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The husband of Michaela McAreavey, who was murdered on honeymoon in Mauritius has described her as “his rock”.
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West Ham boss Avram Grant has been given a stay of execution as the club’s manager, BBC Sport understands.
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A Derbyshire man is convicted of common assault for throwing a snowball at a police community support officer.
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Ipswich play Arsenal in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final, while Blackpool host Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool in the Premier League.
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Education secretary Mike Russell rejects claims he interfered in a school closures programme in Argyll.
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The number of people seeking consultation at surgeries may rise due to media coverage The flu outbreak in Wales appears to be slowing down, according to health officials.
Dr David Bailey, chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee for Wales, said doctors had reported a drop in diagnosed cases since Christmas.
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said GPs in north Wales had also registered a fall.
Public Health Wales publishes its latest figures on flu consultations later.
The number of deaths this winter from flu across the UK verified by the Health Protection Agency stands at 50, with 45 of these due to swine flu.
Dr Bailey told BBC Wales: “Our figures suggest that the numbers of consultations are starting to drop.
“It’s difficult to know if this is since Christmas as practices were obviously closed for several days, but members say it has been quieter on the ground this week.
“The problem has been that because people are mainly suffering from the H1N1 swine flu virus, the numbers ending up in hospital with complications are higher”
Dr David Bailey BMA
“The figures across Wales suggest that the number of flu cases in the community seems to be dropping and there’s a feeling we might be turning a corner and it will continue to drop.
“The number of flu cases is slightly higher than last year but the problem has been that because it is a newish virus and people are mainly suffering from the H1N1 swine flu virus, the numbers of people ending up in hospital with complications are higher.”
Andrew Jones, director of public health for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said doctors were currently treating two confirmed cases of swine flu at Wrexham Maelor Hospital but had overall seen a drop in flu cases.
He said: “GP Surgeries reported a small drop for influenza-like illnesses over the Christmas period but it is expected that consultation rates may rise again.”
Escalation plan
Dr Bailey said media coverage and greater awareness about the flu vaccination programme was the reason for any continued rise in people seeking GP consultations.
However, Hywel Dda Health Board told BBC Wales it was still experiencing high volumes of admissions.
A spokeswoman said: “Hospitals across Hywel Dda are currently operating at a very high capacity due to increases in both general admissions and suspected H1N1 and seasonal flu cases.
“From a flu perspective, as of 1100 BST on 12 January, Withybush General Hospital in Pembroke was most impacted and treating 17 cases of flu.
“All hospitals have an escalation plan for such increases and this has been put in place across the board.”
Meanwhile, swine flu vaccines are being released to GPs in south Wales whose stocks are running low of the seasonal flu vaccine.
Dr Tony Jewell, Chief Medical Officer for Wales, said the assembly government was aware that stocks of the seasonal flu vaccine had run very low in some areas.
Hospitals are advising those who have flu-like symptoms to contact NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 or phone their GP rather than attending A&E or doctors’ surgeries, to prevent spread of infection.
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Nick Bryant: “What we’re seeing is a community coming out in force to salvage what they can”
The Australian city of Brisbane is preparing for the worst of its devastating floods, with water levels set to peak over the next few hours.
The peak is now expected to reach 5.2m (17ft) at 0400 local time on Thursday (1800GMT Wednesday), down from the 5.4m of the devastating 1974 floods.
But Queensland’s premier warned many would wake “to scenes many have never seen anything like in their lives”.
The death toll in Queensland is 12 so far, with dozens reported missing.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the disaster’s scale “mind-boggling”.
Queensland’s Premier Anna Bligh said: “We are now in the grip of a very serious natural disaster.
The owners of shops and cafes in one of the lower-lying communities in Brisbane have been putting sandbags out throughout the day, but the waters have risen above them and are wrecking their properties.
The only way to get around these communities at the moment, as the police are doing, is in metal boats – tinnies, as they’re called locally. We’ve seen a lot of them across Queensland recently.
There are still dozens of people missing, not in Brisbane but further inland. Toowoomba saw such extraordinary scenes on Monday afternoon, when flash flooding ripped through – cars were overturned, just swept through – all the more remarkable because Toowomba doesn’t have a river. That’s why state premier Anna Bligh called it a freak of nature.
Dozens of people are still feared missing – whole families in some instances. The search operation is still ongoing.
“We are now seeing thousands of homes inundated with water up to the roof. Many, many more are expected to see significant water damage.”
She said 20,000 to 30,000 people would be affected in Brisbane.
Although the flood peak could be below the 1974 level, Ms Bligh said: “This is still a major event, the city is much bigger, much more populated and has many parts under flood that didn’t even exist in 1974.
“We are still looking at an event which will cripple parts of our city.”
Many supermarkets have been stripped of supplies, while a number of rubbish collections and bus services have halted.
During the day on Wednesday, the central business district escaped serious flooding, with the slightly lower level of water than forecast.
However, boats and pontoons still floated down the roaring Brisbane river, along with massive amounts of debris.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said he had “a sense of horror and awe about the power of the river”.
“At the moment we are seeing pontoons and people’s boats… sadly in the coming hours we might be seeing bits of people’s houses… and that breaks my heart.”
The central district is still in danger – the flood’s peak early on Thursday will coincide with a high sea tide.
The city’s South Brisbane and West End districts have already been badly hit, the Brisbane Courier Mail reported. In all, more than 50 suburbs and 2,100 roads could be left under water.
More than 100,000 properties have had their power cut as a precaution against flooding of electricity substations.
A boat swept down the swollen Brisbane river sinks after hitting a bridge
Leisa Bourne of Red Cross Queensland told the BBC the city’s residents had been orderly in preparing their evacuation plans during the day on Wednesday but she expected an influx of people to evacuation centres when the flood hit its peak.
West of Brisbane in the city of Ipswich, the Bremer river peaked at around 20m on Wednesday.
About 1,000 homes were inundated and 7,500 more affected, the Queensland Times reported. More than 1,000 people are in evacuation centres there.
Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said he expected flood levels to drop within the next 36 hours, allowing the clean-up to begin afterwards.
“If I find anybody looting in our city, they will be used as flood markers,” he warned.
One man found dead in his car in Ipswich has not yet been included in the death toll of 12.
Ms Bligh said: “There are some parts of Brisbane and Ipswich which are already completely unrecognisable.”
Water levels are expected to stay high in Brisbane until Saturday.
However Ms Bligh vowed the state would get back on its feet swiftly.
“We believe we can recover very quickly. That is our intention,” she said.
Ms Gillard urged Australians to look out for their neighbours.
“If there’s someone in your street you’re worried about, maybe an older Australian that you haven’t seen for a while, maybe give them a knock on the door and make sure they’re okay.”
The worst affected area was the town of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, where residents described an “instant inland tsunami” of 8m ripping through the streets on Monday.
One good piece of news on Wednesday was that the number of missing in the Lockyer Valley had been revised down from 51 to 43, but there were grave fears for nine.
Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Iraq and Kuwait pledge to resolve disputes dating from their 1990 Gulf War, during the first visit by a Kuwaiti premier to Baghdad since the conflict.
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The hospital said Lana received “appropriate care” The mother of a three-year-old girl from Birmingham who died from swine flu has criticised the government for not making the vaccine available to all.
Lana Ameen died in a Liverpool hospital after being treated at a hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
She had had no known underlying health problems and died just two days after developing symptoms, her family said.
Her mother, Gemma, said she wanted the government to change its policy and allow everyone to receive the vaccine.
Those currently eligible are in “high-risk” groups, which include over-65s, pregnant women, and people of any age with long-standing health conditions such as asthma.
Mrs Ameen, whose family had been visiting relatives in the North West over Christmas, said: “I don’t know how they can say that my child wasn’t worth a few pounds worth of vaccine that could ultimately have saved her life.
“Just because she’s a healthy child, doesn’t mean she can fight it off.
Gemma Ameen: ”I would love to see the government changing its policy in order for everybody to have the vaccine”
“Not everyone who’s been healthy has been able to fight it off and that was the case with Lana – she couldn’t fight it.”
In a statement, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said it had started a senior case review of the treatment provided at Stepping Hill Hospital during Lana’s two visits to the emergency department.
“To date, that review has identified that Lana received appropriate treatment and care in a timely fashion,” a spokesman said.
“Whilst at Stepping Hill Hospital Lana received all the care that could be provided by our own paediatric, intensive care, emergency department staff and the regional intensive care team.
“In spite of our interventions, Lana’s health continued to deteriorate until her death at Alder Hey which is part of the North West Paediatric Intensive Care Network.
“We will extend an invitation to the family to meet with senior clinical staff to discuss the treatment provided to Lana and their obvious concerns.”
The number of deaths this winter from flu verified by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) is currently 50, with 45 of these due to swine flu.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said the advice on vaccine availability remained the same.
He said: “The flu vaccine should be used to protect children from six months upwards who are in at-risk groups, and experts do not recommend the vaccination of children who do not have risk factors.”
Mrs Ameen, who is expecting another child, urged other parents to get their children vaccinated.
“Get them vaccinated… in any way you can, even if you have to pay for it now,” she said.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
T-Mobile has clarified its policy on mobile data use after anger from its customers that it had slashed the amount they could use by up to 80%.
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Ministers have called in the Scalloway closure proposal for further investigation Scottish ministers have stepped in over plans to close schools in Shetland and the Western Isles.
Four closures in the Western Isles have been rejected, the first time powers under the new Schools Consultation Act have been used to prevent shutdowns.
The proposed closure of the secondary department of Scalloway School in Shetland has also been called in for further ministerial consideration.
But consent was given to Moray Council to close Cabrach Primary School.
The Scottish government said its closure would go ahead because the council had “adhered to the process set out within the legislation”.
The Schools Consultation Act established a presumption against the closure of rural schools by ensuring that a decision to consult on a closure proposal is not made until the local authority explored alternatives and assessed the likely implications.
In the Western Isles, Carloway Primary in Lewis and Shelibost Primary in Harris will now stay open, while S1-S2 provision at Lionel and Shawbost Schools in Lewis will continue.
Education Secretary Mike Russell made the announcement to the Scottish Parliament.
He said: “This government is committed to protecting and defending rural schools.
“Closure should only ever be a last resort and will only be allowed where there are clear educational benefits to pupils.
“The evidence shows there are credible alternatives to closure for the four Western Isles schools.
“The council has failed in its obligation under the Act to show that closing these schools is the last resort, or that there are no viable alternatives. I will not, therefore, allow these schools to close.”
Councillors in Shetland decided to shut Scalloway’s secondary department in December, as part of a broader review of education in the isles.
Following the move, the Scottish government received 42 representations from campaigners urging the decision to be called in.
After the concerns were raised, ministers concluded that the lack of detail on the new Anderson High School made it impossible for consultees to judge whether educational benefits could be accrued from the closure of the department.
Mr Russell said: “I believe that there is evidence that the council has undertaken a flawed consultation because it is currently impossible to judge the educational benefits of such a move whilst details of the new Anderson High School remain unconfirmed.
“This is an issue which warrants further investigation.
“I will now carefully consider the Scalloway case further and determine whether or not to grant consent to the closure as quickly as possible.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Dozens of people have died in towns near Rio de Janeiro as heavy rains continue to cause flooding and mudslides in south-eastern Brazil.
Overnight downpours produced landslides in the town of Teresopolis, where more than 30 people were reported to have died.
Three firefighters were buried in a mudslide in in Novo Friburgo.
Brazil has seen severe flooding this year which has left thousands homeless and dozens dead.
This week, torrential rains in neighbouring Sao Paulo state left 13 people dead and brought traffic chaos to Brazil’s biggest city.
Teresopolis was the worst-hit area in Wednesday’s flooding. A river burst its banks, destroying homes in the town and cutting off power.
Officials said they feared the number of dead would rise as rescue teams were struggling to reach the town.
In Novo Friburgo, at least eight people were believed to have been killed in mudslides, including three firefighters, a civil defence spokesperson said.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mr Daniels is stepping down as Lloyds boss in March Lloyds Banking Group boss Eric Daniels is in line for a bonus of about £2m this year, the BBC has learned.
Mr Daniels, who steps down in March, has turned down a bonus in the past two years but will not do so again, sources told BBC business editor Robert Peston.
The government bailed out Lloyds after it took over HBOS in 2008, and still holds a 41% stake in the bank.
On Tuesday, Barclays boss Bob Diamond said he had not decided whether he would accept a bonus this year.
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Eddie Jordan will become the BBC’s main F1 analyst in a reshuffled presentation line-up for 2011, with all races broadcast in HD for the first time.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Nick Bryant: “What we’re seeing is a community coming out in force to salvage what they can”
The Australian city of Brisbane is preparing for the worst of its devastating floods, with water levels set to peak over the next few hours.
The peak is now expected to reach 5.2m (17ft) at 0400 local time on Thursday (1800GMT Wednesday), down from the 5.4m of the devastating 1974 floods.
But Queensland’s premier warned many would wake “to scenes many have never seen anything like in their lives”.
The death toll in Queensland is 12 so far, with dozens reported missing.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the disaster’s scale “mind-boggling”.
Queensland’s Premier Anna Bligh said: “We are now in the grip of a very serious natural disaster.
The owners of shops and cafes in one of the lower-lying communities in Brisbane have been putting sandbags out throughout the day, but the waters have risen above them and are wrecking their properties.
The only way to get around these communities at the moment, as the police are doing, is in metal boats – tinnies, as they’re called locally. We’ve seen a lot of them across Queensland recently.
There are still dozens of people missing, not in Brisbane but further inland. Toowoomba saw such extraordinary scenes on Monday afternoon, when flash flooding ripped through – cars were overturned, just swept through – all the more remarkable because Toowomba doesn’t have a river. That’s why state premier Anna Bligh called it a freak of nature.
Dozens of people are still feared missing – whole families in some instances. The search operation is still ongoing.
“We are now seeing thousands of homes inundated with water up to the roof. Many, many more are expected to see significant water damage.”
She said 20,000 to 30,000 people would be affected in Brisbane.
Although the flood peak could be below the 1974 level, Ms Bligh said: “This is still a major event, the city is much bigger, much more populated and has many parts under flood that didn’t even exist in 1974.
“We are still looking at an event which will cripple parts of our city.”
Many supermarkets have been stripped of supplies, while a number of rubbish collections and bus services have halted.
During the day on Wednesday, the central business district escaped serious flooding, with the slightly lower level of water than forecast.
However, boats and pontoons still floated down the roaring Brisbane river, along with massive amounts of debris.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said he had “a sense of horror and awe about the power of the river”.
“At the moment we are seeing pontoons and people’s boats… sadly in the coming hours we might be seeing bits of people’s houses… and that breaks my heart.”
The central district is still in danger – the flood’s peak early on Thursday will coincide with a high sea tide.
The city’s South Brisbane and West End districts have already been badly hit, the Brisbane Courier Mail reported. In all, more than 50 suburbs and 2,100 roads could be left under water.
More than 100,000 properties have had their power cut as a precaution against flooding of electricity substations.
A boat swept down the swollen Brisbane river sinks after hitting a bridge
Leisa Bourne of Red Cross Queensland told the BBC the city’s residents had been orderly in preparing their evacuation plans during the day on Wednesday but she expected an influx of people to evacuation centres when the flood hit its peak.
West of Brisbane in the city of Ipswich, the Bremer river peaked at around 20m on Wednesday.
About 1,000 homes were inundated and 7,500 more affected, the Queensland Times reported. More than 1,000 people are in evacuation centres there.
Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said he expected flood levels to drop within the next 36 hours, allowing the clean-up to begin afterwards.
“If I find anybody looting in our city, they will be used as flood markers,” he warned.
One man found dead in his car in Ipswich has not yet been included in the death toll of 12.
Ms Bligh said: “There are some parts of Brisbane and Ipswich which are already completely unrecognisable.”
Water levels are expected to stay high in Brisbane until Saturday.
However Ms Bligh vowed the state would get back on its feet swiftly.
“We believe we can recover very quickly. That is our intention,” she said.
Ms Gillard urged Australians to look out for their neighbours.
“If there’s someone in your street you’re worried about, maybe an older Australian that you haven’t seen for a while, maybe give them a knock on the door and make sure they’re okay.”
The worst affected area was the town of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, where residents described an “instant inland tsunami” of 8m ripping through the streets on Monday.
One good piece of news on Wednesday was that the number of missing in the Lockyer Valley had been revised down from 51 to 43, but there were grave fears for nine.
Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
