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‘Sadistic psychopath’ sentenced for 1980s rape

Baby died During the hearing, held via Skype, the court was told Cooper raped, knifed and strangled Miss Scott in Cambridgeshire on her 17th birthday before shooting her in the face with a shotgun cartridge he had carved her name on. It was heard the sentencing judge at the time said he was “sadistic psychopath”. The court heard the offences against another woman were committed between 1984 and 1987. The court was told he pushed the woman to the ground and repeatedly kicked her when she was four months’ pregnant.…

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Pubs turn to punters to survive lockdown

Some are using other sites such as GoFundMe, or are launching donation schemes locally. Image copyright Tommo Thomson Image caption Tommo Thomson, Ryan Craig and Robert Bland of the Barge East have raised £32,000 so far. Barge East, a floating pub and restaurant in Hackney Wick, has carved out a reputation as one of London’s top-rated venues on Trip Advisor. But co-owner ‘Tommo’ Thomson said it would only survive until June without some form of emergency funding. He and his two business partners launched an appeal the day after pubs…

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Meeting the neighbours during isolation

A SIMPLE GUIDE: How do I protect myself? AVOIDING CONTACT: The rules on self-isolation and exercise HOPE AND LOSS: Your coronavirus stories LOOK-UP TOOL: Check cases in your area VIDEO: The 20-second hand wash STRESS: How to look after your mental health “From Windrush generations, to families from Kashmir, Mauritius, Japan, America, Australia and Europe.” Savitz now has a pen pal who lives at the other end of the road. “He’s called Theo and is four,” she says. “We draw pictures and post them to each other. “We have borrowed…

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Coronavirus blood treatment to be tried

Over time these build up and can be found in the plasma, the liquid portion of the blood. NHSBT is now approaching patients who have recovered from Covid-19 to see if plasma from them can be given to people who are currently ill with the virus. A statement from the organisation said: “We envisage that this will be initially used in trials as a possible treatment for Covid-19. “If fully approved, the trials will investigate whether convalescent plasma transfusions could improve a Covid-19 patient’s speed of recovery and chances of…

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Concern over online deliveries for shielded groups

Calls for elderly to get grocery delivery priority How do I get a food parcel? Blood Cancer UK chief executive Gemma Peters said: “We fear that the time it is taking to give people at very high risk, priority for online deliveries could cost lives. “We are now at the point where some people are being forced to choose between going hungry and making a trip to the supermarket that could be fatal if they pick up the coronavirus there. “People with blood cancer are already scared about the virus…

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Coronavirus ‘costing councils 30m a month’

Virus could prompt ‘extreme’ council cuts £1.1bn ‘reprioritised’ fund to tackle coronavirus Second-home owners ‘use loophole’ to claim grants It is up to Welsh ministers what they spend the money on. Mr Morgan, who is also the Labour leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council said the revenue councils are missing out on includes income they normally generate from leisure centres, planning fees, parking income, rent of property, school dinner income and theatres, while costs have risen elsewhere. Many council tax and business rate payments have also been deferred.

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Fifteen coronavirus deaths at care home

Age UK said current figures on coronavirus deaths “are airbrushing older people“. A SIMPLE GUIDE: How do I protect myself? AVOIDING CONTACT: The rules on self-isolation and exercise HOPE AND LOSS: Your coronavirus stories LOOK-UP TOOL: Check cases in your area STRESS: How to look after your mental health Related Topics Bristol Stanley Selston Coronavirus pandemic NHS Social distancing Liverpool Wavertree Care homes Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-52282824

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UK could be ‘worst affected’ country in Europe

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionSir Jeremy Farrar: “The UK is likely to be one of the worst, if not the worst affected country in Europe” The UK is likely to be among the European countries worst affected by coronavirus, one of the government’s senior scientific advisers has said. The warning from Sir Jeremy Farrar comes as UK hospital deaths are set to pass 10,000 on Sunday. In response, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said countries were on “different trajectories”. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been discharged…

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Kazakh family win Unexplained Wealth Order battle

What are Unexplained Wealth Orders? Unexplained Wealth Orders were powers brought into force in January 2018 in the fight against suspected criminal money invested in property. National Crime Agency investigators can use UWOs to require owners to disclose how they managed to buy a luxury home. If they do not agree with the explanation, they can then ask the courts to confiscate it. UWOs are sometimes known as “McMafia laws” – named after the BBC organised crime drama based on a book. What are the three properties? The properties were…

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Pink supermoon illuminates night sky

Stargazers have enjoyed the emergence of what is known as a pink moon in the night skies of Europe. Despite its name, there is not any noticeable colour difference to the full moon – due to reach a peak in the UK at 03:55 BST on Wednesday. The pink supermoon name is a northern Native American reference to an early-blooming wildflower and is first seen across North America as spring begins. Tuesday evening’s lunar light show was captured through breathtaking images. Why the Pink Moon isn’t actually pink Why the…

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Hospital trust records more than 300 deaths

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionNightingale Hospital Birmingham set to open with 500 beds A hospital trust has become the first in England to have recorded more than 300 deaths of patients with Covid-19. University Hospitals Birmingham, which incorporates four hospitals and is the biggest trust in England, has reported 306 deaths since the outbreak began. On Monday, West Midlands mayor Andy Street said hospitals in the region had “prepared well”. A Nightingale Hospital will be opened on Friday at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC). The hospital…

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Warning over daily coronavirus death figures

And these reveal that between 11 March and 1 April there were about 300 more deaths than previously thought during that period. Prof Jim Naismith, at the University of Oxford, said because of “understandable” delays in reporting by NHS trusts, the daily figures included deaths that may have happened up to two weeks ago. Separate figures, published last week, also suggest the number of people dying with coronavirus is higher than the daily totals indicate. The Office for National Statistics examined registrations and found deaths in the community not included…

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