Charles Bronson Supporters Want Him Freed

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

Supporters of notorious prisoner Charles Bronson will today urge the Prime Minister to help free him after nearly 40 years in jail.

They are to hand in to 10 Downing Street a petition of 10,000 signatures calling for parole for the man known as Britain's most violent prisoner.

Friend Lorraine Etherington said: "I would love for No 10 and the politicians in positions of power to look over his case, to be big enough to look beyond the name and reputation that precedes Charlie.

"We feel he's served enough time. There are murderers who've got out after serving less time than Charlie. He hasn't killed or raped anyone."

Ms Etherington, secretary of the Charlie Bronson Appeal Fund, said Bronson had behaved well in jail in recent years and had completed a violence reduction course with help from a psychologist.

Bronson, 61, was jailed for seven years for armed robbery in 1974, but has spent almost all the time since in prison after a series of violent episodes, including hostage-taking, assault and damage.

Branson is currently held in the isolation unit at Wakefield jail

He was jailed for life in 1999 after taking hostage prison art teacher Phil Danielson and holding him for two days. He was ordered to serve a minimum of four years, but has regularly been refused parole.

The 2009 critically-acclaimed film Bronson made a star of the actor Tom Hardy, but did little for the violent reputation of its subject, or his chances of early release.

Ms Etherington said: "The flip side of the film was that it showed Charlie only up to the year he got the life sentence, not the reformed man he is today."

The petition includes a hand-written plea to David Cameron, in which Bronson asks to be allowed to "live what's left of my life and not be buried in the prison system".

He also highlights his artistic side with references to the drawings which sell for hundreds of pounds.

Bronson is currently held in the isolation unit at Wakefield jail in a cell known as the Hannibal cage.

Whenever he leaves the cell he is accompanied by four prison officers. It used to be five officers and that, say his supporters, is a sign of the progress he is making

The movie Branson, starring Tom Hardy, was released in 2009

Tanya Bassett, of the National Association of Probation Officers, said a petition to the Prime Minister had little chance of greeting Bronson freed early.

She said: "It's highly unlikely he or the Justice Secretary would intervene. There is a thorough, in-depth process for the release of prisoners and decisions are made by the Parole Board."

She said Bronson could eventually be released if he showed remorse for his crimes and completed various pre-release programmes to show he was no longer a risk to others.

Bronson supporters are current planning to launch a fourth appeal against his life sentence. If that fails they will put his case for release to the European Court of Human Rights.

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

UN Chemical Weapons Inspectors Leave Syria

Syria: US Report On Gas Attack

Updated: 8:13pm UK, Friday 30 August 2013

The US released its assessment of the Syrian government's alleged involvement in the August 21 chemical weapons attack in Damascus. Here is the text.

The United States Government assesses with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21, 2013. We further assess that the regime used a nerve agent in the attack.

These all-source assessments are based on human, signals, and geospatial intelligence as well as a significant body of open source reporting. Our classified assessments have been shared with the US Congress and key international partners. To protect sources and methods, we cannot publicly release all available intelligence - but what follows is an unclassified summary of the US Intelligence Community's analysis of what took place.

Syrian Government Use of Chemical Weapons on August 21

A large body of independent sources indicates that a chemical weapons attack took place in the Damascus suburbs on August 21.

In addition to US intelligence information, there are accounts from international and Syrian medical personnel; videos; witness accounts; thousands of social media reports from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area; journalist accounts; and reports from highly credible nongovernmental organisations.

A preliminary US government assessment determined that 1,429 people were killed in the chemical weapons attack, including at least 426 children, though this assessment will certainly evolve as we obtain more information.

We assess with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out the chemical weapons attack against opposition elements in the Damascus suburbs on August 21. We assess that the scenario in which the opposition executed the attack on August 21 is highly unlikely.

The body of information used to make this assessment includes intelligence pertaining to the regime's preparations for this attack and its means of delivery, multiple streams of intelligence about the attack itself and its effect, our post-attack observations, and the differences between the capabilities of the regime and the opposition.

Our high confidence assessment is the strongest position that the US Intelligence Community can take short of confirmation. We will continue to seek additional information to close gaps in our understanding of what took place.

Background:

The Syrian regime maintains a stockpile of numerous chemical agents, including mustard, sarin, and VX and has thousands of munitions that can be used to deliver chemical warfare agents.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad is the ultimate decision maker for the chemical weapons program and members of the program are carefully vetted to ensure security and loyalty. The Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC) - which is subordinate to the Syrian Ministry of Defence - manages Syria's chemical weapons program.

We assess with high confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year, including in the Damascus suburbs.

This assessment is based on multiple streams of information including reporting of Syrian officials planning and executing chemical weapons attacks and laboratory analysis of physiological samples obtained from a number of individuals, which revealed exposure to sarin. We assess that the opposition has not used chemical weapons.

The Syrian regime has the types of munitions that we assess were used to carry out the attack on August 21, and has the ability to strike simultaneously in multiple locations. We have seen no indication that the opposition has carried out a large-scale, coordinated rocket and artillery attack like the one that occurred on August 21.

We assess that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons over the last year primarily to gain the upper hand or break a stalemate in areas where it has struggled to seize and hold strategically valuable territory. In this regard, we continue to judge that the Syrian regime views chemical weapons as one of many tools in its arsenal, including air power and ballistic missiles, which they indiscriminately use against the opposition.

The Syrian regime has initiated an effort to rid the Damascus suburbs of opposition forces using the area as a base to stage attacks against regime targets in the capital. The regime has failed to clear dozens of Damascus neighbourhoods of opposition elements, including neighbourhoods targeted on August 21, despite employing nearly all of its conventional weapons systems.

We assess that the regime's frustration with its inability to secure large portions of Damascus may have contributed to its decision to use chemical weapons on August 21.

Preparation:

We have intelligence that leads us to assess that Syrian chemical weapons personnel - including personnel assessed to be associated with the SSRC - were preparing chemical munitions prior to the attack. In the three days prior to the attack, we collected streams of human, signals and geospatial intelligence that reveal regime activities that we assess were associated with preparations for a chemical weapons attack.

Syrian chemical weapons personnel were operating in the Damascus suburb of 'Adra from Sunday, August 18 until early in the morning on Wednesday, August 21 near an area that the regime uses to mix chemical weapons, including sarin. On August 21, a Syrian regime element prepared for a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus area, including through the utilisation of gas masks.

Our intelligence sources in the Damascus area did not detect any indications in the days prior to the attack that opposition affiliates were planning to use chemical weapons.

The Attack:

Multiple streams of intelligence indicate that the regime executed a rocket and artillery attack against the Damascus suburbs in the early hours of August 21.

Satellite detections corroborate that attacks from a regime-controlled area struck neighbourhoods where the chemical attacks reportedly occurred - including Kafr Batna, Jawbar, 'Ayn Tarma, Darayya, and Mu'addamiyah. This includes the detection of rocket launches from regime controlled territory early in the morning, approximately 90 minutes before the first report of a chemical attack appeared in social media. The lack of flight activity or missile launches also leads us to conclude that the regime used rockets in the attack.

Local social media reports of a chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs began at 2:30 a.m. local time on August 21. Within the next four hours there were thousands of social media reports on this attack from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area. Multiple accounts described chemical-filled rockets impacting opposition-controlled areas.

Three hospitals in the Damascus area received approximately 3,600 patients displaying symptoms consistent with nerve agent exposure in less than three hours on the morning of August 21, according to a highly credible international humanitarian organisation.

The reported symptoms, and the epidemiological pattern of events - characterised by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers - were consistent with mass exposure to a nerve agent. We also received reports from international and Syrian medical personnel on the ground.

We have identified one hundred videos attributed to the attack, many of which show large numbers of bodies exhibiting physical signs consistent with, but not unique to, nerve agent exposure. The reported symptoms of victims included unconsciousness, foaming from the nose and mouth, constricted pupils, rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing.

Several of the videos show what appear to be numerous fatalities with no visible injuries, which is consistent with death from chemical weapons, and inconsistent with death from small-arms, high-explosive munitions or blister agents. At least 12 locations are portrayed in the publicly available videos, and a sampling of those videos confirmed that some were shot at the general times and locations described in the footage.

We assess the Syrian opposition does not have the capability to fabricate all of the videos, physical symptoms verified by medical personnel and NGOs, and other information associated with this chemical attack.

We have a body of information, including past Syrian practice, that leads us to conclude that regime officials were witting of and directed the attack on August 21. We intercepted communications involving a senior official intimately familiar with the offensive who confirmed that chemical weapons were used by the regime on August 21 and was concerned with the UN inspectors obtaining evidence.

On the afternoon of August 21, we have intelligence that Syrian chemical weapons personnel were directed to cease operations. At the same time, the regime intensified the artillery barrage targeting many of the neighbourhoods where chemical attacks occurred. In the 24 hour period after the attack, we detected indications of artillery and rocket fire at a rate approximately four times higher than the ten preceding days.

We continued to see indications of sustained shelling in the neighbourhoods up until the morning of August 26.

To conclude, there is a substantial body of information that implicates the Syrian government's responsibility in the chemical weapons attack that took place on August 21. As indicated, there is additional intelligence that remains classified because of sources and methods concerns that is being provided to Congress and international partners.

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

Woman Shot Dead On Birthday: Hunt For Killer

Police are hunting the killer of a woman who was gunned down while out celebrating her 24th birthday with friends.

Sabrina Moss, of Neasden, north-west London, died in hospital after being involved in a double shooting.

Another 24-year-old woman is in hospital. Her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The pair are believed to have been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to detectives.

Officers had been called at 4.12am on Saturday to reports of shots being fired in the street in Kilburn High Road, at the junction with Messina Avenue.

Police investigate the double shooting in the capital

Both women were taken to hospitals and Ms Moss was pronounced dead later. A post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course.

Ms Moss, thought to be the mother of one son, was attacked outside Woody Grill.

She was talking to other people when two black males approached, opened fire and then ran off.

The other woman who was shot remains in hospital and her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Officers were called to the scene after reports of gunshots

Tributes to Ms Moss have been left on the social networking site Twitter.

Adjei Adu wrote: "My heart goes out to her family and the lil one she's left behind, sleep well Sabrina Moss."

Leila Hassan tweeted: "My Thoughts Are With Your Family... A Beautiful Young Woman, Mother and Daughter!"

Another tweet read: "Lost the cousin I was close with when I was a child.. R.I.P Sabrina Moss."

A murder inquiry has been launched by detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command and police are appealing for witnesses to the double shooting.

The other woman's injuries are not thought to be life-threatening

Detective Chief Inspector John Sandlin of the Metropolitan Police said: "Enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances of this tragic incident.

"At this early stage, I believe the two women were innocent parties who were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I am appealing for anyone who witnessed the shooting, or who saw anything suspicion in the Kilburn area early this morning, to call police.

"In particular, I need to hear from anyone who saw two males who came into the High Road from Messina Avenue and, after the shooting, made off on foot back along Messina Avenue."

One man has been arrested in connection with the investigation.

Anyone with information that may assist the inquiry should call the incident room at Hendon on 020 8358 0300 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: Cameron And Obama Condemn 'Attack'

Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama have said they are both "gravely concerned" over "increasing signs" that an alleged chemical weapons attack took place in Syria.

The two leaders spoke with Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper by telephone last night as calls increase for UN investigators already in the country to be allowed access to the site of the alleged attack.

A Downing Street spokesperson stressed that any significant use of chemical weapons would merit a "serious response".

The spokesperson added: "The fact that President Assad has failed to cooperate with the UN suggests that the regime has something to hide.

Medecins Sans Frontieres has said 355 people died in the attack

"They reiterated that significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community and both have tasked officials to examine all the options.

"They agreed that it is vital that the world upholds the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons and deters further outrages."

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the military is ready to exercise "options" on Syria should force be called for, but he declined to say what that action might be.

The attacks took place in the Damascus suburbs of Zamalka and Ein Tarma

He is under mounting pressure to act over the alleged use of chemical weapons, which humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said had killed 355 people due to "neurotoxic" symptoms.

The group said victims flooded three Syrian hospitals after a "chemical massacre" on Wednesday.

MSF director of operations Bart Janssens said the reported symptoms "strongly indicate mass exposure to neurotoxic agent".

He said: "Medical staff working in these facilities provided detailed information to MSF doctors regarding large numbers of patients arriving with symptoms including convulsions, excess saliva, pinpoint pupils, blurred vision and respiratory distress.

A boy recovers after the alleged toxic gas attack on Wednesday

"The reported symptoms of the patients, in addition to the epidemiological pattern of the events - characterised by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers - strongly indicate mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent."

Rebel groups have claimed the attack was carried out by Assad's forces and that more than 1,000 people had died. The Syrian regime has denied the allegations.

On Saturday, Iran warned the West against military intervention in Syria and claimed the alleged gas attack was carried out by rebels.

UN disarmament chief Angela Kane has arrived in the capital to press the Assad regime to allow weapon inspectors to assess whether a chemical attack has taken place.

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: One Million Children Have Fled Conflict

One million children have fled war-torn Syria and another two million have been displaced by the civil war, the UN has revealed.

Children make up half of all refugees from more than two years of conflict in the country, according to latest figures.

Most have found a haven in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq or Egypt, but they are increasingly fleeing to North Africa and Europe.

Anthony Lake, head of UN children's agency Unicef, said in a statement: "This one millionth child refugee is not just another number.

"This is a real child ripped from home, maybe even from a family, facing horrors we can only begin to comprehend."

A girl carries a baby boy in a refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

The UN's most recent figures show that some 740,000 Syrian refugees are under the age of 11.

Antonio Guterres, UN high commissioner for refugees, said: "What is at stake is nothing less than the survival and wellbeing of a generation of innocents.

"The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their futures. Even after they have crossed a border to safety, they are traumatised, depressed and in need of a reason for hope."

More than two million children have been driven from their homes in the face of the civil war.

The UN said that more than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which started as a crackdown on protests against the regime of President Bashar al Assad in March 2011.

According to the organisation's human rights division, some 7,000 of the dead were youngsters.

The UN also warned the refugee children face the threat of child labour, early marriage and the potential for sexual exploitation and trafficking.

More than 3,500 children in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq have crossed Syria's borders unaccompanied or separated from their families.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ban Ki-Moon Warns Of 'Consequences' For Syria

Time Ticking To Prove Gas Attack

Updated: 12:24pm UK, Thursday 22 August 2013

By Alex Rossi, Sky Correspondent

The video evidence is compelling.

The pictures are horrific.

Hours of footage has now emerged on YouTube of children and adults suffering from what appear to be the after-effects of a chemical attack.

Many of the images are too distressing to show.

They would also be phenomenally difficult to stage.

Directing children to appear to be choking to death in such detail would take the budget and expertise of a Hollywood director - most experts say that this is clearly not the case.

There is now a weight of agreement that the pictures show - incontrovertibly - the aftermath of a deadly chemical assault.

The numbers of dead also suggest that that analysis is the correct one - the death toll just keeps on rising.

On Wednesday there were many questions as to why medical staff and first aiders had not been affected by secondary contamination?

Twenty four hours on and that question has been answered - they are; it just took time.

Many of the people who treated the victims are suffering the deadly consequences of exposure to a lethal nerve agent.

Experts say the timescale is similar to what was seen in the Tokyo subway attack in 1995 when sarin gas was used.

The former head of the British Army's chemical weapons unit, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, said while video can never be 100% conclusive the evidence it presents is overwhelming.

"It very much looks like a chemical agent has been used, perhaps a nerve agent - the fact that staff have now died as well is revealing. It is disturbingly similar to what was seen in Halabja in Saddam Hussein's Iraq."

But nonetheless without investigation on the ground there are too many questions as to what really happened and who is responsible.

The Russians for instance claim what we are witnessing is an attempt to discredit the Assad regime.

YouTube after all has been used extensively by both sides to spread propaganda throughout the conflict.

The opposition, for example, knows that the widespread use of chemical weapons would be a 'Red Line' issue for the White House and the international community and could trigger Western intervention.

President Assad certainly has the capability to carry out such an assault - it is believed the regime has one of the biggest stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in the world -  but the only way to know for certain is to get a an expert UN inspection team out on the ground.  

That though is easier said than done.

Although the attacks have taken place just 20 minutes outside central Damascus the area is unsafe.

The UN is unlikely to allow the inspectors, who are already in place, to go there without a guaranteed cessation in the violence.

President Assad is also unlikely to give them permission to travel to the district of eastern Ghouta.

And there lies the problem - if a nerve agent like sarin has been used it would be a race against the clock as the evidence at the crime scene will evaporate in the coming days and weeks.

Without the on the ground analysis then, there cannot be a 100% certainty of what really happened, or who carried out the attack. 

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

GCSE Pass Rate Expected To Fall, Experts Claim

GCSE results could fall this year amid major upheaval in the exams system, education experts have predicted.

Attempts to "secure standards" along with changes to key GCSEs and moves by students to sit different exams could cause a drop in the pass rate for only the second time ever.

The prediction comes on the day teenagers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to receive their results.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said it was "likely" that results will drop this year.

Last summer, the proportion of GCSEs awarded at least a C grade fell for the first time in the exam's history, with 69.4% getting this grade or higher - down 0.4% on 2011.

There was also a fall in the proportion of GCSEs awarded the top grades and drops in the percentage of English, maths and science GCSE entries achieving passes at A*-C.

Prof Smithers said:  "I think it's likely that it will drop. Last year it came down a bit at all levels.

"What has happened is the pass rate has gone up year on year because everyone had a vested interest in that happening."

But he added that there is now a "true regulator", Ofqual, which has said that standards should be comparable year on year.

Prof Smithers said that the introduction of the Government's new English Baccalaureate, which is awarded to students who gain at least a C at GCSE in English, maths, science, history or geography and a language could also have an effect.

But he said pressure on schools to ensure pupils meet a set standard could counteract changes within exams.

This year schools must ensure that at least 40% of pupils get five or more Cs at GCSE including English and maths, as well as meeting national progress measures.

In July, Ofqual said it was expecting to see a "small drop in achievement" in science following a move to toughen up the qualifications in the wake of a 2009 report suggesting the courses were too easy.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Attacks: UN Wants Inspectors To Visit Site

The Syrian government has been urged to allow UN inspectors to visit the site where it is claimed more than 1,300 people died in a chemical weapons attack.

The National Coalition claims toxic gas was used by President Bashar al Assad's forces during a bombardment of rebel-held areas outside Damascus.

Government officials said the claims were "totally false" and the international news organisations reporting them were "implicated in the shedding of Syrian blood and support terrorism".

The incident comes just days after a 20-strong team of UN weapons inspectors arrived in the capital to investigate whether chemical weapons have been used in the conflict.

The attacks are alleged to have taken place in Ein Tarma and Zamalka

And following an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, said: "We very much hope that we will be able to conduct the investigation.

"Dr Sellstrom and his team are in place in Damascus.  We hope that they will be given access to the area by the government  - it's a requirement of consent in situations like this.

"And that also the security situation will allow them to enter the area.

"The Secretary-General has already expressed his preparedness to conduct the investigation.

"We are in contact with the Syrian government - we hope that all other parties will co-operate so that we conduct the investigation and we hope that everybody realises the importance of ceasing hostilities."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged international supporters of the Syrian regime to "wake up to...its murderous and barbaric nature" ahead of the UN meeting.

However Russia, which has supported the regime and vetoed past attempts to secure a tough UN resolution, suggested it could be a "premeditated provocation" by opposition forces.

Officials from Russia and China are reported to have blocked a stronger press statement supported by Britain, France, the US and others.

Earlier, Mr Hague said that if verified, the attack "would mark a shocking escalation in the use of chemical weapons in Syria".

He added: "Those who order the use of chemical weapons, and those who use them, should be in no doubt that we will work in every way we can to hold them to account."

Unverified footage of casualties, including children, in makeshift hospitals suffering convulsions and breathing difficulties was circulated on YouTube.

Syria is thought to have some of the world's largest stocks of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin, but the government in Damascus refuses to confirm this is the case.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Peru Drugs: British Women Formally Charged

By Nick Martin, Sky Correspondent, in Lima

Two women arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m out of Peru have been formally charged, prosecutors have said.

Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid, both 20, were moved to a detention centre in Lima after appearing before the District Prosecutor on Tuesday.

The women face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if convicted, the prosecutor's office in Callao added.

McCollum Connolly and Reid were detained in Lima last week, accused of trying to smuggle millions of dollars-worth of cocaine into Europe.

The two women have protested their innocence, saying they were forced to carry items in their luggage at gunpoint.

Michaella McCollum is led away from a police station

Peruvian officials say the women were en route to Madrid and Majorca on August 6 when airport officials discovered almost 12kgs (26lbs) of cocaine hidden inside food packages in their luggage.

The cocaine was said to have a street value of some $2m (£639,000).

They will eventually be taken to the high security women's prison Ancon 2, north of Lima.

Sky News was given rare access to the prison, which is situated in the desert.

Inside, Sarah, a mother-of-two from Croydon, in south London, is serving a six-year sentence for trying to smuggle cocaine into Spain.

Police said cocaine was found inside packets of food in their luggage

Speaking to Sky News she said: "To tell you the truth, to me, all the time that I've been here, it's like being in the Devil's House.

"You don't know when you're gonna leave this place, for those girls, caught with so much, they could spend a long time here."

Commenting on the women's current condition in custody, Peter Madden, the lawyer for McCollum Connolly said: "They're both in a holding cell, there are two other women there, but they haven't gotten anything to eat today.

"They haven't been offered any food and to me that is unacceptable. The conditions inside the holding cells are pretty grim.

"They are expected to lie almost on the floor, there is a sort of sponge-type bed which is just not acceptable, there are no blankets, it's not clean, and the most important thing is that they haven't actually been offered any food today, and it didn't look as if they were going to be."

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Teen Adela Found - Three Men Arrested

Missing Adela Copakova, 14, has been found in Bradford and three men have been arrested in connection with her disappearance.

The teenager had been missing from her home in Sheffield for three days.

The last time she had been seen was at 8pm on Sunday outside a house in the Bradway area of the city.

More follows...

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More