Christians challenge hybrid embryo move
The legality of the licences that allowed the creation of Britain’s first
human-animal hybrid embryos is to be challenged by the Christian Legal
Centre. It wants a judicial review of the decision by the Human
Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to allow two teams to start the
experiments, arguing that the watchdog acted beyond its powers.
In January, the HFEA awarded licences to scientists at King’s College London,
and Newcastle University to create cytoplasmic hybrid or “cybrid” embryos by
inserting human DNA into cow eggs. Last week it emerged that the Newcastle
group has already produced cybrids.
Pair are jailed for blackmail
Two men who were party to a kidnap were jailed yesterday after an
international police operation. Masood Sarwar, 51, from London, and Rehmat
Awan, 55, from Bradford, both admitted blackmail and were sentenced at Leeds
Crown Court. Sarwar received six years for conspiracy to commit blackmail
and Awan received seven years.
Mohammed Sabir Mughal, 47, a businessman, was kidnapped at gunpoint in
Pakistan last year. He was released after 15 days. The men tried to get
ransom money from the victim’s brother, who lived in Bradford.
DNA policy in court
A schoolboy can challenge the police policy of keeping DNA samples taken from
children who are acquitted or not charged, two judges ruled in the High
Court. The child had his DNA taken without consent when he voluntarily
attended an interview at a Staffordshire police station about an alleged
disturbance.
Taxi killed drunk girl
A drunk schoolgirl who had taken cocaine and cannabis lay down in a road and
was killed when a taxi ran over her. Megan Cowell, 15, of Basildon, Essex,
was heard shouting: “I’m fed up, kill me,” Chelmsford Coroner’s Court was
told. A verdict of death as the result of a road traffic collision was
recorded.
Charge withdrawn
A woman who died when she was hit by a train had been due in court charged
with witness intimidation. The case against Kelly Mack, 29, was withdrawn
yesterday at Chelmsford Crown Court. She was killed near Colchester on March
27. Her partner, Adrian Palmer, 38, is charged with her manslaughter.
Woman refused blood and died
Emma Gough, 22, a Jehovah’s Witness from Telford, Shropshire, told a midwife
that she was happy to die rather than have a blood transfusion after giving
birth to twins, an inquest heard. Mrs Gough had signed an “advance
directive” that she did not want a transfusion. She died hours after giving
birth at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on October 25.
The North Shropshire Coroner recorded a narrative verdict.
BA bans Naomi over bag row
BA has banned Naomi Campbell after the model became enraged over a missing bag
at Heathrow Terminal 5 last week and was removed from an aircraft bound for
Los Angeles. She was arrested and bailed pending inquiries into a suspected
assault on a police officer.
Footballer badly hurt in car crash
A star of Liverpool FC’s youth academy is critically ill after a road crash in
the city that killed two of his friends. Sean Highdale, 17, suffered
critical injuries in the collision and had a kidney removed. Thomas Benn and
Kalam Wooding, both 17, died in the crash.
Doctors assess police suspect
A man arrested for stabbing his care worker to death is being medically
examined to see if he is fit to be interviewed by police. Philip Ellison,
47, a father of three, was knifed repeatedly on Monday during a home visit
in Fulwood, Preston.
Teenagers die in canal crash
Two teenage girls died when their car crashed through a railing and into a
canal in Skipton, North Yorkshire. The accident happened on a bend in the
road. A diver from the Wharfedale Fell Rescue team helped the emergency
services.
Fines for spa town ‘cruisers’
Seven young drivers who often turned the centre of Cheltenham into an
unofficial racetrack were fined a total of £1,000 for speeding offences.
Among those appearing before magistrates was Laura Bains, 19, a beautician,
who said that they were “cruisers, not criminals”.
Tory councillor 'sought bribes'
A Tory councillor from Redbridge, East London, asked for £20,000 in bribes to
help property developers with a planning application, Southwark Crown Court
was told. Suresh Kumar, 44, denies three counts of corruption. The trial
continues.
Open-and-shut case for rubbish
Refuse collectors have been banned from emptying dustbins unless the lids are
shut, out of concern for health and safety, East Hampshire Council has
confirmed. It said that it was worried that collectors might be injured by
rubbish falling on them.
‘Multiracial’ sheep
The Welsh-language television channel S4C is to collaborate with the Arabic
broadcaster al-Jazeera to tell the story of a family of “all-singing,
all-dancing, multiracial sheep” in a 52-part series called Baaas.
The animals are played by actors in masks, with animatronic technology
controlling facial expressions.
Forever amber
A spider trapped in a piece of amber about 40 million years ago has been
donated to the Natural History Museum. Terence Collingwood noticed the rare
harvestman spider, pictured right, in a delivery of amber to his shop, I Dig
Dinos, in Rochester, Kent, last year. The Natural History Museum offered to
examine the spider, which was in a piece of amber the size of a £2 coin. It
is the second example of a Dicranopalpus ramiger to be found. Mr
Collingwood, 37, said: “Finding this was pure chance but I realised straight
away that it was something special.”
Protection for Falklands wreck
The wreck of the Atlantic Conveyor, a container ship that was sunk in the
Falklands conflict, has been designated a protected site by the Ministry of
Defence. The merchant ship is one of ten wrecks to be added to a list of
protected sites.
