Man in his 20s hospitalised after being shot in broad daylight

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man has been shot in broad daylight in north London.

Police were called to Fladbury Road in Tottenham at about 1.45pm on Sunday. Officers, including an armed response unit, found a man suffering gunshot injuries.

The victim, aged in his 20s, was taken to hospital. Police said on Sunday evening that his injuries were not life threatening.

John Wayne Lewis, 56, who lives nearby, said he gave first aid to the victim. He told the Standard: "I was walking across the road and thought I heard two random bangs. Then I heard someone screaming: 'Phone an ambulance.'

"Then there was a young man struggling towards me. He said: 'I've been shot.' I put him down and noticed the blood pumping out of his leg.

"I treated him and shouted for a neighbour to get some rags. He was awake and talking, but then you could see he was slipping into shock. He wasn't making sense."

Of the shooting, he added: "It's ridiculous. At that time as well, nearly 2pm. A baptist church had just finished nearby and there were families walking around."

No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting CAD3297 of December 30, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

39 people arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after man knifed in west London

Crime reporter,west london(wp/es):

Thirty-nine people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was chased down and stabbed in west London.

The man, believed to be in his mid-30s, was chased by a group of men and women after a "minor argument" in a shop in Hammersmith in the early hours of Monday, police said.

He is fighting for his life in hospital after he was knifed in Fulham Palace Road shortly before 1am.

Scotland Yard said 39 people were arrested at a property near the scene and taken into custody at several police stations.

The suspects were seen entering the property in Greyhound Road, where there was a party, a short time after the attack.

Officers tried to speak to the large number of people who were inside but they refused to cooperate, leading to the 39 arrests.

A witness, who did not want to be identified, said she saw a group of "kids" running back and forth up and down the street immediately before the stabbing and heard someone shouting: "Get him."

She said: "The person who must have done the stabbing was shouting, 'come on then, come on then'.

"I heard, 'oh no, don't do it' and it was a girl's voice.

"Whoever that girl was, she's probably the only one with sense there.

"They must have stabbed the guy outside Sainsbury's then ran back into that flat."

The woman said she then saw the victim as he was worked on by paramedics.

"As I got to the corner I saw a guy on the floor. He was stabbed here (in the chest)," she said.

A neighbour, Mason El Hage, 22, said he later saw around 50 police officers interrogate 30 to 40 young men and women as they were lined up on the road.

"They lined them up and interrogated them for about an hour," he said.

"I have never seen something like that in my life. It was very extreme in terms of the amount of people involved."

He said he heard noise and dogs barking at around 1.30am and looked outside believing it was a drugs raid.

The group, including young men and women, were arrested in "single file" in a "very, very swift operation," he added.

Dahlia Adling, 45, who works in a nearby grocery store, said she heard an argument and people running at about 1am.

"There was an argument outside here. I could hear it," she said.

She said she heard "aggressive shouting", adding: "It was definitely an argument."

Two knifes were recovered close to the scene, police said.

Photos posted on social media showed several police cars blocking off the busy road as the scene was combed for evidence.

On Monday morning, a pool of blood could be seen on the pavement outside a branch of Sainsbury's on Fulham Palace Road.

On the other side of the road shops, including an off licence, were behind another police cordon.

Superintendent Mark Lawrence, said: "What appears to have been a minor argument has resulted in a man sustaining life-threatening injuries.

"Officers were quickly on the scene and provided him with first aid prior to the arrival of our colleagues in the LAS (London Ambulance Service). He has been taken to hospital where he continues to receive treatment for his injuries.

"Whilst it is unusual for so many people to be arrested in the early stages of an investigation such as this, due to a lack of co-operation and the necessity of securing essential evidence following a serious assault, this action was appropriate."

In October it was revealed that knife crime in London had risen to its highest ever level with nearly 15,000 offences committed in a year.

The Office for National Statistics said the total of 14,987 crimes between the summers of 2017 and 2018 was a 15 per cent rise on the comparable figure 12 months earlier.

Capital London welcomes 2019 with spectacular firework display in the heart of the city

Pic-London fireworks for welcome 2019 new year(wp/es)
staff reporter(wp/es):

London’s skyline was filled with an array of dazzling colours as an incredible fireworks display ensured the capital welcomed 2019 with bang.

More than 100,000 revellers descended on the heart of the city for its official New Year’s Eve light show along the banks of the River Thames on Monday night.

A spectacular display lit up the night sky over some of the capital’s most famous landmarks as onlookers watched in awe. Some 70,000 projectiles, made up of 12,000 fireworks, exploded over the city during the extravagant show.

The words "London is open" rang in the new year at the main celebration, which boasted the largest annual display in Europe. The phrase was spoken in seven languages around two minutes past midnight as the skyline filled with lights.

A soundtrack featuring Europe's finest musical artists celebrated the diversity of the capital, after Big Ben, silent for much of 2018 due to renovations, chimed once more.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the sold-out display would show Europe that the capital will remain "open-minded" and "outward looking" post-Brexit.

He said Westminster politicians had given the world the impression that Britain is "insular, inward looking", as Britain begins the new year countdown to Brexit.

Mr Khan said he hoped this year's event would "send a message of support" to the more than one million European citizens for whom London is home.

Festive lights also brought night skies alive all over the world, including in Dubai, Sydney, Auckland and Hong Kong.

As London waited for the big countdown, cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Sydney and Moscow had already welcomed the New Year with stunning firework shows of their own.

Ahead of the main event in London, the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Every year our capital puts on the greatest fireworks show in the world with the spectacular images of our skyline shared all around the globe.

"I'm proud that this year the millions watching around the world will see us send a message of support to more than one million EU citizens who call London their home.”

As has become a New Year’s Eve tradition in the UK capital, Transport for London (TfL) put on free travel for all its Tube and bus services between 11.45pm and 4.30am

Bus services in central London were disrupted due to the celebrations.

The Metropolitan Police also had a busy night on its hands, with Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D’Orsi saying: "It is a lovely time of year and we would like everyone who comes to London to have a good time.

“The safety of those attending is our top priority and officers have been planning for several months for New Year’s Eve.

“Officers will be out and about to deter criminals and keep crowds safe but we need you to look after yourself and those around you as well.

"If you see anything suspicious or that causes you concern, please tell a steward or police officer. Keep an eye on your belongings and only bring what you need.”

Australia and New Zealand were among the first to welcome the arrival of 2019 in fine style with displays of fireworks watched by millions of people.

The first to bring in the New Year were people in Samoa. It became 2019 there at around 10am UK time.

Festive lights later splashed the night sky of Downtown Dubai as the city held an impressive celebration.

The skyline across the city was filled with an array of colours and smoke as a spellbinding fireworks display flew across the Burj Khalifa tower – the world’s tallest building - in the United Arab Emirates city.

In Paris, hundreds of revellers were seen lining the streets in the Champs-Elysees as the city celebrated its New Year's Celebrations.

Concerts and light shows were also held across the city of Moscow, in Russia, where parks and more than 1,000 ice rinks were opened for revellers.

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Baby joy for woman left 'heartbroken' by hospital after miscarriage

Pic:Emily Daft and her daughter Ayla Grace were home on 21 December, just in time for Christmas/bbc
Staff reporter(wp/bbc):

A woman who "lost faith" in her hospital because of the way she was treated when she miscarried has spoken of her joy at giving birth.

Emily Daft said she was left to miscarry at home in January 2017 after Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre refused to see her.

The QMC apologised to Mrs Daft, who has health issues and had miscarried before, for causing distress.

She had a baby girl at Nottingham City Hospital on 17 December.

Mrs Daft, 25, said Ayla Grace has been "a dream baby" and only wakes up in the night for feeds.

She said they never thought they would have her.

"We can't get our heads around it. It feels like we are on top of the world. I don't think it has sunk in that she is ours."

She and husband Adam, 27, had been trying for a baby for five years, a period that included an earlier miscarriage, a fight for IVF, as well as the miscarriage she suffered after the QMC told her to go home.

Despite successfully falling pregnant, because of Mrs Daft's previous experience she felt anxious right up to her due date.

"Up to the 24th week I was throwing up before every appointment," she said.

She was transferred to Nottingham City Hospital after her ninth week, where she said the care she received was "fantastic".

Mrs Daft left hospital with her baby on 21 December.

She said: "It has been such a long journey. It has been completely worthwhile, everything we went through. To finally be here is the most wonderful feeling.

"I would love for people who are going through what we went through to know it is worth the fight."

Manchester Victoria station stabbing: Three injured

Crime reporter,manchester(wp/bbc):

Three people - including a police officer - have been stabbed by a man wielding a knife at Manchester Victoria railway station.

A man and woman in their 50s were attacked at about 20:50 GMT, Greater Manchester Police said.

A British Transport Police officer was stabbed in the shoulder. A man has been held on suspicion of attempted murder.

Officers said counter terrorism police were leading the inquiry, but they were keeping an open mind on the motive.

The station is currently shut and officers remain at the scene.

Greater Manchester Police, which declared the attack a "critical incident", said there was "no intelligence to suggest that there is any wider threat at this time".

Officers said the attack victims' injuries were "serious" but not life-threatening.

BBC 5 live producer Sam Clack, who had been at the station at the time, said he saw a man stabbed on a tram platform at the station, which is next to Manchester Arena, "feet from me".

He added he was "close to jumping on the tracks" as the attacker had a "long kitchen knife".

'Pure fear'

Mr Clack said he first "heard this most blood-curdling scream and looked down the platform".

"It looked like they were having a fight, but the woman was screaming in this blood-curdling way. I saw police in high-vis come towards him. He came towards me.

"I looked down and saw he had a kitchen knife with a black handle with a good, 12in blade. It was just fear, pure fear."

He said police used pepper spray and a Taser on the detained man, who he said had been "resisting arrest".

He said he saw "six or seven" officers on top of the man, who he described as "very skittish".

"He was very aggressive and very intent on causing more harm than he actually did," he said.

"It was very, very scary."

Police said the woman had injuries to her face and abdomen and the man had injuries to his abdomen.

The New Year firework display in Albert Square went ahead.

City councillor Pat Karney said the authority was being kept informed by Greater Manchester Police.

May - Back my Brexit deal and let Britain 'turn a corner'

Political reporter(wp/reuters):
British Prime Minister Theresa May urged MPs on Monday to back her Brexit deal, promising that it would allow the country to “turn a corner” and let the government focus on solving domestic problems such as housing and a skill shortage.

May made the appeal in a New Year’s message little more than two weeks before a make-or-break vote in parliament on her plan for Britain’s exit from the European Union which is due to happen on March 29.

The vote, which May postponed in December to avoid defeat, will be a pivotal moment for the world’s fifth-largest economy: it will determine whether Britain follows her plan for a managed exit and relatively close economic ties, or faces massive uncertainty about the country’s next step.

“New Year is a time to look ahead and in 2019 the UK will start a new chapter. The Brexit deal I have negotiated delivers on the vote of the British people and in the next few weeks MPs (members of parliament) will have an important decision to make,” May said in a video released by her office.

“If parliament backs a deal, Britain can turn a corner.”

Attempting to appeal to those within her Conservative Party who have criticised her leadership, and responding to criticism from opponents that Brexit has stalled her domestic agenda, May stressed her desire to move beyond the EU exit debate.

“Important though Brexit is, it is not the only issue that counts,” she said, highlighting policies to address a lack of housing, skills shortages and strengthen the economy. “Together I believe we can start a new chapter with optimism and hope.”

The vote on May’s Brexit deal with the EU is scheduled to take place in the week beginning Jan. 14.

May is still seeking reassurances from Brussels that a deeply unpopular fallback arrangement within her proposed deal, over the Northern Irish border, would only be temporary.

It seeks to prevent the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland if a better solution to keep trade flowing freely cannot be agreed.

The so-called backstop is the main obstacle between May and a victory in parliament, costing her the support of dozens of members of her own party and the small Northern Irish party that props up her minority government.

The government and businesses are ramping up preparations in case a deal cannot be reached to smooth Britain’s exit from the bloc, amid warnings of delays at borders and disruption to supplies of medicines, food and components.