Man Pleads Guilty After Father And Son Killed On M62

A man has pleaded guilty to killing a father and son after his car smashed into theirs on the M62. Imran Hussain, 32, of Como Avenue, Bradford pleaded guilty today, Monday 17 November 2008, to of two counts of death by dangerous driving, and driving with excess alcohol. Gary Proctor, 47, and his 16-year-old son James were on their way to Manchester Airport for a dream family holiday to America in the early hours of Sunday 3 August 2008 when Hussain's car collided with theirs. They were rushed to hospital, but both died later that day from their injuries. Catherine Proctor, Gary's wife and James' mum, was also the car at the time, but survived the collision. Hussain is due to be sentenced on 8 December 2008.

£6m Seized From Criminals To Boost Policing

Police forces across England and Wales are to receive a £6million cash boost from assets seized from criminals, the Home Office announced today. Criminal assets confiscated by police forces and other asset recovery agencies between April and June 2008 totalled £28.6 million, £14.3m of which is to be shared between police, prosecutors and courts. A total of £5.97million will be given to police forces in England and Wales, compared with £3.71million paid out in the same quarter last year. Since the Proceeds of Crime Act came into effect in 2003, £497million has been seized. An incentive scheme introduced in 2006 allows the police and recovery agencies to retain half of all cash they seize from criminals.

I-Balling The Enemy

Troops will be able to get an eye on the enemy with the development of new I-Ball technology. The concept was born from a proposal submitted to the Ministry of Defence's Competition of Ideas in 2007 and is being developed by Edinburgh-based company, Dreampact Ltd. If successful the I-Ball could provide a tool for troops to see into areas of the battlefield before they have to risk their lives. It is a highly-portable, wireless, projectile camera that provides 360-degree video coverage even in flight after being thrown. This gives soldiers a steady picture and easy to see high-value, high-quality images in realtime video. The ball could be fired from a grenade launcher or thrown into a room to give troops in theatre vital information of who - or what - is on the ground.

New Opportunities For Industry And Business Scientists

A multi-million pound initiative to help universities and research institutions fill skills gaps with scientists who have proven track records in industry and business was announced today by Research Councils UK (RCUK) with support from Science Minister Lord Drayson. Funding of up to £5million is being made available to recruit highly qualified people into a number of senior level research and technology-transfer posts in universities and research institutions across the UK. The Skills Gap Awards will apply to a range of sectors from which it has traditionally been hard to recruit. The initiative, to be administrated via the Medical Research Council (MRC), is aimed at talented individuals currently working in the private sector who are looking to switch to a career in the academic sector.