Health:::Symptoms of ovarian cancer

Symptoms of ovarian cancer

• Persistent bloating - not bloating that comes and goes
• Feeling full quickly and/or loss of appetite
• Pelvic or abdominal pain (tummy and below)
• Urinary symptoms (needing to wee more urgently or more often than usual)
• Changes in bowel habit (eg diarrhoea or constipation)
• Extreme fatigue (feeling very tired)
• Unexplained weight loss
• Any bleeding after the menopause should always be investigated by a GP

Source: NHS

Dianne Oxberry: Viewers raise £28k after presenter's death

Pic---Dianne Oxberry's husband Ian Hindle set up a fundraising site in her memory/bbc/wp
staff reporter(wp/bbc):::

The husband of the late BBC broadcaster Dianne Oxberry has said he is "overwhelmed" after £28,000 was raised in her memory within a week.

The former Radio 1 and North West Tonight presenter died aged 51 from ovarian cancer at Manchester's Christie Hospital on 10 January.

On Monday, her husband Ian Hindle launched a fund with a £1,000 target to help those affected by the illness.

"I never expected to raise this much in such a short space of time," he said.

Oxberry rose to fame when she presented the weather and travel on Radio 1 in the early 1990s, working with broadcasters Simon Mayo and Steve Wright.

She met her husband, who works as a camera operator, while co-hosting Saturday morning children's show The 8.15 from Manchester.

She then presented the weather for BBC North West Tonight from 1995 until December.

Her death led to several tributes being sent to the programme and left on the fundraising site.

One viewer wrote: "Dianne was such a lovely sunny personality - I really felt I knew her and still feel upset that she is no longer here."

The funds raised will be used to set up a charity in her memory.

Mr Hindle said: "The aim is also to raise awareness about ovarian cancer and its after-effects, particularly where families have suffered sudden loss, which can often be the case with this appalling disease."

Speaking about the donations, he added: "Frankly, it's overwhelming and I'm totally humbled by all the contributions. Thank you to all who've donated. I think together we can make a big difference."

"While I hoped to raise a good amount of money to start on the road to creating a charity in Dianne's name, I never expected to raise this much in such a short space of time."

There are about 7,400 new ovarian cancer cases in the UK every year, according to Cancer Research UK, with almost 60% diagnosed at a late stage.

It is one of the most common types of cancers among women.

Thousands of police officers and staff 'not properly vetted'

Staff reporter(wp/bbc):::

Thousands of police officers and civilian staff have never undergone stricter criminal record and background checks, despite the fact that they were introduced in 2006, the BBC has found.

Data from 16 forces in England and Wales showed 5,966 officers and staff had not had the retrospective checks, which include credit and DNA records.

The police watchdog said the level of vetting was "concerning".

The National Police Chiefs' Council said it will work "hard" to cut levels.

Under the new guidelines, all new police officers and staff undergo rigorous vetting checks, while serving members should also be retrospectively checked every 10 years.

Checks include credit, DNA and fingerprint analysis using the police database, as well as investigations into an applicant's partner, family and friends.

Previously, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said it was seeing too many cases of corruption and of officers abusing their positions of authority - sometimes for sexual gain.

Routine reviews

However, BBC 5 Live Investigates found that there were thousands of officers and staff who had not undergone the stricter checks.

Freedom of Information replies from 36 of 43 police forces in England and Wales revealed that 16 of them had not performed retrospective background checks on those people.

West Midlands Police had the largest number of officers and staff who had not been checked or vetted within the last 10 years, with 3,283.

Hertfordshire Constabulary had 831 and Cambridgeshire Constabulary had 637.

West Midlands Police said it had "backlogs in our routine reviews of vetting" but it was confident only "a minority" were not covered by other government or security checks.

Concerns about police vetting procedures were raised recently after the conviction of Cheshire Police Officer Ian Naude in December for the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

BBC 5 Live Investigates spoke to Yvonne, not her real name, who was a long-term victim of domestic violence.

After her husband attacked both her and her daughter during an incident in 2013, she called 999. When Dorset Police came to her home, one of the attending officers began to groom Yvonne.

"He said a beautiful woman like you shouldn't be treated like this. He started texting me, complimenting me, he was very persuasive," she told the BBC

Yvonne and the Dorset PC had a sexual relationship over the next six months, but she says she felt taken advantage of and used.

She ended the affair, but says the officer would continue to come to her home unannounced, wearing his police uniform.

"I felt threatened. He said if anyone found out, the court case (for her husband's domestic violence) would have to start all over again."

After an investigation, the officer - who has not been named to protect the victim - admitted gross misconduct at a disciplinary hearing.

'There is a gap'

Supt Pete Windle, of Dorset Police's Professional Standards Department, said: "Over the past five years, eight officers and staff have either been dismissed or resigned while under investigation for such allegations.

"Every member of Dorset Police has been vetted to the relevant national standards. We currently have a small number of officers and staff who are due for their 10-year vetting renewal and the force is in the process of ensuring these are completed."

Data from a Freedom of Information request to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), also showed that the number of police officers reported for abusing their power "for sexual gain" has more than doubled over a four-year period - from 84 in 2014-15 to 170 in 2017-18.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said more cases like this were being reported because of the work they had done in highlighting the issue.

In a statement, it said: "There is a gap and we will work really hard to sort that out.

"We are confident the number of officers and staff who have not been retrospectively vetted before 2006 will fall in the coming months."

HMICFRS said the low levels of vetting uncovered by the BBC could affect public confidence in the police.

"We're currently inspecting forces to check that they've cleared their vetting backlogs," it said.

Libby Squire: Missing Hull student hunt into third day

Pic-- Libby Squire(wp)
Crime watch(wp/bbc):::

The search for missing Libby Squire has entered its third day after police, her friends and fellow Hull University students have looked for her in bitingly cold conditions.

Miss Squire, 21, disappeared late on Thursday and police have said they are "extremely concerned" for her welfare.

She was last seen getting into a taxi near the Welly Club music venue on Beverley Road at about 23:00 GMT.

Her family have said they are "broken without her".

A family member urged Miss Squire to come home and thanked those who had joined the search.

"She is obviously loved by so many," they said.

Miss Squire's family also said her disappearance was "very out of character", adding that she was "a very thoughtful and caring young woman who puts others before herself".

On Saturday, more than 70 police officers were out making inquiries, including knocking door-to-door around the area where the student vanished.

About 200 students were involved in the search of the university premises, which was organised by student Ryan Tweddell.

He said: "It was great to see so many students turn out to support the search for Libby.

"We can't believe the community came out in the numbers they did, it just shows how much people care.

"Libby is a loving, down-to-earth, typical, normal student. She is hardworking, helps everyone who needs it and is a lovely, brilliant girl."

In a statement, the University of Hull said it was "deeply concerned" about the missing student.

A spokesman said: "We are working closely with Humberside Police to support their search for Libby and offering support to Libby's family at this distressing time."

Miss Squire was reported missing after getting into a taxi outside the Welly Club at about 23:00 on Thursday, and is believed to have got out of the vehicle a short while later near her home address on Wellesley Avenue.

Humberside Police said that she was then helped by a motorist who pulled over after spotting her on the street, with the force adding that the man in question has since contacted them and has "really helped out" with the search.

Miss Squire was last spotted on CCTV on Beverley Road, near to the junction with Hayworth Street, at about 23:45 on Thursday, the force added.

Police urged people living in that area to check their gardens and outbuildings in case Miss Squire had taken shelter.

Anyone who was driving around the area at the time and has dashcam footage has also been asked to come forward.

Miss Squire, who is 5ft 7ins tall and has long dark brown hair, was wearing a black leather jacket, black long sleeved top and a black denim skirt with lace.

UK would regret no-deal Brexit 'for ever': business minister

Business reporter(wp/reuters):::
Britain would permanently regret leaving the European Union without a deal, and parliament needs to reach a decision to stop this in the next two weeks, business minister Greg Clark said in a newspaper interview on Saturday.

Clark’s comments in The Times come as the paper reported government documents warning Britain’s transport system could get overwhelmed after a no-deal Brexit, while The Guardian said officials feared mountains of rotting waste and animal slurry.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but lawmakers last month comprehensively rejected the exit deal Prime Minister Theresa May reached with Brussels, and Brussels this week turned down May’s request for renegotiation.

Without a deal Britain risked major disruption to trade with the EU, cutting British business out of pan-European supply chains, Clark warned.

“If we make what I think would be a mistake that we would regret for ever, it would be in the history books just like the achievements of the first industrial revolution,” Clark said.

Parliament needed to approve a deal by the middle of this month, he added, citing businesses that said they would be reluctant to ship goods to Japan or South Korea if it was unclear whether they would face tariffs when they arrived.

“People say ‘Things are always decided at the 59th minute of the 11th hour’. But it’s important to understand where ‘the wire’ is. The wire is not the 29th of March,” Clark said.

May has promised another Brexit vote by Feb. 14.

Britain’s transport ministry is preparing for the knock-on impact of a no-deal Brexit overwhelming the transport system, according to a leaked document in The Times.

There have been widespread predictions of traffic gridlock on key roads in southeast England due to customs checks on trucks trying to cross the English Channel at Dover, Europe’s busiest ferry port.

The impacts “could fall across every transport mode ... and could grow exponentially as ... the capabilities of responders at all levels decrease or become overwhelmed,” the document offering guidance to officials working in a planned emergency response center said.

The Department for Transport did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Separately, the Guardian said environment officials were worried that Britain would struggle to export waste as well as livestock, leading to growing mounds of rubbish and slurry.

“Odors will obviously be an issue as the stockpiled waste putrefies,” an internal email cited by the Guardian said.

Farmers unable to export sheep and cattle “may have problems with slurry storage capacity and insufficient land spreading capability”, the email also warned.

An Environment Agency spokesman said a process was in place to ensure waste could still be exported after a no-deal Brexit.

PM's office denies report of June 6 election plan

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::

 Prime Minister Theresa May’s office denied a report in the Mail on Sunday newspaper that the prime minister’s advisors were considering scheduling a national election for June 6.

“It’s 100 percent untrue,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said about the article, which reported that May’s advisors were considering a June 6 election under a scenario in which Brexit was delayed past March 29 but May subsequently won parliament’s backing for a withdrawal deal in April.

The article itself quoted an unnamed minister describing the plan as a bid by “second-rate staff desperate to keep their jobs”.

May called an unexpected election at short notice in 2017, after which she lost her Conservative Party’s small majority and had to rely on support from Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to continue to govern.

The Queen to be evacuated in case of Brexit unrest - media

Royal correspondent(wp/reuters):::

British officials have revived Cold War emergency plans to relocate the royal family should there be riots in London if Britain suffers a disruptive departure from the European Union next month, two Sunday newspapers reported.

“These emergency evacuation plans have been in existence since the Cold War, but have now been repurposed in the event of civil disorder following a no-deal Brexit,” the Sunday Times said, quoting an unnamed source from the government’s Cabinet Office, which handles sensitive administrative issues.

The Mail on Sunday also said it had learnt of plans to move the royal family, including The Queen, to safe locations away from London.

Britain’s government is struggling to get parliamentary support for a Brexit transition agreement with the EU before the departure date of March 29, and the government and businesses are preparing contingency plans for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.

Business groups have warned of widespread disruption if there are lengthy delays to EU imports due to new customs checks, and even possible shortages of food and medicine.

Last month an annual speech by the 92-year-old queen to a local women’s group was widely interpreted in Britain as a call for politicians to reach agreement over Brexit. [nL8N1ZP1LH]

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Conservative lawmaker and keen supporter of Brexit, told the Mail on Sunday he believed the plans showed unnecessary panic by officials over a no-deal Brexit, as senior royals had remained in London during World War Two bombing.

But the Sunday Times said an ex-police officer formerly in charge of royal protection, Dai Davies, expected The Queen would be moved out of London if there was unrest.

“If there were problems in London, clearly you would remove the royal family away from those key sites,” Davies was quoted as saying.

May says to seek 'pragmatic' Brexit solution in Brussels

Diplomatic correspondent(wp/reuters):::
 Prime Minister Theresa May said she would seek a “pragmatic solution” to a parliamentary impasse over the terms on which Britain leaves the European Union when she tries to reopen talks with Brussels.

May, writing in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper, shed little light on how she intended to solve the issue that has provoked most opposition from her lawmakers, post-Brexit arrangements for the border between the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Last month May suffered a record parliament defeat over her Brexit plans, and on Tuesday lawmakers instructed her to return to Brussels to renegotiate arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Lawmakers “would ... be happy with the current backstop if there was a time limit or unilateral exit mechanism,” May wrote.

However, Ireland and EU negotiators have rejected any time-limit on the so-called ‘backstop’ — a set of fall-back plans that would retain an open UK-Ireland border if Britain and the EU fail to reach a longer-term trade agreement in future talks.

Brexit supporters fear an unlimited backstop would effectively give the EU a veto on future British trade arrangements with other countries, and weaken economic ties between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

May is expected to visit Brussels in the coming days.

“When I return to Brussels I will be battling for Britain and Northern Ireland, I will be armed with a fresh mandate, new ideas and a renewed determination to agree a pragmatic solution that delivers the Brexit the British people voted for,” May said.

Separately, May’s office rejected a report in the Mail on Sunday newspaper that her advisors were considering an early election on June 6 if she got a Brexit deal through parliament.