29/10/2009

Other News In Brief

Death Drive 'Unlicensed'

A convicted drink driver who has never held a driving licence has admitted causing the death of a young mother in a car crash in Lanarkshire. Stacey Muldoon, 23, was a passenger in a car driven by Robert Park which hit a lamppost in Larkhall in July last year. A court heard Park, 22, was more than twice the legal alcohol limit. He will be sentenced next month.

Mum's Swine Flu Condition 'Stable'

A new mother airlifted from Northern Ireland to London after contracting swine flu is now in a stable condition. The 36-year-old woman was diagnosed with the virus shortly after giving birth at the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen last week. She was then moved to Craigavon Area Hospital, where the diagnoses was confirmed. A spokesperson for the Southern Health Trust said the decision was made to transfer the patient to Royal Brompton Hospital in London last Friday. Although Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust declined to comment on the treatment the woman is receiving, a spokesman said her condition was stable.

Hot & Bothered On Climate

The National Beef Association (NBA) is appalled at the simplicity of well publicised, pre-Copenhagen conference analysis, which concentrates on methane reduction in the livestock sector and ignores much wider problems caused by the rapidly expanding global economy, and the daily encouragement given to consumers to raise the tempo of their every day demands. "If the challenges raised by climate change are to be conquered, citizens of the UK, Europe, and the developing world too, will have to address much more than meat eating and make, hugely uncomfortable decisions on the consumption of other, everyday products, they currently take for granted," explained NBA Director, Kim Haywood.

'Planning' For Climate Change

A campaign is being launched in Parliament to persuade the government to 'put climate change at the heart of the English planning system'. A cross-sector coalition of organisations – including leading planners and countryside and environmental organisations - has drawn up draft planning guidance which would transform the system's ability to meet the challenge of tackling climate change. The coalition, which has been brought together by Friends of the Earth and the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), has made detailed suggestions for improving the planning process by making it fairer and ensuring that it plays its part in slashing carbon emissions and meeting the targets set out in the Climate Change Act.

(BMcC/KMcA)

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