Written By Unknown on Selasa, 07 April 2015 | 10.18
The cheap package holiday boom of the 1960s and 70s means pensioners are now seven times more likely to develop the deadliest form of skin cancer.
New figures from Cancer Research UK show that men aged 65 and over are 10 times more likely to be diagnosed with malignant melanoma than their parents' generation.
Older women are around five times more likely to develop the disease.
Each year, some 5,700 pensioners are now diagnosed with melanoma each year in the UK compared with 600 in the mid-1970s.
Older women are around five times more likely to develop the disease
Age is a big risk for melanoma, but the increase is blamed on package holidays which became popular in the 1960s.
Getting sunburnt once every two years can triple a person's risk of developing the disease.
Professor Richard Marais, Cancer Research UK's skin cancer expert based in Manchester, said: "It's important for people to keep an eye on their skin and seek medical opinion if they see any changes to their moles, or even to normal areas of skin.
"Melanoma is often detected on men's backs and women's legs but can appear on any part of the body."
Malignant melanoma is the country's fifth most common cancer overall and the second most common cancer in young adults aged 15 to 34.
Each year, 2,100 Britons die from the disease.
Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK's head of health information, said: "Sun damage accumulates over time so avoiding sunburn - and sunbeds - is key, as well as getting to know your skin type so you don't overdo it on the beach or even in the garden."
Retired teacher Sue Deans, 69, from Croydon, south London, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in 2000 after having a mole removed.
She said: "I was part of the generation where package holidays became affordable and you could go abroad nearly every year.
"I don't think there was much understanding at the time about the impact that too much sun can have on your risk of getting skin cancer."
The warm Easter weather looks set to continue into the week.
Temperatures could reach 21C (70F) in some places, when the average UK temperature for April is 11.4C (52F) and for England is 12.4C, according to the Met Office.
Two Great White Pelicans in London's St James Park
Despite many holidaymakers expected to return from the Easter break on Monday the continued high pressure will ensure conditions in most areas will remain settled for the rest of the week.
The South and South West of England will see the best of the warm weather while in northeast Scotland it will be sunniest while northwest Scotland could see some cloud developing.
Most of Northern Ireland, particularly the east coast, will also enjoy spells of sunshine.
Sky's weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said: "Most places will continue with the dry and sunny conditions - however, eastern coastal regions and Irish sea coasts may be affected by sea fog.
"It will feel warm in the sunshine today, with top temperatures of 12-18C (54-64F)."
Police are hunting for a driver who left a 93-year-old woman lying in the middle of the road after a hit-and-run crash.
They have issued a CCTV image of the silver Chrysler Voyager thought to have struck Isobel Rawes in Shirley, West Midlands.
The pensioner is still in hospital being treated for the serious injuries she suffered.
Police said she was hit as she crossed Stratford Road at around 11.50am on 24 March.
A spokeswoman said: "The driver failed to stop at the scene and left the victim lying in the carriageway before driving away in the direction of the M42.
Police believe this car hit the 93-year-old
"Following extensive CCTV inquiries, police have identified the car as a silver-coloured Chrysler Voyager.
"It is believed that the vehicle will have damage to the front passenger side."
Sergeant Adam Green, from the Regional Collision Investigation Unit, said: "I would urge anyone that has seen a Chrysler Voyager with damage to the front passenger side to come forward.
"It may be that the driver has confided in a friend or family member or a neighbour has noticed recent damage.
"It is important that we speak to the driver in order to understand the reasons for the collision and the subsequent driving away from the scene to provide answers to the family of Mrs Rawes."
Anyone with information can contact the collision investigation unit on 101.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 05 April 2015 | 10.18
The UK will get its first three proton beam therapy centres from next year in what experts say is a significant breakthrough for cancer treatment.
The first centre will be opened in Cardiff by local company Proton Partners International Ltd, with two others to follow in London and Northumberland by 2017.
The centres will be available for NHS patients from England, Scotland and Wales, as well as self-paying patients and those with private medical insurance.
Currently patients must head overseas for this type of treatment.
Life sciences entrepreneur Professor Sir Chris Evans says there are more than 150,000 people treated for cancer each year and that demand for treatment is growing.
Video:Ashya Finishes Proton Treatment
Health insurer Bupa has estimated that by 2021 the UK's ageing population is likely to see a 20% rise in the number of new cancers and a 62% rise in the cost of treatment - to £15.3bn.
Proton beam therapy is a targeted type of radiotherapy that can treat hard-to-reach cancers, such as spinal tumours, with a lower risk of damaging the surrounding tissue or causing side effects.
The announcement comes just weeks after the parents of brain cancer survivor Ashya King told how the five-year-old made a "miracle" recovery after receiving proton beam therapy in Prague in the Czech Republic.
Video:Sept: Inside The Proton Beam Centre
The treatment was not available for him on the NHS, although the health service later agreed to fund it.
Professor Gordon McVie, senior consultant at the European Institute of Oncology, who has been appointed chairman of Proton Partners International, says the development is "exciting and important".
He added: "As things stand, patients who can benefit from this treatment have to go abroad for treatment, often at great expense to the NHS.
Video:How Proton Beam Therapy Works
"The creation of these centres will go a long way to ensuring the very best of treatment is available in the UK."
There were reportedly concerns about the behaviour of a British man in the months before he was arrested for allegedly trying to cross illegally into Syria.
Waheed Ahmed, 21, was among nine members of the same family who were detained in Turkey on Wednesday and are set to be deported.
British police have been searching the home of his father Shakil Ahmed, who is a Labour councillor in Rochdale.
They have also searched four other properties - two in Heywood and two in Rochdale. Two of the searches are ongoing.
Mohammed Shafiq, who is a friend of Shakil Ahmed, said of Waheed: "There were concerns in the last six months to a year about a change in his behaviour.
Video:Britons Arrested In Turkey
"And a change in his attitude towards various different issues."
He also told Sky News: "That was causing concern for people in the community and his family."
Waheed Ahmed was with his aunt, two cousins and the wife of one of his cousins when they were stopped by authorities in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border. They had also taken four children with them.
The 21-year-old is due to be sent back to the UK along with Zareeda Bi, 47, Maboob Yasin, 22, Habib Yasin, 24, and Samia Bi, 22, and the youngsters aged one, three, eight and 11.
They are understood to have been kept in a police station in Turkey on Thursday night.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: "It remains the case that we are not aware of any time scale for the potential return of the nine individuals."
Most of the group flew from Manchester on 27 March and Waheed Ahmed joined them three days later on a flight from Birmingham.
Shakil Ahmed, who represents the Kingsway ward on Rochdale Borough Council, said the group were on holiday but he had thought his son was on a work placement in Birmingham.
"My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don't understand what he's doing there.
"If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised, I would have reported him to the authorities.
"I just want to speak to my son and get him home as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on."
Video:Manchester Police Statement
Usman Nawaz, who went to the same school as Waheed Ahmed in Rochdale, said mosques and his school in Rochdale were not to blame for Waheed's actions.
The 25-year-old, a former member of the Young Muslims' Advisory Group and mentor to young Muslims through Rochdale's Youth Council, said: "For some it's an adventure but for some they think that they are doing something noble.
"The ideology which is peddled, this very hardcore understanding of the faith, one which is state sponsored by Saudi Arabia, that has to be challenged and it's quite difficult to challenge it in a coherent manner when the Saudi ideology has the backing of petrodollars."
A friend of Waheed Ahmed believes he could have travelled for humanitarian reasons.
Bassat Yussu said: "We used to talk about Palestine and Syria and what was going on around there and sometimes he used to collect charity money."
Neighbour Mohammed Sharif said he "never had suspicion about the family" and remembered Waheed as a "nice quiet young lad" who would "speak to you with respect".
Officers are trying to establish their reason for travelling to the Syrian border.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: "What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a war zone.
"Such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever."
The Metropolitan Police believe around 600 Britons have travelled to Syria and Iraq since the conflict began, while around half are thought to have returned to the UK.
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 April 2015 | 10.18
Nicola Sturgeon has "categorically" denied telling a foreign ambassador she would rather see David Cameron than Ed Miliband as PM after the election.
The SNP leader faced calls to explain a diplomatic memo, which recorded her saying privately that the Labour leader was not "prime minister material".
The claims appeared on the front page of the Daily Telegraph, and were followed swiftly by an angry denial from Ms Sturgeon.
In a direct tweet to the journalists who wrote the story she said: "Your story is categorically, 100%, untrue ... which I'd have told you if you'd asked me at any point today."
A spokeswoman for the First Minister added: "It must be a belated April Fool.
Video:Sturgeon On SNP-Labour Pact
"As Nicola has said on numerous occasions, she wants to see the back of a Tory government which is decisively rejected by the people of Scotland and unlike Labour, the SNP is the only party that has promised to lock David Cameron out of Downing Street."
However the Telegraph published a leaked UK Government memorandum apparently written after Scotland's First Minister met French ambassador Sylvie Bermann.
The memo of the meeting in February detailed her apparent preference for Mr Cameron remaining in Downing Street.
The note was written by a British civil servant after a conversation with the French consul-general.
It said: "Discussion appears to have focused mainly on the political situation, with the FM stating that she wouldn't want a formal coalition with Labour; that the SNP would almost certainly have a large number of seats ... that she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM."
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said it was a "devastating revelation" that exposes the uncomfortable truth behind the SNP's General Election campaign.
Video:Snap Polls: Who Won?
"For months Nicola Sturgeon has been telling Scots she wants rid of David Cameron yet behind closed doors with foreign governments she admits she wants a Tory government.
"If Scotland votes SNP in May then Nicola Sturgeon will get her wish - the Tories will be the largest party across the UK and David Cameron will return to Downing Street.
"Only a vote for Labour will deliver a Labour government."
Ms Sturgeon's performance in the televised debate has focused attention on her party's potentially pivotal role in forming the next UK government.
Tories described the prospect of a Labour government propped up by the votes of the Scottish nationalists as a "lethal cocktail".
The party said such an alliance would destabilise the country and undermine the economic recovery.
Video:Who Is Nicola Sturgeon?
She was branded "the most dangerous woman in Britain" by the Daily Mail. Polls suggest the anti-austerity SNP could snatch dozens of Labour seats north of the border.
Meanwhile, campaigning continues into Easter with Labour unveiling a plan to build 125,000 homes by creating a £5bn housebuilding fund.
The Tories, meanwhile, are unveiling a pledge to force pornography websites to use effective age-verification tools to keep out under-18s.
Ms Sturgeon is due to join the annual Scrap Trident group march in Glasgow, only a short distance from the Faslane home of nuclear-armed submarines.
"Never before have the establishment Westminster parties been so unpopular - and never has there been a greater opportunity to build a progressive alliance across these islands to chart a different course," she is due tell the rally.
The latest Survation/Mirror poll puts Mr Miliband ahead of Mr Cameron, with 33% and 31% of the vote respectively.
Video:Sturgeon Asks For EU Guarantee
UKIP polled at 18%, the Liberal Democrats 9%, the SNP 5% and Greens 3%.
These results are markedly different from a YouGov/The Sun poll which was published on Thursday night.
It suggested that the Conservative Party had hit a three-year high - with 37% of those questioned stating they would vote Tory if the General Election was tomorrow.
Labour was on 35%, the Lib Dems on 7%, UKIP on 12% and the Greens on 5%.
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 03 April 2015 | 10.18
The man who mugged disabled pensioner Alan Barnes, sparking a charity campaign that raised £330,000, has been jailed.
Richard Gatiss was sentenced to four years in prison by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court.
The 25-year-old drug addict pushed Mr Barnes over as he put his bins out in Gateshead, breaking his collar bone.
He was trying to get money to buy legal highs when he carried out the mugging, but ran off empty handed.
Gatiss has been jailed for four years for mugging Mr Barnes
Judge Paul Sloan QC said: "I have no doubt he was picked on by you because of his vulnerability.
"It was on any view a despicable offence."
Video:Pensioner On 'Magic' Meeting
Gatiss, from Gateshead, was caught after analysis of DNA evidence from the pocket of Mr Barnes's jacket.
Mr Barnes was too scared to return to his home in Low Fell, Gateshead, and has said he will buy a new house with the money raised online.
The fund was started by beautician Katie Cutler, 21, who initially set a target of £500 to buy new carpets and curtains.
Mr Barnes' disabilities were caused when his mother contracted German measles while she was pregnant.
After he was arrested, Gatiss denied being involved in the mugging, saying he had been brought up better than that, but then later claimed a knifeman made him do it.
When he was challenged, he confessed. Prosecutor Nick Dry said: "He said he wanted money to buy legal highs to which he had become addicted, then breaking down, he was distressed at what he had done."
Jamie Adams, defending, said that Gatiss had recently been diagnosed with epilepsy and that his medication when mixed with legal highs would have a "deleterious effect".
He added that publicity surrounding the case had made Gatiss "the subject of some pretty awful double-standard behaviour" from other inmates.
He said: "Life is not easy for him. He is going to be in the public glare for a long time to come and he knows that.
"There is a lot for him to deal with."
After the sentencing, Mr Barnes said he hoped Gatiss would "do some thinking" while he was in prison.
He said: "I'm pleased he's been sentenced and I think the sentence of four years is just about the right length.
"I hope while he's in prison he'll do some thinking and when he comes out he'll do something useful.
"Maybe he might decide to help people, which I think would be a good idea for him.
"It's sad that he was brought to the stage of doing something like this - not necessarily just me, it could have been anybody and they might not have got over the incident."
Mr Barnes added that his injuries have now virtually healed and he has found a new house in Low Fell that he hopes to buy.
In a letter to the judge, Gatiss' father Karl said he had disowned his son after the mugging, but said he had since decided he could not abandon him.
He wrote: "He started on the slippery slope of drug-taking. He latterly used legal highs and the likeable lad we had known slowly drifted away from us.
"Our family observed the deterioration of our formerly cheeky boy into a shadow of himself, obviously with whom we were unable to communicate.
"He recognises the gravity of what he has done and is disgusted with himself and is full of remorse."
One of the nine Britons detained in Turkey for allegedly trying to cross into Syria is the son of a Labour councillor.
In a statement, Rochdale councillor Shakil Ahmed said he was "shocked, worried and extremely upset" to find out his 21-year-old son Waheed was one of those held by Turkish authorities.
Officers from Greater Manchester Police and North West Counter Terrorism are working with Rochdale Council, local partners and faith leaders to establish why the family were found at the border.
The five adults, aged 21, 22, 22, 24 and 47, as well as four children aged one, three, eight and 11, are believed to be related and currently live in Rochdale.
The Britons are expected to be deported from Turkey on Thursday.
The family leave hospital after undergoing check ups and fingerprinting
Mr Ahmed, who represents the Kingsway ward on the council, said he thought his son was in Birmingham on a work placement.
He added: "My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don't understand what he's doing there.
Video:Manchester Police Statement
"If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised I would have reported him to the authorities.
"He's studying a degree in politics and sociology at Manchester University and has a good future ahead of him."
The nine were held by Turkish officials at a military outpost at Ogulpinar, in the south of the country.
Footage released earlier showed them arriving at a police station in Southern Hatay province.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: "What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a warzone; such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever.
"We have commenced an investigation to try and establish their reasons for travel and as this is a live investigation - which is very much in its infancy - we are not in a position to comment further."
Police say they have found "no evidence whatsoever" of any imminent threat to the community in Rochdale or anywhere else in the UK.
Simon Danczuk, who is defending the Rochdale seat for Labour at the election, said: "I am in the process of trying to find out more information on this case from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, though I would like to thank the authorities for stopping this family entering what is effectively a war zone.
"I am particularly disturbed that children were involved.
"I have also been in touch with the father of one of the young men who was there and he is shocked and confused as to why his son would be trying to enter Syria."
