British troops for Afghanistan
Four hundred extra British troops are to be sent to Afghanistan in preparation for next year’s planned expansion of Nato’s security operation in the country.
The British-commanded Allied Rapid Reaction Corps headquarters is to take command of the International Security Assistance Force based in Kabul from April.
Ministry of Defence officials said that the 400 troops were just part of Britain’s expected increase in its military contribution to Afghanistan next year. More than 1,100 British troops are at present in Afghanistan.
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Fat children fear
Life-threatening illnesses associated with old age are affecting children because of Britain’s spiralling obesity problem, the British Medical Association said. About a million children under 16 are obese and developing diabetes, fatty liver disease, sleep apnoea, asthma and orthopaedic problems.
Falcons killed
Wildlife officers are investigating attacks in Fife in which two peregrine falcons have been shot dead near Kennoway, and eggs have been destroyed at two sites. Police said that tampering with the birds, protected under the Countryside Act, could lead to imprisonment or a fine of up to £5,000.
Aberdeen to screen Live 8
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Aberdeen City Council agreed yesterday to show the Scottish Live 8 concert at Murrayfield on large screens, having said it would be too expensive. Now the July 6 broadcast will be shown at the city’s Seaton Park through a partnership led by the city council and Northsound Radio which will cover the cost, put at up to £50,000.
Meanwhile Friends of the Earth Scotland are urging Scots to sound a country-wide alarm on climate change, using whistles, bells and other instruments, during next month’s G8 summit — at 1.45pm on July 7. And a fresh row erupted between Live 8 organisers and ebay after Murrayfield tickets were offered to the highest bidder.
Cash for classes
A scheme that pays youngsters to stay at school or college has been taken up by 20,200 students — just under a third of Scotland’s 16-year-olds. They received £8.5 million in allowances between August and January. Most received the maximum £30 weekly payment.
Medical officer
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Harry Burns, 54, the director of public health for NHS Greater Glasgow, is Scotland’s new chief medical officer, succeeding Mac Armstrong, who retired last month. He trained as a surgeon and was a lecturer at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow. He took up his present post in 1993.
Terror suspect
A suspected Dutch terrorist recruiter was arrested in a London street by armed officers. Racid Belkacem, 32, is wanted in Holland for alleged offences involving firearms, forged documentation and terrorist related recruitment. He is not suspected of terrorist activities in Britain.
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Drink driver
A dinner lady who stayed up all night drinking vodka recorded one of the highest drink driving levels to go before a court. Catherine Bickerdike, 29, of Warton, Lancashire, was nearly six times over the limit when she was tested. Bickerdike was bailed for a week by Magistrates in Blackpool.
Ferry killed tourist
A Briton died after being hit by the propeller of a passenger ferry while she was scuba diving in Malaysia. Joanna Jennings, 22, of Cotmanhay, Derbyshire, was struck while the vessel raced another boat in July 2001. Peter Ashworth, the Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner, recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.
Stone arrested
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Michael Stone, the loyalist gunman freed under the Good Friday agreement after killing three people in an attack on an IRA funeral in Belfast, was under arrest last night.
Mr Stone was arrested in London on Tuesday after walking into a police station and making allegations that he had committed murder, police sources said.
He was handed over to officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who flew him to Belfast. Last night he was being held at Armagh police station.
This year Mr Stone was arrested in connection with alleged plots to murder leading politicians during the 1980s. He was later released without charge.
Lawrence sale
A telegram, the sending of which led to the death of T. E. Lawrence in a motorcycle accident in May 1935, has been found in the papers of Henry Williamson, the author of Tarka the Otter. The telegram is expected to fetch about £12,000 at Sotheby’s in London on July 12.
Contrite mugger
Lucy Packer, 93, of Hull, has forgiven the mugger who robbed her of a shopping bag after he returned seconds later, handed her the bag and said: “I’m very sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” Police, however, still want to apprehend him for the “cowardly” crime.
Scout jailed
A scout leader who sexually assaulted four boy scouts and kept more than 5,000 indecent images of children was jailed for five years at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester. Paul Billington, 60, from Northwich, Cheshire, regularly assaulted one of the boys during overnight outings.
Rape arrest
A 19-year-old man was arrested by Lothian and Borders Police investigating the rape of a woman in Selkirk. He was held after the woman said that she was sexually assaulted by a man who had befriended her on a night out in Galashiels.
Yacht man named
The man who died after he was trapped under a 28ft yacht that had run aground off the Essex coast was named as Murdo MacLennan, 58, from Dingwall in Ross-shire. A retired Northern Constabulary sergeant, he was living in Alicante, Spain.
Boy ‘left in car’
A woman, 42, from Innerleithen, Peebleshire, has been charged after allegedly leaving a two-year-old child alone in a car in Galashiels for about an hour. The child was found wandering about by a passer-by.
Royal challenge
A legal challenge is being mounted over the power of the Queen to use the royal prerogative to stop overseas British citizens returning to islands in the Indian Ocean. The case concerns inhabitants of the Chagos islands who were made to leave so that the US could build an air base.
Frozen assets
An ice-cream man who allegedly sold smuggled cigarettes from his vans has had nearly £1.5 million of assets frozen. A house and two flats in Belfast belonging to Stephen Albert Baxter have been seized. The Assets Recovery Agency also took control of two ice-cream vans.
Smog warning
The Government has issued a smog warning for London, the South East, East Anglia and central England because of high levels of air pollution, expected to remain until Saturday. Asthmatics and others sensitive to airborne pollution can call the helpline on 0800 556677.
One in four seaside thefts shown to be faked for insurance claims