Category: news

The first oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill has reached a powerful current that could drag it to Florida, European scientists say.

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A former priest is suing the PSNI because he was forced to quit a job with the Policing Board after failing a security check.

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Fires rage in the Thai capital Bangkok as a curfew is imposed after the surrender of red-shirt protest leaders.

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Police officers in England and Wales will be given more discretion to decide when crime suspects should be charged.

The announcement is expected to be made by new Home Secretary Theresa May when she addresses the Police Federation conference in Bournemouth on Wednesday.

Officers will have powers to charge an increased number of minor offenders without consulting prosecutors.

The Crown Prosecution Service has been responsible for making decisions in all but the most minor and simple cases.

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw says the aim was to improve the standard of decisions and reduce the number of weak cases going to court.

Pilot scheme

However, an inspection report 18 months ago concluded the procedures were complex and inefficient, and significant numbers of suspects were granted police bail because the process took too long.

Last month, a pilot scheme allowing officers more discretion to charge suspects started in five police force areas.

Ms May will announce she intends to let police make charging decisions for minor offences in England and Wales, in a move expected to be welcomed by members of the Police Federation.

The BBC’s Andy Tighe in Bournemouth says it is a calculated crowd pleaser for rank and file officers.

But the rest of the government’s police agenda may not be so popular, he adds.

There could be reductions in police spending, possible cuts in officer numbers and the prospect of elected police commissioners.

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A man who admitted making highly dangerous explosives in his kitchen has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act by a judge at Cardiff Crown Court.

Counter terrorism police visited the home of Donatien Chamchawala, 31, in Blackwood, Caerphilly, after children found a tripwire in his garden.

Police described him as a dangerous loner with a hatred for other people.

Judge Nicholas Cooke QC said he had an obsession with explosives and ordered indefinite detention.

The judge said his mental disorder and the explosives’ obsession was clearly a dangerous combination.

Earlier this year, Cardiff Crown Court was told Gwent Police found a modified starting pistol in a wash basket at the top of the stairs at his home in April last year.

The hearing was told the barrel of the starting pistol had been removed but the weapon was still capable of firing a round.

Police said they did not believe he was part of any terror organisation.

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Portsmouth offer new contracts to England goalkeeper David James, defenders Hermann Hreidarsson and Ricardo Rocha and forward Kanu.

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The social network suggests it could simplify its privacy settings soon, following widespread condemnation of its changes.

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A British woman is being held in police custody after two of her children were found dead at a Spanish holiday resort.

Police said the children, a boy of one and a girl of five, were discovered in a room at the Hotel Miramar in the coastal town of Lloret de Mar.

They said the mother telephoned the hotel’s reception desk to call the police and ambulance service.

The woman has been moved to the nearby town of Blanes and will be questioned further by police on Wednesday.

Sombre place

The bodies of her two children were discovered on Tuesday afternoon in their room at the 4-star hotel on the Costa Brava, in the north-eastern province of Girona.

Police said there were no outward signs of violence but officers have not confirmed reports in Spanish newspapers that the children were suffocated. A post-mortem examination is expected within the next few days.

The Foreign Office said it was providing consular assistance to a British citizen.

The BBC’s Dominic Hughes in Spain says the the Hotel Miramar has reopened for business, having been closed for most of Tuesday afternoon, but it is a sombre place.

Room 101, where the bodies were found, remains sealed off.

Police said the family were on holiday in the resort. It is not clear whether the children’s father was travelling with them.

The Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in contact with the Spanish police but because the children are minors we cannot say much. There is an ongoing investigation."

A Spanish police spokesman said on Tuesday: "The mother will be held in police custody overnight and officers will continue to question her tomorrow."

Popular destination

Local police were called to the scene, 45 miles (70km) north of Barcelona, shortly before 1400 local time.

A Girona police spokesman said: "When the officers arrived they found two children inside a room at a hotel.

"Girona police are investigating the death of the two children. The police have detained the mother of the minors to find out what happened."

Lloret de Mar is a popular destination for British holidaymakers.

A spokesman for travel association Abta said: "It’s a very traditional Spanish resort, similar to Benidorm and Torremolinos."

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A council leader is to say sorry to a pensioner after England flags she strung across a street were cut down.

Doreen Carnelley, 74, said she had put the full-sized flags across Sturgeon Avenue, Nottingham, to mark the World Cup.

The city council cut the rope and left the flags on her hedge. Officers said it was illegal to attach items to street lights and complaints were made.

Now council leader Jon Collins has said it was an "error of judgement".

‘Complete nonsense’

Mrs Carnelley said she was shocked to find the flags "chucked on my hedge" and wanted to put them back up.

At the time, the council said the flags were a health and safety hazard and could be dangerous to motorists.

But now Mr Collins has said they will be put back up and promised to visit Mrs Carnelley to apologise in person later.

He said: "This is a complete nonsense.

"The guys are going to go back and put the flags back up.

"It’s an error in judgement and we want to put it right."

Mrs Carnelley claimed she had flown the flags across Nottingham during the last six World Cups and European football finals.

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Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg will pledge the "biggest shake-up of our democracy" in 178 years later as he expands on plans for political reform.

The Tory-Lib Dem coalition deal backs plans for fixed-term parliaments, more elected peers and a referendum on changing the voting system.

In a speech, Mr Clegg will pledge to restore faith in politics.

Mr Clegg is also expected to call on the public to nominate laws they think should be repealed.

But in an interview with the Times newspaper, the Liberal Democrat leader defended the Human Rights Act – which the Tories have previously pledged to scrap – saying "any government would tamper with it at its peril".

The government has said a commission will be formed to review the act, having previously promised to replace it with a "British Bill of Rights".

The workings of the act have again been called into question after two terrorist suspects successfully appealed against being deported to Pakistan, after arguing they faced torture or death in their home country.

Mr Clegg, who was made deputy PM in the coalition government and is overseeing political reform plans, will give a speech from 1100 BST.

DNA storage

According to pre-released extracts, he will say the government would "transform our politics so the state has far less control over you, and you have far more control over the state".

This would include scrapping the ID card scheme and accompanying National Identity Register, all future biometric passports and the children’s Contact Point Database and ensuring CCTV was "properly regulated" and restricting the storage of innocent people’s DNA.

Mr Clegg will say: "I’m talking about the most significant programme of empowerment by a British government since the great enfranchisement of the 19th Century.

"The biggest shake up of our democracy since 1832, when the Great Reform Act redrew the boundaries of British democracy, for the first time extending the franchise beyond the landed classes."

He added: "Incremental change will not do. It is time for a wholesale, big bang approach to political reform."

He will also accuse the previous government of "obsessive lawmaking" and pledge to "get rid of the unnecessary laws" and "introduce a mechanism to block pointless new criminal offences".

He will also pledged to ask the public "which laws you think should go" as they "tear through the statute book".

Mr Clegg will add: "This government is going to persuade you to put your faith in politics once again."

In the House of Commons, the newly elected MPs will begin the swearing-in process which is expected to last into Thursday. The most senior MP goes first – MPs can take a religious oath or a secular affirmation of loyalty to the Crown.

They returned to the Commons briefly on Tuesday to elect the Speaker – John Bercow was reappointed to the role without a vote, despite a handful of objections.

The serious business of the Parliament gets under way next week, with the Queen’s Speech – outlining the coalition’s legislative agenda for the year – taking place on Tuesday.

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The Financial Services Authority says it has found the biggest ever “suckers” list of potential targets for share fraudsters.

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Leaders of the anti-government protests that have paralysed the heart of Bangkok surrender, after troops storm their camp.

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Controversial payment protection insurance (PPI) has dominated the list of complaints to the financial ombudsman service.

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Non-crew members were present in the cockpit of a plane that crashed killing the Polish president, an investigation finds.

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Shares in Europe and Asia fall after Germany introduces a ban on short-selling of some financial products – spooking markets.

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