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[JohnCenaFan28]

Police said they are keeping an open mind about the motives behind the murder of a man gunned down in an alleyway.

The 24-year-old victim died at the scene of the shooting in west Ealing, west London.

The Metropolitan Police have launched a murder investigation but no arrests have yet been made.

A member of the public alerted the emergency services, who found the body in an alley off Cavendish Avenue, west Ealing.

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 8.48pm to reports of an assault in Cavendish Avenue. We sent along a fast response car, an ambulance crew and duty manager. An adult male was dead at the scene."

The path was used as a shortcut to a nearby housing estate.

Police said they were keeping an open mind regarding a possible motive for the killing.

They said they believe they know who the dead man is but will not release his name until he is formally identified and his next of kin have been informed.

Detective Chief Inspector Fiona Mallon from Operation Trident, which investigates black-on-black killings, said: "I urge anyone who witnessed the shooting or anyone who was in the area shortly before or after the shooting to please come forward to police with information.

"Did you see anyone acting suspiciously in the Cavendish Avenue area at about 2050 last night? Did you see anyone run or drive off at speed from that area shortly before 2100?"

-Nova

[John]

Thankyou for posting EeL!

[Black Widow]

TUKWILA, Wash. - Shots erupted in a packed Seattle-area shopping mall Saturday after an apparent argument between a gunman and two other young men, killing one of the men, creating panic among shoppers and sending police on a store-to-store search for the shooter, authorities said.

The Southcenter Mall in Tukwila was locked down for six hours as police tried in vain to find the gunman. Officer Mike Murphy, a police spokesman, told The Associated Press there were "thousands" of shoppers at the mall when the shooting took place just before 3:45 p.m. He said the gunfire may have been gang-related.

"It's a possibility," Murphy said.

The two injured men were taken to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, where one of them died. A hospital spokesman said Saturday night the second victim was in critical condition.

The gunman used a pistol and fired multiple shots, Murphy said. He said at least four or five people were detained for questioning, but none of them was the shooter and some had been released. He said some of those detained were witnesses.

Gunman 'got out'
As police searched for the gunman, they allowed store employees and customers remaining in the mall to exit in groups, Murphy said. After the search was completed, Murphy said the assailant "must have got out with the crowd," but police anticipated identifying the shooter "soon" and making an arrest.

The gunman and the two victims were all in their late teens or early 20s. No one else was injured, Murphy said.

SWAT teams from all over the area converged on the mall to help search for the suspect, who is believed to have gotten into an altercation with the two victims. But it was unknown what led to the shooting or the relationship between the shooter and the victims or even between the victims themselves.

Chauncey Williams, a soldier from Fort Lewis, said he witnessed the shooting. He was exiting a store when he saw two men arguing and one start firing a gun, he said.

"It's like I'm back in Iraq or something," Williams told The Seattle Times.

Shopper Mark Nickels, 51, described the chaos after the shooting.

"Everybody just stopped," he said. "Everybody thought something fell. Then a second or two later, there was a second shot and then everybody scattered. People were running to the (exits) or running to the stores to hide."


MSNBC

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for the news.

[JohnCenaFan28]

Twelve men linked to the British National Party were released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of distributing racist material in a city centre, police said.

The men were arrested after handing out leaflets on behalf of the BNP at around 12.50pm on Saturday in Whitechapel, Liverpool city centre.

The organiser of the Blackpool and Oldham branches of the far-right party, Roy Goodwin, confirmed 12 members of the party were arrested.

He said: "There was nothing unlawful in the leaflets - all the contents of the leaflets had been carefully vetted, or they would not have gone out."

Merseyside Police said those arrested were: a 29-year-old and a 51-year-old from the Liverpool South area; a 64-year-old from the Wirral area; a 19-year-old; a 46-year-old and a 41-year-old from Liverpool North; a 61-year-old and a 42-year-old from Knowsley; a 70-year-old; a 44-year-old; and a 29-year-old and a 48-year-old from St Helens.

The men were bailed to appear at a police station early in the New Year.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde led tributes to four policemen killed in a horrific early morning road accident.

It was confirmed the officers' 4x4 vehicle hit a wall and burst into flames on a stretch of coast road in south County Down as they responded to a call for help shortly before 4am on Sunday.

There was no evidence of a terrorist link to the crash which happened on the main Warrenpoint to Kilkeel road and there were no other vehicles involved.

Police said a senior officer will investigate the fatal crash which represents the largest loss of life for the force since the paramilitary ceasefires were called more than a decade ago.

The two full-time and two part-time officers have yet to be named but it is understood they are from the south Down area.

Sir Hugh said: "This is an extremely sad day for the family, friends and colleagues who served with the police officers who lost their lives in this tragic incident in the early hours of this morning.

"The police family have lost four fine police officers in what are deeply tragic circumstances and our heartfelt condolences go out to their families.

"Our thoughts are with them as they struggle to come to terms with their loss."

Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Judith Gillespie, who is responsible for the Police Service of Northern Ireland's (PSNI) rural region, said the men were on their way to help a fellow officer.

Ms Gillespie said messages of condolence had been sent from across the UK and Ireland north and south and she joined Sir Hugh in praising the work of emergency services at the scene.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Police are to be armed with 10,000 Taser stun guns as part of a drive to tackle violent crime, it was reported.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is expected to announce plans to train front-line response officers in all 43 police forces in England and Wales to fire Tasers at violent suspects.

Currently, the stun guns are used by small units of firearms officers.

But Ms Smith told The Sunday Times that £8 million will be made available to equip up to 30,000 police response officers across the country with the new 50,000-volt electric guns.

She said: "I am proud that we have one of the few police services around the world that do not regularly carry firearms and I want to keep it that way.

"But every day the police put themselves in danger to protect us, the public. They deserve our support, so I want to give the police the tools they tell me they need to confront dangerous people. That is why I am giving the police 10,000 Tasers to ensure that officers across the country benefit from this form of defence."

The move was welcomed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which said trials showed in the majority of cases Tasers helped police resolve incidents without resorting to a weapon.

Derek Talbot, ACPO spokesman on Tasers and assistant chief constable of Northamptonshire Police, told the paper: "This reinforces the value of Taser as a useful tool to make the public and officers safer and to resolve potentially violent situations effectively and rapidly.

"The conclusions of this trial provide further evidence that Taser is a proportionate, low risk means of resolving incidents where the public or officers face severe violence or the threat of such violence which cannot safely be dealt with by other means," he said.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Charles Clarke moved to bury the hatchet with Gordon Brown, acknowledging the Prime Minister had done "really well" over the past two months.

The Blairite former home secretary voiced concern in the summer that Labour was "destined to disaster" under Mr Brown, then under attack from a section of ministers and backbenchers.

But Mr Clarke said that the premier had demonstrated "genuine economic and political leadership at a time when it was both desperately needed and difficult to do".

Speaking to the Independent on Sunday and Observer newspapers, he said Labour could now win the next general election.

"I'm not well known for being one of Gordon's biggest fans, but I do think that since the Labour Party conference he's done really well in meeting the challenges of the world financial and economic crisis," he said.

His comments pave the way for a second major rapprochement for Mr Brown after his old foe Peter (now Lord) Mandelson joined the Cabinet as Business Secretary last month.

They suggest the Prime Minister could finally be moving Labour on from the divisions between Blairites and Brownites which have dogged the party for more than a decade.

Mr Clarke said there remained a "political debate about the past", but added: "In the present Gordon has earned the right to support from across the political and business spectrum."

He went on: "It's been a real surprise to me but, to be fair, Gordon's economic self-confidence has made him more decisive on the political front.

"Winning the general election, particularly in the marginal seats in the South East, remains a really tough call but Labour's obviously back in the race and can do it."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

The incoming head of the British Army warned of widespread fraud by officers and soldiers in the economic downturn, in a letter leaked to a newspaper.

Lieutenant-General Sir David Richards, who takes over as chief of the general staff in August, expressed his concern that servicemen were pilfering and abusing the Army's joint personnel administration (JPA).

Introduced last year, the JPA system allows expenses to be claimed by soldiers via computer, which are checked randomly.

In a document published on The Sunday Times website - which the Ministry of Defence confirmed was genuine - Sir David wrote: "I am becoming concerned over the prevalence of fraudulent behaviour as well as what I can at best describe as 'sharp practice' and at worst dishonesty."

He added: "There are soldiers and even some officers who view JPA as a 'cash machine' and are processing fraudulent claims in the belief that if caught they will claim ignorance and hope to refund the monies with no further action.

"While this may be an acceptable excuse for a small number of our young soldiers as they develop competence on JPA, it is inexcusable for our commissioned, warrant and non commissioned officers."

He likened the experience to that of insurance companies seeing more fraudulent claims in a "challenging financial climate".

Sir David, currently the commander-in-chief land forces, also said "petty pilfering" of stationery and other commodities was "an unnecessary drain on resources, resources that could be better spent looking after our soldiers". And he said the abuse of allowances, while not always in clear breach of the rules, "are certainly in breach of the spirit or the underlying intent".

He urged commanders at all levels to enforce appropriate supervision and management checks, to "protect the less virtuous from themselves".

An MoD spokesman said: "The JPA system has allowed individuals greater autonomy and it is good governance that they are periodically reminded of their responsibilities. This is what this letter sets out to do. Auditing and scrutiny of the system is carried out by random sampling of claims and any fraudulent claims are dealt with robustly."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Prime Minister Gordon Brown denied that the massive package of tax cuts expected in the Pre-Budget Report would be a "gamble", insisting action was "necessary and responsible".

Chancellor Alistair Darling will deliver the Government's crucial financial statement in the Commons and is set to deliver a "fiscal stimulus" package in an effort to kick-start the economy, with a cut in VAT likely to form the centrepiece of his plans.

Mr Brown said the measures announced would need to be "substantial" to have an impact on the downturn affecting the UK. He told BBC1's The Politics Show world leaders agreed the need for an injection of cash into the economy.

"Everybody generally agrees that the fiscal stimulus - and what we mean by fiscal stimulus is real help for businesses and families now - has got to be substantial to have an impact."

The Government is expected to pump between £15 and £20 billion into the economy in a Keynesian-style bid to spend Britain out of the downturn.

As well as the VAT change from 17.5% to 15%, which would cost £12.5 billion, moves are thought to include further tax cuts targeted at the least well off. Other options include postponing the introduction of increased vehicle excise duty for older vehicles and taxpayer-funded guarantees on loans to small businesses.

There are also suggestions of a new three month grace period for mortgage holders struggling to keep up with their repayments before repossession proceedings kick in. Further efficiency savings in the public sector will be announced, allowing some expenditure to be used more constructively to fight the recession.

But debt is predicted to soar to more than £120 billion, fuelling concerns about the tax rises and spending cuts that may be necessary later. Mr Brown said: "I don't see this as a gamble. I see this as necessary, responsible action that any sensible government would want to take."

The Government's plan to increase borrowing to finance its package has been heavily criticised by Tory leader David Cameron, who claims it will lead to a "tax bombshell" in the long-term as money is clawed back to repay the debt.

But Mr Brown said: "Those people who say do nothing now would leave people, as in the 80s and the 90s, without hope that their mortgage problems could be sorted out, or their jobs problems could be sorted out. It would be lacking in compassion as well as irresponsible, in my view."

-Nova