Briefsfromshittu

Monday, September 12, 2016

David Cameron to quit as Conservative MP for Witney

Former Prime Minister David Cameron is standing down as an MP, triggering a by-election in his Witney seat.

Mr Cameron, who quit as Prime Minister shortly after the EU referendum, said he had "thought about (his future as an MP) long and hard over the summer", deciding it was now "the right thing to do to stand down" from his constituency in Oxfordshire.

He added: "In my view, in modern politics, with the circumstances of my resignation, it isn't really possible to be a proper backbench MP as a former Prime Minister.

"I think everything you do will become a big distraction and a big diversion from what the Government needs to do for our country."

Mother In China Kills Four Children With Axe And Pesticide

A mother of four hacked her children with an axe and killed them with pesticide because she could not afford to feed them, it has been reported.

Yang Gailan, 28, allegedly murdered her children, aged between three and six, outside their home in Agushan, in China's Gansu province.

She then committed suicide by drinking pesticide, the local government said in a statement.

After returning home from work Ms Yang's husband, Li Keying, also took poison and died, police said.

According to local statistics more than half the population in Agushan live under China's poverty line.

Ms Yang's children were not covered by national medical insurance or allowed to attend schools as they were not registered on the nation's vast Hukou residence system until last year.

Local media reported that the family were also excluded from China's poverty relief scheme and had to survive on crops.

Yang Gailan's story has attracted national attention and was the most searched subject on Chinese social network Weibo.

One user wrote: "Through this tragedy, I see the corrupted local officials, I see the cold and selfish people, and I see the desperate and helpless family.

"It has revealed a hard truth of this country that the most vulnerable are treated with smear rather than sympathy."

Another added: "What's more terrifying than poverty is the loss of hope and faith.

"That is the extreme desperation of helplessness."

Others criticised Yang Gailan, calling her a murderer.

According to the World Bank, China still has more than 200 million people living under the poverty line.

The Chinese government has long vowed to tackle poverty.

While world leaders gathered for the G20 summit in the prosperous city of Hangzhou just a week ago, China's inland provinces have suffered from increasingly severe inequality of economy development.

'Many Wounded' In Explosion In Eastern Turkey

A car bomb in Turkey's eastern city of Van has left at least 19 people injured, according to Turkish media reports.

The "large explosion" is understood to have targeted the party's provincial offices in the city, an MP for Turkey's ruling AK party told CNN Turk.

The broadcaster said two police officers are among those injured and that no one is believed to have been killed.

Footage of smoke rising from a building and people running from the scene is being broadcast on local television.

Ambulances have taken the wounded to nearby hospitals and police and firetrucks have been dispatched to the area.

The explosion struck a central district in Van, which lies in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.

Turkish security forces have blamed the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the attack.

The region has suffered numerous bombings and attacks since the PKK abandoned a ceasefire in 2015, resulting in dozens of casualties.