Giant Oklahoma tornado kills dozens
By Anonymous on May 21, 2013 03:49 am 20 May 2013 Last updated at 17:18 ET 
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Upturned cars were strewn amongst the wreckage of flattened homes, as the BBC's Jon Brain reports
A massive tornado has ripped through neighbourhoods near Oklahoma City, on the second day in a row the Midwestern state has been pummelled by twisters.
The "mile-wide" storm sparked fires and flattened homes as it tore through.
On Sunday, at least two people died and 21 more were injured by the tornadoes.
The worst damage was caused by a twister near the town of Shawnee, 35 miles (55km) from Oklahoma City, where a mobile home part was razed and thousands have lost electricity.
Tornadoes, hail and high winds also hit Iowa and Kansas, part of a storm system stretching from Texas to Minnesota.
The National Weather Service (NWS) says there is a continuing risk of dangerous thunderstorms in the region that could produce hail and tornadoes on Monday afternoon.
'Everything is gone' On Sunday, a tornado smashed a trailer park on Highway 102 near Shawnee.
Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park resident James Hoke said he had emerged from a storm cellar with his family to find their mobile home vanished.
"Everything is gone," he said.
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Storm chasers have filmed tornadoes touching down in Texas and Kansas
As he tried to help neighbours, Mr Hoke said he found his wife's father covered in rubble.
"My father-in-law was buried under the house. We had to pull Sheetrock off of him," Mr Hoke said.
Oklahoma's state medical examiner confirmed on Monday that two people had been killed near the trailer park: Glen Irish, 79, and Billy Hutchinson, 76.
Both lived in Shawnee, but it was not immediately clear if either or both lived in mobile home park.
The Oklahoman newspaper reported that five people were brought to Norman Regional Hospital for injuries, with three injured critically.
"This is the worst I've seen in Pottawatomie County in my 25 years of law enforcement," county Sheriff Mike Booth said.
The massive storm system had prompted the NWS to issue a blunt warning to residents in the affected states.
"You could be killed if not underground or in a tornado shelter," the agency warned. "Complete destruction of neighbourhoods, businesses and vehicles will occur."
One resident, Amber Ash, said her home had been hit by a tornado as she waited in a storm shelter.
"Once it passed, we got out and saw the devastation," she said. "Everything I had was destroyed."
Thousands of residents in the affected areas have been left without power.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency in 16 counties in order to send aid to the worst-hit parts of the state.
At least four tornadoes ravaged the state on Sunday, part of a storm system that was moving north-east across the Midwestern states and Texas.
"Right now we're in a rescue and recovery stage," Gov Fallin said. "We're still not in the clear yet."
A twister with an estimated 110mph (177km/h) wind speed touched down on Sunday afternoon near Wichita's Mid-Continent airport.
It knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses, but bypassed the most populated areas of Kansas' largest city.
Presenters of a local afternoon news programme were forced to evacuate during a live broadcast as the tornado touched down.
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Marks and Spencer sees profits fall
By Anonymous on May 21, 2013 03:35 am 21 May 2013 Last updated at 02:21 ET 
M&S's clothing division has been struggling in recent years.
Marks and Spencer has reported a big fall in profits, despite rising sales across the group.
Pre-tax profits fell to £564.3m, down from £658m last year, despite group sales rising 1.3% to £10bn for the year to 30 March.
While underlying sales of food rose 1.7%, sales of general merchandise - which includes clothing - fell 4.1% in the year.
Chief executive Marc Bolland described the market as "challenging".
M&S's clothing division has been struggling in recent years.
In April, director of lingerie and beauty Janie Schaffer, who joined M&S from lingerie chain Victoria's Secret, left after just three months in the job.
Last week, M&S launched its new autumn/winter clothing collection, which it hopes will win back disaffected customers.
Read in browser » Murder prompts police inquiry call
By Anonymous on May 20, 2013 10:31 pm 20 May 2013 Last updated at 22:31 ET By June Kelly Home affairs correspondent, BBC News 
Maria Stubbings was killed in her home in 2008 by a convicted murderer
The family of a woman murdered by her ex-partner are calling for a public inquiry into how complaints of domestic violence are handled.
Maria Stubbings, of Chelmsford in Essex, was strangled with a dog lead in 2008 by Marc Chivers, who had already killed a previous girlfriend.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has criticised Essex Police for not protecting Ms Stubbings.
Her brother Manuel Fernandez said he did not want her death to "be in vain".
"In Maria's name we would like to try to force a public inquiry into the failings of Essex Police and police forces as a whole into domestic violence in the hope that we can actually gain some protection for victims and future victims," Mr Fernandez said.
Panic alarm removed The family's call comes as a second IPCC report into Ms Stubbings' case is published.
The first one had to be scrapped after inaccuracies were identified in 2011.
Ms Stubbings, a 50-year-old mother of two, had started a relationship with Chivers in early 2008.
She was unaware he had only recently returned to the UK after serving 15 years in jail in Germany for killing a previous partner.
She learned about his murder conviction after he was charged with assaulting her.
He received a four-month jail sentence in October 2008 but as he had already served time on remand was released almost immediately.
By this time Essex Police had removed a panic alarm from Ms Stubbings' home.
Marc Chivers served 15 years in Germany for murder before being deported back to the UK
In its report, the IPCC says there was no assessment of the risk Chivers posed to Ms Stubbings or her teenage son.
"No one visited Ms Stubbings to review the safety plan and no actions were taken to try to ensure her protection," the report says.
On 11 December 2008, Ms Stubbings contacted Essex Police to report Chivers had burgled her home and taken her medication.
There was further contact and a week later officers called at the house, where Chivers told them Ms Stubbings was not there.
The officers looked in her bedroom but did not search the property.
The next day the police returned and discovered Ms Stubbings' body in a downstairs toilet.
'Crying for help' Ms Stubbings' daughter Celia Peachey, said: "I know that the police can't save every woman who's a victim of domestic violence but there were so many missed chances to save my mum.
"She was crying out for help and was led to believe it was on its way.
"But it never materialised and she was left isolated and in fear of her life.
"As for my little brother, we're lucky he's alive.
"He was in the house with our mum's body hidden under a pile of coats in a downstairs toilet, and our mum's killer, who was following him round in case he found her."
Maria Stubbings (right), pictured with her children, had told police she had been burgled by Chivers
Her brother, Bengi, who was 15 at the time of the killing, told the BBC: "I find it hard to understand why they didn't protect me or my mum.
"They clearly knew there was a massive danger as he'd previously murdered in Germany and come here and done the same thing and assaulted her.
"They failed to act and I find that disgusting."
'Missed opportunities' Stephen Kavanagh, chief constable of Essex, said three officers identified in the report as having failed in their duties had been subject to "management action".
"Significant changes to the policing of domestic abuse have taken place since Maria Stubbings's death in 2008," Mr Kavanagh said.
"A combination of factors, including missed opportunities and organisational failures, led to the brutal murder of Maria Stubbings.
"As a force we must never lose sight of the impact of her death at the hands of a violent offender and we must respond to the IPCC report in a positive way."
Domestic violence charity Refuge has backed the call for the home secretary to launch a public inquiry.
Chief executive Sandra Horley said there had been two other fatal domestic violence cases in Essex since Ms Stubbings was murdered.
In 2011, Christine Chambers was murdered with her two-year-old daughter, Shania, and in the same year Jeanette Goodwin was stabbed to death by an ex-boyfriend.
"Every week in this country two women are killed as a result of domestic violence," Ms Horley said.
"That's two women too many."
Read in browser » Bed-sharing 'raises cot death risk'
By Anonymous on May 20, 2013 08:32 pm 20 May 2013 Last updated at 20:32 ET By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online 
Babies should be positioned on their back when they go to sleep to minimise the risk of sudden infant death syndrome
Sharing a bed with a newborn increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome fivefold, research claims.
The risk applies even if parents avoid tobacco, alcohol and drugs - other factors firmly linked to cot deaths.
The BMJ Open research compared nearly 1,500 cot deaths with a control group of more than 4,500 parents.
Current guidance in the UK is that parents should decide where their baby sleeps, but says the safest option is in a crib or cot in the same room.
No consensus Many other countries, such as the US and the Netherlands, go further and say parents should not share a bed with their baby for the first three months of his or her life.
Prof Bob Carpenter, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, carried out the analysis and says the UK should now follow suit and "take a more definitive stance against bed-sharing for babies under three months".
The government said it had asked the public health watchdog NICE to urgently examine its guidance on co-sleeping in light of this new study.
Unicef UK is concerned that any guidance that recommends the total avoidance of bed-sharing could end up forcing parents into much riskier practices such as feeding in arm-chairs or sofas where the risk of suffocating the baby is far higher.
Others question how robust the latest analysis is.
Prof Carpenter maintains avoiding bed-sharing would save lives - by his calculations, 120 of the 300 cot deaths that occur in the UK each year.
Continue reading the main story ADVICE ON SIDS
- Place your baby on their back to sleep.
- Cut smoking in pregnancy, including dads. Don't let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby.
- The safest place for your baby to sleep is in a crib or cot in a room with you for the first six months.
- Never sleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair.
- Do not let your baby get too hot, and keep their head uncovered.
Source: The Lullaby Trust
In his analysis, one or both parents had been sleeping with their child at the time of death in a fifth of cases.
Only one in every 10 parents in the control group said they had shared a bed with their baby.
Even in very low-risk breastfed babies, where there were no risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) other than that they had slept in their parents' bed, 81% of cot deaths in infants under three months of age could have been prevented by not bed sharing.
Prof Carpenter says he is not suggesting that babies should be banned from being into the parents' bed for comfort and feeding.
This has been investigated in previous studies and has not been found to be a risk factor, provided the infant is returned to his or her own cot for sleep.
But he says evidence shows that babies are safest sleeping alone in their own cot in the same bedroom as their parent or carer.
Francine Bates, of the safer baby sleep charity The Lullaby Trust, said: "We recognise that some parents will choose to sleep with their babies as opposed to placing them in a cot or a Moses basket next to their bed.
"The Lullaby Trust supports parental choice but we would also urge every new mother and father to weigh up the known risks of sharing a bed with their baby and, in light of their own situation, take appropriate precautions.
"Our core message remains that the safest place for a baby to sleep for the first six months is in a crib or cot in the same room as a parent or carer."
The Royal College of Midwives offers the same advice.
Read in browser » UK governments 'hold back Scotland'
By Anonymous on May 20, 2013 07:36 pm 20 May 2013 Last updated at 19:36 ET 
The two sides of the independence debate have been focusing on the economy
Scotland has been held back by past and present UK governments, Holyrood's SNP administration has claimed.
In a paper, to be published later, it cites six areas where Westminster has pursued policies said not to have been in the best interests of Scotland.
The arguments are being outlined the day after Treasury analysis suggested independence would cost savers and borrowers north of the border.
Scotland's electorate is being asked to vote yes or no to independence.
On Thursday, 18 September, 2014, they will answer the straightforward question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"
In the build up to the vote, both the Scottish and UK governments have been publishing documents that illustrate their cases.
This week, the two sides are focusing on the economy and financial sectors such as banking.
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said a Treasury paper, titled Scotland analysis: Financial services and banking, highlighted a number of questions that needed to be answered by the Scottish government.
He believed it was up to ministers at Holyrood to say what would happen to Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), mortgage products, pension funds and car insurance.
Previewing the launch of a Scottish government paper, titled Scotland's Economy: the case for independence, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the Westminster system of government "is hindering Scotland's potential".
She highlighted six areas including;
- The decision of the last two Westminster governments to cut capital spending which would have supported an additional 19,000 jobs in Scotland
- The UK government's failure to establish an oil fund for future generations, similar to the Norwegian fund now worth an estimated £450bn
- The decision by the UK government to engage in a boom in credit and debt expansion
- Allowing income inequality to grow dramatically in the UK
- The decision to concentrate economic activity in London
- And the decision to pursue austerity rather than focus on growing the economy.
Ms Sturgeon said: "The evidence is clear. The UK government's economic policies have been holding Scotland back for generations.
"Only with the powers of independence can Scotland meet its full potential.
"We already know - and the report of the Fiscal Commission Working Group has confirmed - that by international standards Scotland is a wealthy and productive country, and has the potential to be an economically successful independent nation."
'Economic mismanagement' She goes on to say that Scotland has a wealth of resources in the areas of life sciences, creative industries, ICT, oil and gas, renewable energy, food and drink, manufacturing, financial services and tourism.
Ms Sturgeon believes that with the full powers of independence the Scottish government "would have the powers to do much more".
She added: "The paper the Scottish government will publish today sets out in clear, concise detail the fundamental economic strengths of Scotland across a range of diverse sectors.
"Scotland can more than afford to be a successful independent country - the question everyone must ask themselves is whether we can afford not to be independent given the scale of economic mismanagement by Westminster."
Read in browser » We're not sneering, says Cameron
By Anonymous on May 21, 2013 02:47 am 20 May 2013 Last updated at 12:10 ET 
Mr Feldman is a longstanding friend of the prime minister
The Conservative Party Board has rejected the idea of an investigation into alleged comments about activists by party chairman Lord Feldman.
The Conservative MP Brian Binley said his call for an inquiry was "pretty overwhelmingly rejected".
Lord Feldman has denied internet speculation that he called grassroots activists "mad, swivel-eyed loons".
The Times and Daily Telegraph had reported an unnamed ally to the PM made the comments.
Downing Street has said it was "categorically untrue" anyone working there made the comments.
The PM's official spokesman said: "There has been considerable speculation. Lord Feldman has made a statement and the prime minister supports him. The PM supports Lord Feldman's statement."
Members of the party's 22-member board met at the Double Tree Hilton, but amid a heavy media presence they later relocated to Conservative HQ for their monthly meeting.
Leaving the gathering, Tory vice-chairman Mr Binley said: "I did propose, as I said I would, a form of investigation into this matter which was pretty overwhelmingly rejected."
He said the board had been "unanimous in its support for Andrew Feldman".
A senior Tory source said the board discussed the issue for 30 to 40 minutes before voting and described the mood as ''convivial'', with members praising the peer's role in stabilising the party's finances.
Although his call for an investigation was rejected Mr Binley, who is MP for Northampton South, said: ''It was felt that there was a need to look at the narrowing of the gap between the party in the country and the leadership."
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