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A GANG who screamed racist abuse as they went on a violent rampage through Southampton city centre have escaped immediate jail terms. Seven men were part of the group who left bystanders unconscious and bleeding. They assaulted seven people during their drink and drug fuelled attacks, yet only one was jailed for drug offences. One even waved a knife in the face of two terrified women shouting: "I'm from Afghanistan, I'm a Muslim. I'm going to stab every white person." Deeply concerned' Today community leaders said they were deeply concerned at the "lenient" sentences. The violence started on July 14...

Obama volunteers canvas local manLAS VEGAS, NV -- Barack Obama stepped up his attacks on Republican rival John McCain today during a campaign stop in Nevada, telling supporters to “get in the faces” of wavering voters with his message of hope, change, and “brass fisties.”“Righty right, me malenky droogs,” said Obama, nonchalantly spinning a steel baton while pacing the stage before a packed audience at a Las Vegas baseball stadium. “Come with uncle and hear all proper! Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones. You are all invited. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether...

The murders have been greeted by some in France as proof of London's spiral into lawlessness. Readers of the country's national newspapers yesterday expressed their horror at the news in online blogs. On the Liberation website, 'Hom' wrote: 'These things happen all the time in London, I lived there and "le stabbing" is the fashion.' Laurent Bonomo (left) and Gabriel Ferez (right) were brutally stabbed to death on Sunday night. Their murders have caused outrage in Francw 'Condor' said: 'I lived in London for a very long time, I prefer to live in Paris because the English are not very...

The Feral Sex: The terrifying rise of violent girl gangsBy PAUL BRACCHI - More by this author » Last updated at 23:48pm on 16th May 2008  The girl emerged from her house with a mobile phone glued to her ear and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.  Her friends take the mickey out of her, we learn from her sister's MySpace internet page, because she is never out of "a chav T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms" - and she didn't disappoint yesterday. Even so, it doesn't pay to get on the wrong side of this 14-year-old, who plays for...

Muslim sex offenders may be allowed to opt out of a treatment programme because it is against their religion, it was revealed today. The Prison Service's Muslim advisor, Ahtsham Ali, has said there is a "legitimate Islamic position" that criminals should not discuss their crimes with others. It could mean that Muslims convicted of sex attacks will attempt to avoid the Sex Offender Treatment Programme, which involves group discussions of their crimes. Although Mr Ali has not yet proposed changes to the rules, he told prisoners' newspaper Inside Time: "I will be taking it forward as a matter of some...

DOZENS of workers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 started to BRAWL just hours after it opened, it emerged last night. More than 30 baggage-handlers at the £4.3billion hub had to be pulled apart by security guards on Thursday. And the farce at the “world class” terminal continued yesterday as 72 more flights were scrapped, the ROOF started to LEAK and passengers JEERED staff. As rain dripped on their heads from a hole in the expensive panelled roof, tourists chanted: “You’re s*** and you know you are” at red-faced BA staff. Passenger Sandra Weber, 27, of Feldberg, Austria, raged: “It’s like being...

The man accused of killing teenager Sally Anne Bowman has told a court he regrets having sex with her corpse. Mark Dixie claimed he did not realise she was dead until after he had sex with her body, the Old Bailey heard. Mr Dixie, 37, denies murdering the 18-year-old in Croydon, south London, during a sex attack, in September 2005. Giving evidence, he said: "I don't know what went through my mind. I took full advantage of someone and I should not have done it." Pair of legs The court heard Miss Bowman was found in a pool of...

Police and authorities 'afraid to act against honour crimes in case they are called racist', claims reportBy CHARLOTTE GILL - More by this author » Last updated at 01:01am on 4th February 2008 Lured to India and killed: Surjit Kaur Athwal Teachers, police and councils are afraid to take action against so-called honour crimes for fear of being accused of racism, it is claimed. Women are also being betrayed by community figures who believe those who break traditional taboos deserve to be punished, the report found.  Researchers say taxi drivers, police and government workers of Asian origin are returning women...

Father 'murdered trying to retrieve football' By Lucy Cockcroft and John Steele Last Updated: 8:43am GMT 29/01/2008 A father-of-three was murdered in front of his family as he tried to retrieve his son's football, it was claimed last night. David Martin was said to have been hacked to death with a sword or machete after a row over a street football game turned violent. His own father had died in similar circumstances more than 20 years ago, neighbours said, when he was beaten to death outside a pub while defending the young Mr Martin. A 41 year-old woman has been...

The girl is 15 years old but looks much younger. Her face has the fine-boned elegance typical of her native Somalia, but her accent belongs to the streets of East London. She is plainly terrified. That much is clear from the way she avoids eye contact and constantly fidgets in her chair. "Promise you won't print my name or anything?" she implores repeatedly. "Promise no one will ever know that I've spoken to you? If people in my community find out, they'll say that I've betrayed them and I'll have to run away. And anyway, I don't want my parents...

Soldiers home for Christmas forced to change out of uniform on runway as airport refuses entrySoldiers returning from Afghanistan were forced to change out of their uniforms on the tarmac after being refused entry to an airport building, it was revealed today. Up to 200 troops had to don their civilian clothes at Birmingham International Airport after being told they could not go into the terminal in their combat gear. The soldiers were travelling back to spend Christmas with their families when their charter flight to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire was diverted to Birmingham because of bad weather. On...

When she spotted yobs vandalising a war memorial garden, Julie Lake sprang into action. As the daughter of a Second World War RAF pilot – and granddaughter of one of the fallen in the 1914-18 war – she felt it was her duty to intervene. But, after giving the main culprit a talking- to and a 'cuff round the ear', she finds herself facing the prospect of being arrested for assault. Yesterday Mrs Lake accused police of failing to follow up her complaints about graffiti and other hooliganism in the memorial garden. "The memorial is a sacred place – it's...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Police are on the lookout for members of a machete-wielding gang in angry clown make-up after a rampage of robbery and violence that left nearly two dozen people injured in a park in western Washington state. The group, who said they were "juggalos," devotees of the Detroit-based rap-metal group Insane Clown Posse, attacked and robbed visitors to Fort Steilacoom Park while shouting "Woo, woo, juggalo!" to each other, according to court documents. Prosecutors in Pierce County south of Seattle charged three people with assault and robbery last week, but police in the City of Lakewood said they...

Policeman attacked boy with club A policeman who attacked a 12-year-old boy with a golf club has been admonished after a sheriff said there was a high degree of provocation. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how firearms officer Alistair Drummond, 40, snapped after his home in Glasgow's Pollokshaws area was pelted with eggs. He attacked the boy whom he believed was behind the incident. Drummond, who has since resigned, was found guilty of assault but admonished due to the circumstances. The court heard how homeowners in Parkhill Drive, Pollokshaws, suffered problems with youths in 2004. They had footballs and litter landing...

Music to deter yobs by By Melissa Jackson BBC News Magazine It will be music to the ears of anyone who's been plagued by vandalism and anti-social behaviour - a blast of Mozart or Vivaldi. It seems the classics can speak volumes when it comes to changing the mood music. The experience of standing at a bus stop or railway station and feeling intimidated, perhaps by a group of teenagers hanging around, is not uncommon. Dealing with it has led to a variety of expensive attempted solutions, including the installation of CCTV. But the idea of using piped classical music,...