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Saturday, May 14, 2016

'We Believe Boris': EU Poll Blow For PM

Boris Johnson is trusted on Europe by twice as many voters as David Cameron, according to a poll.
ComRes asked 2,043 people who was "more likely to tell the truth about the EU" in a poll for The Independent and the Sunday Mirror.
Some 45% opted for Leave campaigner Mr Johnson, while 21% said David Cameron, who wants the UK to remain in the 28-nation bloc.
By a smaller margin, 39% to 24%, campaigners for Leave generally were considered "more likely to tell the truth" than campaigners for Remain.
The poll found 33% thought they would be personally better off if Britain stayed in the EU, whereas 29% believed they would be better off if we left and 38% said they did not know.
It comes after a 'Super Saturday' of campaigning when Britain Stronger In Europe held 1,000 events and Brexiteers staged what they described as a nationwide "blitz".
Speaking at an event in his own Witney constituency in Oxfordshire, David Cameron warned voters of an "immediate and sustained hit that we would suffer to our economy" if the UK left the EU.
The Prime Minister added: "If we vote to leave on 23 June we will be voting for higher prices, we will be voting for fewer jobs, we will be voting for lower growth, we will be voting potentially for a recession. That is the last thing our economy needs."
But Mr Johnson said Britain could survive on its own because it was the fifth biggest economy in the world.
He said it was a "David and Goliath fight" with the "little platoons against the big battalions" but that Vote Leave had "passion and courage".
He said: "I am telling you that if we vote leave on 23 June and take back control of this country's democracy and economy we can can prosper and thrive as never before."
Sky Data suggests the economy lags behind immigration as the greatest concern of undecided voters.
The poll showed 29% of voters were undecided and of those, 28% said immigration was the greatest concern - just 15% said the economy.
Jeremy Corbyn was also on the campaign trail on Saturday - using a speech at the QE2 Centre in London to say the country's problems were down to the Tories, not the EU.
"I'm in favour in 2020 of Vote Leave - vote for the Tories to leave office," the Labour leader said.
Mr Corbyn cited a lack of secure jobs, tax avoidance, workers' rights, steel, the environment and the NHS, and surmised: "It's our government that is really the problem."

Vanessa Hudgens Instagram Post Leads to $1,000 Fine

Actress Vanessa Hudgens paid a $1,000 fine for carving a heart into a red rock wall during a Valentine’s Day trip to Sedona, Arizona with her boyfriend, Austin Butler.
Hudgens was issued a citation for a misdemeanor count of damaging a natural feature on U.S. Forest Service land, the Associated Press reported. The fine will be used by a volunteer group to restore the rock wall by scrubbing or sanding the stone, according to the AP.
Hudgens had posted photos of their trip to Sedona on social media, one of which featured a picture of the carving, which read “Austin + Vanessa”. That photo has since been removed.
“She was caught in the act because she publicized it and she’s famous,” Coconino National Forest Service spokesman Brady Smith said, according to the AP. “I’m sure there are others who are not famous and publicized it and we’ve never known.”
A federal magistrate approved the fine agreement in April, and it was first reported on Friday.

UK To Give Nigeria £40m To Fight Boko Haram

The Foreign Secretary has pledged to give Nigeria £40m to help the fight against Boko Haram - and praised the president's "strong leadership" just days after David Cameron called the country "fantastically corrupt".

Philip Hammond also announced the UK would train almost 1,000 Nigerian military personnel for deployment in counter-insurgency operations.

His promises came as he arrived in Abuja, Nigeria for the Regional Security Summit.

"President Buhari has shown strong leadership in the fight against Boko Haram, a brutal organisation that has raped, murdered and kidnapped innocent civilians and forced over two million people to flee their homes," said Mr Hammond.

"Their allegiance to, and potential coordination with Daesh (IS), is a reminder of the threat they present to the region and to British interests."

Boko Haram has killed some 20,000 people during a seven-year insurgency.

The UK's money to fight the Islamic extremists will be distributed over four years.

Mr Hammond's flattering words follow days after Mr Cameron was heard making undiplomatic comments to the Queen ahead of an anti-corruption summit.

"We've got some leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain," Mr Cameron told the Queen.

"Nigeria and Afghanistan - possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world."

James McAvoy Splits From Anne-Marie Duff

Hollywood star James McAvoy and his actress wife Anne-Marie Duff are to divorce after 10 years of marriage, the couple have announced.
The couple released a statement which said they would continue to have "friendship, love and respect for one another" despite the separation.
They have a five-year-old son.
The statement read: "It is with tremendous sadness that we have come to the decision to divorce.
"We enter this next phase with continued friendship, love and respect for one another and the shared focus of caring for our son.
"We ask that you respect our and, most importantly, our child's privacy during this time."
The couple began their relationship when they starred as couple Steve and Fiona in the Channel 4 comedy-drama Shameless, which was later remade in the US.
McAvoy, 37, stars in X-Men: Apocalypse, opening later this month. 
Duff, 45, recently starred alongside Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter in period drama Suffragette. 

Do You Know Saddleworth Moor Mystery Man?

Police have released an artist's impression of a mystery man who died from poisoning on a remote hillside in the Peak District National Park in December last year.
Dubbed Neil Dovestone, after the reservoir on Saddleworth Moor close to where his body was found, the man remains unidentified despite extensive investigations.
CCTV pictures were released last year showing the man walking through Manchester Piccadilly railway station on 11 December wearing a heavy jacket, blue jumper, blue cord trousers and slip-on shoes.
Still from Manchester Piccadilly station of a man later found dead at Indian's Head near Dovestone Reservoir
At 2pm that afternoon he went to the Clarence pub in Greenfield, Saddleworth, asking for directions to the top of a nearby rock outcrop known as Indian's Head.
The man was warned about poor weather conditions, but was last seen climbing the hill in the dark at about 4.30pm.
His body was found by a cyclist the following morning and post-mortem results showed he died from strychnine poisoning.
Detectives say they are not treating his death as suspicious.


Pfizer Blocks Its Drugs For Lethal Injections

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has imposed controls on the distribution of its products to ensure that none are used in lethal injections to execute death row inmates.

The move reportedly closes off the last remaining open-market source of drugs used in executions, following similar actions by more than 20 US and European drug manufacturers.

Pfizer said on its website: "We are enforcing a distribution restriction for specific products that have been part of, or considered by some states for, their lethal injection protocols.

"Pfizer strongly objects to the use of its products as lethal injections for capital punishment."

The New York-based drugmaker said it offers the products because they save or improve lives, and markets them solely for use as indicated in the product labelling.

Reprieve, a human rights organisation opposed to the death penalty, said: "This is a critical turning point in the history of capital punishment in America.

"From today, all FDA-approved manufacturers of all potential execution drugs - a diverse group of 25 global companies - have blocked their sale for use in executions."

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team, told Sky News: "Pfizer cements the industry position.

Peru Drugs Mule Melissa Reid Can Return To UK


Convicted British drugs smuggler Melissa Reid will be released from prison in Peru and allowed to return to the UK, it has been confirmed.
The 22-year-old, from Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire, was jailed in 2013 along with Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, after they admitted trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m from Peru to Spain.
Reid had been seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home in Scotland following her conviction.
A Peruvian court on Thursday said Reid has shown remorse for the crime, and authorities agreed to release her.
Peru's National Office for Migration and the British Embassy in Peru are being informed of the decision so arrangements can be made for Reid to be returned to the UK.
McCollum, 23, was freed in March under new legislation on early prison release introduced in Peru last year.
Michaella McCollum
She had served two years and three months.
However, it is anticipated she will have to remain in Peru for a considerable period as part of her parole conditions.
Reid and McCollum were caught with the haul at Lima airport in August 2013 while attempting to fly to Spain.
The pair were caught trying to board a flight with 24lb (11kg) of cocaine in food packets hidden inside their luggage.
They claimed they were forced into carrying the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.
McCollum and Reid faced the prospect of a maximum 15-year prison term but struck a behind-closed-doors plea bargain to secure a shorter sentence.
Reid's father Billy has previously said the impact of his daughter's crime on his family had been "horrendous" and spoke in a video warning of the consequences of drug offences abroad.
He said: "It's horrendous to see your daughter in handcuffs and the living conditions that she has to put up with. Melissa has spent her own 20th and 21st birthdays in prison in Peru.
"She missed the significant event of her only brother's wedding. Events such as Christmas are non-existent for us.
"There'll be no celebrations in our house, there'll be no Christmas tree until we get her back home."