Murder probe launched after teenage boy shot dead in east London

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A murder investigation has been launched after a teenage boy was shot dead in east London.

Scotland Yard said a boy in his “mid-teens” was killed and another man in his early 20s was injured after the pair were shot in Newham on Friday night.

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering a gunshot wound, police said. The other victim is not thought to have suffered life-threatening injuries, and it is not yet clear whether the two shootings are linked.

Terrified witnesses told how they heard gunshots being fired just before 11pm before police descended on the scene in North Woolwich.

One said: "I went to the area to get some Chinese. Whilst I was there I heard a couple of shots, sudden bangs.

"Suddenly there was a tonne of police cars and squad cars in the area, lots of blue lights. Spoke to my former neighbour, she said she heard the same thing as me... sounded like gun shots."

She added that the boy was shot in the back, though police did not immediately confirm the report.

Another North Woolwich resident tweeted: "Last night 2 people were shot in North Woolwich. Since when did my area become like this?"

A Scotland Yard spokesman said a murder investigation was underway and that the boy’s next-of-kin were being informed.

He said: “Police were called at 10.44pm on Friday, 7 April to reports of shots heard and a teenager found injured on Rebourne Way, E16.

“Local officers, firearms officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found a boy, believed to be in his mid-teens, with a gunshot injury. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“A short time later, a man aged in his early 20s, was found with a gunshot injury in Claremont Close. He was taken to an east London hospital where he remains in a stable condition; his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.”

There have been no arrests.

Woman killed after chasing dog onto motorway at rush hour

Staff reporter(wp/es):

A woman has died after being hit by a van while chasing her dog onto a motorway during rush hour.

The 66-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene after being struck on the M4 near Cardiff by a Ford Transit at around 6.15pm on Friday, police said.

South Wales Police believe she followed her dog after it ran into the road. The force appealed for witnesses to come forward.

The family of the victim, who had been driving a white Volkswagen Golf, has been informed.

The motorway was closed for five hours while police investigated.

Mayor unveils £8 billion deal to build 12,000 affordable homes

staff reporter(wp/es):

Sadiq Khan today announced a landmark deal to build 20,000 new homes in London — 60 per cent of which would be affordable.

The Mayor unveiled a partnership with one of the capital’s biggest housing associations, L&Q, which will see £8 billion invested in tackling the housing crisis.

It is the first major agreement announced since the Government allocated a record £3.15 billion to the Mayor for housing last November.

City Hall will contribute £400 million towards the cost of the scheme — 12,000 affordable homes will be built — and assist with land purchases and infrastructure cost.

Mr Khan has prioritised boosting the supply of affordable homes. 

He said: “For far too long, London has not been building enough homes. This has meant that Londoners born and raised in our great capital have struggled to rent and stood little or no chance of owning a home in their own city.

"This announcement demonstrates real progress on the long road towards tackling London’s housing crisis.”

City Hall hopes to agree more deals with housing associations, which are some of the biggest provider of homes in the capital.

Dozens of firefighters battle blaze in north west London shop

Pic:Dozens of fire fighters battled a blaze at a shop and flats
Staff reporter(wp/es):

Dozens of firefighters battled a blaze as it ripped through a shop in north-west London.

Flames tore through a shop and flats in Harlesden on Wednesday morning.

Some 35 fire fighters rushed to the scene of the blaze in Park Parade just after 7.30am.

Six crews worked to tackle the fire which destroyed part of the shop’s ground floor, London Fire Brigade said.

Two people were taken to hospital suffering smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation, London Ambulance Service added.

Motorists were urged to avoid the area.

Station Manager Jerome Kumedzina said: "The fire was affecting a large part of the building’s ground floor and our crews worked incredibly hard to get it under control. 

“We are now extinguishing remaining hot spots on the property's first floor. Park Parade is still cordoned off while we deal with the incident so motorists should avoid the area."

Bystanders took to social media to discuss the situation.

Lloyds Bank to close 100 branches and axe 200 jobs

Business correspondent(wp/es):

Lloyds Bank is to close a further 100 branches, which will result in more than 200 job losses, a trade union has said.

The banking group is facing fresh criticism over the closures, with Unite saying the “continuous stream” of branch closures appears to show no sign of ending.

Some 54 Lloyds, 22 Halifax and 24 Bank of Scotland branches will be affected, the union said.

And according to Unite, 200 members of staff across the UK have now been they no longer have jobs and their branch will be shutting.

Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said the loss of more banks will be “painful” for high streets.

He added: "Unite is angered that another 200 staff have today been told that their job will be cut due to their branch shutting.

"Lloyds Banking Group's rationale for branch closures is the claimed customer preference towards the use of technology across banking.

"However this simply doesn't ring true when it's clear that many customers still value the face to face engagement with experienced and knowledgeable bank staff.

"The industry must halt these endless branch closure programs and open their eyes to what these closures are doing to rural communities, their disabled customers and the small business customers who depend on access to a local branch."

A Lloyds spokesman said the group's retail division was cutting 325 jobs as part of previously announced reductions under a management restructuring, while 96 new roles will be created.

The 100 branches will close between July and October, part of some 200 closures announced last summer.

"These branch closures - previously announced in July 2016 - are in response to changing customer behaviour, and the reduced number of transactions being made in branches," said the spokesman.

"Our branches will continue to play a vital role in our multi-channel approach to meeting the full range of customer needs, and we expect to continue to have the biggest branch network in the UK.

"As we continue to make investment in our network, we will further expand the mobile branch fleet across Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank, with the addition of nine new mobile branches. This will provide continuity of services in some of those areas affected by branch closures, alongside other ways to access banking locally."

Lloyds said all those affected were briefed on their positions on Wednesday morning, and that unions were consulted in advance.

The banking group's spokesman added: "The group's policy is always to use natural turnover and to redeploy employees wherever possible. Where it is necessary for employees to leave the company, wherever possible, this is achieved through offering voluntary redundancy. Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort."

woman saved granddaughter's life by dousing flames

International correspondent(wp):

A teenager was saved after the St Petersburg train attack by her grandmother who extinguished her burning hair, it emerged today.

Alexandra Zyablitskaya, 15, was knocked unconscious by the blast which ripped through the carriage in Russia’s second city on Monday, killing 14 people and injuring 68 more.

Alexandra, a talented artist from the city of Barnaul, had been visiting graphic designers at the time.

Her grandmother, Vera, 58, told reporters she first feared her granddaughter had been killed.

She said: “We entered the carriage, and a few seconds later there was an explosion. I was thrown away from her by the blast.

"When I finally found her, Sasha (Alexandra) showed no sign of life. Her hair was burning, mine was too. I extinguished the flames as well as I could. 

“After a few minutes my granddaughter finally responded. I closed her eyes with my hands so that she would not see what was happening close by.”

The pair managed to climb from the wreckage amid dying victims after the driver took the train to the next station in order to make evacuation easier.

Vera added: “Now I understand that we managed to survive only because we were sitting down when the blast came. Those who were standing in the carriage were killed.”

The teenager suffered concussion and burns on her arm.

The blast occurred at around 2.30pm local time, after the train had left  Sennaya Ploshchad station in the centre of St Petersburg. 

Russian investigators suspect former sushi chef, Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, 22, of being the suicide bomber.

Screaming woman dragged to ground and sexually assaulted in terrifying attack in Stockwell

Crime reporter(wp/es):

 A young woman was dragged to the ground and sexually assaulted in a terrifying attack in south London.

The attacker fled the scene after the victim began screaming for help, alerting people nearby to what was happening.

The woman, aged in her 20s, was pulled to the floor and attacked outside a block of flats on Binfield Road in Stockwell in the early hours of Sunday morning.

She was set upon at around 4am before the attacker fled to Stockwell Tube station.

Specialist police are now supporting the victim as officers continue to investigate and appeal for witnesses and information.

DS Steve Elliott said police believe a number of people are thought to have been nearby at the time of the assault, which happened outside Strudwick Court.

He said: “We are urgently seeking to speak to any person who may have information in relation to this incident, or the identity of the assailant."

The suspect is described as a man around 5ft 5ins tall, tanned or “dark-skinned European” with dark hair.

Police said he is thought to be aged in his late 20s.

No one has yet been arrested.