Free Republic

Mothers grieving over children killed in drug-fuelled gang wars have marched on Downing Street to vent their fury and demand tough new laws. As if to underline the point, just hours before the march set off from south London's troubled borough of Peckham, a man was shot dead in a local pub and another was in a critical condition having been shot in the neck, police said. The two victims, both black, were the latest in a string of "black-on-black" shootings, which have forced London's police to launch a dedicated unit, Operation Trident. Lucy Cope, whose son Damian, 22, was...

Teenager shot friend dead with airgun The Evening Chronicle, 9/9/2002 A 15-year-old boy has been sent to a young offenders' institution for two years for shooting a friend dead with an airgun. Daryl John Allison was 13 when horseplay with an air rifle ended in tragedy as he shot 14-year-old Matthew Sheffield in the head. A judge said the Government should use the current session of Parliament to address legislation governing the ownership and use of air weapons. Judge Peter Fox QC said: "Such legislation is urgently needed. For Matthew not to have died in vain it would be appropriate,...

A Sunderland mother is having her children chipped because she is terrified they may be abducted. PROTECTIVE: Anne Cassidy, from Chester Road, with her children James, George, Michael and Emily. Eight-year-old James Cassidy and his sister, Emily, five, are now on a register and will get electronically tagged by their GP so their mother, Anne, can keep tabs on them 24 hours a day. The £20 miniature chip will send a signal via a mobile phone network to a computer, which will be able to pinpoint the children's exact location on an electronic map. The 37-year-old mother-of-four, of Chester Road,...

Backyard warning to Blair on Saddam warby Stuart Arnold TONY Blair was urged last night to step back from war with Iraq - by voters in his own North-East constituency. An exclusive poll conducted in Sedgefield by The Northern Echo revealed that 64.6 per cent believe the Prime Minister should not support a US-led bombing campaign to oust Saddam Hussein. The overwhelming rejection of any British involvement in an attack on Saddam's regime came amid growing disquiet from Government backbenchers and the unions. The Labour Against the War group, featuring many prominent figures from the left, such as veteran MP...

One in 20 Russian adults will be infected with the HIV virus within five years, threatening a massive epidemic in Europe, according to an independent survey by British scientists. Researchers at Imperial College, London, have been studying the likely spread of HIV in Russia and have concluded that 5 per cent of the adult population will be HIV- positive by 2007. 'This means four million adults will develop Aids,' said one doctor, who added that there was no upper limit. 'It could easily be a lot worse - at least double. And these people will die within 10 years.' The...

Russia has failed to secure guarantees from Iran that Tehran will return spent nuclear fuel which could be converted into weapons-grade plutonium, despite repeated assertions to the contrary from Moscow. Internal Russian government documents obtained by the Guardian show that no agreement has been reached on the sensitive issue of how to handle the used nuclear fuel from a power station being built by Russia in Iran, which is due to come into operation in a couple of years. Russia's nuclear cooperation and military deals with Iran have become a major bone of contention with the US since September 11....

The outrage is understandable. The astonishment is absurd. Anyone who imagined that the Queen Mother's estate would be subject to the usual level of death duties was suffering from another aspect of the delusion that has infected this country since the old lady died. The monarchy is a package deal. When, at the end of the funeral, Garter King At Arms read out the styles and titles of the dear departed, he was marking the passing of someone who could not possibly subscribe to the same tax code as the rest of us. The discovery that the Treasury is to...

Men are liable to compulsory Military service in Russia from the age of 18 until 27. Military service requires two years in the Army or three years in the Navy. Living conditions are appalling and torture, murder and suicide are common. I wish to bring some additional facts to your attention about Russian Conscription that do not seem to be widely appreciated in the USA. I have come across negative comments on this website about organisations that campaign for the human rights of Russian conscripts and try to prevent young men from being conscripted in the first place. Please note...