Paisley poised to top Ulster poll
The Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists were on course last night to top
the poll in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, strengthening the
prospects of a power-sharing deal with Sinn Fein this month (David Sharrock
writes).
Early results under the single transferable vote system indicated a slump of 8
to 10 per cent in votes for the Ulster Unionist Party — a trend that would
firmly establish Mr Paisley’s party as the dominant force in Unionism.
The DUP is likely to need 35 seats in the 108-member Assembly to give Mr
Paisley the boost he requires to take an historic step to sharing power with
the Provisional IRA’s political wing.
Sinn Fein looked set to take seats off its moderate nationalist rivals, the
SDLP. Final results for all 108 Assembly seats are expected this afternoon.
Union backing
The new super-union created by Amicus and the Transport and General Workers’
Union is likely to back Jon Cruddas, the MP for Dagenham, for the Labour
deputy leadership to put pressure on Gordon Brown for more radical policies.
It is thought that the GMB leadership will also endorse Mr Cruddas.
Party official quits
A Liberal Democrat official who sparked a storm by saying that the party was
cooling on its commitment to proportional representation is to quit. Mark
Littlewood, the head of media, had said that electoral reform was not ''a
deal maker or a deal breaker'' for any possible coalition arrangement.
Ex-police chief wins airport knife case
A former police chief inspector who ended up in court after accidentally
trying to board an aircraft with a knife in his luggage won a nine-month
fight to clear his name when a judge found in his favour.
Brian Seaton’s Swiss Army knife — a farewell gift from Leicestershire police —
was confiscated at East Midlands airport last June. When he went to retrieve
it on his return from holiday he was told he was being prosecuted.
Mr Seaton, 63, said: “I can’t believe this ever went so far, and I’m not sure
it has been a good use of public money.”
Backpackers were ‘killed unlawfully’
Seven British travellers who died in an arson attack at a backpackers’ hostel
in Australia seven years ago were unlawfully killed, an inquest at Avon
Coroner’s Court heard yesterday. The Britons were among 15 people killed in
the fire at the Palace Backpackers Hostel, in Childers, Queensland. Robert
Long, a migrant fruit picker, was convicted of the murder of the two
Australian victims and sentenced to life in prison in August 2002.
Vein implant offers hope to millions
A revolutionary artificial implant looks set to offer new hope to millions of
people suffering with clogged arteries. The results from early human trials
into a new type of artificial vein have shown a 100 per cent success rate in
the first six months.
Unlike “smooth” synthetic grafts currently in use, which make blood flow
straight, the new “spiral” grafts are rifled inside to encourage blood to
corkscrew and mimmick its natural movement in veins.
Flood-free houses
New “turquoise belts” that allow houses to be built near rivers and canals, by
leaving a a green fringe along the bankside to protect homes from flooding,
are being planned by the Government. The move, based on schemes in Japan, is
part of a vision for thecountryside being developed by David Miliband, the
Environment Secretary.
Pledge to parents
Parents must be consulted in future before schools for children with
disabilities and special educational needs can be closed by local
authorities, according to draft guidance from the Government. Closures will
be allowed to take place only if a local authority could show that its
alternative plan was an improvement.
Hard to swallow
A man has been given three penalty points and fined for eating a sandwich
while driving. Keith Pemberton, 29, of Salford, was penalised under laws
brought in to stop motorists from using mobile phones in their vehicles. “I
was in control of the car,” he said. Police said that the law also applied
to drivers caught reading, eating or drinking.
Terror suspect is extradited to Spain
A Syrian man accused of indoctrinating the Madrid train bombers has been
extradited to Spain (Sean O’Neill writes).
Moutaz Almallah Dabas, 41, a father of eight children living in Slough,
Berkshire, is alleged to have used an apartment in Madrid as a base where
potential terrorist recruits were schooled in the ideology of al-Qaeda.
Among them, it is alleged, were some of the terrorists who planted the bombs
that killed 191 people and injured 1,500 on Madrid trains in 2004.
The extradition follows a two-year legal battle which began when he was
arrested at home in March 2005. Last month, five Law Lords rejected
arguments that the European arrest warrant under which he was detained in
Britain was invalid because its wording did not comply with the requirements
of the 2003 Extradition Act.
Soldier killed
A soldier became the 52nd British serviceman to die in Afghanistan since 2001,
when he was killed yesterday in a grenade attack on his base in Sangin,
Helmand Province. He served with 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, which
provides support fire for the Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade.
Mock execution
Territorial Army trainees who filmed a mock execution and posted the footage
on YouTube.com have been reprimanded for bringing the Army into disrepute.
Officers in the York branch of the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC)
staged a scene in which a gunman prepares to shoot a hooded victim.
Nurses protest
Almost 8,000 nurses have written to their MPs to protest against their
below-inflation pay rise, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said yesterday.
The increase works out at 1.9 per cent over the year. The RCN has produced a
template letter on its website and is urging more nurses to write to their
MPs.
Crane death
One man died and another was seriously injured after an accident involving a
crane on Kirkby Industrial Estate in Merseyside. A man believed to have been
in his mid40s was pronounced dead at the scene. The other man was in a
critical condition in Aintree Hospital.
Divorce decision
The insurance tycoon John Charman must wait to find out if the amount he is
ordered to pay his ex-wife Beverley will be reduced from £48 million to £20
million of his estimated £131 million fortune. Three Appeal Court judges
reserved their ruling on his appeal after three days of legal argument.
True colours
A woman trying to travel with two chameleons in her pockets was stopped by
security staff at Stansted Airport in Essex. The young reptiles were taken
from her and handed to the RSPCA. An airport spokesman said: “It is very
unusual for us to be presented with two live chameleons at security.”
Duchess goes home
The Duchess of Cornwall is recovering well after her hysterectomy. The Prince
of Wales collected his wife from King Edward VII Hospital in Central London
last night and they returned to Clarence House. A spokeswoman for the couple
said that the Duchess would be resting for six weeks.
