World News joined 0010

[JohnCenaFan28]

A man has been taken to hospital stuck to a public toilet after a prankster covered the seat with glue.

The stainless steel lavatory was removed from a cubicle in Brierley Hill, near Dudley, with the man still attached, after the best efforts of emergency services failed to free him, said West Midlands Ambulance Service.

An ambulance service spokesman explained: "The man was using the facilities when he became stuck on the seat. It appears as though someone had left glue on it.

"Despite best efforts it was not possible to remove the 35-year-old local man from his position so, with the help of a local authority and the fire and rescue service, the man was removed from the cubicle still attached to the stainless steel toilet."

He was taken to hospital where a doctor used special chemicals to free him unhurt, if red-faced, while still inside the ambulance.

"He appeared to be none the worse for his ordeal other than being understandably somewhat embarrassed," the spokesman said.

The toilet, meanwhile, was returned to the public conveniences.

-Ananova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Union leaders have urged merger partners Lloyds TSB and HBOS not to leave employees in the dark over job losses after planned cost savings from the deal were upped by 50%.

Britain's biggest trade union Unite called on Lloyds to "end the speculation" on job security as fears mount that thousands of roles will be axed from the combined "superbank".

Lloyds said it now hoped to cut more than £1.5 billion - an extra £500 million on original estimates - from the combined cost base after its takeover of HBOS.

Both banks insisted the tie-up remained on track, despite speculation of potential rival bids from mystery suitors waiting in the wings.

In trading statements released by both banks on Monday, troubled bank HBOS revealed a further £2.72 billion hit from the credit crunch, while Lloyds said it had seen a "substantial reduction" in profits since the start of the year.

Lloyds said there would "inevitably be some rationalisation of the combined workforce", but gave no details on the number of potential job losses or timescale.

There have been particular concerns in Scotland that overlap between the two banks would see the region hit hardest by the deal.

Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: "It is completely unacceptable for the banks to continue fuelling speculation while leaving their worried staff in the dark. It is now time to start thinking about the human consequences of this takeover."

A third potential bidder was also understood to be looking at HBOS, although again the party has not been named. Eric Daniels, Lloyds chief executive, told shareholders the bank was "not losing sleep" over the rumours. "We have heard nothing tangible whatsoever," he said.

If the deal gets the go-ahead by HBOS and Lloyds shareholders, it will create a banking behemoth with around 145,000 staff and 3,000 branches across the UK. But jobs and branches are thought to be under threat from the tie-up. The bulk of the cost savings earmarked by Lloyds will come from the retail banking businesses, where Lloyds aims to cut £790 million within three years, according to details set out by the group.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Alistair Darling has unveiled a new company to manage taxpayers' shares in nationalised banks and ensure executives deliver on the terms of public investments.

The holding company will be responsible for getting value for money on the £37 billion pumped into Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB. It will also be charged with making sure banks continue lending to homeowners and small businesses and that public money is not used to pay for unjustified bonuses.

The Chancellor said the company, UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), would "probably" also take care of the Treasury's investments in Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley.

The first chairman of UKFI will be Sir Philip Hampton, the chairman of J Sainsbury and former group finance director of Lloyds TSB. Its chief executive will be civil servant John Kingman, second permanent secretary at the Treasury.

Mr Darling announced the company during an appearance before the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee.

He made clear that he expected restraint in the payment of bonuses next year should be demonstrated across the banking sector - not just those taking taxpayers' money.

"We don't actually expect many bonuses to be paid at all in the banking sector next year," he told MPs on the committee.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has not ruled out sending British troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a United Nations bid to avert a looming humanitarian disaster.

"We have not ruled anything out. It is possible," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme following a two-day visit to the violence-hit African nation.

The head of the 17,000-strong UN peacekeeping force, its biggest ever mission, had arrived in the country to assess the situation, he pointed out.

"It is right to see this through the UN perspective," Mr Miliband said - a day after appearing to pour cold water on the suggestion that already-stretched British troops could soon be caught up in a new overseas entanglement.

The current conflict in the Congo has its roots in the genocide 14 years ago in neighbouring Rwanda where up to a million people were killed when Hutu extremists turned on their Tutsi neighbours. Some 250,000 people are thought to have fled their homes in recent weeks since the breakdown of a UN-brokered ceasefire in the region.

During their visit, Mr Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner held talks with both Congolese president Joseph Kabila and Rwanda's president Paul Kagame in an effort to persuade them to use their influence to bring the fighting to an end.

Mr Miliband said the engagement of the African Union "does offer some prospect that there will be a political engagement that makes a difference". But he said that in the short term it was vital to secure aid supplies from being plundered by rebel groups - tens of millions of pounds of which is being sent by the UK.

Mr Miliband will join fellow EU ministers for talks in the French port city of Marseilles amid calls from Oxfam for them to agree to send EU forces to the area.

International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander later announced that the government was to fly out emergency aid to the stricken country. Mr Alexander, said: "The situation in the DRC remains extremely grave. Over 900,000 people have been forced to leave their home in North Kivu and there is now an urgent need for food, water and shelter."

The 90-tonne load will be made up of around 18,000 blankets, 11,000 plastic sheets and 24,000 plastic water buckets and some six million water purification tablets. The supplies will be sent to Entebbe in neighbouring Uganda on Wednesday and then transferred on to Goma on smaller aircraft.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Skipton Building Society has announced it was to merge with Scarborough Building Society after being approached by its smaller rival.

The deal, which should be completed by the first quarter of next year, will create a top five building society with around 860,000 members and £16 billion of assets.

But in a bid to preserve the capital reserves of the enlarged group, members of the two societies will not receive a windfall.

The current difficult trading conditions have had a substantial impact on Scarborough's profits and led to a weakening of its capital position.

The group's board was also concerned that continuing house price falls and the impending recession in the UK could lead to an "unacceptable reduction" in its capital resources, causing it to approach the Skipton as its preferred merger partner.

John Carrier, chief executive of Scarborough Building Society, said: "We have been in talks with Skipton for some time and have now reached an agreement to merge. A merger of the societies will create a much larger, stronger business in North Yorkshire which offers real advantages to both organisations and their members going forward."

The two societies are well matched, having similar business models and a strong geographical fit.

The enlarged society will retain a significant presence in Scarborough and no compulsory redundancies are planned. It will also keep a branch in all of the towns where the Scarborough is currently represented and the group's purpose-built head office in Scarborough will continue to be a key operational centre.

The merger will proceed on the basis of a board resolution, meaning that the issue will not be put to the vote of members of either society. But it will still need to be confirmed by the Financial Services Authority and Office of Fair Trading.

Under the terms of the deal, all Scarborough borrowers on the group's standard variable rate, which is currently 7.24%, will move to Skipton's SVR, which is currently 6.45%. Savers with Scarborough will also have their accounts moved to the enlarged society, where they will have similar or better terms and interest rates.

-Nova

[Black Widow]

TORTURED Baby P was seen SIXTY times by health or social workers during the eight months in which he was brutally abused.

The 17-month-old tot had more than FIFTY injuries or bruises.

When he was seen by a doctor two days before he died, he had a broken back, eight fractured ribs and was paralysed from the waist down.

Yet NO ONE realised the danger he was in. And NO ONE saved him.

He was on the child protection register of Haringey Council in North London - the same authority that failed to help doomed eight-year-old Victoria Climbie in the case that shocked the nation in 2000.

Tiny Baby P — hollow-cheeked and with his curly hair shaved off — died in his blood-spattered cot hours after he was punched so hard in the mouth he swallowed a bottom tooth.

That was probably the blow that finally killed him, causing a neck injury that affected his breathing, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.

Many in the court wept as the full horror of Baby P’s fate unfolded. They were told how the tot’s jobless stepdad, a 32-year-old sadist who cannot be named, tortured the mite to “toughen him up”.

The child’s 27-year-old mother, who also cannot be named, and paedophile lodger Jason Owen, 36, stood by as the abuse went on.

The jury found the stepdad — a collector of Nazi memorabilia including knives — guilty of causing or allowing Baby P’s death. He was cleared of murder as jurors could not agree on which of the three adults caused all the tot’s injuries.

Filthy

The Sun can reveal he was once arrested on suspicion of torturing his dying gran to force her to change her will. No charges were pressed.

Baby P’s mother, described as a hardcore porn-watching “slob,” admitted allowing him to die.

National Front member Owen, who joined the pair in their filthy council house with his 15-year-old girlfriend, was convicted of the same charge. All three face up to 14 years’ jail.

Baby P’s back was broken by being forced over a bent knee or banister, the court heard.

His ears were torn where he had been lifted off the ground and fingernails, fingertips and a toenail were missing. He had lesions on his scalp — and his lips were ripped.

The stepdad also “trained” Baby P to sit on the floor with his head between his legs for half an hour until he clicked his fingers. Police images of the tot’s injuries and stained clothes were shown to jurors.

Prosecuting QC Sally O’Neill told how a family friend revealed the depth of the abuse as the child was used like a punchbag.

She said the stepdad would “pick him up by his throat, punch him and spin him around on the computer chair until he fell off”.

Time after time, social workers noticed marks on the boy’s skin. But they fell for a pack of lies they were told by the mum. She claimed Baby P was a “head-banger” who kept bumping into hard objects.

They did not see through her even though she smeared CHOCOLATE over his injuries to conceal them.

The blunders continued even after the mother was arrested on suspicion of assaulting Baby P. The child was handed to a friend. But social workers soon returned him to his mum. He died the day after she was told she would face NO charges.

No one realised the stepdad was living in the house even though three dogs were there, including a rottweiler owned by the brute.

Police said they would have objected if they had known either man was there. The £110,000-a-year head of Haringey Children’s Services refused to resign last night — as it emerged SHE had led an “independent” review of the case. Sharon Shoesmith concluded NONE of her social workers should be sacked.

She blamed paediatrician Sabah Alzayyat, the doctor who failed to notice the tot’s broken back.

She said two social workers and a lawyer had received written warnings but refused to name them.

Child protection charity Kidscape called for “heads to roll” and said: “This child was seen 60 times and yet nobody did a thing. It’s pathetic.”

Children’s Minister Beverley Hughes announced a nationwide review of child protection services.


The Sun

[Lady DeathStrike]

i cried so hard when i saw this on the news. its things like this that make want the death sentance back, Fucking left wingers and their human rights.. pah.. who was looking out for this defenseless little boys rights..

imo a life for a life!!

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

I dont get it. What exactly happened??? how old was the kid??? We hv had cases like that here but eventually the kid has been saved more often than not

[JohnCenaFan28]

That's awful, I cannot believe something like that happened.

[DUKE NUKEM]

thats just sad they need to put this woman to death