Child Chokes On Lolly

A two-year-old boy from Manchester has choked to death after a lollipop sweet got lodged in his throat. Just days after a 10-year-old in Northern Ireland died while using a party balloon, Francis Dean, from Newton Heath, was taken to hospital when the sweet got stuck, but died in the ambulance. His brother Michael, 13, had spotted Francis in distress and tried to take the lolly out of Francis's mouth, but the stick came away in his hand. Parents David and Dawn Dean say they are "absolutely devastated" and want clearer warnings on the sweets.

Wind Farm Leaflet 'Banned'

A wind farm developer in Shetland must scrap an advert after it was found to be "misleading". The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld four complaints against a mailout which was published earlier in the year by Viking Energy. The leaflet detailed the joint venture plans between the Shetland community and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to build a 150-turbine, 540MW wind farm on the island which was submitted to the Scottish government in May. The watchdog found claims that up to £30m could go into the island economy per year and £18m could be earned by the public purse, were not sufficiently stated as estimates. The ASA also found claims that 50% of the profits would stay in the Shetland Community to be wrong as 5% included in that figure would go to four local shareholders.

Justice D'Hondt Selection Rejected

Northern Ireland's future Justice Minister will not be selected under current Assembly rules, MLAs decided last night. An SDLP motion at Stormont to implement the D'Hondt system was defeated during ten hours of debate on the devolution of policing and justice powers. D'Hondt apportions ministerial portfolios to parties in accordance with their representation in the Assembly. MLAs discussed the legal framework for the establishment of a local justice ministry throughout yesterday evening, however, a timescale for devolution was not decided.

Mounting Rescues

Members of a Welsh mountain rescue team say the number of call-outs they will handle this year will almost double. Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue members, who cover part of Snowdonia, have attended 114 incidents so far in 2009. That compares to an annual average of 65, and they say it reflects increasing numbers of climbers and walkers. But they also warned that instead of tackling problems themselves, people often unnecessarily used their mobile phone to call emergency services. Following another busy weekend, an official told the BBC that many of the cases involved no injuries, and especially those over the past few days.

Broadcaster Returns To The Jungle

ITV Studios has awarded broadcast solutions company Gearhouse Broadcast the contract for I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here series 9. Gearhouse Broadcast will provide ITV Studios with technical and broadcast facilities for series 9 of the production using flyaway facilities which will create a large Production gallery, an MCR area, a CCU area, a VTR/EVS Room, two big Audio Control rooms and a Comms area. The programme is to be shown later this month.

Federation Attacks Rents

The National Housing Federation has criticised the government's decision to call on housing associations to reduce rents by 0.9% in 2010/11 to reflect the current bout of deflation as reflected in the Retail Price Index. The Federation, which had called for a rent freeze, said the decision strikes the wrong balance between the needs of current and future tenants, and the capacity of the housing associations to deliver affordable homes and community services. It said the decision would deliver a very small short-term benefit to a minority of tenants – as not all would see a benefit due to rent restructuring – while causing substantial long-term damage to the capacity of the sector.

(BMcC/KMcA)