Wolverhampton shooting: Two arrests as boy, 6, hurt

Crime reporter(wp/bbc):::

Two people have been arrested after a six-year-old boy was injured when shots were fired at a house.

The boy is thought to have been inside the property in Wolverhampton when it was targeted with a shotgun shortly before 16:00 BST.

He sustained non life-threatening injuries to his back and hand in the shooting on Ashbourne Road in the Eastfield area of the city.

A boy, 17, and a 24-year-old man have been held on suspicion of wounding.

West Midlands Police described the shooting as a "hugely reckless act".

A resident, who asked not to be named, said three masked offenders ran across a pedestrianised area at the end of Ashbourne Road into Deans Road and fled on foot.

'Reckless act'

The witness said: "I heard two loud bangs and then three guys wearing balaclavas came into the street and I saw one of them put a gun into a bag.

"I think two of them were wearing all white. They had what looked like a dark sports bag and they put the gun in that, then ran off."

Det Insp Rod Rose said: "This was a shocking incident where someone has opened fire with a shotgun in the middle of the day.

"The motive of this attack is not clear at this stage, but it's clearly a hugely reckless act."

Banks must copy TSB and give money back to victims of fraud

Banking&Finance(wp/es):::

Crooks snatched a staggering £1.2 billion from our bank accounts last year through a series of frauds.

Roughly two thirds was essentially theft, with thieves taking money using stolen plastic cards, for instance.

When you become a victim of theft, the bank repays the money into your account.

But if you become a fraud victim by inadvertently transferring your hard-earned into a crook’s account, your bank is likely to say, “Tough, that’s your fault.”

Many people have lost tens of thousands through what is known as push-payment fraud. 

That’s when smooth-talking crooks used sophisticated scams such as spoof phone numbers to trick you into thinking you’re being contacted by your bank or sometimes the police.

They usually have details about your account to increase the illusion that they’re legitimate and they use persuasive language to trick you into thinking you need to act quickly.

The clever pitch they use is that your account is under attack from fraudsters so you need to shift your money into a safe account at once.

But the callers are fraudsters themselves and the “safe account” is one that the crooks have set up.

Once you transfer your savings into it, the rogues will act quickly and move it on until it disappears into their treacherous pockets.

If you become a victim of the scam, most banks come down hard and say it’s your fault for not acting responsibly.

But victims point out that the fraud is so convincing that they felt they were given no option.

The situation has left many people out of pocket and the financial authorities unhappy with the banks’ treatment of victims.

From the end of next month, 28 May, it’s forcing banks to start playing fairer with customers and refund them unless they were “grossly negligent” or “ignored” a bank’s warnings about the scam.

However, the latter is a get-out clause for banks which could claim that a victim ignored an email or letter from the bank warning about the fraud. 

Critics have been calling for some time for the banks to bite the bullet and protect customers by refunding innocent victims who get duped by the sophisticated scam.

The good news is that one of the high street giants has taken notice and from this week TSB has promised to refund anyone who has lost money because of the scam, although it hasn’t gone as far as offering to help past victims.

“All banks must now follow TSB’s lead and ensure that their own customers are not left paying for the cost of this crime,” said Jenny Ross, Which? Money editor. “Banks are far better placed to spot and prevent scams than their customers.”

Girl, 16, quizzed by police after pupils fall ill from eating hash cakes at London school

Pushpita,Kidz reporter(wp/es):::

Three pupils were taken to hospital after reportedly eating cannabis cakes at a London school.

A 16-year-old girl reportedly baked the brownies at home before taking them to Shirley High School in Croydon, south London, according to the Sun newspaper.

Emergency services said they were called at around 3pm on Friday March 29 after "a number of students reported feeling unwell".

The Sun reported that police officers had spoken to the girl, who is unlikely to be expelled.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "Police were called at 14.56hrs on 29 March to a school in Shirley Church Road, Croydon, after a number of students reported feeling unwell.

"Officers attended with LAS (London Ambulance Service).

"Three pupils have been taken to hospital. None are in life-threatening condition."

The force has made no arrests and is "working to trace a number of other pupils", it added.

Shirley High School Performing Arts College was not immediately available for comment.

The co-educational comprehensive school has just over 1,000 students and first opened in 1954, according to its website.

It was awarded specialist status as a performing arts college, it added.

Four arrested after man knifed to death in broad daylight

Crime reporter(wp/es):::
Four people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed to death in broad daylight in north east London. 

The victim, aged in his 30s, was found with a stab injury in Stoke Newington on Wednesday evening. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Police said one woman, aged 33, and three men, aged 67, 62 and 58, were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of murder. 

Police and paramedics were called to the incident on Matthias Road shortly before 6pm. 

Officers believe the victim may have been attacked in nearby Cowper Road and crime scenes remain in place at both locations.

Police believe they know the identity of the deceased and next of kin have been informed. 

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine said: “This attack took place in the early evening, in a residential street and in broad daylight. 

“There would have been people around and I need those people to call police. 

“Whatever you saw, whether the fatal assault, the events leading up to it or the aftermath, it is vitally important that you call us. It is only by people working with police that we can make London safe and your call may be vital in helping us understand how a young man came to be brutally killed.”

Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to call the incident room on 0208 345 3865 or contact via Twitter @MetCC. Quote CAD 5783/17APR.

April's Pink Moon brings hopes of royal baby birth over Easter

Pic-April's full moon has some hoping it could mean the birth of the royal baby by prince haryy &his wife  over Easter./wp
Royal correspondent(wp/es):::

April’s Pink Moon, to appear in the skies this weekend, has some hopeful the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby will be born over Easter. 

Meghan and Harry have said their first born is due to arrive in late April or early May. 

The new full moon - which begins on Good Friday and is known as the Pink Moon - is hoped to have an impact on the royal baby’s birth date. 

The name comes not from its colour, but from the pink wildflowers that bloom in the early spring in the US and Canada.

Anecdotal evidence suggests labour can be induced by the lunar cycle and the start of a full moon.

The suggestion is that a full moon's gravitational pull affects the amniotic fluid in the same way it affects the water in the sea and rivers, as well as influencing the levels of the hormone melatonin.

Maternity wards are said to be busier during a full moon, although there is debate in the medical world about whether the moon does encourage women to go into labour.

When the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to Prince George on July 22 2013, it was the day of a full moon.

She went into labour with Princess Charlotte two days before a full moon, but with Prince Louis the moon was only in its first quarter.

The Pink Moon is used to fix the date of Easter, which is always the Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox.

It could be a double celebration if the baby arrives on Easter Sunday, which will also be the Queen’s birthday.

Bookmakers Coral have odds of 2/1 that the baby will be born on his or her great-grandmother the Queen's birthday on April 21 , and 5/1 that the baby will be called Elizabeth if a girl, and 6/1 Diana after Harry's late mother.

The odds are 4/1 that the royal baby will be born sometime between the Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays.

Teachers 'paying for resources out of own money'

Education(wp/bbc):::

One in five teachers is using their own money to buy classroom resources once a week, a survey by the NASUWT suggests.

And 45% of the 4,386 members of the teachers' union surveyed said they had bought essentials such as food or clothing for pupils in the last year.

The survey comes as about 7,000 head teachers in England wrote to parents before the Easter holidays highlighting what they call a "funding crisis".

Ministers say school finances are a priority for the next spending review.

"We are told there is no money for anything, all departmental budgets have been frozen and all the stockrooms are empty," one teacher responded in the study.

"Basic resources are rationed out at the beginning of each term and once they are gone, there is no more unless you purchase them yourself."

Another said: "I've had to purchase small tables, CD player, outdoor provision and storage."

• Schools facing 'financial cliff edge'
• 'Worsening child poverty harms learning'

One teacher said: "Small amounts do add up during the year, all departments are feeling the pinch and books/texts (English GCSE included) are now shared for reading in lessons and not allowed home as they used to be.

"We cannot afford for items to be lost - so we deprive students of the chance for self-directed study for those who are motivated."

Another commented: "Last time my lesson was observed, by a senior leader, I was graded low for lack of relevant resources - despite having spent £20 on stuff.

"The expectation is we purchase things ourselves as our job is a vocation! I'm fed up of hearing this over and over again. It's never enough and am ready to leave."

Pupils in need

The NASUWT survey, which is published ahead of the union's annual conference in Belfast over the Easter weekend, covers both primary and secondary schools and also found that teachers were paying for basic necessities such as food, clothing and toiletries for pupils.

One teacher said: "The worst thing to experience as a teacher is watching a hungry child who is in receipt of free school meals, having to stand and watch their friends eat breakfast before school or have snacks at morning break when they are hungry.

"Typically, I have used my credit on the prepayment system to give children cheese on toast or a hot drink, or any other hot food."

Another said: "I have paid for and supplied materials to resole or repair shoes. Pupils regularly come without the basics such as a pencil to write with."

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said that teachers were "shouldering financial burdens to support their pupils".

"Teachers care deeply about the pupils they teach and will go to great lengths to ensure their needs are being met," she said.

"Teachers once again are being left to pick up the pieces of failed education, social and economic policies."

But children's minister Nadhim Zahawi said there was "more money going into our schools than ever before".

"However, we recognise the budgeting challenges schools face and have introduced a wide range of practical support to help schools and head teachers make the most of every pound on non-staff costs."

Tackling disadvantage was a "priority for this government", he added, which was why "we are making sure that more than a million of the most disadvantaged children are also accessing free school meals throughout their education".

In his budget in October last year, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that schools in England would receive a one-off £400m - on average, £10,000 per primary school and £50,000 per secondary school - to buy "that extra bit of kit".

However, his words provoked an angry response among some teachers and parents on social media, who said he was out of touch.

Woman killed after shots fired in Londonderry riot

Crime reporter(wp/reuters):::

A woman was killed after shots were fired during rioting in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry on Thursday that saw police attacked by petrol bombs and other missiles.

After earlier appealing for calm when a number of shots were fired in the Irish nationalist Creggan area of the city, police confirmed shortly after midnight that the 29-year-old woman had died.

“We are treating this as a terrorist incident and we have launched a murder enquiry,” Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said in a statement.

A local journalist at the scene, Leona O’Neill, wrote on Twitter that after the woman was hit and fell beside a police Land Rover, officers rushed her to hospital, where she died.

O’Neill had earlier posted videos of police vehicles being pelted with what she said were dozens of petrol bombs, bricks, bottles and fireworks. The videos showed two vehicles were left in the middle of the street and lit on fire.

The rioting was in response to a house search that a large number of officers conducted in the area, she said.

The detonation of a large car bomb outside a courthouse in Londonderry in January highlighted the threat still posed by militant groups opposed to a 1998 peace deal that largely ended three decades of violence in the British-run province. No one was injured in the blast.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a congressional delegation to the city earlier on Thursday, as part of a trip to show support for the peace agreement politicians in Washington helped to broker.

The leaders of Northern Ireland’s two largest political parties, the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party and pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), both condemned the killing.

“Those who brought guns onto our streets in the 70s, 80s & 90s were wrong. It is equally wrong in 2019. No one wants to go back,” the DUP’s Arlene Foster said on Twitter.