Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
A special constable who gave a drunken off-duty soldier a "good beating" while arresting him has been jailed for three years. Peter Lightfoot 40, was convicted by a jury at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court of charges of assaulting former Lance Corporal Mark Aspinall, then deliberately lying in court in a bid to cover up what he had done. Sentencing him, judge Jeffrey Lewis told him: "It is always an unpleasant and unwelcome duty to have to pass sentence on a police officer, and this case is no exception."
A special constable who gave a drunken off-duty soldier a "good beating" while arresting him has been jailed for three years.
Peter Lightfoot 40, was convicted by a jury at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court of charges of assaulting former Lance Corporal Mark Aspinall, then deliberately lying in court in a bid to cover up what he had done.
Sentencing him, judge Jeffrey Lewis told him: "It is always an unpleasant and unwelcome duty to have to pass sentence on a police officer, and this case is no exception."
Sweden's chief prosecutor said this morning she was reopening a preliminary investigation into a rape claim against the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the latest twist to a case in which prosecutors of different ranks have overruled each other.The Australian has denied the allegations and suggested they are part of a smear campaign by opponents of WikiLeaks, which has angered Washington by publishing thousands of leaked documents about US military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sweden's chief prosecutor said this morning she was reopening a preliminary investigation into a rape claim against the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the latest twist to a case in which prosecutors of different ranks have overruled each other.
The Australian has denied the allegations and suggested they are part of a smear campaign by opponents of WikiLeaks, which has angered Washington by publishing thousands of leaked documents about US military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
William Hague's special adviser has resigned over "untrue and malicious" allegations made against him, the Foreign Secretary has said. Mr Hague said suggestions Christopher Myers' appointment was due to an improper relationship between them were "utterly false". In a statement, he also denied his marriage to wife Ffion was in trouble. He revealed they have suffered multiple miscarriages and are still grieving the loss of a pregnancy this summer.
William Hague's special adviser has resigned over "untrue and malicious" allegations made against him, the Foreign Secretary has said.
Mr Hague said suggestions Christopher Myers' appointment was due to an improper relationship between them were "utterly false".
In a statement, he also denied his marriage to wife Ffion was in trouble.
He revealed they have suffered multiple miscarriages and are still grieving the loss of a pregnancy this summer.
A mysterious accident in which one of Russia's most powerful spies was found dead on a Turkish beach has provoked speculation that the deputy head of the country's foreign military intelligence service had been murdered.The badly decomposed body of Yuri Ivanov washed up last month on the shore of the Mediterranean, and was discovered by Turkish villagers in the province of Hatay, Turkish newspapers reported today. Reports suggest that he was quietly buried in Moscow over the weekend.Ivanov was the second in command at Russia's foreign military intelligence unit, the GRU. The general had last been deployed to review military installations in Syria, amid Kremlin attempts to reassert its influence in the Middle East, reports suggested.
A mysterious accident in which one of Russia's most powerful spies was found dead on a Turkish beach has provoked speculation that the deputy head of the country's foreign military intelligence service had been murdered.
The badly decomposed body of Yuri Ivanov washed up last month on the shore of the Mediterranean, and was discovered by Turkish villagers in the province of Hatay, Turkish newspapers reported today. Reports suggest that he was quietly buried in Moscow over the weekend.
Ivanov was the second in command at Russia's foreign military intelligence unit, the GRU. The general had last been deployed to review military installations in Syria, amid Kremlin attempts to reassert its influence in the Middle East, reports suggested.
Two Yemenis arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of planning a terror attack have been released, prosecutors in the Netherlands have said. An investigation failed to find any evidence against the two men, the Dutch national prosecutor's office said. They were arrested on Monday upon arriving at Amsterdam airport on a flight from the US after a request from US authorities. US officials later said they did not believe they were planning an attack.
Two Yemenis arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of planning a terror attack have been released, prosecutors in the Netherlands have said.
An investigation failed to find any evidence against the two men, the Dutch national prosecutor's office said.
They were arrested on Monday upon arriving at Amsterdam airport on a flight from the US after a request from US authorities.
US officials later said they did not believe they were planning an attack.
The German railway, Deutsche Bahn, says it will test a high-speed train in the Channel Tunnel between France and Britain sometime around 19 October. Currently, only Eurostar is allowed to operate trains on the route and the move could widen rail competition. Eurostar is owned by railways in the UK, France and Belgium, which are responsible for running the service in their own territory. The German railway has asked repeatedly for access to the tunnel. A profitable route for its high-speed ICE trains could be between the financial centres of London and Frankfurt.
The German railway, Deutsche Bahn, says it will test a high-speed train in the Channel Tunnel between France and Britain sometime around 19 October.
Currently, only Eurostar is allowed to operate trains on the route and the move could widen rail competition.
Eurostar is owned by railways in the UK, France and Belgium, which are responsible for running the service in their own territory.
The German railway has asked repeatedly for access to the tunnel.
A profitable route for its high-speed ICE trains could be between the financial centres of London and Frankfurt.
The body of MI6 codebreaker Gareth Williams was found padlocked into a sports bag, police reveal, as the inquest is delayed amid questions over the cause of his death - which Channel 4 News understands was a "neat job" - code for a professional killing.
The attorney general's office is examining files relating to the death of David Kelly, a move which could herald a full inquest into the weapons inspector's death.Officials acting on behalf of Dominic Grieve, the government's senior law officer, had requested the Ministry of Justice to supply reports of Kelly's post mortem examination, and now have them.The move came after a group of prominent legal and medical experts called for a full inquest into the 2003 death of the scientist. A spokeswoman for the attorney general said the files had arrived in the office this week after being requested "quite a while ago".
The attorney general's office is examining files relating to the death of David Kelly, a move which could herald a full inquest into the weapons inspector's death.
Officials acting on behalf of Dominic Grieve, the government's senior law officer, had requested the Ministry of Justice to supply reports of Kelly's post mortem examination, and now have them.
The move came after a group of prominent legal and medical experts called for a full inquest into the 2003 death of the scientist. A spokeswoman for the attorney general said the files had arrived in the office this week after being requested "quite a while ago".
Many European companies that publicly embrace workers' rights under global labor standards nevertheless undermine workers' rights in their US operations, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued today. The 128-page report, "A Strange Case: Violations of Workers' Freedom of Association in the United States by European Multinational Corporations," details ways in which some European multinational firms have carried out aggressive campaigns to keep workers in the United States from organizing and bargaining, violating international standards and, often, US labor laws.... Among the violations documented in the report are practices of forcing workers into "captive audience" meetings to hear anti-union harangues while prohibiting pro-union voices, threatening dire consequences if workers form unions, threatening to permanently replace workers who exercise the right to strike, spying on employee organizers, and even firing workers who support organizing efforts at companies.
The 128-page report, "A Strange Case: Violations of Workers' Freedom of Association in the United States by European Multinational Corporations," details ways in which some European multinational firms have carried out aggressive campaigns to keep workers in the United States from organizing and bargaining, violating international standards and, often, US labor laws.... Among the violations documented in the report are practices of forcing workers into "captive audience" meetings to hear anti-union harangues while prohibiting pro-union voices, threatening dire consequences if workers form unions, threatening to permanently replace workers who exercise the right to strike, spying on employee organizers, and even firing workers who support organizing efforts at companies.
Companies cited include Germany-based Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA and Deutsche Post's DHL, UK-based Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets and G4S Wackenhut security, France-based Sodexo food services and Saint-Gobain industrial equipment, Norway-based Kongsberg Automotive, and the Dutch firm Gamma Holding.
