Diberdayakan oleh Blogger.

Popular Posts Today

Search For Missing Mother And Baby In Bristol

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 03 Desember 2014 | 23.21

Police are urgently hunting for a mother and her newborn baby daughter who have gone missing from a maternity hospital.

Charlotte Bevan left Bristol Maternity Hospital between 8.30pm and 9pm last night with her four-day-old baby girl, Zarnee Teanna.

The 30-year-old did not have a coat or shoes, and is believed to have been wearing hospital slippers.

Her baby was wrapped only in blankets.

A friend has described her disappearance as "out of character". Writing on Avon and Somerset Police's Facebook page, Isaac Jack McCardle said: "I really hope they are both safe and are all reunited soon."

The baby's father, Pascal Malbrouck, has written on Facebook: "My daughter has gone missing with her mum Charlotte Bevan please if any one has got any info or has seen her please contact me."

At a press conference, he said "the last 3 days as a family have been amazing", and pleaded for Ms Bevan to come back home.

Ms Bevan is described as white, around 5ft 8in tall and of average build with dark wavy hair.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesman has appealed for anyone who sees them to call 999 immediately.

"We are concerned for both Charlotte's welfare and that of her baby, and are urging Charlotte to let us know that she and her baby are alright," the spokesman said.

"Officers have been searching the city centre throughout the night and appeals have been put out to bus drivers and taxi drivers and those travelling into work on early shifts this morning to lookout for Charlotte and her daughter."

It is believed Ms Bevan was wearing a long black top and black trousers when she disappeared from the hospital on Southwell Street.

The spokesman added Ms Bevan "may appear confused and worried".

"Her baby is inappropriately wrapped for the cold weather in blue and white striped and coloured blankets," he said.

Police have confirmed they have received several reports of sightings of Ms Bevan, including around the hospital, where an area has been cordoned off.

A University Hospitals Bristol spokeswoman said hospital staff had no reason to believe Ms Bevan was going to leave the hospital.

"Charlotte Bevan was due to be discharged from St Michael's Hospital tomorrow (Thursday, 4 December), but elected to leave yesterday for reasons unknown to us," she said.

"Charlotte was recovering from the birth of her baby, and there were no indications that she was planning to self-discharge.

"Charlotte and her baby were seen by staff at 8.30pm; when staff went to check on her at 9.05pm they found Charlotte and her baby missing and immediately sounded the alarm.

"We are working closely with other agencies to establish that Charlotte and her baby are safe."


23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

UK And World Set For Hottest Year On Record

By Isobel Lang, Sky News Weather Presenter

This year is on course to be the hottest on record both for the UK and globally, with human impact the likely cause, say experts.

The UK's mean temperature from the beginning of January to late November is 1.6C above the long-term average, making it the warmest in records dating back to 1910, according to the Met Office, although a cold December could change this.

This year is also set to be one of the warmest on record in the Central England Temperature series, which stretches back to 1659 and is the longest instrumental temperature series in the world.

Around the world, the year is set to be one of the hottest, with global temperatures around 0.57C above the long-term average of 14C from January to October, just ahead of the previous record set in 2010 of 0.56C.

If November and December follow suit, 2014 is likely to be the hottest year on record, ahead of 2010, 2005 and 1998, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said.

The Met Office has cautioned against placing too much emphasis on a single record temperature and long-term climate change.

But a new research technique indicated breaking the record is much more likely to occur as a result of human greenhouse gas emissions.

Peter Stott, head of climate attribution at the Met Office, said: "Our research shows current global average temperatures are highly unlikely in a world without human influence on the climate.

"Human influence has also made breaking the UK temperature record about 10 times more likely."

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: "More record warm temperatures in the UK and across the world are yet more evidence that we need to act urgently to prevent dangerous climate change.

"UK actions such as our doubling of renewable electricity and our stretching targets for cutting carbon are a good start but we must be frank and acknowledge there is more to do."

It has also been one of the wettest year's for the UK on record, with 1162 mm of rain between 1 January and 25 November.

Average rainfall in December would make 2014 the fourth wettest year in records dating back to 1910.

But a very wet month could still break the UK record set in 2000 of 1337 mm.

Experts say world temperatures show there is "no standstill in global warming".

WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud said: "What we saw in 2014 is consistent with what we expect from a changing climate - record-breaking heat combined with torrential rainfall and floods destroyed livelihoods and ruined lives."


23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

Lady Gaga Reveals She Was Raped At Age 19

Lady Gaga has said she was raped at the age of 19 - but says she does not want to be defined by what happened to her.

The pop star was talking to the American 'shock jock' radio DJ Howard Stern when he asked her, because of things she had said in the past and had sung about, if she had ever been assaulted.

She replied: "I went through some horrific things that I'm able to laugh now, because I've been through a lot of mental and physical therapy, and emotional therapy, to heal over the years.

"My music has been wonderful for me but, you know, I was a shell of my former self at one point.

"I was not myself and, to be fair, I was about 19... I went to Catholic school and then all this crazy stuff happened and I was going 'Is this just the way adults are?' I was very naive."

The conversation came about after the DJ asked her about a performance at the South By Southwest music festival, during which she was vomited over by an artist who regurgitates swallowed paint.

She said after the attack, it took her about four to five years before she fully appreciated what had happened to her.

"It happens every day. It's really scary and it's sad," said the star, who, according to Entertainment Weekly, is now 28.

"It did not affect me as much after, as it did about four or five years later. It hit me so hard. I was so traumatised by it. It was like 'keep going'."

She said, at first, she wasn't "even willing to admit that anything had even happened."

The DJ asked her if she had ever confronted the man who assaulted her and she said she had not.

She said: "I think it would terrify me. It would paralyse me. I saw him one time, in a store, and I was so paralysed by fear, because it wasn't until I was a little bit older that I went 'Wow, that was really messed up'.

"'You were 20 years older than me. I was just a kid'."

She said she was worried people would judge her for it.

"I don't want to be defined by it. I'll be damned if somebody's going to say that every creatively intelligent thing I ever did is all boiled down to one d******* that did that to me.

"I'm going to take responsibility for all my pain, looking beautiful and all the things that I've made out of my strife."


23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

Tech Giants Targeted To Pay More In Tax

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Chancellor George Osborne singled out the low taxes being paid by tech giants in his Autumn Statement and vowed to tax them.

The "diverted profits tax" will target those companies that use elaborate off-shore mechanisms to pay minimum UK tax and apply a 25% rate. 

"Some of the largest companies in the world, including those in the tech sector, use elaborate structures to avoid paying taxes," Mr Osborne said.

"That's not fair to other British firms. It's not fair to British people either. Today we're putting a stop to it.

"My message is consistent and clear: 'Low taxes, but low taxes that will be paid'."

Tech firms have come under criticism for the meagre tax they paid to the UK Treasury.

Facebook paid just £3,169 in 2013. Amazon paid £10m, Apple paid £11m and Google paid £11.6m.

The cumulative revenues of these four companies in the UK is more than £17bn.

However, it does not appear that the tax will claim a significant portion of those figures.

The Treasury said the tax would raise only £360m per year by 2016-2017, and said: "A behavioural adjustment is also made to reflect groups that attempt to mitigate the tax impact."

Stella Amiss, corporate tax partner at PwC, said: "The diverted profits tax on multinationals appears narrowly focused as it will raise about £300m a year."


23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

Costa Concordia Video 'Shows Captain Leaving'

Video has emerged of the captain of the doomed cruiseliner Costa Concordia preparing to leave the stricken ship, having previously claimed he had tripped into a lifeboat.

The footage was released by prosecutors who have told reporters they are seeking a 20-year prison sentence for Francesco Schettino, who is giving evidence for a second day at his trial.

Schettino was dubbed Captain Coward after he was accused of abandoning the vessel before passengers had escaped.

He had told investigators he had ''tripped and stumbled into a lifeboat'' the night of the disaster.

But in the video, prosecutors say he can be seen in a tie waiting to board an emergency escape craft.

Schettino crashed the Costa Concordia into rocks off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 during an attempted "sail past".

The holed vessel grounded and partially capsized in shallow water, forcing 4,200 passengers and crew to flee, with the loss of 32 lives.

Pressed over why he had delayed raising the alarm, Schettino claimed he feared people would jump into the water and wanted to wait until ship was closer to shore.

"On the ship I am number one after God," he said.

During a combative performance under cross-examination for the first time on Tuesday, Schettino denied he had organised the sail past to impress Domnica Cermontan, a Moldavian dancer who was working on the ship and has told the court she was having an affair with the married captain.

Speaking at his trial in Grosseto in Tuscany on Tuesday, Schettino said he had sought to "kill three birds with one stone" by undertaking the sail past.

He was doing a favour to a ship's official and paying tribute to a former cruise captain who lived on the island of Giglio, while making the cruise more attractive to passengers, he claimed.

Schettino is charged with manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.

He is being tried alone after five other defendants reached plea deals.

His trial is expected to continue into next year.


23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

Japan Launches Probe To Capture Comet Clues

Japan has launched a space module on a six-year return trip aimed at blowing a hole in a remote asteroid to try to find clues to how the Earth came about.

Hayabusa 2 successfully blasted off on a H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan at 1.22pm local time after being delayed by bad weather.

The space explorer separated once the rocket had climbed out of the Earth's gravitational pull, trailing orange flames in its wake.

The probe will use the Earth's gravity as a slingshot to propel it towards its target.

The $260m (£166m) project will send it towards the 1999JU3 asteroid in deep space - the carbonaceous asteroid is thought  to contain organic matter and water, the stuff of life.

The probe's aim is to collect materials unexposed to millennia of wind and radiation in the hope of answering some fundamental questions about life and the universe.

It is expected to reach the asteroid in mid-2018 and spend around 18 months in the area.

Akitaka Kishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said: "Our objective is to explore. For people to work in space, it requires various kinds of technology.

"In that sense, exploring is a step forward to expanding activities in space in a broader way. Our aim to explore lends great meaning to this mission."

He continued: "If we bring back the material, in a way we can call that a success, but, furthermore, the retrieved rocks and sand taken for analysis would be a finding.

"For the human race, this will be a new finding that could possibly mean a new discovery for us. Bringing back the material is one goal, but the research of the finding is the future."

If all goes well, asteroid samples will be returned to Earth in late 2020.

1/3

  1. Gallery: Philae Lander's Touchdown Seen From Rosetta Craft

    This image shows the Philae lander approximately 250m above the comet's surface, as it heads for the planned touchdown point (Pic: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM)

This image was taken 86 seconds after touchdown. Scientists say the dark area could be dust kicked up by the touchdown (Pic: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM)

]]>

    • 23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
    Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

    Autumn Statement: The Key Points At A Glance

    The main measures and forecasts as outlined by the Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement:

    TAX

    :: Stamp Duty rates overhauled. Top rate now 12% on properties worth more than £1.5m effective from midnight Wednesday. There will be no duty on properties worth up to £125,000 then 2% rate on the portion up to £250,000 then 5% up to £925,000, then 10% up to £1.5m.

    :: Higher rate income tax threshold to rise to £42,385 next year.

    :: Income tax-free personal allowance to rise to £10,600 rather than the planned £10,500 next year, giving wage boost of £825 a year.

    :: ISAs can be inherited tax free.

    :: Fuel duty remains frozen. 

    :: People who die under 75 to be able to pass on annuities, tax free.

    CORPORATE TAX

    :: A so-called  'Google Tax'  will introduce a levy of 25% on profits shifted abroad by multi-national firms. The Diverted Profits Tax aims to raise more than £1bn over five years.

    :: Banks to pay almost £4bn more in tax over next five years, with profits which can be offset by losses for tax purposes to be limited to 50%.

    :: Inflation-linked increase in business rates capped at 2% and discount for shops, pubs and cafes increased by 50% to £1,500.

    SAVINGS

    :: Limit on saving in New ISAs to rise to £15,240

    DEVOLUTION & 'NORTHERN POWERHOUSE'

    :: Business rates for Wales to be devolved to Welsh Government.

    :: Plans law to devolve corporation tax to Northern Ireland if the Northern Ireland executive shows it can manage the financial implications.

    :: Investment of £250m in new advanced material science institute in Manchester with branches in Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool. Tendering for new franchises for Northern Rail and Trans-Pennine Express to ensure modern trains.

    EDUCATION

    :: Government-backed student loans of up to £10,000 are to be made available for postgraduates.

    TRAVEL

    :: Air Passenger Duty for under-12s abolished from May 2015. Scrapped from 2016 for under-16s.

    SAVINGS

    :: A further £10bn of Whitehall efficiencies is planned while £5bn more is sought from crackdown on tax evasion and avoidance.

    :: Public service pension reforms will be completed, saving £1.3bn annually.

    SPENDING

    :: NHS gets additional £2bn every year for frontline services. A £1.2bn investment in GP services will be paid for from foreign exchange fines.

    :: Government spending £10bn less than forecast this year but warns the coming years will require "very substantial savings in public spending."

    PUBLIC FINANCES

    :: Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR): Forecast 2014 GDP growth upgraded to 3% from 2.7%. 2015 forecast raised to 2.4%.

    :: "Deficit is falling this year and every year." Deficit now cut in half. OBR forecasts borrowing to fall from £97.5bn in 2013/14 to  £91.3bn in 2014/15 (£5bn above annual target). Budget surplus of £23bn predicted for 2019/20.

    :: Osborne says deficit reduction better than some predicted as welfare spending is lower and interest paid on national debt is considerably lower.

    :: OBR predicts wage growth above inflation for the next five years.


    23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
    Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

    Russell Brand Threatens To Sue Over Rent Row

    Actor and comedian Russell Brand has threatened to take legal action over a report containing claims about his housing arrangements.

    The comedian and actor, who has been campaigning over the rising cost of homes in the UK, has been also been adding his voice to anti-capitalist protests.

    A report in The Sun newspaper made claims in connection with the home Brand rents in London and a firm registered in the British Virgin Islands, a region considered a tax haven.

    In a post directed at the paper and owner Rupert Murdoch - chairman and CEO of 21st Century Fox, which owns a 39.1% stake in Sky, parent company of Sky News - Brand wrote: "Hey... I'm gonna sue you and give the money to #NewEraEstate and JFT96."

    Earlier this week, the author of the best-selling book Revolution joined hundreds of residents and supporters of the New Era estate in east London, to protest against a takeover by a US investment firm which, the residents fear, could lead to a huge hike in rents.

    JFT96 stands for justice for the 96 in reference to the number of football supporters who died in the Hillsborough disaster.

    Brand, 39, was caught up in a row with Channel 4 journalist Paraic O'Brien at Downing Street when the reporter asked how much Brand himself paid in rent and suggesting the housing problem was being worsened by the super-rich buying property in London.

    The celebrity became agitated at the challenge and pointed his finger in the journalist's face, calling him "a snide".

    During the interview, Brand told the reporter: "I'm not interested in talking to you about my rent, mate. I'm here to support a very important campaign."

    When asked about the value of his home, he went on: "It's rented. We don't know the value, you would have to talk to my landlord.

    "Blessedly, I can afford my rent and I'm prepared to stand up for people that can't."

    Brand later discussed the interview on his YouTube news channel, likening it to a "quarrel at a jumble sale".

    The comic and actor said: "I shouldn't be allowed on television. I'm so easily wound up. What does it matter to me, what have I got to lose, just from this one bloke?

    "But I'm a volatile person."

    He went on: "When you talk to a journalist I sort of think it's a combination of boring and really annoying, and my personality type is not well suited to that kind of environment."

    O'Brien wrote on Twitter: "Is it my job to test tension between private circumstances and publicly held views of celebrities? Yes."

    Westbrook Partners, the US investment firm involved in the New Era buyout, responded on Monday to claims of "social cleaning... forcing ordinary, working-class people out of London".

    In a statement, the company said: "There will be no changes to their residential leases and no increases in rents during the first half of 2015."


    23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
    Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

    Lee Rigby Killers' Appeals Thrown Out

    Two men found guilty of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in May last year have been refused leave to appeal.

    Michael Adebolajo's application for permission to appeal to have his conviction overturned and whole-life sentence reduced was thrown out by Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and two other judges in London.

    Lord Thomas, sitting with Lady Justice Hallett and Mr Justice Openshaw, also dismissed a challenge to the minimum term of 45 years behind bars for co-accused Michael Adebowale.

    The British-born Muslim converts who became Islamic fanatics ran 25-year-old Fusilier Rigby down in a car before hacking him to death with a meat cleaver and knives in a frenzied attack in Woolwich, south London.

    Delivering his judgment, Lord Thomas said the killers' sentences were "just" punishment for the "horrific and barbaric" murder.

    The pair had "gloried" in what they had done, he said.

    Adebolajo's attempt to challenge his conviction was "misconceived" and "completely hopeless", he added.

    Members of Fusilier Rigby's family gasped with relief and there were tears in court as the decision was announced.

    Adebowale watched the proceedings via video link from Broadmoor.

    Adebolajo had waived his right to do the same from Frankland Prison, Country Durham.

    1/4

    1. Gallery: In Pictures: Fusilier Lee Rigby

      Lee Rigby was 25 years of age and came from Manchester.

    He had been on an attachment in the capital, working as a recruiter.

    ]]>

    • 23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
    Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar

    Osborne Announces Historic Stamp Duty Reform

    Historic changes to one of the UK's "most damaging" taxes have formed the centrepiece of George Osborne's Autumn Statement.

    The Chancellor said he was abolishing the "slab rate" of stamp duty - which means huge increases in tax when house values enter a new band.

    In future, he said, the tax would apply progressively to the part of the property in each band, like income tax.

    The new rates will see house-buyers pay 0% on the first £125,000 then 2% on the portion up to £250,000, 5% up to £925,000, 10% up to £1.5m and 12% on anything above that.

    Mr Osborne said the changes - effective from midnight - would save £4,500 on the cost of an average home and cut stamp duty for 98% of house-buyers.

    He said: "It is a fair, workable, lasting reform to the taxation of housing."

    The Chancellor also announced a plan to cut the cost of air travel for millions of families by abolishing air passenger duty for children under the age of 16 over the next two years.

    He also pledged to freeze fuel duty.

    Mr Osborne said some death taxes would be abolished - allowing savers to pass on pensions and ISAs to loved-ones tax fee.

    And he promised to "revolutionise" support for post-graduate students with the introduction of government-backed student loans of up to £10,000.

    The Chancellor used the statement to trumpet the Conservative-led Government's economic credentials, telling Parliament: "Our long-term economic plan is working."

    He said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had revised up the British economy's growth forecast to 3% and told MPs the UK was now enjoying "more balanced" growth.

    On the controversial issue of the deficit, Mr Osborne was cheered by his own MPs and jeered by the opposition as he revealed better-than-expected figures.

    He said the OBR's forecasts show borrowing is falling and would continue to fall until a budget surplus is achieved in 2018/19.

    Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said the Chancellor's policies had left workers £1,600-a-year worse off.

    He said: "For working people there is a cost-of-living crisis and that squeeze on living standards is not only hitting family budgets - it has also led to a shortfall in tax revenues."

    He accused Mr Osborne of missing his targets on clearing the deficit and reducing the national debt, but not telling MPs by how much.

    The Chancellor warned that in the coming years there would have to be "very substantial" spending cuts.

    He vowed to claw back money from those who pay "paid too little" tax - including multinational firms, who will face a 25% tax on profits generated in the UK, which are then shifted overseas.

    He claimed the tax would raise £1bn over the next five years, while changes to tax rules for banks would raise another £4bn over the same period.

    He said the Government's policies would mean the richest 20% paying more tax than the remaining 80% put together - which he claimed proved the Tory slogan: "We're all in this together."

    There was a promise of help for small businesses - with a doubling of Small Business Rate Relief and a review of the structure of business rates.

    Many of the measures announced had been trailed ahead of the speech - such as a plan to repay the national debt incurred to fight the First World War, road building schemes, flood defences and investment in the NHS.


    23.21 | 0 komentar | Read More
    Diposting oleh Unknown di 23.21 0 komentar
    techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger
    Langganan: Postingan (Atom)