Smileband general news

White British children are performing worse at GCSE than children whose first language is not English, official figures show. Government statistics released today revealed the Average Attainment 8 score per pupil, which measures the achievement of a student across eight different subjects.

White British children scored 45.9. It was a drop on last year's score of 49.8 and means they performed worse than students whose first language is not English, who scored 46.8.

Chinese pupils topped the table, with an average score of 62.6, while Indian students came second on 55.4.

Students from a Black Caribbean background scored 40.5 and Gypsy/Roma students came bottom on 18.

The average for all students was 46.3. 

The figures come amid major changes to England's exams system, including the introduction of a new grading system, which has meant the data includes English and maths GCSE results awarded new 9-1 grades while other subjects received traditional A*-G grades.

School leaders said the new grading system affecting English and maths has complicated the way school performance is calculated, as it has to be worked out using a combination of old and new grading systems.

One in EIGHT secondary schools in England falls below minimum standard - with 80 more that last year failing to make the grade

More than a quarter of a million children are being taught at under-performing secondary schools, official figures show.

One in eight of England's mainstream secondaries - 365 in total - fell below the government's minimum standards in 2017, according to new statistics.

This is up from 282 schools, just under one in 10 - the year before.

According to Press Association analysis of the data, it means 260,783 schoolchildren are now being taught at under-performing secondaries - about one in 12 (8.6%), compared to 206,991 (6.8%) in 2016.

Smileband general news

Across the globe, millions of families are split between two houses due to a divorce or separation.  While the parents stay grounded in their own houses, it is the children who must pack up and divide their lives between the two. This can be incredibly exhausting for a child at any age, from a preschooler who always seems to forget his favorite teddy bear at the mom’s house to the high schooler who doesn’t get why she can’t stay out as late when she’s at dad’s house.  

When there isn’t a good level of symmetry between their two houses, the children tend to become confused and frustrated. In turn, this creates conflict not only between the two parents but also between parents and children. Giving your child a sense of stability and equilibrium between your two houses will play a significant role in easing their stress and reducing conflict between all family members. Doing so begins in one place: opening lines of communication between your two houses.

Maintaining communication between your two houses will greatly improve your odds of achieving the level of stability you want to give to your children. Discuss and set common ground rules that apply within each home such as how late the kids can stay out at night, how much television they can watch after school, or what kinds of snacks they are allowed to eat. When the lifestyle rules change drastically between the two houses, it’s easy for the children to get confused about what they can do where, or they may favor one house more than the other just because they can get away with more there. When there is a better balance of rules between the two houses, the children will lead a much more stable lifestyle. Communicate with your co-parent about what those rules should be, where the rules may differ, and what should be done if the rules are broken. Having similar discipline practices between homes will help the children better understand what to expect at home and not to favor one house over the other.

Communication doesn’t only include discussing house rules, but it also should include discussion about the items within the two houses. It’s hard for a child of any age to pack up everything they may want or need for a week at one home, then have to do it all over again the next week. Talk to your co-parent about how you can better equalize what the kids have between their two houses. Supply each house with adequate toiletries, school supplies, and clothes for the kids. If your children have favorite items that they can never live without, help your children pack and ensure that those items are always in their bags when they leave your house.

Finally, communication isn’t only essential between just the two parents, but between parents and children. Talk to your kids about what they need in order to create that symmetry and equilibrium between their two houses. Communicate about the custody schedule and when they will be staying at one house or the other, especially when it comes to the holidays. If kids know what to expect and are not having surprise custody exchanges popping up all the time, they will feel more settled and secure. 

Communicating between two houses about all of these things might not be so easily done by phone or email, especially when conflict is a constant problem between co-parents. Seek counsel from a family law professional who is trained to help mediate communication and decisions made between co-parents. Also, consider using an online application that is more tuned to aiding the communication needs of families split between two houses

Smileband general news

Scientists have discovered the mummified body of a wealthy Swiss woman who died of syphillis is a distant relative of boris Johnston. 

The woman's body was uncovered in Basel in 1975 during renovation works to the city's Barüsser Church. 

Mystery has surrounded her identity ever since, with no gravestone to determine who she was.

But over 40 years later, DNA experts have finally revealed the woman is Anna Catharina Bischoff - one of the UK's Foreign Secretary's ancestors. Mr Johnson is yet to comment on the findings, but is fully aware of his Swiss ancestry, referring to them on the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? as 'posh toffs'.

The Foreign Office told MailOnline Mr Johnson does not wish to comment on the findings.  

As for Anna Catharina herself, she was part of the wealthy Basel family the Bischoffs and married a church minister, the BBC reports. She lived in Strasbourg, France, for most of her life, where she looked after people with sexually transmitted diseases. 

Through her work she contracted syphilis, returning to Basel for intensive mercury treatment -  but her efforts to find a cure were in vain.

She died of suspected mercury poisoning in 1787 aged 68.  

The key to finding out who she was came in 2017, when Swiss archives were uncovered showing the body had been exhumed once before - in 1843.

Experts suspected she came from a wealthy family as many of the city's richest residents were buried in churches like Barüsser.

Her coffin, unmarked, was also found in front of the altar, a sign of great respect and importance.  But the papers gave them even greater reason to believe she was one of the Bichoffs.

Scientists managed to extract DNA from the mummy's big toe and compared it to living relatives of the Bischoffs.

When the results came in, it was a 99.8 per cent match.

Once her identity had been revealed, experts traced her family tree.

Anna Catharina had seven children, but only two survived childhood. One daughter, also called Anna, married Christian Hubert Baron Pfeffel von Kriegelstein.

Skipping five generations of Pfeffel von Kreigelstein's, the historians discovered Marie Luise von Pfeffel married Stanley Fred Williams.

Their daughter married a man called Osman Wilfred Johnson Kemal, whose son is Stanley Johnson - recent star of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Here and father to the Foreign Secretary, 53.

Mr Johnson, 72, is also the father of Mail on Sunday columnist Rachel Johnson, 52, who was recently evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother House. 

Smileband general news

Recorded crime has leapt by the biggest spike in crime since 1990, new figures out today reveal. The number of crimes logged by police is up 14 per cent to 5.3million, recorded crime statistics published by Office for National Statistics showed.   

Statisticians said the data show continuing rises in the number of 'higher-harm' violent offences, which were most evident in knife and gun crime categories.

Police forces registered 37,443 offences involving a knife and 6,694 gun crimes, the figures show. 

The Crime Survey for England and Wales - seen as a more accurate measure overall by the ONS but which fails to correctly track the most serious crimes - has crime down as a whole, in line with long term trends. 

Separate statistics out today show there were 121,929 police officers in the 43 forces in England and Wales at the end of September 2017 - the lowest number since comparable records began in 1996. Knife crime is up 21 per cent compared with the previous year and the highest tally since comparable records started in the 12 months to March 2011.

Gun crime also went up by a fifth, to 6,694 recorded offences.  

The statistics show forces logged a total of almost 1.3 million general 'violence against the person offences' from October 2016 to September 2017, a year-on-year rise of 20 per cent. This is a broad category including murder, assault, harassment and stalking.  

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: 'These figures are truly shocking and should put an end to Government complacency on crime.

Smileband general news

Oxfam came under pressure yesterday to justify its chief executive's £127,000 a year salary following its controversial claim that poverty was caused by 'an extreme form of capitalism'. Criticism of the charity over its Twitter message blaming poverty on capitalism included demands for salary cuts for its executives from supporters who threatened to cancel donations.

Its chief executive Mark Goldring was paid £127,753, according to last year's accounts, and the charity received £177million in public funds. This week Oxfam enlisted Kate Moss to help mark its 75th year, with the supermodel donning designer outfits from the British charity's online shop for a series of glamorous images shot by top photographer David Bailey. 

Also this week Oxfam launched its annual report into wealth inequality around the world in which it claimed the world's richest 1 per cent took 82 per cent of all the wealth generated last year.

It then tweeted: 'We have an extreme form of capitalism that only works for those at the top. That is why we are calling for governments to manage economies so they work for everyone and not just the fortunate few. The charity faced a backlash from economists and academics who said capitalism had helped to lift millions out of poverty.

And Twitter user Colin Fisher said: 'Your disingenuous, or possibly woefully ignorant, stance on capitalism means that I will never make a donation to your pressure group again.'

Tony Allwright tweeted: 'Oxfam, your overriding priority is clearly to ensure as many people remain – or get – poor as possible, so that Oxfam and its executives remain in flourishing, lucrative business. Nothing else explains Oxfam's hatred of poverty-destroying capitalism.'

Smileband health issues

Shigellosis causes acute gastroenteritis. When severe, stools contain blood, mucus, and pus. While usually self-limiting to 4-7 days, severe dehydration can occur; especially in infants and the elderly. Asymptomatic infections can occur.

 

Arizona 5 year median: 444 cases

 

Transmission
Transmission can occur through contaminated food or water, by person-to-person transmission by the fecal-oral route or through exposure to feces by sexual contact.

Incubation period can range from 1 to 7 days.

Lab Tests & Specimen Info

Test*	Specimen
Culture	Stool

 Isolation Precautions

Enteric precautions should be followed for the duration of acute symptoms. 

Generally, no environmental measures are indicated for sporadic cases. For outbreaks, environmental cleaning may be necessary following EPA-approved cleaning materials and guidelines.

Prevention for Patients

• Carefully wash hands with soap during key times such as before eating and after changing a diaper or helping to clean another person who has defecated.
• If caring for a child in diapers who has shigellosis, promptly discard the soiled diapers in a lidded, lined garbage can, and wash hands and the child’s hands. Any leaks or spills of diaper contents should be cleaned up immediately.
• Avoid swallowing water from ponds, lakes, or untreated swimming pools.
• When traveling internationally, follow food and water precautions strictly and wash hands frequently.
• Avoid sexual activity with those who have diarrhea or who recently recovered from diarrhea.

Public Health Actions
Public health will conduct case and contact investigation to determine the source, risk factors, and transmission settings.

Antibiotics are usually not necessary for Shigella infections but if treating, culture and test for antibiotic susceptibility. CDC has reported emerging strains of Shigella with quinolone resistance. 

Smileband health topics

Death by asphyxiation is one of the worst ways to go. It is painful, anxiety-inducing, and not at all quick. To induce strangulation or any form of suffocation on another living being is to relinquish all traces of empathy and basic respect for life. It is heartbreaking to think of those that have perished in such cases, and the suffering they must have endured. How many poor souls have been buried alive? Of those, how many have even been found? The horrors of asphyxiation reverberate throughout the grave. These are cases of cruel deaths and gruesome murder, of strangulation by force. 

Smileband general news

A millionaire antiques dealer has today admitted strangling his seven-year-old daughter to death at his £1million London home - but has denied murder. Robert Peters, a Chinese porcelain expert, wrapped a dressing gown cord around little Sophia's neck on November 3 last year, then phoned police to confess what he'd done.

After police arrived at the detached Raynes Park property he shared with Sophia's Thai mother Kittiya Promsat, Peters was arrested and initially charged with attempted murder as medics battled to save his daughter's life in hospital.

But the charge was upgraded to murder the following day after she died in hospital. 

At a plea hearing today at the Old Bailey the 55-year-old pleaded guilty to Sophia's manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but that was rejected by the prosecutors who will press ahead with a murder trial due to start in April. Peters today appeared before Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC for a plea hearing at the Old Bailey.

The antiques trader spoke only to identify himself and showed no emotion during the brief hearing.

Peters, who appeared in the dock wearing a grey prison issue tracksuit, denied murder but pleaded guilty to Sophia's manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. 

Prosecutor Deanna Heer said the plea was not accepted and there will be a trial at the Old Bailey from April 23.

The trial is expected to go on for up to two weeks. A further case management hearing was set for March 28. The defendant was remanded into custody. Peters, who has been married three times, is a specialist in porcelain and runs a business with his twin brother, Richard, in Kensington Church Street. 

The business is in an antiques arcade with about a dozen other traders. 

Companies House accounts reveal that Peters had business assets worth a further £1.3m in 2016. The brothers hit the headlines in 2010 after they bought a Chinese vase with an asking price of £136 for almost £100,000 after a bidding war. 

Richard Peters, who reportedly lives in Tel Aviv, said it was a 'bargain' and would likely be sold on to a Chinese client.

A third brother, Paul, is also in the antiques trade in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.   

Ex-wife Sara, 57, from Marylebone, central London, said she had not spoken to Peters in 25 years. 

Smileband general news

An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck off japan on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which hit 103 km (64 miles) northeast of the island of Honshu, at a depth of 64 km (40 miles).

Japan lies in the 'Ring of Fire', a line of seismic faults surrounding the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. In the past two days, several major earthquakes have been recorded on the Ring of Fire, including off the coasts of Alaska and Indonesia.

On Tuesday morning, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck some 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska, US.

It prompted a tsunami warning for the coastal areas of Alaska and Canada's British Columbia, sending residents fleeing to higher ground, however waves failed to show up.   

The Indonesian island of Java was also shook by an earthquake yesterday, with the epicenter about 95 miles southwest of Jakarta at a depth of about 27 miles under the sea.

The magnitude 6.0 quake damaged hundreds of homes and seriously injured six students at a school where a roof collapsed. 

Smileband health topics

Ascarasis lumbricoides (also known as Intestinal Roundworms) are parasites that live in the intestines of individuals. Generally individuals infected with roundworms are asymptomatic but some infections can cause intestinal blockage and impair growth in children.

 

Roundworms are one of the most common intestinal parasites and are found in areas where human feces are used as fertilizer or poor sanitation occurs.

 

Transmission

Roundworm eggs are passed in the feces of an infected person. The larvae mature into a form that can penetrate skin of humans.