Man, 50, seriously injured in late-night Trafalgar Square attack

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man is in a critical condition after being attacked by at least two men in a late-night assault in Trafalgar Square.

The man, aged 50, was assaulted outside the National Gallery in the early hours of Saturday, leaving him with serious injuries.

No weapons are believed to have been involved and no arrests have been made. The man is still in hospital.

Police are appealing for witnesses and information over the attack.

A spokesman for the Met Police said officers were called at about 12.40am on Saturday to reports that a man had collapsed after being assaulted.

“London Ambulance Service attended and treated the man, aged 50, before taking him to hospital - he remains there in a critical but stable condition.

“Enquiries are underway to trace and inform next of kin,” police said.

Detectives are keen to trace anyone who was in the area at the time and witnessed the incident, especially if they filmed or took photos of the attack or the period immediately before or afterwards.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Westminster CID on 07500 766462 or on 101, or to tweet information to @MetCC.

To give information anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestopprs-uk.org.

There have been no arrests at this stage and enquiries continue.

Teenager dies after Liverpool shooting

Crime reporter(wp):

An 18-year-old man has died after being shot in Liverpool. 

Merseyside police said armed officers and the ambulance service were called after the teenager was found injured in Toxteth at about 8.30pm on Friday. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Ch Insp Keith McLachlan said the investigation was in its early stages and urged anyone who saw the incident or suspicious activity in the area to contact the police. 

“Any information may be vital to finding those responsible and bringing them to justice,” he said. 

“We are relentless in pursuing those who choose to bring firearms on to the streets of Merseyside. I am sure local people will be appalled that this has taken place in daylight hours. 

“Information from the community will always be acted on, so help us remove those responsible and their weapons from the streets.”

Police said the teenager’s family had been informed and a postmortem examination was due to take place.

It was the third gun attack in Merseyside this week: in Fazakerley, a 43-year-old man was shot in the chest, and in Seaforth, a 27-year-old man was shot in the arms and leg. Both attacks happened within 25 minutes of each other on Thursday.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Experimental ovarian cancer treatment looks 'very promising', researchers say

Health reporter(wp):

An experimental new treatment for ovarian cancer led to a dramatic shrinking of tumors in a small, early-phase study.

Researchers were testing a drug, known as ONX-0801, for safety, but found that tumors in half of the 15 women studied shrank during the trial, a response they called, “highly unusual” and “very promising”.

The drug mimics folic acid to attack ovarian cancer cells. It is part of a brand new class of drugs discovered at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and tested with the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The results were presented at the world’s largest cancer conference, the American Society of Clinical Oncologists, in Chicago.

Researchers believe the drug could hold promise for women whose ovarian cancer has stopped responding to traditional treatment. Additionally, because the drug specifically targeted cancer cells, it did not show the side effects typically associated with chemotherapy such as infections, diarrhoea, nerve damage and hair loss.

“The results we have seen in this trial are very promising,” said Dr Udai Banerji, the leader of the study and deputy director of the drug development unit at the Institute of Cancer Research. “It is rare to see such clear evidence of reproducible responses in these early stages of drug development.”

Banerji said the drug could add “upward of six months to lives of patients with minimal side effects”.

“However,” he cautioned, “These trials need to be done. When eventually used early in the disease, the impact on survival may be better, we don’t know that yet.”

Other experts also cautioned against reading into the results. “Shrinkage of tumors is important, but as the authors point out, that is not the same as producing the hoped-for extension of survival for women with ovarian cancer,” said professor Michel Coleman, professor of epidemiology and vital statistics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

“The excitement of the investigators is completely understandable, but one should be cautious about interpreting this result as a breakthrough for ovarian cancer patients until data on longer-term outcomes are available,” he said.

The five-year survival rate for all ovarian cancers is 45%, according to the American Cancer Society. Between 2008 and 2010 in England, 36% of the more than 14,000 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer died in the first year. More than 1,600 died in the first month, according to Pubic Health England.

Teenager stabbed to death in south London

Crime reporter(wp):

A teenager has been stabbed to death in south London, the Metropolitan police have said.

Officers were called to an address in Peckham at about 11.15pm on Friday, where an injured boy was found.

The victim, believed to be 17, was given first aid but was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said no arrests had been made in relation to the incident.

The stabbing is the 11th teenage homicide in the capital since the start of the year. The teenager is the eighth to die after being stabbed. 

The boy’s next of kin have been informed but he has not yet been formally identified.

Speaking to the WT on Saturday morning, Guray Ali, who manages the Crusty Loaf bakery near the scene of the stabbing, said: “They [police] have been out there all night. There are still police cars all here. It was a young boy and it happened quite close to where he lives.

“It’s terrible really. The whole community are talking about it and how bad it is. Everyone’s quite shocked.”

Joshua, a local resident, told the newspaper the teenager had died at the scene. “My neighbour said he heard screaming and shouting around the time it happened too,” he said.

Last month, Bilal Kargbo, 26, was stabbed to death in nearby Peckham Rye after a fight broke out on the high street.

In May, the Met launched a clampdown on knife crime in the capital after a spate of high-profile murders and stabbings.

The force increased stop and search patrols at knife crime hotspots and, in a single week, arrested more than 50 people a day for knife crime offences.

Commuter chaos as torrential rain causes havoc across capital

Pic:capital london under swathes of water
Staff reporter(wp/es):

Commuters face rush hour chaos with the capital being battered by torrential rain and thunder storms tonight.

Gants Hill tube station in east London was closed at 4pm after the first wave of torrential downpours, while flooding at Manor Park station is causing serious delays.

There are also severe delays on the Victoria Underground after an unrelated incident.

Londoners have reported disruption across the capital, with the Met Office having issued a weather warning on Thursday.

Lightning and hail is also expected and drivers have been warned to be cautious on London's roads.

The Blackwell Tunnel has also flooded, with pictures emerging on social media of huge queues and drivers warned to avoid the area.

The first of the downpours arrived at about 3pm on Friday, with the rain set to continue into the night.

London Fire Brigade tweeted that it had received more than 60 calls because of flooding by 5.20pm.

Transport for London has warned people to stay from Stratford station due to the flooding at Manor Park.

Flooding has also been reported in south west London, with Sutton Council tweeting a photo of Wallington High Street under swathes of water.

Forecaster John West told the WT on Thursday: “In front of this weather front there are heavy showers and even a risk of thunder storms and because of this the Met Office has issued a weather warning for rain for London.

“There is a risk of torrential downpours on Friday afternoon and evening.”

The wet weather comes after temperatures soared to almost 30 Celsius in London this week, with many taking to London's parks to bask in the glorious sunshine.

The weather warning is in place until late on Friday night.

No 10 defends May not signing letter opposing US on Paris climate deal

Pic: No 10 said Theresa May robustly expressed her disappointment in a phone call with Donald Trump.
Political reporter(wp):

Downing Street has defended Theresa May not signing up to a joint declaration by Germany, France and Italy in opposition to Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord by stressing that other countries also chose a different path.

A source pointed out that Japan and Canada had not signed up to the letter and said the prime minister’s approach was “consistent as to how we approach dealings with international leaders”. 

They said May first wanted to speak to the US president and claimed she was robust in her disappointment during a phone call.

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, earlier accused May of a “dereliction of duty to our country and our planet” for failing to issue a stronger condemnation.

He told an election rally in York: “Given the chance to present a united front with our international partners, she has instead opted for silence and subservience to Donald Trump.”

A Downing Street spokesperson said Trump had called May to discuss the decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement and said the door remained open to future US involvement in the deal.

“She [May] said the Paris agreement provides the right global framework for protecting the prosperity and security of future generations, while keeping energy affordable and secure for our citizens and businesses,” the spokesperson said.

“The president made clear that the door remains open to future US involvement in the agreement.”

They said the pair had also agreed on the importance of continued cooperation on wider energy issues. 

The former Labour leader Ed Miliband said BBC Radio’s World at One that May was being “weak and feeble and spineless” for not being willing to condemn the US president.

When it was put to him that May has said she expressed disappointment about Trump’s decision, Miliband replied: “Disappointment is when your football team loses a match. It is not when somebody makes a devastating decision like this. America is one of the two largest emitters in the world, along with China. This decision was backed by every country in the world apart from Syria, which is in the middle of a civil war, and Nicaragua, which wanted us to go further. American leadership was so important to this.”

Large knife seized and two arrested after police chase in north London

Crime reporter(wp/es):

Two men were arrested and a large knife was seized following a police chase involving a Mercedes in north London.

Officers traced the reportedly stolen car before the suspects made off on foot in Belfast Road, near Stoke Newington station, on Sunday.

The driver was spotted entering a building on the street and he and another man was arrested at the scene.

Dramatic pictures from the incident show a smashed up dark blue Mercedes with a punctured tyre.

Police released an image of the weapon seized, which they say is a 13-inch blade.

Hackney Police said on Twitter that the knife was recovered “following a vehicle pursuit and foot chase.”

The pair were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, criminal damage, failing to stop and possession of an offensive weapon.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “They were taken to an east London police station where they remain in custody.”

“Enquiries continue.”