Category: news

Flu vaccination rates in Scotland have been on the rise, Health Protection Scotland said

Scotland has seen a large rise in the number of people dying from the flu virus, according to the Scottish government’s latest figures.

A further 17 people have been reported to have died in the last week, bringing the total number of fatalities to 27.

The number of people being treated in intensive care has increased by 55, almost doubling the total to 116.

However, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the figures were not out of line with expectations.

Health officials have said the number of people going to the doctor with flu was still reasonably low.

They are urging anyone in at-risk groups to ensure they are vaccinated against the virus.

The latest figures from show that vaccine uptake by pregnant women has continued to improve.

About 40% of pregnant women and 58% of pregnant women with other risk factors have been vaccinated, and increase of about 8% in the last week.

The rate of GP consultations for flu-like illness across Scotland remains considerably lower than last year – down from 83 people per 100,000 to 56.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: “Our higher vaccination rates could be playing a valuable contribution in keeping the flu at bay so I am pleased to see that more people who are at risk of complications, including pregnant women, have been coming forward to take up the offer of the jag.

“Although it is a sad fact that flu claims lives every year and any death from flu is a tragedy, it is important to remember that the number of people who have so far died this season is in line with what we would expect at this time of year.”

Chief medical officer Dr Harry Burns said vaccination was the most important way for those at greater risk to protect themselves from flu.

“The dominant flu strain this season is H1N1 and pregnant women are one of the groups most susceptible to severe illness if infected,” he said.

“Everyone can help stop the spread of flu by catching sneezes in a tissue and washing their hands regularly.”

A total of 112 people with flu have died in the UK since September, according to the UK government.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Sandip Moneea, 41, Raj Theekoy, 33, and Avinash Treebhoowoon, 29, have been charged over the killing

Police in Mauritius have said that one of the three men charged in connection with the murder of Michaela McAreavey has confessed to the killing.

Mrs McAreavey, 27, daughter of Tyrone Gaelic football boss Mickey Harte, was found murdered in her honeymoon hotel room on the island on Monday.

Avinash Treebhoowoon, 29, appeared in court on Wednesday, along with two others.

Police told the BBC on Thursday he had confessed to the killing.

It followed the revelation that a lawyer for Raj Theekoy, who is charged with conspiracy to murder, said his client had spoken to police and implicated the other two men.

Sandip Moneea, 41, and Mr Treebhoowoon appeared in court on Wednesday accused of her murder.

All three were remanded in police custody for a week and will return to court next Wednesday, when they are expected either to be formally charged or released.

BBC Northern Ireland reporter, Mervyn Jess, who is in Mauritius, outlined the latest development on Thursday.

“This morning, the police say one of the men who is charged with the murder, Avinash Treebhoowoon, has come out and confessed, the police say, to the killing,” he said.

“Police officers we have spoken to today say they are very pleased with the way this investigation is going and they think they are close to wrapping up this initial stage of the investigation.

“It will then move on to the preparing of evidence and the preparing of documents to go to the Director of Public Prosecutions on the island before any court case is heard.”

He added that anyone convicted of murder in the “higher court” in Mauritius could face up to 47 years in prison, but that in the “lower court” a conviction of manslaughter carried a total sentence of up to 18 years in jail.

The body of Mrs McAreavey is expected to arrive in Northern Ireland from Mauritius on Friday.

It is understood her family hope to hold her funeral next Monday – in the same County Tyrone church where she married on 30 December.

‘She is my life’

On Wednesday evening, a police chief in Mauritius told the Press Association that skin tissue found under the fingernails of Mrs McAreavey could prove crucial to the police case against the three men charged over her killing.

Mrs McAreavey’s husband, John, has described her as “his rock”.

Michaela Harte married John McAreavey on 30 December

He said their hopes, dreams and future were gone and he had been left heartbroken and totally devastated.

“I love my wife, very, very much and my world revolved around her.

“I can’t describe in words how lost I feel as Michaela is not just the light of my life – she is my life,” Mr McAreavey said.

The funeral mass is expected to take place at St Malachy’s in Ballymacilroy near the Harte family home in County Tyrone.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Foreclosure filings were up 1.67% from 2009, figures show

Banks repossessed a record one million US homes in 2010, and could surpass that number this year, figures show.

Foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac said about five million homeowners were at least two months behind on their mortgage payments.

Foreclosures are likely to remain numerous while unemployment remains stubbornly high, the group said.

Among the worst hit states were Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California, once at the heart of the housing boom.

Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate for the fourth year in a row, with one in 11 housing units receiving a foreclosure notice, and RealtyTrac said more than half the nation’s foreclosures occurred in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois and Michigan.

RealtyTrac said 2.9 million US households were subject to a foreclosure filing last year, up 1.67% from 2009.

“2011 is going to be the peak,” senior vice-president Rick Sharga told the Associated Press news agency.

Foreclosures slowed toward the end of 2010 amid revelations that banks had based the proceedings on improper documentation, but the pace is likely to rebound in the first quarter of 2011, Mr Sharga said.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Francois Fillon said that continuing the European Union “adventure” would benefit the UK

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has urged the UK to back further European integration ahead of a Downing Street meeting with David Cameron.

He told the Times newspaper that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government should not “create obstacles” to this process.

The two prime ministers are expected to discuss financial reform and the state of the eurozone.

Mr Cameron will also talk to European Council President Herman van Rompuy.

Mr Fillon, who has been French Prime Minister since last November, will give a speech in the City of London before going to Downing Street.

In his Times interview, he said that, although the UK was not part of the eurozone, attempts to improve its governance would “have great importance” to its economy.

It would be a “catastrophe and a disaster” for the UK if the single currency – which has come under strain after the EU bailed out debt-plagued Greece and Ireland – was allowed to fail, he added.

Mr Fillon said: “Europe funds itself at an historic turning point. The real question right now is whether we keep building on this adventure or whether we leave it at that.”

He said Mr Cameron could “find a way for Britain not to pull out [of the EU], but on the contrary to play a more proactive role”.

Mr Fillon told the Times: “The question is: is the UK ready to accept or encourage greater integration of the eurozone or is the UK distrustful of that and will it make it more difficult to happen.”

Mr Cameron pledged to keep the UK out of the euro at the last general election.

The subsequent coalition agreement with the Lib Dems promises the government will be a “positive participant in the European Union, playing a strong and positive role with our partners”.

But it rules out joining the euro during this parliament and pledges to “ensure that there is no further transfer of sovereignty or powers” during the same period.

The EU Bill, backed by the House of Commons earlier this week, says a referendum will be required in future whenever “significant” powers are passed to Brussels in future.

Ministers say the plan for a “referendum lock” will help preserve national sovereignty.

However, some Conservative MPs argue that the wording of the legislation means the government will get the ultimate say on which issues go to a public vote, making it less democratic.

Following his meeting with Mr Fillon, Mr Cameron will also talk to Mr Van Rompuy about the future of the euro.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Swami Aseemanand (left) allegedly wanted revenge for attacks by Muslim militants on India

An Indian court has remanded in custody a Hindu holy man accused of a string of bomb attacks previously thought to be the work of Muslim militants.

Swami Aseemanand allegedly admitted to placing bombs on a train to Pakistan, at a Sufi shrine and at a mosque.

He has also allegedly confessed to carrying out two assaults on the southern Indian town of Malegaon, which has a large Muslim population.

He has been remanded in custody for the four attacks until 27 January.

Police say that Swami Aseemanand gave them details of his role in the mosque attack in the city of Hyderabad in 2007 in addition to attacks on a graveyard in Malegaon and a Sufi shrine in Ajmer.

Several Muslim men were arrested for those attacks – and some reports said that they had been tortured. Most are still in custody.

Swami Aseemanand was arrested in November after being in hiding for two years, police said.

According to India’s Tehelka magazine, which has obtained a copy of his 42-page confession, he told his interrogators that the attacks on Muslim places were in response to attacks by Islamist militants in India.

It quotes him as saying that many of those involved in the bombings were members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the right-wing parent organisation of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

The bomb attack on the Samjhauta (Friendship) Express train travelling from India to Pakistan in February 2007 killed 68 people. Many of the passengers who died in the incident were Pakistanis returning home.

The 2008 blast in the town of Malegaon killed seven people and left more than 100 injured. A female Hindu priest, Sadhwi Pragya Singh Thakur, and a serving Indian army officer were among 11 people who were arrested in connection with the attack.

In May 2007, at least 14 people were killed in an explosion during Friday prayers at the Mecca mosque in Hyderabad. It is one of India’s biggest mosques, and rioting took place afterwards.

And in October 2007, a bomb attack on a famous Sufi Muslim shrine in the city of Ajmer – in the state of Rajasthan – killed two people.

Most of these blasts were initially blamed on local terror groups and several Muslim men were arrested for involvement.

But the police were unable to make much headway in their investigations.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.