27/11/2009

Other News In Brief

Hacker Appeal Fails

The Home Secretary has rejected a 'final' appeal for him to block the extradition of Gary McKinnon to the US on computer hacking charges. Alan Johnson said he had considered demands for him to intervene in the case but had decided the extradition would not breach Mr McKinnon's human rights. The 43-year-old, from Wood Green in north London, is accused of breaking into the Pentagon's computer system but said he was just seeking UFO evidence. Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, was given hope last month when the Home Secretary agreed to study new medical evidence before deciding on his extradition to the US. Mr Johnson's deliberations came after the High Court refused Mr McKinnon permission to appeal to the Supreme Court against his removal to America.

Bridge Too Far

It has emerged that some foolhardy motorists have been risking their lives by removing safety barriers to drive across a flood-battered Cumbrian bridge in danger of collapse after the floods. The drivers of two vans and a car were caught on CCTV getting out of their vehicles, removing barriers and warning signs, then driving across the Calva Bridge in Workington - which engineers have declared unsafe. The bridge is a mile downstream from Northside Bridge which collapsed taking the life of Pc Bill Barker last Friday. The only road bridge over the River Derwent connecting north and south Workington means a detour of 10 miles with some instead risking crossing the bridge.

Belfast 'MASH' To Close

The closure of a military hospital unit in Northern Ireland has been announced by the government. The news came as the Junior Defence Minister Kevan Jones said the Duke of Connaught military hospital facility based at Musgrave Park Hospital, south Belfast, would shut by April next year. In a Commons written statement, Mr Jones said a commercial contract with an independent service provider represented the "most effective and efficient" means of providing secondary healthcare for regular military personnel. The move comes after a review of the number of military bases in Northern Ireland as part of the peace process. The Duke of Connaught Unit replaced the Royal Army Medical Corps wards during the defence cuts of the 1990s which ironically came soon after an IRA bomb in 1991 killed one member of the RAMC Philip Arthur Cross and one member of the RCT, Craig Pantry and injured nine members of the Army Medical Services and a five-year-old girl and a four-month-old baby.

Lovefilm Success

Online DVD rental service Lovefilm has been named company of the year at the business world's equivalent of the Oscars. Dragons Den star Theo Paphitis and Phones 4U founder John Caudwell were among the judges at the 11th annual Growing Business Awards in London. Accepting the award, Chief Executive Simon Calver said the award honoured his 470-strong workforce's "passion" for growth, the business and the customers. The subscription service has captured 40% of the UK DVD rental market since it launched in 2003.

(BMcC/KMcA)

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