German police may find themselves cruising Facebook for parties to shut down if lawmakers have their way. Several high-profile, out-of-control house parties—including a 16-year-old girl’s birthday party that drew 1,600 gatecrashers—has sparked calls for police to be given the power to ban parties organized on Facebook, the…
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Officers can order Muslim women to remove face coverings to identify crime suspects no matter how minor the alleged offence Police in Australia’s most populous state have been given more powers to order Muslim women to remove burqas and other face coverings if they are suspected of committing a crime. The law was approved by the New South Wales government on Monday in response to a high-profile case in which a Muslim woman, wearing a burqa, had a six-month jail sentence overturned on appeal because of doubts about her identity. The state premier, Barry O’Farrell, said: “I don’t care whether a person is wearing a motorcycle helmet, a burqa, niqab, face veil or anything else, the police should be allowed to require those people to make their identification clear. I have every respect for various religions and beliefs but when it comes to enforcing the law the police should be given adequate powers to make a clear identification.” Women could previously be ordered to remove their veils if suspected of a serious crime but they can now be told to do so regardless of the gravity of the alleged offence. Anyone who refuses to comply could now be fined A$5,500 (£3,320) or jailed for a year. The laws have been backed by Muslim groups in the state but a civil liberties group questioned the need for legislation. O’Farrell said he was persuaded of the need for new laws by the state’s police commissioner after Carnita Matthews, a 47-year-old Muslim, was freed on appeal, triggering a public outcry. Matthews was convicted last year of falsely accusing a police officer of trying to remove her burqa during a random breath test. But an appeal judge ruled that because the woman who made the complaint was wearing a burqa, it was impossible to tell if it was Matthews. The police association of NSW said a “loophole” had been removed and the legislation would “provide clarity and certainty for both the public and for police officers”. The chairman of the Islamic Council of NSW, Khaled Sukkarieh, told ABC Radio in June that there was no problem with a Muslim women being asked to lift her veil provided it was done “sensibly and with sensitivity”. He also said it would be preferable if the request came from a female officer. Sukkarieh’s comments were echoed by the Muslim Women’s Association. But Stephen Blanks, the secretary of the NSW council for civil liberties, accused the state government of “a kneejerk reaction to a situation that has got a lot of publicity.” He told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that the government had provided no evidence of how often face coverings had hindered police investigations and suggested the failings in the Matthews case were procedural. Blanks added that police in the case had not properly recorded the identity of the person making the complaint, nor her apparent earlier refusal to remove her face covering. Another state, Western Australia, is expected to follow NSW and pass similar legislation on face coverings, with police chiefs due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue. Australia Islam Religion Human rights Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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Police say two suspects, aged 14 and 15, are being held in relation to Yemurai Kanyangarara’s death in south-east London Two boys have been arrested over the murder of a teenager on a busy high street. Yemurai Kanyangarara, 16, was stabbed in the neck seconds after getting off a bus, in what police suspected was a feud between pupils from two different schools. Detectives described the murder in Welling, south-east London, as one of the most brutal they had seen in 25 years. A 15-year-old boy from Peckham and a 14-year-old boy from Camberwell were arrested on Monday on suspicion of murder, Scotland Yard said. One witness said he watched the boy’s life “slip away” as he lay on the pavement on Upper Wickham Lane. Kanyangarara’s father, Kelton, left a message on his Facebook page that read: “My boy is gone it is so painful – my heart is bleeding. RIP my boy I will always love you.” Detective Chief Inspector Mark Dunne told reporters: “You’ve got someone 16 years old, a schoolboy, being stabbed in broad daylight in a busy street in front of many, many shoppers out enjoying the afternoon. It’s about as bad as it gets. “It’s among the very worst I’ve investigated in 25 years, the sheer brutality against a defenceless schoolboy.” Kanyangarara, who came to Britain from Zimbabwe when he was a toddler, stepped off a No 96 bus with a friend and was attacked, probably within a matter of seconds, during the Friday rush hour. The victim lived in Belvedere and was a pupil at St Columba’s Catholic Boys’ School in Bexleyheath, where he had recently finished his GCSEs. Yemurai’s headmaster had described him as “polite”. Mr Dunne said. “If you asked him to do something, he would do it with a smile on his face.” Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that might assist police was asked to call the incident room at Lewisham police station on 020 8721 4906, or, if wishing to remain anonymous, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Knife crime Crime London guardian.co.uk
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Homayon Narouzzad, 34, from Greater Manchester abused girls as young as 12 after bribing them with money, food and cigarettes A fast-food worker who groomed and sexually abused 18 girls, some as young as 12, has been jailed for four years. Homayon Narouzzad, 34, from Whitefield, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Bolton crown court to 25 offences of sexual activity with a child between April 2010 and February this year. A further eight offences were ordered to lie on file and Narouzzad will remain on licence for eight years. Greater Manchester Police interviewed 37 teenage girls as part of the inquiry into his activities. The court heard he worked behind the counter of the Family Guy takeaway and lived in a flat above. Narouzzad befriended a 13-year-old and persuaded her to invite other schoolgirls there so he could carry out the abuse when he was working alone, the court heard. He paid the girls between £5 and £90, also bribing them with food and cigarettes in return for touching and kissing their feet while engaging in sexual activity or watching the girls do so. Some of the girls have been left psychologically scarred by the abuse, the court heard, with one saying she wanted to kill herself and another constantly washing herself because she felt “dirty”. Narouzzad came to the UK 11 years ago seeking political asylum from Iran. He had no previous convictions and has since been granted leave to remain in the UK. Judge Maureen Roddy told him: “Each of them has suffered significant psychological harm to them that is far more difficult to treat and cure than physical scars. The impact on your victims is devastating.” David Clarke, prosecuting, told the court Narouzzad was arrested in March after one girl told her mother about the abuse. A police search of the property revealed a “large number” of CDs and magazines, “relating to a sexual interest in feet”, the prosecutor added. Officers traced the victims, with three aged 12, one 15-year-old and the remainder either 13 or 14. In a victim impact statement, a 13-year-old wrote: “Since this happened I feel down a lot and get very angry towards friends and family. Sometimes I wish I was dead.” Iain Simkin, defending, said Narouzzad had not used force or coercion on the girls and there was no penetrative sex or touching “above the ankles”. The court heard the defendant had blamed the victims and downplayed his role during questioning. Detective Inspector Jane Little, of Bury CID, said: “Narouzzad abused his position to prey on young and vulnerable girls. “He reeled them in by offering them free food for friendship before progressing things further by offering cash for sexual favours. “As in other similar cases, some of Narouzzad’s victims did not recognise that they were being exploited and sometimes confused exploitation with genuine affection.” Crime Manchester Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
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Parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman contacted by detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World The parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the two children murdered by Ian Huntley, were contacted by Scotland Yard detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World, it emerged on Tuesday. A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said they were aware that the families of Wells and Chapman were contacted by the Metropolitan police about two months ago. It is believed the families were warned there was evidence to suggest they were targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was formerly employed by the paper. The families are thought to be seeking further clarification from the Met but are not currently commenting. Scotland Yard is conducting an investigation, Operating Weeting, into the News of the World phone-hacking allegations. Pressure is growing on Rebekah Brooks, who was editing the News of the World at the time and is now chief executive of its parent company News International, following the Guardian’s revelations on Monday that Mulcaire hacked into a mobile phone belonging to Milly Dowler in 2002 , the same year as the Soham murders. Schoolgirl Dowler went missing from her home in March 2002 and her body was found six months after she disappeared. The Soham murders took place in August that year. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said earlier on Tuesday that Brooks should “consider her conscience and consider her position” as he called for a public inquiry into the hacking allegations and the conduct of the tabloid press as a whole. Brooks insisted in an email to staff on Tuesday afternoon that she knew nothing about the allegations that Dowler’s phone had been hacked by the paper she edited. She said she was “sickened” by the events and added she was “determined to lead the company to ensure we do the right thing and resolve these serious issues”. News International executives insisted Brooks had the full backing of Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News International’s owner News Corporation. Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the Press Complaints Commission, Baroness Peta Buscombe, which concluded in November 2009 there was “no new evidence” of widespread hacking at the News of the World following earlier Guardian revelations, admitted she had been “misled” by the News International paper . Buscome said: “There’s only so much we can do when people are lying to us. We know now that I was not being given the truth by the News of the World.” The home secretary, Theresa May, also added her voice to the growing chorus of politicians condemning the News of the World, including prime minister David Cameron. May used stronger language than Cameron, who described the hacking of Dowler’s phone as a “dreadful act” while visiting troops in Afghanistan. The home secretary told a committee of MPs on Tuesday afternoon: “I think it’s totally shocking; frankly, it’s disgusting. The mindset of somebody who thinks it’s appropriate to do that is totally sick.” James Harding, the editor of the News of the World’s News International stablemate the Times, also publicly condemned the behaviour, telling an audience of advertising executives that if “it [the Dowler allegation] is true, it seems to me what has happened is disgusting and indefensible and for us as journalists it is profoundly depressing”. Harding added: “My concern is, the shame is not just on the people involved, not just on that particular newspaper, but journalists in general.” The Labour MP, Tom Watson, said in the House of Commons earlier this year that the parents of the two girls killed by Huntley in Soham may have been hacked. The public reaction to news that Dowler’s phone was hacked has also been one of anger. Several hundred people have joined a Facebook site calling on readers to boycott the News of the World and some customers have cancelled their subscriptions to the Times and the Sunday Times, according to people close to News International. The number of people cancelling is not thought to be high but it is regarded as symbolic internally. Members of the public have also been calling the News of the World’s offices in London to complain about the paper’s behaviour. A senior News International executive said the atmosphere at the company was “subdued”. Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News of the World Soham murders Crime News Corporation Media business News International Glenn Mulcaire Privacy & the media Privacy Press Complaints Commission Peta Buscombe David Cameron Theresa May Sandra Laville James Robinson Mark Sweney guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Burgeoning cases of autism are strongly linked to the environment, researchers have discovered. A study of twins indicates that while genetics plays a role, the environment is a more significant factor. The study used results among both identical and fraternal twins, and a mathematical formula that determined that genetics accounts…
Continue reading …Even by the standards of British tabloids, this is pretty low: The News of the World hacked into the voicemail of a missing 13-year-old girl, a Guardian investigation finds. Journalists deleted old messages on Millie Dowler’s phone to make space for news ones, giving her family hope that she was…
Continue reading …Archduke Otto van Hapsburg outlived the empire he was supposed to inherit by 92 years. The royal—christened Franz Josef Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius—was the eldest son of the final emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire, reports the BBC…
Continue reading …Sometimes environmental toxins can come from places, and in places, you least expect. The Green party of Germany is hoping you don’t forget about dildos. “Many dildos and other sex toys such as vibrators contain a high amount of phthalates, other carcinogenic plasticizers and toxic substances,” states a new report…
Continue reading …A woman standing too close to the roadway triggered a massive pile-up during stage 1 of the Tour de France, leaving dozens of bikes and bodies sprawled over the road after a rider hit her elbow and knocked over the rest of the pack like dominoes. The crash cost Spanish…
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