World News joined 0008

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for the read.

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for the news.

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for the read.

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for the news.

[JohnCenaFan28]

The Government is set to launch a root-and-branch overhaul of social service departments across England in the wake of the death of Baby P after months of horrific abuse.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Health Secretary Alan Johnson will this week announce the formation of a new task force to look at every aspect of social work, including leadership,

In an interview with the paper, Mr Balls acknowledged that the changes would be "controversial" but said that he was determined to ensure that the professionals entrusted with child safety carried out their task properly.

Writing separately in the News of the World, the Children's Secretary said that he wanted to transform the standing of social workers in order to attract "the brightest and the best" into the profession.

Officials have confirmed that ministers wanted to see future chiefs of local authority children's services gain experience in both schools and social work before they are appointed.

Training schemes will be changed, with more emphasis on "on-the-job" learning and the introduction of a new "qualifying year" in which new staff will get hands-on experience before they qualify fully.

The Sunday Telegraph said that better-performing social workers would also be paid more to work in "tough frontline areas". "This is not going to be straightforward. It's going to be controversial. It will mean a change in the way we teach social work and train social workers," Mr Balls told the paper.

It comes after Haringey social services in north London were severely criticised in a damning report into the death of the 17-month-old Baby P after suffering appalling abuse at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and her lodger.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) confirmed that the new Government taskforce would be headed by Moira Gibb, the chief executive of Camden Council and a former social worker, and would report to ministers by next summer.

A DCSF spokeswoman said that it would be a "nuts and bolts review" of social work practice. "We know that we have not done enough to support excellence in social work," she said. "We have been working for a while on a workforce strategy."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thousands of environmental campaigners marched to Westminster to demand the Government take more action against climate change.

The colourful procession was part of a global day of action which saw protests in many other countries across the world.

Protesters gathered in Grosvenor Square and marched to Parliament Square where they were addressed by speakers including Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and Green MEP Caroline Lucas.

Kate Tansley, spokeswoman for Campaign for Climate Change, which organised the march, said the protest was to highlight four main issues.

"There are four 'no' issues and one 'yes' one," she said. "These are no to a third runway at Heathrow and the general expansion of aviation, no to coal, and no to agro-fuels.

"It's good to have a more positive message though, and that is yes to investment in renewable energy and all the green jobs that it would bring."

Protesters both on foot and on bicycles carried banners and placards, with many dressed up in colourful and elaborate costumes. Many turned out to represent different environmental organisations and charities from around the country.

Organisers said 10,000 people took part in the event. Police said there were 5,000 people involved.

Phil Thornhill of Campaign against Climate Change said: "Changes need to be made urgently before a lot of people suffer, especially the most poor and vulnerable countries. They are already suffering because of the lifestyles of people in the richer countries, but we will all end up suffering eventually.

"This is a global disaster waiting to happen. The scale of what will happen unless something is done is unimaginable. The Government needs to listen up."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

A Christmas winter wonderland was cancelled before it even opened after council officials said they had "serious concerns" about the event.

The website of Lapland West Midlands promised baby huskies, reindeer and an ice-rink with skating cartoon characters.

But Councillor Carol Dean from Staffordshire County Council said: "It looks like a field with some tents in it at the moment. It doesn't look much like a winter wonderland."

Lapland West Midlands had been due to open next to the village of Essington, near Wolverhampton, at noon, but organisers called off the event with just hours to go. They blamed the closure on the bad publicity that followed the earlier opening of a similar attraction at Matchams Leisure Park, near Ringwood, on the Dorset-Hampshire border.

West Midlands Police said they attended Lapland West Midlands to offer visitors "reassurance" after reports from Dorset that Santa was punched in the face and his elves pushed by angry visitors.

Trading standards officials in Dorset received more than 2,000 complaints but the company behind Lapland West Midlands denied it had any link.

Staffordshire County Council said it would pass its intelligence to officials on the south coast after it emerged that a postal address for customers wanting a refund following the closure is about a mile from the Dorset venue.

A spokesman for the council said: "We cannot prove it but we are not daft either and it's a big coincidence. Our jurisdiction only extends to Staffordshire but trading standards authorities, like police forces, share intelligence."

Organiser Steven Jennings said his company spent £40,000 on the event and employed 25 contracted staff.

Mr Jennings said a full refund would be offered to all those who paid for tickets before the event was cancelled. He said: "We are very, very sorry because it would have been a lovely weekend but it's down to the bad publicity we have had and the council not granting us a licence."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Gordon Brown has sought to ratchet up the pressure on Robert Mugabe - calling on the international community to tell the Zimbabwean president that "enough is enough".

With the beleaguered African state now in the grip of a cholera epidemic which has claimed hundreds of lives, the Prime Minister said the situation had deteriorated to the point where it demanded an international response.

"This is now an international rather than a national emergency," he said in a statement. "International because disease crosses borders. International because the systems of government in Zimbabwe are now broken. There is no state capable or willing of protecting its people.

"International because - not least in the week of the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights - we must stand together to defend human rights and democracy, to say firmly to Mugabe that enough is enough."

His comments echoed US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who said on Friday that it was "well past time" for the president to leave office and suggested the international community should "push Mr Mugabe out".

South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu also said, in an interview with Dutch TV, that Mr Mugabe must stand down or be removed "by force".

But while Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said it was time for African governments to "take decisive action to push him out of power", there has been little sign that Zimbabwe's immediate neighbours are prepared to move against him.

Mr Brown said he had been in close contact with African leaders to press for stronger action "to give the Zimbabwean people the government they deserve".

He said he now wanted to see an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York to consider the worsening crisis.

The Prime Minister called for the establishment of a "command and control structure" in the capital, Harare, to co-ordinate the work of donors and NGOs to ensure that international aid reached the people who needed it most.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Politicians backing a legal bid to halt the merger of HBOS and Lloyds TSB have accused Business Secretary Lord Mandelson of trying to force the challenge to be dropped.

The MSPs accused Lord Mandelson of "undemocratic bully-boy tactics", saying his lawyers had threatened to sue the Merger Action Group (MAG) for legal costs if they did not halt their court action.

But the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Berr) insisted an offer extended to the group to withdraw their challenge was "neither an ultimatum nor a threat".

The offer was aimed at saving the group costs, a spokeswoman said.

MAG has formed to mount a last-ditch legal challenge to the deal.

It has taken its case to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) - a specialist legal body whose function is to decide appeals on competition issues.

MAG claims that Lord Mandelson's decision to allow the merger to go ahead without referring it to the Competition Commission was unlawful. The appeal hearing is set to be begin on Monday. The politicians backing the bid accused Lord Mandelson of issuing an "extraordinary ultimatum" to MAG on Friday afternoon, demanding they withdraw their appeal that day.

"Lawyers acting for Lord Mandelson have threatened to sue MAG's six core members individually for legal costs unless they halt their court action," MSPs Margo MacDonald and Alex Neil, who have backed the action, said in a statement.

Independent MSP Ms MacDonald, one of the group, said: "I find it breath-taking that a group of responsible people whose only motive in taking this legal action is what best serves the public interest can be subjected to such threats and intimidation by a member of the UK Government."

She added: "I would be very surprised if the pursuit of the MAG members for legal costs is a matter for Peter Mandelson. I would have thought that it is for the tribunal to decide on costs."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

A teenager has appeared in court charged with the murder of a man gunned down in an alleyway.

Jason Johnson, 24 and of Acton, west London, died of a gunshot wound to the chest after he was shot in a passageway off Cavendish Avenue, West Ealing, west London on November 21.

A 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced West London Magistrates Court on a murder charge.

The case was committed to the Old Bailey and the youth remanded in custody. A date for the next hearing has yet to be set.

The teenager is the second person to be charged with Mr Johnson's murder.

Dale Ebanks, 19, from Gurnell Grove, Hanwell, west London, appeared at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court last month where he was remanded in custody.

Police also arrested two teenage males aged 17 and 18 on suspicion of murdering Mr Johnson.

The 17-year-old was released on bail, the 18-year-old is in custody at a west London police station.

Two teenage males, both aged 17 and a man aged 21 have previously been arrested and released on bail in connection with the case.

-Nova