Written By Unknown on Minggu, 07 Desember 2014 | 23.40
A Sumatran tiger at a wildlife park in Kent is back to his meat munching best after having dental work to fix three broken front teeth.
Nine-year-old Amir had to have the chipped teeth filled in at Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury, Kent.
The tiger, who weighs more than 20 stone, was sedated and transported to the on-site hospital for treatment by dental surgeon Peter Kertesz.
Ben Warren, head of the carnivore section at Howletts, said it was decided to fill the affected teeth to prevent any pain occurring.
He said: "Amir is a lovely tiger and although the broken teeth weren't causing him any discomfort, we knew that a filling would be the best course of action to prevent any deterioration."
Video:London's Tiger Cubs Meet The Public
Jane Hopper, head of veterinary services at Howletts, said: "This is a difficult procedure in a tiger as the canine tooth's root can be six times longer in a tiger than a human."
She added that the operation had been a complete success but that Amir will be monitored for the next few weeks.
Howletts is home to two Sumatran tigers, two Siberian tigers and two Bengal tigers. All are classed as endangered or critically endangered in the wild.
Poaching and habitat loss are among the main reasons why their numbers have fallen so heavily in the wild, according to experts.
Three men have been arrested by anti-terror officers on suspicion of supplying forged documents, Scotland Yard has said.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command made the arrests during searches at addresses in London and the East Midlands.
The men, aged 28, 33 and 30, remain in custody at a police station in central London.
The latest arrests follow dawn raids in London on Thursday, in which a 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism and a 40-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to possess and supply fraudulent documents.
A further two men, aged 33 and 43, were arrested in Dover on Sunday after Scotland Yard anti-terror officers with armed support officers and Kent Police stopped a car going outbound at Dover.
A 28-year-old man was arrested at the same port on Monday morning.
Under the same operation, two men, aged 24 and 40, were arrested on Monday in east London.
Warrants for the further detention were granted until Sunday December 14 for each of those five people previously arrested in connection with the investigation and all five remain in custody.
Searches linked to those arrests were carried out at four addresses in east London, one in south London and two in north Wales as part of the investigation.
Britain's biggest payday lender has begun secret trials of lower-cost loans just weeks before a deadline set by the City regulator to comply with a new crackdown on the industry.
Sky News has learnt that Wonga has in the last fortnight started offering finance to a number of randomly selected customers who are offered substantially better terms than other borrowers.
The move is designed to ensure that Wonga's systems are able to adhere to the Financial Conduct Authority's new rulebook when it comes into effect on New Year's Day.
Under the FCA's rules, payday loans will have interest capped at 0.8% per day, meaning that a customer borrowing £100 will accrue a maximum level of interest of 80p per 24 hours.
Fixed default fees will be restricted to £15, while there will be an overall cost cap of 100% of the initial loan, the regulator said last month.
A Wonga spokesman declined to disclose details of the new cap-compliant product, but one insider said that it was likely to be the subject of an announcement and national launch ahead of the January deadline.
"The product makes it clear to customers what they will pay in total in pounds and pence but there is no final date yet for its launch because it is still being trialled," the source said.
Last week, Mr Lender, another short-term credit provider, announced that it was introducing the new terms to ensure compliance with the FCA's demands several weeks ahead of schedule.
The City watchdog believes that the introduction of a cap on the cost of payday loans will force most existing operators out of business, which has prompted some concerns that desperate consumers will be forced to seek even less palatable alternatives to borrow money.
The payday lending sector has accused regulators and politicians of demonising it, but executives admit that a series of scandals has made rehabilitating its image all but impossible.
Wonga has been fined for sending fake legal letters to customers in arrears, seen advertisements banned by a watchdog and written off £220m in loans after talks with the FCA about its business practices.
The company, which is owned by a consortium of prominent investors in technology groups, has overhauled its top management team this year, bringing in Andy Haste, the former boss of insurer RSA in an attempt to restore credibility.
The FCA, which intends to review the price cap in 2017, has also announced new rules for regulating payday loan intermediaries which include preventing them from charging fees and from requesting customers' payment details.
Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has said he will donate one of his salaries to charity if he is elected as an MP next May.
The ex-SNP leader has formally announced that he will join the contest for the seat in the UK parliamentary constituency of Gordon.
It is currently held by Sir Malcolm Bruce, the long-serving Liberal Democrat MP who is retiring in May 2015.
Mr Salmond resigned as SNP leader and First Minister last month, having signalled his intention to do so just hours after the Yes campaign lost the independence referendum, and speculation over his political future has continued ever since.
He is currently the MSP for the Aberdeenshire East constituency, which covers some of the same areas as the Gordon seat. If elected in May, he will also continue to serve at Holyrood.
Mr Salmond set out his plans in a speech in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
"If elected with a dual mandate for Holyrood and Westminster I will do as I have done previously and donate one of the salaries to support youth causes in the North East of Scotland."
Video:Murnaghan: Alex Salmond MSP
Mr Salmond told those gathered that he does not expect there to be an overall majority at the next election and that as a result, Scotland could emerge in a "commanding position".
He said that there is the "prospect of real power for Scotland" if the SNP wins a significant number of seats at Westminster.
He added that if "real power" cannot be exerted, Scotland faces the "bleak prospect" of further austerity.
Video:Salmond's Career And Legacy
"What has struck me more than anything else, is that in the weeks since the referendum the people of Scotland have refused to give up on the hope," Mr Salmond said.
"For those who voted Yes the referendum offered the possibility of real change. For many who voted No they insist on the vow being properly redeemed.
"Therefore it is incumbent on all of us to step up to the plate - to match the spirit being shown by the people. Therefore I can tell the constituency today that I am a candidate for the SNP nomination for Gordon."
1/5
Gallery: Alex Salmond Tries Football
Waiting for a Scottish Cabinet meeting in Rutherglen, Alex Salmond enjoyed a kickabout with Scotland's under-21 midfielder Kenny McLean.
It is unclear whether the pointy-footed Mr Salmond connected with the ball.
George Osborne has placed himself on a collision course with the Lib Dems - warning that they, as well as Labour, would trigger "economic chaos" in Britain.
The Chancellor has also accused Nick Clegg's party of wanting to place "hefty income rises" on families.
The intervention could tip the Coalition into open civil war after a week in which the Lib Dem leader failed to turn up to watch Mr Osborne deliver his Autumn Statement, and a senior colleague criticised the scale of cuts that were unveiled.
Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Osborne says: "The Liberal Democrats are now arguing with themselves, so it's hard to work out exactly what they think."
He said the party wants tax rises instead of cuts but can't find the money needed through a property tax alone.
Video:Osborne Defends 'Balanced' Plan
"If you want higher taxes to do the heavy lifting, you'd also need to increase taxes like income tax or national insurance."
He admitted that, under his plans, there would be cuts for departments but also big reductions in the welfare bill.
Suggestions being put forward include pushing single parents to return to work a year earlier than at present, when their child turns two, and restricting child benefit to the first two children in the family.
Video:Osborne Reveals Boost For Buyers
"There's a clear choice: a competent plan to stay on course to prosperity with us; or a return to economic chaos with all the alternatives," he writes.
The article is likely to infuriate Mr Osborne's Treasury colleague, the Lib Dem chief secretary Danny Alexander, as well as the leader, Mr Clegg.
Mothers have staged a mass "nurse-in" outside Claridge's hotel in Mayfair after a woman was told to cover up when breastfeeding her child.
Mother-of-three Louise Burns, 35, was asked to cover her baby's head with a napkin to avoid offending other customers in the restaurant.
Claridge's said later it "embraces" breastfeeding but asks that women are "discreet towards other guests".
One mum had a banner which read: 'That's what breasts are for, stupid'
The protest was organised by Free to Feed and involved around 40 mothers who sat outside the hotel's grand front doors and fed their infants.
They included Emiily Slough, 28, who founded Free to Feed after she was labelled a "tramp" on Facebook for breastfeeding in public.
Video:Breastfeeding Mum On Claridge's Row
She said: "I am here because someone broke the law by telling a woman to be unnecessarily discreet when she was breastfeeding in public.
"We are here to show Claridge's they are not above the law. But they have said nothing to us, they are pretending we're not here."
Emma Bullock, 25, who helped organise the protest, said: "Breastfeeding is normal and natural. I might not like it if someone chews with their mouth open, but I won't object.
"The thing is, Lou Burns was being discreet and then they put that huge tent over her to cover her up, which made it very obvious.
Video:Farage Sparks Breastfeeding Row
"We want Claridge's to issue an apology and change their policy on breastfeeding, but they have done nothing yet."
The incident sparked a huge debate about whether it is acceptable to breastfeed in public, with UKIP leader Nigel Farage among the political figures who waded in.
He caused a further outcry when he suggested on his LBC phone-in show that mothers could "sit in the corner" in restaurants to avoid upsetting people.
Protester Clare Mariscal, 36, carried a banner which read: "That's what breasts are for, stupid".
Video:'Breastfeed Babies For 18 Months'
She said: "I think Farage should be made to eat in the toilet after what he has said.
"No-one has any problem with breasts when they're displayed in a dress.
"Boobs are everywhere - people only object when they are used for their normal and natural purpose."
The Archbishop of Canterbury says he was left more shocked at the plight of poor families in the UK being forced to rely on food banks than the suffering in African refugee camps.
Hunger "stalks large parts of the country" while the scale of waste was "astonishing", said the Most Rev Justin Welby.
He made his comments ahead of the publication on Monday of a parliamentary report he has backed that sets out a series of proposals aimed at preventing people going hungry, and urges swift action by the Government and food industry.
The sharp increase in food banks has led to fierce political rows
In an article in The Mail on Sunday Archbishop Welby said, although less "serious", the situation of a family having to turn to food bank in the UK had shocked him more than terrible suffering in Africa because it was so unexpected.
Archbishop Welby wrote about his visit to a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the scene that he encountered.
Video:Food Banks Help One Million Britons
"It was deeply shocking but, tragically, expected," he wrote.
"A few weeks later in England, I was talking to some people - a mum, dad and one child - in a food bank.
"They were ashamed to be there. The dad talked miserably.
"He said they had each been skipping a day's meals once a week in order to have more for the child, but then they needed new tyres for the car so they could get to work at night, and just could not make ends meet.
"So they had to come to a food bank. They were treated with respect, love even, by the volunteers from local churches. But they were hungry, and ashamed to be hungry.
Video:Red Cross To Help Britain's Hungry
"I found their plight more shocking. It was less serious, but it was here."
The sharp increase in the number of food banks across the country in recent years has proved politically divisive.
Earlier this year, ministers were accused of "taking food from the mouths of children" after blocking millions of pounds of European funding agreed for British food banks.
Cash to help people suffering extreme poverty across the EU was backed in a vote at the European Parliament but the Government said food aid was better decided nationally rather than by Brussels.
Archbishop Welby has called for changes to allow food companies to pass on goods they could no longer sell.
Video:Cameron's Secret Visit To Food Bank
Under the current system it costs retailers to give away surplus food to the hungry.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: "As a country we have enough food to go around, and we agree that it is wrong that anyone should go hungry at the same time as surplus food is going to waste.
"There is a moral argument as well as a sustainability one to ensure we make the best use of resources.
"While this report outlines important areas for consideration, we should remember that this country has been through the deepest recession in living memory, and sticking to this Government's long-term economic plan is the best way to improve living standards."
The widow of murdered aid worker David Haines has told Sky News the militants who killed her husband are cowards.
Speaking at their home in Sisak, Croatia, in her first television interview, Dragana Haines said: "They consider themselves brave, but that's not bravery.
"It's a cowardly act to behead someone who has his hands tied behind his back, who is kneeling.
"You are a coward if you are going to behead someone who is helpless. You're not even a human being.
"You must be a monster to do something like that."
Video:Widow Recalls 'Love At First Sight'
Mr Haines grew up in Scotland and served as an aircraft engineer in the RAF, but he found his calling in humanitarian work.
He met Dragana, his second wife, in post-war Yugoslavia.
He was working for a German reconstruction charity, and she was a translator for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
They married in 2010 and settled in Croatia, where their daughter, Athea, was born.
In March 2013, he was kidnapped while working for a French aid agency in Syria.
Video:Dragana Haines: Athea Is My Purpose
"Every day was a challenge," Mrs Haines said.
"Waking up in the morning and thinking OK should I be hopeful? Will it be a day when they will call me, or he will call me and say 'OK I'm free, I'm coming back'?
"Or will it be a day when they will call me and say something bad has happened?"
In June, Islamic State released a video showing Mr Haines, and warning he would be next to be killed.
"I saw him in the video," Mrs Haines said through tears.
1/6
Gallery: Profile: David Haines
David Haines was born in Holderness, East Yorkshire in 1970. He was raised in Scotland, where his parents still live
He studied at Perth Academy. After school he worked for Royal Mail before becoming an RAF engineer
Young adult carers on average miss 48 days of school and are more likely to be bullied than other students.
They are also more likely to drop out of college or university, while those in employment miss work an average of 17 days a year.
Those are the main findings of a survey by the Carers Trust charity, which spoke to 295 carers aged 16-24.
Lauren Cooper sometimes cares for her young cousin
It estimates there are around 375,000 young adults in the UK who step in when their families with care needs are left without adequate support.
Moira Fraser, interim Chief Executive of the Carers Trust said: "This research paints a gloomy picture.
Video:Mobile App To Help Carers
"It shows young adult carers are experiencing difficulties in their education, employment prospects, health and socialisation.
"They are not being identified and supported so they face multiple barriers that will have a significant and lasting impact on their future."
The survey also found young adult carers have higher rates of poor mental and physical health and rarely get the assessments they are entitled to.
Lauren Cooper, aged 13, cares for her grandparents, uncle and sometimes her disabled cousin.
She told Sky News: "Sometimes I can sit down and fall asleep, it is that busy and hectic."
As part of its Time To Be Heard campaign, Carers Trust is calling on the Government to make sure the implementation of the Care Act 2014 and Children and Families Act 2014 is adequately funded and monitored.
It says this would be "an important step towards ensuring that young adult carers can put aside heavy caring responsibilities and instead put their energy into education, training and employment."
Among its other demands is that the Government includes young adult carers in additional financial support programmes, such as Pupil Premium and the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
Another survey has found that grandparents and other family members raising relatives' children face stigma and discrimination at the school gate.
Families, known as kinship carers, told charity Grandparents Plus they felt that they were treated differently by other parents, mistreated by social workers and teachers and the children they raised were bullied or excluded by others.
The charity is calling on the Government to support the UK's estimated 200,000 kinship carers by guaranteeing they receive support, offering them the same rights as those who adopt and ensuring the welfare system does not "penalise" them.
British police are returning to Portugal to question several people in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann this week.
The detectives, who will travel to the Algarve on Monday, are expected to spend three days working on the case.
It comes in the wake of the departure of the detective leading the hunt for Madeleine, who vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents Gerry and Kate were dining with friends nearby.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who has been the head of Operation Grange since it was set up in 2011, will step down before Christmas.
He will be replaced by Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall, who will officially take over the inquiry on 22 December.
1/7
Gallery: Madeleine Police's Praia Da Luz Search
British police search another site in Portugal outside the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, where Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007.
Scotland Yard detectives bring in sniffer dogs to search the new area.
