-MI5 boss says ID cards no aid to security The former head of MI5 last night said that ID cards would not make Britain any safer from terrorists. (Telegraph, 17 Nov 2005) The police are listening at last. But they won't like what we say "The swine are using dum-dums!" In what thriller of my youth did I first read that cry of outrage - one of Sapper's Bulldog Drummond yarns, or a John Buchan adventure of Richard Hannay? Or does it date back even earlier, perhaps to a Kipling tale of the North-West Frontier, to the time when the hollow-nosed bullet had just been banned by the Hague Convention of 1899? Certainly Jean Charles de Menezes is past caring that he seems to have been the first man to be shot by British police with a dum-dum bullet. For Jean Charles is dead. People generally are when the dum-dum expands and splinters on impact with its devastating effect - instead of passing cleanly through the body as an ordinary full metal jacket shell may. (Telegraph, 17 Nov 2005) Chemical grenade used on rebels, says Pentagon The Pentagon admitted yesterday that it had used an incendiary grenade against Iraqi insurgents that some academics said could potentially be classed a chemical weapon. (Telegraph, 16 Nov 2005) EU attacks police tactics at Tunis internet conference The European Union has made a formal complaint to the Tunisian government on the eve of a world internet summit in Tunis over heavy-handed police tactics. (Guardian, 16 Nov 2005) Police used 'dum dum' bullets to kill de Menezes The Brazilian man shot dead by police in the mistaken belief that he was a suicide bomber was killed with a type of bullet banned in warfare under international convention, The Daily Telegraph has learned. The firing of hollow point ammunition into the head of Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, is believed to be the first use of the bullets by British police. (Telegraph, 16 Nov 2005) Wal-Mart seeks to use clergy in tackling critics Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, and its enemies have followed politicians and Hollywood in seeking to win Americans' hearts and minds through appeals to their faith. (Telegraph, 16 Nov 2005) Right to buy frozen to stem Highlands' housing drain The lack of affordable housing in the Highlands has led to the suspension of the right to buy for the next five years for more than 2,000 tenants in large swaths of the Highlands. The suspension applies to tenancies which began on or after September 30, 2002. (Times, 16 Nov 2005) Borough plans to keep out undesirables - mostly rich and famous It's the des res of pop stars, Hollywood actors, Arab royalty and international business tycoons. Madonna and Valentino have second homes there, as do Robbie Williams, Richard Branson and the international steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. (Guardian, 15 Nov 2005) Toiling in a Dickensian hell – the miners who fuel China Happily slurping his steaming noodles in the afternoon sun, Zang Dashan certainly does not look like a man who could be eating his last meal. (Times, 14 Nov 2005) Shell is forcing us out of work, say forecourt owners Hundreds of self-employed businessmen and women who manage Shell's 600 petrol stations around Britain face losing their jobs under a radical shake-up of the network. (Guardian, 14 Nov 2005) Blair sets record for rewarding party donors with life peerages Almost one in ten of the life peers created by Tony Blair since he became Prime Minister is a Labour party donor. Between them, the donors have contributed close to £25 million. (Times, 14 Nov 2005) Britain spends millions on tourist airport Britain is to spend £80m from its overseas aid budget to build an airport for wealthy tourists on the island of St Helena, one of its last colonial relics. (Times, 13 Nov 2005) Ambitious blacks outpace whites on road to success Black Britons are more socially mobile and less likely to be working class than the white population, a study of 30 years of official data has found. (Times, 13 Nov 2005) 'Victimised' shopowner to sell up Praveen Adusumali of Cilfynydd near Pontypridd, has decided to sell his shop and move to the United States after suffering racial harassment and threats from local youths. (Guardian, 10 Nov 2005) Former OFT chief urges inquiry into 'abuse' of market position by supermarkets The former boss of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has called for a new investigation into the way supermarkets dominate food retailing in Britain. (Guardian, 10 Nov 2005) Troubled youth jail still failing mentally ill Mentally ill inmates at a youth jail where an Asian teenager was murdered by his psychopathic white cellmate still fail to receive adequate psychiatric care, prison inspectors warned today. The chief inspector of prisons, Ann Owers, said mental healthcare services at Feltham young offenders institution in west London needed considerable improvement five years after Zahid Mubarek, 19, was beaten to death by Robert Stewart, who suffers from a personality disorder. (Guardian, 10 Nov 2005) 'Racist' Russian TV advert investigated Russian prosecutors are investigating a TV advert produced by a Kremlin-linked political party which suggests that dark-skinned Caucasians should be purged from Moscow's streets. (Guardian, 10 Nov 2005) Cameras capture racist taunts of anti-riot police Aggressive police making flippant remarks about teenagers' electrocution and a minister who talked of 'scum' are accused of inflaming the violence. (Times, 10 Nov 2005) The Cost of China's Energy Boom: Miners' Lives China's coal-mining industry is among the most dangerous in the world, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,600 workers in the first half of 2005 alone. (Worldwatch Institute, 10 Nov 2005) Their right to return Today, a British-engineered occupation enters its fifth decade. There will be no commemoration, despite the human toll and murkiness surrounding what is going on there. Yet an entire population, exiled from their homeland and betrayed by the British government, are stepping up their campaign to return home. The coming weeks may decide their fate. Forty years ago this week, while African and Asian countries were throwing off British rule, Whitehall officials were busy establishing a new colony. The British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot) was created by detaching the Chagos island group from Mauritius and other small islands from the Seychelles, then both British colonies. Mauritius was given £3m in compensation; the following year, Britain signed a military agreement with the US leasing it the largest island, Diego Garcia, for 50 years. (Guardian, 8 Nov 2005) Iraq’s ‘hidden’ casualty toll runs into thousands Nearly 1,500 British service personnel on duty in Iraq have had to be flown home for treatment in British hospitals since the war began in March 2003, according to new figures released to The Times. (Times, 8 Nov 2005) Order to kill was ‘never given’ Police chief denies using vital code word before London bomb suspect was shot. ...Scotland Yard sources say that Commander Cressida Dick, 44, the Oxford graduate who was “gold command” of the operation, maintains that she never gave the seven-letter word. (Times, 7 Nov 2005) Tesco tells MPs of aim to double small stores Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, has told an inquiry by MPs into the state of the high street that it wants at least to double its number of small shops in the next ten years and has argued that its move into convenience stores had been good for shoppers. (Times, 7 Nov 2005) Blair's litany of failures on Iraq - ambassador's damning verdict Tony Blair repeatedly passed up opportunities to put a brake on the rush to war in Iraq, a failure that may have contributed to the country's present anarchy, according to Sir Christopher Meyer, Britain's ambassador to Washington at the time, in his book DC Confidential, serialised in the Guardian from today. (Guardian, 7 Nov 2005) TUC calls for tough action against workplace bullies A TUC survey has found that 2 million people have been bullied at work over the past six months, often by their managers. In a report today the TUC will call for tougher laws to protect staff from intimidation and punish bullies. (Guardian, 7 Nov 2005) The women's pension crisis is deeply unsexy, but serious As part-time workers, mothers and carers, millions of women have been left exposed to poverty in old age. (Guardian, 7 Nov 2005) Colour-blind policy has fed Muslim radicalism The biggest explosion of street violence in France since the late 1960s has jolted the country into confronting its failure to include its seven million residents of Arab and African origin in the national mainstream. (Times, 7 Nov 2005) 'Bully-boy' Tesco targets planning law The lengths to which retail giant Tesco will go to persuade councils to approve plans for their stores are revealed in a "battle plan" seen by The Daily Telegraph. (Telegraph, 7 Nov 2005) 'Clever' CCTV may monitor Tube An intelligent closed circuit television system capable of spotting suspicious packages, intruders and passengers acting in an unusual manner could be introduced on the London underground. (Telegraph, 7 Nov 2005) Colour-blind policy has fed Muslim radicalism The biggest explosion of street violence in France since the late 1960s has jolted the country into confronting its failure to include its seven million residents of Arab and African origin in the national mainstream. (Times, 7 Nov 2005) British to help China build 'eco-cities' British engineers will this week sign a multi-billion contract with the Chinese authorities to design and build a string of 'eco-cities' - self-sustaining urban centres the size of a large western capital - in the booming country. (Guardian, 6 Nov 2005) Many held as French riots spread French police have arrested more than 200 people following fresh riots in and around Paris and other parts of France. (BBC, 5 Nov 2005) The beat that my heart skips Duris plays Tom, a young guy who struts around town listening to hardcore techno on his headphones, his chin jutting and head nodding like an aggressive alpha-male cockerel. He is making a good living in the violent and seamy world of speculative real-estate development in Paris. He and his slimeball associates buy up freeholds, fix city hall with bribes to allow them to bypass the auction rules, and then sell their acquisitions on at a profit. But first they must brutally intimidate sitting tenants into leaving, or deter squatters from showing up. (Guardian, 4 Nov 2005) Over 2,000 'die from NHS errors' More than 2,000 people died in English hospitals last year due to lapses in patient safety, a watchdog says. (BBC, 3 Nov 2005) It's not a blot - it's the future of energy Simon Jenkins may prefer nuclear power to wind turbines (Better to have nuclear power than a blot on the landscape, October 28), but he should base his opposition on facts. (Guardian, 3 Nov 2005) Ham from the supermarket may be more - and less - than it seems Why sell meat when you can sell water? Some manufacturers have taken the traders' old adage to new heights and are selling ham that is only half meat and a third water, according to tests carried out by the consumer watchdog Which? (Guardian, 3 Nov 2005) Rasta squatters brace for new eviction battle For more than 30 years, the squatters of St Agnes Place have formed one of Britain's most distinctive communities. (Guardian, 3 Nov 2005) East Europe 'has secret CIA jails for al-Qaida' The CIA has been interrogating al-Qaida prisoners at a Soviet era compound in eastern Europe as part of a covert jail system set up after the September 11 attacks, according to the Washington Post. (Guardian, 3 Nov 2005) Pakistan quake toll tops 73,000 The official death toll from Pakistan's massive earthquake soared to more than 73,000 yesterday as a top government official warned it could rise further. (Guardian, 3 Nov 2005) Seventh night of Paris violence Violence has flared for a seventh night in immigrant communities to the north-east of Paris. (BBC, 3 Nov 2005) Stamp duty bleeds the middle classes Home buyers paid a record £5.5 billion in stamp duty last year, prompting new accusations yesterday that the Government is presiding over a "property stealth tax". (Telegraph, 2 Nov 2005) DTrees planted in London in Walter Rodney's memory As part of Black History Month the Deputy Mayor of Southwark, Councillor Lorraine Lauder and the Guyana High Commissioner, Laleshwar Singh jointly planted three palm trees last Saturday in Peckham Square in London. (Stabroek News, 2 Nov 2005) DTourism the driving force behind Guyana's economy - Nadir The country is gaining significant foreign exchange from tourism, which is now a driving force behind Guyana's economy, Minister of Tou-rism, Industry and Com-merce Manzoor Nadir, said. (Stabroek News, 2 Nov 2005) Gunfire rocks Ethiopian capital At least 23 more people have been shot dead in a second day of violence in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. (BBC, 2 Nov 2005) Rural Chinese may get city rights China says it is considering ending a controversial residency permit system that makes a legal distinction between urban and rural residents. (BBC, 2 Nov 2005) UN rejects Guantanamo visit offer UN human rights monitors say they will not accept a US offer to visit the Guantanamo Bay prison camp unless they are given free access to the prisoners. (BBC, 1 Nov 2005) New UK citizenship testing starts British citizenship tests are being launched across the UK. (BBC, 1 Nov 2005) See Life in the UK test. Former head accuses race watchdog after riots The Commission for Racial Equality came under fire yesterday from its former chairman, Lord Ouseley, for giving priority to "soft" cultural questions instead of speaking out against the riots in the Lozells area of Birmingham nine days ago. (Guardian, 1 Nov 2005) Report blasts policing standards Low entrance requirements mean police are ill-equipped to combat crime, a think-tank report has concluded. (BBC, 1 Nov 2005) |
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updated:
2 Dec
2005