After Yemen’s Shia Houthi group seizes power, Iranian flight lands in Sanaa for 1st time in 25 years

A direct flight from Tehran arrived on Sunday to Yemeni capital Sanaa, the first by Iranian airlines since the unification of Yemen in 1990.

“An Iranian flight carrying a medical aid consignment arrived today in Sanaa International Airport from Tehran,” Mohamed al-Serihi, senior official at Sanaa airport, told The Anadolu Agency.

A day earlier, Yemen’s Shia Houthi group, which controls government institutions in capital Sanaa, signed a memorandum of understanding with Tehran by which 28 direct flights would be operated between Sanaa and Tehran every week.

The memorandum was signed in Tehran by civil aviation authorities of both nations, the official Yemeni news agency, which is controlled by the Houthis, had reported.

The semi-official Iranian news agency Fars had said that direct flights between Sanaa and Tehran would open the door for the export of Iranian commodities to Yemen.

Nevertheless, some observers express fears that the flights could be used in the transfer of arms to Yemen’s Houthis.

Tension has mounted in Yemen since the powerful Shia Houthi group seized control of capital Sanaa in September of 2014. The group has sought to extend its control in other Yemeni provinces ever since.

On Feb. 6, the Houthis issued what it described as a constitutional declaration dissolving Yemen’s parliament and establishing a 551-member transitional council.

The declaration was, however, rejected by most of Yemen’s political forces – along with some neighboring Gulf countries – which described it as a coup against constitutional legitimacy.

Some Gulf States have even accused Iran of backing a Shia insurgency in the fractious nation.

Live: Breaking news, traffic and travel across Teesside

The Evening 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, Monday 2nd March 2015.

You can contribute to the live blog by posting your comment below, and you can also tweet us @EveningGazette to share breaking news stories, pictures and opinions.

Our Teesside breaking news live blog begins at 07:00am every weekday and is updated throughout the day and into the evening.

Stockton child rapist Anthony Thomas jailed for 17-and-a-half years

A child rapist has been jailed for 17-and-a-half years for offences against young girls.

Anthony Thomas shook his head as the sentence was passed upon him at Teesside Crown Court.

The 40-year-old had been found guilty of nine sexual offences against children following a trial in January this year.

These included three rapes, four sexual assaults and one indecent assault - all against pre-teenage girls.

The jury could not come to a decision on another count Thomas faced - an indecent assault - and at court, it was decided the charge could lie on his file.

Thomas, of Del Strother Avenue, Stockton, was also sentenced for a bail act offence after he has absconded mid-way through his trial and was missing for a total of three days. He pleaded guilty to this offence and claimed he had been in a “distressed state”.

Teesside Crown Court heard on Friday how the sexual offences took place years ago and involved three female victims - all of which have been affected by his actions, said prosecutor Paul Cleasby.

Reading out one of the victim’s impact statements, he said she had been left “an emotional mess”.

Describing the impact it had had on another victim, he added: “As a child, she tried her hardest to put it out of her mind but was unable to. She felt it was something she wore or did, or if she had looked at him the wrong way.

“It was always something she couldn’t forget and she ended up feeling really depressed.

“It affected her confidence, she didn’t feel comfortable in her own skin, and she said she was left feeling unclean.”

Glenn Carrasco, defending, said: “Accepting the extreme gravity of these offences, there is a limited amount that can be said.

“The most important point I can make is that the offending had stopped prior to any complaint and prior to his arrest.

“He handed himself in to the police to be arrested when the allegations were made and he has no similar previous convictions.”

Mr Carrasco went to on say that Thomas is under the care of a mental health team and is on anti-depressants.

“He is a 40-year-old man who is going to be spending many years in custody, and he knows this.”

Sentencing judge, Howard Crowson, also gave Thomas a Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPO) and a lifetime notification requirement.

Detective Sergeant Andy Richmond, of Cleveland Police, said: “I would like to pay tribute to the victims’ tremendous bravery. This has been a very long and difficult journey for them and their courage is humbling.

“The sentence handed today reflects the terrible and despicable nature of the crimes and I welcome it wholeheartedly.”

Turkey condemns ISIS kidnapping of Christians in Syria

Turkey harshly condemned Saturday Daesh attacks on predominantly Assyrian Christian villages in the northeast Syrian province of Hasakah, where the group is thought to have kidnapped dozens civilians.

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant or Daesh, the Arabic acronym for the terrorist group, kidnapped 90 Assyrian Christians from the villages of Tal Hormoz and Tal Shamiram near Tal Tamr town in Hasakah, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The abduction came in the aftermath of Daesh attacks Monday in which it seized control of Tal Tamr town’s al-Aghibash, Tal Hormoz, Tal Shamiram, Tal Nasri and Kasr Toma villages.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic released a statement on Saturday, demanded the immediate release of those kidnapped.

“This grave incident is another example of Daesh terror and the unrelieved grief of Syrian people caused by Syrian regime,” Bilgic said. “Turkey will continue to support all parties forming the Syrian people without any discrimination.”

Clashes between Daesh and local forces are reportedly continuing

Scott Walker is Right, Leadership Matters More Than Expertise

Think of a mistake that we made in international affairs. At the time that we were making it, a phalanx of foreign policy experts was standing behind it. It might be a lonely orphan idea today, but last year you could have thrown a rock at a roomful of PhDs without hitting a single person who disagreed with it.

When the Tahrir Square protests in Egypt were in their heyday, I had trouble finding any foreign policy people who would even entertain the idea that we should continue backing Mubarak. Back then the revolution seemed inevitable. But I correctly predicted Islamist takeovers and counterrevolutions that would topple them because I didn’t see international relations through the lens of a grand theory.

Scott Walker’s claim that foreign policy is about leadership, not expertise, is being mocked now by media types who were relentlessly regurgitating all the expert truisms about the Arab Spring. But he’s right. Foreign policy expertise does not translate into foreign affairs competence. Leadership does.

Just ask John Kerry who has been flailing away at foreign policy for decades with all the ineptness of a drunken windsurfer in a tsunami. And no matter how many times he got it wrong, he remains convinced that this time is when he’ll get it right.

Foreign policy expertise usually means someone’s secondhand pet theory and a network of contacts. The difference between war and diplomacy is that while a battle plan doesn’t survive first contact with the enemy, a theory of international relations lingers on no matter how many good people it kills.

Most of the bad ideas that were around before Chamberlain brought back “Peace in Our Time” from a bad painter named Adolf are still haunting the halls of universities and government buildings. Obama’s foreign policy renamed those same bad ideas “Smart Power” while auditioning everyone from Vladimir Putin to the Caliph of the Islamic State to fill in for Adolf.

International relations is the only theory driven policy field more overrated than economics. And it’s hard to say which bunch of bad theories has done more damage to America.

Foreign policy leadership requires being able to read people and to translate national interests into international objectives. This is a skillset that any competent manager has. The two most common mistakes made in international relations are first, a dependence on grand theory over practical goals, and second, the false assumption that the other side shares your values and priorities.

These two mistakes were at the heart of the Arab Spring error. The experts invested the events with a grander meaning by misreading them as a wave of global and regional progress, rather than dealing with the actual agendas on the street and the national historical precedents for them. If they had done that, they would have recognized that the protests had a lot more to do with the price of bread and oil money agendas than the Middle East transforming itself into another Europe.

Furthermore they assumed that democracy, in countries where majorities support a lot of the same Islamic death penalties being meted out now by ISIS, would echo our own values.

That was clearly never going to happen.

These are the sorts of stupid mistakes that only smart people make. And they typify the elitist arrogance running our foreign policy into the ground by shortchanging our national interests for their own grand global theories. They are why academics should not be allowed anywhere near foreign policy so that they don’t hurt themselves or anyone else.

Our worst foreign policy disasters have come from historical determinists who assumed that events were fulfilling their pet theories about the world. What we need are competent managers who can deal with an individual problem, set a realistic goal and carry it out. Spare us the foreign policy romantics who can’t wait to visit an “exotic” foreign country and play a liberal Lawrence of Arabic. They get other people killed. Sometimes they even get themselves killed.

What we need are hard heads who don’t get carried away and do get the job done.

Knowledge isn’t useless. Knowing the history of a foreign country and understanding the culture matters a lot. If Bush had known more about Russia, he would have known better than to look into Putin’s soul. But those kinds of amateur mistakes are easier to fix on an individual basis than the smart power errors that lead into a global chain of disasters when an administration believes it is on the right side of history.

Scott Walker’s approach to foreign policy has been pragmatic and practical. It doesn’t mean that he will be right about everything. But he’s a lot more likely to recognize his mistakes than Obama ever will because he isn’t chained to a bad theory. While Jeb Bush has gathered an army of foreign policy advisors who represent all the varying and contradictory views within the Republican mainstream, Walker is signaling that he intends to deal with issues rather than theories. And that is a good thing.

American foreign policy has become so bogged down in theories that we are no longer capable of getting anything done. The theories are interpreted by experts in ways that offer solutions to problems. Unfortunately the theories are not grounded in reality and the solutions, which are based on the theories, have even less of a meaningful relationship to the real world.

In international relations, history matters as background, not as an inevitable direction that we must follow. There is no inescapable wave of modernity. Technology has changed how people communicate, but it has not disrupted and transformed most cultures to the extent that it has our own. Most of the world does not want the same things that we do. Even if it did, it wouldn’t want them on our terms.

If we want to protect our national interests, we need to focus on them first instead of assuming that we need to fix the world to protect ourselves. The most important thing to learn from history is that people, institutions and cultures might be predictable on an individual basis, but not on a general one. Applying the faulty logic of central planning and socialized everything to the world leads to even bigger and more profound failures than Obamacare. While we should be determined in our goals, we must be humble in our assumptions because we cannot truly know what is to come.

There is no inevitable right side to history. There are only the choices that we make. History is not the product of any theory, but the sum of our worse and better choices. We change the outcome, but often only at the cost of great sacrifices that should not be entered into lightly.

Every good decision begins with weighing what we want and what we need. It measures our resources and asks what we need to accomplish and what we can accomplish. It understands that its greatest and cheapest commodity is its word and it does not give it lightly. It does not mouth empty ideals. Instead it speaks only of what it is willing to realize. It carries a great love for the nation and for the cultural heritage that gave birth to it. And it understands that without that heritage, its civilization will perish.

It is not the theorists who make good decisions. It takes leadership to make a good decision.

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Putin and the New ‘Iron Curtain’

On March 5, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Formally entitled “The Sinews of Peace,” it has been known ever since as the “iron curtain” speech. He told his audience that he would offer them his “true and faithful counsel in these anxious and baffling times.”

Churchill identified the two great dangers that menace the world; what he called “the two giant marauders, war and tyranny.” War, he stated, often results from “the designs of wicked men” and “the aggressive urge of mighty states.” Tyranny reigns when “the power of the State is exercised without restraint, either by dictators or by compact oligarchies operating through a privileged party and a political police.”

After extolling the virtues of a continued close association of the English-speaking peoples, Churchill turned his attention to “certain facts about the present position in Europe.” “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” On the eastern side of the iron curtain, the lands and peoples “are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.”

He called this development a “shadow” that had fallen upon the world, and he warned that the “dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them. They will not be removed by mere waiting to see what happens; nor will they be removed by a policy of appeasement.” The Russians, he said, admire strength but have no respect for weakness, “especially military weakness.” “If the Western Democracies stand together in strict adherence to the principles of the United Nations charter, their influence for furthering those principles will be immense and no one is likely to molest them.” But he warned that if the West becomes divided or falters, “then indeed catastrophe may overwhelm us all.”

Sixty-nine years later, a modern-day Churchill might look to the following facts and circumstances in today’s Europe. Valdimir Putin’s Russia has waged war against Georgia for the breakaway province of South Ossetia and recently signed a “border agreement” with South Ossetian leaders that Georgia condemned as a move closer to Russian annexation of the province. It has annexed the Crimean peninsula and is waging war in eastern Ukraine. Last November it signed a “strategic partnership” agreement with Abkhazia. Russian warships and military planes repeatedly have conducted military exercises near Latvian airspace and territorial waters in the Baltic, an effort, according to British defense officials, to destabilize the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Putin’s Russia has been an accomplice to Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear bomb. It is engaged in military cooperation with China of a “systemic character,” according to Russia’s Defense Minister. Russia is currently in the midst of a $700 billion rearmament program.

At home, Putin continues to crackdown on any opposition. Boris Nemtsov, a vocal critic of the Putin regime, was murdered recently in Moscow. Nemtsov joins Alexei Navalny, Stanislav Markelov, Anna Politkovskaya, Natalia Estemirova, and Alexander Litvinenko as Putin opponents who have been murdered or assassinated under “mysterious” circumstances.

Putin, the onetime KGB agent, told his countrymen in 2005 that,

“we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century . . . [F]or the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and co-patriots found themselves outside Russian territory. Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself.”

Vladimir Putin has let loose on Europe the giant marauders of war and tyranny. Putin is one of those “wicked men” described by Churchill who has reinvigorated the “aggressive urge” of the mighty Russian state. He combines tyranny at home with aggression abroad, and appears to be erecting a new iron curtain in Eastern Europe.

At the conclusion of “The Sinews of Peace,” Churchill, referring to his repeated warnings in the 1930s about the danger to world peace posed by Hitler’s Germany, stated: “Last time I saw it all coming and cried aloud to my fellow-countrymen and to the world, but no one paid any attention.” Unless the world pays increasing attention today to Putin’s attempt to reconstitute in some form a new great Russian Empire, Europe and the world may be headed for another catastrophe that Churchill spoke so eloquently about preventing.

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I am the Worst Terrorist Attack the United States has Ever Faced

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Palestinians Working for Israelis

Reprinted from palwatch.org.

A survey conducted by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) during October-December 2014, and funded by the European Union, shows that Palestinians who work in Israel or Israeli settlements are paid more than double the wage of Palestinians working in the PA-governed areas of the West Bank. In Israel and Israeli settlements, the average daily wage for Palestinians was 194.2 shekels during the period surveyed, while Palestinians working in the PA in the West Bank only earned 91.4 shekels daily. The average wage for Palestinians working for Israelis was triple that of those employed in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, who made only 66.1 shekels daily.

The results of this survey match the findings reported by Palestinian Media Watch last September, when the official PA daily lauded Israeli employers for their positive employment ethics towards their Palestinian employees.

Among the paper’s findings then:

“Whenever Palestinian workers have the opportunity to work for Israeli employers, they are quick to quit their jobs with their Palestinian employers – for reasons having to do with salaries and other rights.”

“The [Israeli] work conditions are very good, and include transportation, medical insurance and pensions. These things do not exist with Palestinian employers.”

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 21, 2014]

The recent PCBS survey stated that the number of Palestinians employed by Israelis was around 105,200 people at the end of 2014, 20,200 of whom were employed in settlements. Around a fourth of the Palestinian work force was unemployed (26.5%). The survey also examined other labor force issues and can be viewed here .

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Qatari businessman to pay for 50 Gaza weddings every year

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Qatari businessman has pledged to cover marriage expenses for 50 Gaza young men every year indefinitely.

Member of the Higher Council of Youth and Sports in the Gaza Strip Abd al-Salam Haniyeh, son of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, told reporters Saturday that Ali al-Sadah, a businessman from Qatar, pledged to pay for 50 marriages in the coastal enclave every year.

The generous donation, said Haniyeh, would be a serious relief for young men who have been suffering from dire economic conditions in Gaza since Israel imposed a crippling siege on Gaza about 8 years ago.

The blockade — which stops almost all imports and exports — has ravaged Gaza’s economy and made the tiny coastal enclave dependent on international aid.

Economic conditions were further weakened by the destruction caused during Israel’s assault on Gaza in 2014. UNRWA has so far only received $135 million since donors in October pledged $5.4 billion to Gaza for reconstruction.

The Hamas movement has organized mass weddings in the Gaza Strip several times using donations from Qatar and other donors. The move was meant to reduce wedding costs which have been on the rise in Palestine.

Prom dresses 2015: View 42 pictures of latest styles available this year

VIEW GALLERY

For some prom dress preparations start long, long before the gowns hit the rails.

Long and sleek or full and floaty - teenage girls across Teesside are sure by now to have a firm idea in mind of their dream dress.

Here Middlesbrough's Destiny Bridal, Prom and Eveningwear has showcased the many designs it has on offer for the summer prom season.

Ellen McNulty has owned the Newport Road shop for five years.

See all our Prom pictures from last year HERE

“This year they are still being inspired by lace and many have high necks," the 49-year-old said.

“The style has come from the wedding industry and into prom dresses.”

Ellen says that the girls have been visiting the store for some time in hope of finding their dream dress.

She said: “They have been coming in since last year!

“However I’d say the bulk of girls come to us between January and April.”

The dress shop owner says it’s an experience that the girls enjoy.

“It is an experience for them - an exciting one," added Ellen.

“I suppose it’s a bit like a wedding!”

The pretty designs have been modelled by girls from across Teesside including Abigail Bryan, 18, Jade Cracknell, 16. Kerry Dicken, 15, Scarlett Lancaster, 15, Esme McGhee, 16 and Ruby-Mae McGhee, 17.

The dresses range in price between around £300 and £450.

Make-up is by beauty therapist Georgina K, who is based within Destiny.

Want to see how the styles compare with last year? Here's some 2014 designs

Middlesbrough's latest eaterie Nosh Healthy Kitchen reveals its secret location

It's been the talk of social media for weeks but a new eaterie in Middlesbrough has finally revealed its secret location.

Shrouded in mystery, Nosh Healthy Kitchen has kept hungry Teessiders waiting to see where it was going to open.

Situated in the heart of Middlesbrough, it was today revealed that the new healthy food restaurant will open on the corner of Linthorpe Road and Southfield Road, next to The Keys.

The date it will open will be revealed next week.

It is owned by Jason Jahangiry and his dad Shari Jahangiry. Jason, 25, is from Durham originally where Shari still lives but moved to Middlesbrough to study product design at Teesside University.

People who signed up to Nosh’s newsletter were told the location at 4pm before they plan to post the details on Facebook at 7pm.

They said if anyone is disappointed with the location there will be a delivery service.

There is currently no door to the restaurant but a new floor to roof glass front will be installed in the next week or two.

After travelling the world and living in London, Jason decided to come back up north and has lived in Acklam for the past four years.

Shari has worked as a chef in many reputable restaurants and hotels for more than 30 years, including Raymond Blanc’s flagshop hotel, Le Manoir, Le Petit Blanc, and worked all over the world.

“Nosh Healthy Kitchen is new concept fast food restaurant serving delicious fresh, healthy meals,” said Jason, who also owns a clothing line called FAWN, which is currently collaborating with American Apparel.

“All food served will have calorie/nutrition breakdowns and will have a range of foods types suiting the customers needs including gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian meals.

“We will also have meals that are suited for people’s needs and aims - slimming meals, muscle-building meals, detox meals.”

Jason had the idea a few years ago when he found it “quite difficult to treat myself with a takeout without feeling guilty”.

“Like most people, I like to go to the gym and live a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

“I had a short spell of living in London where this healthy diet was easily achievable.

“There were a number of chains down there that you could grab a quick meal from that weren’t as bad as your usual fast food.

“With my dad being so experienced in the food industry, I knew the gap in the market could be filled, and that’s when Nosh was created.”

They decided to keep the location a secret because “we had a lot of site renovation going on and didn’t want the pressure of people rushing something that needed time to do. Also, Middlesbrough hasn’t really got anything like this, so we wanted to make this a big event and get people as excited as we are.

“We have had an unbelievable response. When we created the Facebook page, we didn’t realise how interested people from Middlesbrough were in looking after themselves.

“The page has been so positive and we have gained so much initial knowledge, which has been reflected on how we have created the menu.

“The Facebook page has now got over 5,000 likes before we have opened, which we are over the moon with.”

Meals will start from £4.

Archive Boro: Pictures of when the Riverside's corners were filled in for £5m

Work first started on building the £16m Riverside Stadium - although it had yet to be given that name - in the autumn of 1994.

It took eight months to build the stadium and it opened in time for the 1995/96 season.

The first game at Boro's new 30,000-seater home was a 2-0 win over Chelsea on August 26.

The stadium's corners were filled in three years later - at a cost of £5m - to take the attendance up to around 35,000.

During the building work, hundreds of Boro fans flocked to the site to see their club's new home being put together.

The Riverside corners under construction and the designs and artist's impressions

Read about 50 objects from Boro's club archives HERE

Billingham offshore engineer hopes for a third date with Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison

An oilrig worker who cooked Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison her first ever parmo says he hasn’t given up hope of going on another date with her.

Mike Thornton, of Billingham, was chosen by Vicky for a follow-up date on the ITVBe show Celebrity Dinner Date after cooking a meal for her at his home.

During that first date, Vicky was served Mike’s menu of offshore fish cakes with spicy salsa, Teesside chicken parmesan with cheeky monkey chunky chips and raspberry meringue bomb.

As a result, Vicky and Mike enjoyed a follow-up date at Cafe Lilli in Norton.

About the second date, Mike, 25, said: “It was good. It was very much similar to the first date. As far as I am concerned, the first date we had was really good.

“I was quietly confident because it did go quite well. It certainly wasn’t an awkward first date.

“We have very similar personalities. We got on like a house on fire.”

Billingham man Mike Thornton has appeared on TV with Geordie Shore's Vicky as Dinner Date on ITV's Celebrity Dinner date

At Cafe Lilli, the pair did look for the chance of having another parmo, but it wasn’t an option on the menu.

Mike said: “My parmo was Vicky’s first parmo, so she was going to get one to compare to see what a proper restaurant parmo was like. There were no parmos on the menu though.”

Instead, Vicky tucked in to a different chicken dish while Mike opted for fish.

Mike said: “I struggled a bit because I was a bit hungover from our first date, but the food was really nice.

“Vicky is good company to be around. It was weird being with her in public. People were stopping us and asking for pictures.

“She is really attractive too. We got on really well. It was a good laugh.”

Since the second date, the pair have yet to meet for a third time as Mike has been away working offshore in Norway for the past seven weeks. However, hopeful Mike, who is now home for a month, said: “We are speaking and have exchanged messages. “Now I am home I will definitely be looking for a third date. I would hope to see Vicky again.”

Following their three course meal, Vicky, 27, said: “It wasn’t the best food - at all - but I don’t think that’s what was important.

“There was enough banter for the parmo not to matter. I think there was a bit of chemistry between me and Mike.”

Appeal for information after firefighters tackle blaze on Eston Hills

The battle to put an end to fires being started on Eston Hills continues after firefighters battled a blaze.

Cleveland Fire Brigade and officers from Cleveland Police were called to the beauty spot on Saturday afternoon following reports of the blaze. At its height, five fire appliances attended.

And once the fire was out, Eston’s neighbourhood police team took to social media to appeal for information about how it started.

Urging people to share and retweet information about the blaze, the Facebook message read: “If you have any information on who may have started the fire which could put people’s lives, businesses in danger please let us know.”

Eston Hills is regularly targeted by arsonists, especially in the summer months and during school holidays.

Over the years, campaigns to deter youngsters from starting fires there have been carried out. Cleveland Fire Brigade has also used a specialist 120ft-high CCTV camera to look for suspicious behaviour and fires in the area.

Speaking last year, John Feeney, Cleveland Fire Brigade’s district manager for Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough, said: “Deliberate grass and moorland fires are reckless in the extreme. They damage our beautiful countryside and divert our resources away from dealing with real emergencies where lives may be at risk.

“Arson accounts for around 70% of fires across Cleveland and this is why the brigade continues to work very closely with the police, other key organisations and local communities to put a stop to it once and for all.

“We do target resources into areas where deliberate grass fires are most prevalent and patrols are being stepped up following these recent incidents.”

As reported last year, a spate of destructive grass blazes on Eston Hills and across Teesside cost Cleveland Fire Brigade £108,000 in less than a month.

From March 1 to March 17, there were 54 grass or moorland fires within Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough - including 14 on Eston Hills. This prompted Marty Challenor, watch manager at Grangetown fire station, to launch a campaign to educate youngsters on the damage the fires cause and discourage them from setting them.

Marty, who has worked at Grangetown for 14 years, said: “We are going into schools and taking appliances around the area to let the youngsters know how dangerous their actions are.

“It is a long-standing problem, but we are seeing more fires recently. It is very dangerous, and it also ties up resources that should be put to better use elsewhere. It takes us at least 10 to 15 minutes to get up to the hills, then we are in our off-road vehicle and have to get to where the fire is. We need a crew of at least four, often more, and they cannot respond to calls for things like house fires if we are putting out a grass fire.”

Cleveland Fire Brigade was also called to a blaze on land at Ormesby Hall over the weekend, during which the crew that attended received verbal abuse from youths.

If you have any information about the incidents call Eston Police Station on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Israel to demolish homes of dozens of Bedouins in Abu Dis

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Dozens of Palestinian Bedouins from the al-Jahalin community in eastern Abu Dis have received orders from Israeli forces to demolish their homes themselves.

The steel structures in which the community lives were put up nearby the Khillet al-Raheb area on which the Gateway to Jerusalem protest camp has been continually re-erected by activists in recent weeks.

The Gateway to Jerusalem was set up in protest to Israeli plans to displace Bedouin families from their dwellings in the corridor known as E1, between Jerusalem and Jericho.

Daoud al-Jahalin, the secretary-general of the Fatah movement for Bedouins of the al-Jahalin community, said that their homes are expected be demolished soon, as Israeli bulldozers have been razing lands in the nearby Gateway to Jerusalem camp for several days.

Al-Jahalin added that the Israeli civil administration department informed nine families who live in 14 steel structures that the demolition order would be carried out by Israeli forces if they do not demolish their own homes by themselves.

Between 50-70 Bedouins in the Khillet al-Raheb area have been living in these steel structures since 1997.

Shadi and Ayman Muhammad al-Jahalin are among those who received notices from the civil administration to demolish their homes, built more than 10 years ago and housing nine family members, according to al-Jahalin.

He said that the notices claim that the steel structures were built on confiscated lands and state property. The notices also indicate a court session to be held next Sunday.

The secretary-general emphasized that the Israeli side aims to empty the Palestinian desert of all its inhabitants in order to use the land for military purposes and to build settlements. This includes 22 Bedouin communities living on 62 percent of the West Bank’s areas of Jerusalem, Jericho, Anata, al-Eizariya, and Abu Dis al-Sawahreh, extending to the Dead Sea.

Al-Jahalin said that despite the fact the Israeli bulldozers razed these lands, residents will resume their strike that started 25 days ago.

Israel has demolished 562 Palestinian structures in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.

Last summer, Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank released a series of plans that would include relocation of around 12,5000 Bedoin from the Jahalin, Kaabneh and Rashaida tribes to Talet Nueima. If the plan comes to fruition, the evacuation of the Bedouin tribes would free up additional lands for settlement construction, especially in E1, according to Israeli news source Haaretz.

Rights groups slammed the plans, adding that the forcible transfer amounts to a massive land grab and an attempt by authorities to annex the crucial E1 area and effectively cut the West Bank in two.

Palestinian Bedouins in the West Bank are largely composed of refugees of Israel’s 1948 ethnic cleansing of 750,000 Palestinians

Aitor Karanka can't understand Boro fans' concerns over club's current position

Aitor Karanka believes the Boro fans should not be concerned about the club’s current position.

Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday means Boro have lost two games out of three and have scored just two goals in their last five fixtures but are still second in the Championship table.

Asked if the supporters should be worried about the losses and lack of goals, Karanka said: “I can’t imagine anyone is concerned or worried because the club was two points above the relegation zone 15 months ago.

“I am very happy because I came here 15 months ago two points above the relegation position and now we are second in the table so I don’t know why someone would be concerned?”

That’s not to say Karanka was happy with Boro’s display at Hillsborough. Wednesday took the lead early in the second half through a controversial penalty which was awarded when Kenneth Omeruo was adjudged to have handled the ball.

Atdhe Nuhiu converted the spotkick and the hosts added a second when Will Keane headed home from close range two minutes later.

Karanka was scathing in his assessment of Boro’s display. He pulled no punches in his post match interviews and was equally critical of himself, admitting he made mistakes.

Ahead of kick-off, the Boro boss made five changes from the side that started the 1-0 victory over Bolton and also switched to a 3-5-2 formation.

“It was worse than Bolton,” he said. “I said after Bolton that was the worst performance but now this is the worst performance of the season.

“It was awful, I don’t have words to explain what happened but we know have a game on Tuesday we have to learn from this game very quickly.

“I have to learn a lot of things from the last two games and we have to keep going.

“I made mistakes and we have lost the game and that performance was very, very bad. We have lost three points - I came here to win the game and three points.

“I can’t say what the mistakes were but they were my mistakes and I have to learn from the mistakes and improve for the following games.”

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Karanka was naturally quizzed on the wisdom of making five changes to a winning team and on his formation switch.

“I thought the squad was the best to play here,” he answered. “Against Blackpool I made six changes and we won the game so I don’t think about how many changes.

“Maybe yes about the quality of some of them but that is now in the past and I have to think about the future.”

Boro were denied an early penalty when Albert Adomah appeared to be tripped inside the box by Claude Dielna.

With Wednesday later winning a spot-kick, Karanka was quick to point out that his side also suffered rough justice in the same fixture last year when a Jacob Butterfield shot crossed the line but wasn’t awarded.

“It’s curious,” said the head coach. “I don’t know what happens here but last season it was the same. Last season we scored a goal but the linesman didn’t see it.

“They see the bad things that we might do but don’t see when bad things happen against us.”

There was an flashpoint in the 65th minute when Grant Leadbitter and Jose Semedo clashed with the Boro player appearing to claim he’d been spat at but both managers later said they didn’t see the incident.

Karanka, meanwhile, refused to use the state of the Hillsborough pitch as an excuse for Boro’s poor display.

“The pitch is not in a good condition but I said before Blackpool game that if we had lost the game I would not have blamed the pitch and I don’t want to make excuses today,” he said.

Rugby round-up: Guisborough miss out on winning bonus point as promotion race heats up

Guisborough maintained their title charge with a tight 17-9 win over Durham City - but missed out what could prove to be a valuable bonus point.

It’s now 10 straight wins at Belmangate for the red hot Priorymen as the Durham and North One promotion race continues to simmer along nicely.

Coming up against a strong City side sitting third in the table and having beaten Guisborough 36-17 in November’s reverse fixture, it was never going to be an easy test for Trevor Edwards’ men.

But the Teessiders’ latest win means it’s now no defeat in 12 league matches - a scintillating run dating back to November 1.

However, there was a tinge of disappointment in the air after Saturday’s match as Guisborough fell short of their four-try target, which would have kept them one point above Morpeth in the table.

As a result, they remain above their Northumbrian rivals but only on points difference, after Morpeth recorded a convincing 53-0 win over Stockton.

With only five games remaining, any slip-up could now prove fatal to Guisborough’s title aspirations - with Edwards’ side desperate to avoid the jittery play-off route that has seen them fall at the final hurdle in each of the last two years.

Promotion was also the word on the lips of both Acklam and Redcar on Saturday - and both teams recorded maximum points to maintain their respective Durham and North Two charges.

With only one promotion spot available behind runaway leaders Ponteland, it will be ecstasy for one Teesside club and bitter disappointment for the other when the curtain comes down on this season.

Acklam remain in the driving seat to clinch that spot after their 39-7 victory over Whitley Bay Rockliff at Talbot Park.

Andrew Dalton opened the scoring after seven minutes, with Dean Roberts also crossing to help Acklam into a 15-7 win at the break.

But in the second half Acklam went up a gear, with Roberts scoring his second to cap off a team try, before notching his hat-trick with four minutes remaining.

There was also tries for Danny Ashton and Adam Hutchinson as Acklam maintained their four-point advantage over Redcar.

The Seasiders, meanwhile, did all they could to keep the pressure on as they cruised to a 67-17 win at North Shields.

Centre Craig Newlands bagged four tries, veteran full-back Rob Bryce and winger Danny Addison each notched a brace, while there were also scores for Danny McIlvenny and Matt Curry.

In National Three North, Billingham’s spirited display saw them earn a four-try bonus point against leaders Sale, but went down 41-22 at Greenwood Road.

The result keeps Billingham sixth in the table ahead of next weekend’s trip to Rossendale.

Boro moved up one place in Yorkshire One to fifth despite slipping to a 13-7 defeat at Scarborough.

Meanwhile in Durham and North Three it was an afternoon to forget for Yarm, who were beaten 57-5 at Whitby.

Eddy Eats: The Masham, Hartburn Village, Stockton

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Tel: (01642) 645 526

Food served: Noon-7pm

The Masham’s website records that Location, Location, Location was once filmed in its surroundings.

And it is indeed an ideal venue for an aspirational television property show: a charming, cosy terraced pub in a beautiful terrace in leafy Hartburn village.

The website further proudly describes a pub which has been in the same family’s hands for more than 20 years and has had ‘hearts and souls’ poured into it. All of this is easily believable. The feel is comfy and welcoming - the kind of place you could easily settle into for an afternoon. And it would seem that we were not alone in thinking this.

We were told before we had even received our drinks (choice of ales including Strongarm, Bass, Doom Bar and Deuchars IPA) that we would have to be out in two hours because there was another booking after ours.

Fair enough, if a little jarring. We made our way to our table before returning to the bar to order.

Starters arrived 20 minutes or so later. Mrs Eats loved her foray onto the specials board: pan-seared rare beef fillet with pear, crunchy pine nuts and plenty of stilton.

My tandoori salmon skewers were firm and tasty and came with a warm flatbread and side salad. What they did not come with was the advertised mint yoghurt - meaning another return to the bar.

I went for roast pork and it was a mighty main. A vast, crispy Yorkshire pudding sat atop lovely meat (albeit with no crackling) and a carefully prepared creamy mash. The gravy was the highlight - rich and fulsome - but the sweet red cabbage ran it close. Great stuffing too. This was an excellent meal.

‘When in Rome’, thought Mrs E, as she opted for a half parmo which came with hand-cooked chips and salad. She was satisfied but not overwhelmed.

While she nipped to the loo, I was asked - as I sat with forkful midway between plate and mouth - if I had finished eating. Perhaps this was a hint. I looked again at my watch.

Desserts - a strawberry tart and chocolate brownie - were also good. By this point, we were nearing our deadline so made another trip to the bar to settle the bill.

The table was being turned round before we’d even got back to the door. The place is clearly hugely popular - but we did head back to the Eatsmobile wondering if Phil Spencer and his entourage felt the same as we did after their visit.

One child in every classroom in Middlesbrough receiving social services support

One child in every 20 in Middlesbrough is receiving help from social services, shocking figures show.

The Teesside town has the second-highest rate of children in contact with care services in the country - the equivalent of at least one in every single school class.

And Hartlepool and Northumberland are also in the top 10, with the ninth and tenth highest rates in England respectively.

Today, councils have said the figures represent a “compex picture” while one campaigner praised social services for coping with the vast numbers needing their help.

Jeremy Cripps, chief executive of charity Children North East which works with children facing poverty, said: “It is a credit to local councils that they continue to provide support to very high numbers of children who are in need, despite huge cuts in central government grants to North East councils.”

The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics this week, showed that 694 out of every 10,000 children in Middlesbrough are getting some form of intervention from social services.

That equates to around one in every 20 children, and is second only to Torbay in Devon.

However the numbers have actually fallen by 11.6% from 2013, with 2,197 children in need of social service help at the end of March 2014 compared to 2,485 the previous year.

Just under half (47.1%) of the children needed help due to family dysfunction, while social services stepped in due to abuse or neglect in 28.5% of cases, the figures showed.

The Sunday Sun was unable to reach anyone at Middlesbrough Council for a comment, but Councillor Jeanette Walker, chair of the council’s children and learning scrutiny panel, this week said the Troubled Families programme – known as Stronger Families in Middlesbrough – was “working well” in the town.

It is understood that every school in Middlesbrough has a named social worker attached to it.

Meanwhile, some 1,226 children in Hartlepool were in contact with social services last year, up from 1,112, a 10.9% increase.

That is 608 children for every 10,000, with the majority of cases (51.2%) being taken up due to abuse or neglect.

A Hartlepool Council spokesman said: “Most of the increase in the figure for Hartlepool is due to the work which the council is doing to identify and support more families which are vulnerable.

“Despite the severe financial pressures which the council faces, it will continue to make the wellbeing of children a priority.”

Northumberland has seen a 17% rise in children in contact with social services.

Around 607 children per 10,000 are in need, making it the tenth-worst area in England. The total needing help rose from 3,153 children in 2013 to 3,681 in 2014.

Elsewhere in the region, Sunderland also saw a sharp increase in the amount of children needing care, up from 2,353 to 2,663 (12.8%).

Its rate of 489 children needing help per 10,000 puts it in the worst 20 in the country.

Coun Pat Smith, portfolio holder for Children’s Services at Sunderland City Council, said: “The latest statistics confirm what our own experience has been here in Sunderland, that there has been a steady but marked increase for the past few years in the number of children and young people needing support.

“It’s a complex picture and there is no single reason why numbers are increasing year on year, but it does present a challenge for us and our safeguarding partners here in Sunderland as we work to protect vulnerable children and continually improve our practices.”

Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton and Newcastle also came in above the national average.

In Redcar and Cleveland, 428 children per 10,000 needed social service help, in Stockton it was 491 per 10,000 and in Newcastle it was 447 - up 8.4%.

Newcastle city council pointed out that its most recent figure for 2015 gave a rate of 386.2 children per 10,000 - down 13.5% from the March 2014 figure.

Across England there were 397,600 children in need of social service intervention as of the end of March 2014, equating to an average of 346 per 10,000 - a rise of 19,000 youngsters.