Tuesday, February 12, 2008


The Independent has the words Justice on its front page

US accused of using 'kangaroo court' to try men accused of role in September 11 attacks

The United States military announced yesterday that it was bringing death penalty charges against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other men suspected of orchestrating the September 11 attacks, and intended to try them under the Bush administration's much-criticised military tribunal system, which is subject only to partial oversight by the civilian appeals system.

The Guardian reports

The announcement of charges brings to a head the simmering conflict over the legal treatment of the 275 detainees remaining in Guantánamo, and particularly the 15 so-called "high-value" suspected terrorists held there since September 2006. Lawyers working on behalf of detainees have long criticised the commissions process - in which even the judges are military personnel - as unfair, unduly secret and against the US constitutional right to habeas corpus.

The Archbishop remains on the front pages

'Sorry for any confusion but it is my right and duty to talk about religion and the law' says the Times

The Archbishop of Canterbury apologised to the Church of England yesterday for any “misleading choice of words” when he delivered his controversial speech on Islam, but insisted that he stood by his right to tackle such issues.
Remaining bullish about an address for which he was attacked by church members, government ministers and other faiths, Dr Rowan Williams said: “I believe quite strongly that it is not inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England to address issues around the perceived concerns of other religious communities and to try and bring them into better public focus.”

Bish bash what a load of tosh says the Sun

THE Archbishop of Canterbury refused to apologise yesterday for his controversial remarks on Sharia law.
Dr Rowan Williams admitted his comments about Islamic law being adopted in Britain were clumsy.


Archbishop won't back down over sharia row says the Telegraph

Speaking to the General Synod in London, the Church's "parliament", he insisted it was "not inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England" to address issues about the "perceived concerns of other religious communities".
However, he failed to quell all the criticism from within the Synod, a handful of members of which have called for his resignation.

The paper leads with the story that

Families hit with £1,300 rise in cost of living

Families are having to pay an extra £1,300 a year in household bills as food and fuel prices rise at their fastest rate for 17 years.With the cost of meals, mortgages, utility bills and council tax soaring, Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is under pressure to abandon a proposed petrol tax increase in April.

The Times reports that

Users face Net ban in crackdown on pirates

People who illegally download films and music will be cut off from the internet under new legislative proposals to be unveiled next week.
Internet service providers (ISPs) will be legally required to take action against users who access pirated material, The Times has learnt.
Users suspected of wrongly downloading films or music will receive a warning e-mail for the first offence, a suspension for the second infringement and the termination of their internet contract if caught a third time, under the most likely option to emerge from discussions about the new law.

The Guardian leads with a preview of the foreign secretary's speech today

UK has moral duty to intervene

The foreign secretary, David Miliband, will today set out the clearest exposition yet of Labour's recast foreign policy when he will argue that mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan must not cloud the moral imperative to intervene - sometimes militarily - to help spread democracy throughout the world.
He will warn that the rise of China means that the world can no longer take "the forward march of democracy for granted", and that Britain must unambiguously be on the side of what he describes as "civilian surges" for democracy

The Independent meanwhile reports that

Brown under pressure to set up Iraq inquiry

Gordon Brown is under pressure to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war next month by announcing an independent inquiry to ensure vital lessons are learnt.
Some allies have warned the Prime Minister that Labour will not win back disaffected supporters who deserted the party over the 2003 invasion unless he draws a line under the affair. They argue a public inquiry would enable him to bring "closure" to an episode which divided the nation.


Many of the papers report that

China accused as space shuttle 'spy' is arrested in FBI swoops,the Times reports

A former Boeing engineer was arrested in the United States yesterday for allegedly stealing space shuttle secrets for China, in a case likely to put further strain on relations between the two nations.
Dongfan “Greg” Chung was one of four people, including a Pentagon official with a top security clearance, taken into custody in two separate cases of alleged espionage for China. The second case involved data on US military sales to Taiwan.

and also the story that

Paintings worth £85 million stolen in Zurich

Masked thieves have pulled off one of the world's biggest art robberies, stealing four masterpieces by CĂ©zanne, Degas, Van Gogh and Monet worth nearly £85 million from a Swiss museum. Three armed men stole the paintings on Sunday afternoon from the EG Buehrle Collection in Zurich, one of Europe's best private collections of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art. says the Telegraph

Teenagers get life for beating devoted family man to death says the Guardian

Three teenagers who murdered a family man in a gang attack fuelled by cheap alcohol and skunk cannabis were jailed for life yesterday. Garry Newlove, 47, died outside his home in a suburb of Warrington, Cheshire, in August last year after he went to remonstrate with youths who had damaged his wife's car and a neighbour's digger.At Chester crown court yesterday, Mr Justice Smith sentenced Adam Swellings, 19, of Crewe, Cheshire, to a minimum of 17 years before he is eligible for parole. Stephen Sorton, 17, from Warrington, was given a minimum term of 15 years and Jordan Cunliffe, 16, formerly of Warrington, was given 12 years minimum. The three were convicted of murder last month.

'I'd like to execute the thugs who kicked my husband to death', says the grief-stricken widow of Garry Newlove says the Mail

Meanwhile the paper leads with the news that

Crime-ridden neighbourhoods are told by the police to Do It Yourself

Teams of Neighbourhood Watch members are to be asked to do jobs previously left to the police.
The civilian groups could spy on villains, patrol crime-hit estates at night and even check car tax discs.
In some cases they would form secret groups to gather intelligence.
Details of the plan are contained in a leaked memo sent to chief constables in the last few days.

The Express reports

CAMPAIGN URGES MOSQUITO GADGET BAN

The Children's Commissioner for England is set to call for a ban on a device which disperses young people by emitting a high-pitched sound which only they can hear, it has been reported.
The gadget, known as the Mosquito, exploits the fact that people's ability to hear very high frequencies declines in their 20s.
Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green will lead a new campaign called Buzz Off which will call for a ban on the Mosquito on the grounds that it infringes the rights of young people,

Can it stop kid drinking asks the Mirror which luanches a new campaign asking

1 Shopkeepers and landlords who sell alcohol to under-18s to face a maximum fine of £20,000 (double the current £10k) and to AUTOMATICALLY lose their licence to sell drinks for six months (double the current three months)

2 Police under obligation to confiscate booze and caution under-18s found drinking in the street or licensed premises

3 Courts to properly enforce the current law imposing a £5,000 fine on adults who knowingly agree to buy alcohol in shops, off licences or pubs on behalf of under-18s

The Times reports that

Affluent ‘are learning to exploit exam benefits for dyslexic pupils’

Parents stand accused today of exploiting examination rules for pupils with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, to secure extra time for writing their GCSEs and A levels.
Figures published today by the exams regulator show a 43 per cent increase in the number of GCSE and A-level exam papers in which pupils were awarded extra time or given additional help, such as an adult assistant to read out questions to them and write down their answers

The redtops all have pictures of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills on their front pages

GET BACK says the Mirror,A HARD DAYS FIGHT says the Sun

According to the Mirror

Macca's friends said yesterday he was truly sorry that his bitter divorce battle with Heather Mills was having to be settled by a judge.
But the ex-Beatle was said to be "grimly determined" not to cave in to her demands - and to let the legal process take its course.
One friend, speaking as the couple faced each other across a London courtroom for the first day of their divorce hearing, said: "It gives Paul no pleasure to have to go through this.

The Sun describes

VAIN Heather Mills arrived at court for her divorce war with Sir Paul McCartney yesterday — flanked by a posse of sidekicks, including her personal trainer and MAKE-UP artist.
The ex-model, dubbed Mucca over her porn past, also brought her sister Fiona, a female pal, a minder, a chauffeur — and a lone solicitor to advise on legal protocol as she represents herself in court

The Telegraph reports on

Malaria warning as UK becomes warmer

Following a major consultation with climate change scientists, the Government is issuing official advice to hospitals, care homes and institutions for dealing with rising temperatures, increased flooding, gales and other major weather events.
It warns that there is a high likelihood of a major heatwave, leading to as many as 10,000 deaths, hitting the UK by 2012.

The Guardian reports on the

Pioneering 45-minute treatment for diabetes

A pioneering transplant treatment for people suffering the worst effects of type 1 diabetes was approved for use on NHS patients yesterday, encouraging doctors who are developing the technique to talk of an eventual cure. Health ministers said they would fund six centres to inject pancreas cells into diabetes patients' livers, stimulating the production of insulin

Finally the Telegraph reports on

How you can live to 90 and still be happy

A study of more than 2,000 people in America found that being the right weight, exercising and not smoking during retirement increased the chances of living for another 25 years.The research, published on Tuesday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that a healthy 70-year-old who had never smoked, had normal blood pressure and weight and exercised up to four times a week had a 50 per cent chance of living until 90.

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