New neighbourhood police launched July 3, 2008

Policing Minister Tony McNulty is launching a scheme aimed at making neighbourhoods safer in Warwickshire.

Thirty-one police teams have been set up in the county to work with communities in providing long-term solutions to problems.

They will influence priorities for taking action such as tackling vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

The government has promised to introduce such teams across England and Wales by April 2008.

'The future'

The groups in Warwickshire are led by a police sergeant and made up of officers, community support officers and special constables.

They will work with local volunteers, such as Neighbourhood Watch, and community groups.

Mr McNulty is launching the initiative in the county at Camp Hill Primary School, Nuneaton, on Tuesday.

Warwickshire's Chief Constable Keith Bristow said: "Neighbourhood Policing Teams represent the future of policing in Warwickshire.

"Local people will know team members by name. They will see them out and about on patrol and at local meetings.

"Teams will deal with all policing challenges, from arresting offenders to solving local problems.

"Team members will work with a whole range of individuals from different partner agencies."

Foster soars at global box office June 30, 2008

Jodie Foster's film Flightplan topped box offices in 15 countries over the weekend, increasing its international takings to more than $60m (£34.5m).

The thriller, which opens in the UK on 25 November, took an estimated $15.2m (£8.7m) in 39 markets, opening top in France, Spain, Russia and Australia.

It stayed Italy's number one movie in its second week of release, though in Germany it slipped down to two.

Disney's animation feature Chicken Little was top in 12 territories.

Its international takings now stand at $14.5m (£8.3m). The film, which features the voice of Scrubs actor Zach Braff, opens in the UK on 10 February.

Elsewhere The Legend of Zorro's weekend takings of $10.2m (£5.8m) took its cumulative total to more than $74m (£42.6m).

The action sequel, which was released in the UK on 28 October, has yet to open in several major territories, including Japan and Australia.

The Wallace and Gromit feature Curse of the Wererabbit took in a further $5.5m (£3.2m), bringing its overall takings to $115.6m (£66.6m).

Office star marries at St Paul’s June 22, 2008

Lucy Davis, receptionist Dawn in the hit comedy The Office, has married in a ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral.

Davis, 32, married Welsh actor Owain Yeoman in front of around 300 guests at the London landmark, which is usually reserved for royal weddings.

Davis's former Office co-stars Mackenzie Crook, Martin Freeman and Joel Beckett were among the guests.

Davis was allowed to marry at St Paul's as her father Jasper Carrott had been awarded an OBE.

Davis, who arrived 20 minutes early for the ceremony in a black taxi, wore a sleeveless white dress and veil.

She was accompanied by her comedian father and three other family members.

Before the ceremony, Carrott said: "I'm very proud, there's a lot of time and effort gone into today. I've got a big speech later, and we're all going to have a great time.

"Lucy's just looking forward to it. I think all brides are slightly apprehensive on their big day. Lucy's not frightened though, she just wants everything to go well."

'Lovely day'

The guests were transported to the event in Red Routemaster double-decker buses and black taxis.

Joel Beckett, who played Dawn's fiance, Lee, in The Office, joked that he was "gutted" she was marrying someone else.

He said: "I'm very sad, it's a sad day, I can't believe it, I'm gutted," adding: "It's going to be a lovely day really."

Ewen Macintosh, who played Keith, added: "It's fantastic, I wish her all the best."

Stephen Merchant, who co-wrote the show with Ricky Gervais, was also there.

Davis, who also voiced the role of Hayley Jordan in the Archers, got engaged to Yeoman in June this year.

Yeoman is a classically trained actor who graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (Rada) in London.

Driver ticked off for snow on car June 18, 2008

A driver has made an official complaint to police after he received a warning for driving with snow on his car roof.

John Padwick, of Kennington, Kent, had thought the officer was joking as many other cars were also coated in snow.

He had spent 20 minutes scraping and de-icing his car before going out on 29 December, but was spoken to by the officer when he stopped to buy a paper.

In a statement, Kent Police said its prime concern in dangerous weather conditions was for public safety.

Mr Padwick, 52, said he was approached by the plain-clothes police officer, who showed him his warrant card and then "very aggressively" told him that the next time he took his vehicle onto a public road he should ensure that all the snow was cleared off it first.

The force said all formal complaints were investigated thoroughly, but it would expect officers to point out a potential hazard.

The statement explained that uncleared snow could obscure the windscreen or blow into the path of passers-by or other vehicles, which would be a significant hazard at speed.

Hardball diplomacy goes public June 13, 2008

The British accusation that Iranian elements are behind lethal attacks on British troops in southern Iraq came out after months of frustration.

The British ambassador to Baghdad, William Patey, has time and again complained to his Iranian counterpart that there is a traceable link between bombs that have killed eight British soldiers and devices used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, which is backed by Iran.

The Iranians have always denied any such link.

Up until now, the British approach has been the classic one of hints and suggestions.

The official who was the source of the accusation in a briefing for correspondents had previously been much more circumspect.

This time he was quite open and direct. And having just come from a meeting with the prime minister, he was not speaking by accident.

He spoke of the "explosively shaped projectiles" which were now such a threat to British armoured vehicles.

At one point he even said it was possible the Iranians had "woken up one morning and decided that they weren't gong to be pushed around".

Nuclear issue

The "Iranians" he defined as the Revolutionary Guards. Asked if the Iranian government itself might be involved, he smiled and said he would not comment.

He then named the alleged leader of a dissident Shia group in Basra as being behind the attacks.

"Fartusi", he murmured, referring to Ahmed al-Fartusi, whom the British arrested recently.

So what has changed from before?

What has changed, I think, is that relations between Iran and Britain have become so low that the British felt they had nothing to lose.

And relations are so low because of the failure of the European effort to get Iran to give up its efforts to master the nuclear fuel technology.

Indeed, Britain feels it has something to gain by making this charge known and hoping that Iran will itself take action in order that wider relations might be improved.

So while a few months ago this official was cautious, this time he was accusatory.

There was no effort by the Foreign Office news department representative present to get the accusation stricken from the record.

The only rule was that the official's name could not be used, a common device in the briefing of journalists.

Indeed as he left, the official joked that he would be in trouble if he had not been "on background" as the jargon calls it. So he knew what he was doing.

Intelligence shared

One cannot of course judge the accuracy of the accusation.

And there are questions to be asked about how Britain might have made the connection with Hezbollah.

Britain has no experience of Lebanon. So how would it know that bombs used in southern Iraq could be connected to bombs used by Hezbollah?

The answer has to involve the Israelis, with perhaps the Americans acting as intermediaries.

Who other than Israelis and Americans would know how Hezbollah makes a bomb? The Lebanese are unlikely to tell.

This in turn opens up all kinds of interesting issues. For one thing, the intelligence relationship between Britain and Israel, with or without the US, must be quite close these days.

This has not always been the case. But mutual dangers often bring mutual support.

As for Iran, no doubt the rhetoric will be raised.

In the old days, such accusations would have meant war. In 1739 a British naval Captain, Robert Jenkins, complained that a Spanish commander had cut off his ear.

The severed object was shown to the House of Commons and war was subsequently, if reluctantly, declared.

That will not happen this time.

But a hardball round of diplomacy is in play.

Paul.Reynolds-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

Al-Jazeera film storms US box office June 10, 2008

A documentary about the most-watched Arab news station al-Jazeera has broken box office records in its first week's showing in New York.

The film, Control Room, shows how al-Jazeera's journalists covered the Iraq war.

Its success indicates the interest some Americans have in finding out more about a TV station that has been heavily criticised by the Bush administration.

To many in the US, like Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, it is a fount of anti-American propaganda and even a mouthpiece for Osama Bin Laden.

The controversy over its role has made the release in America of a documentary about al-Jazeera an event.

'Smash hit'

In its opening weekend at the prestigious Film Forum Cinema in New York, every performance was sold out.

The Film Forum often serves as a testing ground for less mainstream films.

Control Room's distributor, Magnolia Pictures, says its success there has already provoked considerable interest from cinemas across the US for when the film goes on general release next month.

The influential political and cultural website, Salon.com, is predicting that Control Room will be the summer smash hit documentary.

The film, directed by the Arab-American documentary maker Jehane Nougaim, depicts al-Jazeera as a serious, professional organisation that just happens to approach the news from a different perspective to American networks.

'Corrective'

US reviews have been positive, with critics like David Sterritt and the Christian Science Monitor saying it highlights the fundamental fact that no side has a monopoly on insight and conviction.

Certainly, the film's release is timely, with al-Jazeera still making the news as well as reporting it.

It came out on the day a second al-Jazeera employee was killed in Iraq.

The death of the first provides one of the key scenes in the documentary.

Al-Jazeera's spokesman, Jihad Balut, says he is not surprised Americans want to see the film because the station has stirred so much controversy.

He hopes it may act as a corrective al-Jazeera's negative portrayal in the US.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Africa given free journal access June 10, 2008

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has announced that it will give Africa free access to its journal archives.

A total of 1.5 million pages and 250,000 articles will be available electronically to African scientists.

At the launch of the initiative, an Ethiopian researcher called on other chemistry journals to open their archives free-of-charge, too.

Hareg Tadesse said: "It is not about only me, and only Africa – the whole of the developing world needs supporting."

The Archives for Africa scheme was launched on Tuesday at the House of Commons.

G8 push

"Access to scientific information is an essential ingredient for the establishment of a sustainable science base," said Dr Simon Campbell, the president of the RSC.

"We believe that free access to the RSC Archive will make a major contribution towards building scientific capacity, which African leaders have stated is essential for social and economic development."

The decision to open access to the journals followed the recent G8 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, which highlighted the need for capacity building in developing countries in science and technology.

Hareg Tadesse, a chemist from Ethiopia, who attended the launch, believes her research has benefited from access to the journals.

"In order to do my work, I needed to know the results from previous research. And it was really hard in Addis for me to get hold of the right papers. This is where the archives are going to be so useful," she explained.

Plant clues

Tadesse is carrying out research on a plant called Brucea antidysenterica found in Ethiopia.

Its medicinal properties were highlighted after the British explorer, James Bruce, was cured of dysentery after being given an extract of the plant when he was travelling in Ethiopia in the mid-18th Century.

Tadesse and others are now looking at the plant's compounds, some of which show medicinal and anti-cancer properties.

However, to aid African research, she said more scientific journals needed to give free access to their papers.

"I would like to call on all publishers of chemistry journals to follow the lead of the RSC to support young chemists like me with their archives so that we can bring the benefits of chemistry to our great continent," she added.

Parties are off Bush guest list June 9, 2008

Northern Ireland's political parties are not being invited to the annual St Patrick's Day White House celebrations.

The news was confirmed by Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern, who will be presenting President George W Bush with a bowl of shamrock at the bash.

It had been thought the parties would not be asked, rather than exclude Sinn Fein over Northern Bank raid claims.

"I don't think anyone will be surprised – all I hope is that we will be in a better state next year," Mr Ahern said.

"Because I'm sure the president would like to have it the way it has been, at least since the last administration."

Mr Ahern said that he was not involved in the discussions surrounding the decision, adding that "it was totally a matter for the secretaries involved in the White House who advise the president".

The SDLPs Patricia Lewsley said US goodwill to the peace process was being "recklessly squandered" and blamed Sinn Fein.

"The US administration is deeply angry at the IRA raid of the Northern Bank, and disgusted by the murder of Robert McCartney and at Sinn Fein's failure to face up to the huge damage done by it," she said.

Caoimhghin O Caolain, Sinn Fein's leader in the Irish Parliament, insisted that the decision applied across the board rather than to his party alone.

"This is just one event. It's for the US administration to explain their decision," he said.

The US administration has yet to say who is on the guest list for the 17 March party.

Neighbourhood Watch closure plea June 8, 2008

Neighbourhood Watch groups around the UK are set to lose what has been hailed as a valuable resource after a key advisory group announced its closure.

The move by the National Neighbourhood Watch Association has been blamed on "in-fighting" involving a small minority and a cash crisis.

It will cease operating from Friday, leaving six million UK members without a crucial advice service.

Calls are now growing for a dedicated Scottish service to be established.

Although Scotland has hundreds of Neighbourhood Watch groups, it has no umbrella body to represent them.

The NNWA has represented the interests of neighbourhood watch groups throughout the UK for about 10 years.

As well as offering a free advisory service for new and established neighbourhood groups, it has also promoted neighbourhood watch politically.

'Valuable service'

Moves have been made by existing members to save the organisation from closure and a meeting with the Charity Commission has been planned.

They hope that a funding package can be secured to keep NNWA up and running.

George Tennant, of Dunbar's West End Neighbourhood Watch, said he was shocked to hear that the group might close.

He said: "NNWA helped us get off the ground when we were looking to establish ourselves as a neighbourhood watch group in Dunbar in 2000.

"It provided us with advice on structure, funding, sponsorship and project development along with the police and helped point local people in our direction."

However Mr Tennant called for Scotland to have its own umbrella body for local neighbourhood watch groups.

"I would much rather have a central scheme for Scotland and I hope that one will be established now that the NNWA looks like closing.

"The decision won't affect groups like ours, but for those looking to establish new schemes a valuable advisory service could lost."

'Difficult time'

Mr Tennant's views were backed by Patricia Smith of Helensburgh and District Neighbourhood Watch, thought to be the first neighbourhood watch group to be established in Scotland in 1987.

She said NNWA provided a forum for groups to learn from, and share best practice with, many other associations and members from around the country.

She told the BBC Scotland news website: "Groups can be very isolated on their own and a lot can fall by the wayside without the proper support.

"Having a Scottish body to represent us and oversee our interests would make a big difference.

"A lot of groups have been pressing for things like regular national conferences in Scotland, but at present we don't have a main body to organise such events."

She added: "I'm disappointed to hear that NNWA might close, but perhaps it gives us the opportunity to put something dedicated to Scottish neighbourhood watch interests in place."

A statement released by chairman Roy Rudham blamed in-fighting and a lack of sponsorship for the decision to shut NNWA down.

In it, he said: "The past three years have been a difficult time for NNWA. It did appear, 12 months ago, that as a result of some stringent cost-saving measures, the NNWA had turned a corner.

"However for some time now, a small minority has been working behind the scenes, determined to undermine the work and functions of the NNWA."

He added: "Regrettably, the continued negative campaigning by a small group of dissidents has jeopardised NNWA's ability to attract sufficient long-term sponsorship.

"The NNWA relies 100% on corporate sponsorship to fund its work. The shortfall in sponsorship funding for 2006-07 and the adverse impact on cash flow means that, from April, NNWA will no longer be in a position to meet its financial liabilities."

'Financial troubles'

Jon Castle, responsible for developing the NNWA's website, told the BBC Scotland news website that internal politics within the organisation had played a part in its downfall.

He said: "The association has had financial troubles for quite a while and there have been political problems too between the chairman and various factions within organisation.

"I find it incredible however that this kind of in-fighting and politics between leaders can result in the whole thing shutting down.

"It is a very popular resource with over 160,000 branches and more than six million members across the UK."

The association was formed in 1995 to promote and support Neighbourhood Watch throughout the UK.

Three members of staff who work at the NNWA head office in Hatfield, Herts, will be made redundant if the planned closure goes ahead.

A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We are sorry to learn of the closure of the National Neighbourhood Watch Association although, as detailed on their website, this will not directly impact on the day-to-day activities of local neighbourhood watch groups.''

Council homes to get £600m revamp June 8, 2008

More than £600m is to be spent improving council-owned homes on Tyneside.

Newcastle City Council has set in motion a six-year plan to revamp its stock of 32,600 properties.

Some £432m will be invested to bring homes up to new decency standards outlined by the government.

The rest of the £636m will be spent on improving the environment and security across the authority's 300 housing estates.

Below standard

The housing stock is run and managed by a property board, Your Homes Newcastle (YHN).

Chairman Bill Midgley said: "This is the most significant moment for council housing across the city.

"For the first time in over 50 years we are able to plan to bring all properties up to standard.

Eight out of ten council houses in Newcastle do not meet government decency standards.