Family Of Four Found Dead In Bradford Home

The bodies of four people have been discovered at a house in Bradford, police have said.

Officers were called at around 8.30pm on Monday to the home in Blackberry Way, Clayton, after a man, woman and two teenage girls were found dead.

They have been identified as Jitendra Lad, 49, his wife Duksha Lad, 44 and their daughters Trisha, 19, and 17-year-old Nisha.

West Yorkshire Police said a murder investigation has been launched, but officers were not looking for anybody else in relation to the deaths.

The home in Clayton, near Bradford, has been cordoned off

Officers were called to the house by a neighbour, who was concerned they had not seen the family. Early indications suggest the bodies may have been in the property "for some time".

Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson said: "This is clearly a significant incident and our investigation will be thorough as we piece together the events that that have led to the deaths of a local family.

"We are now undertaking forensic inquiries to establish how these people have died.

Trisha, 19, and Nisha, 17, pictured together

"We are clearly keeping an open mind but from what we know at the moment we are not looking for anybody else.

"It is an extremely distressing time for the family and friends. We are trying to get as many answers as to what has happened in the property."

Jessica Garside, a friend of Trisha, said: "She was so lovely. She always had a bright smile on her face.

"I feel numb at the moment. I don't feel like it's happened. I still feel like I'm going to go to the bus stop one day and she'll be stood there smiling as ever. It's heartbreaking to know she won't be."

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK Asylum Seeker Feels Mentally 'Tortured'

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

An asylum seeker has told Sky News she feels mentally "tortured" after being left in limbo by the UK's failing asylum system.

Her case has been repeatedly delayed and nine months after applying for asylum the Ugandan woman still has not been given a proper interview about her request.

Fearing further delays to her claim, she asked only to be known as "Namusoke" and explained to Sky News: "I feel tortured here in the UK, I feel depressed, stressed and traumatised, so I really feel bad because I can't help nothing for myself.

"I'm a beggar, which I was not born to do."

The woman is fleeing persecution in her homeland due to the fact she is a lesbian - homosexuality is deemed illegal in Uganda.

Her story emerged as a group of MPs published a damning report into the ongoing failings in the UK's asylum system. 

Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said 29,000 applications dating back to at least 2007 remain unresolved.

She said: "In 11,000 of these cases people have not even received an initial decision on their asylum claim.

"To make matters worse, the department is also failing to meet its targets for dealing with newer claims, so it is now creating another backlog for itself.

"The number of claims awaiting an initial decision was up 70% to 16,273 in the first three months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

"It is deeply worrying that the Home Office is not tracking those people whose applications have been rejected to ensure that they are removed from the UK."

The report said there are 175,000 people whose applications to stay in the UK have been rejected and are still awaiting removal.

The Government scrapped the UK Border Agency last year as part of major reforms.

Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire said: "The immigration system we inherited was totally dysfunctional.

"Turning around years of mismanagement has taken time, but it is now well under way.

"We have reformed visa routes to make them more resistant to fraud and cancelled failing contracts; and we are addressing the backlogs we inherited."

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP said: "This report lays bare how Theresa May and David Cameron are presiding over one failure after another in our immigration system."

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cameron: UK Will Not Meet £1.7bn EU Bill Demand

David Cameron insists there is "no pressing need" for the UK to pay £1.7bn to the EU - despite a warning of a substantial fine.

The surcharge was made public at an EU summit last week, but the Prime Minister said the UK would not meet the 1 December deadline.

EU Budget Commissioner Jacek Dominik has told Sky's Ian King Live the UK could face a "significant" fine if the payment is delayed.

But in a statement to the Commons, Mr Cameron said: "The scale and timing of the demand is not acceptable.

"It cannot just be nodded through by the EU bureaucracy - it is British taxpayers' money.

Video: UK Under Pressure Over EU Funding

"There are fundamental issues of the fairness of these payments.

"We will be challenging this in every way possible. We want to check on the way the statistics were arrived at, the methodology that was used. We will crawl through this in exhaustive detail."

The demand is the result of improvements to Britain's economy since 1995 and would add almost a fifth to the UK's annual contribution of £8.6bn.

Outgoing Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has insisted Brussels is only following the procedures created by member states to balance the EU's books each year.

Video: EU Row: Miliband Scathing Of PM

Mr Cameron has called for an emergency meeting of EU finance ministers to discuss the surcharge - and told the Commons he had been backed by Italy, Holland, Malta, Greece and others.

But Labour leader Ed Miliband told MPs he wrote to the Treasury Committee seven months ago about a potential surcharge - and accused the Prime Minister of "sleeping at the wheel".

"This is a familiar pattern with this Prime Minister: months and months when he doesn't do the work followed by last-minute pyrotechnics when it all goes wrong," he said.

Preliminary figures seen by the Financial Times suggest Britain is facing the largest adjustment in the amount it must pay compared to other member states.

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The Netherlands is being asked for an extra £509m, but by contrast France is due to receive a rebate of £800m, Germany £618m, and Poland £250m.

Britain's surcharge is due for payment just days after the Rochester and Strood by-election, which hangs on a knife edge with anti-EU UKIP threatening to wrest the seat from the Tories.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Huge Supercomputer To Boost Weather Forecasts

A 140-ton supercomputer that can perform more than 16,000 trillion calculations per second is set to give the UK its most accurate weather forecasts ever.

The £97m machine will be fired up at the Met Office next year and will crunch data at a blistering rate using the memory equivalent to 120,000 top-end smartphones.

It will be 13 times more powerful than the current system.

Met Office's chief executive Rob Varley said the machine would be a "step change", allowing hourly updates and highly detailed forecasts for areas as small as 300m.

For example, allowing airports to pinpoint the timing and extent of fog disruption far more effectively.

Floods in Somerset brought weeks of disruption earlier this year

The High Performance Computer (HPC) will weigh the same as 11 double decker buses and is expected to be split between Met Office Headquarters in Exeter and a new purpose-built building at the city's Science Park.

Some £2bn of benefits are likely, according to forecasters, because it will allow the public and businesses to better plan for extreme weather, such as this year's floods in the south of England.

"The new supercomputer, together with improved observations, science and modelling, will deliver better forecasts and advice to support UK business, the public and government, " said Met Office boss Rob Varley.

"It will help to make the UK more resilient to high impact weather and other environmental risks."

The first phase of the supercomputer will be operational in September 2015 and the system will reach full capacity in 2017.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Three Surfers Die In Cornwall Sea Tragedy

Three surfers have died after getting into difficulty in the sea off Cornwall.

Officers were called by the Coastguard after reports that four children and three adults were caught in a rip current off Mawgan Porth beach, Newquay.

Two surfers recovered from the sea were given CPR at the scene

A man in his 50s and a man and woman in their 40s were found unconscious in the sea.

The victims, who have not been named, were taken to Treliske for treatment but were pronounced dead in hospital.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "The four children were all located safe and well on shore but the three adults were recovered from the water.

"Two of those recovered from the water were given CPR at the scene. The three casualties were transferred to hospital by the rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose and both the Devon and Cornwall air ambulances."

The surfers were caught in a rip tide while surfing off Mawgan Porth beach

A spokeswoman for the South Western Ambulance Service said they took a call at 1.31pm about reports the surfers were caught in a rip current.

She said air ambulances, a search and rescue helicopter, police and rapid response vehicles were all deployed to the scene.

Air ambulances and a search and rescue helicopter were deployed

Superintendent Jim Pearce, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "This is a tragic incident and our condolences go out to the families of those involved.

"Along with the other emergency services we are now working to ascertain the full circumstances of this incident and our priority is to contact the families of those involved and offer all the support we can."

Gareth Horner, lifeboat operations manager, said: "Mawgan Porth is a dangerous beach. We don't know the exact circumstances or the ability of the people that were rescued today.

"My understanding is that they were in two groups and that one of the casualties actually entered the sea to assist other people who were in trouble."

Police said the woman and the man in his 40s were from Cornwall, while the third victim was from outside the force's area.

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Next Stage Of HS2 Would Slash Journey Times

The Government has welcomed plans to give a multi-billion pound rail boost to northern England.

Details of the second stage of HS2 are due to be unveiled on Monday morning.

They will show the north-of-Birmingham route will go to Leeds as well as Manchester.

Train services running east to west between Liverpool and Hull will also be upgraded.

HS2 Ltd chairman Sir David Higgins said northern connectivity plans - dubbed "HS3" - would be "as important to the north of England as Crossrail is for London".

If the plans go ahead, it would mean journey times between Leeds and Manchester could almost be cut in half.

Journeys between Leeds and Birmingham, Leeds and Sheffield Meadowhall, York and Birmingham, and Nottingham to Birmingham could also be slashed by a half or more, and many more journeys substantially shortened.

Phase one of HS2 involves a new high-speed line from Euston in London passing through the Chilterns to Birmingham, with an expected completion date of 2026.

Phase two was originally due to be completed in 2032/33, although Sir David is keen for this date to be brought forward.

Video: Church Opposition To HS2 Route

The project is strongly supported by the Government but is bitterly opposed by some councils and residents along the phase one route.

Sir David's four main proposals in his report are:

::  Need to take forward both legs of the proposed HS2 Y-network - the alternatives will not bring the same capacity, connectivity and economic benefits.

:: Improve the rail services between east and west - sharply reducing journey times between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull will stimulate local economies.

:: Northern cities should speak with one voice - local authorities from five key cities should join together to form a new body.

:: Set out a timetable to develop a new transport strategy to decide on an approach for improving rail and road connectivity across and within the region north of Birmingham.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he welcomed the report which will "create a northern powerhouse and ensure that HS2 delivers the maximum economic benefits".

Stop HS2 campaign manager Joe Rukin said Sir David's report "showed that the original plans for HS2 weren't thought through properly".

He added: "Changing the mess that is phase two doesn't change the fact that phase one is still a complete mess, as is the entire concept of HS2."

10.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Doctors Recruited In Battle To Keep Young Safe

By Lisa Dowd, Sky News Correspondent

Family doctors are being urged to look out for signs of radicalisation, child trafficking and cyber-bullying in their younger patients.

GPs are being sent a 'toolkit' of information by children's charity the NSPCC and the Royal College of General Practitioners to help them make informed and confident decisions about safeguarding youngsters.

"I would like to say we never see cases of abuse but we have seen cases in the surgery recently - some have involved cyber-bullying," said Dr Trish Wildbore, from the Hazelwood Surgery in Coleshill, north Warwickshire.

"What we've found over time is the way people insult or abuse others changes with technology.

"On a recent course of lectures I went on I was horrified to find there's a child trafficking hotspot just a couple of miles from the surgery. Obviously that's quite alarming."

Doctors are also being urged to be on the look out for child trafficking

Further north, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, the scale of child sexual exploitation was missed or ignored by healthcare professionals and others.

A report found at least 1,400 youngsters had been abused over a 16-year period.

Video: 'Lawless Jungle' Of Online Abuse

While the search for victims and perpetrators has widened to other areas, so too has the definition of abuse to include forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

The long list of ailments GPs deal with is being extended to reflect other problems in a changing society.

RCGP chair Maureen Baker said: "Children and young people, today, are facing unprecedented pressures from all angles at a younger and younger age.

"The arrival of the internet and social media has opened up so many opportunities but has also brought many threats, including cyber-bullying, sexting, and revenge porn.

Video: 'I Had No Idea I Was In England'

"Because of the anonymity offered by the internet, many children and young people run a higher risk of being harmed or exploited.

"A consultation with a GP may be the only time that young people can be alone with a trusted adult and we have a number of roles to play in providing understanding, compassion and support."

But patients have mixed views.

"I think doctors generally are already quite busy and it's already hard to try and get appointments," said Brian Griffiths, from Coleshill.

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"And I'm not sure they're the right people to do this. Cyber-bullying? I'm not sure how a doctor's going to pick that up really."

But Helen Brownsword disagreed. She said: "I think it's a good thing.

"Doctors have got a heavy workload anyway but in the society we live and the things, particularly at a young age, children are into - the internet, that sort of thing - I think the more awareness we make in schools, the doctors, the better."

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lords Consider Drone Laws Over Privacy Fears

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

A House of Lords committee will hear from drone safety experts on Monday about whether legislation needs updating.

The committee is investigating the civil use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and is expected to report its findings in 2015.

The popularity of drones has surged as the technology has improved, leading to a consumer boom in cheaper, simpler models.

Among the questions the committee will seek answers to are the implications of drones for air traffic control, and whether drones will be affected by current data protection legislation.

Earlier this week, a report led by the former head of GCHQ and conducted by the University of Birmingham's Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security said that UAVs pose "significant safety, security and privacy concerns".

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It warned they could also be exploited by burglars, train robbers, poachers and the paparazzi.

But the report also said drones could bring "significant benefits". The commercial drone market is estimated to be worth £7.5bn over the next decade.

Jennifer Gibson, a legal expert on UAVs, told Sky News: "Parliament needs to step up. They need to make sure that outdated laws - which historically were used for things like CCTV cameras or manned aircraft - are updated to address this unmanned threat that is coming and can be used by the average person on the street, or by police forces.

Video: Dubai To Get Drone Deliveries

"There need to be codes of conduct, we need to have discussions about what privacy means in this new world where you can fly something up to someone's window.

"We need to have decisions around how to protect ourselves from the potential use of this in a threatening way."

This week also saw the first UAV conference held in London.

10.18 | 0 komentar | Read More