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The teenager who murdered schoolboy Rhys Jones has been attacked in jail, the Prison Service has confirmed.

Sean Mercer, 18, was assaulted at HMP Moorland in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but the incident was stopped by the "timely intervention" of staff, a spokeswoman added.

The gang member was taken to hospital after the attack in the communal area of the prison, according to reports. The attack is thought to have left Mercer with a broken nose and facial injuries.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: "We can confirm an incident took place at HMP Moorland at 2.30pm on Saturday, December 27, in which two prisoners assaulted each other.

"The incident lasted less than two minutes and was quickly resolved by the timely intervention of staff."

The spokeswoman would not release any further details.

Last month Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, Liverpool, was jailed for life and was told he would serve a minimum of 22 years behind bars.

Mercer, a Croxteth Crew member, blasted three shots across the car park of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth on August 22 last year.

His targets were rival Strand Gang members who had arrived on his turf - but one of the shots hit innocent Rhys, who was walking home from football training.

The 11-year-old schoolboy died in his mother Melanie's arms.

-Nova

[lɐuǝɯo⊥ǝɥԀ]

He deserves everything he gets, Thanks For This EeL

[OMEN]

Waterford Wedgwood has gone into receivership.

This morning, the company asked that its shares be suspended from trading on the Irish Stock Exchange and said some of the group's Irish and UK subsidiaries have had to go into receivership and administration.

The company, which produces Waterford Crystal, and Wedgwood and Royal Doulton china, employs 800 people in Ireland.
It has appointed David Carson of Deloitte Ireland as receiver to the company. He said he is seeking a buyer for the firm, and wishes to sell it as a going concern.

A director of Waterford Wedgwood and former group chief executive officer, Redmond O'Donoghue, has said mayhem in the market place over the last three months was the chief factor which led to today's announcement.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio's News At One, he said the company could not have predicted how horrible the markets were going to be when it announced last October that it needed to raise funds of €150m.

He said the company had raised only half that amount.

Also on the programme, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen, who is a TD for Waterford, welcomed that the receiver will try to sell the business as a going concern.

He said the Government would do what it could to keep the very strong brand of Waterford Crystal in Ireland.

In Ireland, the ultimate holding company Waterford Wedgwood PLC is in receivership, and joint administrators are to be appointed to the UK companies, of which there are about ten.

No other companies other than those in Ireland and the UK have had receivers or administrators appointed. It means they continue to trade, even though they are all subsidiaries of the ultimate holding company.

Union representatives were expected to meet with workers at Waterford Wedgwood this morning.

Unite was seeking an urgent meeting with management.

News 'sickening' - union

Spokesman Jimmy Kelly said the situation is 'sickening' but added that he believed the firm can ride out the storm.

The company last month reported pre-tax losses of €63.2m for the six months to 4 October, up 13% from a loss of almost €50m a year earlier.

Chief Executive David Sculley said it was clear that the group needed extra financing to continue with its business plan.

'I am disappointed that certain of the group's UK and Irish subsidiaries have had to go into administration and receivership, but we remain optimistic that ongoing discussions will result in a buyer being found for the businesses,' he said.

In October last, Waterford Crystal told workers about its plans to lay off another 280 people at its plant in Kilbarry in the city, ending large-scale manufacturing at the plant.

Chief Financial Officer of Waterford Wedgwood Anthony Jones said it had become clear that maintaining manufacturing in Ireland at its current level was not feasible.

Under a restructuring plan announced in 2007, 490 people were already due to leave the company.

RTE

[OMEN]

US President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former lawmaker and White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to head the CIA.

US media were first to report that Mr Panetta, who was White House chief of staff for former president Bill Clinton, was the incoming president's choice to head the agency.

Presidential transition aides have also said that retired admiral Dennis Blair is Mr Obama's choice for director of national intelligence to oversee the country's sprawling intelligence system.
A former commander of US forces in the Pacific from 1999 to 2002, Blair will be only the third director of national intelligence.

The position was created by Congress in 2004 after investigations revealed that turf-sensitive intelligence agencies failed to share information that might have averted the 11 September attacks.

That failure was followed by US intelligence's fateful error on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

The DNI's main mission was to break down the barriers between the agencies, and make them operate more collaboratively.

RTE

[OMEN]

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair will receive the highest civilian award in the US - the Presidential Medal of Freedom - next week.

In his last week in office, President Bush will award the medal to Mr Blair, former Australian PM John Howard and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

All three leaders had been "staunch allies" of the US, particularly against terrorism, said the White House.

The ceremony will take place at the White House on 13 January.

At a press briefing earlier White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said: "The president is honouring these leaders for their work to improve the lives of their citizens and for their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad. "

She added: "Their efforts to bring hope and freedom to people around the globe have made their nations, America and the world community a safer and more secure world. "

The medal of freedom, awarded by the US President, is the highest civilian award in the US, alongside the congressional gold medal - awarded by Congress.

Mr Blair was awarded the congressional gold medal in July 2003, shortly after the invasion of Iraq, but he has yet to collect it.

There was some speculation that unease over the Iraq war and Mr Blair's close friendship with Mr Bush made him reluctant to accept it while in office.

But each medal is individually designed and minted and it was reported it was taking some time to decide on the words and images.

The office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives told the Sunday Telegraph this week that Mr Blair was taking a keen interest in the medal's design, before it was specially made by the US Federal Mint.


BBC

[OMEN]

Conservative leader David Cameron has announced plans to help savers, whom he has described as the "innocent victims" of the economic downturn.

He plans to scrap taxes paid by basic rate taxpayers' on savings interest and raise the level of non-taxable income for pensioners by £2,000 a year.

The Tories have said the tax cuts will be fully funded, paid for by lower public spending.

Labour say the Tories are making promises without having the funding.

The Lib Dems said the plan was a "fake giveaway."

Savers have suffered as interest rates have fallen to a 57-year low of 2%, with a further cut anticipated on Thursday.

'Big change'

In response, the Tories are proposing to help savers by ending the 20% tax paid by basic rate taxpayers on savings' interest.

According to the Tories, anyone with savings who has earnings or pension income of less than £43,875 will be better off.

They say those most dependent on income from savings, such as the retired and those not working, will benefit most and that someone with annual pension income of £12,000 would save £200 a year.

The amount of income that people aged between 65 and 74 would receive tax-free would rise from £9,490 to £11,490 while for the over 75's, tax-free allowances would rise to £11,640.

This would enable a 65-year old with £14,000 in pension income to save £400 a year, the Tories argue
Mr Cameron said his plans were designed to create a "less materialistic" society based on a culture of "save, save save" rather than "spend, spend spend".

"We need to make a really big change in Britain from an economy built on debt to an economy built on savings," he said.

Mr Cameron said the tax cuts - estimated to cost about £4.1bn - would be paid for by restricting public spending increases across most of government in 2009-2010 to 1% in real terms.

This would represent a reduction of about £5bn in the overall rise in public spending - from £30bn to £25bn - planned by Labour.

However, existing Labour spending commitments for health, schools, defence and international development would be left unaltered.

Such savings were "perfectly reasonable", he added, urging a "culture of thrift" in government.

Slowdown fears

One tax expert said the Tory proposals were a "good way" of putting money into the pockets of key groups in society.

But Carl Emerson, deputy director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, said it was unclear whether the recipients would choose to spend the money or save it and there was a chance that it would result in less money flowing into the economy.

He also said it would result in a "very sharp slowdown" in the rate of spending growth across many areas of government.
Mr Cameron said the country faced a "grim" future of 1970s-style big government under Gordon Brown and called again for a general election any time this year.

Labour's economic strategy had failed, he said, and the country was facing a "catastrophic legacy of debt and disrepair".

In contrast, the Conservatives had a vision of more "productive, balanced and modern" economy with an emphasis on a savings culture and more environmentally sustainable economic activity.

"Our vision is a good future is of a less materialistic country, more concerned with people and our relationships; a contributor society not a consumer society."

'Debt crisis'

Mr Cameron also announced plans for a review of broadband services - with the aim of giving every home access to high-speed fibre optic broadband within 10 years - and for a "green" stock exchange to help fund new environmentally friendly businesses.

Mr Cameron earlier accused Gordon Brown of inflicting a "terrifying" debt crisis on Britain and called the VAT cut a "joke".
Mr Cameron told BBC Radio 4's Today that Mr Brown might as well have gone out and burnt the money and said he felt like "shaking the prime minister".

His criticisms came as both his party and Labour seek to gain the initiative over handling of the economic downturn.

The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said the changes to savings tax rates would create a clear political dividing line, he added, between a Labour government committed to state intervention to inflate the economy and the Tories calling for a smaller state and tax cuts.

Meanwhile Gordon Brown has been discussing help for businesses trying to cope with the economic slowdown.

This is as a prelude to a three-day tour of England and Wales by the prime minister, which will culminate in a jobs summit in Downing Street next week.

'Better tomorrow'

Mr Brown said the UK was facing a "testing" year but that Labour's investment in areas such as housing and transport and its planned focus on creating jobs in new sectors of the economy was an "essential" response to the downturn.

"I believe with the right policies that we can build a better tomorrow while also immediately addressing the challenges we face today," he told a meeting of business groups and union leaders in London.
To do otherwise and to let the downturn run its course - the approach the prime minister has accused the Conservatives of taking - would be "socially divisive and economically mistaken".

"When markets fail the government has a responsibility to act."

The government also said it was mulling over further plans to encourage UK banks to raise lending to firms and households.

And Yvette Cooper, chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "David Cameron talks about the 1970s. The truth is the Conservatives are returning to the worst of Thatcherism in the early eighties with no support for jobs or the economy and cuts in public services as well.

"The Conservatives are repeating their mistakes of the past: if a timely fiscal stimulus of similar scale had been applied at the beginning of the 1990s recession, around 300,000 fewer jobs might not have been lost."

The Lib Dems said the plans would only result in a marginal saving for people on average incomes.

"What people need is much more money back in their pockets now," said their leader Nick Clegg.

BBC

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[OMEN]

Two of the UK's biggest High Street names have announced falling like-for-like sales over the Christmas period.

Clothing retailer Next announced that its sales had dropped 7% in the six months to Christmas Eve. It added there had been a good start to its sale.

Meanwhile, Debenhams said its sales in the past 12 weeks had fallen 3.3%.

It said this had been a "creditable sales performance, given the extremely difficult and volatile conditions seen across the High Street".

In early morning trade in London shares in Next were up 7% after the announcement, and those in Debenhams were up 30%.

The updated trading figures had been in line with analysts' expectations.

Both chains have been offering up to 70% off items in their seasonal sales.

'Challenging year'

Next had refused to slash prices in the approach to Christmas - and said it expected sales clearance rates to be ahead of last year.

However, looking ahead to 2009, the firm said that it would be "another challenging year" and predicted negative like-for-like sales figures for the full year.

"We expect falling house prices, unemployment, and the fear of unemployment to continue to restrain spending," said Next in its statement.

But it said it was well placed to weather the downturn, with a robust balance sheet and net debts of £670m. Next also said it would manage its costs and look to make further efficiencies.

Cost controls

Debenhams, which has 153 stores in the UK and Irish Republic, has seen its shares fall more than 80% over the past two years on fears about its ability to pay its debts.

Despite the 3.6% fall in like-for-like sales over the past 12 weeks, this compared with a decline of 4.2% for the previous six weeks and meant that Debenhams' profits for the 18-week period had improved on a year earlier.

The retailer also said that, despite the tough environment, it had "continued to take market share from competitors in all major categories".

"Looking forward, the trading environment is likely to remain challenging for the whole retail sector," said chief executive Rob Templeman, adding that the firm would keep a tight control on costs, stock and capital.

Job fears

The updates come as the Nationwide's consumer confidence index fell to a new record low during December.

The index fell to just 47 last month, nearly half of its level of 84 in December 2007, and down from 51 in November.

Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "Consumers' confidence fell sharply in 2008, driven mainly by their sentiment about the economic and labour market situation.

"As the UK enters recession, it is likely to be some time before we see confidence returning to levels seen in 2007."

BBC

[OMEN]

The ex-head of children's services at the council at the centre of the Baby P case is appealing against her sacking.

Sharon Shoesmith was dismissed from Haringey Council last month after a damning initial report into her department's role in Baby P's death.

The 17-month-old, who was on the council's "at-risk" register, died in 2007 after a series of major injuries.

A spokesman for Haringey Council in north London confirmed Ms Shoesmith was appealing against her dismissal.

'Loss of confidence'

Following the report, Ms Shoesmith was dismissed with immediate effect and the council said she would not be receiving any compensation or pay in lieu of notice.

The document said her department's shortcomings "led to a fundamental loss of trust and confidence" in her ability.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls had removed Ms Shoesmith from her post on 1 December but she remained on full pay while the council considered her case.

Baby P's mother admitted in court to causing or allowing the boy's death. Her boyfriend and Jason Owen, 36, were convicted of the same offence.

They were due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 15 December but sentencing has been delayed "for legal reasons".

After the convictions, Ms Shoesmith said she was satisfied that her department had acted appropriately.

Risk failures

However, inspectors sent into Haringey after the trial of those responsible for the baby's death identified a string of "serious concerns" about the area's child protection services which they described as "inadequate".

In a 16-page report, they criticised everything from poor record-keeping to a failure to identify children at immediate risk of harm.

Baby P, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had suffered more than 50 injuries by the time of his death.

This was despite being in contact with officials, doctors and police 60 times in the eight months before he died.

The council has appointed Peter Lewis as Ms Shoesmith's successor.

He has spent five years as children's director at Enfield Council, also in north London.

Haringey is the same council that was severely criticised after the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie in 2000.


BBC

After all the injuries that Baby P suffered in his short life this woman should not have been sacked she should have just been taken around the corner and shot.....

[OMEN]

Several European countries say they have suffered major disruption to their Russian gas supplies after Moscow cut deliveries to Ukraine.

Turkey said all its supplies had been cut. Romania reported a 75% reduction. Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia have also been affected, Bulgaria said.

Russian energy giant Gazprom decided to cut exports through Ukrainian pipelines by a fifth in a row over unpaid bills.

Russia stopped supplying gas to Ukraine last week.

A statement on the website of Ukrainian state company Naftogaz listed nine countries, including Germany, Poland, and Hungary which, it said, would receive reduced supplies.

"Naftogaz of Ukraine considers that in such a case if European users receive less volumes of natural gas, all claims of the noted countries must be directed to Gazprom," says the statement.

Pipes across Ukraine carry about one-fifth of the European Union's gas needs.

'Gas stolen'

The move to reduce supplies going through the Ukraine by a fifth came after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held talks with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
Mr Miller recommended that deliveries via Ukraine should be reduced "by the amount stolen by Ukraine, that is 65.3 million cu/m of gas".

Future deliveries should be reduced on a daily basis by the amount of gas "stolen", he added.

"Start reducing it from today," Mr Putin told Mr Miller on Monday.

Ukraine has denied stealing gas, saying technical problems are disrupting the onward flow of gas to Europe.

Gazprom, in which the Russian state owns a majority stake, said it would compensate by sending more gas to Europe via other routes.

Divisions

The row between Russia and Ukraine has been simmering for weeks. Gazprom says Ukraine owes it money; Ukraine says it has paid its debt. The two sides have also failed to agree on the price Ukraine should pay for gas in 2009.
A similar row between Gazprom and Ukraine at the beginning of 2006 led to gas shortages in several EU countries.

EU leaders have been meeting in Brussels to discuss the dispute and a delegation has also been sent for talks with both Ukrainian and Gazprom officials.

But, say correspondents, the EU is reluctant to get involved in what it describes as a commercial dispute - reflecting Europe's own deep divisions on how to respond to Russia.

BBC

[OMEN]

Israeli forces have pressed nearer to and into cities in Gaza despite new international calls for a ceasefire in an 11-day-old conflict in which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed.

Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces moved into Khan Younis in southern Gaza as the army widened the ground assault it launched four days ago against Hamas militants after a week of air strikes failed to stamp out cross-border rocket fire.

There was intense fighting overnight on the outskirts of the city of Gaza, where residents huddled indoors in fear. Deaths recorded by Palestinian medics reached 564.
Most of several dozen deaths reported by hospitals in recent days have been civilians, apparently because dead militants remain on the battlefield.

The Israeli military said it had killed 130 militants since Saturday - an indication that the total Palestinian death toll since 27 December may be close to 700.

Israel's military said three soldiers were killed and 24 were wounded yesterday when an Israeli tank fired at a building in northern Gaza that they had occupied in fighting against the Hamas group, which seized control of Gaza in 2007.

The so-called friendly fire incident caused the military's highest casualty toll since Israel launched its offensive.

More than 550 Palestinian deaths; Eight Israelis killed

Eight Israelis, including four civilians hit in Palestinian rocket attacks, have been killed in the conflict.

Palestinian medics said 18 Palestinian civilians were killed today, including 10 people who were hit by naval shells along the beach in central Gaza.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the assault could get harder for troops. Hamas, vowing to fight on in every street and alley, threatened to fire more rockets across into Israel.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a peace mission to the Middle East, and US President George W Bush, in his final weeks in the White House, both appealed for a ceasefire.

But disagreement on who should stop shooting first and on what terms made the chances of a quick truce seem remote.

Israel, whose leaders fight a parliamentary poll on 10 February, made clear its priority was securing the safety of its citizens.

Hamas demanded a lifting of Israel's blockade of Gaza. Many of the enclave's 1.5m people lack food, water or power.

The Jewish state launched the offensive after Hamas called off a six-month truce last month and stepped up cross-border rocket attacks in response to Israeli raids and the blockade.

Barak warns of tough times ahead

Israeli media reported that Hamas gunmen were manoeuvring within a well-fortified tunnel system and that Israeli troops had encountered Palestinian suicide bombers.

Militants had been trying to lure Israeli soldiers into built-up areas, witnesses said.

An overnight Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza town of Rafah killed a Palestinian woman, medical officials said.

Barak told Israeli legislators yesterday Hamas had been dealt a heavy blow: 'But we cannot say that its fighting capabilities have been harmed ... Difficult moments lie ahead in this operation and the main test could still be ahead,' he said.

Hamas leaders, who have support from Iran and Syria but are viewed with suspicion by most Arab states, were defiant.

Thousands of fighters were waiting 'in every street, every alley and at every house' to tackle the Israeli forces, Hamas military spokesman Abu Ubaida said in a broadcast speech.

Hamas would increase its rocket strikes on Israel if the Jewish state kept on attacking Gaza, he said.

Hamas, which wants to reverse the events of 1948 that created the Jewish state and turned Palestinians into refugees, won a parliamentary election in 2006.

It routed rival forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007, taking control of Gaza and creating a schism that has blighted Mr Abbas's bid to found a Palestinian state through US-brokered talks with Israel.

Israel pulled its troops and more than 8,000 settlers out of Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation in a move that many at the time hoped would lead to a breakthrough for relations between Israel and the Palestinians.

RTE

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