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Thousands 'Might Die' In Superbug Outbreak

Written By Unknown on Senin, 06 April 2015 | 20.48

Up to 80,000 people may die if there is an outbreak of a major drug-resistant infection, according to a Government forecast.

A report produced for the Cabinet Office warns that if a new superbug develops, as many as 200,000 people might be infected by a bacterial blood infection.

The National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies report, which aims to assess the threat level from emergencies, is produced annually to help the Government decide on policy.

The report says that over the next two decades the number of infections complicated by superbugs is expected to rise significantly.

It warns that routine medical treatments could become "high-risk" because of the growing resistance to antibiotics.

The report states: "An increasingly serious issue is the development and spread of AMR (antimicrobial resistance), which occurs when drugs are no longer effective in treating infections caused by micro-organisms.

"Without effective antibiotics, even minor surgery and routine operations could become high-risk procedures, leading to increased duration of illness and ultimately premature mortality.

"Much of modern medicine (for example, organ transplantation, bowel surgery and some cancer treatments) may become unsafe due to the risk of infection.

"In addition, influenza pandemics would become more serious without effective treatments."

The assessment adds: "The numbers of infections complicated by AMR are expected to increase markedly over the next 20 years.

"If a widespread outbreak were to occur, we could expect around 200,000 people to be affected by a bacterial blood infection that could not be treated effectively with existing drugs, and around 80,000 of these people might die.

"High numbers of deaths could also be expected from other forms of antimicrobial resistant infection."

Politicians and scientists have previously warned of the need to find a cure for infections that have become resistant to drugs.

Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that it is a "very real and worrying threat" which could result in medicine being sent "back into the dark ages".

Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England, said last year: "The world simply cannot afford not to take action to tackle the alarming rise in resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs we are witnessing at the moment."

In 2013, the Government produced a five-year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, which aims to tackle the threat from AMR.


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Refugee Crisis As Islamic State Nears Damascus

The situation in a Palestinian refugee district of Damascus seized by Islamic State has been described as "beyond inhumane" by civil rights activists.

Yarmouk has seen increased shelling and sporadic street fighting after the militant group stormed the southern area of the city on Wednesday, marking the group's deepest foray into the capital.

Chris Gunness, a spokesman for UNRWSA, a UN support agency for Palestinian refugees, said activists had not been able to get aid into the area since the current round of fighting began.

"That means that there is no food, there is no water and there is very little medicine. People are holed up in their houses, there are reports of aerial bombardment, and there is fighting going on in the streets.

"This has to stop and civilians must be evacuated. Some 18,000 people, including 3,500 children, are at risk of death or serious injury. The situation is beyond inhumane."

Yarmouk has been under siege for two years and is home to the largest Palestinian refugee community in the country.

Some civilians who were trapped in the district have managed to flee to safer areas amid continuing clashes between Palestinian armed factions and IS, and intense airstrikes by the Syrian government.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syria's government air force has dropped several barrel bombs on the camp since Sunday.

Palestinian officials and Syrian activists said they were working with rivals from the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front. 

The two groups have fought bloody battles against each other in other parts of Syria, but appear to be cooperating in the attack on Yarmouk.

Palestine Liberation Organisation officials said around 2,000 civilians were able to leave the camp at the weekend via secure roads to the Zahira district, which is under army control.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros said: "Yarmouk is about 10km from the centre of Damascus and IS militants are reportedly in control of most of the camp.

"It's a dire situation and desperate for those people waiting for UN aid but it simply can't get in there because of the fighting.

"We've been told that more than 20 people have been killed since this latest fighting began and several instances where women have been kidnapped by IS militants."

Mr Gunness has called for a "political framework" to solve the crisis and allow aid to be delivered on the ground.

"We need a political framework which will give some kind of meaning and substance to this humanitarian work. So, we need political action and we need it urgently."


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Tories 'Plan Secret Tax Cut For Millionaires'

Labour has accused the Conservatives of plotting a secret tax cut for millionaires after the General Election, as political parties launched a battle over economic statistics.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls predicted a Conservative government would hike VAT - something David Cameron has ruled out - and slash the top rate of income tax for earnings over £150,000 from 45p to 40p.

The allegation was among a series of claims and counter claims as Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems all claimed their rival parties would make people worse off.

Mr Balls said: "We know that is their secret plan - another big tax cut for millionaires.

"How can it be fair when families here in Leeds and across the country are struggling and £1,100 a year worse-off?

"How can it be fair to have a tax cut for the very richest  when our NHS is in crisis and going backwards?

"How can this be fair when we need to get the deficit down and the Tories are now planning deeper cuts in the next three years than the last five?"

Speaking south-west London, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg told Sky News the Conservatives had sought further cut taxes for millionaires in government but were only stopped by his party.

"I was very amused yesterday to hear George Osborne and David Cameron saying with earnest sincerity that they had no plan of giving further tax cuts to people at the top because, I tell you, they had exactly that plan in government and it was something that we said we would not go along with."

While Chancellor George Osborne has said there are "no plans" for a cut to the 45p rate of tax, he refused to rule it out definitively four times on Sky News.

But Tory Treasury minister David Gauke hit back by claiming Labour has a secret plan to boost revenues by dragging more workers into the 40p higher rate of income tax and increasing national insurance contributions.

"Ed Balls and Ed Miliband must set out the details of their secret plan for £3,028 of tax rises on every working family - the British people have a right to know what these tax hikes are.

"The choice at this election is clear. Lower taxes under David Cameron. Or higher taxes under Ed Miliband and the SNP."

Prime Minister David Cameron will later claim 94% of working families are better off after tax and welfare changes this financial year.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

According to the leader of the Conservatives, Treasury statistics show working households will on average benefit by £200 a year, and pensioner households by £180.

Mr Cameron is expected to say: "Today is a big day for our country. It's 'money-back Monday' - a day when, quite simply, hardworking taxpayers get to keep more of their own cash.

"A whole host of changes to our tax, benefits, pensions and savings systems come into effect today.

"And, as a result - a result of action we Conservatives have taken - our country becomes a better and fairer place to live.

"(A place) where those who put in, get out; where hard work is rewarded; and people are trusted."

While the Conservatives are highlighting figures that indicate people are better off, Labour claim the opposite.

Meanwhile, Lib Dem Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, has shared embarrassing details of a meeting from 2012.

Speaking to The Independent, Mr Alexander said: "The Tories' priority at the time was the top rate of tax.

"I remember one meeting with a group of senior Conservatives and one of them - I'm not going to say who - said: 'Listen, you take care of the workers and we'll take care of the bosses'."

Easter Monday also marks an overhaul of the pensions system, when for the first time pensioners will be able to cash in their savings rather than buy an annuity.

Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister Steve Webb said: "As a Liberal I believe people should have the freedom to do what they want with the money they have saved up throughout their working lives.

"Our pension reforms will mean millions more people will have a better retirement."


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'Radical' Pension Changes Come Into Force

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Major changes to pension rules come into effect today which will allow savers to have more control over their money when they retire.

People aged over 55 are now able to cash in their pensions and spend them as they wish.

The changes were announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement and were expanded in last month's Budget.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

Retirees are no longer required to use their pension pot to buy an annuity when they retire.

They can now take their pot in one go, or use it like a bank account to withdraw money in slices.

The changes will apply to the 320,000 people who retire each year with a defined contribution (DC) pension.

Around 540,000 people will be able to take control of their savings from today, according to estimates from the Government.

And from next year, as many as six million pensioners who already have an annuity will be allowed to sell them for cash.

Critics of the new system say savers will be tempted to go on a spending spree, leaving the state to pick up the tab later on.

But Pensions Minister Steve Webb told Sky News: "We're not going to have two million people making decisions this week or this month.

"We certainly think there will be many thousands of people who have planned very carefully and put the capacity in place.

"But I think lots of people, although they in theory could use these new freedoms, in fact if you're in your late 50s and still working, you may go on saving into a pension for many years to come."

Government advisor and pension expert Ros Altmann said: "This is a radical departure from the past. I would trust people with their own money.

"Now it's up to the industry to offer better products and more choice."

The freedoms come at a price: those who choose to tap their defined contribution pension pots for cash should be aware of income tax thresholds.

Some 25% of a person's savings can be taken tax free. Any extra that is withdrawn is liable for income tax at 40% if the total exceeds £42,386 when added to annual income.

The revenues from this could raise an extra £1bn for the Treasury, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The Government's free, impartial, Pension Wise service has been established to offer guidance to everyone eligible for the freedoms.

Pensions minister Steve Webb said: "It is right that people should have the power to make their own decisions about how they spend their own money after decades of careful saving - ending the effective obligation to buy an annuity will give people back control of their financial affairs."

It came as SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon launched her party's plan for pensioners, listing "the kind of policies" they will pursue if they secure a significant number of seats in the General Election.

"We will maintain the 'triple lock' on pensions, we'll set the single-tier pension at £160 a week, we'll resist any further increases in the state retirement age in Scotland until we have tackled and closed the life-expectancy gap (and) we will absolutely oppose any attempt to take away the winter fuel allowance."


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Hadron Collider Restarts In Hunt For Dark Matter

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 05 April 2015 | 20.49

The world's biggest atom smasher has restarted after its two-year shutdown.

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) hope the upgrade will allow them to smash protons together with nearly double the energy previously reached.

Analysis of the "rubble" could lead to the discovery of new sub-atomic particles, revolutionising our understanding of physics.

Two beams of protons will be sent in opposite directions around LHC's 17-mile tunnel circuit on the Franco-Swiss border.

Powerful magnets bend the beams so they collide at points around the track where four laboratories monitor the smash-ups.

The sensors examine the collisions for new particles and the forces that hold them together.

In 2012, the LHC discovered the Higgs Boson, an elementary particle that gives other particles mass.

During the next phase, experts hope to investigate "dark matter" - the invisible material said to make up much of the universe.

For the past two years, the giant machine has had its maximum collision capacity boosted from eight teraelectronvolts (TeV) to 14 TeV - seven TeV for each beam.

The initial tests will see engineers inject two beams into the tunnel at a lower energy of 450 gigaelectronvolts, but with no collisions.

If all goes well, "particle collisions at an energy of 13 TeV could start as early as June," the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said.


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Girl, 16, Arrested By Anti-Terror Police

A 16-year-old girl has been arrested in Manchester on suspicion of planning terrorism offences.

The teenager was held after officers from the Tactical Aid Unit and North West Counter-Terrorism Unit executed a warrant at a house in Clee Avenue, Longsight, on Friday.

Officers suspect the girl of "engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism".

She has been bailed until 28 May.

An eyewitness told the Manchester Evening News the road was "full of terrorist police" at the time of the girl's arrest.

The ongoing investigation is not thought to be related to the Rochdale family detained in Turkey for allegedly trying to cross into Syria.

The five adults and four children were arrested on Wednesday and are due to be deported back to Britain later.

Police have searched three properties in Rochdale and two in Heywood as part of the inquiry.


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Osborne Refuses To Rule Out Top-Rate Tax Cut

Chancellor George Osborne has repeatedly refused to rule out a tax cut for Britain's highest earners if the Conservatives win the election.

Mr Osborne told Sky News' Murnaghan programme his party had "no plans" to further reduce the top rate of tax and insisted it was not a priority.

Prime Minister David Cameron also said: "It's not our policy, it's not our plan."

But Labour claim the Chancellor has been "flushed out", pointing out Mr Osborne had used the same words about VAT before the last election, which he then raised from 17.5% to 20%.

:: Full coverage of General Election 2015

The opposition has promised to bring back the 50p rate for those earning upwards of £150,000, claiming the cut to 45p had benefited the wealthiest by at least £85,000.

Pressed on whether top earners could be in line for another tax cut, Mr Osborne said: "You can judge us by what we say we want to do.

"And what we want to do is increase the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500 so people full-time on the minimum wage don't have to pay income tax and millions are better off.

"And when it comes to higher rate taxpayers our priority is increasing the threshold at which you pay that higher rate, the 40p rate, to £50,000.

"Those are our big tax commitments for the coming parliament."

Tackled repeatedly over whether the top rate could be cut further, Mr Osborne said: "If that was our priority or our plan we would have made it part of our plan and made it one of our priorities.

"I am telling you what our priority is. We have made a big tax-cutting priority and that's what we are absolutely 100% focused on delivering and achieving.

"Not because it's a nice thing to have but because its central to our economic plan and making work pay."

But Labour's Chris Leslie told Murnaghan this was the same argument previously used by Mr Osborne on VAT, which he had then increased in office.

Mr Leslie said: "That's the same formula he had before the last General Election when he said we have no plans on VAT and of course they did it.

"Their priority is always about helping the very richest in society."

The clash on tax is just the latest between the two main parties as the General Election campaign gets into full swing.

In recent weeks, Mr Cameron ruled out an increase in VAT while Labour committed not to increase National Insurance in the face of attacks by the respective sides.

Speaking on Murnaghan, Mr Osborne also warned "an unholy alliance" between the Labour and the SNP after the election would risk the future of the UK and its economy.

The party's leader Nicola Sturgeon has offered to help Ed Miliband "lock David Cameron out of Downing Street" as she sought to bat away disputed claims she had told the French ambassador she would prefer a Tory win in May.

Mr Osborne said: "The fact that the Labour Party, that was a party that campaigned for the Union in the referendum, is contemplating an arrangement with the SNP, who want to break up the country, is deeply disturbing.

"People know that Ed Miliband is weak, that the Scottish nationalist leaders are much stronger than he is and we know who would be running that government.

"That would be bad for the entire United Kingdom, bad for the integrity of the Union but also bad for our economy because it would mean higher debts and higher taxes."

But Mr Leslie said Labour had ruled out a coalition with the Scottish nationalists.

"The SNP and the Conservatives, I think, are playing political games with the country's future," he said.


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Official's Son Among Kenya Massacre Gunmen

Kenya has begun three days of mourning for the 148 people killed in the university massacre as one of the four gunmen is identified.

Students who survived the attack by militant group al Shabaab have been reunited with their families.

One survivor, Cynthia Cheroitich, 19, told how she hid from gunmen by covering herself with clothes in a wardrobe.

She was found by security forces two days after the attack at Garissa University College, as medical staff carried out the grim task of dealing with victims' bodies.

Another 19-year-old student, Daniel Machache, smeared blood over his body and pretended he was dead to survive the slaughter.

Survivors were taken on government buses to the Nyayo National Stadium, which has been turned into a disaster centre.

Many relatives at the stadium desperately tried to trace their loved ones and find out if they were dead, injured or simply missing.

Thursday's attack, in the northeastern town of Garissa, close to the Somalia border, left 142 students, three police officers and three soldiers dead.

Four gunmen strapped with explosives stormed the campus and singled out non-Muslim students to be murdered.

The interior ministry identified one of the terrorists as Abdirahim Abdullahi, the son of a Kenyan government official.

"The father had reported to security agents that his son had disappeared from home ... and was helping the police try to trace his son by the time the Garissa terror attack happened," a spokesman said.

The government has defended its response to the one-day siege as it emerged Kenyan special forces were not deployed to the university for at least seven hours.

"This is negligence on a scale that borders on the criminal," Kenya's popular Nation newspaper wrote in its editorial on Sunday.

It emphasised how survivors said "the gunmen, who killed scores of students with obvious relish, took their time".

Some journalists based in Nairobi drove 225 miles to Garissa and arrived before special forces, who flew there.

Kenyans are dedicating Easter Sunday prayer services to the victims, marking the first of three days of national mourning.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said the militants would face justice for the "mindless slaughter" and vowed to retaliate in the "severest way".

On Saturday, Somalia-based terror group al Shabaab warned of a "long, gruesome war" unless Kenya withdraws its troops from Somalia.

Hours after the warning, crowds gathered in Garissa as police paraded the gunmen's bodies in the back of a pick-up truck.

Officers said it was to see whether anyone could identify the terrorists, who were piled up face down in the vehicle.

Some onlookers threw stones at the bodies as they passed.

In Nairobi's ethnic Somali district, demonstrators took to the streets protesting against al Shabaab and calling for unity in the country.

Five people have been arrested over the attack, including three "coordinators" captured as they fled towards Somalia.

The suspected mastermind, Mohamed Mohamud, a former teacher in Garissa, is still on the run.


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Six Questions About Nicola Sturgeon Memo

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 April 2015 | 20.49

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has denied telling a French diplomat she would rather see David Cameron as Prime Minister than Ed Miliband.

:: For full coverage of General Election 2015 click here

The claims come from a leaked memo, published in the Daily Telegraph, of Ms Sturgeon's meeting with the French Ambassador in February.

The memo was written by a British civil servant after a conversation with France's consul general in Edinburgh, Pierre-Alain Coffinier, who was present.

But speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Mr Coffinier said no preference for PM was discussed at the meeting.

So what do we know about this supposed memo - and who will the story damage most?

:: What does the supposed memo say?

"The Ambassador … had a truncated meeting with the FM [Nicola Sturgeon] (FM running late after a busy Thursday …)

"Discussion appears to have focused mainly on the political situation, with the FM stating that she wouldn't want a formal coalition with Labour; that the SNP would almost certainly have a large number of seats … that she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM (and didn't see Ed Miliband as PM material)".

:: How did it come to light?

The Daily Telegraph claims the allegations are contained in a leaked UK government memorandum.

It was drafted by a Whitehall official after speaking to France's consul general in Edinburgh, Pierre-Alain Coffinier.

He called the Foreign Office, following protocol, to pass on a confidential account of several of the ambassador's meetings in Edinburgh.

Those meetings also included talks with the Scottish Secretary, Alistair Carmichael. The letter appears to have been leaked to the newspaper.

:: What has the reaction been?

Ms Sturgeon was quick to react, angrily denying the claims by tweeting the Daily Telegraph's Scottish Political Editor: "Your story is categorically, 100% untrue … which I'd have told you if you'd asked me at any point today."

Labour Leader Ed Miliband said: "I think these are damning revelations ... in public the SNP are saying they don't want to see a Conservative government, in private they are actually saying they do want a Conservative government.

"It shows at this General Election that if you want the Conservatives out is to vote Labour for a Labour government."

Mr Coffinier has also denied the story, telling Sky News: "It is normal to talk about the political situation in broad terms, but I do not know where this comes from, because it is certainly not in my report that anyone gave any preference."

:: Who do these allegations affect most?

For Mr Miliband it is not great, that one of your potential political partners would view you as "not PM material".

But ultimately it is Ms Sturgeon who could be most damaged. Critics have long believed that the SNP's long-term aim of an independent Scotland is best served by stoking anti-Conservative rhetoric.

With the Tories pledging greater spending cuts and offering what could be a toxic EU referendum - those unpopular measures north of the border, administered by Westminster, could strengthen Scottish nationalism.

But if the strategy was exposed it could turn voters off.

:: Could Labour gain?

If Labour can convince former Scottish Labour voters that by voting for the SNP, Mr Cameron is more likely to be Prime Minister, that could boost Jim Murphy's beleaguered party.

And inversely, increased support in Scotland for Labour, would increase the chance of Mr Miliband walking into Number 10. 

:: And who do we believe?

The denials from both Mr Sturgeon and Mr Coffinier are strong. That begs the question of why a civil servant based in Whitehall would record something that wasn't true.

SNP supporters may well believe Ms Sturgeon, while her opponents might seize on it. But the only people who know for certain exactly what was said were the ones present in February's meeting.


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Sturgeon Calls For Inquiry Into Govt Memo Leak

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon wants an inquiry into how a controversial memo about a meeting with the French ambassador was leaked.

A Daily Telegraph report claims a leaked UK government memorandum - likely from the Foreign Office - sets out an account of a meeting between Ms Sturgeon and the French ambassador to the UK Sylvie Bermann.

It claims she told the ambassador she would rather see David Cameron than Ed Miliband as PM after the election, a claim she strongly denies.

She has now asked for Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood to investigate how the memo was released.

She said: "The bigger question and one I am raising with the head of the civil service is who wrote this memo since the Foreign Office seem to be denying all knowledge of it.

:: For full coverage of General Election 2015 click here

"How did it come to contain such an inaccuracy and how did it get into the hands of the Tory-supporting Daily Telegraph?"

The memo was written by a British civil servant after a conversation with France's consul general in Edinburgh, Pierre-Alain Coffinier, who was present.

But speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Mr Coffinier said that no preference for Prime Minister was discussed at the meeting in February.

:: Six Questions About The Nicola Sturgeon Memo

"At no stage did anyone comment on their preference regarding the elections."

The memo reportedly said: "Discussion appears to have focused mainly on the political situation, with the (First Minister) stating that she wouldn't want a formal coalition with Labour; that the SNP would almost certainly have a large number of seats ... that she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM."

It added that Ms Sturgeon said the Labour leader was not "prime minister material".

The final line of the memo, however, read: "I have to admit that I'm not sure that the FM's tongue would be quite so loose on that kind of thing in a meeting like that, so it might well be a case of something being lost in translation."

Mr Miliband said: "I think these are damning revelations.

"What it shows is that while in public the SNP are saying they don't want to see a Conservative government in private they're actually saying they do want a Conservative government.

"It shows that the answer at this General Election is that if you want the Conservatives out the only answer is to vote Labour for a Labour government."

Sky's political correspondent Anushka Asthana said: "The fact that Nicola Sturgeon has 'categorically' denied that she expressed a prime ministerial preference during a private conversation with the French ambassador will do little to stem the political fallout from this story.

"After all, the very suggestion of a conversation could be political gold-dust for Labour, whose national electoral hopes hinge on how well the SNP perform in Scotland."

Meanwhile, campaigning continues into Easter with Labour unveiling a plan to build 125,000 homes by creating a £5bn housebuilding fund.

The Tories, meanwhile, are unveiling a pledge to force pornography websites to use effective age-verification tools to keep out under-18s.

Ms Sturgeon is due to join the annual Scrap Trident group march in Glasgow, only a short distance from the Faslane home of nuclear-armed submarines.

The latest Survation/Mirror poll puts Mr Miliband ahead of Mr Cameron, with 33% and 31% of the vote respectively.

UKIP polled at 18%, the Liberal Democrats 9%, the SNP 5% and Greens 3%.

These results are markedly different from a YouGov/The Sun poll which was published on Thursday night.

It suggested that the Conservative Party had hit a three-year high - with 37% of those questioned stating they would vote Tory if the General Election was tomorrow.

Labour was on 35%, the Lib Dems on 7%, UKIP on 12% and the Greens on 5%.


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