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Man killed in river crash named

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 25 Januari 2013 | 19.12

25 January 2013 Last updated at 05:45 ET

A man killed when two cars carrying members of the same family crashed into a Derbyshire river has been named.

David Cox, who worked at the BBC in Salford, skidded off a bridlepath north of the A6 in Buxton.

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He came banging on the door saying 'There's been an accident, Daddy is trapped"

End Quote Victoria Bamber Neighbour

His wife's car went into the River Wye about five minutes later. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue said the "weather certainly contributed".

Mr Cox's daughter, who was in the car with him, escaped, as did his wife and son from the other car.

The first crash happened at about 08:30 GMT, when 42-year-old Mr Cox's Toyota Aygo is believed to have slid on an area of snow or ice while driving his daughter to school.

After the car went into the river, his 11-year-old daughter Tess managed to escape but her father remained trapped.

Minutes later, Ruth Cox's Toyota Rav4 is believed to have slipped on the same part of the road, before it plunged into the river.

The 39-year-old mother and her son Ioan, nine, were both able to get out of the vehicle and swim to safety, Derbyshire Police said.

'Shouting for help'

The family, from nearby Blackwell Mill, were treated at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester, where Mr Cox later died. Mrs Cox and the two children have since been discharged.

It is believed that Mr Cox was trapped for about 40 minutes.

Neighbour Victoria Bamber, 32, said his son Ioan ran down the country lane shouting for help.

She said: "He came banging on the door saying 'There's been an accident, Daddy is trapped'.

"When I got to the scene, I could only see the silver 4x4 upside down in the water and Ruth was desperately trying to find David."

She said she waded into the freezing cold water to try to help Mr Cox and, after locals managed to drag him out, emergency services personnel began resuscitation attempts on the riverbank.

Both cars were recovered from the scene of the accident, which is around half a mile from the family's home.

Mr Cox, who had been at the BBC since May 2010, was a member of the Future Media team at Salford, and had worked on the red button service during the Olympics.

Roux Joubert, head of TV and mobile platforms, said: "David was an important member of the team and played a central role in the department.

"He will be sorely missed by everyone here and our thoughts are with his family at this time."

Tim Davie, the BBC's acting director general, said: "We are very sad to learn of David's tragic death.

"He was a popular member of the Future Media team in Salford and had been key to the success of the red button service during the Olympics in the summer.

"Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues here at the BBC at this difficult time."

Derbyshire Police said an investigation is ongoing into the circumstances surrounding the crash, and a file will be prepared for the coroner in due course.


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More snow forecast for parts of UK

25 January 2013 Last updated at 06:09 ET

There are warnings of further snowfall in parts of the UK while heavy rain could bring the threat of flooding.

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for snow, meaning be prepared, across much of Scotland, northern and eastern England and the Midlands.

But rain and melting snow may cause flooding in Wales, Northern Ireland and south-west England at the weekend.

A man who died when his car crashed into a river in Derbyshire has been named as David Cox, 42, from Buxton.

His wife's car crashed into the river five minutes later but she and their son escaped, as did his daughter who was in the car with him. Mr Cox worked for the BBC at its offices in Salford, Greater Manchester.

The fire brigade said the weather "certainly contributed" to the accident near Buxton.

The Met Office warned of up to 10cm (4in) of snow spreading from the west, and said people should be prepared for likely disruption particularly to travel.

It warned that strong winds would also lead to drifting and blizzard-like conditions.

A yellow warning for snow, which means be aware, has been issued for most of the rest of the UK.

The Environment Agency has one flood warning and 27 flood alerts in place.

Milder weather

BBC weather forecaster Steve Cleaton said there was a mixed picture: "When a weather front coming in from the west meets the cold air which has been hovering over the country the rain will turn to snow in Scotland, central and eastern England. But there will be heavy rain in Wales, western England and Northern Ireland."

He said several inches of snow had already been reported in Glasgow and Stirling.

Mr Cleaton said: "The snow will reach the Midlands and south-east England by this evening."

He said temperatures would rise over the next few days and, with the heavy rain in the west, there was the potential for flooding over the weekend in some parts.

In other developments:

The Environment Agency has warned of the risk of minor localised flooding in some areas due to the rapid thaw.

Flood risk manager Phil Rothwell said: "We are closely monitoring the situation and have teams ready to respond to any potential flooding. People should check out if they are in a flood risk area, and sign up to free flood warnings on the Environment Agency website."

The AA said it was gearing up for a busy day on Friday because it had received 9,000 call-outs, including 80 cars stuck in snow, by 14:00 GMT on Thursday.

Head of special operations Darron Burness said: "It's difficult for forecasters to know the extent of the snowfall, so check the local weather and traffic reports before heading out and be prepared for possible disruption.

"Take extra care, particularly on higher ground, and allow extra time for your journey."

Steve Crosthwaite, head of the Highways Agency's national traffic operations centre, said: "We have been working hard to keep motorways and major A-roads running throughout winter, and particularly over the last couple of weeks.

"With another flurry of snow expected, we ask people to remain alert and continue to take care when travelling.

"As always, we ask people to give our winter fleet the space they need to do their job and, during periods of particularly severe weather, to consider delaying their journeys until conditions improve."

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Glasgow wins 'smart city' cash

25 January 2013 Last updated at 06:32 ET Continue reading the main story

CLICKABLE

Traffic

one car driving into the back of another

A more joined up use of CCTV and traffic management will enable authorities to react more quickly to deal with road incidents and traffic congestion.

Crime

Better use of CCTV camera technology will feed back to control centres, with the aim of preventing and reducing anti-social behaviour.

Footfall

Close up of people's feet

Real-time information could allow shoppers to see how busy areas of the city are.

Energy

A room with light and fire on

Weather conditions and energy levels across the city will be monitored. Energy will be stored when demand is low and used when demand is higher.

Transport

Buses in traffic

A smartphone app will allow Glaswegians to get real-time views of traffic levels on roads and up-to-date information on bus and train times.

Reporting problems

Pot hole

A smartphone app will allow people to report issues like pot holes, graffiti or missing bin collections directly to the council with a GPS location.

Glasgow has won a £24m UK government grant intended to make it one of the UK's first smart cities.

It will use the money on projects to demonstrate how a city of the future might work.

They will include better services for Glaswegians, with real-time information about traffic and apps to check that buses and trains are on time.

The council will also create an app for reporting issues such as potholes and missing bin collections.

Other services promised by the council include linking up the CCTV cameras across the city with its traffic management unit in order to identify traffic incidents faster.

It will use analytical software and security cameras to help identify and prevent crime in the city and monitor energy levels to find new ways of providing gas and electricity to poorer areas where fuel poverty is a big issue.

Glasgow will not be the UK's only smart city. Others including Birmingham, Sunderland and London are beginning to roll out technologies to make services work more smartly.

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What is a smart city?

Both old and new cities around the globe are starting to get smarter, joining up services and collecting data in order to improve city life for both government and citizens.

Technology firms such as IBM, Siemens and Cisco are busy touting services that promise to streamline traffic management, rubbish collections and street lights.

Data is seen as key to making cities smarter and a network of sensors aims to connect everything to the network and create new services for citizens.

Alongside the solutions being offered by technology firms are more community-developed apps that use the power of the crowd to, for instance, offer real-time maps of city traffic flow.

Next month the BBC will be running a series of features looking at smart cities around the world.

The grant was offered by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), a body set up by the government in 2007 to stimulate technology-enabled innovation.

Its Future Cities Demonstrator, as the prize is known, is intended to act as a blueprint for other cities.

"Glasgow has some quite extreme challenges - it has the lowest life expectancy of any city in the UK for instance - and the hope is that if we bring together energy, transport, public safety and health it will make it more efficient and a better place to live," said Scott Cain, the TSB's project leader for Future Cities.

All data collected in the project will be available so that other cities can see it.

"The thinking behind it is to have somewhere in the UK where firms can look at the efficiencies, the investments and how you can address the challenges of a city," he added.

Thriving economy

Glasgow was among 30 cities in the UK bidding for the money, with the shortlist including London, Peterborough and Bristol.

Universities and Science Minister David Willetts was in Glasgow to make the announcement.

"With more people than ever before living in our cities, they need to be able to provide people with a better quality of life and a thriving economy," he said.

"From transport systems to energy use and health, this demonstrator will play a key part in the government's industrial strategy and give real insight into how our cities can be shaped in the future," he added.

Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the news.

She said: "Generations of talented Scots have helped cement Glasgow's global reputation for innovation and creativity, and I am delighted the city has won its bid to secure the £24m Future Cities demonstrator."


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Transport strike paralyses Athens

25 January 2013 Last updated at 06:46 ET

Traffic gridlock has paralysed Athens as Greek commuters struggle to work by car, amid a public transport strike.

Early on Friday police stormed a metro train depot, breaking up a workers' sit-in. Police sealed off the entrance.

Other transport workers have joined the striking metro workers in solidarity and a big rally is expected shortly.

The conservative-led government used an emergency law to threaten the strikers with arrest unless they resumed work. The row is over a planned pay cut.

The workers are now into the 10th successive day of strike action that has crippled the underground system. The Athens metro, trams and suburban railway serve more than 1.1 million passengers daily.

The government is using civil mobilisation legislation in a bid to force the workers to end their strike. It has only been invoked nine times since the collapse of Greece's military dictatorship in 1974.

The workers are striking over a public sector unified wage scheme that would see their salaries reduced by up to 25%.

The police operation took place shortly before 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT), with about 100 riot police officers entering the depot where workers had barricaded themselves overnight.

A police spokesman told the BBC three people had been arrested and subsequently released.

PM's tough message
Continue reading the main story

Athens is used to strikes but transport stoppages are the most paralysing of all.

A city of five million depends on its metro, buses and trams. With temperatures falling and taxis overstretched, tempers are fraying.

The anti-austerity voice here still shouts loudly and there is support for the strike. Some see the government's use of emergency legislation as draconian.

But there is also exasperation among Athenians that their cherished metro network has fallen silent for nine days.

Many public employees feel they have endured savage pay cuts and that metro workers - many of whose salaries are higher than those of doctors or teachers - should not be exempt.

The government is taking a gamble. It believes that public opinion is sufficiently behind it on this issue to stand firm.

But if the unions can mobilise enough support from other sectors, then the industrial action might grow and the general strike season may again be upon us.

Transport unions say they will continue their action, raising the possibility that some could face arrest and criminal charges, with a prison sentence of up to five years.

Under the terms of its massive international bailout, the Greek government has had to accept substantial spending cuts, such as redundancies and pay freezes in the public sector, and reduced pensions.

The austerity has had a big impact on the economy, with the unemployment rate hitting 26.8% earlier this month - the highest figure recorded in the EU.

But Prime Minister Antonis Samaras delivered a tough message to Greeks on Thursday evening.

"The Greek people have made huge sacrifices and I cannot allow any exceptions," he said.

Referring to the metro strike, he warned: "Everyone should understand we will not repeat the mistakes of the past."

His junior coalition partner, the Democratic Left, criticised the use of the civil mobilisation order as "an extreme choice" and urged more dialogue. But party sources quoted by the Kathimerini newspaper said the issue would not split the three-party coalition.

Socialist Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos backed Mr Samaras's decision, calling the strike "unacceptable".

At the metro depot a striking worker told Reuters TV: "With this violent manner the government is trying to quash our battle, our demands, and put us down."

Greece's colossal debt mountain and struggle to reduce it fuelled speculation last year that Greece might have to abandon the euro.

So far, the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the European Commission have pledged a total of 240bn euros ($315bn; £196bn) in rescue loans, of which Greece has received more than two-thirds.


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UK economy shrank at end of 2012

25 January 2013 Last updated at 07:01 ET Continue reading the main story

The UK economy shrank by 0.3% in the last three months of 2012, further fuelling fears that the economy could re-enter recession.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the fall in output was largely due to a drop in mining and quarrying, after maintenance delays at the UK's largest North Sea oil field.

The economy had grown by 0.9% in the previous quarter, boosted by the London 2012 Olympic Games.

For the whole year, growth was flat.

The ONS said that the "bumpy economy" was on a "sluggish trend".

Manufacturing fell by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, the services sector was flat, but construction output rose by 0.3%.

George Osborne

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George Osborne reacts to the latest GDP figures

Within the manufacturing sector, mining and quarrying output fell by 10.2%, the biggest decline since records began in 1997, driven by disruption to North Sea oil and gas fields.

If oil and gas extraction were excluded from the overall gross domestic product (GDP) calculations, then the data would have shown that the economy shrank by only 0.1% in the fourth quarter, the ONS said.

GDP is the sum of all goods and services made in the economy.

'Difficult situation'

This is the first estimate of how the economy performed in the fourth quarter, and is subject to at least two further revisions as more data is collected.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Sean Stroud

I didn't think it would be this hard"

End Quote Sean Stroud Former Honda worker, Swindon

Chancellor George Osborne said the figures were a reminder that the UK faces "a very difficult economic situation".

He described them as "a reminder that last year was particularly difficult, that we face problems at home with the debts built up over many years, and problems abroad with the eurozone, where we export many of our products, deep in recession".

"Now we can either run away from those problems or we can confront them. And I'm determined to confront them so we can go on creating jobs for the people of this country," Mr Osborne said.

But Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "Today's news confirms what business leaders, retailers and families have known for many months - that depressed confidence and a chronic shortage of demand mean our economy continues to flat line.

"This government's failing plan has now seen our economy stagnate for over two years and borrowing is now rising as a result."

Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said: "We are now mid-way through the coalition's term of office and its economic strategy has been a complete disaster.

"The economy has grown by just 1%, real wages have fallen, and the manufacturing and construction sectors have shrunk. We remain as dependent on the City as we did before the financial crash."

Fallback
Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Mr Osborne made clear that there would be no change to the government's strategy in response to this news. Quite the opposite. "

End Quote

The after-effects of the Olympics and Paralympics was evident in the services sector.

Services make up about three-quarters of the UK's economic activity. In the third quarter, the sector grew by 1.2%.

The ONS said there was some evidence of "fallback" in the fourth quarter, seen in the hotel and restaurant industries and in land transport.

The biggest impact, though, was in sports activities, amusement and recreation, which dropped 22.5%. This was mainly due to increased ticket sales for the Games in the third quarter, and contributed 0.2 percentage points to the fall in overall GDP in the fourth quarter.

Across the year as a whole, services grew by 1.2% , while total industrial production fell by 2.5% and construction dropped by 9.3%.

'No positives'
Joe Grice

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Joe Grice: "The economy was probably...close to flat"

The CBI business group said it expected growth "to continue to be fairly flat through the winter but momentum will gradually build later in the year, as the global economy picks up a little and confidence lifts".

Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF, the manufacturers' organisation, said there were "no positive takeaways" from the figures.

"Even assuming some unwinding of activity from the Olympics boost in the previous quarter, this still leaves no real signs of underlying growth in the economy.

"The news from industry was particularly weak, with November's sharp drop on output contributing to a rather grim fourth quarter and leaving the overall picture for manufacturing in 2012 the weakest since 2009."

Economists at IHS Global Insight noted that GDP in the fourth quarter of 2012 was 3.3% below the peak level seen in the first quarter of 2008. They estimate that it will not return to that level until the first half of 2015 - a gap of seven years.

Austerity debate

The government's economic policies came under focus on Thursday when the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the chancellor should consider slowing down austerity measures in his March budget.

"We think this would be a good time to take stock," Olivier Blanchard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

But Mr Osborne later rebuffed Mr Blanchard's advice. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said that spending cuts must continue if the government is to retain its credibility.

"We have a credible and flexible debt reduction plan. That credibility is very hard won and easily lost," he said.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said that the coalition made a mistake in cutting back capital spending when it came to office.

He told The House magazine that ministers had reassured themselves at the time that the reduction was in line with plans drawn up by Labour.

But they now realised investment in infrastructure was crucial for economic recovery, he added.


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More immigration backlogs found

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 24 Januari 2013 | 19.12

24 January 2013 Last updated at 06:35 ET By Dominic Casciani Home affairs correspondent
John Vine, independent chief inspector of borders and immigration

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John Vine, chief inspector of immigration: "The agency is bedevilled with paper"

Immigration inspectors have discovered more UK Border Agency (UKBA) backlogs, totalling more than 16,000 cases.

The chief inspector of immigration said the latest backlogs, relating to requests to settle through marriage, were "unacceptable".

The backlogs included people waiting a decade to hear if their partner had permission to live in the UK.

Immigration Minister Mark Harper denied the Border Agency was a "shambles", and said managers were "getting a grip".

The marriage or civil partnership-related backlog is thought to be the 10th category of unresolved cases that has emerged in the past two years.

Inspectors looked at how well the agency was handling applications from people from outside the European Economic Area who have a partner already in the country, such as a husband or wife who is British.

John Vine, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, said the majority of decisions were reasonable and caseworkers checked whether applicants were known criminals.

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THE UKBA BACKLOGS

  • Live asylum cases: 25,500
  • Asylum controlled archive: 74,000
  • Live immigration cases: 3,500
  • Immigration controlled archive: 21,000
  • Migration Refusal Pool: 174,057
  • Ex-Foreign National Offenders living in the community: 3,954
  • Ex-Foreign National Offenders untraced: 53
  • Student visa checks backlog: Unknown number
  • Rejected Spousal application seeking reconsideration: 14,000
  • Temporary migrants including marriage applicants: 2,100 (now closed)
  • Total: 316,000

Sources: Home Affairs Committee and inspection reports

But he said his team had found a backlog of 14,000 cases where the UKBA failed to deal with requests to reconsider decisions after an initial rejection.

When inspectors visited a UKBA office in Sheffield they found a further backlog of 2,100 "complex" temporary migration cases. These included 180 marriage entry or settlement applications which had not received an initial decision. Some dated back to 2003.

One inspector said the unresolved applications had been effectively "dumped" on the Sheffield team after being transferred in a box from the UKBA's Croydon offices. Officials have since dealt with these cases.

At the time of the inspection last year, the marriage-related backlog was growing at a rate of 700 cases a month. Caseworkers told inspectors they could not deal with them until they had received new policy guidance.

However, a senior manager told inspectors that agency chiefs were unaware that these cases were not being dealt with and staff could make decisions without waiting for new policy.

'Not acceptable'

Mr Vine said: "I don't think I should be discovering these backlogs. The agency should know about its workload. It should prioritise its resources and, at the very least, have a plan to deal with some of the things that we come across in inspection.

Continue reading the main story

Case study

Gerard Hearne, from Rotherham, has been trying to bring his Thai wife to the UK since last year.

"We got married in early February out there. I came back after two weeks, I had to get back to the UK," he says.

"I kept thinking... two months, three months, she'll have her visa.

"When she was turned down in October and I organised the appeal, I went out there in late November.

"I went to spend a month with her and I naively thought that by having sent the appeal into Leicester that that would be forwarded to Bangkok, they would quickly check it through, 'say yes, ok'.

"And I, naively, thought my wife would be coming back to me for Christmas on 22 December.

"As the month went on it became apparent that that was never going to happen. I did actually ring the embassy at one point to say 'have you got the documentation?'

"I just try and get through each day. Some days are better than others. Some days I feel reasonable ok and other days I feel so low, so down. It's difficult to know how to keep going. "

"For people to be in such a backlog of cases is not acceptable and I urge the agency to deal with the cases swiftly. To wait such a long time, even if your case is complex, is completely outside any service standards."

The immigration minister said: "We inherited an agency which had a lot of problems, we've got a new management team to deal with it. They're getting a grip and dealing with it."

Mr Harper said 14,000 of the cases "weren't people waiting for a decision", but people "who didn't like the decision and didn't go through the proper appeal mechanism".

"And what the Border Agency should have said in the past, it should have said 'no, there's an appeal process, if you don't like the decision, appeal'," he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

"But it didn't do that, it kind of accepted these requests [and] didn't have a process to deal with them.

"We have now got a clear policy, published, about how we deal with those - which is people should appeal properly and those people who have been refused are not allowed to stay here. Should leave the country and we will be taking steps to make sure that they do."

Lin Homer, who headed the Border and Immigration Agency and later the UK Border Agency, between 2005 and 2010, is currently chief executive of HM Revenue and Customs.


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US to end ban on women in combat

24 January 2013 Last updated at 05:00 ET
Kayla Williams

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Kayla Williams, former US soldier: "This is just formalising the ground reality"

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to lift the military's ban on women serving in combat, a senior Pentagon official has said.

The move could open hundreds of thousands of frontline positions and elite commando jobs to women.

It overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to small ground-combat units.

But the military would have until 2016 to argue for any specific posts they think should remained closed to women.

The decision is expected to be formally announced on Thursday.

'21st-Century reality'
Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Thirty years of studies, reports and actual experience... have shown that in the infantry women do not have an equal opportunity to survive or to help fellow soldiers to survive"

End Quote Elaine Donnelly US Centre for Military Readiness

The senior defence official told the BBC: "This policy change will initiate a process whereby the services will develop plans to implement this decision, which was made by the secretary of defence upon the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

Military chiefs will be asked to report back to Mr Panetta by 15 May on their initial plans to implement the new policy.

Some jobs are expected to be opened to women this year, while others - including for special forces such as the Navy Seals and the Delta Force - could take longer.

This decision could open more than 230,000 combat roles to women, many in infantry units.

Senate armed services committee chairman Carl Levin welcomed the decision.

"I support it," he said. "It reflects the reality of 21st-Century military operations."

That was echoed by Major Mary Jennings Hegar, who served on three tours of Afghanistan with the US Air Force.

"It's not about whether or not we're allowing women into combat - women are in combat - it's about recognising their service," she told the BBC's Newsday programme.

Continue reading the main story

Women in combat

  • Women have played a role in war throughout history, often in support or medical roles, but have typically been excluded from combat roles
  • From the 1970s, most Western armies began to admit women to serve active duty
  • A few nations allow women to fill active combat roles, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Israel, Germany, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Sweden - and Japan and Switzerland, which theoretically allow women in combat positions but have not engaged in combat in recent history
  • But even these countries usually keep some roles off-limits for women

"I understand that stereotypically there are some physical differences but... there are a lot of men doing these jobs who are not built like Goliath. It's unfortunate that we have to hold women to a higher standard.

"If you're able to meet the standards, then your gender should not hold you back. It's simple black and white discrimination."

'Enormous complications'

But Elaine Donnelly from the US Centre for Military Readiness told Newsday that the move was "most unfortunate".

"It's certainly not going to be helpful to our women in the military, or our men. It will cause enormous complications in the infantry battalions - the small tip-of-the-spear units, the ones that fight the enemy with deliberate offensive action under fire. These units are all-male for very good reasons.

"The UK looked at this same issue some years ago and decided this was not a good idea, in 2002 and 2008.

"Thirty years of studies, reports and actual experience... have shown that in direct ground combat units - the infantry - women do not have an equal opportunity to survive or to help fellow soldiers to survive. The physical aspects of it are only part of the reason."

Restrictions were first eased a year ago, when the Pentagon opened up 14,500 roles, closer to the front line, which had previously been off limits to female personnel.

In November, a group of four women in the military sued the defence department over the ban, arguing that it was unconstitutional.

One of the plaintiffs, Marine Corps Capt Zoe Bedell, said existing rules had blocked her advancement in the Marines.

During the Iraq and Afghan wars, US female military personnel have worked as medics, military police and intelligence officers, sometimes attached but not formally assigned to front-line units.

As of 2012, more than 800 women were wounded in those wars, and at least 130 have died.

Women comprise 14% of America's 1.4 million active military personnel.


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PM's EU plan 'implausible' - Clegg

24 January 2013 Last updated at 06:14 ET

Nick Clegg has said the UK risks "tying itself in knots" and neglecting more important issues by trying to renegotiate its EU membership.

The Lib Dem leader said it was "wholly implausible" to think the rules could be rewritten to "benefit us and disadvantage everybody else" .

He said the aims of David Cameron's proposed renegotiation were "vague" and uncertainty could hit growth and jobs.

The prime minister has insisted the UK "is not turning its back on Europe".

David Cameron has promised to hold a referendum on whether the UK should stay in the EU, although the pledge would be dependent on him being prime minister after the next election, expected in 2015.

'Political purposes'

The move has been welcomed by most Conservative MPs but both Labour and the Lib Dems have said they do not support such an in/out referendum, arguing that uncertainty about Britain's future would undermine the UK's economic prospects.

Speaking on his weekly phone-in on LBC radio, Mr Clegg said Mr Cameron was "entitled" to set out what he would do in a future Conservative government and made clear he had been given advance notice of the PM's referendum commitment.

David Cameron

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David Cameron: 'The club we belong to is changing'

He said he did "not fear" the principle of a referendum and that his party had supported legislation guaranteeing that the public would be consulted before any further powers were transferred to Brussels.

But he said he disagreed with the timing of Mr Cameron's announcement, which he said was a distraction from more urgent issues, and which he believed had more to do with the prime minister's "own political purposes" than the country's wider interest.

"Where David Cameron and I part company is I simply don't understand the point of spending years and years tying yourself up in knots first renegotiating the terms of Britain's membership in ways that at the moment are completely vague.

"I think that discourages investment and inhibits jobs and growth which has to remain our absolute priority."

There were two likely outcomes from the process that Mr Cameron had set in train, he suggested.

"Either it is basically a bit symbolic - so you tweak the working time directive and a social law here or an environmental law there that everybody will agree with so, in which case, what is the fuss all about?

"Or you are going to do something which I think is wholly implausible which is basically totally rewrite the rules to benefit us and disadvantage everybody else which is clearly not going to be agreed to."

'Engine for growth'

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Cameron said the EU was losing out to other growing economies and the union must be reformed so it was "an engine for growth, not a source of costs for business and complaints for our citizens".

Continue reading the main story

David Cameron has never enjoyed headlines this good...but for how long?"

End Quote

"This is not about turning our backs on Europe - quite the opposite. It is about how we make the case for case for a more competitive, open and flexible Europe and how we secure the UK's place in it."

Although Mr Cameron talked about returning powers from Brussels to national governments in areas such as the environment and social affairs, he has yet to give any specific details.

Senior Conservatives have suggested details of how the party would try to renegotiate looser ties with the EU and in what areas would be included in its election manifesto.

Labour has warned that the prospect of a referendum could send out the wrong signal to business.

"We have traditionally said 'come to Britain because it is a favourable climate and you will have access to his huge market'," said former Labour Europe minister Peter Hain. "Now we are on a road which could lead us out of Europe and out of that market and that is a decision which is going to affect investment."

A group of 55 British business leaders have written an open letter to the Times endorsing the PM's approach, saying their firms are being held back by too much regulation coming from Brussels and it is time to "push for a more competitive, flexible and prosperous European Union that would bring more jobs and growth for all member states".

However, other executives have warned that doubts about Britain's future in the EU could push up borrowing costs for companies and impact on growth and job creation.


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Fall in crime 'may be exaggerated'

24 January 2013 Last updated at 06:47 ET

A study of crime trends in England and Wales suggests the fall in offences recorded by police may have been exaggerated.

The Office for National Statistics said the "rate of reduction" in recorded crime "may overstate" the decrease.

It found police-recorded offences fell by 33%, compared with 17% by data.

Shadow policing minister David Hanson called for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to look at the apparent discrepancies.

The ONS also published crime figures for the 12 months to the end of September 2012, which showed continued falls in virtually every category.

The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said police recorded 7% fewer crimes than the year before, while the Crime Survey of England and Wales indicated there had been a "statistically significant" fall of 8%.

'Informal pressure'

ONS statistician John Flatley said the bigger falls in police-recorded crimes may be due to pressures to meet targets on crime reduction and detections.

"It's more the culture and informal pressure of having targets and expectations," he said.

Other possible reasons for under-recording suggested by the ONS include more low-level crimes being dealt with informally and outside the formal crime recording system, with officers given greater discretion.

Continue reading the main story

The home secretary should examine urgently whether, as the ONS suggest, the cuts to police budgets mark a return to fewer crimes being recorded by the police"

End Quote David Hanson Shadow policing minister

Mr Flatley said it was also "possible" that reductions in police budgets and officers meant fewer offences were being recorded.

He said as resources were more stretched the "balance shifts" to less compliance with crime-recording systems.

Crime Prevention Minister Jeremy Browne said: "Crime continues to fall under this government...and is now at the lowest level since the survey began.

"Police reform is working. We have swept away central targets, reduced bureaucracy and these figures show forces are rising to the challenge of doing more with less. Many have achieved significant reductions in crime with reduced budgets.

"We are improving the relationship between the police and the public through the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners, which are giving the public a direct say in local policing for the first time, and we have established the College of Policing to enhance police professionalism and set the highest standards of integrity."

'Urgent examination'

Mr Hanson said: "There are warning signs for the police and Home Office, with the increase in theft. And earlier this week the British Retail Consortium's Survey showed an increase of over 15% in the cost of retail crime alongside a drop in the proportion of crime reported by retailers to the police from 48% to 16%.

"This is perhaps why the Office for National Statistics has begun to express concern that apparent reductions in police recorded crime may be exaggerated.

"The home secretary should examine urgently whether, as the ONS suggest, the cuts to police budgets mark a return to fewer crimes being recorded by the police."

The Association of Chief Police Officers' lead on statistics, Douglas Paxton, who is Deputy Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police, said: "Public confidence in the police has also remained steady with 62% of people stating they believe that the police in their local area are doing a good or excellent job.

"The service remains determined to build on the good work reflected in these publications and the results are a credit to those officers and staff who have faced the challenge of major efficiencies while continuing to tackle crime in our communities."


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Schools miss top university grades

24 January 2013 Last updated at 06:59 ET By Hannah Richardson & Katherine Sellgren BBC News education reporters

Almost a quarter of England's sixth forms and colleges did not produce any pupils with A-level grades sought by the leading universities, data shows.

Some 594 (23.4%) of the 2,540 schools teaching A-levels had no pupils with the two As and a B in the subjects recommended for top degree courses.

The data also shows some 215 schools missed the new government target of 40% of pupils obtaining five A*-C GCSEs.

The BBC is publishing its league tables for secondary schools in England.

The tables are drawn up from the latest official government data on pupils' academic achievement.

Overall they cover achievement in more than 4,000 mainstream state and independent schools, based mainly on the results of last summer's exams for 16- and 18-year-olds. In total, 2,540 schools and colleges in England run A-level courses.

Continue reading the main story

Compare schools in your area

Talent pool

Much has been made of the inability of leading universities to recruit more bright students from a wider set of backgrounds. But this data shows that many schools are not producing students of a high enough calibre to automatically get places at such universities.

It also shows that in only two schools did more than 70% of pupils obtain two As and a B in what is known as the "facilitating" subjects favoured by the 20 Russell Group of some of the leading universities. And in only 16 schools did 50% or more pupils achieve these grades.

In 208 schools (8%) of the total a quarter of pupils or more reached the grades in these subjects.

Continue reading the main story
  • maths and further maths
  • English literature
  • physics
  • biology
  • chemistry
  • geography
  • history
  • languages

The Russell Group of top universities introduced this list to identify the very best students and inform schools which subjects they expect pupils to sit if they wish to obtain a place on one of their degree courses. But they also look at a pupil's background before deciding whether to give them a place.

Its director general Dr Wendy Piatt said: "The Russell Group has published a guide called Informed Choices which lists 'facilitating subjects' which are those most commonly required for entry to our leading universities.

"However, it's important that students make decisions based on their individual circumstances. We encourage all prospective students to check the entry requirements for their chosen course before applying to a particular university."

Joy Mercer, director of policy at the Association of Colleges, said the achievement of three A-levels was a "blunt descriptor" and that would give a poor reflection of colleges and sixth form colleges where students were encouraged to combine vocational qualifications and A-levels within a very demanding programme.

"Institutions like this account for one-third of all A-levels taken in this country."

GCSE results

At GCSE level nationally, 59.4% of pupils in both maintained and independent schools reached the government's benchmark of five GCSEs (or equivalent qualifications) graded A* to C, including English and maths - up from 58.2% in 2011.

  • best performing local authority: Kensington and Chelsea, where 79.6% of pupils achieved this standard
  • worst performing authority: Knowsley on Merseyside, where 40.9% of pupils got five good GCSEs
  • top GCSE results: Colyton Grammar School in Devon
  • 113 schools saw 100% of pupils getting five GCSEs A*-C, including maths and English, down from 158 in 2011
  • 18.3% of pupils nationally got the English Baccalaureate (A*-C passes in English, maths, two science subjects, a modern or ancient language, and either history or geography), up from 15.4% in 2011.

The schools with the lowest GCSE results was the selective Pate's Grammar school in Cheltenham, where 0% of pupils reached this benchmark.

However, this result was because pupils sat new English exams which the Department for Education does not recognise for the purpose of performance data.

Pate's head teacher Russell Ellicott said: "We decided to move our English curriculum to an IGCSE, not currently counted in the league tables, because we decided that particular curriculum included a greater depth of learning."

Excluding Pate's Grammar, the school with the lowest GCSE results was the Rushden Community College in Northamptonshire, where 6% of pupils got five A*-C GCSEs, including maths and English.

Head teacher Mark Lester said the college had entered pupils for English language and English exams but not English literature, which he said is the one counted by the DfE.

"Because of the decision made by the DfE about which English specification counts, we fall foul of that particular loophole."

If pupils' English exams had been counted, their pass rate including English and maths would have been 46%, he said.

Academy schools

The Department for Education hailed the success of its academy schools in the performance data.

It said sponsored academies were improving results at a record rate - more than five times as quickly than in all state-funded schools - with an increase of 3.1 percentage points. This compares to a 0.6 percentage point improvement across all state-funded schools.

But many of these would have been performing at a higher level, as sponsored academies tend to be struggling schools which are converted to academies because of their difficulties.

A spokesman said: "This shows we are right to continue to support the sponsored academy programme. These brilliant sponsors have a track record of arresting decline - and then reversing it."

General Secretary of the Nasuwt teaching union, Chris Keates, said: "Everyone recognises that there is more to be done to ensure that the best is being achieved for every child, but the government's approach of manufacturing deficiencies to seek to justify its flawed education policies, rather than celebrating success is counter productive and divisive."


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