Newslip

Newslip Episode 29 26.07.09

2009-07-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 26th July 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

David Beckham got involved in an ugly confrontation with fans at his first home game for the Los Angeles Galaxy after returning from Italy. The former England captain attempted to jump over a barrier as he left the field at half-time into a section of the crowd that had been jeering him. He was held back by security staff, members of whom were also needed to restrain an angry fan who left his seat and rushed towards the footballer. The 34-year-old explained afterwards in comments broadcast on Sky Sports News: "I tried to shake one of the guy's hands but he didn't want any of it. That's the way it is." Beckham received a less than friendly welcome at his first home game after returning from a five-month loan spell at AC Milan - the team the Galaxy faced. Earlier this year, Beckham indicated he wanted to stay in Milan rather than return to America, stating that the standard of play was far higher in Italy.

36 children and four adults have been rescued from the sea at Tenby in Pembrokeshire. Lifeguards who rescued them after a sandbank they were on collapsed into the sea say the group could have drowned. All of the youngsters, from Brynaman, Carmarthenshire, are safe and well, but they said it had been "very scary". Two of the group who were on an activity holiday at a nearby caravan park were taken to hospital at Haverfordwest after the dramatic rescue. Jon Johnstone, lifeguard, said: "It was at low tide. The tide was turning, which is the strongest current on the beach. It's only soft sand around here, so basically the sand beneath them all just shifted with the tide which caused a rip current which was dragging them back out to sea.” The lifeguards were straight out to rescue the stranded fully-clothed swimmers and cleverly relayed them all to shore safely, providing immediate first aid prior to the arrival of ambulance teams.

A Russian warship preparing for a holiday celebration accidentally fired a dummy artillery shell into the courtyard of an apartment building in Vladivostok, a port city on Russia's Pacific Ocean coast close to China and Japan on Friday. Nobody was hurt but the shell's impact broke windows and left a small crater outside the nine-storey apartment building. "There were no explosives in the dummy shell," said Roman Martov, a spokesman for Russia's Vladivostok-based Pacific Fleet. He added, “"The reasons why the rocket-assisted projectile flew a greater distance than it had been assigned are unknown," The warship that fired the shell was taking part in rehearsals for Sunday's planned celebrations of the annual Navy Day holiday, which traditionally include a ceremonial procession of warships and mock naval battles.

The United States has urged Syria to co-operate with a peace plan for the Middle East. Speaking after talks in Damascus, Barack Obama's envoy George Mitchell said discussions with Syria's president had been "candid and positive". Mr Mitchell said he had told Syrian President Bashar Assad that Barack Obama was "determined to facilitate a truly comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace". Damascus is a major player in the region, because of its support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, its backing for Hezbollah in Lebanon, and its close links with Iran. The move brings an end to Syria’s pariah status as it was under the Bush administration. Presently, US-Israeli relations are unusually strained and the diplomat flew on to Israel to try to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks.

England cricket team are 1-0 up in the Ashes series against Australia after chalking up their first win at Lords over their fiercest rivals, for 75 years. They wrapped up the second test before lunch on the final day, to win by 115 runs. Andrew Flintoff was the hero of the hour. Battling against injury he took 3 wickets out of an innings total of five, just the target required to take England into a series lead. The news wasn’t all good for England this week as Kevin Pietersen was ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes after having surgery on an ongoing Achilles’ heel injury. The Third Test begins on Thursday and Australia will be battling against the odds if they do not wish to return home in disgrace, without the hallowed Ashes trophy.

The BBC’s Newsnight program made a freedom of information request to local authorities across the UK about the CCTV cameras they operate. One of the most dramatic revelations is that both the Shetland Islands Council and Corby Borough Council - among the smallest local authorities in the UK - have more CCTV cameras than the San Francisco Police Department. The borough of Wandsworth has the highest number of CCTV cameras in London, with just under four cameras per 1,000 people. Its total number of cameras - 1,113 - is more than the police departments of Boston [USA], Johannesburg and Dublin City Council combined. Although experts estimate the total number of cameras in the country at about 3.5 million which is about a million fewer than previously believed, The statistics confirm the British as the most watched nation on earth. There are that many cameras in this country that it is actually impossible to count them all.

German tourists can now reserve their poolside recliners before they have even left home. The German arm of Thomas Cook, Europe's second largest travel company, has been deluged with inquiries since announcing that holidaymakers at nine hotels in Turkey, Egypt and the Canary Islands can book recliners in advance for a fee. Germans are famous around Europe for rising early to reserve recliners near the pool with their towels, and then going back to bed or eating a lengthy breakfast. The offer is only applicable to applicants booking from within Germany.

Thousands of Chinese steel workers rioted at news of a takeover deal, beating one manager to death, a Hong Kong human rights group has said. About 100 people were hurt in violence in the north-eastern city of Tonghua after workers heard that Jianlong Steel would buy a majority share. They were reportedly frustrated at financial problems during Jianlong Steel's temporary control last year. Jianlong general manager Chen Guojun was beaten to death, the group said. The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said 30,000 steel workers clashed with riot police on Friday in the north-east province of Jilin. The South China Morning Post quoted a police officer as saying the workers would not allow emergency medical staff to enter the building to help Mr Chen.

Firefighters in several parts of the Mediterranean are still fighting wildfires which began days ago and have left eight dead. Thousands of acres of woodland in Spain, France, Greece and Sardinia were destroyed by fires fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds. In Spain, where six firefighters died, two major fires were still burning, but seven were under control, reports said. Arsonists are suspected to be behind many of the blazes and there have been widespread arrests. Temperatures in southern Europe are expected to remain very high and firefighters are watching for new outbreaks.

And this week’s top story…

Liverpool captain and England midfielder, Steven Gerrard, has been cleared of charges of affray after a lengthy court case at Liverpool Crown Court. Liverpool crown court heard that Marcus McGee, 34, was punched in the face by the footballer in a brawl at a bar in Southport last December. Gerrard admitted hitting McGee three times but denied affray, saying he had been acting in self-defence as he thought the other man was about to strike him. During the court case, CCTV evidence from the bar was used to show the incident. Gerrard welled up with tears whilst hearing Liverpool legend, Kenny Dalgleish’s character reference. He described him as "quiet" and "very private". Despite his wealth, Dalgleish said, Gerrard had "never forgotten his roots"."He is a very respectful man who has always behaved to senior players in a respectful way," Dalgleish said. "He is a very humble man." Gerrard left the court to cries of ‘Rocky’ and told reporters how he was glad it was all over and how he wanted to focus on the forthcoming football season.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 28 19.07.09

2009-07-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today's date is Sunday, 19th July 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

British backpacker Jamie Neale who was travelling around Australia on a gap year, got lost in the Australian Bush and had a twelve day ordeal in which his survival skills were tested to the limit. He had to strip bark from trees to use as a makeshift mattress to protect against the night-time cold. He dried his damp clothes in the fierce daytime sun and kept close to creeks to be near a fresh water supply. Luckily, though he believed rescue teams had given up their search, Mr Neale was eventually recovered. Mr Neale told police it was "vastly different hiking in the UK than it is bush walking in the Australian bush." Doctors ruled he was healthy enough to be discharged and he walked out of the Blue Mountains Hospital accompanied by his father and newly hired agent. He then threw a party for his rescuers with some of the earnings, reputed to be between £50,000 and £100,000, which he made by selling his story to the Australian media.

First World War veteran Henry Allingham – who last month officially became the world's oldest man – has died at the age of 113. Mr Allingham died in his sleep at 3.10am on Saturday at his care home near Brighton. He had lived a full life, experiencing the rule of six monarchs and saw three different centuries. He was the last surviving founder member of the RAF and had volunteered for service in the first world war. There are two remaining British servicemen who saw action in that war. When receiving official recognition as the world’s oldest man by the Guiness Book of Records, Mr Allingham jokingly attributed his longevity to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women". Right up until the end of his life he had been active and was well known in local schools where he gave many speeches about World War I. A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen was saddened to hear of the death of Henry Allingham.

The United States and Colombia are poised to sign an agreement to transfer anti-drug flight operations from Ecuador to at least three Colombian air bases, a move that has drawn criticism in Bogota that it will leave the country even more dependent on Washington. Colombia annually receives more than $500 million in mostly military aid under Plan Colombia, the U.S. program to combat terrorism and drugs. Since 1999, the U.S. aircraft based in Manta, Ecuador, have flown an average 800 missions a year and assisted in nearly two-thirds of all cocaine seizures in the Pacific. The Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa declined to extend the U.S. lease at Manta beyond this year. Colombia is by far the strongest ally of the USA in the region with most other governments leaning too much to the left. There is fear in Washington that in setting up the main base of operations in wartorn Colombia, they may become easy targets for the FARC, who are opposed to imperialism in Colombia.

A 16-year-old girl from Wales who made history when she had a donor heart grafted onto her own as a baby has made a full recovery. Doctors say Hannah Clark's own heart is now in perfect working order three-and-a-half years after her "piggy-back" donor heart was removed. The donor heart had taken over the bulk of blood pumping duties in her body but due to the massive amount of immunosuppressant drugs she was taking to prevent rejection of the donor organ, it was decided that it was time to remove the donor heart. Hannah, from Mountain Ash in Rhondda Cynon Taf, has recovered well say her surgeons Sir Magdi and Mr Victor Tsang. Hannah said she felt lucky to be alive. "I would not have been here today if it wasn't for the donor and the surgeons who did my operation. I'm really grateful.”

Riot police raided a 30th birthday barbecue in a Devon because they thought the organiser, who had invited his friends via Facebook, was staging a rave. Coach driver, Andrew Poole, had invited 17 guests to an 'event' on his social networking page by private invitation and was about to light the barbecue when the gazebo suddenly started flapping wildly and the sound of chopper blades filled the air. A police helicopter circled the field several times before four police cars and a riot van stormed into the field in a small village near Sowton, Devon. Eight officers wearing camouflage trousers and body armour then jumped out and ordered the party to be shut down or everyone would be arrested. Andrew said 'I told them it was my 30th birthday. I said "this is a once in a lifetime event for me, please don't ruin it". But they kept on insisting I had been advertising it as an all-night rave on the internet. Apparently illegal raves had been causing disturbances in the area. It is nice to know that police resources are being spent appropriately and that they are monitoring potentially disruptive social gatherings on social networks.

An Iranian passenger aircraft flying from Tehran to Yerevan in Armenia crashed with the loss of all 168 passengers and crew on board. Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation said it was looking into the causes of the incident without giving any indication of possible mechanical problems. There were no reports of sabotage. The aircraft was a Russian-built Tupolev, which belonged to the semi-private Caspian Airlines. It took off at 11.33am local time on Wednesday from Imam Khomeini airport and crashed 16 minutes later. Iran's national youth judo team, which had been set to take part in the World Cup next month in Hungary, was on board along with tens of Iranian Armenians, the religious minority. Ilna, a semi-official news agency, quoted witnesses as saying that the tail of the aircraft was on fire before the crash happened, indicating that technical reasons could have caused the disaster.

The interim government in Honduras has reimposed a night-time curfew after accusing opponents of seeking to provoke disturbances. Supporters of the ousted President, Manuel Zelaya, had earlier said they would call strikes and block roads. Mr Zelaya, who is recognised internationally, says his backers have "the right to insurrection". Roberto Micheletti took over at the head of a military-backed interim Honduran government after Mr Zelaya was bundled out of the country on 28 June. Micheletti said he was willing to step down, but only if Mr Zelaya did not return. Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is the chief mediator between the rival factions and is a Nobel Prize laureate.

Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian militant group inspired by Al-Qaeda, stands accused of suicide bombings in the Indonesian capital where it has mounted a string of attacks in recent years. JI's ultimate goal is to unite Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines into a fundamentalist Islamic state, using terrorist attacks to destabilise governments across Southeast Asia. In its latest handiwork, two suicide bombers posed as guests before detonating powerful devices in crowded public areas at the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in an upmarket business district of Jakarta. The blasts killed at least eight people and wounded more than 50 — and broke a four-year lull in terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

A man found naked at a casino claimed he was a Terminator sent from the future. 19-year-old Sean Stanley Smith was arrested on the Nevada border after he was spotted by a motorist wandering around the highway nude. He was ordered by police to stop but proceeded into a nearby casino - where he was then tasered in front of a group of children. Smith claims he was a Terminator sent back in time from the future - a reference to the film character made popular by Arnold Schwarznegger in the sci-fi franchise. The films usually start with a naked man being transported to the past. However, it turned out that Smith was not a time-travelling Terminator but was in fact suffering from the effects of LSD and marijuana. He was charged with indecent exposure and resisting a police officer.

And this week's top story...

Dozens of British schoolchildren and teachers were in quarantine in a hotel in Beijing on Saturday night after four of their group were struck down with swine flu. Three of the infected four, who are aged 14 to 15, were found to have high temperatures when they arrived in the Chinese capital earlier in the week. They were taken direct from the airport to the Ditan Infectious Diseases Hospital where it was confirmed they had swine flu. A fourth classmate fell ill later in the week. The four remain at the hospital, where they have been described as "comfortable and making a speedy recovery". On Wednesday, following the diagnosis, 52 other members of their group who had been in contact with the children were told to gather at the four star Yanxiang Hotel, where they were placed in quarantine. The party is mostly made up of 14-year-olds from schools across England on a visit organised by the Confucius Institute, which promotes Chinese language and culture.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 27 12.07.09

2009-07-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 12th July 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news...

The News of the World paper has apparently been employing private detectives to hack into and monitor the mobile phones of many celebrities. Among the targeted were John Prescott, Max Clifford, Tessa Jowell and Gordon Taylor, Chief Executive of the PFA. It is believed that in order not to expose the methods used, the parent company of the newspaper, News Group Newspapers, has made three bumper out of court settlement payments exceeding £1 million. Apparently the police were well aware of who was being monitored by the newspaper yet failed to inform the victims of the breach of their privacy or prosecuting anyone, leading John Prescott to question the police’s actions. The story was revealed in the Guardian newspaper based on information from police sources.

President Obama returned to the continent of his ancestors for a presidential visit Saturday, praising Africa's democratic successes but also challenging leaders to fight corruption and violence. In Accra, addressing the Ghanaian Parliament he said that history would favour leaders who "respect the will of their own people, like those who have opposed violence in Kenya and promoted free elections in Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Rather than visiting his father's home of Kenya, which saw intense postelection violence, Obama decided to visit Ghana -- saying he wanted to draw attention to the country's history of free elections and peaceful transfer of power between opposition parties. After a sombre tour of a former slave market, Obama concluded a weeklong foreign trip with a promise that he will make Africa a central part of his approach to foreign policy.

A science teacher at All Saints’ Roman Catholic School in Mansfield has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder a pupil in front of a packed class. Peter Harvey - affectionately dubbed "The Nutty Professor" - allegedly used a heavy metal weight to attack 14-year-old Jack Waterhouse, leaving him fighting for life. Apparently Mr Harvey lost his cool after a girl swore at him. When Jack tried intervening in the dispute the violent incident erupted. As Jack lay with blood pouring from his wounds, a boy and girl - both also 14 - reportedly dragged Harvey from his victim and restrained him. The teacher was apparently off work with stress earlier this year and although known as an eccentric, has no history of violence. Internet sites were set up in support of both pupil and teacher.

Michael Jackson's family have held a private funeral ceremony for the deceased pop singer in Los Angeles. Nearby, thousands of fans gathered to say their goodbyes to the pop star at a star-studded memorial service held at the Staples Center. It is uncertain what will happen to the body… A hearse removed the gold coffin containing the star but didn’t go to the cemetery… It is thought that the family are trying to arrange for Michael to be buried at Neverland. Jackson’s sister La Toya has been busy talking up her theories to the press. She says that Michael was murdered for his money. His father has been busy using the event’s publicity to promote his own music company. Sales of Michael Jackson albums are doublie the normal weekly amounts. Compilation Number Ones was the best-selling album followed by 1982 album Thriller.

A man has been jailed for life for murdering a father-of-two and trying to kill his 14-year-old son who were going to watch an Everton football match. Former Army corporal Graham McKenna, 45, was stabbed to death near his home in Wirral, Merseyside. His son Michael was stabbed but survived. At Liverpool Crown Court Gary Finlay, 46, pleaded guilty to the murder and attempted murder in January. He was sentenced this week to a minimum of twenty-five years in jail. Finlay was angry after his marriage to Mr McKenna’s wife sister broke down and after losing access to his children in a custody battle in which his inlaws gave evidence, he had vowed revenge. After the incident he went on the run and police launched a massive manhunt which lasted six weeks.

The fourth anniversary of the July 7th London bombings passed with a memorial service held in Hyde Park to commemorate the 52 victims of the suicide bombers who attacked the London Underground and a bus. Prince Charles paid tribute to the families who had lost loved ones saying that their bravery "offered us hope for the future". The victims' relatives at the unveiling said the permanent memorial, between the park's Lover's Walk and Park Lane, was a "fitting tribute". The launch of this memorial was attended by many major politicians and also members of the emergency services who were forced to deal with the crisis on that terrible day. The lives of London commuters has forever been scarred by the incident.

The number of British dead in Afghanistan has exceeded the amount killed during the second Gulf War after a particularly brutal period for the armed forces in which, during ten days, fifteen soldiers were killed. UK troops have spent recent weeks on an offensive - codenamed Panther's Claw – in order to ensure security ahead of the forthcoming Afghanistan elections. The extra deaths have been blamed on the use of improvised roadside bombs which are responsible for most of the casualties. Commanders spend a lot of time asking for more troops and better supplies and their voices are often overlooked by politicians. Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth rejected claims UK troops in Afghanistan are ill-equipped, saying more helicopters could not remove risk. Prime Minister Gordon Brown insists the mission is showing "signs of success".

Daniel Jimeno Romero, a 27-year-old from Madrid, was gored to death during the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona and nine others were injured in what became the bloodiest run in decades. Mr Romero died after a bull's horn pierced his neck and lungs during the half mile sprint through the cobbled streets of the northern Spanish town. He is the first man to be gored to death during the run for 14 years. Each morning at 8 o'clock during the eight-day fiesta six fighting bulls are released to stampede through the winding streets to the bullring. Fuelled by alcohol during what has become one of Europe's biggest street parties, participants test their bravado and sprint alongside the bulls while attempting to dodge their horns. Friday's run, the fourth of this year's San Fermin festival was described as the bloodiest in decades and raised the death toll to 15 since record-keeping began in 1911.

World leaders gathered together in Italy for the G8 summit at the earthquake city of L'Aquila. Top of the agenda was climate change and the economic crisis. Gordon Brown was suave at the meeting and sat perched next to Obama throughout, looking good for the media back home. It was agreed to cut emissions by 80% by 2050. This was criticised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who said that not enough was being done by the world’s eight most industrious nations. The leaders went on to discuss how to deal with the possibility that a fragile global economy could suffer a double-dip recession. Also, there was talk on the prevention of nuclear weapons getting into the hands of North Korea and Iran.

And this week's top story...

Groups of ethnic Han Chinese have marched through the city of Urumqi carrying clubs and machetes, as tension grows between ethnic groups and police. Security forces imposed a curfew and fired tear gas to disperse the crowds, who said they were angry at violence carried out by ethnic Muslim Uighurs. The Uighurs are Muslims who are predominantly based in north-western China's Xinjiang region. Officials say 156 people - mostly ethnic Han Chinese - died in the violence. One official described Sunday's unrest as the "deadliest riot since New China was founded in 1949". President Obama joined other world leaders in urging the Chinese governement to exercise restraint when dealing with the incident.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 26 05.07.09

2009-07-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today’s date is Sunday, 5th July 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard. Here are the stories making this week’s news.

At least 13 people died in a horrible accident in Northern Italy when a train carrying liquid petroleum gas derailed and exploded. At least 36 people were injured, 15 of those are in a critical condition. Most of those affected lived in local houses. The accident happened near the train station in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio, about 350 kilometres north of Rome. Eyewitness Gianfranco Bini said, "We saw a ball of fire rising up to the sky. We heard three big rumbles, like bombs. It looked like war had broken out." Firefighters battled overnight to contain blazes started by at least three explosions. Over a thousand people were evacuated from their homes.

Former England soccer star, Michael Owen, has committed one of football’s cardinal sins. The former Liverpool schoolboy who went on to carve worldwide fame for himself while at Liverpool, caused massive upset when he left the Merseysiders for Real Madrid. After a relatively unsuccessful period at the Bernabeu, Owen returned to England, to Newcastle United. Newcastle have just been relegated and out of contract Owen signed for Manchester United. The rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester means that there is very little movement of players between the clubs. Owen, a former winner of the Ballon D’Or, and once regarded as one of the best strikers on the planet, has in recent years had a loss of form, with many nasty injuries and has also lost his place in the national team. Maybe the new European Champions believe that they can reignite this once great player’s career?

Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, 79 and in poor health, was denied parole after Justice Secretary Jack Straw vetoed the decision which was supposed to have released him. In 1963 Biggs was part of a gang which robbed a Glasgow to London mail train and escaped with £2.6m in used bank notes, the biggest haul of an era when many criminals became celebrities. In 1964 Biggs escaped from Wandsworth prison and began a life on the run which ended in 2001 when he left his refuge in Brazil and returned to Britain where he began a jail sentence. Throughout his years on the run, Biggs regularly courted the media and even appeared as a guest vocalist on a Sex Pistols song. In recent years his health has declined and he is currently being treated at a Norwich hospital. He son spoke of the heartlessness of the Justice Secretary, not to release a man on compassionate grounds. It is Biggs’ dream to die a free Englishman in his own country and he has appointed lawyers who are questioning the legality of Jack Straw’s decision.

Two German Shepherd police dogs have died after being left in a hot car by their handler. The dogs were found dead in a police car parked outside Nottinghamshire's force headquarters in Arnold at 2.15pm on Wednesday. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is deciding on whether or not to allow the RSPCA to investigate the matter. The maximum sentence for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is six months in prison and a £20,000 fine. Nottinghamshire Police said the handler has not been suspended. It can take just 20 minutes for a dog to die and temperatures reach over 40 degrees in some vehicles. On the day of the incident temperatures hit 29.4 degrees centigrade in Nottingham. It is believed the dogs' handler was not on duty at the time and had called in to the force's headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, leaving the dogs to over-heat in the parked car.

The National Express franchise of the East Coast mainline announced that it had run out of money for the year and the government stepped in and nationalised the stricken rail service. The rail economy, although private, is heavily dependent on the state of the economy as user figures are very closely correlated with it. The economic conditions of three years ago when National Express made a successful bid were soon to change and what was considered a medium risk venture has now collapsed. The Transport Secretary threatened to also immediately take two other National Express franchises into state ownership. Lord Adonis went on to say, “It is simply unacceptable to reap the benefits of contracts when times are good, only to walk away from them when times become more challenging.” There were reports that National Express offered the government £100 million in cash in order to end the contract. National Express are better known for their ventures in national coach travel.

Mourning for the dead pop singer Michael Jackson continued. The family announced that there would be no public showing of the body. There was a scramble for lottery won tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial with 8500 lucky ‘winners’ instantly putting their tickets up for auction. Jackson’s will made preparations for the care of his children. He stated that if his mother were unable to look after the three kids then they should be handed over to Diana Ross’ care. It is believed that his ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, intends to fight a custody battle. Recent video footage of the star’s gruelling preparations for his forthcoming tour were released. Fellow superstar Madonna gave a special tribute to Michael Jackson, fittingly at the O2 Arena in London where Jackson had intended to begin his final farewell concerts…

British police have called off their 45-year search for the last missing Moors murder victim Keith Bennett. Bennett was just 12 when he became the third victim of notorious killers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady in June 1964. Hindley and Brady killed a total of five youngsters between 1963 and 1965 before burying them on Saddleworth Moor, Greater Manchester. Bennett was the only victim whose remains were never found. Bennett's mother Winnie Johnson, 75, was devastated by the police decision to end the search for her son. Brady, 71, remains in Ashworth high security hospital in Liverpool. Hindley died aged 60 of a heart attack while in jail in 2002.

The sole survivor of Yemenia Flight 626 could barely swim and didn't have a life jacket. When Bahia Bakari's airplane crashed into the stormy Indian Ocean this week, killing 152 other passengers and crew, the 12-year-old girl suddenly found herself in the watery darkness. She could hear the voices of other passengers, but couldn't see anyone, including her mother who perished. For 13 hours, Bahia clung to debris until she was rescued. Back now in France with her father Kassim, he commented, "I would never have thought she would have survived like this. I can't say that it's a miracle, I can say that it is God's will." Research has been produced that apparently sitting towards the rear of an aircraft encourages your chances of surviving a crash so the advantages of flying first class and business class do have certain drawbacks…

A tower block fire in South London left six people dead including a three week old baby and two children. About 30 people were rescued from the fire at the 12-storey Lakanal House on the Sceaux Gardens Estate, Camberwell. The blaze started on the ninth floor, at 1620 BST on Friday. Of the 30 people rescued, 15 were taken to hospital for treatment, including three who died. Fire bosses believe it will take "weeks if not months" to establish how the blaze, in south-east London, happened and the whole area was being treated as a crime scene so many people weren’t allowed to return to their homes. Harriet Harman MP, whose constituency includes the tower block, said it was "clearly a very tragic situation".

And this week’s top story…

The lawn tennis championships at Wimbledon have concluded for yet another year. The weather throughout the tournament was surprisingly good with Britain experiencing an early summer heatwave. Serena Williams upstaged her big sister, Venus, in a closely fought Ladies Singles final. Serena turned on the heat in the final set, winning four games in a row to finish with a score of 7-6, 6-2. Her victory makes a mockery of the world rankings system which states that Dinara Safina is the best player in the world despite having not won a grand slam. In the men’s tennis, Britain’s great hope did as well as Tim Henman had done previously, by making it to a semifinal. But unfortunately for the excited strawberry eating, cream-slurping fans, Murray got knocked out by Andy Roddick. Federer went on to win the final after a prolonged battle with Roddick which never seemed to want to end. 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14 were the final scores. The victory was the Fed Express’ 15th Grand Slam title, helping him take an onlooking Pete Sampras’ record. The win means that Roger Federer reclaims the No1 world ranking spot ahead of injured Rafael Nadal.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 25 28.06.09

2009-06-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 28th June 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news…

The world of football had one of its biggest ever shocks this week when underdogs, USA, beat tournament favourites, Spain, in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa. Spain had a world record of 15 consecutive wins and had been unbeaten in 35 matches. The USA had been comprehensively beaten by Italy and Brazil earlier in the tournament. Goalkeeper Tim Howard kept them in the game. Goals came from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. The winning scoreline was 2-0. Their win makes it the first time that they will appear in the final of a major international tournament. The USA face Brazil in the final who promise that their own weak semifinal performance against South Africa will be bettered.

Nine people were killed and about 70 injured in a subway train crash in Washington DC. Carriages of one of the trains came to rest on top of the other after a moving train hit a stationary vehicle above ground near a station. The crash which was the worst in the 33 years of the Metro system, happened above ground between Fort Totten and Takoma at 1700 local time on Monday. Two men and seven women died, including Jeanice McMillan, 42, who was the driver of the moving train. The train that crashed was part of a fleet of older carriages and the ongoing investigation into the crash is gathering details from the black box recorders to try to find out what caused it.

Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite". The kangaroo-like marsupials have been getting into poppy fields grown for medicine in Tasmania. Australia supplies about 50% of the world's legally-grown opium used to make morphine and other painkillers. Apparently the effect of stoned animals grazing on opium and then walking around in circles till they fall over in a heap was first noticed in sheep. The circle hopping wallabies are the latest revelation in the global crop circle mystery which often blames aliens for the strange designs in fields. The evidence on the phenomenon was presented to the Australian government as part of a report on the security for poppy crops.

The row over MPs expenses has spilled over to other areas of the public sector. The BBC’s director general Mark Thompson has said £350,000 in expenses claims paid out to the corporation's top executives was "reasonable and justified". He defended his decision to publish the salaries of executives but not of BBC talent. Claims included luxury hotels, vintage champagne, parties and a private aeroplane. There was public demand to discover what amounts were being paid to the BBC’s so-called ‘stars’ but Thompson said that in such a competitive industry as that of entertainment, where there was no history of such disclosure, in publishing salary information the BBC could potentially face a talent drain.

A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum. About 127 people were wounded by the blast in the poor, mostly Shi'ite Muslim area. A witness said the explosion tore through a part of the Mraidi Market where birds are sold, setting stalls ablaze. Bloodshed has dropped sharply across Iraq in the past year, but militants including Sunni Islamist al Qaeda continue to launch car and suicide bombings aimed at undermining the government and reigniting sectarian conflict. Wednesday's market bombing came four days after the U.S. military formally handed control to local forces in Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi forces fought fierce battles against Shi'ite militiamen in the spring of 2008.

The Swine Flu endemic continues to engulf the globe. Statistics show that there are now more than 1 million cases in the US. In Britain. There are 3600 confirmed cases with only one death so far. The worst hit areas in the UK are the West Midlands, London and Glasgow. The West Midlands has about twice as many cases (more than a thousand) than each of the other two areas. Two university students and a ten year old have showed signs of the disease at the Glastonbury music festival. Due to the rapid spread of the disease, UK officials have dismissed the possibility of containment exercises by closing schools . 29 schools where cases of the disease have been found are indeed staying open. Officials have remarked how surprised they are at the unexpected low death levels that the pandemic has induced so far across the world.

Popular BBC television series Top Gear has pulled a remarkable publicity coup. The hit series for car lovers, presented by Jeremy Clarkson, has a cult driver, The Stig, whose white suit and crash helmet keep his identity disguised as he performs driving feats. He has a massive following and to mark the start of a new series, presenter Clarkson promised a moment in television history to ‘rival the moon landings and JR’s shooting.’ The Stig was unveiled, to everyone’s surprise, as former German formula 1 world champion, Michael Schumacher. Doubters of the veracity of this mystery solution were immediate and the internet was full of conspiracy theories. At the end of the show doubt was cast on Michael Schumacher’s Stig as he made a terrible mess of a test drive. Publicity stunt or not, does the Stig’s identity remain a mystery? It is certainly no mystery that viewing figures rose substantially.

A gunman opened fire in a packed restaurant in West London on Friday night. A man and a fifteen year old boy are suffering from non life threatening bullet wounds. The incident occurred at Harry Morgan's restaurant in St John's Wood High Street, a relatively affluent area of the capital. Pop star Rachel Stevens was dining at the venue at the time. A spokeswoman for the former S Club 7 member said: "Rachel and her family were in a restaurant where there was gunfire. It was very frightening for everyone there but none of the diners were hurt." A man in a motorbike helmet brandishing two automatic pistols chased the two victims into the restaurant and opened fire, sending diners scurrying to the floor to hide beneath their tables. Harry Morgan's was established in 1948 by a London butcher and has been shortlisted in the Evening Standard Restaurant Awards. Fortunately none of the diners were hurt.

Britain has expelled two Iranian diplomats from the country in a clear sign of ever-worsening relations with the Middle Eastern country. The decision was made by the Prime Minister as a tit-for-tat response after two British diplomats were expelled from Tehran. As the post-election crisis continues further foreign influence carries on. President Obama said Mir Hossein Mousavi, the head of the opposition, had captured the imagination of groups in Iran that were interested in opening up to the world. Dr Arash Hejazi, who is studying at a university in the south of England, has spoken of the moments when he tended to the shot female protestor, Neda Agha-Soltan, who bled to death. President Ahmadinejad accuses foreign governments of stirring up the current troubles and his paranoia is not without reason as the history of Iran is full of foreign intelligence inspired coups, in particular coups provoked by the CIA and SIS or British MI6.

And this week’s top story…

‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson has died suddenly after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home. After collapsing, his personal physician failed to revive him and ambulance crews rushed the singer to the UCLA medical centre where he was pronounced dead. The star was fifty years old and was in preparations for a heavily scheduled farewell world tour, commencing with a series of gigs at London’s O2 Arena. Fans immediately began congregating outside the hospital and rumours flew across the media. It was the biggest ever single news event on twitter and all major web services reported carrying capacity problems, including Google who thought that they were under attack by spammers. Michael Jackson was one of the most famous people on the planet and not since the death of Elvis Presley has such a death devastated the entertainment world. His album, Thriller is the biggest selling album of all time. Jackson’s life was surrounded by a media circus and his death appears no different. He is often mocked for his extensive plastic surgery and the controversial child abuse court case severely affected his reputation in recent years. However, I am sure that the annals of history will remember this star, who has died before his time, for his remarkable catalogue of hit pop music. Rest in Peace, Michael Jackson.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 28th June 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news…

And this week’s top story…

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 24 21.06.09

2009-06-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today is the summer solstice, 21st June 2009. here are the stories making the news this week.

647 workers at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire were sacked after they called wildcat strikes. Their unsympathetic employers, French oil giant Total, had been in a bitter dispute with the union who claimed that promises not to make further job cuts had been broken. The refinery had been subject to strikes against the use of foreign labour back in January. The latest row began after Total sacked 51 employees working on a construction project at the plant. Workers who joined the wildcat action included those at the Staythorpe power station in Nottinghamshire, Ferrybridge power station in Yorkshire and around 1,100 construction workers building a bio-fuel plant on Teesside. Total apparently didn't turn up to a meeting with the union and the leader of the GMB Union, Paul Kenny, said: "Total has not even had the decency or courtesy to turn up at the meeting that they themselves arranged... Bullying and intimidation is not the way to bring about peace."

A truck bomb killed 64 people near the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, the country's bloodiest attack in 15 months. The attack, which also wounded 202 people, struck near a mosque in Taza Kharmatu, a predominantly Turkmen Shiite town south of Kirkuk, at around 1:00 pm on Saturday and claimed women and children among its victims, officials said. More than one ton of explosives was used in the bombing. Kirkuk, north of Baghdad, is plagued with intercommunal tensions among its Kurdish, Turkmen and Arab communities.

Scotland Yard has decided to launch an investigation into MPs' misuse of expenses. Its economic and specialist crime command will investigate several MPs, Labour's Elliot Morley and David Chaytor have admitted that they are among those under scrutiny. Both apparently claimed interest payments on mortgages they had already paid off. They have been barred by Labour in standing at the next election. Scotland Yard have previously made parliamentary investigations which have ended in no criminal prosecutions. In addition to this new leaf in the ongoing saga, it has been revealed that over 50 MPs had been guilty of overclaiming their council tax expenses. After checking data with local town halls it was discovered that these MPs had falsely inflated the amount that they were actually being charged.

The British and Irish Lions played the first test in their tour of South Africa and were unfortunate to lose. A disappointing first half left them trailing to the hosts by about twenty points. The Lions forwards were letting them down with Phil Vickery performing badly in the scrummage and the Lions lacking the Southern Hemisphere ferocity at the breakdown. Changes were made and the Lions started a comeback which left South Africa shellshocked but it was too little too late and the match was abruptly ended by an under-the-cosh South Africa with them pipping the legendary tourists to a 26-21 defeat and condemning the Lions to the necessity of another comeback if they wish to gain victory in the overall series.

A record crowd has gathered at Stonehenge to witness the summer solstice. 36,500 people gathered at the prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain to watch the sun rise, putting massive pressure on local transport infrastructure. By 3AM revellers were struggling to lift their beer cans to their mouths. Sensibly, the druids held their ceremony beside the heel stone, a leaning monolithic a few dozen yards from the main stone circle. They were joined by a group of Papuans who made the pilgrimage in an effort to draw attention to their struggle with the Indonesian authorities in their homeland. The record crowds were lucky enough in that the sun was shining. The high numbers are due to the solstice falling on a weekend this year.

A row has erupted in Formula 1, threatening to end the sport as we know it. The eight Fota teams - McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Brawn, Toro Rosso, Renault and Toyota - released a statement declaring their intention to quit Formula 1 and set up a breakaway group. Their move is as a protest to the planned budget caps which would limit the amount of money each team could spend. Also they are discontented with FIA President Max Mosley who they see as having an autocratic grip on the sport. He allowed the Concorde agreement to lapse which gave the teams rights in determining the rules and regulations of the sport. Mosley described the breakaway threat as "posing and posturing", adding: "Always with these things in the end there's a compromise."

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Spacecraft are on their way to the moon atop the same Atlas V rocket. LRO will go into orbit around the moon, turning its suite of instruments towards the moon for thorough studies. The spacecraft also will be looking for potential landing sites for astronauts. NASA plan on landing humans on the moon again some time before 2020. In addition to the probing, the current mission, which is due to reach lunar orbit on Thursday, will be seeking to find sources of water on the Moon.

Pressure on the Labour government continued with Hazel Blears, the former communities secretary, narrowly escaping deselection in her Salford constituency. Her decision to quit the cabinet prior to the European elections was said to have been within a hair's breadth of bringing down Gordon Brown. The Prime Minister, this week, spoke of not enjoying the pressures of office and how he could quite easily walk away from his position. The trappings of power continue to haunt him at cabinet level as he faced a hostile pack regarding his plans for taking on the Tories at the next election.

The Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq have handed over two dead bodies to British government officials in Iraq. The dead men have been identified as security guards, Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, from Glasgow. They were part of the hostage party seized by militants in 2007. They had been guarding computer expert Peter Moores, who remains hostage with two other guards. It is believed that the release of the bodies was a goodwill gesture after Laith al-Khazali was released by the Americans last week. The British government has a policy of not paying extortionate ransoms for kidnapped Brits, which has been criticised and also praised.

And this week's top story...

The aftermath of the controversial Iranian election has been the principal headline of the week. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke out against foreign nations and claimed that the UK was the most evil of all these governments. the Iranians have criticised international media bias in its reporting and believes that the current unrest is a result of foreign stirrings. Riots between police and opposition protestors has left at least ten people dead. Authorities are firing into crowds of demonstrators with live ammo. The BBC, whose Persian language channel is very popular in Iran, has evacuated its main Tehran correspondent. There has been a general media blackout in the Pariah state and people there have turned to social networks in their droves to push information out. President Obama has begun to criticise the events after initially maintaining silence.

That's all for Newslip this week. Thanks for tuning in. See you all again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 23 14.06.09

2009-06-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today's date is Sunday, 14th June 2009. Here are the stories making this week's news.

The fugitive Bosnian Serb army commander, Ratko Mladic, has caused controversy after a documentary was aired on Sarajevo television showing the perpetuator of genocide enjoying himself at a wedding, holidaying at a ski resort and openly cavorting with other renegade former army officers, who are also wanted for their crimes against humanity. Serbia, as one of its conditions for joining the EU, is under international pressure to capture Mladic and hand him over to international authorities. A former bodyguard revealed that until 2002 Mladic roamed freely in Belgrade. He is wanted primarily for causing the massacre of 8000 Bosnian Muslims at Srebenica. Last year the high profile Radovan Karadzic was extradicted to The Hague and it is hoped that Mladic will follow.

The close season in football has begun with a bang. Fresh from his double medal tally, Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo has shattered the world transfer record with a much anticipated move to Real Madrid. £80 million was the tag for the deal which apparently was agreed last summer, Real have been blowing a huge budget, reigniting the famed 'Galactico' era. In addition to the purchase of former world player of the year, Ronaldo, Los Blancos have spent £60 million on AC Milan's Kaka and another £100 million on five other players. They have not yet closed the chequebook either, as Florentino Perez, in his second time as president, is upping the chase for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso. Ronaldo was his club's top scorer last season with 26 goals and his presence in the Premiership may well be sorely missed.

North Korea has done little to improve its international relations this week as it sentenced two American journalists to 12 years hard labour. The country has recently received widespread criticism for its militaristic shimmies to the outside world as it tests nuclear bombs and long range missiles, launches satellites and has a bellicose attitude to its regional neighbours. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were reporting at the Chinese-North Korea border, on the issue of illegal immigrants seeking refuge in China. South Korean news agencies claim that North Korean guards crossed into China to arrest the women but Pyongyang claims that they were caught illegally acting within the secretive state's territory. It is anticipated that the women will be used as bargaining chips in the high stakes diplomatic poker game so that North Korea can secure direct talks with US government officials. The USA has no diplomatic presence in North Korea and relies on representation by the Swedish embassy.

A man and two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Ben Kinsella who was stabbed 11 times after a row in a north London bar. The brother of Eastenders star Brooke Kinsella was out celebrating the end of his GCSE exams when he apparently gave a look out of turn at the armed gang. There was a confrontation outside the pub and Michael Alleyne, 18, Juress Kika, 19 and Jade Braithwaite, 20, all from London, stabbed Kinsella eleven times in five seconds. The murderers were all given life sentences for their crime and their lawyers presented letters from prison authorities saying that all were at risk of retribution inside prison.

Hopes are rising for the release of five British hostages who have been held in Iraq since May 2007. The Americans this week released an Iraqi militiaman who had been held for the murder of US soldiers. This gesture of goodwill may pave the way for some concessions by the captors of the Britons who were snatched from the Finance Ministry. US and UK officials, however, claim that the release of Shia leader Laith al-Khazali was not done in anticipation of a hostage exchange program. Computer expert Peter Moore and his four bodyguards may have longer to wait till they achieve their freedom though now Britain has reduced its miltary efforts in Iraq, maybe the wait will not be too prolonged.

American Amanda Knox has spent two days in court, giving evidence at her trial for the murder of British housemate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. The trial has been underway since January. Knox is co-accused with her Italian boyfriend, Rafaelle Sollecito, of the murder of the Leeds University language exchange student. In her evidence Knox revealed that she had been heavily smoking cannabis on the day of the incident and that when she was arrested she spent her time at the police station throwing cartwheels to ease the tension. She did little to change her pleas of innocence. It is alleged that the attack had sexual motives. The worldwide media have been drawn to the case and the American is known by her nickname, 'Foxy Knoxy'.

Terrorist attacks still continue to disrupt Pakistan with several bomb attacks being launched this week. Four soldiers were killed and fifty injured at an army mosque in Nowshera. At least seven died at a market in Dera Ismail Khan and another fifty were injured. Another bombing also hit Peshawar, the eighth there in a month, following on from last week's hotel attack where two UN workers died. The internal struggle in Pakistan continues with Islamic militants trying to do all they can to counter the government offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley.

BNP leader, Nick Griffin, in jubilant mood after his victory in the European elections last week, went to Parliament where angry anti-fascist protestors demonstrated and attacked him with eggs. The BNP publicly complained that the Metropolitan Police had not done enough to stop protesters disrupting its Westminster news conference. Later in the week, Griffin mocked the incident as he convened on more familiar territory at the Ace of Diamonds pub in Manchester near the contituency in which he was elected. Extremist views are a challenge to Britain's democratic rights.

A Swedish art project using carrots as explosives has caused a scare after the imitation bombs were mistaken to be the real thing. Artist Conny Blom set up The Bunny Project: Bombs, at 15 locations near the southern Swedish city of Orebro. He taped bunches of carrots together with black tape and attached blue and red wires and a clock to them. The art was removed and Blom may face charges. He described his work as a harmless stunt.

And this week's top story...

The Iranian Presidential elections took place and President Ahmadinejad was successfully re-elected, contrary to many Western observers' hopes. The election had a very high turnout of more than 85%. After the results were announced, trouble flared up in Tehran. Defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi called for the results to be annulled. Rather than the standard 'Death to America' chants that normally emit from Iranians who gather en masse, the angry mobs shouted 'death to the dictator' and were beaten back by baton wielding police. Official results gave Mr Ahmadinejad a landslide victory. His final share of the vote was almost 63%. The result was quickly endorsed by Ayatollah Khamenei despite claims of massive electoral fraud.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 22 07.06.09

2009-06-07T23:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard.Today's date is Sunday, 7th June 2009 and here are the stories making this week's news...

The twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre passed this week with no official recognition from China other than the mass deployment of security forces in Beijing where they outnumbered tourists and ensured that no protestors would gather in a country where to even speak of Tiananmen is illegal. On June 4th 1989, angry students, who sought more political rights, were confronted by Chinese army tanks. Scores of peaceful protestors were massacred that day in an event which shocked the world and presented the ruling communist party of China in a very unfavourable light. The past twenty years have seen China truly rise to the world stage as a superpower. However, as protestors gathered to commemorate the event in international cities, the general consensus was that despite the economic leap forward, political rights in China had hardly changed at all. Today’s student generation are in general politically apathetic.

One of Britain’s Got Talent’s stars has been admitted to a mental hospital suffering from exhaustion. Susan Boyle was runner up on the TV talent contest and her dowdy and unglamorous appearance captivated the imagination of global viewers. After coming second in the contest’s final when she lost out to dance troupe, Diversity, from London, the visibly shaken unemployed church volunteer, broke down and was admitted to the Priory clinic suffering from mental exhaustion. The singer had been born with slight brain damage after suffering from lack of oxygen at birth. Despite her loss in the final of the show, Boyle is undoubtedly the show’s star. Her performances have received over 200 million Youtube downloads and she has been invited to appear on Oprah Winfrey and Larry King’s US show. It is expected that Simon Cowell is likely to cash in on her success by signing her up in a music deal. After spending less than a week in the celebrity clinic, Boyle left for home in a central London flat where it is hoped that the press will cease camping out on her doorstep and allow her to recover.

Actor David Carradine has been found dead in his Bangkok hotel room. The star of Kill Bill made his name as Caine in the cult 1970s TV series Kung Fu. The Thai Police say that he was found naked in his wardrobe with a cord tied around his neck. They have initially said that they believe the death was a suicide and cctv footage suggests that he was alone in his hotel room at the time of death. However, foul play has not been ruled out and close friends of the actor have stated that he was suffering from no form of depression. The FBI have been asked to investigate. Controversial photos of the death scene were printed in the Thai press and Carradine’s family have threatened to sue any news outlet that reprints the pictures.

Eating a curry once or twice a week can, according to American research, prevent the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The key ingredient is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric. Curcumin appears to prevent the spread of amyloid protein plaques - thought to cause dementia - in the brain. It is known that Turmeric is a very useful anti-cancer spice. Some sceptics at the Royal College of Psychiatrists have poured scorn on the findings and the incomplete research is set to be put to the test by studying the effects of curry bingeing when they analyse the effects of people eating curries all week long. Apparently eating a curry could not counter-balance the increased risk of dementia associated with a poor diet. As curry is now the national dish of Britain, there is hope for the future.

Violent clashes between security forces and indigenous people in Peru have led to 31 deaths. In the most intense fighting since trouble began to flare in the Amazon region in April, 22 tribesmen and 9 police died. The natives are incensed by government supported attempts to exploit oil reserves in their territory. New laws that have been passed by Peru’s President, Alan Garcia, also offer up the exploitation of communal land to foreign logging companies, large-scale farming and mining. Most of the trouble occurred six hundred miles to the north of Lima near the town of Bagua. Indigenous leaders say police using helicopters opened fire on demonstrators in the latest incident though the government counter-claimed, equating the locals to criminals and by saying that they were first to open fire.

Neil and Kazumi Puttick were so overcome with grief at their loss of their son, Sam, that they drove to the cliffs in East Sussex and jumped 400ft to their deaths, holding his body in one rucksack and his toys in another. Sam who had as a toddler been paralysed in a car crash, had just died from Meningitis. It has been suggested that his loving parents made a Japanese suicide pact before ending their lives at the notorious Beachy Head blackspot. In the hours after his death they had refused visits from friends. Their devotion to their son during his life was intense and they revealed their anguish in a typewritten note before the final tragic event unfolded.

The 20-20 cricket world cup is underway in Britain with some amazing results captivating the willow world. There was a massive shock on the first day when England lost to cricketing minnows, The Netherlands. Australia also suffered a surprise defeat when they were soundly beaten by the West Indies after an impressive performance by the islanders in which batsman Chris Gayle scored six sixes, resulting in a seven wicket defeat for the world champions with four overs to spare. England managed to salvage a place in the last eight after recovering from the Dutch and beating Pakistan by 48 runs. The tournament continues for the next few weeks and the success of the shortform of cricket looks set to blossom with the exotic nature of results.

Barack Obama made a tour of the Middle East in which he gave speeches reaching out to the Muslim world. He stated that the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the US and Muslims must end. He gave a keynote speech in Cairo, calling for a ‘new beginning’. In his speech he made key references to the Koran. His father is a Muslim and Obama spent part of his early life growing up in the Muslim country of Indonesia. He spoke of hopes for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and also emphasized that Islam had a been a major part of US history and had an important role to play within the USA’s borders. He tried to convey the feeling that he didn’t associate the Islamic militants and their violence with the entire Islamic community. He equated the plight of the Palestinians with that of slaves in America. His addresses were condemned for their inconsistencies by Hamas and the Ayatollah in Iran made a prior speech stating that America was still very much hated in the region.

Voters across Europe went to the polls this week and turned up some surprises in the European elections. On the whole, socialist parties lost out and right-wing parties came out on top. In Britiain the ruling Labour party suffered catastrophic defeat, with many calling for Gordon Brown to resign. Conservatives made good of the voters’ disillusionment with Labour but there were also shock elections to the European parliament for the controversial BNP with them gaining two seats in Brussels due to the proportional representation aspect to the vote. Although the British government felt the worst effects of defeat in Europe, Germany’s ruling Social Democrats and France’s Socialist Party were also heading for historic defeats. Some British Labour MPs stated that they were not concerned too much as they had previously done badly in European polls yet gone on to win in general elections.

And this week's top story...

An Air France plane travelling from Rio Di Janeiro to Paris went missing over the Atlantic and initial attempts at locating the plane were unsuccessful. There were 216 passengers aboard flight 447. Relatives fears for the worst looked substantiated when body parts and plane debris were located in the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. There has however been no confirmation of a crash and location of flight recorders hasn’t succeeded. Experts are baffled as to what may have caused a plane in perfectly good condition to plunge from the sky on a routine flight. 17 bodies have been recovered in total. Among the lost passengers were three Irish doctors of a mainly French and Brazilian populace. It is the second serious plane tragedy in Brazil in the last two years after a major crash in Sao Paolo in 2007 when199 people perished.

That's all for Newslip this week. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 21 31.05.09

2009-05-31T13:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 31st May 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news…

A 61-year old Briton has been killed in a hot air balloon crash in central Turkey. Ten others were injured in the incident, including nine other British tourists and the balloon operator. The balloon was conducting a tour of the Cappadocia region which is popular with tourists for its cone-shaped rock formations, rock-carved underground cities and early Christian churches. The balloon fell from a height of 200m and an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the crash.

Manchester United has lost the Champions League Final against Barcelona. Samuel Eto’o’s early goal in Rome was enough to keep the United team well subdued for the game in which Barcelona dominated. Lionel Messi scored later to seal the win with a two-nil score line. The victory meant that Barcelona won a treble. The FA cup final between Chelsea and Everton was won by Chelsea after they came from a goal behind to win 2-1 and was the icing on the cake for Gus Hiddink in his last game in charge of the club before he returns to manage the Russian national team.

Gay marriage has been outlawed in America’s most populous state, California. In demonstration against the Proposition 8 vote, 3000 gays and lesbians marched across California to their support base in Fresno. They are comparing their plight to that of US Civil Rights activists in the 1960s. Despite the outcry against the amendment, Proposition 8 was democratically decided with more than 70% voting to ban homosexual wedding ceremonies. Those wedded prior to the introduction of the law will be able to retain their statuses.

A one-armed multi-millionaire is currently standing trial in Moscow accused of a botched murder attempt on a rival in his silver Rolls-Royce. Vladimir Barsukov is reputed to be the last gangster at large in Russia out of those criminals that benefitted from the collapse of communism to extend vast organised crime networks that penetrated every Russian institution. Indeed Barsukov has business links to Vladimir Putin from his time as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg. He has been compared to Al Capone for his actions during Russia’s mafia wars. Barsukov, at the height of his power, had 2000 armed foot soldiers. He lost his arm in an assassination attempt on him in 1994. At his trial, the 53 year old gangster is protected by a bulletproof glass cage. He stands flanked by his lieutenants and is claiming that he is a high level political victim. He stated that he has no-one to answer to but God.

A mother has been reunited with her son, Gavin, after 27 years due to him appearing on facebook. Avril Grube of Poole, Dorset, claimed that her son was kidnapped when his Hungarian father, who had visiting rights, said he was taking him to the zoo, then disappeared back to Hungary with him. Grube’s sister was surprised when doing a Google search for her nephew’s name, discovered he had a facebook profile. Initial emails went unresponded as Mr Paros hadn’t logged into his site since October. But after his Auntie started contacting his children, he replied, and has been reunited with his estranged mother. His father died in 2006 and is mother is now in poor health. After years of protest involving contacting Margaret Thatcher and the Hungarian embassy to no avail, the social network site has produced a success story for this family.

The Pakistan defence secretary, Syed Athar Ali, has declared that government forces are successful in their operations against Taliban insurgents in the Swat valley with only about 5-10% of their job left before they have successfully cleared the risk of Taliban fighters in the region. The army had recaptured Mingora, the main city in Swat, and say that only a hardcore element of Taliban fighters remain. Out of revenge for the Swat offensive, the Pakistani Taliban bombed Lahore, the two bomb blasts killing 5 and injuring 30. Also in Lahore a suicide bomber killed 24 people and injured 300 a day prior to the Taliban bomb blasts.

The British Lion rugby tour of South Africa has gotten underway with a hard fought 37-25 victory over a Royals XV, who led 18-3 at halftime. Irish fly half Ronan O’Gara, paved the way to victory with a try and seventeen points from his boot. The Lions have a total tour schedule of ten matches, including three tests against South Africa. Their shaky start bodes badly for the tour outcome. Injury losses to the squad, including Welsh centre Tom Shanklin; mean that their stiff challenge to succeed will be more difficult. The 1997 tour to South Africa resulted in a 2-1 test victory and after the whitewash on the last tour to New Zealand; the Lions will be hoping to satisfy their multitude of travelling supporters with flowing rugby and healthy victories.

A manhunt for British Tycoon, Alan Griffin, is underway after his Polish girlfriend, Kinga Legg, was found murdered in their suite at the Hotel Le Bristol in Paris. Her bloodstained body lay amid a wreck of furniture and the crimson-coated hotel room was said to be due to a fisticuffs following a big champagne binge. Griffin, who made his money as a tan salon and mobile phone ringtone entrepreneur, made haste from Paris in his black Porsche, which was later recovered from near his parents’ home in Cheshire. He had been planning a seaborne getaway. He turned up at Shepperton Marina in Surrey and demanded that repairs on his speedboat were hurried up. When it became apparent that this would not be possible he inquired about making a quick purchase of a cabin cruiser. Apparently he also purchased a satellite navigation system and maritime charts for the waters of Britain, Ireland and Europe. The search for the murderer of the high flying Polish vegetable seller continues.

A British mother has gone to the European Court of Human Rights after she was branded ‘not clever enough’ to look after her three year old daughter. The woman has been certified by a psychiatrist to have no learning difficulties and ‘good literacy and numeracy and that her general intellectual abilities appear to be within the normal range’. However, it has been felt by social services that the complex medical care needs of her daughter cannot be addressed by the mother who is known as Rachel. The twenty-four year old can at the moment visit her daughter at the foster carers', but plans are for the visits to reduce in frequency and eventually stop. Social services allowed the parents of Baby P to continue looking after their child, which eventually led to his death. Yet at the same time, they are prepared to go to lengths to break up the family unit and give into adoption a baby whose mother has been certified capable of care. John Hemming, the liberal democrat MP, has taken up Rachel’s cause and is hoping that the system sees sense.

And this week’s top story…

North Korea has added to the controversy surrounding its satellite launch last month by claiming to have successfully detonated a nuclear bomb. The underground test was detected by seismologists after it triggered an earthquake in the region. It is believed to be on the same scale as the American bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War 2 and is significantly larger than the one previously tested in 2006. In addition to the tests, it was reported that several ballistic missiles were also launched from a base on North Korea’s east coast. China, a staunch ally of North Korea, and who supply up to 90% of the isolated country’s electricity and 40% of its food, condemned the tests along with most of the international community. Pyongyang made a declaration that its troops were prepared for war, a situation that bids ominously for its South Korea neighbour, as well as other countries in Southeast Asia.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week… Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 20 24.05.09

2009-05-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today's date is Sunday, 24th May 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

17 alleged Al Qaeda members have been arrested in Bilbao, northern Spain. Mostly Moroccan and Algerian nationals formed the Islamic Maghreb cell. Spain suffered a major Al-Qaeda-inspired terror attack in the capital Madrid in 2004, when a total of 191 people were killed and 2,000 were injured when 10 rucksack bombs exploded in four crowded commuter trains. Twenty-one people, including a number of North Africans, were sentenced to over 40,000 years in jail for their roles in the attack.

Justice was meted out to those responsible in the death of Baby P who we now know as Baby Peter. He died in a bloodstained cot at the age of seventeen months at his north London home in August 2007. His mother received a minimum sentence of ten years, though that makes her eligible for parole in three and a half years time. The male lodger, Jason Owen, who lived in the house received a minimum sentence of six years and the boyfriend of the mother, who was recently handed a life sentence for the rape of a two year old girl, was given an additional twelve years. The NSPCC have been among the numerous campaigners to have condemned the leniency of the sentences. At a time when Peter should be attending school, his mother could be potentially free, having been responsible for the horrific death of a toddler which has shocked the nation. Already there have been numerous complaints of how the parents have managed to legally disguise their identity. Home Secretary Jack Straw has been busy defending the sentences.

The English Premiership season has concluded with an exciting showdown for clubs at the bottom. Showcased as ‘Survival Sunday’ Two out of four clubs faced joining West Brom in the drop zone. All four teams involved lost their games, meaning that Sunderland and Hull City survived but Newcastle United and Middleborough took the plunge. Manchester United were making the headlines last week for winning the premiership but at the end of the season all the media attention has been drawn to Newcastle who are the biggest side to be relegated since Leeds United. New boss and Tyneside Messiah, Alan Shearer, is unsure whether he will be heading the Magpies as they attempt the arduous task of escaping from the Championship next season.

Iran celebrated the beginning of its official election campaign period with the launch of a missile capable of reaching Israel and American bases in the Gulf. The surface-to-surface Sejil 2 missile with range of 2000km compliments the even more far-reaching Shahab 3 missiles already in the arsenal. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has criticised the launch saying that combined with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the launch threatens the very existence of Israel. Saudi Arabia also feel threatened as due to the fall of the Iraqi regime, there is a power struggle in regional hegemony and the Shia government in Iran are potentially hostile to the Saudis. However, when we constantly hear of Iran in the Western media in terms of its military hostility, we ignore some of the facts. Iran only actually spends 2.5% of its GDP on its military whereas Israel spends 7.5%, Saudi Arabia 10% and the USA 4.5%. Iran has also hit the headlines after suspending facebook in the runup to their elections.

The MPs expenses row continued to plague the media. More resignations have been forced upon politicians with the most high profile casualty being the speaker of parliament, Michael Martin, whose position became untenable after leading politicians blamed him for protecting MPs from previous scrutiny to their requisitioning of public funds. Michael Martin has been the first speaker in 300 years to be removed from his position. He receives automatic entitlement to a peerage which is being hotly contested by members of the House of Lords who feel that he has let parliamentary democracy down and don’t want him corrupting the upper tier of British government.

An Egyptian judge ordered contruction tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa and retired policeman Mohsen al-Sukkari hanged for respectively ordering and carrying out the brutal slaying of the Lebanese pop star, Suzanne Tamim, in a luxury Dubai apartment in July. The singer, whose throat was slit, was the lover of the businessman, who has strong links to Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party. The brutal slaying was ordered after Tamim tied the knot with Iraqi kick-boxing champion Riyad al-Azzawi, whom she met at London's renowned Harrods department store. The police officer who arrested the hitman testified that the assassin said in interrogation that Mustafa asked for Tamim's severed head to be delivered before he paid for the killing.

A Royal chauffeur has been suspended after giving two undercover journalists a tour of Queen Elizabeth II's official cars at Buckingham Palace. The News of the World reporters were posing as wealthy Middle Eastern businessmen and made contact with the chauffeur through his Lithuanian prostitute girlfriend. They published photos of them sat in the Queen’s Bentley and also a video of the car pool tour. The chauffeur, who is originally Trinidadian, is responsible for the latest in a long line of security gaffes, which have involved other reporters getting jobs as footmen and Osama Bin Laden impersonators gaining access to royal property. At the time of the car tour the Queen was officially in residence and police chiefs have expressed their dismay at how easily security was breached.

An Indonesian military Hercules aircraft has crashed while attempting to land at a base in East Java. 107 people were on board and including two people on the ground, 101 people died in the accident. Eyewitnesses reported hearing thunder-like explosions as the plane plunged from the sky, smashing into houses before finally bursting into flames in it resting place in a rice paddy. Fourteen children died and many soldiers and airmen. This is the latest in a string of incidents that have plagued Indonesian aircraft since 2007. The lack of investment in military hardware has been blamed. Indonesian aircraft are banned from European airspace due to their extensive crash history.

English adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who suffers from vertigo, has scaled Everest at the age of sixty-five. He becomes the first man to cross both polar ice caps in addition to climbing the world’s highest peak. During his previous attempt at reaching the summit of Everest, Fiennes suffered a heart attack. He is the oldest Briton to reach the summit. At the top he declared "This is the closest you can get to the moon by walking." He said that he felt dreadful. His achievement was done to support the Marie Curie cancer care charity.

And this week's top story...

The Roman Catholic church has been hit by scandal after an inquiry into child abuse at Catholic institutions in Ireland has found church leaders knew that sexual abuse was "endemic". More than 2,000 told the Commission they suffered physical and sexual abuse while at institutions during the sixty year period of investigation. The five-volume study concluded that church officials encouraged ritual beatings and consistently shielded their orders' paedophiles from arrest amid a "culture of self-serving secrecy". There will be no legal proceedings as a result of the inquiry as the Christian Brothers successfully sued the commission in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, unnamed in the report.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 19 17.05.09

2009-05-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today's date is Sunday, 17th May 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

Pope Bendict XVI has made a tour of the Holy Land, visiting sites of importance to all three of the monotheistic faiths. He addressed Jews though they felt that he wasn’t apologetic enough for the holocaust. The Pope is a German and was part of the Hitler Youth movement in Bavaria during the war. He has previously made controversial remarks about Islam though as he met Muslim leaders in Jerusalem he spoke of the need for good multifaith relationships and made strong calls for the creation of a separate Palestinian nation. Christians are flocking out of the troubled holy land, feeling persecuted by bolh sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Pope gave a mass at the Kidron valley where most Jews and Christians believe to be the location of the Final Judgement.

The American/Iranian journalist who was jailed for eight years on spying charges has been released after an Iranian court upheld an appeal to reduce her sentence. Roxana Saberi flew out of Iran four days after the successful appeal and is now recuperating in Vienna. During her stay at Evin prison near Tehran she went on hunger strike for two weeks and was hospitalised. Originally Miss Saberi had been arrested for purchasing a bottle of wine which is illegal under Sharia law. It is not known whether the former Miss North Dakota was used as a makeweight in any political deal between Iran and the USA.

Manchester United have won the English Premier League with a game to spare after they drew with Arsenal at Old Trafford, putting them a point clear of second place Liverpool who cannot mathematically catch up any more. The season has been a close race and draws Man United level with Liverpool with 18 league titles. United have already won the Carling Cup and World Club Championship and go on to face Barcelona in Rome for the European Cup final.

Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung Sun Suu Kyi, has been arrested and put in prison for breaching the conditions of her house arrest. An American man, John Yettaw, swam the lake surrounding her home and spent two days in her house where she has been held for about nineteen years. Burma’s military junta are allegedly looking for a pretext to continue holding the dissident nobel peace laureate during the forthcoming 2010 elections. Her house arrest was due to expire at the end of May. Human rights activists are constantly putting pressure on Burma for Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s continuing detention and she is one of the most famous political prisoners in the world. Her lawyers are arguing that as she did not invite the man to her house ( he was an uninvited guest), she had not broken the strict laws governing her detention.

A 27 year old woman has been arrested after a hit and run incident in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. Eleven year old Sam Riddall was killed after a white Ford Focus Estate car mounted the kerb and ploughed into him as he walked home from youth club with a group of friends. The boy’s parents appealed for the driver to come forward after the car failed to stop after the incident. After Avon and Somerset police released an image of the driver, Hannah Saaf was arrested and denied bail until she appears before Bristol Magistrates Court, charged with death by dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving without insurance.

There has been controversy in Guatemala after the murder of lawyer, Rodrigo Rosenberg. The dead man left a Youtube video alleging that Guatemala’s president, his wife and his staff, were responsible for the crime. Groups have taken to the streets to demand the removal of Alvaro Colom, who denied responsibility for the crime, saying that it was just an effort to destabilise the government. He went on to claim that it was just a video and that there was no evidence for the crime. The lawyer was gunned down in the street whilst riding his bicycle. Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates in the world and as a key route for drug smuggling into the USA, it is notoriously corrupt and drugs money taints the highest of officials.

The commander in charge of the American military in Afghanistan, General David D. McKiernan, has been fired by the Obama administration. The general was seen to be too conventional in his methods and his policies are seen as having failed in the ongoing insurgency against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. Counterinsurgency methods have been advocated and the man who replaces McKiernan is a veteran special operations officer, Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal . It is envisaged that in order to break the military stalemate, more future support will be offered to US-backed local militias. War in Afghanistan is notoriously difficult and throughout history many superior fighting forces have been defeated during prolonged guerrilla style campaigns in the difficult terrain.

Catherine Masters, a 109 year old woman from Oxfordshire, wrote a letter of complaint to the Queen after she noticed that in five of the least nine birthday cards she has received from Buckingham Palace, HRH Elizabeth II was wearing the same dress. To respond to one of the eldest of her subjects, the Queen sent around a special surprise to the Grange Care Centre. There was a knock on the door and it was the Queen’s grandson, Prince William, sent to offer a personal apology. The shocked Mrs Masters spent the day teaching the future King how to make shepherd’s pie. It is a tradition for the Queen to send birthday cards to those who reach their one hundredth birthday. William invited his new friend to a garden party at the Queen’s home where the lady can discuss a change to the card she expects to receive for her 110th birthday in November.

The row over MPs second home allowances continues to rage after the Daily Telegraph went on publishing expenses claims. Tory MPs and Liberal Democrats were included and readers have been horrified to hear of taxpayers’ money being used to pay for the repair of moats and maintenance of swimming pools. There have been resignations and vows of repayments as transparency sent MPs on the retreat as public outcry demanded that their abuse of power ceases. There has been pressure on parliamentary speaker Michael Martin to resign and public disillusionment with parliament looks likely to produce some shock results in forthcoming European elections with minority parties such as the BNP likely to benefit from the people’ fallout with the major parties.

And this week's top story...

The 26 year old civil war in Sri Lanka has finished as the surrounded Tamil Tiger separatists declared a ceasefire from their tiny enclave in the north of the island. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has already declared victory though his army claim that there are no civilians left in the enclave and see no need for them to accept the ceasefire. They want to continue and annihilate the remaining fighters who want peace to preserve the life and dignity of the Tamil people. Mass graves have been discovered this week and the final fighting has been brutal. On the streets of Colombo, people are rejoicing and an official government announcement of the conclusion of hostilities is expected early next week.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for watching. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 18 10.05.09

2009-05-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today’s date is Sunday, 10th May 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news.

An engagement party in Turkey was interrupted by gunmen and 44 people, including the future bride and groom, were mown down. The shootings occurred after a longstanding blood feud boiled over. As well as arguing over clan land, the assassination party believed that the bride had been promised to their clan as payment for a previous rape, but instead had been given over to an enemy family. To avenge the dishonour, with their government weapons, as they formed part of a government militia to control violence in the Kurdish region, they turned a day of family happiness into one of pure tragedy. There were three pregnant women among the murdered guests. Abdulkadir Celebi , his four sons and three other relatives have been arrested over the incident. It was the biggest single attack on civilians Turkey has ever seen.

A right wing American shock jock has appeared on the British home secretary’s list of undesirable American citizens and has been banned from travelling to the UK. Michael Savage broadcasts a talk show from San Francisco to 10 million people nationwide across the USA. In his show he regularly stirs up controversial debates on ‘Anal rights’, ‘Islamo-Fascism’ and other liberal causes. He has promised to sue Jacqui Smith for defamation and feels that being included on the list alongside Hamas bus bombers and Nazi skinheads is unjustified. Critics of the UK government’s decision have said that by Savage’s inclusion unnecessary publicity is being brought to his cause.

Scotland’s biggest paedophile network has been thwarted. Eight people faced charges in an Edinburgh court after an indecent picture of a child on a work computer led police to discover 125000 images. They traced the ring who used to discuss their sick fantasies on the internet. Neil Strachan, 41, who is HIV positive, was found guilty of the attempted rape of an 18 month old boy. James Rennie, 38, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a three month old. The other men were found guilty of an array of perverted charges. The family of a victim talked of how Strachan befriended their family and unknown to them over a period of fifteen years abused their children and made them available to other members of his network. All eight men will be sentenced at a later date.

The Champions League Final in Rome on 27th May will be between Barcelona and Manchester United after both teams were successful this week in their respective semi-finals. Cup holders Man United had a comprehensive 4-1 aggregate victory over Arsenal. Barcelona secured their place in a much narrower way, going through on away goals after a 1-1 aggregate score against Chelsea. It was in the last couple minutes of the match that Andrés Iniesta scored the decisive goal at Stamford Bridge. The match was marred with controversy after the game when Chelsea players, most notably Didier Drogba, harassed the referee, blaming him for his poor decisions. Chelsea had three penalty claims throughout the match which weren’t awarded. Chelsea players and supporters believe that there was a UEFA conspiracy to not allow two English teams in the final again. Match referee, Tom Henning Ovrebo, was smuggled out of Britain and now has round the clock police protection at his Norwegian home.

The government will be deleting the DNA profiles of 850 000 innocent people from their database. However, civil liberties groups claim that new data retention measures do not go far enough. Currently the government holds details of 4.5 million people on their database. The profiles of those arrested but not charged for minor offences will be retained for a period of six years or twelve years in the case of serious violent or sexual crimes. It is likely that the government will face further court action despite the European Court forcing them to make this current climbdown. The Home Secretary suggested that the DNA database was worthwhile as it had helped solve 390 000 crimes since 1998.

A senior White House Aide has resigned after he clandestinely arranged for the President’s jet, Air Force 1, to make a low pass over New York City, in a publicity stunt. During the flyby, where the jet was accompanied by a fighter jet escort, the workers of New York fled in panic as the presence of the low-flying jet rekindled memories of September 11th. Panic spread across the city and the stunt, which cost about $300 000 to arrange, brought embarrassment to Barack Obama who was only made aware of the incident through the media. His White House Military Director Louis Caldera felt that his irresponsible actions made his position untenable.

Actress Joanna Lumley’s campaign for justice for the Gurkhas has continued with her high profile campaign leading her to a meeting with the Prime Minister. Gordon Brown. He is under pressure after a commons defeat for the government over the issue and promised he would reassess the situation by the end of May. The actress leads the fight for Gurkha resettlement rights after the Gurkhas protected her father from the Japanese army during the Second World War. The Nepalese regiment, it appears, has other high profile support after Lumley revealed that a senior member of the Royal family had written to her, supporting the cause.

The row over MPs expenses has continued with the Daily Telegraph serialising a series of articles detailing individual MP’s expense bills. The biggest hitting headline included the £6000 paid by Gordon Brown to his brother to arrange for a cleaner for his second home. John Prescott had charged the taxpayer to install some mock Tudor beams on his country home. The expenses detail show that MPs have been keen to claim taxpayers money for some really bizarre expenses including nappies and the needlework repairs of Chinese rugs. Some are threatening legal action against the Telegraph for inaccuracies in its articles. Overall it is widely perceived that the whole expenses row has damaged the government.

The worldwide Swine Flu pandemic continues. Mexico relaxed its shutdown policy and schools and workplaces reopened this week. The worldwide spread of the virus continues and the WHO state that the USA has more cases than any other country. There are 2254 cases reported there and there have been three American deaths due to the disease. There have been 48 deaths out of 1626 infections in Mexico. There is approximately 50 infected people in the UK. The panic of a mass spread of the disease has died down a little though the imminent danger has not yet completely passed.

And this week’s top story…

Afghanistan President Karzai and Pakistani President Zardari had trilateral talks in Washington with President Obama about the ongoing conflict with the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the Asian region. Karzai criticised US air attacks which have killed many Afghan civilians. Pakistan, which has been accused of providing a safe haven to terrorists, beefed up its actions against the Taliban, which are threatening to overthrow the Pakistani regime. Pakistani government forces are fighting a prolonged battle against Taliban insurgents in the northwest Swat Valley region, a Taliban stronghold. The situation here has caused a mass exodus of refugees. It Is feared that should the Pakistani Taliban succeed in their goals of gaining control of the country, a powerful cache of nuclear weapons will fall into some very dangerous hands. Pakistan and Afghanistan have strained relations though it is hoped that the trilateral talks will help bring the countries closer together.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 17 03.05.09

2009-05-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard and today's date is Sunday, 3rd May 2009. Here are the stories making this week's news.

A five day shutdown of parts of the Mexican economy is in operation to help prevent the spread of the Swine Flu which originated there. Non-essential public services have halted and many public buildings like restaurants and cinemas have also closed their doors. There are over 300 cases of Swine Flu in Mexico. It is believed that the epidemic is on the decline in Mexico now though it is feared that it could resurface during a cold spell. Mexico’s economy is already ailing and will be badly hit by the outbreak of this virulent disease.

The six year British military mission to Iraq has ended in an official ceremony at Basra. The 20th Armoured Brigade lowered the Union Jack and handed over the reins to the US Army. There was a total of 179 British deaths during the conflict and subsequent occupation. Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the UK troops' efforts as a ‘success story’. Opposition called for an immediate postwar inquiry to be held into why British troops were there in the first place. Other voices of criticism included the Stop the War Coalition who have always regarded British troop presence in Iraq as pointless. The BBC's John Simpson says many ordinary Iraqis in Basra are worried that the Americans who will replace the British will be much more aggressive.

A Royal parade for Holland’s ruling family ended in chaos when an assassination attempt was made resulting in the deaths of five people. A 38 year old man driving a black Suzuki Swift went at high speed through police barriers, narrowly missed the royal family’s open top bus and crashed into a memorial column, having taken out several spectators during his efforts. The Royal family looked on in shock as the incident unfolded. The incident occurred at Apeldoorn, a small town 90km south-east of Amsterdam. The event marked celebrations of Queen’s Day, for Queen Beatrix’s birthday. Queen Beatrix addressed the nation to express her dismay. The driver was badly injured but survived and faces a life sentence in jail for the attempted assassination.

The good news is that we can, according to weather forecasters, expect a British summer heatwave this year with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees centigrade. The bad news is that as many of 10000 deaths are predicted due to the intense heat and the government are preparing to put people on high alert. Up to 35000 people were killed across Europe during the 2003 heatwave, 2000 from Britain. The erratic climatic conditions look set to heat things up though as ever with long range forecasts there is a high degree of speculation at work. A hot one this year would certainly make up for last year’s non-event of a summer.

The McCann family marked the second anniversary of the loss of their daughter, Madeline, who went missing during a family holiday at Praia da Luz in the Portuguese Algarve. They published a photo of how she might now look two years on from when the four year old was taken from her parents. They also made a high profile appeal on the Oprah Winfrey show in America. Detectives in Portugal are now concentrating their efforts on the immediate vicinity of the town where Maddy disappeared after corroborated reports suggest a man was seen carrying a small girl similar in appearance to Madeleine near the McCann’s holiday apartment.

The government has won a series of votes on planned MPs' expenses reforms, after it agreed to delay a decision on controversial second homes allowances. Gordon Brown backed down on his original decision made during his episode on Youtube which claimed that he would be scrapping the second homes allowance in favour of a non-receipted attendance allowance. There has been much controversy recently over MPs claiming taxpayers’ money for silly expenses such as for adult films or patio heaters. The proposed changes are believed by the PM to be the most significant changes to expenses in 25 years. His opposition see his climbdown as another sign of weakness.

The trial of a pregnant Briton in Laos has been brought forward. Samantha Orobator, 20, faces charges of heroin trafficking which carries a potential sentence of death by firing squad. The woman who is originally Nigerian but who lived in Britain for twelve years and is a British citizen was found last August at Wattay Airport allegedly with 600g of the drug after a holiday in Thailand and the Netherlands. She became pregnant in December during her stay at the notoriously harsh prison. Her lawyers claim that the bringing forward of legal proceedings makes her defence difficult to arrange.

Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton fought Filipino, Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas. Before the fight Hatton commented ‘This fat, beer-drinking Englishman is going to shock the world again’. Shock the world he did. He was downed twice in the first round, displaying a lack of defence. In the second round, the hard, fast-hitting Filipino caught the celebrity Brit with a perfect left hand knockout punch which sent Hatton unconscious to the ground where he lay dazed for a good couple of minutes. He spent the night mourning the loss of his world title in the local hospital and it is predicted tthat he will be forced into retirement after the worst defeat in a 45 and 2 professional career.

The family of Baby P who we now know as ‘Peter’ have hit headlines again. Baby P was the baby that social services critically failed to protect when he died of neglect at the hands of his mother and stepfather. His stepfather, Steven Barker, was found guilty in court over the rape of a two year old girl. The girl, who is now four, gave evidence to the Old Bailey becoming the youngest ever witness before the court. Her video evidence confirmed the sickening incident to the jury as she used a teddy bear and a doll to demonstrate the trauma she had been forced to endure. The jury were unaware of the man’s relation to the Baby P case. The results of the trial draw into question again the activities of social services who failed to protect the youngster in a similar way to how they failed to protect Baby Peter. It is believed that either Steven Barker or his paedophile brother are being held at Belmarsh prison where they are given round the clock protection from vigilantes.

And this week's top story...

The World Health Organisation announced that it was no longer possible to contain the spread of Swine Flu. Emitting from Mexico the disease has spread to sixteen countries across the world as travellers returning home have started to affect local people with human to human transmission of the deadly virus. The H1N1 strain known as Swine Flu has emerged previously in recent history. The worst medical holocaust since the Black Death killed between 20 and 100 million people in 1918-1919. This was twice as many who died during the First World War. At that time half of the world’s two billion people were infected. In Western Samoa 90% of the population was wiped out. The flu at this time was called Spanish flu but an alternative name was the Swine Flu with which it is now being tagged. Governments across the world have been put on high alert and are stocking up on medical supplies should the crisis worsen.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 16 26.04.09

2009-04-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 26th April 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

President Ahmadinejad of Iran has caused a stir at the UN Racism summit in Geneva. He took to the stage declaring about the state of Israel that "They sent migrants from Europe, the United States... in order to establish a racist government in occupied Palestine." At this point, UN delegates from many Western countries including Britain, walked out of the conference in protest. The conference had been already boycotted by the United States, Israel, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. High on the agenda was the relationship with the Islamic world and in an era where Nazi ideas and Apartheid have died out, Israeli-Palestinian issues are still an area where racial ideas divide.

A Devon farmer has introduced a breed of cattle to the UK that hasn’t been seen on these shores for 4000 years. The Heck cow was during the Second World War, part of Nazi plans to rule the world. The cow was seen as symbolic of Teutonic ambition and satisfied the genetic aspirations of Himmler and Hitler’s obsession with idyllic rural agriculture. The aim was that these Iron Age cattle would fill a primeval Aryan wilderness in conquered Nazi Europe. Hitler may never have arrived here but in the Twenty-First century it seems that we are inheriting part of his Nazi legacy.

The Sunday Times Rich List has been published, revealing that the top 1000 earners in the UK have lost a fortune in the economic downturn. The total value of their assets is £258 billion compared with last year’s record £413 billion. The number of billionaires has fallen from 75 to 43. Heading the
list are Indian Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, Russian Roman Abramovich and the Duke of Westminster. Never in the 21 year history of the rich list has the affluence of the richest people fallen so much.

The Home Office has issued new rules about the right of Gurkha soldiers to resettle in the UK. Gurkha veterans and their supporters are up in arms about the decision which doesn’t give them automatic rights to resettlement but means that they have to satisfy certain criteria such as, for example, serving twenty years as a soldier when the maximum amount of time a Gurkha rifleman can serve is only fifteen years. Gurkhas who signed up after 1997 when the Gurkha base was moved from Hong Kong to the UK are guaranteed automatic rights. Joanna Lumley is a long time supporter of this 200 year old British regiment and she has led the way in condemning the government for not recognising the bravery and commitment to British Empire that the Nepalese division has achieved.

A Somali teenager has appeared in a US federal court after being captured during a US Navy raid on pirates in the Indian Ocean. Abde Wale Abdul Kadhir Muse’s mother initially claimed that he was a juvenile but a US judge decided that he could stand trial as an adult. The youth is the first person in over a century to be tried for piracy and at court he was crying. He had been captured during the rescue raid of the Maersk Alabama container ship captain where three of his pirate colleagues died. He had apparently been on board a US warship demanding a ransom.

The ruling ANC party have been victorious in the South African elections, falling just short of a two thirds majority. It showed a 4% decline in its share of votes compared with the previous elections. In a sign of things to come opposition parties were pleased with their results. In five years time, the next general election will include for the first time voters who were born since the end of apartheid and who have no direct experience of the fight against it. ANC leader Jacob Zuma is likely to be the next South African President.

Chancellor Allister Darling revealed his new budget this week. In it he introduced a 50% tax rate for earners above a £150 000 threshold. People in this bracket such as Michael Caine have claimed that it forces them out of the country. The economy is forecast to shrink by 3.5% in 2009. Public borrowing is to increase to £175 billion. A series of schemes and investment for the unemployed is to be introduced. There were also increases to duty on fuel, alcohol and cigarettes. The budget has been condemned by some as an act of class war and city analysts have criticised the chancellor’s figures claiming that he has made gross miscalculations.

Barack Obama has turned his attention towards some of the controversial torture techniques introduced to the CIA by the former Bush administration. He has published some of the legal guidelines of his predecessors but has drawn the line at prosecuting some of those involved. It was revealed that as early as 2002 Condoleezza Rice authorised the CIA to use waterboarding techniques on suspected Al Qaeda prisoners. This drowning form of torture was used 266 times on Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad though it is claimed that the excesses revealed useful information. Other interrogation methods mentioned in released memos include week-long sleep deprivation, forced nudity and the use of painful positions.

The final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war which has raged since 1983 are apparent. The Sri Lankan government forces have the remaining Tamil Tiger insurgents trapped in a 5 square mile area in the northeast of the Indian Ocean island. The Tamils have declared a ceasefire as they struggle to survive but the government have denounced this saying that they will only accept surrender. The last gasps of civil strife have resulted in a mass exodus of civilians in the area, many tens of thousands evacuating their homes and traversing swamps and lagoons to get to safety. About 15000 civilians are still trapped in the final resistance pocket. The Tamils have been fighting for an independent state though their cause looks likely to imminently fail thus bringing an end to one of the bloodiest and prolonged conflicts of modern times.

And this week's top story...

An epidemic of swine flu has broken out in Mexico leading to the deaths of over 80 people. Many public offices have closed in Mexico City and people are being urged not to shake hands or kiss for fear of spreading the disease. Tourists from Mexico have returned home carrying the disease and there have been cases identified in the USA, New Zealand, France, Spain and Israel. The disease is similar to seasonal human flu but contains genetic material which is usually found in flu outbreaks in birds and pigs. It is particularly resistant to conventional flu treatment and most of the dead have been young adults. Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has announced emergency measures to deal with the situation and the World Health Organisation is doing as much as it can to control the disease.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 15 19.04.09

2009-04-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 19th April 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

A fire in a hostel for homeless people in the northwestern Polish town of Kamien Pomorski left 21 people dead and more than 20 injured. The blaze started at 12:40 a.m. local time in the three-story building, which housed 77 people, said Daniel Kopalinski, a spokesman for the fire department. President Lech Kaczynski declared a three-day period of national mourning.

Music Legend Phil Spector has been jailed for second degree murder in Los Angeles following the death of B-Movie actress Lana Clarkson six years ago. Spector has a distinguished career as a music producer and has worked with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He had a history of pulling guns when in a drunken state and when a woman refused to sleep with him. This was the second time he had stood trial for the 2003 murder, this time with a successful conviction which leaves the 69 year old facing a mandatory fifteen year sentence.

A court in Sweden has jailed four people who are behind the world’s most high profile file sharing website, the Pirate Bay. In a landmark ruling the four founders were found guilty of breaching copyright laws. They were each jailed for a year and ordered to pay about £3 million in damages to a series of film and music companies. The damages awarded were far less than those actually sought. The jailed men have vowed to fight on, to overturn the ruling, and state that they will refuse to pay the fine. In the meantime Pirate Bay continues to operate.

After 28 years together, actor Mel Gibson’s marriage to Robyn Moore is on the rocks and in the divorce courts. It could prove to be the most expensive divorce in Hollywood history with Gibson’s $640 million fortune expected to be halved. Russian singer, Oksana Porchepa is apparently Mel Gibson’s mistress and is the cause of his parting with his wife.

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi has been found guilty in a Tehran court of espionage and sentenced to eight years in jail. The 31 year old was originally arrested in January for purchasing a bottle of wine which is an offence in the Islamic state. The charges brought against her mutated to those of being an American spy. She had travelled to the area to research the country’s history and culture. She is attempting to appeal against the charges. It is thought that she will be used by the Iranian government as a bargaining chip for Iranian people being held in US custody.

An Australian airline was grounded after four baby pythons escaped from their container and were wild in the hold. The Qantas flight between Alice Springs and Melbourne was carrying twelve Stimson’s pythons, four of which, only six inches long, made an escape. It was initially thought that the missing four had been eaten by the other snakes but after weighing them it was decided that this couldn’t be true. Passengers were evacuated from the craft and it was fumigated leaving no hope for the snakes to survive.

Colombian’s most wanted drugs baron, Daniel Rendon Herrera, was surrounded by armed police in an area of jungle and captured. Known as ‘Don Mario’, the drugs boss believed to be responsible for 3000 murders in the last eighteen months, was found cowering beneath a palm tree. He has been arrested and brought to Bogota, to await possible extradition to the US where his trafficking activities have been most worstly felt. His links with Mexican drugs lords and his control of the exporting corridor from Colombia has meant that with his private army he has shipped about 100 tons of cocaine to the USA.

While battles with Somali pirates continue off the coast, the Somali government introduced Sharia law across the region. It is hoped that the introduction of strict Islamic holy law will reduce tensions between the government and the Islamic militias who are fighting an insurgency. Large areas of the South are already being governed by Sharia. Although the introduction is being widely seen as a popular move, some people are worried about the fact they will no longer be able to play music or chew the narcotic plant, Khat.

The Americas summit has been taking place in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. It has been the first chance for Obama to address his immediate continental neighbours. There has been controversy as Cuba was not invited and Obama has vowed to change US policy regarding the communist island. Photo opportunities arose when controversial Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, warmly welcomed Obama. The Bolivian President Morales asked Obama to repudiate a recently discovered plot to assassinate him. He says that since Obama has come to power there has been no change in US hostility.

And this week's top story...

The twentieth anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster has been commemorated with calls for Justice for the 96 dead Liverpool supporters. At Anfield for the official service for the dead of the April 15th 1989 disaster, Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, was barracked with cries of ‘Justice’. He has pressured home secretary Jacqui Smith, to press for secret files about the tragedy to be released to the public domain. Although the official government inquiry, the Taylor report, found that police lack of control was officially responsible for the tragedy, no charges against David Duckenfield, the policeman in charge of the event, were ever successfully brought. Twenty years on and the families of loved ones lost that day are a step closer to achieving justice.

That's all for this week's Newslip. thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 14 12.04.09

2009-04-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today is Easter Sunday, 12th April 2009. Here are the stories making this week's headlines.

Assistant commissioner Bob Quick inadvertently leaked details of a major anti-terrorism operation to the media by openly carrying sensitive documents into Downing Street which were photographed then released on the internet. This triggered an immediate swoop by the Northwest Counter-Terrorism Unit in an improvised raid on the suspects they had been monitoring in Manchester, Liverpool and the surrounding areas. Twelve people were arrested under the Terrorism act, eleven of them being Pakistani nationals. They had dossiers on several key landmarks in Manchester and an imminent attack was planned. Bob Quick has resigned from his position due to his critical mistake.

Two brothers aged ten and eleven have been charged with attempted murder, theft of a mobile phone and five pounds. In Edlington, near Doncaster, the two primary school pupils laid a trap at a quarry for two young victims. These victims were admitted to hospital with severe injuries. One was put on life support after being found unconscious at the crime scene. The other had two emergency operations. They suffered severe stab wounds and cigarette burns. The perpetuators have been admitted to foster care while they await trial.

Twenty four people were killed when an Indonesian military aircraft crashed into a hangar in wet weather on Monday and burst into flames. The dead included seventeen special force troops in parachute training, a crew of six and an instructor. It is unknown exactly what caused the crash in Bandung. Indonesian army equipment is known to be relatively dilapidated after a US arms embargo has only just recently been lifted.

2 new videos have emerged regarding the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests in London. Mr Tomlinson died of a heart attack on his way home from work at a newsagents in the area. Initially, police denied any contact with Mr Tomlinson but the videos show him walking past police with his hands in his pockets, and prove that he was attacked by a police officer from behind with a baton before being violently thrown to the ground. The IPCC are investigating the issue and it is hoped that the guilty police officer will face charges.

400 prisoners at HMP Ashwell near Rutland in Leicestershire have rioted. The breakdown in discipline at the 600 capacity low security category C prison has led to smoke billowing from the building. Police cordoned off the vicinity to protect local residents from potential outbreaks. They have been trying to regain control of the jail. It is unknown what caused the riots though apparently the facility is extremely short-staffed with as few as twelve guards looking after the prisoners.

The anarchy in the Indian Ocean due to the activites of Somali pirates intensified this week when the American container ship, the Maersk Alaska was attacked three hundred miles from the Somali coast. Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage in a lifeboat commandeered by the pirates. The crew managed to escape to port to safety. After prolonged efforts of diplomacy to release the hostage, the three US Navy warships that were tracking the incident, finally staged a rescue mission, killing three pirates but retrieving Captain Phillips safely. Also this week, an Italian tugboat was attacked. The growing number of incidents of piracy in the area poses a major problem to international shipping companies.

One of Gordon Brown’s most trusted advisers has resigned from his post as Prime Minsterial aide after a smear scandal emerged at number 10. Damian McBride quit his post after emails from his number 10 account were leaked to the press. He had been trying to start a smear campaign on a leftwing website by spreading malicious gossip about David Cameron and shadow chancellor, George Osbourne. Senior Tories and Labour backbenchers have called for an enquiry into the sleazy actions of Gordon Brown’s private office.

A major summit of Asian leaders has been cancelled in Thailand after protesters took to the streets. A state of emergency was declared as supporters of ousted prime minster Thaksin Sinawatra put pressure on the standing government. Roads were blocked and government buildings attacked. The foreign office has put warnings out to anyone considering travelling to Bangkok. Thailand has had a number of severely disruptive protest incidents recently.

Visitors and staff at Berlin’s zoo were shocked when a 31 year old woman clambered over barriers at the polar bear enclosure before innoculously plunging into the water with the bears. It was feeding time at the zoo and the very dangerous bears thwarted initial rescue attempts of the woman and played about with her like a chunk of meat, giving her some very serious bites. Eventually the crazed woman was dragged away to safety by zookeepers. She was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. It is unknown what caused the lucky woman to act in such an irrational manner.

And this week's top story...

An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale was concentrated on the Italian mountain town of l’Aquila when it struck last Monday. 289 people are known to have died and over 28000 people made homeless. A mass funeral was held for quake victims. Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi pledged to open up his personal villas to help the homeless in the wake of the tragedy. Football players and politicians have led the cash support pledges to the victims. It is the worst earthquake event in tectonically-active Italy for thirty years.

That's all for this week's Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you all very soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 13 05.04.09

2009-04-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

The first trial against a member of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge has got underway. During the 1970s, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge swept to power in Cambodia and in their extreme communist revolution over 1.7 million people died. A UN backed tribunal sitting in Phnom Penh is allowing Comrade Duch to explain his activities as head of the notorious S-21 Tuol Sleng prison and interrogation centre where at least 14000 citizens were tortured to death. Four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders are also waiting to stand trial.

North Korea proceeded with their rocket launch and claimed that it successfully delivered a satellite to space. However, US and South Korean analysts monitoring the launch claim that it was unsuccessful and that the rocket, including payload, didn't make orbit but plunged into the Pacific. The North Koreans claim that their leaders songs are now broadcasting across the globe from space but it is unlikely that they would admit failure to their own people. An emergency meeting of the UN security council is convening to address the issue amid claims that the launch breached the ballistic missile ban currently imposed on North Korea by a UN security resolution.

A police academy in eastern Pakistan was attacked by gunmen armed with grenades and assault rifles. 40 people were killed and up to eighty injured in the attack on the outskirts of Lahore. The attack demonstrates how susceptible Pakistan is to militant attacks and is the latest in a string of attacks by radical Pakistanis which last month saw the Sri Lankan cricket team come under siege. There is a growing Taliban element within Pakistan and terrorist networks are rife throughout the country.

A Super Puma helicopter has crashed into the North Sea, killing all sixteen people on board. The chopper was retunring from BP's Miller oil platform when it crashed off the Aberdeenshire coast. Initially only half the bodies were recovered, but later searches found the wreckage of the helicopter on the seabed and now fifteen of the sixteen bodies have been collected. The black box recorder was also discovered which it is hoped will be able to provide clues as to what caused the tragic accident.

Mass protests occurred in London during the duration of the G20 summit. A man, Ian Tomlinson, died during the protests after suffering a heart attack. There were 120 arrests as protesters clashed with police. About 5000 people were involved in the demonstrations, of which about 500 were according to police, 'hardcore troublemakers'. The police tactics regarding the demonstrators have been called into question. The worst attack by the protesters was on the RBS building.

President Obama wooed the NATO summit in Paris and managed to acquire fresh committment of European troops to Afghanistan. Other than Afghanistan, which dominated the meeting, there was controversy when Turkey initally opposed the new Danish secretary general of NATO due to the ongoing row between Denmark and the Islamic world following the publication of blasphemous cartoons in Denmark several years ago. The Turks backed down though, and Anders Fogh Rasmussen was voted in.

A man has shot dead thirteen people at a New York State immigration centre. Jiverly Wong, a forty-one year old Vietnamese immigrant, just walked into the building in Binghamton and opened fire without saying a word. It is believed that he had recently lost his job and was having difficulties speaking English. Most of his victims were immigrants from the centre, many of whom were attending English lessons. The attack came to a conclusion when the gunman apparently turned his gun on himself.

A new law being passed in Afghanistan has upset NATO countries supplying troops to the region. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on Western journalists not to misinterpret the law which they believe infringes upon women's rights and is thus incompatible with the beliefs of Western troops. The new law states that a wife must have sexual intercourse with her husband every four days and cannot leave the home without her husband's permission. It has been claimed that the law legalises rape within a marriage. Mr Karzai has ordered for a judicial review of the law to take place.

A US judge has blocked the deportation of a Nazi war criminal to Germany to face charges for his activities whist a concentration camp guard in occupied Poland during the Second World War. 89 year old John Demjanjuk has pleaded that the deportation order would constitute torture. The Ukrainian ineternational has previously been sentenced to death in Israel for war crimes, but a mistaken aidentity allowed him to return to the USA where he has lived since 1952. His citizenship was revoked after he apparently lied on his application form about working for the Nazis. This has precipitated the current deportation crisis.

And this week's top story...

Leaders of the World's most powerful nations converged on London for the G20 summit. Top of the agenda at the meeting was how to solve the global economic crisis. In total 1 trillion dollars was pledged to the ailing economy, much specifically to suffering, less-developed economies.
A complete plan for global financial restructuring was agreed that hopes to promote world trade and prevent protectionism. The meeting was unusual in that emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia and China demonstrated their strength and refused to be subjected to old Anglo-American dominance of the G20 meetings.

That's all for this Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 12 29.03.09

2009-03-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrad. Here are the stories making the news this week.

A dam had burst near the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The Situ Gintung dam was sixteen metres high and held back an artificial lake of 2 million cubic metres of water. Cracks had been spotted in the dam about a year ago and local populations were on a state of high alert. After heavy rain on Thursday evening, the dam burst and 93 people were killed. Rescue efforts are currently trying to prevent the casualty count from rising any higher.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has come under pressure after it was revealed that she had claimed parliamentary expenses for the adult films to which her husband subscribed at their family home. Mrs Smith said that whilst claiming for her internet expenses she had accidentally added a TV subsciption bill to her costs.The minister is currently being investigated over her use of the parliamentary second homes allowance. She is reported to have given her husband an angry 'dressing down' and he has unreservedly apologised for his actions.

The police in Northern Ireland said Monday night that they had charged a 17-year-old with the murder of a police officer two weeks ago in a town 25 miles from Belfast. Police officials said the unnamed youth accused of killing the officer, Constable Stephen Carroll, was also charged with being a member of the Continuity I.R.A., a dissident faction of the Irish Republican Army. The officer’s killing on March 9 took place two days after attackers killed two soldiers outside a British Army base.

American President Barack Obama announced his new Afghanistan policy this week. He has committed an extra 17000 troops to the wartorn region to compliment the 38000 already there. It is a similar policy to his predecessor George Bush's 'surge' on Iraq. He strengthens the US's resolve in defeating Al Qaeda on their home turf in order to prevent a repeat of attacks on the US homeland. Obama also talked of the need to strengthen diplomatic ties with Pakistan which is where a lot of the trouble in the region stems from.

The killer of sixteen year old catholic, Jimmy Mizen, has been jailed. Jake Fahri was found guilty of murdering the boy with a glass dish after a row in a bakery in southeast London. During a scuffle between the youths, who had a history, the jugular vein of Mizen was severed. Mizen's family have condemned the attack and the society which produced the killer. Fahri was jailed for a minimum of fourteen years.

A FedEx corp cargo plan crashed at Japan's Narita airport, killing the two US pilots on board. Strong winds caused the plane to divert from the runway. It landed hard and was engulfed in a ball of flames. The main runway of Tokyo's airport was closed while the crash site could be cleared. The plane had been en route form Guangzhou China. It was the first fatal incident at Narita since the airport opened in 1978.

Intelligence chiefs have warned that China may have gained the capability to shut down Britain by crippling its telecoms and utilities. They have informed ministers of their fears after Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant, installed equipment in BT's new communications network. There have been a growing number of cyberwarfare attacks on Britian recently, in particular form foreign governments such as Russia and China. The head of Huawei is Ren Zhengfei, who is a former director of the telecoms research arm of the People's Liberation Army. It is feared that should China choose to attack Britain, the new communications network would facilitate any action.

A British yachtsman, Malcom Robertson, was bludgeoned to death aboard his ship in Thailand. The incident occurred when three Burmese fishermen boarded his vessel and, in front of his family, hit him repeatedly wityh a hammer then threw his body overboard, making off with valuables. Thai police have charged the three men who were caught soon after the incident, with robbery and murder. Reports of Mr Robertson's body being discovered floating in the sea have proved false. During the ordeal, his wife was stripped, beaten and tied up below deck.

North Korea have prepared a missile for launch which has put the globe on high alert. The North Koreans claim that the missile is due to launch a space satellite but experts fear it could be aprt of plans for a long range missile with atomic warhead attached. Japan has prepared its military to shoot down the missile, should there be a threat to Japanese soverign territory. North Korea have declared that this would be an act of war and that they would then proceed to continue tests with their nuclear program. Dealing with the missile, which is due to be launched some time between April 4th and 8th , is a problem that is likely to unsettle Barack Obama as he prepares for the G20 summit.

And this week's top story...

Evidence of recent war crimes committed by the Israeli Defence Force has come to light. During their recent offensive in Gaza it appears they illegally used white phosphorus shells in civilian areas, a clear breach of international law which states that the chemical may be used as a battlefield smokescreen but mustn't be used where there is a civilian population. Human Rights Watch filed a report after researching all the casualties that were in Gaza hospitals suffering from chemical burns. Israel claims that the civilian casualties were due to Hamas using Gaza inhabitants as human shields during the conflict.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week! Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 11 22.02.09

2009-03-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Here are the stories making this week's news.

Actress Natasha Richardson has died after falling on a nursery ski slope in Quebec. After the accident, Richardson seemed well but a clot had developed which put pressure on her brain. She was rushed to hospital where she quickly deteriorated before becoming brain dead. Her life support was switched off with her in the company of her acting family including husband, Liam Neeson, mother Vanessa Redgrave and sister Joely Richardson. She leaves behind two children. Her death is a reminder that any kind of head injury can be potentially serious and that skiing is a very dangerous sport.

An underwater volcano erupting close to the Tonga coast in the South Pacific ocean has intensified. Scientists sailed to inspect the volcano, which has been shooting smoke, steam and ash into the air for over six days close to the low-lying twin volcanic islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai. Local authorities said coastal villages close to the active volcano were not yet at risk, and that no warnings had been issued.

American President, Barack Obama, has delivered a television address to the Iranian people. He said his administration was committed "to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community". He had extended American sanctions on Iran for another year prior to the address as the US is gravely concerned of the dangers posed by their Uranium enrichment program which supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has vowed will not bow to international pressure.

Reality TV star Jade Goody has lost her battle with cervical cancer and died in the early hours of Sunday morning at her family home in Upshire, Essex. She has spent a lot of time in the press as she fought the battle, causing controversy as she allowed the media full access to monitor her and sold the photos of her recent wedding to OK magazine. Her publicist Max Clifford has led the tributes to the star of Big Brother and Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered his condolences.

A crocodile dubbed 'Robo Croc' has undergone facial reconstruction surgery at Miami's Metrozoo. Last year Robo Croc was run over by a car in the Florida Keys.He hadn't been able to eat for three months prior to the lifesaving surgery. Veterinarians placed two metal rods between its eyes, extending down to the bridge of its nose, and another on each side. Forty-one metal screws were drilled into its hide, keeping the skull and snout together. "RoboCroc is doing just fine," said Ron Magill, a spokesman for the zoo.

Biker gangs have engaged in a mass brawl at Sydney airport's domestic terminal. A rival biker gang laid in wait for a group of bikers to get off the plane. In the ensuing fight which about fifty people witnessed, a 28 year old man was beaten to death. The Hell's Angels and Comancheros used metal barrier poles like swords to batter each other. Four suspects were arrested and the rest all fled.

British MP George Galloway has been banned from entering Canada where he was due to tour. The Canadian authorities' decision to impose sanctions on Galloway are due to his recent statements claiming he provided financial support for the Palestinian group Hamas which are a banned terrorist organisation in Canada. The Respect MP for Bethnal Green is an avid anti-war protestor and has claimed that he will fight through the courts to overthrow the harsh decision.

North Korea has confirmed the arrest of two female US journalists, saying they were detained for illegally entering North Korean territory. Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, and Euna Lee, a Korean-American, both reportedly work for the California-based online media outlet Current TV. North Korea had only just recently reactivated the military hotline between themselves and their Southern neighbours. The journalists were doing a documentary on North Korean refugees that are in the northeastern area of China.

Ireland have ended a sixty-one year wait and finally lifted the grand slam in rugby union after an enthralling victory in Cardiff which saw them clinch the game only after a last minute Welsh kick fell short of the posts. The showpiece match was valiantly fought from whistle to whistle and was the highlight of northern hemisphere rugby this year. Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll has put himself in the favourite position to become British Lions captain for the forthcoming tour of South Africa.

And this week's top story...

Austrian man Josef Fritzl was this week jailed for life following his trial. He pleaded guilty to charges of rape, murder, enslavement, incest, coercion and false imprisonment. He had locked his daughter, Elizabeth, up for 24 years and subjected her to an horrific ordeal resulting in the births of seven children and one miscarriage. The town of Amstetten were completely shocked by the revelations and are pleased to see this monster locked up permanently in a psychiatric institution.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Good bye.

Newslip Episode 10 15.03.09

2009-03-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. today is Sunday, 15th March and here are the stories making this week's news.

Californian Democratic state assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced legislation to legalise cannabis in the cash-strapped state. It is hoped that by taxing the biggest cash crop, California can seek its way out of the recession. Marijuana is the biggest selling product, with a value of $14billion annually, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity, milk and cream. Medical use of marijuana has been legal in California since 1996. Very often, changes in Californian law precipitate changes across America so this controversial proposal could change the face of drugs laws on a grand scale.

Disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff has pleaded guilty to a $50 billion fraud, the largest in history. He has been sent to jail to await sentencing later in the year.It is expected his sentence could reach 150 years. As the guilty verdict was recorded some of his victims cheered in court. He had been running a Ponzi schem since at least the early nineties whereby early investors are paid off with the money from newcomers.

An Iraqi football player has been shot dead by a spectator as he was about to score an equalising goal. The shooting happened in the last minute of a game between two local rivals on Sunday. The striker was shot in the head during the match in the city of Hilla, according to local security officials. The game was being played between Sinjar and Buhayra. The suspected killer has been arrested as police carry out an investigation.

Following the recommendations made in Scotland last week about a minimum price for alcohol. The chief medical officer for England has recommended changes made to alcohol laws for the whole of Britain. Under the proposals there would be a minimum of 50p price per unit of alcohol. This would more than double some of the prices supermarket shoppers currently pay. Opposition spokesmen have criticised the move saying that ther majority of drinkers are resonsible and that rather than hitting people in the pocket, something should be done to make wholesale changes to the attitudes of problem drinkers.

Anjem Choudary is a self styled sharia judge and Islamic cleric. This week his supporters demonstrated in Luton against British troops returning from Iraq. He believes in the enforcement of Islamic holy law in Britain so that women will be forced to wear burqas and adulterers can be killed. He used the publicity generated by his protests to call for people to donate cash to the frontline Mujaheddin fighters waging jihad in places like Afghanistan.

Comic Relief Day's TV extravaganza netted an overnight £57 million in charity donations, far surpassing the previous record of 2007's £40 million. It is expected that the final donation figure could be £20 million higher. Stars who appeared on the show included David Beckham and Robbie Williams. The money raised will go towards helping disadvantaged people across the UK and Africa.

Britain's most prolific sex attacker has been identified as a London black cab driver. Convicted of twelve sex attacks, it is believed that John Worboys actually sexually assaulted around 500 women during his 13 year career as a cabbie. The 51 year old was formerly a male stripper. He would drug women in the back of his cab by plying them with spiked free alcohol to celebrate with him his imaginary big casino wins. He then proceeded to sexually assault them with most women waking up the following day with no clear recollection of what had occurred.

Kauto Star has won the 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup, seeing off stablemate Denman by 13 lengths to become the first horse to regain National Hunt's blue-riband race, after his victory in 2007. Winning jockey, Ruby Walsh, said "He's the greatest horse I've ever ridden. Two miles, three miles, now two Gold Cups. He's magic, he's a wonder horse. He travelled super all the way." The Queen was in attendance at Friday's showpiece event, to watch her horse, Barber Shop, which came in seventh.

Switzerland has vowed to end secrecy regarding its banking laws and allow governments access to private account information. The move comes due to pressure being exerted by Gordon Brown in his bid to end tax havens. It is engrained in Swiss law that bankers who reveal information about clients can be prosecuted and jailed. They claim that banking secrecy is still intact, but the end of 'no questions asked' banking looks set to change Switzerland forever.

And this week's top story...

In Winnenden, South West Germany, a heavily-armed seventeen year old gunman has gone on a shooting spree, killing fifteen people. Tim Kretschmer entered a school where he shot 12 people dead before hijacking a car and fleeing to a nearby town where he killed two more in a car showroom. He was cornered by police and died of a gunshot wound to the head. His father was a prominent member of a local gunclub giving him access to weapons. Prior to the shooting he had left warnings on an internet chatroom.

That's all for this Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again very soon.

Newslip Episode 9 08.03.09

2009-03-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today is Sunday, 8th March 2009. Here are this week's Newslip stories.

Social networking websites are causing alarming changes in the brains of young users, an eminent scientist has warned. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centred. Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University neuroscientist and director of the Royal Institution, believes repeated exposure could effectively 'rewire' the brain.'My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.'

Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, while speaking at the start of the annual session of China's parliament, has said that he is ready to speak to Taiwan about ending hostilities.Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which split from the mainland at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Reacting to Mr Wen's overture, Taiwan's government said it would prefer to negotiate economic deals before political ones.

British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, flew to Washington this week to be the first European leader to meet President Obama. Brown addressed Congress and talked of ways to overcome the global economic crisis as well as emphasizing the need for Britian and America to cement their special relationship. The visit set the agenda ahead of the forthcoming G20 meeting in London.

The Sri Lankan cricket team were ambushed as they drove to a stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. Six policemen were shot dead, also a bus driver. Seven members of the Sri Lankan team plus their coach were injured. Sri Lanka had only stepped in to tour Pakistan at the last minute because India had pulled out in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. The event has been cited as 'a grim day for sport.'

50 year old pop star Michael Jackson gave a press conference in London to announce a series of ten tour dates at the O2 Arena. He told the throng of fans that it would be his last tour. The star is hoping to overcome his financial problems by earning approximately $400 million for the shows.

A British couple, both suffering from terminal cancer, committed suicide together at a Swiss euthanasia centre. Peter and Penelope Duff, from Bath, ended their lives at the Dignitas clinic in Zurich on Friday. They were both great patrons of Bath's culture. A spokesman said that their decision did not reflect on the excellent healthcare they had received in Britain.

Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai has survived a car crash in which his wife was killed. President Robert Mugabe has visited him in hospital. Suspicions have arose about foul play being behind the incident.

Riot police in Malaysia have fired tear gas to disperse thousands of people in Kuala Lumpur, who protested against the use of English in local schools. Some 124 people were reportedly held, as the demonstrators tried to march to the royal palace in the capital. The ethnic Malay protesters demanded a return to Malay as the teaching language for maths and science.

An unmanned Nasa mission to search the sky for Earth-like planets with the potential to host life has launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The Kepler telescope will orbit the Sun to watch a patch of space thought to contain about 100,000 stars like ours.

And this week's top story...

Masserene army base in Antrim, Northern Ireland has seen an attack of which the Real IRA has claimed responsibilty.Two soldiers were killed and four others were injured by a volley of shots from gunmen using automatic rifles. They were waiting in a nearby car and waited for a pizza delivery to arrive before seizing their opportunity to strike in the terrorist attack. Political leaders on both sides have condemned the assault on the Peace Process.

That's it for this week. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon.

Newslip Episode 8 01.03.09

2009-03-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today is St.David's Day, Sunday, 1st March 2009. Here are this week's Newslip stories...

Manchester United have lifted the first silverware of the football season after beating Tottenham Hotspur in a penalty shootout in the Carling Cup Final. The match was level at nil-nil after ninety minutes and an extra 30 minutes of extra time could still not separate the sides. Tottenham missed two penalties in the shootout, allowing Anderson to score the winning penalty to win 4-1. It sets Manchester United on their way to a possible quadruple this season.

Missiles fired by US unmanned aircraft have killed seven people close to Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. Two missiles reportedly struck a house in Sararogha, in South Waziristan, and the dead are believed to include suspected militants. Apparently the Taleban were active in the house at the time of the attack. US Drones are part of high tech warfare operations in Afghanistan.

The British film industry had massive success at this year's Academy Awards. Slumdog Millionaire won a total of eight Oscars including best director and best picture. British actress Kate Winslet also scooped best Actress award. In a rare occurence, a posthumous Oscar was awarded to Heath Ledger for best supporting actor for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

An Australian surfer has been attacked by a shark at a North Sydney beach, the third such attack in as many weeks. The teenager has severe lacerations to his leg and is lucky as in one of the other attacks the victim lost his limbs. It is believed that a ban on commercial fishing and hence a rise in fish stocks, has attracted the sharks to the area. One of the attacks was at Bondi beach, the first such attack in 80 years.

At Athens' highest security prison, two of Greece's most wanted men have staged a daring helicopter escape. It is the second time in three years that serial armed robber and kidnapper Vassilis Paleokostas and his Albanian sidekick Alket Rizai have fled the prison. They were imminently due to stand trial for their previous attempt. The helicopter used in the raid was fired upon by prison guards. It was left abandonned on a highway leading up to the Greek mountains where it is believed the men have sought refuge.

An international court has been set up at The Hague in the Netherlands to try the suspected killers of assassinated Lebanese Primie Minister, Rafik Hariri. Just after the killing in 2005, 4 pro-Syrian generals were held. It is expected that Lebanon will hand over these suspects for the trial. A bomb blast ripped through Hariri's convoy killing a total of 22 people. The finger has pointed to Syrian involvment which Damascus denies and it is expected that the trial will reveal more details.

Corpus Christi College, Oxford, have beaten Manchester University in the final of University Challenge. However, the BBC are investigating claims that one of their team members was ineligible for the show as he left the college during the summer and works as an accountant after he failed to secure funding for his PhD. The Corpus Christi captain, Gail Trimble, who answered 75% of her team's questions throughout the series, has been making headlines and has been dubbed 'the human google' after her awesome displays.

A government watchdog has questioned the efficiency of many over the counter cold remedies in treating children under the age of twelve. In all 36 remedies have had to withdraw being sold to children under six after the MHRA released its study findings. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said that most remedies had little positive effect on children under the age of twelve and recommended children's colds to be treated traditionally with little more than paracetamol and hot honey and lemon.

The government have revealed controversial plans to part-privatise the post office, breaking part of their election manifesto. Postal unions are up in arms about the decision and have the backing of many labour backbenchers. There is a need for private cash to fill the massive gap in postal workers pensions. It is hoped that foreign companies with experience in privatised postal services will be able to help streamline the inefficiencies that reside in our system. Business secretary, Lord Mandelson, has accused the unions of 'scare tactics'.

And this week's top story...

Conservative leader, David Cameron, was hit by family tragedy this week when his six year old son, Ivan, died. His disabled son suffered from cerebral palsy and an extreme form of epilepsy called Ohtahara syndrome. As a mark of respect, Prime Minister's questions in the House of Commons were suspended. David Cameron paid tribute to the joy his son brought him and paid thanks to the many messages of sympathy he had received. Through his time looking after Ivan, Mr Cameron was given an insight into the running of the NHS and he has become a staunch supporter of the health service.

Thanks for tuning in. That's all for this Newslip. Until next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 7 22.02.09

2009-02-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 22nd of February. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the top stories making the news this week.

Civil liberties group Human Rights Watch have released a report claiming that at least ten British citizens have been tortured in foreign countries in collusion with the British security services. In Pakistan it is said that after torture, MI5 has been interviewing terrorism suspects. David Milliband, the foreign secretary is already under pressure after refusing to release documents relating to the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, the British Guantánamo detainee, who is imminently due to return to Britain. A foreign office spokesman claimed "Our policy is not to participate in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of torture, or inhumane or degrading treatment, for any purpose."

Claims were made this week that Google Earth's new ocean mapping feature had discovered the lost city of Atlantis. Images were produced of a series of underwater grid lines indicating a city. The find, 600 miles off the African coast, was thought to have solved the riddle of the fabled civilisation, first mentioned by Plato. However, Google explained later in the week that the features were just idiosyncracies of their data collection and were nothing more than the paths of boats that were recording their data.

It looks as though David Beckham's desire to extend his loan spell at AC Milan is on the rocks after the club refused to pay he £9 million valuation of LA Galaxy. Milan tried to extend Beckham's loan until his contract expires in November for a fee of £2 million. LA Galaxy have refused to budge, however, and want their star to return in time for the start of the new season. Claims have been made that Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi is lining up Leonardo to replace Beckham.

President Bush left office with a record high 73% domestic disapproval rate. The general feelings around the globe was that he was the worst US President in history. However, there are some isolated corners which felt that Bush did good service. Kosovo has named a street after him after he supported their independence. Many new children in Darfur are named George Bush and his extreme pro-Israeli support meant that he was given constant standing ovations on state visits there. The overall African approval rate, even in Muslim countries is a resounding 80% mainly due to the doubling of state aid during his time in office.

A memorial service has been held in Victoria state capital, Melbourne, to commemorate the lives of 209 people who lost their lives in the Australian fires. Many people from the grief-stricken communities had to be bussed to the service after their vehicles were destroyed in the fire, along with their homes. Princess Anne was present at the service to represent the Queen.

European leaders, gathered in Berlin, have agreed the need to regulate all financial markets, including hedge funds. Warnings were made about economic protectionism and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, highlighted that they faced 'an extraordinary international crisis.' The meeting was seen as a precursor to the imminent meeting of the G20 where the rules of the global financial system are planned to be rewritten.

The Colombian secret police, the DAS, have been accused of allowing rogue agents to leak information to criminals. Magistrates, politicians, officials and journalists may have had phones tapped. Data on apparent rebel sympathisers has been passed to right-wing paramilitary death squads. There is an ongoing civil war in Colombia between government forces and left-wing rebel militia, the FARC.

The terminally ill reality TV superstar Jade Goody has married her fionce, Jack Tweed, to the echoes of a standing ovation by the watching crowd. The twenty-seven year old, bald from her chemotherapy treatment, is suffering from Ovarian cancer. She signed the papers with her two sons sat on her lap. Tweedy, tagged after being released form jail following an assault charge, propsed to Miss Goody immediately after doctors had diagnosed her with the incurable disease.

Banking minister Lord Myners has said banks were "foolish" to offer 100% mortgages, after Gordon Brown called for "prudent and careful" lending. Liberal Democrats and Tories claimed that the government's actions came too late. When chancellor, Gordon Brown said that Britain was strong because of its light-touch regulatory environment, which encouraged investment and created jobs and wealth. He has since changed his stance.

And this week's top story...

A bomb has exploded in a crowded tourist area of Cairo, killing one and injuring seventeen. A device was thrown from a balcony into a crowd of predominantly French tourists at a cafe in the historic Khan al-Khalili area. The are was the target in previous attacks in 2005. The Egyptian government has been criticised for its stance over over the recent conflict in Gaza and has many enemies.

That's all for this week. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon.

Newslip Episode 6 15.02.09

2009-02-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard and today's date is Sunday, 15th February 2009.

Lloyds bank has announced it will be paying staff £120 million in bonuses despite its parent company HBOS recording £11 billion losses. Lloyds is already 43% owned by the taxpayer and said that its employees deserved "financial recognition" for hitting targets. The government has said that it has no plans to nationalise the ailing bank.

A controversial right-wing Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, has been banned from entering the UK on the grounds that he could be a threat to public order. Mr Wilders was turned away by airport immigration officials after he arrived to give a showing of his film, Fitna, at the House of Lords. He has incensed Muslims by describing the Koran as 'a fascist book'. The Dutch politician declared that it reflected on Britain's democratic system that they did not allow entry to a democratically elected politician.

On Saturday, newly elected American president, Barak Obama, said that the newly passed 787 billion dollar stimulus plan was a "major milestone on our road to recovery." He went on to say "It will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, ignite spending by business and consumers alike, and lay a new foundation for our lasting economic growth and prosperity," In addition to the cash, the US plans state employment projects akin to those of Roosevelt's 1930s New Deal.

Nine men were arrested in a counter-terrorism operation after being stopped on a motorway by anti-terror police. The men were travelling on the M65, near Preston, Lancashire when they were arrested on Friday night in a joint operation by Lancashire Constabulary and the North West Counter Terrorism Unit. Six of the men were later released without charge, while three men, aged 26, 29 and 36, remained in custody.

Fifty people have died after a US plane crashed into a house on its way to a runway at Buffalo airport, New York State. Analysis of the flight's recorders show that there was a significant build up of ice on the wings leading up to the crash. While it was supposed to land on a southwest runway the plane crashed into the house when facing northeast. After Thursday's crash it was believed to be necessary for a few days to recover all the bodies from the wreckage.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has announced that in the 50 poorest countries of the world, the price of their drugs will be capped at a maximum of 25% of their value in the developed world. In another move to extend healthcare help to the developing world GSK vowed to share patents, allowing for development of cheaper versions of drugs essential for treatment of diseases in poverty-stricken areas of the world.

Police in Italy have warned of a trend in which criminals have diverted their communications activities to web-based phone service, Skype, in order to avoid mobile phone taps. Skype has refused to share the secrets of its data encryption with authorities, making its telephone service secure. Officers in Milan overheard a criminal conversation in which a cocaine traffiker suggests switching to skype in order for consignment details to be given.

The Public relations firm representing the Californian woman who gave birth to octuplets in January has stepped down after it received a series of death threats. Nadya Suleman, the single mother of the octuplets, has fourteen children, all conceived by IVF treatment. Her hiring of a PR firm backfired when public opinion turned when it materialised that Miss Suleman was dependent on state aid.

A right-wing group in India has targeted women for drinking in bars, violently assaulting them. A facebook group has been formed for sympathisers of the women and for Valentine's day it arranged for thousands of pairs of pink women's knickers to be sent to the offices of Sri Ram Sena, the group responsible for the attacks. A more direct form of protest has been arranged with women being encouraged to walk to the nearest pub for a quick drink.

And Newslip's top story this week...

The Australian bush fires that began raging last week have left a total of 181 people dead. A 39 year old man has been charged with lighting one of the fires which killed 21 people. More than 150 actors, sports stars, politicians and musicians have taken part in a fundraising telethon for victims of the mass fires. Memorial services have been held across the country.

That's all for now. Thanks for tuning in and see you all next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 5 08.02.09

2009-02-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Newslip. I am Wesley Gerrard. Today is Sunday, 8th February, 2009. Here are the stories making this week's global news.

The record cold spell in Britain saw South Wales cut off from the rest of the country when both Severn Bridges were shut on Friday after ice fell from gantries, damaging at least five cars when their windscreens were smashed. When the Second Severn Crossing was built it was said that it would remain open constantly so it was a rare occurence when it was shut for one and a half days.

The trial of Italian Raffaele Sollecito and his American ex-girlfriend Amanda Knox has got underway in Peruggia, Italy. They are both accused of murdering British student Meredith Kercher, who allegedly refused to engage in their sex games. The trial has gained massive international publicity and Amanda Knox has become a cult media icon.

The greatest Olympic champion ever has been photographed smoking a cannabis pipe at a university party. American Michael Phelps became, in Beijing during the summer, the greatest Olympian of all time with a medal tally of eight golds, extending his total golds to 14 with two additional silvers. He was caught unawares by the News of the World which embarrassingly for the swimmer has tarnished his global reputation. It proves that after all, he is just a youngster who, despite his amazing achievements, is a mere mortal.

A 'weather event of a century' has hit southern Australia with the massive summer heatwave meaning temperatures have risen to a whopping 47 degrees Centigrade. Bush fires have become endemic and at least 25 people have perished. Authorities in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales have declared the events as the worst in their history.

A three and a half month old boy from South Wales has died after being mauled by the family dogs. Jaden Mack was staying with his grandmother in Ystrad Mynach at the time of the incident. The dogs responsible, a Jack Russell and Staffordshire bull terrier were both humanely put down. Neighbours were alerted after the grandmother entered the street, screaming, and the boy was taken to hospital where he was declared dead.

Undefeated Welsh boxing champion, Joe Calzaghe, has announced his retirement from an eleven year career which saw him fight in 24 world title bouts. He ends his illustrious professional life with a very impressive 46 and 0 record. It is said that his greatest victory came against superweight Danish champion, Mikkel Kessler in 2007 at the Millenium stadium. Calzaghe was widely recognised for his achievements when he was voted British sports personality of the year. He was also knighted by the Queen.

The world's first openly gay leader has been elected in Iceland. Johanna Sigurdardottir is an active lesbian and her election win last Sunday has caused more controversy abroad than it has amongst the liberally minded Icelandic voters. Her challenges as a leader will be to delve Iceland out of its massive financial crisis which has recently left it dependant on international bailouts.

Chancellor Allister Darling has launched a probe into how banks operate. People are angry at the excesses of bank executives with their massive pay and bonus schemes. One of the aspects believed to be under investigation is how risktaking is rewarded within the industry with massive financial incentives. The government has invested billions of pounds of taxpayers' money in banks recently and therefore has a vested interest in assessing any unacceptable behaviour.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has denied reports that he paid £20 000 for a private performance of 'Bjorn Again', the Abba tribute band. The event supposedly took place on 22nd January, on the anniversary of the death of Lenin, the founder of the Russian communist party. The band reported that although they played behind a net curtain, they could see Mr Putin dancing around as he enjoyed a rare chance to let his hair down.

And Newslip's top story this week...

Britain is experiencing its coldest snap in twenty years with many areas experiencing heavy snowfall throughout the week. Early in the week saw London and the southeast hit badly with London buses being suspended. Up to six million people were unable to travel to work. The weather spread nationwide and the southwest has been extremely hit with drivers being isolated on the M5 near Exeter and Gloucestershire county council having to order table salt in large quantities to compensate for their running out of gritting salt to put on the roads. The weather looks set to continue into next week with temperatures on Monday and Tuesday set to drop to minus 14 degrees Centigrade.

Thanks for tuning in. That's all for this week. See you all again soon. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 4 01.02.09

2009-02-01T03:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.newslip.co.uk

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today is Sunday, 1st February 2009 and here are this week's news stories...

The funeral took place of Bill Stone, the last British serviceman to have seen active duty in both world wars. Mr Stone lived to be 108 and during the wars, served in the Royal Navy, which he originally joined in 1918 on his eighteenth birthday. He died peacefully in a care home surrounded by his family.

Brazil and Manchester City striker, Robinho, who recently was fined by his club for walking away from an international training camp, was charged on Tuesday for an alleged sexual assault on a girl in a Leeds nightclub. Robinho, whose £32.5 million pricetag makes him the most expensive player in Britain, has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and is making no further comment as the investigation continues.

The coldest winter in thirteen years is ongoing as icy winds threaten to plunge Britain into subzero temperatures. Snow from Russia will be falling Sunday night and will become more widespread across England & Wales by Monday with drifts between 5 and 10 cm to be expected.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom warned at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, that financial protectionism is a greater danger than trade protectionism in the current global economic crisis. He told participants that cooperation between major powers and global financial institutions is vital to ensure a continued flow of credit to developing and smaller countries, which are likely to be the biggest victims of the recession.

Steelmaker Corus has announced that it is to cut 3500 jobs worldwide, including 2500 in the UK. Corus' plans include 'mothballing' part of their site at Llanwern in Newport meaning the loss of 600 jobs. They hope that they will be able to implement a voluntary redundancy scheme. Global steel demand has fallen 40% from its peak last year and Corus' orders have hence fallen by a third.

An Iraqi sculpture of a shoe at an orphanage in Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit, has been dismantled after being unveiled last Thursday. The sculpture, a homage to the Iraqi journalist who launched his shoes at Mr Bush, was taken down on the orders of local authorities. Muntadar al-Zaidi is still being held, awaiting trial for his actions for which he faces a possible 15 year jail term.

Up to 2.5 million people took part in demonstrations in France on Thursday as the nation ground to a halt through strike action. People were angered by the government's failure to deal with the current economic crisis. In Paris, police met protestors with repeated baton charges, and after fires were lit on some of the capital's best-known boulevards, they used tear gas on the minority of protesters who were violent.

The House of Lords has fallen into disrepute after a secret Sunday Times investigation revealed Lord Truscott to offer an undercover reporter the opportunity for him to hire the peer to change legislation in the house, in return for a cash payment. Three other lords were also revealed to be operating similar bribe schemes. Calls have been made for the House of Lords to be subjected to similar laws as affect the lower House of Commons.

Communist North Korea has accused Seoul of hostile intent and as a result has scrapped all military and political agreements with its Southern neighbour. The North, angry with new South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, says that it is at the brink of war. The two Korean states are still technically at war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.

And this week's top story...

US President Barack Obama has reacted angrily to reports that US bank executives paid themselves $18 billion in bonuses last year. At a time when American unemployment figures are at the highest level ever recorded and when taxpayers money is being used to bail out the financial services industry, he said that bonuses were shameful.

Thanks for tuning into Newslip. See you all next week. Goodbye.

http://www.newslip.co.uk

Newslip Episode 3 25.01.09

2009-01-24T20:19:00.000-08:00

http://www.wezgshuffle.co.uk/newslipepisode1.htm
2009-01-17
monthly
0.9

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Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard and today's date is Sunday, 25th January 2009. Here are the stories making this week's news...

BBC presenter, Jonathan Ross, returned to television after a three month ban due to him making lewd comments on Russell Brand's radio show. The successful return to television saw a massive increase in Ross' viewers from 3.7 million in October to 5.1 million on Friday night. The show had special guest, Tom Cruise, and Ross extended an apology about his recent actions as well as recognising a newfound responsibility, being allowed such priveleged opportunity to publicly broadcast.

Much-loved artist and TV presenter, Tony Hart, has died peacefully at his Surrey home at the age of 83. Hart was most famous for the children's art programme, Hartbeat, where his companion was a babble-speaking plasticine character named 'Morph'. Hart was also famous for originally designing the Blue Peter badge. His television career had spanned almost half a decade and he had received a couple of Baftas for his work. His art career was terminated after he had in recent years suffered a couple of strokes.

Talented England and Liverpool midfielder, Steven Gerrard, has appeared in court to face charges over his alleged involvment in a nightclub brawl in December. The 28-year old star spoke at a hearing at North Sefton magistrates court only to confirm his details and to register a not-guilty plea to the charges of assault and affray that have been levied. Gerrard appeared in court with two fellow defendants. They have been accused of causing facial injuries to the DJ of the Lounge Inn in Southport. The case has been adjourned until 20th March.

The Florida swamps have seen a clash of reptilian titans. A 13 foot python and a 6 foot alligator fought to the death with both animals being found dead by stunned Everglades rangers. The python is believed to have exploded when it tried to swallow the alligator whole. Normally an alligator would be expected to win such a clash as they are number one in the food chain. Burmese pythons, however, who have found their way into the habitat as released, unwanted pets, are certainly challenging for predator dominance.

Statistics have demonstrated a sharp increase in knife crime in England and Wales. The number of fatal stabbings in 2007-8 was 270, the largest amount recorded since 1977. Between July and September 2008, robberies involving knives were up 18 percent on the previous year's figures. Also there were increases recorded in fatal stabbings and attempted murder with a knife. There was better news regarding the use of guns with firearms offences during the same period falling by 29 percent.

Digital Evangelism rose to new heights this week when Pope Benedict XVI launched the new Vatican Youtube channel. In his first message on the new channel, the 81-year old pope said: "You must find ways to spread - in a new manner - voices and pictures of hope, through the internet, which wraps all of our planet in an increasingly close-knitted way," It is understood that the pope is fond of technology and he aims to reach the ears of the new digital generation.

A 20-year old man has been charged in Belgium with the murder of two babies and a nurse at a nursery school in Dendermonde. The frenzied knife attack left ten further children and two adults injured. The 20 year old man, called Kim D, had white makeup covering his face with two black patches over his eyes. The makeup suggests a link with the joker character from the Batman movies. Heath Ledger, the actor who played the Joker in the Dark Knight died a year and a day prior to the date of the attack.

Police in The Bahamas have arrested two people in an alleged plot to extort money from film star, John Travolta. The icon's sixteen year old son, Jett, recently tragically died on the island and it is believed that an arrested ambulanceman and female senator were trying to obtain $20 million from Travolta in return for not selling pictures of his son's dead body.

The UK is now officially in recession for the first time since 1991 after two successive quarters reported a decline in GDP. For the last three months of 2008 GDP fell 1.5% following a 0.6% decline in the previous three month period. The fall in quarter to quarter gross domestic product was the worst since 1980. Some economists have warned that not only are we in a recession but more like a depression akin to that seen post Wall Street Crash during the 1930s.

And this week's top story...

On Tuesday the 44th President of the USA was inaugurated before an enraptured audience in Washington DC. Barack Hussein Obama becomes the first African-American president and is seen by much of the world as a welcome breath of fresh air following the outgoing George W Bush, Republican administration. Obama grew up in Hawaii, the son of a Kenyan goat herder. He later spent time in Indonesia before moving back to the United States where he trained as a lawyer. Both his father and step-father are Muslims and it is hoped that Obama's upbringing will help resolve some of the many world crises in which America is involved. Already this week, Obama has declared that Guantanamo Bay will be shut down and in between implementing the initial phases of his economic recovery plan, Barack found time to call Gordon Brown, the first European leader to be contacted by the new administration.

That's the end of this week's episode. We look forward to updating you again next week...Until then....Goodbye.

Check the Newslip website

Newslip Episode 2 18.01.09

2009-01-17T19:55:00.000-08:00

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Welcome to the second episode of Newslip. Today is Sunday, 18th January 2009. I am Wesley Gerrard and I'm here to present a brief outline of stories making the news this week.

Welsh TV presenter and singer, Charlotte Church has named her new baby boy. Her second child to rugby star, Gavin Henson, born on Sunday, 11th January, will be called Dexter Lloyd. At birth the new baby weighed 7lb 5oz, and was delivered with Henson present at the Welsh couple's Vale of Glamorgan farmhouse. The baby is a brother for the couple's 15-month-old daughter Ruby Megan. Charlotte and Henson have been together for four years but have said that they do not plan to marry "any time soon".

Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has received the United States' highest civil award - the Medal of Freedom. In his final week of office, President George W Bush gave the medal to Mr Blair in the company of fellow recipients, Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, and former Australian PM, John Howard. Bush praised Blair and thanked him for his "staunch" support for the US after the attacks of 9/11. Mr Blair's spokesman said the medal was a "great honour".

After the race row instigated by Prince Harry last week, his royal father followed in his footsteps as it emerged that he had been calling an Asian polo player by the nickname, 'Sooty'. Kolin Dillon responded to the media uproar by saying it was a "term of affection with no offence meant or felt." Republicans have seized the opportunity to criticise the royal family but in contrast with Harry's more controversial remarks last week, Prince Charles' actions appear frivolous.

Tourism officials in Australia are inviting applicants to apply for "the best job in the world". They want someone to work on a tropical island off the Queensland coast. In return for six months work, the successful applicant will receive a salary of £70 000 and get to live rent-free in a three-bedroom villa, complete with pool. The new recruit will work for just 12 hours a month. Duties include feeding some of the hundreds of species of fish and collecting Hamilton Island's mail. The job is being advertised around the world. Candidates have until 22 February to submit an online video application.

Outgoing US president, George Bush has spent the week delivering final farewells. He spoke to the press for the last time and then went on to deliver a final television address to the American people. In his speech he reflected on eight years of office, defending the decisions he made, in particular those concerning the wars in which he has been involved. He warned of the future terrorist threat and wished president elect, Obama, a happy future term.

Transport minister, Geoff Hoon, has announced government approval for a third runway to be built at London's Heathrow airport. The increased capacity would mean that the annual takeoffs and landings could rise from 480 000 a year today to 720 000 by 2030. Building the new runway would mean the loss of around 700 homes. Environmental activists have expressed their deep concerns and Conservative and Liberal Democrats are opposed to the scheme. Labour also faces a potential backbench revolt in parliament.

Manchester City have tabled a bid in the region of £107 million for Brazil and AC Milan football star, Kaka. The bid, if accepted will more than double the present world record fee of £46 million, paid for Zinedine Zidane. Whereas Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager has stated that the deal is far from certain, AC Milan owner, Silvio Berlusconi has said that the sheer scale of the bid makes it very difficult for Milan to retain the services of the talented midfielder. It is believed that Kaka's potential wages will be £500 000 a week.

A US Airways plane has crashed into the Hudson river in New York City harbour. Pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, said that the plane hit birds, causing both engines to fail. After the emergency landing, all 155 passengers survived with about half of them being treated for minor injuries. The pilot is unable to speak publicly while an investigation into the crash continues but has the keys of the city waiting to be presented to him for his heroic actions.

Eighties pop star and DJ, Boy George, has been jailed for 15 months following a conviction for imprisoning a rent boy at his London flat. The Norwegian, Audun Carlsen, was beaten with a chain and escaped in only his boxer shorts and trainers while still handcuffed. Boy George claimed that he was trying to recover some stolen items from the victim but the judge said that the pop star was guilty of 'gratuitous violence.'

And this week's top story:

Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has declared a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. The three week campaign came to an end at midnight today. the conflict has taken the lives of nearly 1200 Palestinians, many of them women and chttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhildren. It is understood that Israeli forces will stay in the region and not pull out immediately, something which Hamas has branded as unacceptable. The threat to return to force should rocket attacks continue has been promised. Israel claims that their objectives in destroying the Hamas military infrastructure have been achieved.

That's all for this week. Thanks a lot for tuning in and I hope to see you all soon.

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Newslip Episode 1 11.01.09

2009-01-10T21:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Newslip, your brief weekly news update. I am Wesley Gerrard. Today is Sunday the 11th of January 2009 and this is our inaugural episode. In this week's news we have ten stories to present to you... If you want to see the site in its original context please visit the main website Also the site can be seen at Youtube and Myspace A record chill has been felt across Europe with at least seventeen lives being claimed across the region. Most of southern France is blanketed in snow and Milan in Italy has had to shut its two airports. In Eastern Germany, a weather station recorded temperatures dropping as low as minus 27 degrees centigrade. Conversely, temperatures in Australia are soaring, as it experiences an extremely hot summer heatwave. The siege of the Saudi oil tanker, the Sirius Star, has finally ended after owners of the plighted ship arranged for a plane to parachute a $3 million ransom to the Somali pirates which have held the crew hostage for the past two months. Two Britons were among the 25 strong crew and reports suggest that they are both safe and well. English cricket was hit by a storm on Wednesday when the relationship between captain and coach became untenable. Kevin Pietersen resigned as captain due to the breakdown and coach Peter Moores was sacked. Andrew Strauss has been appointed as the new permanent captain. Film star, Patrick Swayze, has been admitted to hospital, suffering from pneumonia. Earlier this week he spoke on an ABC news interview about his battle with pancreatic cancer. The star of Ghost said: 'Am I dying? Am I giving up? Am I on my death bed? Am I saying goodbye to people? No way.' Despite his comments he admitted that he expected to be dead within two years. A Tory activist was expelled from the party after boasting to friends on his facebook page how he dressed up as the missing girl, Madeleine McCann, at a New Years Eve Party. Matthew Lewis apologised to Madeleine's incensed parents and his position as branch chairman of Staffordshire's Conservative Future is now listed as vacant. The Head of MI5, the British secret intelligence service, Jonathan Evans, warned that the decline in economic power of the West, due to the international recession, could be a watershed moment in the maintenance of domestic security. As the balance of economic power shifted away from the West, Mr Evans predicted that new threats would emerge. As well as the ongoing rise of Islamic fundamentalist activity, the MI5 chief suggested that there has been a rise in spying by growing economic powers such as Russia and China. After a dispute over payments by the Ukraine for their gas supplies, Russia cut off all supplies of the raw material to their neighbours. This had a knock-on effect across Eastern Europe as Ukraine is the transit route for gas pipes from Russia to Europe. During the particularly cold spell which has hit the continent, many homes across Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Serbia have been left without their energy. An accord has now been reached between the leaders of the disputing countries and the gas supply is expected to be resumed shortly. Manchester United and Portugal football star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who, during the summer was branded by FIFA chief, Sepp Blatter, as a wage slave, crashed his Ferrari this week in a tunnel at Manchester airport. As the wreckage of the sports car was cleared from the road, the uninjured Ronaldo went to training with his teammates at the United training ground. Police are yet to decide on whether or not to prosecute the 23 year old for dangerous driving. Video footage has emerged of Prince Harry in which he brands one of his colleagues in army barracks as a 'Paki'. In the same video he is heard calling another fellow army cadet a 'raghead'. The third in line to the throne has previously hit headlines after offending Jews when he turned up dressed as a Nazi at a party. Harry has apologised for his comments and claims that they were taken out of context. And this week's top story... We have entered the third week of the bloody Israeli invasion of Gaza and the number of dead has dramatically increased since Israel launched the ground offensive against Hamas insurgents. The number of civilians killed, however, has been prolific, especially since the attack on a school as well as an alleged bombardment of a UN aid convoy. The total number of Palestinian fatalities is now in excess of 850 whereas only 13 Israelis have died. Both sides rejected a UN resolution for peace and embassies across the world have been besieged by infuriated demonstrators. Of course, the really big news this week is that Newslip has been launched. We hope you enjoyed the program and will continue to support us in the future. We are also available on You Tube, Podomatic, Myspace, Facebook and have several blogs as well as the newslip.co.uk website. We'll be back next week to update you all. Good bye.