Smileband general news

Shoppers watched on in horror as two men were stabbed at a busy mall in Luton. Grisly pictures show a trail of blood and a large knife lying on the floor of the shopping centre and Bedfordshire Police said the two men had been taken to hospital.

A video taken from inside The Mall appears to show screens erected around emergency services while they work on one of the victims.

The footage also shows dozens of horrified shoppers walking over the bloody footsteps. 

Both of the men's conditions are unknown. Officers were called to The Mall at around 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon and the shopping centre is cordoned off while the probe takes place. 

A police spokesman said: 'We were called to reports of two men with stab wounds in The Mall, Luton at around 2.30pm today. 

'A number of officers attended, along with the Ambulance service and two men were taken to hospital. 

'The Mall is currently closed while an investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information, or anyone who was in the area at around 2.30pm and witnessed anything, is asked to call 101 quoting reference number 184 of 21 January.' 

Smileband general news

Hundreds of primary school children are being investigated by police for swapping naked selfies, figures reveal today. They are using smartphones, social networks and video games consoles to share explicit photos with classmates and strangers they meet online.

Almost 200 children under 12 have been branded ‘suspects’ by police in the past three years, according to figures obtained by the Daily Mail.

Police are now questioning whether all these children should remain on their databases or if officers should be investigating in the first place.

At least 5,000 children under 18 were quizzed by police for sending or receiving nude images between April 2014 and April 2017, the figures show. Taking, sending or possessing naked pictures of a child is a criminal offence, even if the child took the photo.

It means police are required by law to treat these youngsters as suspects, which risks criminalising a generation of pupils.

The name of every child caught swapping naked selfies is placed on a police database alongside the ‘crime’ they are alleged to have committed – potentially ruining their chances of employment as adults when they apply for certain jobs involving children.

Last year only 63 under-18s were actually charged with making, distributing or possessing indecent images under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Thousands of other investigations were dropped because they were classed as ‘experimental’ behaviour by the children.

Thames Valley Police investigated 642 children between 2014 and 2017, and Norfolk quizzed 575 youngsters. Some 432 were interrogated by West Mercia Police and 345 were investigated by Humberside. Some forces have seen a 16-fold increase in child suspects in only two years. Norfolk Constabulary investigated 408 children in 2016-17, compared to 25 two years earlier.

Derbyshire had 164 cases last year, up from eight in 2015. And the number of child suspects in Suffolk rose from 17 to 202 in two years. On one occasion a five-year-old was branded an ‘offender’ by Hertfordshire Police for taking an indecent image of another child. In Northamptonshire, a seven-year-old girl was investigated after she used an iPad to film herself naked before putting the video on YouTube.

Neither could be prosecuted because they were under ten, the age of criminal responsibility.

At least 31 children under ten have been questioned over nude pictures in the past three years. Two were aged only five. Over the same period, police investigated 38 children aged ten. More than 105 11-year-olds and 327 12-year-olds were quizzed.

Police also looked into allegations against 678 children of 13. On one occasion, a 13-year-old girl sent a boy a topless selfie to his Xbox console. Others used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Skype to swap nude images.

The true figures are expected to be far higher because around half the 43 police forces in the UK declined to provide data.

Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for children and young people, questioned whether many of the cases were worthy of police investigation.

Smileband general news

An elephant who appeared in Thai films and television adverts has crushed its owner to death at a zoo in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

The elephant, believed to be in musth - an aggressive state associated with a surge in testosterone - attacked his 54-year-old owner, Somsak Riengngen, crushing him to death with his trunk.

The accident occurred on Monday morning as the elephant was unchained, the South China Morning Post reports. The five-tonne elephant, named Ekasit, had one mahout, or handler, on his back and reportedly took a few steps before turning and attacking Somsak who was on the ground. 

“The elephant suddenly turned back and used his trunk to grab the victim. Then the elephant used his trunk to crush him,” Wuthichai Muangman, acting director of Chiang Mai Zoo, told the Post. 

Mr Wuthichai described Somsak as an “elephant expert”, but added that the elephant had been in musth when the accident happened. 

During musth, which often occurs during winter, male elephants can experience surges in testosterone that can send levels of the hormone up by 60 times the usual amount. The state of musth in male elephants has often been linked to the rutting season, however, any relationship with reproducing is far from clear, as female elephants’ reproductive cycle is not seasonally linked as the musth is. Also, bull elephants in musth have been known to attack females regardless of whether they are in heat or not.

Ekasit the elephant had appeared in television commercials as well as several foreign and Thai films.

He was being kept at the zoo in Chiang Mai as part of a contract that was due to expire in April. 

The zoo owner’s death has reignited the debate about captive wild animals in Thailand.

The country is infamous for offering tourists rides on elephants that are inadequately cared for. 

Out of 2,923 elephants documented as working in Asia’s tourism trade, 2,198 are in Thailand, notes the South China Morning Post. 

Smileband health topics

The symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are generally mild to start with, but they get worse over time and start to interfere with daily life.

There are some common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, but it is important to remember that everyone is unique. Two people with Alzheimer's are unlikely to experience the condition in exactly the same way.

For most people with Alzheimer's, the earliest symptoms are memory lapses. In particular, they may have difficulty recalling recent events and learning new information. These symptoms occur because the early damage in Alzheimer's is usually to a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which has a central role in day-to-day memory. Memory for life events that happened a long time ago is often unaffected in the early stages of the disease.

Memory loss due to Alzheimer's disease increasingly interferes with daily life as the condition progresses. The person may:

• lose items (eg keys, glasses) around the house
• struggle to find the right word in a conversation or forget someone's name
• forget about recent conversations or events
• get lost in a familiar place or on a familiar journey
• forget appointments or anniversaries.

Although memory difficulties are usually the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer's, someone with the disease will also have – or go on to develop – problems with other aspects of thinking, reasoning, perception or communication. They might have difficulties with:

• language – struggling to follow a conversation or repeating themselves
• visuospatial problems judging distance or seeing objects in three dimensions; navigating stairs or parking the car become much harder
• concentrating, planning or organising – difficulties making decisions, solving problems or carrying out a sequence of tasks (eg cooking a meal)
• orientation – becoming confused or losing track of the day or date.

A person in the earlier stages of Alzheimer's will often have changes in their mood. They may become anxious, irritable or depressed. Many people become withdrawn and lose interest in activities and hobbies. As Alzheimer's progresses, problems with memory loss, communication, reasoning and orientation become more severe. The person will need more day-to-day support from those who care for them.

Some people start to believe things that are untrue (delusions) or – less often – see or hear things which are not really there (hallucinations).

Many people with Alzheimer's also develop behaviours that seem unusual or out of character. These include agitation (eg restlessness or pacing), calling out, repeating the same question, disturbed sleep patterns or reacting aggressively. Such behaviours can be distressing or challenging for the person and their carer. They may require separate treatment and management to memory problems.

In the later stages of Alzheimer's disease someone may become much less aware of what is happening around them. They may have difficulties eating or walking without help, and become increasingly frail. Eventually, the person will need help with all their daily activities.

How quickly Alzheimer's disease progresses, and the life expectancy of someone with it, vary greatly. On average, people with Alzheimer's disease live for eight to ten years after the first symptoms. However, this varies a lot, depending particularly on how old the person was when they first developed Alzheimer's.

Smileband general news

A thug was filmed hurling bricks at a police car, jumping on the roof and dancing on the car while his friend shouts 'Merry f****** Christmas off camera. Wearing a motorbike helmet to conceal his identity, the vandal threw missiles at the car windows. 

He throws another at the window but completely misses its target even though the assailant was standing only feet away. After one front window is shattered he climbs on the bonnet and repeatedly kicks the windscreen before climbing onto the roof and dancing on it.

He then attempts to rip sirens from the roof, but is too weak to pull them off.       

Footage of the barbaric act was posted on Instagram late last month and has been viewed nearly 120,000 times so far. It is believed that the incident took place and was shot in Birmingham, but West Midlands Police were unable to confirm if the car belonged to their fleet.    

Last year, film footage emerged of a masked assailant smashing up a police car while officers were paying tribute to the war dead at a Remembrance Sunday event in Brookvale Park. 

The thug laughs and uses a hammer to scratch, smash and mark the vehicle before fleeing on a moped and shouting about the police.

Both acts of  vandalism sparked a wave of revulsion on social media. 

Smileband general news

Poppi Worthington's father boasted he would sue police for £100,000 for wrongly accusing him of her murder, his former friends have claimed.  Paul Worthington, 49, sexually abused his daughter before she died in 2012, a coroner ruled last week.

Two of his former friends claim he told them: 'They think I murdered her but they've got nothing on me. There's no evidence and I'm going to sue them. I'll make £100,000. One ex-friend told the sun on Sunday’ He was always going on all the time about how much money he would get.'

Another added: 'All he seemed to be bothered about was money, not his daughter.'   

It comes as a petition calling for an independent review into the death of tragic 13-month-old Poppi reaches more than 30,000 signatures. 

Mr Worthington has avoided facing any criminal charges due to a series of farcical investigative and forensic blunders by Cumbria Police.

But the petition, which is using the hashtag #poppisvoice is calling for a review following the failure to prosecute her father.

Organisers set an initial target of 15,000 signatures but the figure was approaching 12,000 on Thursday night and reached 30,000 by Saturday.

The Crown Prosecution Service was on Wednesday reviewing the inquest report in case it offered enough fresh evidence to reopen their criminal probe into her death.

Already Poppi's local MP John Woodcock demanded a full public inquiry into Poppi's death and how the police case was so badly handled. Now Mr Woodcock has met Home Secretary Amber Rudd in her House of Commons office and been assured she will give his request her consideration.

Mr Woodcock, MP for Barrow-in-Furness, said: 'I am pleased that the home secretary took time to see me.

'She made clear she recognises the community is reeling over Poppi's death and the terrible failings that surround it.

'Mrs Rudd pledged to consider urgently what steps she can take in the light of (the inquest) verdict and asked me to work with her home office team to try to make any action she takes as effective as possible.

'Ministers always stress they cannot direct the Crown Prosecution Service who we are praying will look at the case in a fresh light following the coroner's verdict.

'But the home secretary can act to help restore confidence in our policing system which has been badly damaged by this terrible affair. 

Smileband health topics

The ‘Mini Police’ project for those aged nine to 11 was started by Durham Constabulary and is now being taken up across the country. It gives uniforms to pupils in ‘economically deprived areas’ and invites them to special events.

The idea, according to official documents, is that ‘vulnerable children’ will be given a ‘positive experience of policing’ and ‘get involved in the local community’. But they can also ‘support subtle educational interventions to tackle Serious Organised Crime’ and ‘gun and gang crime’.

Units of the Mini Police often go out on ‘community speed watch’ duty, monitoring passing motorists on busy roads.

Some are equipped with speed guns while others hold up digital boards alerting drivers that they are going too fast. 

The Home Office is contributing £8,000 to an academic assessment of Mini Police, described as ‘the largest-scale primary school “youth association” delivery model ever led by UK policing’. In Norfolk, where all 150 Police Community Support Officers are being axed to save money, police have been accused of putting teenagers at risk in a similar scheme. 

Acting Inspector Mick Andrew posted online a photo of ten youngsters in high-vis jackets, with the caption: ‘Thetford Police Cadets heading out on [anti-social behaviour] patrols of the town centre.’

It prompted an incredulous response on Twitter, with solicitor Nicholas Diable warning: ‘Even if they’re tagging along it strikes me that a situation could quickly get out of hand and then you’ve got a violent situation with PCs having to defend the kids they’re responsible for… An exceptionally bad plan.’

A Norfolk Police spokesman said: ‘All relevant risk assessments were carried out. 

Smileband general news

President Donald Trump has apparently been receiving updates about the government shutdown over the phone as he spent his Saturday in the Oval Office instead of on the Mar-a-Lago golf course as he'd initially intended. Trump was pictured in one of his white 'Make America Great Again Hats' and apparently speaking on the phone Saturday afternoon. 

The White House Director of Social Media Dan Scavino Jr said the President was 'receiving the latest updates from Capitol Hill on negotiations to end the #DemocratShutdown,' which was quickly called into questioning as there are no papers on his desk in front of him.

And as GOP leaders were keeping Trump up-to-date on the status of the Government, they were also releasing a new advertisement against illegal immigration and 2018 Democratic congressional candidates. 

The Trump campaign released a new ad on Saturday - calling Democrats 'complicit' in any future murders committed by immigrants who are in the country illegally. 'President Trump is right - build the wall, deport criminals, stop immigration now,' the advertisement says over clips of Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi. 

'Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants.' 

The ad came at a choice time for Republicans trying to paint the opposition party as guilty for the government shutdown.

Trump's campaign sent the ad, titled 'Complicit',after all but five Democrats voted against the spending bill Friday night because Republicans refused to discuss legislation that might offer DACA protections. 

The President has faulted Democrats for the shutdown - claiming that the party wants 'unchecked illegal immigration' over the 'safety of Americans.' 

He was especially upset over the shutdown because it meant he could not spend take Air Force One to Mar-a-Lago for a big-ticket gala commemorating his first year in office.    

The event at his private resort club commanded as much as $250,000 per couple for Republican campaign coffers. His sons Donald Jr and Eric are expected to attend in his place. 

Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority leader, also voiced that opinion, stating that Schumer 'wants to keep the government shut down for hundreds of millions of Americans until we finish negotiating on the subject on illegal immigration.

And while Schumer will admit that the lack of DACA protections are what kept most democrats from approving the budget - he says he thought he had a fix on Friday afternoon when he met with Trump. 

Smileband general news

Marnie Purnell, of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, was just eleven when she was struck down by what her parents initially put down to flu-like symptoms.

But when parents Corley, 32, and Stephen, 38, noticed their daughter was not getting any better and that she was losing weight, they took her to the doctors. Marnie was admitted to Sunderland Royal Hospital for tests and later transferred to the Great North Children's Hospital, based at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, where she underwent a ten-hour operation after the sinus infection had spread to her brain.

She was left temporarily paralysed and needed to learn how to walk and talk again.

But, now 13, Marnie has made an amazing recovery and the St Anthony's Catholic Girls Academy pupil is back enjoying her studies.

Mother Corley recalled: 'They discovered she had a brain infection and she was blue-lighted to the RVI, where they carried out a ten-hour operation to stop it spreading.

'Her sinuses were filled with fluid and infection, even her back sinus was affected, which is not normally the case.

'She ended up having two operations in a fortnight, to take away the infection from her sinuses.

'They removed part of her skull and she was placed in an induced coma for 48 hours. 'When she came round that night, she was paralysed and she couldn't speak.

'That night she had a huge seizure and she underwent tests for all sorts of things.

'She didn't respond at all and was fitting.'

Doctors at the Great North Children's Hospital discovered Marnie's infection had spread from the right side of the brain, to the left side.

Corley said: 'It was disastrous because Marnie is right-handed and that part of the brain controls the right side of the body. 'She couldn't speak and didn't know what was going on.'

Marnie underwent several weeks of grueling rehabilitation to help with her movement and speech.

'She was so determined,' Corley said. 'I have never seen a child like her. After a few weeks she was out of hospital.

'She was determined to go back to school in September, she was starting secondary Marnie has now recovered so well they rarely think about her illness. Corley said: 'Marnie is really great. I just can't believe how well she is.

'She has been so positive all along. As soon as she came home from hospital, she didn't lay around on the sofa, she was so determined.

'She did get tired at times, but as far as she was concerned she came home and that was it.'

Marnie said: 'It was frustrating learning how to walk and talk again but the consultants, nurses, physios and rehab team have all been fantastic.

'They said they'd never seen such a bad infection but thanks to them I'm back to school and feeling a lot better.'

Corley recently organised a fundraising event, resulting in a £2,000 donation to the Paediatric Infectious Diseases fund at the Great North Children's Hospital.

Smileband general news

Gary Knox, from Bolton, has been jailed for 11 years and three months following an investigation which saw more than £14,000, four-and-a-half kilos of heroin and bags of cocaine seized. 

While his accomplice Mohammed Zubair, 31, was jailed for nine for being found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

When they swooped on Knox's Evoque Range Rover - registration 'KN07 OXY' - they discovered bundles of cash totalling £14,500.

Knox, 42, of Jessop Forge, Bolton, was the leader of drug ring supplying heroin and cocaine throughout Greater Manchester. He admitted supplying class A substances.

Four other members of the gang were also sentenced. Mohammed Zubair, 31, of Castle Street, Bolton, was jailed for nine years after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. The court heard how Knox and Zubair ran a drugs ring, supplying thousands of pounds work of heroin and cocaine to a ring of dealers across the region. 

A lengthy police investigation, involving overt and covert officers finally led to their arrests.

Knox was seen driving his Range Rover around Bolton on a number of occasions and was seen meeting with two others: Nadeen Ashiq and Nelso Neish and dropping off carrier bags filled with drugs for them to sell. Zubair acted as a go-between for Knox, ensuring those buying drugs from him knew how and where to meet him.

Female accomplice Gemma Grundy stored drugs at her home address for Knox's in an attempt to keep his illicit business under wraps.

Detective superintendent Jon Chadwick from GMP's Serious and Organised Crime Group said:

'These jail terms come after a lengthy police investigation and mean we have successfully removed drugs, and some of the people who deal them, from our streets.

'Throughout the investigation officers confiscated a total of four-and-a-half kilos of heroin, agents that would be mixed with this drug, smaller quantities of cocaine and over £14,000 in cash from the group.

'These drugs destroy lives, they break up families and they terrorise communities. Those who supply drugs do so purely for their own greed. They have no thought for the people whose lives are affected. 'Knox and other members of this drug dealing ring will now spend years in prison where they can contemplate the lives they have ruined.'

Ashiq, 39, of Rhodes Court, Rochdale, was sentenced to five years and seven months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs.