Fishermen told they can catch more cod
Signs of a slight recovery in cod stocks in the North Sea led to the first
proposed increase in catches of the fish for five years yesterday, despite
scientific calls for a dramatic cut.
While cod remained in an “extremely low state of conservation” in other EU
waters such as the Baltic and northeast Atlantic, a good breeding season in
the North Sea in 2005 led the European Commission to boost allowances by 11
per cent next year.
The move gave some cheer to Scottish fishermen but wildlife groups said that
it risked wiping out five years of efforts to rebuild depleted stocks. Only
last month ICES (the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea)
called for cuts in cod quotas of more than half.
Call for ‘citizen days’
Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, will urge every local council to hold
“citizen days” to promote British values to immigrants, including respect
for the rule of law and tolerance of all faiths. Councils will be encouraged
to include the promotion of British history alongside local traditions.
Rubens art ‘can stay’
The Spoliation Advisory Panel, which resolves claims on art looted in Germany
under the Nazis, said that the Courtauld Institute of Art in London would
not have to return three Rubens paintings because the previous owner, Franz
Koenigs (1881-1941), had “lost possession of them for business/economic
reasons”.
Injection for asthma
Severe allergic asthma sufferers who cannot control attacks with steroids may
in future be treated by injection with omalizumab (Xolair). The jab has been
approved for adults and children from the age of 12 who have “severe
unstable disease”. Asthma UK estimated that about 6,000 people could
benefit.
Doctor assault claim
David Southall, the paediatrician, is being investigated by police over a
claim that he assaulted a child. The accusation was made by the parents of
the boy – a former patient known as “Child H” – to
South Wales Police. Dr Southall, 59, is appearing before the GMC, where he
faces a serious misconduct charge.
Steel band claim
Five members of a Caribbean steel band are each claiming £1,000 compensation
after being thrown off a Ryanair flight from Sardinia on December 31, as
suspected terrorists. A passenger said that he became suspicious after he
saw one of them, a blind man, reading a newspaper. The hearing continues.
Meredith can now be buried, says judge
A judge in Perugia cleared the way for Meredith Kercher’s body to be released
to her family for burial after deciding that a second postmortem examination
was not necessary (Richard Owen writes).
As the decision was relayed to Ms Kercher’s family in Britain so that funeral
arrangements could be made, it also emerged that the murdered student, from
South London, had shared a snack with her alleged killers before she died on
the night of November 1.
Amanda Knox, 20, Raffaele Sollecito, 23, and Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, from the
Ivory Coast, are in custody in connection with the killing.
10% harmed by NHS
Almost one patient in ten in NHS hospitals is harmed by the care they are
given, a study has shown. One in ten of those who is harmed dies, and
another one in ten is left disabled. A third of incidents could have been
prevented, the authors of the study, led by Professor Trevor Sheldon of the
University of York, conclude. The figures are comparable with other studies,
in the NHS and abroad.
Bowel cancer success
Screening for bowel cancer has cut death rates from the disease in the first
area to start a pilot programme. Screening, which is to be extended across
the country, has already halved emergency admissions for the disease at
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, where the pilot began in
1999. Before, patients faced emergency operations and considerable risk of
dying within 30 days.
Teenagers guilty
Two teenagers were found guilty of the manslaughter of a man who was set on
fire and dumped in a river. Thomas Orme, 15, and James Quantrill, 17, also
urinated on Toby Atkin, 25, and branded his face with a lighter. They then
pushed him unconscious into the River Welland at Spalding, Lincolnshire. Mr
Atkin’s parents said the pair “did not even have the decency to look
remorseful” at Nottingham Crown Court.
Paedophile to return
A convicted paedophile who went on the run is to be extradited from Ireland to Britain, even though he still faces charges in an Irish court. John Murrell,
39, fled to Ireland from a halfway house in Worcester after serving half of
a two-year sentence for sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl, breaching
the terms of his release in 2000. He now faces up to five years in a British
jail.
Model Victory sale
A model of HMS Victory, Lord Nelson’s ship at the Battle of Trafalgar,
made by French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars, sold at auction
for £36,000. The 28in-long (68cm) model was built from the leftovers of
prisoners’ meals: bones form the hull while human hair was used for the
rigging and paper tissue for the flags. It sold at Bonhams to an overseas
bidder.
Teenagers ‘serious’ after knife attacks
Three teenagers were seriously ill in hospital after being repeatedly stabbed
in a street fight.
The youngsters, two aged 16, one aged 15, were attacked on the Old Kent Road
in Walworth, southeast London, at 4.30pm yesterday. They were taken to
hospital where all three were described as being in a “serious” condition.
The stabbings are the latest in a wave of violence to sweep the capital which
has resulted in 24 teenagers murdered this year.
Leeches payout
A former tourism student won his claim against a college for not warning him
of leeches on a barefoot walk through a jungle, but may have to pay the
college’s court costs. James Sheridan, 50, was bitten during the walk on a
trip to Sri Lanka in 2001. He was awarded £4,795 against Swansea Institute
of Higher Education, South Wales, at Cardiff County Court. The college
claimed it had offered him a £10,000 settlement.
Jail search for guns
A full search ordered at a jail near Wolverhampton, amid suspicions that guns
had been smuggled into the prison, ended yesterday with no illegal items
found. Trained staff and dogs carried out the search at Featherstone jail, a
category C jail holding 620 male offenders. The Ministry of Justice said the
search had been ordered after information was received by staff at the jail.
Winter deaths
More than 23,000 people died of cold last winter despite it being one of the
mildest recorded, according to the Office for National Statistics. Of these
deaths, 19,200 were among those aged 75 and over. Charities called it a
“national scandal” and gave warning of more deaths this winter because of
higher fuel prices and colder temperatures. Help the Aged said the winter
fuel payment was inadequate.
Forebears’ funerals
Online family tree researchers will be able to delve 300 years farther back
into their histories thanks to a new register of burials in England and
Wales. The database, available on www.findmypast.com
dates back to 1538, predating centralised registration in 1837. It has
details of more than 13 million burials in registers as well as cemetery and
cremation records. Ancestors can be searched by their surname.
I was on the outbound Ryanair flight to sardinia, which the Steel band that are now suing Ryaniair took. They were normal, polite passengers and it was quite obvious that one of the band members were blind as I spoke to them and wished them a happy new year in Sardinia. I think they are quite right to sue Ryanair for the stupidity of their actions, particularly sincethey had flown them there and allowed them board first on the outbound flight. Why didn't they let the complaining passengers leave the plane instead, is it 'cause they is white ? I think Ryanair are lucky to be being sued for only a £1,000 each.
andrew wakeling, London, UK