A man who held a "petrified" shop assistant at gunpoint during Britain's biggest jewellery robbery last summer was convicted for his part in the £40m raid. The £40m of jewellery stolen from Graff Diamonds in London has never been recovered. Aman Kassaye, 25, was found guilty at Woolwich crown court, London, of kidnap, conspiracy to rob and possessing a firearm. He was acquitted of another gun possession charge. Kassaye was found guilty on the ninth day of the jury's deliberations. The jury is still considering verdicts on six other people who deny charges relating to the robbery.
I am glad to hear that at least one of them is convicted, now I hope that the other six will be convicted soon as well. Even though there are denying having anything to do with it, I still think that all seven of them are indeed guilty and hopefully the jury will see this as well. I am very curious though what happened with the stolen £40m of jewellery and where it is. I hope this will get found very soon, because £40m is a lot of money. I am also wondering how many years he had to behind bars, I hope a lot.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/25/man-convicted-graff-jewellery-heist
The Queen marked her 84th official birthday on June 12, 2010 with a review of hundreds of soldiers in the annual Trooping the Colour. The parade included more than 1,400 soldiers in the traditional uniforms of the Household Cavalry, Royal Horse Artillery and Foot Guards. The Queen took the royal salute as she has done every year since 1952, with the exception of 1955. The ceremony, which marks the official birthday of British monarchs, was created so sovereigns whose birthdays fell in the winter months were able to enjoy a day of pageantry during fine summer weather. It always falls on a Saturday in June.
It sounds like a nice birthday celebration, but it sounds like the same thing happens every year. I do not know if that is true, but they could change a few thing in order to keep it really entertaining. I understand that sometimes a queen’s birthday is not celebrated on their actual birthday, because it falls in the winter month which would make it a less enjoyable day. I knew that we in the Netherlands do not always celebrate the Queen’s/king’s birthday on their actual birthday, but I thought that we were the only country that did this, I had no idea that the United Kingdom did this as well.
Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7148847.ece
In contrast to the image of modern mothers "having it all", more than half of those returning to work after the birth of a child do so because of financial constraints, and one in 10 are doing so before the end of their planned maternity leave. Although the financial impact forced 9% back to work early and another 9% to rethink their plans to be a stay-at-home mum, 40% take a pay-cut so they can work part time. The cost of living coupled with the cost of a mortgage means that many households today need two incomes to get by. New mothers are often paying the price for this.
I think it is sad that new mothers have to pay the price for it. However, I do think that when you decide to have a baby you should consider this all and come up with a plan. It seems that a lot of women do not have any idea what kind of effect having a baby has on their career. I would advise everyone who wants to have a baby to think of everything, this includes the financial aspect, because babies are expensive. It is still sad that the cost are so high that new mothers have to pay for this.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jun/18/new-mothers-work-debt-worries
According to head teachers and academics, there are increasing numbers of privileged students that are arriving at university unable to use a washing machine, cook a simple meal or look after themselves. One boarding school is so concerned that pupils will not be able to cope at university that it is sending sixth-formers to live in self-contained cabins. Pupils at Abbotsholme are given an allowance with which to budget for household goods. They are expected to use it to buy replacement light bulbs, bin bags and toilet rolls as well as their food for the week.
To be honest, I myself am not entirely good at household chores either. Since my mom is a stay at home mom, she is the one that does all those chores for me. However, when you know that you are going to be living on your own and that it is expected of you to do your own chores I do not see why they cannot learn them their selves before they go off to universities. Since these kind of lessons are apparently needed, I do think it is a good initiative from the schools to learn these life skills to the pupils.
Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article7148403.ece
The last part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, to permit hare coursing has now banned the blood sport. A motion to outlaw the use of greyhounds to chase and kill hares was passed by a narrow majority – 23 to 18 – after a seven-hour debate at Stormont. The ban has been incorporated into the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Northern Ireland) bill. It is expected to come into force after the summer. Hare coursing, in which dogs compete with one another to hunt down a wild hare that has been released into an enclosure, had been curbed in Northern Ireland by recent conservation orders aimed at protecting the endangered Irish hare.
I am really glad to hear that they banned this. Before I read this article I had never even hear of ‘hare coursing’, but I cannot understand why anyone would find pleasure in watching that. I am honestly wondering why it is just now banned, these kind of ‘sports’ do nothing other than letting people see animals suffer and why any would want to see that is beyond me; these so called sports should all get banned and fast. I applaud Northern Ireland to finally ban this, a good decision on their part.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/23/northern-ireland-bans-hare-coursing
There is a growing number of young women who have chosen to abort foetuses for “social” reasons after fertility treatment. Figures obtained under freedom of information rules show that an average of 80 abortions are carried out each year after IVF, which can cost about £5,000. Up to half of these involve women aged 18-34. Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory minister, said women who terminated pregnancies for non-medical reasons were treating their babies like “designer goods”. She said: “If the law was being applied properly, people wouldn’t be able to get an abortion just because they changed their minds.”
This was really shocking to read, I cannot understand the women who go through all that trouble to get pregnant only then to decide that they are not ready and decide to have an abortion. I agree with Ann Widdecombe that the law should stop these woman from having an abortion. On its own, I am by no means necessary against abortion, but when a woman decided to go through with an IVF treatment, on the cost of the government, and get pregnant I think they should not be allowed to get an abortion. Let those babies be born and adopted by a family that does want the child.
Link: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article7144878.ece
The government has made the decision to axe free swimming for under-16s and over-60s. The government says cancelling the programme will save £40m. The initiative will formally close on 31 July, though local authorities can carry on the scheme if they want to fund it themselves. Though the government insists the programme "was not providing best value for money", figures from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport show that for the 16 and under category, there were almost 50% more new swimmers since Labour introduced the programme just over a year ago.
I am torn about this situation, because it is a good thing that the programme helped with getting more children interested in swimming, but the government has to cut back on some things. Almost every country is in debt right now and need to cut back on certain areas. If they do not cut back on this, then on what else? The police perhaps, education ect. It does not really matter what they will cut back on, because there will always be people who will get is worse because of the cut backs. Also, the entry fee is only £1.90.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jun/18/end-free-swimming-children-over-60s
