Owners Of Killer Dogs May Face Life In Prison

The owners of killer dogs could face life in prison - an increase from the current maximum of two years - under new sentencing proposals.

Higher sentences for owners who allow their dogs to attack members of the public have been put out by the Government for consultation.

For owners whose dogs kill their victims, life imprisonment is an option, while 10 years is the maximum term suggested for injuring a person or killing an assistance dog, like a guide dog for the blind.

Some 16 people have been killed by dangerous dogs since 2005, including 14-year-old Jade Anderson who was savaged by four dogs as she was visiting the home of a friend near Wigan in March.

Animal welfare minister Lord de Mauley said: "Dog attacks are terrifying and we need harsh penalties to punish those who allow their dog to injure people while out of control."

In February, the Government said it would introduce new measures to tackle out-of-control dogs by changing the law to ensure owners can be prosecuted regardless of where their dog attacks.

Jade Anderson was savaged by four dogs at a house near Wigan

The new consultation will run to September 1 and will be used to inform recommendations put forward in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents postmen and women and telecoms engineers, who suffer around 5,000 dog attacks each year, welcomed the consultation.

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: "Current sentencing arrangements do not match the serious nature of offences.

"Sixteen people have been killed since 2005 by dogs, yet the maximum prison sentence is just two years.

"Only one person has ever been imprisoned for a dog attack on a postal worker and as the fatality rate from dog attacks grows, sentencing must get tougher."

Last month, Jade Anderson's parents, along with the parents of four-year-old John Paul Massey, who died after his uncle's pitbull attacked him in 2009, handed in a petition at 10 Downing Street calling for David Cameron to take action to prevent more attacks.

They called for preventative measures and education to put a stop to the 210,000 attacks and 6,000 hospital visits caused by dangerous dogs each year.

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Python Attack: Snake Kills Two Sleeping Boys

A python that escaped from a pet store has killed two children by strangling them in their sleep in eastern Canada.

The two boys - named locally as Noah Barthe, 5, and Connor Barthe, 7 - were having a sleepover at their best friend's flat in the town of Campbellton when they were attacked by the snake.

The animal had escaped from the Reptile Ocean pet store run by family friend Jean-Claude Savoie, located on the ground floor of the building.

Police outside the exotic pet store in Campbellton (Pic: CBC News)

The store specialises in exotic pets.

Police said the African rock python entered the upstairs apartment via the two-storey building's ventilation system.

The boys were sleeping in the living room when they were attacked by the snake early on Monday morning.

"The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a large exotic snake had escaped its enclosure at the store," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

Connor Barthe (L) and Noah Barthe (Pic: Facebook / Mandy Trecartin)

"(It) got into the ventilation system, then into the upstairs apartment. It's believed the two boys were strangled by the snake."

The boys' mother, Mandy Trecartin, lives close to the Reptile Ocean store.

Mr Savoie told Global News that he found a "horrific scene" when he checked on the boys about 6am.

A Burmese python in its cage at a zoo in Florida (Pic: File)

"I thought they were sleeping and I've seen the hole in the ceiling, (and) everything has fallen. I turn the lights on and I've seen this horrific scene," Mr Savoie said.

"I have so many mixed emotions right now. I can't believe this is real."

The python has been recaptured.

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Zero-Hours Contracts 'For One Million Britons'

By Liz Lane, Sky News Reporter

Research suggests many more people may be on zero-hours contracts than was previously thought.

The agreements mean that employees are expected to be on call, but are not guaranteed any work from one week to the next.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) estimates there could be one million UK workers on such contracts.

This contrasts with Office for National Statistics figures which suggest only 250,000 were on such contracts at the end of last year.

CIPD surveyed 1,000 employers and found one in five use zero-hours contracts for at least one member of staff.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has ordered a review into the practice

Firms in the voluntary and public sectors, as well as the hotel, leisure and catering industries, are more likely to use them.

CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese said: "Zero-hours contracts are a hot topic and our research suggests they are being used more commonly than the ONS figures would imply.

"However, the assumption that all zero-hours contracts are bad and the suggestion from some quarters that they should be banned should be questioned."

The Unite union says the government must stop the growth of the zero-hours culture, as these contracts are "the latest attack on workers' rights and dignity".

Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced his staff are going to investigate how they are being used.

"Whilst it's important our workforce remains flexible, it is equally important that it is treated fairly," Mr Cable said.

"This is why I have asked my officials to undertake some work over the summer to better understand how this type of contract is working in practice today."

Separate research among zero-hours contract workers revealed only 14% said their employer failed to give them enough hours to have a basic standard of living.

Sarah Wicks, from Liverpool, used to work as a security guard on a zero hours contract, but sometimes worked 72 hours a week.

But she said that the large number of hours did not equate to job security.

"There wasn't much expectation that your job was ever going to get any better, or that you had any recourse to the employer for anything," Ms Wicks said.

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Bronx Shooting: Teenager Shot By New York Cops

A 14-year-old boy has been shot dead by police in the Bronx after the teenager refused to drop his gun and pointed it at officers.

Shaaliver Douse died of a single gunshot wound to his jaw after the confrontation, the New York Police Department said.

Two officers with the NYPD were on foot patrol when they heard gunfire at around 3am on Sunday.

The officers responded to the scene and found the boy with a 9mm handgun firing at a fleeing man.

The officers identified themselves as police and ordered him to drop his weapon.

Police recovered this bloody 9mm handgun from the scene (Pic: NYPD)

When he pointed his gun at them, one of the officers shot him, police said.

The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene.

The two officers had joined the department in January, according to police sources.

Douse had been in trouble with the law before, the NYPD said.

He was charged in May with attempted murder after a 15-year-old boy was shot in a Bronx neighbourhood where Douse lived.

That shooting took place two miles from where Douse was himself shot dead.

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Homeless: More Young People Sleeping Rough

As statistics show more young people are becoming homeless in the UK, a new play questions why more is not being done to help those forced onto the streets.

Government figures show the number of people sleeping rough in England has increased by a third since 2010.

In London alone, 6,437 people slept rough during 2012-13, a 62% rise in two years.

Campaigners say there is a risk this trend could continue, given youth unemployment, the economic downturn and the pressures on low income families, combined with changes within welfare reform, reduction of public services and the general squeezing of housing supply and affordability of accommodation.

The official figures do not account for the hidden homeless.

Three months after his 18th birthday, Leo was forced to sofa surf for nine months until he received help from Centre Point.

He told Sky News: "I feel lonely and like I don't really have a voice. I'm not really accountable for anything despite going to college. I don't feel like a real person."

Director Nadia Fall's new play opens at the National Theatre in London

Ministers insist they are taking homelessness seriously and have pledged £400m to councils to tackle the issue.

Communities minister Don Foster said: "We have one of the strongest safety nets across the world. If you look, for example, at rough sleeping in London, out of the 6,000 people in the last 12 months only 14 of those were under 18."

After spending 18 months speaking to young people at an east London hostel, director Nadia Fall has used their words for the basis of a new play called Home, which opens at The National Theatre this week.

"There is seriously a whole generation that will not understand what it means to call your home in the way that we do -  somewhere of your own, either to have, own or to even to rent," she said.

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Childcare Scheme To Help Working Parents

Families where both parents are in work could soon be offered tax-payer funded help with child care.

The Government is to announce a formal consultation on the introduction of a £1bn scheme, set to be introduced in 2015.

It is proposed that the online vouchers will be worth up to £1,200 pounds per child, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

For every 80p families pay in, the Government will put in 20p up to an annual limit for each child of £1,200.

The support will benefit around 2.5 million households.

And even families with a combined income of up to £300,000 will be able to get the payments.

The issue of childcare has proven tricky for the coalition

However, about 1.2 million stay-at-home parents - mostly mothers - will not be eligible for the help.

The scheme will be introduced for children under five by 2015 and extended to cover all those under 12 by 2020, under current plans.

Lower-income families where both parents work will get extra payments that will cover up to 85%of their child care costs, compared with the current 70%.

The Treasury will invite comments on the plans on Monday.

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Daniel Pelka: MP Slams School For Failure

Teachers and social service staff "badly let down" an abused boy who was then murdered by his mum and stepfather and should consider quitting their positions, a local MP has demanded.

Daniel Pelka, four, was subjected to a horrifying catalogue of assaults and callous abuse at the hands of Magdelena Luczak and Mariusz Krezolek who were convicted of his murder on Wednesday.

MP for Coventry North West Geoffery Robinson said the case was "horrifyingly reminiscent" of the Baby Peter case in 2007, when Haringey child protection services failed to prevent the death of toddler Peter Connolly.

Daniel's mother Magda Luczak and stepfather Mariusz Krezolek

Mr Robinson has called for the immediate resignation of the city's Director of Children's Services, Colin Green - who intends to step down in September - and said those serving under him should also consider their positions.

"Where were these individuals when Daniel needed them most?" he asked. "Bureaucracy triumphed over common sense, care, and compassion. 

"Those who failed Daniel must examine their own consciences, and conclude whether it is appropriate for them to remain in their posts".

Daniel died of a head injury in March 2012 after suffering months of cruelty and violence which turned him from "a beautiful little boy to a bag of bones", according to police.

Mr Robinson and Daniel's father both criticised Children's Services

He was imprisoned in a room with the door handles removed, fed salt when he asked for a drink, deprived of food, and forced to defecate in his bed.

Mr Robinson expressed anger at Daniel's school which failed to act upon warning signs that suggested he was being abused.

"Daniel was let down," he said. "He was let down badly, by an evil stepfather, an indifferent and selfish mother, but also by the Children's Services in Coventry and by the school that he attended.

"How can the staff at his school have failed to have recognised patterns of behaviour that should have set alarm bells ringing, not only within the school but within the corridors of power within the council?

Daniel runs after his mum as she picks him up from school

"How could anyone believe it to be normal for a child to climb on the top of furniture to get to food; to scavenge around bins to access waste; and to steal food from the lunch-boxes? 

"What human being, with the slightest understanding of children, would not have been concerned enough to take action to set alarm bells ringing?"

Daniel's biological father, who moved back to Poland when the boy was one year old, echoed Mr Robinson and questioned why "nobody reacted in time" to ask why Daniel was so hungry.

"If people in school saw that he was taking a food from bins, they should do something," he said. "Go to Magda, or to Mariusz, and ask why the child is hungry.

"They should send the police or social services to check the situation at home; check what they were doing with the child.

"As far as I know they did just nothing. Of course they failed Daniel. Nobody reacted in time. I am not saying they are guilty, but I know they made a mistake".

Luczak and Krezolek will be sentenced on Friday.

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Daniel Pelka: Magda Was 'A Very Good Girl'

By Katie Stallard, Sky News Correspondent, In Lodz

The mother of convicted murderer Magdalena Luczak has spoken of her shock and deep pain at Wednesday's verdict.

Speaking exclusively to Sky News at her home in Lodz, Poland, Jolanta Luczak said her daughter had sobbed down the phone as she told her that Daniel had died last year, and that she could barely comprehend she had been convicted of his murder.

Ms Luczak: 'I wanted her to return to Poland with the children'

Clutching a framed photo of Magdalena, at times visibly shaking with emotion, she said: "It is just shock, shock, shock. You cannot imagine how big the pain is, how big a tragedy this is.

"You have to experience this to understand how cruel is this feeling."

The mother said she had lost her grandson, her daughter, and also her husband, Magdalena's father, who died earlier this year after a heart attack, which she believes was caused by the stress of the trial.

"Do you know how strong this pain is? It is a pain that you just cannot cure, it is so hard to stand."

She said Magdalena called her several months before Daniel died to say she was in trouble.

"I remember she called me, she was crying, she said she had a hard life, she did not want to be with this man anymore.

"I told her to come back, pack up and come back to Poland. I wanted her to make a decision and return with the children to Poland, but she told me that Daniel had no documents, no passport.

Ms Luczak (L) told Sky's Katie Stallard she asked Magda to return to Poland

"I told her that there would be a way, to bring the child back to Poland. But then I didn't hear from her. He did not allow her contact with the family."

She said her daughter called again after Daniel died, but she could barely speak as she tried to explain what had happened.

"Magdalena just told me 'Daniel is dead' nothing more, because she was crying so much. And then the police came and arrested her. 

"I just remember she was crying, you know, this is a very big tragedy, we all were shocked. I went home and found my husband crying so badly, really badly."

As a young girl, she said Magdalena was a 'good girl' - a normal girl who grew up in a normal home.

Magda and Krezolek arrived in the UK from Poland in 2006

"She was a very good girl. Good to her brother when he was a tiny boy, good to everyone. Completely normal. Normal child, good person. She was not troubled.

"I do not agree with the judgment, for sure. I think the UK is very much at fault. For the whole matter. Social services should work properly there, but they have failed, they have done nothing.

"She was a normal girl, who grew up in a normal home. Not with any problems. She was a normal child as long as she lived in Poland."

"I do not know by who she was influenced, I do not know with what kind of man she met, what she did, what she was thinking. But please, tell the judge that really she was a normal girl and that the social services should also be held responsible. Because they also failed the test.

Daniel was tormented, starved and abused before being murdered by the pair

"It is very painful, very painful. If she was not with this man, if the relevant social services departments had done their job , there would not have been this tragedy.

"I do not know what he was giving her; drugs or alcohol, I just don't know what happened."

Mrs Luczak now fears she will never see her daughter again.

"I do not know how she will stand the prison sentence. I do not even know what kind of sentence they will give.

"Please, let me know will I ever live to see her? Talk to her, ask her why?

"Why that happened? Why she went to the jail? Why there is no child?"

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Egypt: 'Concern' As Scores Killed In Protests

Egypt: Timeline Of Unrest

Updated: 3:52pm UK, Saturday 27 July 2013

Key developments in Egypt since the beginning of the Arab Spring.

:: 2011

January 25: Egyptians stage nationwide demonstrations against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

February 11: Mubarak steps down and turns power over to the military, which dissolves parliament and suspends the constitution.

November 28: Egypt holds mutiple-stage parliamentary elections and the Muslim Brotherhood wins nearly half the seats in the law-making lower house.

:: 2012

May 23: First round of voting in the presidential elections.

June 30: Mr Morsi, elected with 51.7% of the vote, is sworn and becomes Egypt's first civilian and Islamist president.

August 12: The new president scraps a constitutional document that gave sweeping powers to the military and sacks Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who ruled after Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, 2011.

November 22: Mr Morsi announces sweeping new powers for himself.

November 30: Islamist-dominated constituent assembly adopts a draft constitution despite a boycott by liberals and Christians.

December 8: The president annuls the decree giving himself increased powers.

December 15 and 22: 64% of voters in a two-round referendum back the new constitution. Egypt plunges into political crisis, with demonstrations by Morsi supporters and opponents sometimes turning deadly.

:: 2013

January 24: There is violence between demonstrators and police on the eve of the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak. Nearly 60 people die in a week.

April 5: Four Christians and a Muslim are killed in sectarian violence.

May 7: President Morsi's cabinet reshuffle falls short of opposition demands.

May 16: Gunmen kidnap three policemen and four soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. They are freed on May 22.

June 2: Egypt's highest court invalidates the Islamist-dominated senate, which assumed a legislative role when parliament was dissolved, and a panel that drafted the constitution.

June 15: Mr Morsi announces "definitive" severing of ties with Syria.

June 21: Tens of thousands of Islamists gather ahead of planned opposition protests.

June 23: Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al Sisi warns the army will intervene if violence erupts.

June 28: The US says non-essential embassy staff can leave after an American is killed during the protests.

June 29: The Tamarod (Rebellion) campaign which called rallies for June 30 says more than 22 million have signed a petition demanding Mr Morsi's resignation and a snap election.

June 30: Tens of thousands of Egyptians take to the streets nationwide determined to oust the president on the anniversary of his turbulent first year in power. At least 16 people die in protests across the country.

July 1: The opposition gives President Morsi a day to quit or face civil disobedience. Egypt's armed forces warn they will intervene if the people's demands are not met within 48 hours.

July 2: The presidency rejects the army's ultimatum, saying it will pursue its own plans for national reconciliation.

July 3: Mr Morsi is overthrown late in the day as the country's most senior army official announces the suspension of the Islamist-tinged constitution and a "road map" for a return to democratic rule to stop the bloodshed.

July 4: As Mr Morsi is held by the army, Supreme Constitutional Court Chief Justice Adly Mansour is sworn in as Egypt's interim president.

July 6: Fierce street battles between supporters of Morsi and their opponents leave at least 36 people dead.

July 8: Some 35 people are shot dead in clashes between Morsi supporters and the Egyptian army outside the Republican Guard's headquarters in Cairo.

July 9: Mr Mansour appoints economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president. A military announcement backs up the appointments.

July 26: Millions pour into the streets of Egypt in rival demonstrations after a call by the country's military chief for protesters to give him a mandate to stop "potential terrorism" by supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. Five are killed in clashes. Prosecutors announce Morsi is under investigation for a host of allegations including murder and conspiracy with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

July 27: Clashes in the early morning hours between security forces and Morsi supporters kill at least 120 protesters in Cairo.

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Immigration Figures 'Little Better Than A Guess'

Official figures showing how many immigrants are coming to the UK are "little better than a guess", according to a report by MPs.

The report by the Public Administration Select Committee says the number of migrants coming to the country is not properly measured, and warns the statistics are "not fit for purpose".

Analysis on how many non-UK residents are entering and leaving the country is primarily based on "random interviews" of travellers at ports and airports that were introduced to examine tourism trends, the report says.

Just 5,000 migrants a year are identified through the International Passenger Survey and many "may be reticent to give full and frank answers," it warned.

Although the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which uses the research to draw up its migration estimates, has "done its best" to produce informative statistics, the survey "is not fit for the purposes to which it is put" and ministers must find new ways to gather information, MPs said.

In the year to June 2012, immigration was estimated at 515,000 while emigration was estimated at 352,000.

The Coalition aims to reduce net migration - the difference between the two figures - from the hundreds of thousands down to the tens of thousands by 2015.

The Coalition is aiming to significantly reduce net migration by 2015

But MPs warned the Government is at risk of ending up with an "inappropriate" immigration policy if it bases its target level of net migration on uncertain statistics "which could be out by tens of thousands".

ONS migration estimates contain no information on the immigration status of migrants, while statistics produced by the Home Office do not indicate the number of visa holders with valid leave to remain in the UK or the number who overstay their leave to remain, the report said.

Statistics produced by both organisations are "blunt instruments" for measuring, managing, and understanding migration, it added.

The committee said migration figures could be considerably improved if the Home Office and ONS properly recorded and linked the data they already gather.

MPs called for the e-Borders system to be used for measuring immigration, emigration and net migration as quickly as possible.

Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin said: "Most people would be utterly astonished to learn that there is no attempt to count people as they enter or leave the UK.

"They are amazed when they are told that government merely estimates that there are 500,000 immigrants coming into the UK each year.

"This is based on random interviews of around 800,000 people stopped and interviewed at ports and airports each year.

"Only around 5,000 of those are actual migrants, many of whom may be reticent to give full and frank answers, to say the least."

The International Passenger Survey also fails to garner the type of information needed to work out the social and economic consequences of migration, such as demand for the National Health Service or schools.

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