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Kate Prank Call 'Could End Radio Wind-Ups'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 09 Desember 2012 | 23.39

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News correspondent

One of Britain's most notorious DJs has told Sky News the death of a nurse after a prank call to the hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge could mark the end of such radio wind-ups.

Steve Penk built his career winding up unsuspecting members of the public and high profile celebrities.

In 1998, his Capital Radio show famously got put through to then Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Mr Penk now believes the tragic consequences of a stunt that saw a nurse apparently take her own life days after putting a hoax call from two Australian DJs through to the ward where the pregnant duchess was being treated could change the entire radio industry.

He told Sky News: "I think there will be huge fallout. I think it will be, for want of a better phrase, the death of the wind-up phone call.

Radio DJ and prankster Steve Penk talks about the repercussions of the royal phone hoax that led to a nurse's apparent suicide. Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi Egypt's President 'Backs Down On New Powers' Mohamed Morsi is reportedly abolishing a decree granting him sweeping new powers, which sparked days of protests. Boris Johnson and Michael Gove Top Tories Launch Gay Marriage Campaign Nineteen senior Tories sign up to a new campaign supporting same-sex weddings in defiance of party traditionalists. Steve Penk thinks there will be a fallout over the tragedy

"Ofcom (media regulator) will wrap it in so much red tape that it will make it almost impossible to get these things on the air, which I think is a shame because they can be entertaining."

Mr Penk has duped hundreds of people through his career at various radio stations.

Often people were set up by friends or relatives who wrote in and suggested victims. Unlike the Australian stunt, permission was then sought from the victim before the calls were broadcast.

Mr Penk now owns The Revolution 962 in Oldham and has cancelled his latest prank show after the hoax call to the hospital treating the duchess.

AUSTRALIA Hoax 1 DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian from 2Day FM made the prank call

He feels sympathy for the two DJs who are now being vilified for their role in the stunt.

He added: "You can't predict something like this, I genuinely feel very sorry for them.

"I think it is unfair that at the moment the blame is at their doorstep."


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Boy Killed By 'Teen Driver' At Caravan Site

A seven-year-old boy has died after being hit by a BMW car allegedly driven by a teenager at a caravan site.

A 16-year-old boy is being questioned by police after being arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

The accident happened at the Shirenewton caravan site, east of Cardiff, south Wales, at around 3pm on Saturday.

"A seven-year-old boy from the caravan site was apparently in collision with a red BMW 3 series estate," a South Wales Police spokesman said.

"The boy was taken to the University Hospital of Wales where he later died from his injuries. Specially trained police officers are supporting the family.

"A 16-year-old youth from the area, who is believed to have been driving the BMW at the time, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is in custody and inquiries are ongoing."

Anybody who witnessed the incident or who has any information is asked to contact the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


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Senior Bishops To Tweet Christmas Sermons

The country's senior bishops are set to tweet their Christmas Day sermons for the first time this year in a Christmas Tweet campaign.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams (@lambethpalace), the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu (@johnsentamu) and Archbishop Designate Justin Welby (@bishopofdurham) will also be joined by congregations and clergy from across the Church of England (@c--of--e).

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, churchgoers in the 16,000 parishes of the Church of England are being encouraged to live tweet the joy and meaning of Christmas to the 10 million UK Twitter users.

Rev Arun Arora (@RevArun), director of communications at the Archbishops' Council, said: "This is a brilliant opportunity for parishes to take the good news of the first Christmas out of churches and into people's lives and homes.

Archbishop Rowan Williams Current archbishop Rowan Williams will take part in the Christmas tweeting

"It is the first time that the joy and excitement of Christmas will have been broadcast widely on Twitter. There are large numbers of social media enthusiasts to be found in pews and pulpits across the country.

"This is an invitation for them to join together to celebrate the joy of the Christ Child coming into the world, taking the real meaning of Christmas to a new digital audience. Churches from all denominations will be invited to broadcast their services via Twitter."

A Twitter spokesperson said: "Twitter brings you closer to the things you are passionate about - and for millions of people across the globe that is faith.

The Archbishop of York John Sentamu Archbishop of York John Sentamu completes the line-up of senior clergy

"It is fantastic to see the Church of England embracing Twitter and using it to share their Christmas message with new audiences."

The campaign will use the hashtage #ChristmasStartsWithChrist, which goes live on Christmas Eve.

Tweets can be expected from carol, crib and midnight services, before carrying on into Christmas morning when the highlights of the sermons at Canterbury Cathedral, York Minster and Durham Cathedral will be tweeted.


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Tycoon's Plan To Fight Fires From The Air

By Richard Suchet, Sky News reporter

A multimillionaire has pledged his time, his money - and his helicopter - to provide firefighters with air support.

Property tycoon Jeremy Paxton, 52, is expecting to stump up a seven-figure sum to cover the costs involved.

The experienced pilot has offered to fund the one year trial entirely.

He told Sky News: "It gives me a chance to really pursue my love of flying and do something useful at no cost to the fire and rescue service and at no cost to the taxpayer. So I thought: what's not to like about it? Let's give it a go."

"I was surprised to find out that the fire service don't actually have a flying fire engine.

"If something can be added to their existing asset base by volunteer pilots with volunteer helicopters that ends up saving one life, it will be worthwhile. And I think it will save many."

The idea has been inspired by 601 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, a group of wealthy amateur aviators who fought alongside the RAF in the Second World War.

Private fire pilot Jeremy Paxton in action Millionaire Jeremy Paxton shows off his airborne firefighting skills

Mr Paxton has already started to line up his own squadron of millionaire helicopter pilots who could, at their own cost, assist other fire services across the country if the trial in Wiltshire proves successful.

From April, he will be on call three days per week at the 550-acre Lower Mill Estate of holiday homes in Cirencester - which he owns,

If his services are required, he is capable of being airborne in three minutes.

He will then fly to Fire and Rescue HQ in Trowbridge where he will pick up staff and specialist equipment before setting off to the incident.

Mr Paxton will not be working as fireman himself but will ferry personnel and specialist kit.

Using four custom-made pods, the helicopter will be capable of carrying equipment to deal with four types of emergency - road accidents, animal rescue, forest fires, and deep water rescue.

At twice the size of the Isle of Wight, it can take fire crews over an hour to reach the most remote parts of Wiltshire.

After leaving Trowbridge, Mr Paxton can reach any part of the county in under 16 minutes.

Jeremy Paxton Mr Paxton inspects his helicopter before taking off

But Tam McFarlane from the Fire Brigades Union is not supportive of the idea: "The public rely entirely on a professional fire and rescue service so we have to be accountable to the public. Accountable financially to the public as well.

"We can't rely on multimillionaires giving us charity. Where will it end? Is Roman Abramovich going to lend us his yacht for floods?

"Clearly, it's untenable."

The chief of Wiltshire's fire service, Simon Routh-Jones, believes Jeremy's offer will bring "tremendous benefits".

"We're a very large county. That gives us logistical problems getting around. What Jeremy will bring is that added value to get to incidents quickly," he said.

"We should be looking outside the box. It is not - and I stress - it is not to substitute what we are doing.

"It is to add to the safety of the general public that they serve. And why wouldn't I want to look at it when you've got somebody with Jeremy's level of expertise and wealth that he can bring to assist us in being able to deliver a service?"


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Kate Prank: Jacintha Saldanha Family's Grief

British police may want to speak to two Australian DJs following the death of the nurse who answered their prank call to the Duchess of Cambridge's hospital.

The Australian authorities confirmed they have had contact from the Met Police concerning 2Day FM presenters Michael Christian and Mel Greig.

The pair hoaxed King Edward VII's hospital staff where the pregnant Duchess was treated for extreme morning sickness.

Jacintha Saldanha - the nurse who took the call and put it through to colleague who divulged private information about Kate's treatment - was found dead on Friday.

Nurse Family The nurse's family are finding it hard to come to terms with her death

New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas said Scotland Yard had been in touch - but emphasized there was no suggestion that a crime had been committed.

He said: "There has been a request for assistance from London's Metropolitan Police to the New South Wales Police through the Australian Federal Police.

"The request has gone to the city central command - the area where the 2Day FM office is.

The company which owns the Australian radio station has called an emergency meeting to discuss the DJs' future.

Mr Kaldas added: "I have to stress, it hasn't been indicated to us that an offence has occurred, they haven't actually asked for anything yet - they've simply touched base, let us know of their interest and they'll get back to us if they want something done.

"Nothing has been requested of us yet."

A bouquet at the digs where nurse Jacintha Saldana lived A bouquet left in memory of the nurse at her digs in London

Scotland Yard confirmed contact had been made with the authorities in Australia but did not elaborate further.

Meanwhile, Ms Saldanha's family in the UK and India have been paying tribute to the mother of two teenagers.

Her daughter Lisha wrote on Facebook, "I miss you, I love you", while her husband Ben Barboza has set up a tribute page on the social networking site.

He wrote: "I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances. She will be laid to rest in Shirva, India."

In India, her sister-in-law Celin D'Souza said: "I will really miss her a lot. She was a good-natured sister-in-law. I cannot forget her, she was so good."

Winter Whites Gala - Inside Prince William was without Kate at the Winter Whites Gala in London

The hospital where Ms Saldanha worked has condemned the stunt as "truly appalling" while a prominent Conservative MP has called for the DJs to be sacked.

In a letter to the Australian radio station 2Day FM's parent company, Lord Glenarthur, Chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital, said he wanted to "protest" against the "extremely foolish" gag.

The letter to Southern Cross Austereo said the immediate consequence of the station's "premeditated and ill-considered actions" led to the "humiliation" of Ms Saldanha and another nurse.

"The longer term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words," it added.

Tory MP Conor Burns, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said: "The presenters should lose their jobs and there needs to be a serious review as to what they regard as entertainment and what is inappropriate."

News of the nurse's death has led to a huge backlash against the two presenters, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles during the prank on their 2Day FM show.

Southern Cross Austereo said the pair are being "babysat" and kept away from hostile media coverage.

Spokeswoman Sandy Kaye said: "We're seriously concerned about their welfare and we're doing whatever we can to help them."

The Duke of Cambridge made no comment on the situation as he attended a charity function in London on Saturday night without Kate - who is resting after her three day stay in hospital.


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'Whale Skin' Cocktail: London Bar Raided

A London bar has been raided by police for allegedly serving cocktails flavoured with illegal whale skin.

The Metropolitan police targeted the Nightjar bar in Hoxton, East London, where a drink called the Moby Dick was listed in an online menu.

It was described as containing Laphroaig whisky, Drambuie, ale and bitters, along with a "whale skin infusion".

There is a Europe-wide ban on the sale of whale meat and products, except under strict restrictions in Greenland and Denmark.

Police were tipped-off in October that the bar was serving whale skin illegally, and raided the City Road premises on December 3.

It was carried out by officers from the Met's Wildlife Crime Unit and an officer from the United Kingdom Border Force.

"One item from the premises was seized," said a police spokesman. "This has been sent for analysis."

No arrests have been made.

Nightjar director Edmund Weil said: "We did have a drink on this year's menu which included a small amount of scotch whisky infused with a single 2 x 5cm strip of dried whale skin.

"The strip was purchased in a shop by an employee while on a trip to Japan in autumn 2011.

"Until the police visit, neither ourselves nor our employees were aware of the legislation under which the bottle was seized.

"In hindsight we realise that regardless of the legal framework around such products, it was an error of judgement on our part to include this on our menu, and we would like to offer our apologies to anyone who may have been offended by it.

"We have removed the drink entirely from our menu, which will be reprinted before Monday to reflect this."


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Top Tories Launch Gay Marriage Campaign

London Mayor Boris Johnson and Education Secretary Michael Gove are among more than a dozen senior Conservatives who have launched a new group to campaign for gay marriage.

David Cameron supports the plans to allow same-sex weddings to be held in places of worship and has promised a free vote, but more than 100 Tory MPs are expected to oppose the change in the Commons next year.

The new group has been put together by Nick Herbert, the former police minister who resigned from the Government in September's reshuffle.

As well as Mr Johnson and Mr Gove, it includes Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, who is Catholic, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt, an evangelical Christian, former Tory ministers Lord Fowler and Nicholas Soames and Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson.

In a letter to The Sunday Telegraph announcing the formation of the group, the 19 declared: "Marriage should be open to all, regardless of sexuality.

"We recognise that civil partnerships were an important step forward in giving legal recognition to same sex couples.

"But civil partnerships are not marriages, which express a particular and universally understood commitment."

Nick Herbert Former police minister Nick Herbert is spearheading the campaign

Mr Herbert, who is in a civil partnership, said changing the law was "the right thing to do".

"It is precisely because marriage is such a uniquely important institution that we should ensure that all couples who want to enter into it, regardless of their sexuality, can do so," he added.

"Conservatives who believe in marriage should feel this most strongly."

However, Mr Herbert insisted it would be wrong to "compel religious organisations to marry same-sex couples against their will" and called for legal "safeguards" to prevent it.

Under the proposals, due to be fleshed out this week, churches and other venues will be allowed to "opt in" to holding civil marriage ceremonies.

Ministers will offer a guarantee that no institution will be forced to marry gay people on their premises - but Tory MPs and religious groups have questioned whether it would stand up to challenges under the Human Rights Act.

Legislation is expected to be introduced before Easter, and could take effect about a year later - with the first ceremonies likely be held in spring 2014.


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Sir Patrick Moore, 89, Dies At Home

Man Who Brought Space To The Masses

Updated: 2:17pm UK, Sunday 09 December 2012

Sir Patrick Moore - knighted in 2001 - was the astronomer who, more than any other scientist living or dead, could explain to the world at large the marvels and intricacies of the universe - and beyond.

TV personalities come and go, but Sir Patrick, famous for his monocle, outlasted them all.

For more than 40 years, he presented BBC TV's popular The Sky At Night programme, a wonderland of information for the expert, the novice and his huge army of fans who had no particular scientific bent at all.

It became the longest running television series with the same presenter. His knowledge of outer space was prodigious and he possessed a unique ability to transmit that knowledge in a comprehensible and attractive form to the layman.

But Sir Patrick, despite an occasional irascible nature and a tendency towards eccentricity, was a kindly man and modest with it. Once he said he would like to be remembered as an amateur astronomer who played cricket and the xylophone.

Patrick Caldwell Moore was born on March 4, 1923. He was educated privately, because of illness.

His interest in astronomy was fired at the age of six when he read a book called Guide To The Solar System, published in 1898.

"I picked up that book by sheer luck and sat down by the armchair and read it through. I understood most of it - which wasn't bad for a six-year-old."

At the age of eight he was given a 1908 model Woodstock typewriter on which all of his 170 books were written. He claimed to be able to type at 90 words a minute - using only two fingers.

Then, when he was 11, he was nominated as a member of the British Astronomical Association - the youngest ever member. He published his first paper, on small craters in the Mare Crisium on the Moon at the age of 13 - exactly 50 years before he was to be president of the association.

The paper was accepted and he was asked to present it. "I wrote back saying, 'Thank you for your letter. I'd be honoured but you've got to understand I'm only 13'. They replied: 'We don't see what that's got to do with it'."

As a young man Sir Patrick knew Albert Einstein. He said of him: "He was an interesting man, totally unworldly. He was a violin player and I accompanied him playing Saint-Saens's 'Swan'. I wish I had a tape of it."

He served with the Royal Air Force from 1940 to 1945, as a navigator in Bomber Command. To get into the armed forces at only 16 he had to lie about his age and fake his medical.

The girl he was to marry was killed during the war in an air raid. He said since: "My whole life ended in one day. These things happen. You accept them.

"As far as I was concerned, that was that. It's the reason I have never married. But I don't like living alone."

Nevertheless he did live alone for most of his life at his beloved Selsey in Sussex.

His career as an astronomer blossomed. Whereas hardly anybody could name the Astronomer Royal, Sir Patrick became a household name. Within the span of half a century he observed what must be the most spectacular period in the history of any science.

He always said that the Cold War never affected astronomers. "The International Astronomical Union is the only organisation I know that always has been totally international.

"At the very height of the Cold War, at one stage the president was a Russian, the vice-president was American. In space research the Cold War went on. In pure astronomy it didn't."

Sir Patrick's years on television began while space travel was "bunk" in the unguarded words of Britain's then Astronomer Royal in 1956.

But within six months Sputnik I was beeping in the heavens. Within three years men were in space and within 12 years they were on the Moon.

When Sir Patrick began broadcasting, cosmologists contemplated an eternal universe and continuous creation and birth by the Big Bang as equally unprovable.

But his popularity as an astronomer incurred the jealousy of those who regarded themselves as superior to him.

One of his great triumphs was to explain, on TV, the existence of a giant black hole at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. Various scientists tried to do it, unsuccessfully, in a variety of weird and wonderful ways.

Sir Patrick had a map of the Milky Way drawn on the floor of the studio. He walked towards the centre and then apparently disappeared.

He passionately wanted to go into space himself. "But I'm the wrong age, the wrong nationality and the wrong medical grade. Besides," he joked, "it would need a very massive rocket to launch me."

He used to gaze at the stars and say: "We are a very, very small speck in the universe, about as important as a single ant in the whole of the world."

In 2000 he suffered a paralysis in his right hand which considerably restricted his activities as a musician and a writer. He was also forced to cancel lectures.

This disability even prevented him from opening the letter telling him he was being considered for a knighthood.

He became an OBE in 1968 and a CBE in 1988. He was knighted in the 2001 New Year list "for services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting", an honour which earned him congratulations from around the world.

In July, 2004, at the age of 81, Sir Patrick by his own admission "nearly died" after a severe bout of food poisoning caused, he believed, by a duck's egg he had eaten.

He battled on and in 2007 presented a special 50th anniversary episode of the show from his back garden with special guests including Queen guitarist Brian May.

Five years on he hit the headlines again when in an interview to mark the show's 55th anniversary he warned of the danger of another world war and declared "the only good Kraut is a dead Kraut".


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Girl Fights For Life After Gas Fire Accident

A four-year-old girl is fighting for her life after her clothes were set alight by a gas fire.

She suffered extensive burns to her face and body when it is thought she walked near to the appliance at a house in Bury, Greater Manchester, on Saturday.

Police were called by the ambulance service to the address in Horne Street at about noon.

The girl was rushed to hospital, where she is in a critical condition.

Police are currently treating the incident as a "tragic accident".

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "It is believed that her clothes had caught fire when she walked near to a gas fire.

"She suffered extensive burns and was taken to Manchester Children's Hospital, where she remains in a critical condition.

"Police are still investigating but believe it to be a tragic accident at this stage."

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said two fire engines from Bury fire station attended the scene.

A spokesman said: "The fire had been confined to the young girl's clothing but she had suffered approximately 60% burns involving her face and body.

"A full investigation into the cause of the incident has now commenced."


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MPs Reveal Plans To Reform Drug Laws

Senior MPs say Britain is losing its war on drugs and needs to consider legalisation, according to news reports.

Members of the powerful Home Affairs Committee are set to tell Prime Minister David Cameron that the current approach has failed and new strategies are required.

Pressure on the PM is expected to include the setting up of a Royal Commission into redrafting of drug laws.

According to the Mail on Sunday, the MPs concluded that prison sentences have failed to reduce drug dealing.

The MPs also believe the drug black market is aided by stringent regulations.

Many in the Conservative Party oppose drug law reform, however some coalition colleagues in the Liberal Democrats have recently backed reform.

An unnamed MP on the committee told the Mail on Sunday that the current laws are "unfit for purpose".

Existing legislation was slammed as being a relic of the 1960s and not suitable to cover the current myriad of circumstances involving drugs.

The former Government drugs adviser, Professor David Nutt, told Sky News that a shift in the international position, centred on the United Nation's policy, is also needed.

He said: "We need to review the misuse of drugs act which is 40 years old and is completely out of date in terms of the drugs that are in it.

"The conventions on drugs are probably causing more harm than good in terms of the international global position."

Politicians have been urged to look at Portugal, which has altered its legislation.

The Home Affairs report comes just days after a shift occurred in the United States to drug possession.

Washington state has become the first state in the US to legalise marijuana, with Colorado set to follow suit.

A number of other countries have also sought to approach the issue of drugs from other than a law enforcement perspective.


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