TOP 100 ENGLAND SITES
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| Iceland’s Leader Vetoes Bill to Repay 2 Lenders The $5 billion compensation deal would have repaid the Britain and Dutch governments for their loans to compensate depositors. nytimes.com |
Mandarins attack 'barmy' Downing Street Gordon Brown's Government "lacks a coherent strategy" and produces "barmy" ideas, senior civil servants have said. telegraph.co.uk |
Murders drop to lowest level for 20 years in England and Wales Home Office figures reveal a 14% fall in the annual murder rate in the year to November 2009The murder rate in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level for 20 years with 651 deaths recorded in the 12 months to November 2009.The Home Office says this figure represents a drop of 14% in the annual murder rate, with 102 fewer deaths recorded by the police in the year to November than in 2007/08.Senior Home Office statisticians have speculated that advances in medical science, which have saved the lives of some murder victims, may lay behind the decline, but this is not necessarily borne out by the statistics.The most popular murder weapon remains the knife or other sharp instrument, such as a broken bottle, with 255 of the 651 deaths analysed the result of a fatal stabbing. This compares with 271 knife murders the year before.However, the police figures show that the overall level of knife crime has fallen by 12%, with particularly substantial declines in robberies and attacks involving grievous bodily harm, suggesting that it is not improved treatment for victims that is behind the fall in the murder rate.There is a similar picture in gun crime where the number of murder victims has fallen from 53 to 39 – the lowest number since 1989.The annual Home Office analysis of the homicide figures shows that babies under the age of 12 months remain the most "at risk" age group, with a murder rate of 27 per million.The next most likely victim is a male aged 16 to 29, with those aged over 70 at the least risk of being murdered. The overall risk of becoming a murder victim is 12 per million population.More than two-thirds of murder victims last year were male, with 459 male victims and 192 female. Women were far more likely to be killed by someone they already knew (76%) compared with 50% of male victims.More than half of murder cases last year were due to a quarrel, a revenge attack or a loss of temper, with only 7% – 45 – happening during a robbery or a burglary. Only 4% are attributed to "irrational acts".The Home Office says the murder rate in England and Wales is broadly in line with other western European nations at 1.43 per 100,000 population based on what happened between 2005 and 2007 comparisons. This is higher than Germany (0.9 per 100,000) and Italy (1.13) but lower than France at 1.46, Northern Ireland at 1.59 and Scotland at 2.17.But western European murder rates are still far below the American homicide rate. Although murders in the US have fallen substantially in recent years they are five times more common than in England at 5.6 per 100,000.CrimePoliceAlan Travisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Assisted suicide, mercy killing and the law Kay Gilderdale was charged with aiding and abetting the suicide of her daughter and attempted murder. telegraph.co.uk |
A-level students condemn 'unfair' exam Biology exam for new curriculum bore no relevance to specimen papers, pupils sayThousands of teenagers have launched an online protest about a biology A-level exam paper they say was unfair.More than 3,000 students have sent furious messages to a Facebook group about the exam sat on Monday.The exam board which devised the paper, AQA, said it would take students' worries into account when marking and awarding grades in the subject.It said this was the first time a new curriculum for the exam had been studied and this could have caused uncertainty over what would be tested.But pupils have described the exam as a "disgrace" and fear it could jeopardise their chances of a university place. The exam bore no relevance to specimen papers, they said.Hundreds have posted messages labelling the paper "awful" and "ridiculous".One said: "We all feel we've been robbed of our time (during lessons and revising) and our university places."Another said: "I've spent six months working hard ... and only one out of the eight questions had any relevance."While one student said: "I'm actually more upset than angry, I've worked so hard and need an A to get into the unis I've applied for, no chance of that now, thanks AQA for potentially ruining my life with your ridiculous paper!"Many are calling for AQA to recognise student complaints and some suggest the exam board give students another paper to retake in February or March.A spokeswoman from AQA said the exam board was "aware of concern amongst some candidates for this examination that the exam has not allowed them to fully demonstrate their understanding and abilities"."The new GCE science examination focuses on the application of science to a greater degree than was the case with the old A-level," the spokeswoman said. "We will take account of these concerns when marking the examination."The concerns will also be considered at the awarding meeting where we make final decisions regarding the award of grades."A-levelsSchoolsHigher educationJessica Shepherdguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |