Ratko Mladic war crimes trial put on hold

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The court case for the alleged war crimes of Ratko Mladic, has  already been criticised for its slow pace in dealing with Balkan war crimes cases and was thrown into confusion on Thursday when it was revealed that lawyers prosecuting the Bosnian Serb commander had failed to turn over hundreds of thousands of pages of evidence to the defence.

Alphons Orie, the court judge, has said the mistake would lead to a delay in the trial, which lawyers were already predicting would last four years or more.

“The chamber is still in the process of gathering information of the scope and full impact of this error,” Orie stated.

He added that, after meeting defence and prosecution lawyers, he would announce a new start date for the prosecution’s presentation of evidence and witnesses “as soon as possible”. This phase had been due to start at the end of May.

Sam Hallam has been released after spending seven years in prison, after being wrongly convicted for murder

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24 year old, Sam Hallam has been released from prison after seven years of being convicted of a murder he did not commit. Hallam is the youngest victim of miss justice, he was released on Wednesday when the court of appeal decided he did not commit the crime he was sentenced for.

After his release, Hallam emerged with his mother from the high court, where he was greeted by loved ones and sprayed with champagne by the friends and supporters who campaigned against his conviction.

Hallam was just 18 years old when he was sentenced to life in jail for the murder of Essayas Kassahun in a gang attack in October 2004.

It is expected that the court of appeal will over through his murder conviction on Thursday after the crown greatly withdrew all opposition to his appeal.

War crimes trial begins for Ratko Mladic

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The trial for the former Serbian military commander, Ratko Mladic, begins on Wednesday for crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian war nearly two decades after the conflict came to an end.

Mladic is being prosecuted for war crimes in Bosnia, the trail is being held in The Hague. The 11 charges will include genocide, extermination, murder inhumane acts and deportation, which will be listed during the opening statement of the trial. The charges are the most decadent Europe has seen since the Nazi era. Over 100,000 people were killed, the majority being Muslim and Croatian civilians.

The testimony will mostly be in the form of written statements. It will represent more than 400 witnesses,the prosecutors have been given 200 hours to make their case.

“I don’t have to tell you how important it is that finally this trial can start, 17 years after the first indictment was issued,” said the chief prosecutor at the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Serge Brammertz.

Dog owners face imprisonment if their dog is considered dangerous.

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It has been announced that authorities will impose harsher punishments on owners of dangerous dogs, under new guidelines issued to judges and magistrates by the Sentencing Council.

Authorities are now able to enforce imprisonment on owners after a spate of high-profile attacks by dogs. Among the groups who contributed to the argument as to whether imprisonment was an appropriate sentence for irresponsible dog owners were the Animal welfare organisation, whose guidance assisted the Sentencing Council the severity of offences.

There were no previous guidelines under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, but courtroom data shows the top of the range for sentencing those convicted of allowing an animal to cause injury in a public place was about 12 months in prison. The new advice says it should be 18 months.

The Sentencing Council stated: ”The new guideline will mean more offenders will face jail sentences, more will get community orders and fewer will receive discharges. “It will also help courts make the best use of their powers so that irresponsible owners who put the public at risk can be banned from keeping dogs, genuinely dangerous dogs can be put down and compensation can be paid to victims.”

Sixth child dies after house fire in Derby

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Duwayne Philpott, a 13-year-old boy has died in hospital days after five of his siblings were killed in a fire in their home town of Derby.

Duwayne’s brothers and sisters were asleep upstairs at their Victory Road home when the fire began.

Their father Mick Philpott, who has 17 children, made “valiant attempts” to save them.

Police are treating the fire on Friday as suspicious. A man, 38, and woman, 28, have been bailed after being held on suspicion of murder.

Leveson inquiry: David Cameron sent messages to Brooks after her resignation

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It has been reported that David Cameron sent Rebekah Brooks a “keep your head up” message after she handed in her resignation at News International, she has revealed.

Brooks has told the Leveson Inquiry she recieved “indirect messages” from several of the conservative party members.

Her resignation as chief executive came in July last year after the phone-hacking scandal resulted in the News of the World’s closure.

The revelation has led to questions about Brooks’s relationship with politicians. Asked by Robert Jay, counsel to the Leveson inquiry, if Cameron had sent her a “keep your head up” message she said it had been “something along those lines”.

She said she had received messages from “number 10, number 11, the Home Office and the Foreign Office” and former prime minister Tony Blair.

All messaged were “indirect” rather than direct text messages, she said.

Barack Obama supports same sex marriage.

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Barack Obama has stated on US television, he believes that same-sex couples should be able to get married. Obama ended months of silence surrounding the issue of gay unions and said it should be legalized, making him the first US president to support gay marriage.

Republic leader, Mitt Romney, who is set to challenge Mr Obama for the White House in the presidential elections later this year, was quick to confirm that he was against gay marriage.

Along with Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden and cabinet member Arne Duncan had recently expressed support for gay unions .

A recent poll has suggested that 50% of Americans were in favour of legalising gay marriage – a slightly lower proportion than last year – while 48% said they would oppose such a move.

Clinton Cards faces Administration.

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The greetings card company, Clinton Cards is expecting its largest supplier to begin steps to place the retailer into administration later on today.

The company requested trading in its shares to be suspended with immediate effect as a result of the impending administration.

Clinton explained,  two of the company’s banks sold £35m of loans to supplier American Greetings. Earlier in the year, the company reported a loss of £3.7m for the six months to the end of January and said the predicted stability for 2012 was worse than expected.

Clinton Cards said Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland had sold its loan facilities to American Greetings. It said that although it had not breached any covenants or repayment obligations, it had been given certain temporary waivers for “technical breaches”.

 

Divorce law: The Marriage Foundation

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Sir Paul Coleridge, a high court judge in the family division, has witnessed the effects of bitter family splits. Coleridge has concluded that couples are too quick to give up their commitment to each other and unwilling to overcome the difficulties of marriage and strenuous family duties.

The high court judge has stated that family breakdown’s have reached “epidemic” proportions, therefore has set up the Marriage Foundation which was launched last week with the hope of helping struggling couples avoid divorce.

Sir Paul’s foundation to “mend it, don’t end it” has been viewed as laudable amongst the legal community, many believe he is right to point out that too many children’s futures are fought over in the courtroom. However is has also been pointed out that several flaws can be seen with in the injunction. Considerations need to be taken into account for the differences in circumstances; the woman who agonises over whether she should endure her husband’s occasional violence for the sake of keeping their family together; or the man whose wife has walked out with the kids.

Divorce and family break ups is a harrowing and costly issue which usually leaves both partners worse off.

Labour Party leading at local elections in both England and Wales.

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The Labour Party have triumphed at the English and Welsh local elections, shadow ministers have said that Ed Miliband is now on course for becoming the UK’s next Prime Minister.

The party are expected to add more than 700 seats and have now taken control of councils including Birmingham and Cardiff.

The results so far indicate that the Labour Party are estimated to end up with a 39% national share of the vote, up three points, with the Tories down four on 31%. The Liberal Democrats share of the vote is predicted to stay the same at 16%

Conservative Party members have shrugged off the voting results claiming the result was typical for a mid-term government. Conservative member, Damian Green stated  Labour’s performance was “good but not spectacularly good”.