Monday, January 19, 2015

Morning news headlines: Imams must root our radicals says Pickles, Labour mental health vow, Cameron on jobs


Eric Pickles has written to mosques in England urging them to do more to root out extremists and prevent young people being radicalised.


In the letter sent to more than 1,000 Islamic leaders, the Communities Secretary insisted Whitehall alone could not combat the threat. While stressing that he was "proud" of the way Muslims in Britain had responded to the Paris terror attacks, Mr Pickles said there was "more work to do".


"You, as faith leaders, are in a unique position in our society. You have a precious opportunity, and an important responsibility: in explaining and demonstrating how faith in Islam can be part of British identity," he said.


PM puts jobs at heart of campaign


David Cameron has set out the Tory path to full employment, promising to keep Britain the "jobs factory of Europe" by backing small business.


The Prime Minister admitted it had been a "tough few years" for UK plc, but said the country was "coming out the other side" - and urged voters to stick with his plan.


"Full employment may be an economic term, but this is what it means in human terms: it means more of our fellow men and women with the security of a regular wage; it means you, your family and your children having a job and getting on in life," Mr Cameron said.


Labour vows mental health push


Ed Miliband has accused the Coalition of failing people with mental health problems by making "false economies" in the NHS.


Unveiling a report into the issue, the Labour leader said young people were not being diagnosed early enough and cuts were undermining treatment, resulting in much higher costs in the longer-term.


Making "smart investments" such as therapy provision and training for teachers could improve outcomes and save money.


Sex-swap captain 'living an act'


An Army officer has said she decided to come out as transgender after "living an act" as a man serving on the front line in Afghanistan.


Captain Hannah Winterbourne, of the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers, told The Sun she realised her "body was wrong" at the age of 23 while at Sandhurst for officer training.


And while the 27-year-old said she feared what the reaction would be when she revealed her decision, she praised the military for being "very forward-thinking".


Top 1% 'rucher than rest of world'


The world's richest 1% will own more than the other 99% by next year, Oxfam has warned.


The charity has highlighted growing inequality ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.


A research paper suggests the wealthiest 1% have seen their share of global assets rise from 44% in 2009 to 48% last year - with an average worth of 2.7 million dollars (£1.8 million) each.


The figure is on track to exceed 50% this year.


Plans aim to stop trial 'ambush'


Witnesses and alleged victims of crime should be warned when defence barristers are set to confront them over their sexual history or previous bad character, according to proposals put forward by the country's top prosecutor.


Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), has put out proposed guidance for prosecutors on the approach to witnesses or alleged victims giving evidence during the trial process at court to prevent them from being "ambushed".


The updated guidelines follow a number of high-profile cases in which witnesses or alleged victims have suffered during or after the trial process, such as celebrity cook Nigella Lawson, who described her experience as a witness in the trial of her ex-husband Charles Saatchi's personal assistants as "mortifying".


Eurotunnel warn of more delays


Eurostar has said it plans a full service today, but Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel has warned of delays dragging into a third successive day.


Thousands of passengers were left stranded by a lorry fire on a train in the tunnel on Saturday and then a power supply problem yesterday saw 11 trains cancelled on the service as people were trying to restart their journeys.


Eurotunnel was planning engineering work overnight to put "more sections of the tunnel back into service" after only one of the two train tunnels was left operational after the fire.


Life just too hard in Syria - mum


A British woman thought to have fled life in Islamic State-controlled Syria with her young son has told how she "escaped death".


Tareena Shakil, 25, who was believed to have gone to the war-torn country last October with 17-month-old son Zaheem, described life in the IS-held city of Raqqa as "hard".


Ms Shakil, who is being held in a Turkish detention centre, told The Sun: "I hated it. I tried to escape within a few days of getting there. It wasn't what I thought it would be."


Nurse on trial over patient murders


A nurse will go on trial later today accused of murdering and poisoning hospital patients.


Victorino Chua, 49, is accused of the murders of Tracey Arden, 44, Arnold Lancaster, 71, and Derek Weaver, 83, at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport.


He also faces a single count of grievous bodily harm with intent, 22 counts of attempted grievous bodily harm, eight counts of attempting to cause a poison to be administered and one count of administering a poison.


Man facing pensioners murder trial


A man is due to go on trial accused of murdering two pensioners on consecutive days.


Leo Barnes denies murdering Cynthia Beamond and Philip Silverstone, who were found dead at their respective homes in the West Midlands and London.


The body of Mrs Beamond, 80, was found hidden inside her semi-detached house in Halesowen, near Birmingham, on June 29 last year after she was reported missing by family members.



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