Man Found Guilty Of Boxer Death

A man has been found guilty of the murder of a former champion boxer. Kanyata Mulenga, 33, of Putney was today found guilty of the murder of James Oyebola, 46, at the Chateau 6 nightclub in Fulham. He denied the charges. The 46-year-old was shot in the neck when he asked a group to stop smoking, in July 2007, three weeks after the smoking ban came into affect in England. Mr Oyebola - a former British heaveyweight boxing champion died four days after the attack. Last month two men - Rene McKoy, 20, of Battersea and Dean Francis, 24 - had murder charges against them dropped. Cyle Carth, 18, of Wimbledon, south-west London, who also faced murder charges, has had the charges dropped. He is due to face a separate trial over Mr Oyebola’s death.

School Cook Found Dead

The body of a woman has been found in a freezer at a school where she worked, 15 hours after she was reported missing. Lind Gent, 53, was found at South Benfleet Primary School, where she was employed as a cook, on Saturday 27 September. Initial post mortem reports failed to establish a cause of death, though it is not thought her death was suspicious. Mrs Gent was employed at the school since the late 1980s. Staff and children were said to be "devastated" at the news.

Gas Leak At Outdoor Activity Centre

More than 100 people have been evacuated from a Denbighshire outdoor education centre following a gas leak. The evacuees of the Colomendy centre at Loggerheads - two schools from Italy and London - spent the night at Howell's school near Denbigh, following the 3,000-litre gas cylinder leak. The damaged tank was one of six at the centre which were being emptied by Calor Gas today. There were no injuries,and the area has been made safe.

New Proposals To Tackle Rural Housing Shortages

New powers to help keep homes affordable for communities in rural areas were set out today as Housing Minister Iain Wright launched two consultations. Under the proposed new powers, rural communities with severe housing shortages could be designated as protected areas ensuring affordable housing is retained for local families. The new proposals would also enable all affordable housing providers in these protected areas to retain a share in new shared ownership homes, or have the first option to buy back such properties, ensuring they remain available for future families in the local community.

Green Light For New Rail Links

The go ahead for a new, fast train service between North and South Wales has been announced by Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones. The new return service between Holyhead and Cardiff is intended to be in operation from December 2008, and is expected to reduce existing train travel times between north and south Wales by at least 30 minutes. Mr Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, has also confirmed Welsh Assembly Government support for a new half hourly rail service linking Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff from May 2009. The Minister said that the new North-South service means that people travelling from Bangor to Cardiff and vice versa would be able to do so in under four hours.

(JM)