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Flying flanker Mustapha Carayol has returned to the Riverside Stadium today and revealed he has signed a new deal with Boro.
That is good timing for both parties.
For Boro they are can freshen up the squad with a jet-heeled winger who now has vital pitch minutes under his belt after a year out following his cruciate injury.
Those five games may not have him quite up to full speed but they will have sharpened him up and nudged him towards the match fitness he was missing when he joined Brighton on loan.
And that could give Aitor Karanka an explosive attacking option from the bench that may just give Boro a match-winning edge in the vital games to come.
The boss has praised Muzzy whenever he has quizzed about him during his frustration year in the injury wilderness and clearly knows he has a galvanising potential if fit and harnessed.
Mustapha Carayol in action before suffering an injury at Bournemouth last season
And for Carayol it is good timing too: he steps back into a squad who - after Saturday’s showdown with the Seagulls - are potentially three games away from the Premier League.
Promotion to the big time beckons for Boro and Muzzy now has a chance to gate-crash the party at an historic moment, to be part of the squad that hits the jackpot and become a Wembley hero.
And he also now has the security of a new, improved two-and-a-half-year Boro deal under his belt.
Carayol’s Riverside future was looking more vulnerable at the turn of the year: he hadn’t really established himself under Aitor Karanka and had been publicly berated for his attitude; he faced competition as Yanic Wildschut had been signed and Adam Reach had matured as rivals in his position; and after a year out he had a lot to prove to a manager unwilling to try risk playing him in a system that demanded full pelt intensity for the full 90 minutes.
Crucially he was also about to drift out of contract in the summer.
Muzzy Carayol
There was interest from several clubs as the loan deadline loomed with Nottingham Forest keen to push through a loan deal with the hint of a full time close season move if he could show he still had the trickery and the afterburners to tear through defences.
The suggestion was his agent had been sounding out potential employers with a view to a move on a free.
But Boro moved to protect their interests and activated an option for a one year extension to his existing deal.
That deal of course was on a fairly modest wage that reflected that he had arrived on a £100,000 move from Bristol Rovers.
His new deal will give him a healthy pay-rise and a possible Premier League future at Boro.
And, should he move on - and he is aware of the fickle nature of football - Boro will be able to command a fee.
“I’m open to everything, you can’t shut any doors in football,” he told the Brighton media.
“One moment you’re loved and the next you’re not, but I’ll wait to see what happens in the summer and hopefully next season I’ll be a Premier League player.”
Let’s hope he is.
It's one of the world’s most popular TV shows - and now fantasy drama Game of Thrones has a touch of Teesside about it.
Series five of the worldwide phenomenon is currently showing on Sky Atlantic.
And making her bow in it is Teesside actress Faye Marsay, who plays The Waif.
Faye, 28, is no stranger to sci-fi and fantasy parts, having appeared - to huge critical acclaim - in the Christmas 2014 edition of Dr Who.
But her role in Game of Thrones - in which she made her first appearance on Monday night - could give the Loftus girl’s already impressive career an even bigger boost.
Adrian Rogers
It’s all a far cry in scale from her amateur dramatic days on Teesside when, having decided she wanted to act after seeing a panto at the age of six, she took several roles - often in productions with Redcar’s Spotlight Theatre Company.
She was also cast as Sue in a Redcar-based coming of age comedy drama, Is That It.
After attending Guisborough’s Laurence Jackson School and Prior Pursglove College, where she took drama, theatre, film and English, she studied theatre and performance at the University of Leeds before attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
And since pipping 20 other students from leading drama schools to the Spotlight Prize in 2012, following in the footsteps of the likes of Judi Dench, Albert Finney and Jim Broadbent, her career has really taken off.
Faye Marsay and Bill Nighy attending the premiere of new film Pride in London
Highlights have included playing Richard III’s wife Anne Neville in TV mini-series The White Queen and Candice in popular Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat.
She also secured her first major film role, Steph Chambers in hit British comedy Pride.
But with her roles in Dr Who and now Game of Thrones, where the character she portrays is blind, the sky may well be the limit for the actress and staunch Boro fan who proudly states on her Twitter page: “Grew up in Teesside”.
A bride was left in floods of tears after hotel staff cut into her wedding cake - and found it appeared to be mouldy.
Rachael Goodman had been talking about her dream wedding cake for months, telling hubby-to-be Chris, 24: “I want that cake!”
The Stockton mum had sent a picture of the cake she wanted to Guisborough-based Mandy Barber’s Cakes Of Elegance via Facebook.
And the 18-year-old’s mum Angela Green and mother-in-law Lynn Wallace paid £115 for the three-tier sponge cake.
On Saturday, happy couple Rachael and Chris tied the knot at Sporting Lodge in Thornaby with their daughter, 17-month-old Lillie Jane, as bridesmaid.
Rachael and Chris Goodman on their wedding day
But when the evening celebrations began at 7pm, the couple struggled to cut the “hard” cake - which, although pretty, Rachael says didn’t look much like the picture she she sent to Ms Barber.
Worse still, when staff took it away to cut, they were horrified to discover what appeared to be mould.
Rachael said: “The manager called my mother-in-law in to see the cake and she came out of the kitchen sobbing.
“I went into the kitchen to see it and ran outside and broke down in tears.
"My husband was crying because he knew I was going to be absolutely devastated.”
Rachael and Chris Goodman's cake
The couple had decided to cut the cake as soon as the evening reception arrived but the upset that ensued threatened to ruin their first dance to Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud.
“I had to concentrate on making the first dance as special as I could without having to break down in floods of tears again”, Rachael said.
Staff at Sporting Lodge saved the day by going out and buying three replacement cakes.
But despite the “lovely” gesture, Rachael says the embarrassing event still put a dampener on the day.
Rachael and Chris Goodman's wedding cake
“The first half of the day had been fantastic, but after seeing the cake it just wasn’t the same.”
After contacting Ms Barber, Rachael received a message of apology from her via Facebook which read: “I am so sorry about your cake and feel I have let you down.
"I have never had any problems before with mouldy cakes, as they are made fresh and not frozen and your cake was made on Thursday.
“All I can say is I am sorry and I will give you a full refund as soon as possible.”
She then requested Rachael’s bank details to be sent via text.
The Gazette has made several attempts to contact Mandy Barber but has so far received no response.
Controversial plans for a housing development on green wedge land in Ingleby Barwick have been resubmitted.
But the proposal has been reduced to 200 homes from the 550-home development rejected by Stockton Council in April last year.
The new development, on an 80-acre site next to Thornaby Road and the new Free School site, proposes “a range of well designed, energy efficient homes”.
The planning application says there will be “an emphasis on creating a strong sense of place and to include areas of open space for public recreation, amenity, and landscape, providing a good standard of amenity and public realm for the future occupants.
“The scheme proposes to encourage walking and cycling with a view to reducing car usage.”
Hundreds of people signed an online petition against the original Thornaby Road plans for 550-homes and 21 letters of objection were lodged.
Concerns had included loss of greenfield site; shortage of school places particularly at primary level; that Ingleby Barwick does not need more housing and the impact on wildlife.
The developers appealed the rejection by Stockton Council’s planning committee and a public inquiry had been due to be heard on February 10 at Stockton’s Baptist Tabernacle.
But the appeal was withdrawn after Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Environment, refused permission for another neighbouring 550-home development by Jersey-based Tiviot Way Investments.
Councillor Kevin Faulks, of the Ingleby Barwick Independent Society, said the new 200-home application was a “cynical move”.
“It’s like they are saying lets drop it to 200 homes and maybe planners will say that’s not too much,” he said.
“But you have always got in your head that they will come back in the future and put the other 300 in.”
Cllr Faulks added: “We are trying to get the message across that we will keep fighting against these developments.
“We just don’t think that they are needed. Ingleby Barwick is too big as it is and it hasn’t got the infrastructure.”
In March, plans were resubmitted for the neighbouring Tiviot Way 550 homes scheme.
The revised “Ingleby Manor” plans propose a “quality residential development” of 550 two, three and four bedroom homes, with a local centre and open space and park areas.
The application says: “The Ingleby Manor development will provide much needed residential accommodation.”
Both applications will be heard by Stockton’s planning committee at a future date.
Campaigners are planning a further protest at the Wilton 11 energy plant this week amid concerns over pay and worker safety.
Unite officers say they have “outstanding concerns” following talks with the company and staff and several protests at the construction site for SITA UK’s £250m plant
Officers, they claim, weren’t allowed to take an interpreter when talking with non-English speaking workers on-site - and the company hasn’t provided information they requested on pay rates for workers.
They also say SITA hasn’t given clarification about a serious accident involving a contract worker at the site last Monday.
SITA has confirmed there was an accident and a full investigation is now underway.
But the company has denied withholding wage rates from the unions and says interpreters were provided for on-site meetings. It has also dismissed as “unfounded” previous allegations by protesters about the employment of “cheap foreign labour” and workers’ terms and conditions, which have led to several protests in the last few months.
Campaigners claim there’s wide support for this Thursday’s early-morning protest at Wilton.
Steve Cason, Unite North-east regional officer, said: “We still haven’t had the information we’ve requested from SITA and it’s causing anger. We want them to clarify wage rates of all the contractors on site.
“Photos were taken of scaffolding on-site that was left unsafe. They have been sent to the HSE, SITA hasn’t confirmed this.
“We were given access to the site, but weren’t allowed to take an interpreter and so we couldn’t get any information.
“There are still a lot of outstanding concerns and issues that we’re not getting information on, it’s very frustrating.”
A spokesperson for SITA UK said: “Regrettably, an employee working for site contractor, Baldwin Crane Hire Ltd, suffered a serious injury whilst de-rigging a crane. The employee was taken immediately to hospital, where he underwent surgery. He is now recovering at home and our thoughts are very much with him.
“We take the health and safety of all employees, whether directly employed by SITA UK, CNIM/Clugstons or their subcontractors, extremely seriously and workplace health and safety remains our top priority.
“While it is our view that one accident is one too many, it is worth noting that 602,545 man hours have been worked on the site without a reportable accident until now. The site has recently been awarded a Gold Award following an independent audit.”
The spokesperson added that all workers, irrespective of their nationality, have “rates of pay equivalent to or higher than each of the unions’ relevant national agreements.”
Agreement was reached in February to allow union access to the site to discuss pay and working conditions with staff, they added. Interpreters were provided, workers informed of union visits and contractors agreed time off and private meetings for workers if required.
“Claims by the Trade Unions that individuals were somehow discouraged from speaking with them is hugely disappointing, given the large amount of time and effort that went into organising and promoting, what was, a genuine opportunity for the unions to meet the workforce,” the spokesperson said.
They added that the company remained open to further future visits by union representatives to the site and would work with them to ensure that anyone who wants to has opportunity to meet with them.
Steel unions have given official notice of their strike ballot to Tata Steel UK in an on-going pension row between the steelmaker and its staff.
Community, GMB and UCATT have given legal notice of the May 6 ballot with a fourth union - Unite - expected to follow in the next few days.
If enough of Tata’s 17,000 UK workers including 1,500 on Teesside vote for industrial action, it could trigger the largest private sector strike in recent times - and the first national steel strike in three decades.
Unions campaigning for Tata Steel to “lift the threat of closure” of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) are urging members to vote in favour of ‘strike action and action short of strike action’.
Tata says it has offered to keep the scheme open “subject to modifications” and has repeated claims its “door remains open” to further talks.
But unions say they had no choice but to call the ballot, after the steelmaker refused to re-enter “meaningful discussions” about the future of the scheme.
Roy Rickhuss, chairman of the National Trade Union Steel Co-ordinating Committee and General Secretary of Community, said: “Unfortunately there is no sign of Tata showing any willingness to work in a collaborative and co-operative spirit and re-enter meaningful discussions with the trade unions about the future of the BSPS.
“To defend the hard-earned pensions of our members, we have no choice but to ballot for industrial action.
“This is not a situation we wanted to find ourselves in. The unions were prepared to discuss changes that resolved the challenges faced by the scheme but Tata rejected that constructive offer. We are urging our members to vote for strike action.”
Dave Hulse, GMB national officer for steel added: “Tata has refused to sit down and talk again about a proper solution and has given us no option but to ballot our members. Our members are determined to stand up for their pensions and they will now have the opportunity to show their resolve by voting for strike action.”
Nick Blundell, UCATT Regional Secretary for Ucatt, said: “Our members are united in their opposition to the closure of their pension scheme and we are urging them to vote yes in the ballot to defend their pensions.”
A Tata Steel spokesman said: “The company tabled proposals to the national officers of the trade unions whereby the defined benefit (final salary) scheme would remain open to future accruals subject to a number of modifications.
“As agreement with the trade unions on these proposals could not be reached, the company has initiated a 60-day statutory consultation period with scheme members on a proposal to close the scheme to future accruals for existing members.
“The consultation process provides opportunities for employees to comment on the proposals and to suggest alternatives that they wish the company to consider, other than the proposal of closure to future accrual. The company also remains committed to providing employees with competitive future pension provision.
The spokesperson added: “We have made clear to the unions that our door remains open.”
Ballot papers will be posted to union members from Wednesday, May 6 and workers will have until the end of the month to vote.
A cowardly bully broke his girlfriend’s jaw as he launched a ferocious attack against her in her home.
Matthew Dale is behind bars today after the assault which left his ex-partner in “constant pain”.
He took umbrage when his girlfriend jokingly slapped his face during a night out, Teesside Crown Court heard today.
Prosecutor Rachel Masters said: “She intended it to be in jest, but it seems the defendant took it the wrong way and stormed out of the pub.”
Dale, 23, later sent her a text stating: “I don’t know who you think you are. You think you can slap me.”
He assaulted her in her bedroom after she got home at 11.30pm to 12am on December 13 to 14 last year.
Ms Masters added: “She recalls being on her back, the defendant sitting over her.
“The next thing she can recall, he was punching her over and over again with his fist on both sides of her face.”
The victim tried to defend herself with a bedside table lamp, threw it at him as he left the room then called the police.
Dale left the home then came back, told the 999 operator he had “battered” his partner and left again.
The woman was taken to the University Hospital of North Tees with a bruised, swollen face, a jaw fracture, tenderness to her left thigh and right arm and reddening to her neck.
She later returned for more treatment as the fracture became infected. She felt numbness and had difficulty moving her mouth.
In a statement, she said the attack affected her physically and emotionally for a long time.
She could not eat properly or sleep, lost weight, felt vulnerable, nervous, jumpy and scared of being on her own.
She was unable to start a new job and could not afford to buy her eldest daughter a birthday present.
Her eight-month relationship with Dale had been initially happy without concerns about his behaviour before the assault, the court was told.
Dale, of Fairfield Road, Fairfield, Stockton, admitted causing grievous bodily harm.
He had a community order for wounding in 2009 after he punched a man outside a nightclub fracturing his jaw, and a domestic criminal damage offence, among his 15 previous offences.
Robert Mochrie, defending, said Dale appeared to play down the assault to a probation officer and still asserted his ex slapped him while drunk and argumentative in the pub.
But he said: “Mr Dale would be the first to accept now that this assault was wholly unjustified.
“No blame can be laid at the door of the victim.
“He does wish to offer his remorse to the court for what he did.”
He told how Dale struggled to deal with the fallout from a previous relationship and on the day of the assault he had not been told about his child’s Nativity play.
“It would appear that the slightest provocation, I use that word carefully, was to result in this violent outburst,” added Mr Mochrie.
He said Dale had been to prison before and was realistic about his fate.
Dale shook his head in the dock as the judge, Recorder Tim Gittins, recounted his crime.
The judge told Dale: “It’s a symptom of your repeated failure to recognise that it’s you that has a problem with temper, not other people.
“Ultimately this was a bullying and cowardly attack on a lone female.
“It was undoubtedly an attack of some ferocity. It’s clear that your attack will have a significant effect on her for some considerable time.”
Noting Dale was starting to realise he needed help with anger management, the judge jailed him for 15 months.
Dale was given a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim or going within 50m of a Stockton address.
A new-born lamb has been shot in the head and killed with an air pellet in Brotton.
Police are investigating the incident which happened at Shepherds House Farm in New Brotton.
It happened between 8:30pm on Sunday April 26 and 10am on Monday April 26.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact PC Richy Bailey on the non-emergency 101 number or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Mustapha Carayol has agreed a new Boro contract.
The 26-year-old winger, whose loan with Brighton ends today, has, according to South Coast press sources, committed his future to Middlesbrough until the summer of 2018.
Carayol's current deal was set to lapse at the end of next season after Boro invoked a clause in his contract.
But the Gazette understands that he agreed new terms before linking up with Brighton last month.
Asked if he would consider returning to Brighton, Carayol told BBC Sussex: “I've agreed a contract with Boro already but obviously you never know what's in store for the future.
2013 Getty Images
“I'm open to everything, you can't shut any doors in football. One moment you're loved and the next you're not, but I'll wait to see what happens in the summer and hopefully next season I'll be a Premier League player.”
On his Brighton loan, he added: “I hadn't played football for 13 months so just working on fitness and sharpness and trying to get game back and be ready for next season.
“A lot of it is mental fatigue as when you're injured you're not used to concentrating for 60-70-80 minutes.
“I think I've got better - it was tough when I first came and it was heavy on my body, but I'm thankful to the gaffer and the chairman for giving me a chance.”
Mustapha Carayol pictured before suffering his injury
Carayol has revealed that he thinks he's eligible to play against Brighton on Saturday if selected.
“I think I'm allowed to play for Boro again as my loan finishes on Tuesday, but I'll definitely be there (at the Riverside) watching even if I'm not playing,” he said.
“I'm looking forward to it. It will be a tough game because Brighton play good football. I'm sure they won't sit back and they'll try win."
Candidates running to be Mayor of Middlesbrough are today debating the issues facing the town - and what they would do about them.
In what is becoming a heated campaign, the candidates are due to gather for a live debate on BBC Tees from 9am.
They are: Dave Budd (Lab), Mike Carr (Ind), Lloyd Cole-Nolan (Con), Len Junier (Ind), Andy Preston (Ind) and Dave Roberts (Ind).
It is the everyday things about family life that Lisa Corfield misses the most.
Sitting in the living room reading her Kindle while husband Andrew watched the telly and her teenage daughter, Alice, was on her mobile phone - together but doing their own thing.
It’s a scene that families across Teesside will recognise.
But now Andrew’s ashes sit in a box on the coffee table and 18-year-old Alice lies in a hospital bed in Newcastle.
“It’s the little things I miss the most,” said Lisa, 39, from Hemlington in Middlesbrough.
Owen, Amy and Lisa Corfield
“Like coming in from work and cooking the tea, having an argument with Alice, normal everyday things.
“Obviously with everything we’ve been through with Alice, Andrew would be the first person I’d turn to.”
Today is six months since the horrific crash on the corner of Cass House Road and Fordyce Road on October 28.
For the first time Lisa has released two photographs to show the impact the crash had on her “baby”.
Alice during her time in the intensive care
Alice suffered injuries including broken ribs, broken collarbone, broken pelvis, punctured lung and tears to her liver, kidney and spleen.
Her skull was also detached from her spine and has had to be bolted back together.
A CT scan revealed damage throughout her brain.
“It knocks me physically sick to see what she was like before to what she was like in those two pictures.
“But if seeing them stops someone else from doing the same thing to another family.”
Alice Corfield
Jake McCabe, 18, of Cramlington Close, Hemlington, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison at Teesside Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury through dangerous driving.
Alice, who turned 18 in December, was moved a week ago to Walkergate Park in Newcastle to continue her rehabilitation.
She is able to breathe unaided but remains pegfed via her tummy and cannot speak or sit up on her own.
Medical experts are carrying out SMART tests on her over the next few months to get a better idea on how she will recover and what they can to help her do so.
SMART stands for Sensory Modality Assessment and Rehabilitation Technique and is used to assess the levels of awareness, functional, sensory and communicative abilities of adults in vegetative or minimally-conscious states.
She is on a 12-week schedule with visits from experts including an occupational therapist, physiotherapist and speech therapist.
“I’ve stopped asking when I’ll get Alice back, I know I won’t but you have to have that little bit of hope,” said Lisa, who is renting a bungalow on the hospital grounds so she can spend every minute she can with Alice.
“I ask when I can get her home now.”
Realistically it may be a year or even two before Alice, who has recovered from the C-diff infection she had, would be able to go home - and Lisa still hasn’t been given a definitive answer on whether she ever will be.
“I still say she recognises people,” said Lisa, who also has a 20-year-old son Owen and 21-year-old daughter Amy and two granddaughters, Lucy-May, six, and Leah, two.
“My granddaughter Lucy has seen her twice - once at James Cook and once on Facetime - and tears streamed down Alice’s face.
“I know when she’s stressed about something as she goes red and blotchy. I just wish I knew what was going on inside of her.
“I feel like she’s in there but can’t do anything.
“I’m hoping we can find a way to communicate with each other.”
While the tests are being completed, visiting hours is teatime and evening so Lisa has long days to fill usually spent on chores or “sat about waiting”.
“The other day my friend came up and we went shopping in Primark and got a load of stuff for Alice,” she said.
Alice, a former student at King’s Academy and Middlesbrough College, spent her 18th birthday in hospital with her family and friends by her bedside.
She had been looking forward to getting her first tattoo - one she had designed herself - for her big birthday.
Lisa said the time alone has helped her begin to grieve for Andrew.
“It’s getting harder for me,” said Lisa, who has not returned to her job as a team manager for a supermarket.
“It’s becoming reality now.
“I’m actually going through the process of this is actually happening, before I was on autopilot.
“At home I didn’t have to do a thing, no cooking or cleaning, I was really mollycoddled.
“And when the kids were round I’d want to be strong for them and they’d want to be strong for me so this time will do us some good - and they know I’m at the end of the phone if they need me.”
Lisa is waiting for Alice to be well enough to attend the service before she buries Andrew’s ashes in Acklam Cemetery near their son Jack’s grave, who died when he was a baby.
Childhood sweethearts Lisa and Andrew had been together since they were 13.
This August would have been both their 40th birthdays.
“We were planning to go away for our 40ths,” said Lisa, who said previously they were looking forward to “their time” now the children had grown up.
“We were thinking of going to Mexico but had changed our minds to Cape Verde as we’d been in September and we’d loved it.
“I’m dreading August now.”
Rioters have plunged Baltimore into chaos, they have set police cars ablaze and have been throwing bricks at officers hours after thousands mourned a man who died from a spinal injury he suffered in police custody.
The governor declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard to restore order - but authorities were still struggling to quell pockets of unrest.
The riot was the latest flare-up over the mysterious death of Freddie Gray, whose fatal encounter with officers came amid the national debate over police use of force, especially when black suspects are involved.
Mr Gray was African-American. Police have declined to specify the races of the six officers involved in his arrest, all of whom have been suspended with pay while they are under investigation.
The violence began in West Baltimore, within a mile of where Mr Gray was arrested and pushed into a police van earlier this month.
By the end of the day it had spread to East Baltimore and neighbourhoods close to the city centre and near the baseball stadium.
Police stand guard Monday, April 27, 2015, after rioters plunged part of Baltimore into chaos, torching a pharmacy, setting police cars ablaze and throwing bricks at officers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Attorney General Loretta Lynch, in her first day on the job, said she would send Justice Department officials to the city in coming days.
A week-long, daily curfew was imposed beginning today from 10pm to 5am local time, the mayor said, and Baltimore public schools announced they would be closed today.
At least 15 officers were hurt, including six who remained in hospital, police said. Two dozen people were arrested.
Officers wearing helmets and wielding shields occasionally used pepper spray to keep the rioters back. For the most part, though, they relied on line formations to keep protesters at bay.
But Mr Gray's family said violence is not the way to honour him.
"I think the violence is wrong," his twin sister, Fredericka Gray, said. "I don't like it at all."
The family's lawyer, Billy Murphy, said they had hoped to organise a peace march later in the week.
Emergency officials were constantly thwarted as they tried to restore calm in the affected parts of the city of more than 620,000 people.
Baltimore firefighters battle a three-alarm fire Monday, April 27, 2015, at a senior living facility under construction at Federal and Chester Streets in East Baltimore. It was unclear whether is was related to the ongoing riots but was one of several fires in the area. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Firefighters trying to put out a blaze at a store were hindered by someone who sliced holes in a hose connected to a fire hydrant, spraying water all over the street and nearby buildings.
Later, a massive fire erupted in East Baltimore that a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake initially said was connected to the riots.
He later said officials are still investigating whether there is a connection.
The Mary Harvin Transformation Centre was under construction and no one was believed to be in the building at the time, said the spokesman, Kevin Harris.
Earlier yesterday, the smell of burned rubber wafted in the air in one neighbourhood where youths were looting an off licence.
Police stood still nearby as people drank looted alcohol. Glass and rubbish littered the streets, and other small fires were scattered about.
One person from a church tried to shout something from a megaphone as two cars burned.
"Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs, who in a very senseless way, are trying to tear down what so many have fought for, tearing down businesses, tearing down and destroying property, things that we know will impact our community for years," said Ms Rawlings-Blake, a lifelong resident of the city.
Police move a protester back, Monday, April 27, 2015, following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Police urged parents to locate their children and bring them home. Many of those on the streets appeared to be African-American youths, wearing backpacks and khaki pants that are a part of many school uniforms.
Later in the day, people began looting clothing and other items from stores at the mall, which became unprotected as police moved away from the area.
About three dozen officers returned, trying to arrest looters but driving many away by firing pellet guns and rubber bullets.
Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings and about 200 others, including ministers and mostly men, marched arm-in-arm through a neighbourhood littered with broken glass and other debris, in an attempt to help calm the violent outbursts.
As they got close to a line of police officers, the marchers went down on their knees. After the ministers got back on their feet, they walked until they were face-to-face with the police officers in a tight formation and wearing riot gear.
Many who had never met Mr Gray gathered earlier in the day in a Baltimore church to bid him farewell and press for more accountability among law enforcement.
A man throws a brick at police Monday, April 27, 2015, following the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The 2,500-capacity New Shiloh Baptist church was filled with mourners. But even the funeral could not ease mounting tensions.
Mr Gray was arrested on April 12 after making eye contact with officers and then running away, police said.
He was held down, handcuffed and loaded into a van without a seat belt. Leg cuffs were put on him when he became irate inside.
He asked for medical help several times even before being put in the van, but paramedics were not called until after a 30-minute ride.
Police have acknowledged he should have received medical attention on the spot where he was arrested, but they have not said how his spine was injured. He died on April 19.
A headteacher has blamed water fights for a ban on selling bottled water in school - despite the complaints of students.
Ormesby School was rated “inadequate” by Ofsted last week, but the education watchdog hailed new head Lynn James for bringing “exceptionally strong leadership” and setting it onto the “path of improvement”.
But in an email to the Gazette, a Year 11 student who claims to be writing on behalf of his fellow students, claimed that water bottles had been “banned” in the school and that older children are being “punished” for the behaviour of those younger then them.
The student wrote: “We were threatened that if we are seen with water bottles, they will be confiscated and if we refused to hand them over, punishment will ensue.
“They expect 800 kids to use eight water fountains, three of which are crammed with gum and all which are horrendously unhygienic.
“The school has not only prohibited water, but they have refused to sell and have it on the premises to buy.”
The student also said that water from the fountains tastes chlorinated “like a public swimming pool”, and that a lack of water would hinder their attempts to attain good grades in forthcoming exams.
Katie Lunn
Speaking to the Gazette, Mrs James explained the school had stopped selling bottled water since she arrived.
She said: “We had a few incidents where kids were being silly with water and I said I wouldn’t sell the water in response, until they were being sensible with the water.
“When I feel that we can, we will sell the bottles again.
“There are 10 water fountains around the place and they are in very good condition.
“Children can bring their own water bottles in and of course, we give children water - there are water mugs and cups available at lunch and break time.”
She added water would only be confiscated from a pupil seen misusing it by squirting it out of the bottle, as has been witnessed on several occasions.
“Pupils are also able to take an unlabelled bottle of water into the exam room and pupils can take bottled water into their lessons.”
Mrs James - - who was appointed in September along with a new deputy Alex Howe and assistant head Karen Pritchard - last week outlined to The Gazette seven points upon which the school will focus to turn itself around and improve on the ‘inadequate’ rating within seven weeks.
They are: Leadership with vision and efficacy; Quality in the classroom; Curriculum; Systematic monitoring and intervention; Systems, protocols and processes; Continuous professional development; and Praising staff and students.
Boro’s young guns will clinch promotion to the Barclays Under-21 Premier League First Division tonight if they beat Bolton at Victoria Park.
Paul Jenkins’ men are five points clear at the summit with only three games remaining.
The top two teams will earn promotion to the top tier at the end of the season - and that prize is on offer tonight for Boro if they secure a seventh straight win in all competitions.
Boro’s promotion could even be confirmed before tonight’s 7pm kick-off, should second-placed Derby fail to beat Newcastle this afternoon.
After last week’s 3-2 win over Arsenal at the Riverside, it’s back to Hartlepool tonight for Boro - and Jenkins has urged his side to adapt to the conditions.
“We know (Hartlepool’s pitch) is not the Riverside, but we should know how to play on it and should know the conditions,” he said.
“What we have learnt this year is how to manage situations. In the mid-winter we’ve played at Hartlepool and controlled our game in the way we have to.
“The boys know what we expect of them as far as conditions go, and how to adapt our game when conditions are difficult.
“There’s a lot of hunger to succeed and the lads desperately want to be promoted, but even more than that, they want to be winners.
“They’ve had a fantastic education so far but we’ve won nothing, we’ve done nothing and we’ve achieved nothing.
“Hopefully in a couple of weeks’ time we’ll have achieved a lot.”
Yanic Wildschut and Emmanuel Ledesma
Both Yanic Wildschut and Emmanuel Ledesma could feature for the Under-21s tonight, having both been left out of the first-team squad that lost at Fulham.
Defender Andre Bennett is pushing for a recall, but Bryn Morris again misses out through injury.
As the election looms ever closer another political row has broken out - with the Middlesbrough Labour Party now reported to both the police and the Electoral Commission.
Three Labour councillor candidates - including the leader of Middlesbrough Labour Party Charlie Rooney - have been reported for the alleged publishing of a false statement about Independent mayoral candidate Andy Preston.
As reported, Mr Preston has been reported to the police and Electoral Commission regarding putting his parents’ Middlesbrough address on his nomination form.
The latest complaints regard Labour councillor candidates for Longlands and Beechwood Charlie Rooney, Jacinta Skipp and Theresa Higgins and a political leaflet that has been circulated across the Saltersgill area of Middlesbrough.
In it, they state that Mr Preston owns a piece of land on Saltersgill Avenue - the former Gospel Hall site - that they describe as “disgraceful”, suggesting that this shows he treats communities with “utter disdain” and claim that Labour candidate Dave Budd is the best man to be the town’s mayor.
Mr Preston said he has not owned the land since last year.
Cllr Rooney said they have issued a retraction leaflet clarifying Mr Preston no longer owns the land but did so at the time of the complaints to Middlesbrough Council.
The police complaint refers to Electoral Commission guidance stating that “It is an illegal practice to make or publish a false statement of fact about the personal character or conduct of a candidate in order to affect the return of a candidate at an election.”
Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, there are criminal penalties in place for those convicted of making or publishing false statements about election candidates.
Copy of original Labour leaflet sent out by Charlie Rooney, Theresa Higgins and Jacinta Skipp. Independent mayoral candidate Andy Preston has reported them to the police and Electoral Commission for saying he owns a piece of land in Middlesbrough where fly-tipping occurred when he says he no longer owns it
Mr Preston said: “This is getting ridiculous. The smear campaign against me has gone beyond stupid now and I’m getting really angry.
“This is just the latest grubby little instalment of the ongoing campaign to undermine me.
“My genuine advice to all the other candidates is to take a deep breath, come up with some decent ideas for the town and start talking to voters. Basically, they should stop slagging me off and focus on their own campaigns.”
Regarding the police complaint, Mr Preston added: “A quick internet search would have revealed that I am not the owner of the land, nor have I been for some time.
“The statement that I own the land was not only false but deliberately designed to cost me votes and impact the outcome of the mayoral election - perhaps it already has.
“At a time when I have faced ridiculous and puerile allegations about minor paperwork anomalies, it’s important that this rather more serious matter should be looked into by the police.”
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: “We received an allegation of electoral malpractice. Any information provided to us will be assessed to see what, if any, offence has been committed.”
A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said it was a criminal matter and would have advised the complainant to report it to the police.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Mr Preston has complained about comments made concerning the state of land on Saltersgill Avenue.
“We have put out a leaflet in the area affected by these repeated blights, providing residents with clear and accurate information.
“We all want a better environment and that means everyone taking responsibility for it. This means businesses, the council and individuals taking responsibility for the properties and land they own and carrying out proper maintenance and not letting the area be spoiled for everyone else.”
A woman who failed to return home last night has been found safe and well.
Kariann Bambrough was last seen in the Hart Village area, near Hartlepool, at about 7.30pm driving a silver Rover 45.
It was suggested that Ms Bambrough may have travelled to the Nunthorpe area of Middlesbrough.
But Cleveland Police said she was found safe and well today.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that stability in Myanmar’s Rakhine state cannot be achieved unless the government addresses the issue of citizenship for Rohingya Muslims minority.
“Long-term stability in Rakhine will remain unattainable without comprehensively addressing the issue of status and citizenship of the Muslim populations — particularly the plight of those who self-identify and are known by many as Rohingyas,” Ban told a meeting of a group of countries called “the Partnership Group on Myanmar” in New York on Friday.
The Partnership Group on Myanmar is a reconfiguration of the Group of Friends of Myanmar, which itself consisted of over 10 regional countries and blocs, that broadens the scope of the partnership between Myanmar and the UN.
“Myanmar’s top leaders must send a unified message against incitement of hatred and promote harmony and social cohesion,” the UN chief added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ban referred to Myanmar’s general elections, slated to be held by year’s end, and described them as “an important milestone” for the Southeast Asian country.
Myanmar officials categorize most of the 1.3 million of Rohingyas as Bengalis, implying they are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh.
Reports say hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas in Myanmar are suffering from a severe shortage of food and drinking water. Humanitarian aid deliveries have slowed down in Rakhine, where many Rohingyas live, due to an escalation of violence.
The UN recognizes Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims as one of the world’s most persecuted communities.
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have been persecuted and faced torture, neglect, and repression since the country’s independence in 1948.
The Myanmar government has been repeatedly criticized by human rights groups for failing to protect the Rohingya Muslims.
MSM/AS/MHB
France will recognise its colonial crimes against the Algerian people “today or tomorrow”, the Anadolu Agency reported a senior minister saying.
Commenting on remarks by French President Francois Hollande who has recently denied that his country committed genocide in Algeria during the colonial period between 1830 and 1962, Minister of War Veterans Tayeb Zaitoni told reporters: “If France does not recognise its crimes in Algeria today, it will do tomorrow.”
“We will carry the message of our victims from one generation to another and we’re proud of our ancestors,” Zaitouni added.
On Tuesday, France’s Canal+ channel broadcasted a video in which Hollande tells a French student of Algerian origin: “It was not genocide in Algeria but a war which we recognise.”
The student later interrupts the French president saying: “No, but it was genocide, you killed Algerians and tortured them.” Hollande replied: “No, we did not want a genocide and did not want to kill the Algerians. Indeed it was a very painful war and yes mass graves are being discovered till this day and we must recognise this, but definitely not genocide, because we did not want to kill all the people.”
Since its independence from France in 1962, the Algerian authorities, political parties and organisations of war veterans and their families have been demanding Paris issue a formal apology for the crimes it committed against Algerians during the colonial period and to compensate the victims’ families. However, the French authorities stress that they should start looking to the future.
French Deputy Defence Minister for Veterans and Memory, Jean-Marc Todeschini visited Algeria on Sunday to mark the 70th anniversary of the massacre in Setif, 300 kilometres east of Algiers.
Zaitouni described the visit as a “good but insufficient step”.
Algerian authorities say 1.5 million people were killed during the armed liberation revolution between 1954 and 1962 along with hundreds of thousands who were injured and displaced
Two games to go, four teams still in with a chance of grabbing the automatic promotion spots. Ring any bells?
The current campaign is proving to be one of the tightest in recent years at the top of the Championship.
But the last time Boro were fighting for automatic promotion to the Premier League, it was just as nail-biting and just as nerve-wracking.
How vital the 1-0 away win at Port Vale on this day in 1998 proved to be.
It was the stage of the season when there was simply no more room for slip-ups. Level on points with Sunderland before a ball was kicked and with the Mackems not in action that day, it was crucial Boro got the job done at Vale Park.
They did - but only just.
Paul Merson’s goal proved to be the matchwinner as Bryan Robson’s men reached 87 points with two games to play, three behind Sheffield Wednesday and three ahead of Sunderland and Charlton, although the Black Cats still had a game in hand.
It wasn’t pretty for long periods against The Vale. No real surprises there. Just two points above the drop zone, the game was as pivotal for the hosts as it was Boro.
The similarities between that season and the current campaign don’t stop at the fact the league was hotly-contested at the top.
Just like Aitor Karanka’s side have done this season, the 1998 Boro outfit had the bottle to grind out results.
True, they’d smashed Swindon for six, put three past Norwich and hit Bury for four - all without reply.
But the victory at Port Vale was Boro’s third 1-0 win on the bounce.
With two promotion deciding games to come at the Riverside, Boro simply had to keep their nerve.
Entrepreneurs Steve and Sara Heath have announced expansion plans - and more jobs - at their Teesside skydiving business after securing funding with Barclays.
The couple’s company - Skydive St George, based at Durham Tees Valley Airport - was established in 2011.
It’s the UK’s newest and fastest growing skydiving facility and employs a professional team of current and ex-military instructors.
The company currently employs four full-time staff and around 15 contractors. The latest funding will allow them to buy new static line jumping equipment - and allow them to take on a further three full-time and two part-time staff.
The new equipment will lead to an increase of the number of skydiving opportunities the business can operate and also enable it to run a training school for skydiving licenses.
Sara Heath, joint owner of Skydive St George, said: “An opportunity arose to grow the business and really take things to the next level.
“Purchasing the static line equipment is a large commitment for us but we believe the time is right to expand what we offer and will allow us to really strengthen our position in this exciting niche market.”
Skydive St George business partner Steve is a decorated RAF pilot with over 3000 hours of flying experience and has ensured the company only uses state of the art equipment, which is meticulously maintained to the highest standards required by the British Parachute Association.
Ian Kirk, Business Banking Manager at Barclays said: “The adventure sport industry is clearly an exciting and rapidly expanding sector. This fantastic business brings adrenaline sports to the masses in a safe and professional way. It really has been a pleasure working with Steve and Sara to support their growth plans and I look forward to seeing the business develop a great deal this year.”
Teesside car parts maker Nifco UK is putting money back into Teesside - by partnering with Middlesbrough College to provide more than £285,000 worth of training.
The growing Eaglescliffe-based firm has recently completed the first year of a three-year operative training programme with the college.
The programme will see staff at the car parts company undergo productivity training with a value of almost £1,000 per person.
Nifco was awarded the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS)’s Employer Ownership Fund (EOF) to help deliver an extensive people development programme to support its rapid expansion. It will work with the college to deliver training, including employee ownership, improvement activities and coaching courses.
The training is just part of the company’s commitment to investing in people, after it announced its intention to add at least six apprentices to the team for each year it recruits.
Nifco awarded the programme, internally called Total Productive Maintenance and scheduled to run until March 2017, to Middlesbrough College after considering a number of options for training. The £285,000 committed to the programme with the college is funded in-part by an EOF grant of up to £142,000, which the business must match-fund with its own money, and will allow Nifco to provide staff training in areas such as maintenance, quality and principles. Nifco was one of only five businesses in the country that successfully qualified for EOF funding.
Mike Matthews MBE, managing director of Nifco UK and European operations officer, said: “As a business, we genuinely believe that the growth we have seen has been, in no small part, down to investing in our people. We believe that they are the key to the ongoing success of the business too, so we are in no doubt that we have to invest in them to realise our full potential.
“We are delighted to be working with Middlesbrough College to deliver this training programme, the college has strategically aligned itself with our needs by investing in the same equipment we use. It’s fantastic to be able to offer mutual support to an institution that is a playing such an important role in the development of the Tees Valley.”
The college will continue to roll out training at Nifco over the coming months, working with employees from across the business. This company-wide programme, which targets improvements in equipment effectiveness, efficiency and quality, will provide the foundation for Nifco UK to engage the whole workforce in the next step in achieving the company vision, which is to be the European number one supplier of choice for automotive plastic functional components.
Ian Smith, director of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at Middlesbrough College, said: “We are very excited to be working with Nifco UK as the business is a real advocate of skills development, apprenticeships and investing in people, and that’s something that we as a college strongly support.”
Mike added: “We’re so grateful to Middlesbrough College, Tees Valley Unlimited and BIS for all of the support they have given to Nifco UK.
“We’re thrilled to have been offered this grant and we have made firm plans to put it to good use to ensure that we further the positive effect Nifco has on the local and regional economy.”
The business has a current turnover of more than £50m and is aiming to reach a turnover of £100m by 2020.
Boro are not under pressure and have nothing to lose going into tomorrow’s crunch game at Fulham insists Aitor Karanka.
With two games to go, it’s incredibly tight at the top of the Championship.
Leaders Watford are one point better off than second-placed Bournemouth and third-placed Boro, who are both on 84 points.
Karanka believes all the pressure is on the top two because his team have achieved their stated pre-season target of a play-off place and anything else is a bonus.
“We are not under pressure because we are third so we don’t have anything to lose,” he said.
“Our objective at the beginning of the season was to get into the play-offs and we did that two weeks ago so the pressure is not for us.”
The Boro boss knows, however, that failing to beat Fulham will end his side’s hopes of finishing in the top two.
In fact, he believes six points from the final two scheduled fixtures is a minimum requirement.
“We have to win,” he said. “We made mistakes against Bournemouth and Watford and now we can’t make more mistakes.
“We need to win both games and we are working to beat Fulham on Saturday and then we will prepare for Brighton.”
Aitor Karanka is pleased Boro’s final home game of the season against Brighton is a sell-out, but says he would have been surprised if it wasn't.
Boro will be backed by a capacity crowd of 33,600 against the Seagulls in a game that could decide their automatic promotion fate.
“I’m pleased, but imagine if we were playing for promotion and the stadium was not full,” Karanka said.
“If that was the case, we would have a problem.
“We know our crowd is going to be there, and our crowd, especially away, this season has been amazing."
Karanka commented on the size of Boro's crowds compared to their promotion rivals ahead of the game with Rotherham.
“I said two weeks ago that I would prefer to have sold out when we played against Rotherham and Wolves. But the people who went to those games were amazing for us.
“I said after the Wolves game that we had won the game because they were supporting us for 95 minutes. For us, it’s nice to finish the season playing at home with all the stadium full.”
A prisoner has absconded from Kirklevington Prison whilst on day release.
Police officers are now appealing for help to trace David Magee, 28, who was last seen at a shop on Catcote Road in Hartlepool at around 4.05pm on Wednesday, wearing a blue striped t-shirt, bright blue tracksuit bottoms and trainers.
He is currently serving a sentence for section 18 wounding with intent following an incident outside the force area, but has links to the Hartlepool area. Anyone with information should call Cleveland Police on 101.
The Gazette's live breaking news blog brings you regular updates, pictures, video, tweets and comments covering the latest Teesside and North Yorkshire traffic, travel, weather, crime and council news for today, Wednesday 22nd April, 2015.
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For the second time in nine days Boro put three past Chesterfield.
Thankfully, this time those goals came without reply on this day in 1997.
If Boro had underestimated the Spireites at all ahead of the FA Cup semi-final clash at Old Trafford, they’d learnt the hard way that the Second Division outfit weren’t going to go out of the famous competition without a fight.
Robson’s men wouldn’t make the same mistake at the second time of asking.
In truth, the replay never going to pull off the impossible task of entertaining the neutral in the fashion the first game had.
Not that that mattered. With games piling up thick and fast, the last thing Boro needed was another gruelling 120 minute slog.
Once Mikkel Beck had fired Boro into the lead after just 11 minutes, that never looked likely.
If the first game was an almighty scare, the second was a job well done, a professional display to see off the plucky underdogs.
“Tiredness doesn’t come into it - not when you’re streets ahead in class,” wrote Andrew Wilkinson in his Gazette match report.
“There was no signs of heavy legs or weary minds as Boro cruised to Wembley with confidence and style.
“Once Mikkel Beck had given Boro an early lead, the fans could sit back and bask in the knowledge they were Wembley bound for a second time.”
When Boro played a cup game, Ravanelli scored. Or so it seemed.
And the White Feather continued his remarkable record as he put the game beyond the reach of Chesterfield early in the second half.
Emerson capped it off with a stunning strike in the last minute. It was time to dig out the phone numbers of those London hotels again, Boro were going back to Wembley.
Not that there was any time for the players to celebrate. It’s not often a Thursday night is graced with a Premier League clash but Boro were in action again just two days later at Spurs, such was the hectic fixture programme they faced until the end of the season.
“The talk in the dressing room straight after the game was of White Hart Lane, not Wembley,” insisted Robson.
“That’s how important it is.”
