Other News In Brief

'Arrests' Over Chinese Murder

Detectives investigating the deaths of two Chinese graduates in Newcastle have arrested three men on suspicion of their murder. Xi Zhou and her boyfriend Zhen Xing Yang, both aged 25, were found murdered in their flat in Croydon Road, Newcastle. Their mutilated bodies were discovered in the ground floor flat on 9 August. All those arrested are believed to be Chinese nationals. A further 14 people were also arrested for either conspiracy to commit burglary or for immigration offences. Friends found the couple dead in separate bedrooms of their home.

Search For New Prison Sites

The Scottish prison Service (SPS) is exploring new sites to replace prisons built in the early 1900's in Greenock and Inverness. A recent review deemed facilities at both HMP Greenock and HMP Inverness "unfit". The SPS has ruled out redevelopment of the prisons. HMO Greenock was built in 1910 for 255 but holds 335 prisoners while HMP Inverness was built in 1902 for 130 but holds 146 prisoners. Although both prisons exceed capacity the SPS said the new prisons would only match current accommodation limits. SPS said it could be "some time" before deals were agreed for the new sites.

JCB Jobs At Risk

Up to 90 jobs are at risk at a Staffordshire factory, as a result of the credit crunch. Factories of digger-maker JCB, in Cheadle, Uttoxer and Rugeley, would be affected, the company said. In a statement the company said: "We are now seeing a reduced production volumes which has an impact on production manning levels. As a result we have to take some difficult actions in the short term to ensure the business remains lean, efficient and competitive. Unfortunately, these actions are expected to include some redeployment of employees and some redundancies." A 30-day consultation period began on Monday.

Job Advisers To Help Parents Into Work

A new pilot aimed at helping the parents of children in poverty get into work, was launched in ten Local Authorities today. Parents will have access to Jobcentre Plus personal advisers in Children's Centres to help them access work focussed services. The pilot which will run in 30 children's centres from January 2009, was announced today by ministers, Kitty Ussher, Beverley Hughes and Stephen Timms. As well as testing the impact of putting a full time Jobcentre Plus Personal Adviser into children's centres across ten Local Authorities, the pilot will also test what other support may help parents move into employment. The pilot will complement the existing initiative of providing tax credits advice through Children's Centres, which is being expanded following a successful pilot earlier in the year.

(JM)