in Labour’s Trident review Ken Livingstone downgraded

 
Pic: Ken Livingstone 
political reporter,London(wp/es):
Ken Livingstone was today downgraded in Labour’s nuclear defence review in a victory for shadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry and the trade union leaders.
Unveiling a change of approach, she made clear she would be calling the shots over whether to replace the Trident missile system.
“I go into this wanting to look a the evidence before making policy,” she said.
Ms Thornberry, the Islington South MP, is a backer of unilateral disarmament just like Mr Livingstone and Mr Corbyn.
But she eased tensions by stressing she would listen to all sides, adding: “I will not be afraid of asking some very hard questions.”
Former mayor Mr Livingstone upset the unions by suggesting a decision to scrap Labour’s backing for nuclear weapons defences could be rushed through in just eight or ten weeks.
He was widely seen to have been appointed to co-head a review by Jeremy Corbyn in a bid to steamroll a change of policy.
 But union leaders like Unite’s Len McCluskey and the GMB’s Paul Kenny this week made clear they would fight to defend the jobs of defence workers.

Julian Assange can be questioned by Swedish prosecutors at the Ecuadorian embassy in London

staff reporter,London(wp/es):
Julian Assange can be questioned by Swedish prosecutors at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, the South American nation’s foreign minister has said.
The WikiLeaks founder has sought refuse in the embassy in Knightsbridge since 2012 as he awaited extradition to Sweden to answer rape allegations.
Foreign minister Ricardo Patino told an Ecuadorian radio station that the country was accepting a request by Sweden to interrogate Assange “as long as the sovereignty of the Ecuadorian state and the laws in the Constitution are respected."
He suggested Swedish authorities could provide Ecuadorian counterparts with the questions and could be allowed a presence during the interrogation.
On Friday, Kristinn Hrafnsson, a spokesman for WikiLeaks, told the Guardian that Mr Assange welcomed the “opportunity to deliver his statement to the prosecutor”.

“Julian has been offering his statement to the prosecutor by various means for five years [in total] and for three-and-a-half years since he went into the embassy – whether via video link or by the prosecutor coming to London.
“Let’s hope [the interview] can be carried out as soon as possible. Julian is very eager to get his point of view into the investigation.”
Mr Assange said he fears he will be extradited to the US over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves the embassy.
In October, Scotland Yard announced it was removing the 24-hour police presence at the embassy.

man found dead after 'brutal attack by six men in east London high street'

crime reporter,London(wp/es):
 
 Pic:edgaras kondrotas who murderd in east London

A young man who left his impoverished homeland to build a better life in London was found dead in his bed the day after being attacked on a busy high street.
Edgaras Kondrotas, 28, left Lithuania for the capital eight years ago and had recently told his family he was planning to marry his long-term girlfriend and start a family.
He was found dead at his home in Forest Gate on Tuesday afternoon.
Detectives believe he died from injuries sustained when he was beaten by a group of up to six men in Leyton High Road the previous evening.
Eli Norvilas, 24, a cousin who grew up with Mr Kondrotas in Klaipeda on the Baltic coast before moving to the USA, said his close-knit family were desperate for answers.

He told the Standard: “We just want to know what happened. Without that all we can do is fantasise and be driven crazy.”
He said: “Ergaras came to London because he wanted to make a better life for himself.

“He told family back home he wanted to start a family. From what I heard he wanted to marry his girlfriend and have kids. His life was stopped way too early.”
He said he had last seen Mr Kondrotas six years ago on his 18th birthday, when the family all flew back to eastern Europe.
He said: “It’s just sad, especially the past couple of years I didn’t stay in touch with him as much as I’d like to.
“We were living our own lives, through Facebook he looked happy in his photographs. I wish I’d not taken it for granted.”
Police believe Mr Kondrotas was assaulted at 11.30pm on Monday and travelled home by public transport back to a house in Forest Gate, around a mile away.
A post mortem gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the abdomen.


Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder and were today being questioned by police.
Detective Inspector John Marriott, who is leading the investigation into Edgaras' death, said: "I am appealing for any witnesses who may have seen a group of men who were involved in a disturbance in Leyton High Road, at about11.30pm on Monday, January 11.
"I believe that Edgaras was assaulted during this altercation and then travelled back to an address in Sebert Road, where he was found dead.
"If you saw the incident in Leyton High Road or have information about what sparked the altercation, or know who may have been part of that group of six men then please call the incident room."

**** any information is asked to contact the Incident Room on 020 83453985, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.****

starting families putting Londoners in 20s off

staff reporter,London(wp/es):
Hundreds of thousands of Londoners in their twenties are being put off starting a family because of soaring house prices, an exclusive survey reveals today.
The poll found 42 per cent of this 1.4 million-strong age group say that if the cost of homes stays at current levels or rises they will be less likely to raise children here. It also revealed four in five Londoners aged 20-29 have considered quitting the capital because of sky-high housing costs.
The findings sparked a warning by business leaders that “generation rent” may become “generation went” if property prices and rents rise further.
Young women especially seem more likely than men to delay having children because of spiralling house prices and budget-busting rents. A total of 46 per cent of women in their twenties said they were less likely to raise a family in London due to housing costs.

The survey by Opinium Research was commissioned by the business group London First for the Fifty Thousand Homes campaign. It is calling on the next Mayor of London, almost certainly Zac Goldsmith or Sadiq Khan, to ensure 50,000 new homes are being built each year in the capital by 2020.
Will Higham, director of the campaign — backed by a coalition of city businesses — said: “Young Londoners at the start of their careers are telling the next mayor very clearly what needs fixing.
“London’s housing supply is simply not keeping up with our growing population as a city and they are feeling the pinch — paying the cost through high rents, not getting on the property ladder and even making trade-offs about when to start a family.”

Baroness Jo Valentine, chief executive of London First, said: “London business depends on talented people making a career here. If some can’t we all lose out. This is unfair on the young but is going to end up hurting us all if generation rent becomes generation went.”
She stressed that the housing crisis was now a “boardroom issue” as a growing number of firms face difficulties getting the employees they need.
The poll also found 36 per cent of Londoners in their twenties say the jump in house prices made them more likely to decide to raise a family in the city. More than half of this group either already own their property outright or had a mortgage on it, the poll indicated — highlighting the city’s wealth divide.
A total of 81 per cent of Londoners in their twenties have considered quitting the capital because of housing costs, according to the poll. It found 30 per cent of this age group had seriously considered moving away and plan to do so to enjoy lower housing costs.
Opinium Research interviewed 520 Londoners in their twenties between January 7 and 14

Actor Alan Rickman has died in London after losing a cancer battle at the age of 69.

entertainment reporter,London(wp/es):

Actor Alan Rickman has died in London after losing a cancer battle at the age of 69.
The British actor, known for his role as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films, died surrounded by friends and relatives.
A statement from his family read: "The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends."
Rickman played iconic roles in films including Die Hard, Robin Hood and Love Actually.

The star was a long-standing member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has won a number of awards including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Rickman wed long-term partner of 50 years Rima Horton in a secret ceremony in New York in 2012, confirming the news last year.
"We are married. Just recently. It was great, because no one was there. After the wedding in New York we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and ate lunch," he said.
'I think every relationship should be allowed to have its own rules. She's tolerant. She's incredibly tolerant. Unbelievably tolerant. Possibly a candidate for sainthood," he told Hello Magazine.
Rickman's death comes just months ahead of the release of a new film called Eye In The Sky in which he stars alongside Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul.

The thriller is set to open in UK cinemas on April 8, according to IMDb.
He has also just completed Alice Through The Looking Glass, which is slated for release later this year.
Rickman's critically acclaimed roles include Col Brandon in Sense and Sensibility and the spectre of a widow's lost love in Anthony Minghella's Truly, Madly Deeply.

He may be best known to older fans as terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard from 1988, or the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves from 1991.
But he gained a younger fanbase for his turn as Snape in the hugely successful Harry Potter franchise.
Rickman is also a filmmaker and his most recent project was last year's A Little Chaos, which he directed and starred in opposite Kate Winslet.
Speaking on the red carpet at the premiere last year, he said:
"I wasn't free until now because I started doing Harry Potter, and when I started there were only three books written so I didn't know I was going to be unable (to direct).
"Because if you're going to direct a film it's over a year of your life and I didn't have that.
''So once I had finished with that series of films I was free, and then along came this wonderful scrip."
A Little Chaos was Rickman's second turn behind the camera after directing Emma Thompson in drama The Winter Guest 18 years previously.

Rickman was born in Acton, west London in 1946 and later won a scholarship to Latymer Upper School where he first became involved in drama.
After graduating from the Royal College of Art, he opened a graphic design studio alongside some friends but later decided he wanted to pursue acting professionally.
He was awarded a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before going on to work with numerous theatre groups.

A man has been arrested for the rape and murder of a teenage girl 30 years ago

crime reporter,London(wp/es):
A man has been arrested for the rape and murder of a teenage girl which took place in Hampstead in the 1980s.
A murder inquiry was launched by the Met in 1982, after the parents of 17-year old Yiannoulla Yianni, found their daughter’s body at their family home in Belsize Road in Hampstead.
Detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command arrested a 56-year old man on Tuesday at an address in Golders Green on suspicion of rape and murder.
The arrest follows a match being made on the National DNA Database.
The teenager was last seen by her mother as she returned home to prepare dinner. Her parents found Yiannoulla's body when they returned from work later that day.

Since her murder the Met have made a number of local and national appeals as well as offering a significant financial reward for information. Over 1,000 witness statements have been taken and developing forensic techniques explored but despite these extensive enquiries no arrests were made.
Detective Inspector Julie Willats, of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said:
“The Met never close unsolved murders and regardless of the passage of time cases can and will be reviewed, for any new opportunities to develop previously unknown lines of enquiry, and follow-up any fresh information which has become known to us.
"Yiannoulla's family - who understandably are still devastated by the loss of their beloved daughter and sister more than three decades ago - have been fully informed of this new development.”

The man arrested remains in police custody at a north London police station at this time.
Yiannoulla’s family have been informed of this development.

Killer facing jail

crime reporter,London(wp/es):

A killer has been convicted of ruthlessly shooting another man in the back as he attempted to run away after a “petty" row.
Shaden Cadette, 23, was found guilty of murdering Ogarra Dixon, 24, after gunning him down in Marcella Road, Brixton, on Tuesday June 16 last year.
Mr Dixon was twice shot at as he attempted to escape, with the second bullet hitting him in the back and causing fatal chest wounds.
Police said he managed to stagger onwards “for some time” before collapsing. He was pronounced dead in hospital shortly afterwards.
Cadette had pulled out a gun following a “brief altercation” and fired at Mr Dixon as he fled.
He was arrested after being traced to a hotel next to Heathrow Airport.
Detective Chief Inspector Will Reynolds, who led the investigation, said: “I am pleased that justice has been done today.
“Cadette did what he could to thwart the investigation and may have even been planning to flee the country as he was caught hiding in a hotel next to Heathrow.
“Although he has never revealed what sparked this fatal confrontation, it is believed to be a petty dispute which has escalated and led to Ogarra’s untimely death.
“This case serves as a reminder of the havoc and misery gun carime can bring to the capital’s streets.
“I hope today’s verdict goes some small way to helping Ogarra’s family and loved ones move on from this awful episode. I would like to thank those who came forward and provided information.”
Cadette, of Marcella Road, faces a life sentence after being convicted at the Old Bailey.