Children of divorce care for parents less

A divorce -- even one 30 years ago -- means a child may be less involved in care-giving for elderly parents, a U.S. researcher says. In a study, published in the Advances in Life Course Research, divorce predicted an adult child would be less of involved with day-to-day assistance later in life for the aging parent. These activities included the child helping the parent maintain chores in the home."It’s not the divorce itself that affects the quality of the parent-child relationship, but it’s what happens afterwards such as geographical separation," study leader Adam Davey, of Temple University, said in a statement.

Davey analyzed data from 2,087 parents, age 50 and older, who reported on their 7,019 adult children in the National Survey of Family and Households from 1987 to 1994 and found marital disruptions earlier in a child’s life can be less detrimental to the relationship than those occurring in adulthood. One surprising finding was that both mothers and fathers are only half as likely to get support from a non-biological child. "Society does not yet have a clear set of expectations for step-children’s responsibility," Davey added.

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LONDON MATRIMONIAL SOLICITORS - PUBLIC CHILDREN

Whether judge erred in dismissing allegations of sexual abuse

Re F (a child) (care proceedings) [2007] EWCA Civ 810, [2007] All ER (D) 503 (Jul)
BFLS 3A[3063.1]; CHM 1[917]; Rayden 1(2) 40.1

The mother and father had a daughter, F, aged five. The father was a Schedule 1 offender, and in 1998, he pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault on a nine-year-old girl, for which he received a sentence of 18 months' imprisonment. The policy of the local authority had been to maintain F's placement with her parents, whilst offering them a package of support. An assessment of the father was carried out by M, a risk assessment and treatment specialist, which put the father in the medium risk bracket in relation to F. M's recommendation was that it would only be safe for the father to remain in the family unit if the parents were given ongoing support. The local authority proceeded on that basis although, at times, F's name was on the child protection register under the category of likely sexual abuse and neglect. During a meeting with a student care proceedings seeking an interim care order.

A conference was held where it emerged that the father had not been abiding by an agreement to leave the personal care of F solely to the mother. The mother and father asked for F to be accommodated whilst they made changes to ensure her safety. Directions were given, namely that the parties were to agree to F's continued accommodation under the Children Act 1989, s 20, and that contact for each of the parents would be supervised. A split hearing was ordered and a fact-finding hearing went ahead. The judge referred to a threshold criteria document and made reference to M's report although he decided not to hear evidence from him. In the event, the judge dismissed the allegations of sexual abuse as not reaching the requisite standard of proof, and stated that the parents had no case to answer.

The local authority appealed against that decision. It submitted, inter alia, that the judge had plainly been wrong to conclude that the parents did not have to give evidence in response to its threshold criteria under s 31 of the 1989 Act; that the judge had been wrong to conclude that the alleged failure to protect by the parents and the degree of risk presented by the father had been insufficient to justify the making of an order under the 1989 Act; and that the judge had been wrong to exclude in evidence the risk assessments undertaken in respect of the father.

The local authority's appeal was allowed. The Court of Appeal held that in the instant case, although the judge's decision to reject the allegations of sexual abuse by the father had been open to him, the outcome achieved by him had been wrong. There was force in the local authority's submission that the concentration on the allegations of sexual abuse had led the judge into an inappropriate dismissal of the real anxiety in the instant case, namely the risk which the father posed to F as a Schedule 1 offender.


Comment: The Court of Appeal took the view that the judge's concentration on the s 31 threshold criteria had closed his mind to the real risks posed to F; and his focus on the fact of sexual abuse had led him inappropriately to discount the expert evidence of M whose opinions on the risk posed by the father could not be sidelined. Moreover, it was unfortunate that the judge had introduced the concept of no case to answer as it had little or no place in care proceedings under the 1989 Act. The judge's order was plainly wrong and had to be set aside, and the proceedings re-instated.

In Re K (care: threshold criteria) [2005] EWCA Civ 1226 at [40]-[41] the point was made that the 'court needs to consider the whole family dynamic' and avoid the dangers of compartmentalisation.

Wife deserves 70 per cent because...

HE was the one who forked out the down payment for their properties.
But it was she who had the acumen to buy old houses at choice locations and renovate them, boosting their value.
She also ensured that their children wanted for nothing. She sent them to boarding schools in the UK and funded their business ventures.

So when the marriage broke down, she deserved to get more of their matrimonial assets.
This was what Justice Belinda Ang said last week in upholding a Family Court ruling on the division of a couple's assets following their divorce.
The husband's appeal against the earlier ruling (made last year) was dismissed with costs.
Mr Au Kin Chung, a Hong Kong-based businessman, wanted half the matrimonial assets, but he was only given only 30 per cent. His ex-wife, Madam Ho Kit Joo, a homemaker who lives here, got the rest.
The couple are in their 60s and were married for 32 years before divorcing.
Their marriage soured in 1994 and they became estranged. But Mr Au began divorce proceedings only in March 2003, on the grounds that he and his wife had been separated for more than four years.
There was no issue of custody of their children as they were adults by then.
But there was a bitter battle for the matrimonial assets.
The couple own three prime-district homes here and an apartment in Bayswater, an upper-class London location.
These include a bungalow in Oei Tiong Ham Park, off Holland Road, and a condo unit on Mount Sinai Drive.
Together, they are worth about $7m.
During their marriage, the couple bought and sold at least 10 other properties in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada.
Over 30 years, they amassed a fortune of more than $10 million.
Madam Ho herself is wealthy in her own right, buying a house at Queen Astrid Gardens in Bukit Timah, where she still lives.
She worked as a freelance property agent from 1978 to 1980.
CONTRIBUTION
Mr Au acknowledged her contributions to the family and their fortune.
But he claimed that the properties existed only because he made the down payments. The rest of the payments were made from their combined savings and using bank loans.
He said in his affidavit: 'She of course played a significant role in bringing up the children, investing our money and maintaining our properties, but I started it, I financed it and determined the direction in which the investments should go.
'At a later date it seems she sold some of the properties without my knowledge and made other investments, but it could only have been with our joint assets.'
Madam Ho admitted that she did not share the sales proceeds of some properties with her husband, but said the money had been used for family expenses.
EXAGGERATION
Otherwise, she rejected her ex-husband's claim as an exaggeration, saying she alone had managed the investments.
This was because he had stopped remitting money for the family's expenses in 1991.
She also said it was out of character for MrAu to concern himself with renovating and maintaining the properties.
Justice Ang wrote in her judgment: 'Madam Ho was clearly entitled to at least an equal division of the matrimonial assets even if there were no findings that she used her savings to help acquire the landed properties and that the cash portion of the acquisitions had all come from Mr Au.'
Lawyers told The New Paper that in divorce cases, what each spouse is awarded might not correspond with their respective financial contribution.
One of them, Mr Michael Low, said the court takes a broader view that may not be limited to a calculation of who paid how much.
He said: 'If the marriage lasted less than 10 years, the assets will probably be divided equally between the spouses.
'But in a long marriage, the court will also consider the intangibles, such as the amount of time each spouse spends with their children.
'This is because the spouses would have made sacrifices for the family.'

Rule of law in China the silent victim at Bo Xilai wife's trial - Reuters

Rule of law in China the silent victim at Bo Xilai wife's trial - Reuters

By Michael Martina and Sui-Lee Wee

BEIJING | Wed Aug 1, 2012 3:16am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Gu Kailai, the wife of deposed Chinese leader Bo Xilai and a career lawyer, faces possible execution for murder at the hands of a swift, unblinking justice system that she once championed.

Gu, who practiced commercial law and wrote once a book about her experiences of both the Chinese and U.S. legal systems, will be at the centre of highly politicized trial this month in which rule of law is unlikely to attract more than token attention.

Legal experts and activists expect her to receive the kind of rapid guilty verdict handed down in almost all Chinese criminal trials - the kind Gu once compared favorably to U.S. legal practice where she felt the guilty risked going free on legal technicalities.

"As long as it is known that you, John Doe, killed someone, you will be arrested, tried and shot to death," Gu wrote of Chinese criminal justice in her 1998 book.

Chinese law, she explained, did "not mince words".

Now Gu finds herself on the other side of Chinese law in a case that experts say is unlikely even to become a rallying point for China's marginalized supporters of judicial reform.

"It simply cuts too close to core issues of internal (Communist) Party politics and the handover of power," said Carl Minzner, a Chinese law expert at New York's Fordham University School of Law, casting Gu's trial as part of a political campaign against her husband, once seen as a candidate to join China's next top leadership team to be unveiled late this year.

"These are the very last areas we should expect any willingness (from Beijing) to play by legal norms."

China has long had an official agenda of enforcing rule of law and its case against Gu has drawn global interest, not only because of the political overtones but because the victim, former Bo family friend Neil Heywood, is British and Frenchman Patrick Devillers is a potential witness.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has demanded Beijing live up to its judicial rhetoric in the Gu case, calling in April for "a full investigation that observes due process, is free from political interference, exposes the truth behind this tragic case, and ensures that justice is done".

'AN OBVIOUS FARCE'

But experts say London is bound to be disappointed. They point out that the signs so far are that the trial against Gu and her alleged accomplice, family aide Zhang Xiaojun, will be a formality with only the severity of the sentence in any doubt - execution or a long jail term.

Gu will not have access to her family lawyer, Shen Zhigeng, who has revealed that other legal counsel have been assigned to her case. China's official Xinhua news agency has already said the evidence against Gu will be "irrefutable and substantial" when the case goes to court, likely next week.

"It makes the case a transparent sham," said Jerome Cohen, an expert on Chinese law at New York University. "If you forbid people to have the best lawyer they can and you assign lawyers who you control...it renders the whole thing an obvious farce."

Both Bo, the ousted Chongqing party chief, and Gu have been in detention since Beijing first announced the murder allegation against Gu and the unspecified "disciplinary violations" against Bo in April. At the time, Bo was stripped of all party positions. Neither he nor his wife has been able to publicly comment on the allegations.

Despite the track record of China's criminal justice system - its courts answer first to the party, almost never side with defendants and have never ruled in favor of dissidents - it has sometimes raised hopes for genuine reform.

Beijing appeared to offer some encouragement to reformers in the 1990s with a promise to "rule the country according to law". Late in the decade, it added the principle to the constitution, though it still recognized the party as supreme arbiter.

In 2003, it abolished "custody and repatriation" powers, a form of arbitrary detention once used by local governments to sweep homeless and other undesirables from the streets.

Emboldened, some legal activists began to test the government's rhetoric on rule of law, launching cases against the authorities on behalf of ordinary aggrieved citizens - but they quickly found that nothing much had actually changed.

RULE OF LAW RETHINK

Blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who made international headlines in April with his escape from house arrest and his flight to the United States, recalls his own 2006 trial for whipping up a crowd that disrupted traffic and damaging property - charges he says were trumped up to stop him advocating for the disabled, farmers and women forced to undergo abortions under China's one-child policy.

Chen too was deprived of his lawyer and was forcibly represented by two state-appointed counsel.

"In the courtroom, to all the unfounded accusations by the prosecution, the two lawyers would only respond, 'We have no objection'," Chen said by phone from New York where he is furthering his legal studies.

Minzner, of Fordham University, said any genuine party interest in the rule of law evaporated from around 2003 as the government realized that it posed a threat to one-party rule.

"A combination of political and practical concerns came together to lead central authorities to rethink it -- how far do we really want to go down this track?" he said.

For Chen Guangcheng, genuine rule of law would indeed challenge the party's grip on power, though he also believes long-term political stability cannot be assured without it.

"If there was truly the rule of law in the first place, power should be returned to the people. There would be no way for them to hold on to power," Chen said.

Farmers, evicted homeowners and affluent business people have used the courts to seek redress, but victories have been rare and often hollow. In July, a court threw out a fraud charge against disabled lawyer Ni Yulan who had helped defend people from forced evictions carried out in the name of development.

But Ni won only a two-month reduction in her near-three-year jail sentence for causing a disturbance.

In March, parliament gave new safeguards to criminal suspects and defendants but also solidified police powers to hold certain suspects in secret for up to six months. And harassment and detention of lawyers, whose legal advocacy is seen as a threat by the party, has been intensifying ahead of China's once-in-a-decade leadership handover later this year.

"On appearances, there has been progress, but there has been no real increase in judicial independence and legal representation," said Li Fangping, a lawyer who has defended dissidents and protesters. "Recently it has been crippled."

As ever in China, there is a pithy phrase to sum up Chinese justice. "You will have heard the saying 'the police cooks the food, the prosecutor serves it and the court eats it'," said Eva Pils, a law expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Lucy Hornby; Writing by Michael Martina; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Nick Macfie)

Source: www.reuters.com

Frankel set for Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood - BBC News

Unbeaten Frankel will seek a 12th straight win as he bids to defend his Sussex Stakes title at Glorious Goodwood on Wednesday.

The colt is rated about a 1-16 shot by bookmakers to see off his three rivals.

His trainer, Sir Henry Cecil, enjoyed an opening day festival double.

Cecil is having cancer treatment and is unable to attend this week, but Frankel's brother Noble Mission took the Gordon Stakes in a photo finish and Chachamaidee won the Lennox Stakes.

Frankel's previous wins

• 13 Aug 2010, Newmarket - bt Nathaniel by 1/2 length
• 10 Sep 2010, Doncaster - bt Rainbow Springs by 13 lengths
• 25 Sep 2010, Ascot, Royal Lodge Stakes - bt Klammer by 10 lengths
• 16 Oct 2010, Newmarket Dewhurst Stakes - bt Roderic O'Connor by 2¼ lengths
• 16 Apr 2011, Newbury, Greenham Stakes - bt Excelebration by 4 lengths
• 30 Apr 2011, Newmarket, 2000 Guineas - bt Dubawi Gold by 6 lengths
• 14 Jun 2011, Ascot, St James's Palace Stakes - bt Zoffany by ¾ length
• 27 Jul 2011, Goodwood, Sussex Stakes - bt Canford Cliffs by 5 lengths
• 15 Oct 2011, Ascot, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes - bt Excelebration by 4 lengths
• 19 May 2012 Newbury, Lockinge Stake s - bt Excelebration by 5 lengths
• 19 June 2012, Ascot, Queen Anne Stakes - bt Excelebration by 11 lengths

Frankel, the world's top-rated racehorse, beat Canford Cliffs by five lengths in last year's Sussex Stakes.

Opposition on Wednesday includes Godolphin's four-year-old Farhh, third in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and second in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown last time.

Stablemate and pacemaker Bullet Train, and Richard Fahey's Gabrial, who stepped up from handicap company to finish fifth in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, are the only other runners.

Mark Johnston, seven times leading trainer at the prestigious Goodwood meeting, claimed an impressive victory in the opening race of the week as new jockey Darren Egan picked up the pace two furlongs out to win by two-and-a-half lengths on Landaman.

Cecil then secured the Gordon Stakes for the second time - the first was way back in 1983 when Lester Pigott rode John French.

Encke, ridden by Mickael Barzalona, appeared to have the race won on the rails, but Tom Queally pressed Noble Mission and edged the photograph by a nose, with favourite Michelangelo third.

The Richard Hannon-Richard Hughes partnership was looking for a third win in five years in the Lennox Stakes over seven furlongs, but finished a length and a half adrift in second as Chachamaidee powered through the field.

Clerk of the Course Seamus Buckley was pleased with the first day of the festival and expects Wednesday to be just as successful.

Frankel wins 11th consecutive race at Royal Ascot

"The trainers and the jockeys are happy and say that the course rode extremely well," he said.

"We won't be doing anything out of the ordinary before racing tomorrow apart from getting the course all walked back and levelled. We're hopeful of another dry day tomorrow following a dry night so it looks like we'll still be racing on good ground tomorrow."

Ladies' Day on Thursday features the Goodwood Cup over two miles, won last year by Frankie Dettori on Opinion Poll, who was second to Dettori and Colour Vision in this year's Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

There are currently 43 horses entered for the Goodwood Mile on Friday, with John Gosden-trained four-year-old Trade Commissioner highly regarded after completing successive wins over the distance in the Challenge Handicap at Sandown.

Hoof It, owned by golfer Lee Westwood and agent Chubby Chandler, has withdrawn from Saturday's Stewards' Cup.

James Fanshawe's Hallelujah, third in the Summer Stakes at York last time, has been at the head of the market for some time and is still in contention for a start.

Also on the final day is the Group One Nassau Stakes, won for the last three years by Cecil's Midday, who has since been retired.

Timepiece is Cecil's offering this year, while Gosden has strong contenders in Izzi Top and The Fugue.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sussex Police ask 500 recruits to try again - The Argus.co.uk

Sussex Police ask 500 recruits to try again

10:30am Wednesday 1st August 2012 in News By Tim Ridgway

Hundreds of potential police recruits will have to reapply for jobs after a recruitment freeze is lifted.

About 500 successful candidates received letters from Sussex Police in the autumn of 2010 telling them their applications were on hold and they had been put on a waiting list after the force revealed it had to make £52 million of cuts in five years.

After putting their lives on hold for two years, bosses have now confirmed they will ditch the waiting list when recruitment reopens.

This means those who applied for jobs will be competing for a restricted number of positions on lower salaries and will have to have more qualifications when reapplying.

The announcement was revealed in a circular newsletter to officers and staff in the force which has been seen by The Argus.

In a question and answer section, one disgruntled officer highlighted the “enormous cost” already spent on recruiting the pool of 500 and challenged bosses’ claims the new recruitment process would lead to a more efficient service.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said it was unable to provide a cost of recruiting and any training adding this was “not significant” compared with the desire to get the best people for the job.

The anonymous police officer said: “Those candidates have already demonstrated that they have the potential to become police officers.

“It is likely that over the last couple of years they will have gained life experiences and maturity that can only benefit everyone.”

Adrian Rutherford, the force’s head of human resources, said: “We want the very best people to join.

“Policing has changed and when we reopen recruitment this will be a revamped process.

“We believe that after at least three years, the most effective way of doing this is to start the process afresh and we hope that those who have been interested in the past will still be enthusiastic about joining.

“It also open up the opportunity to many more people who have become eligible during that time.”

Mr Rutherford added about 30 of the 500 recruits would start work in Spring 2013. He added these were the furthest along the recruitment process and had achieved the highest marks on tests.

It comes amid claims that crime detection rates have suffered since the force began reducing the number of frontline police.

Meanwhile the force has said it needs to spend up to £140,500 in total on recruiting five spin doctors to maintain their “popular website”, teach officers how to use Twitter and sell the idea of cuts to workers.

Comments(2)

meatymagoo says...
11:46am Wed 1 Aug 12

wrong...there was a waiting list of 600 people. in 2010, 500 of them were told that they would have to reapply in 2015. out of the 100 remaining, 30 will be starting in february. I know this as I had several friends who were in that 500.please check facts before printing. meatymagoo

Alan G Skinner says...
1:43pm Wed 1 Aug 12

They want the best, but want to pay less????? So when does that happen in the real world.... paying less to get the best????? You get what you pay for in life, pay peanuts, get monkeys! Alan G Skinner

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Source: www.theargus.co.uk

Sussex revises county aiport business rules - Delaware Wave

GEORGETOWN ---- Sussex County has revised its rules for businesses setting up shop at the county airport, setting minimum standards for the businesses it hopes there will be tenants and employers.

"This is not meant to stifle competition; in fact, to encourage it," said James A. Hickin, the manager of the Sussex County Airport. "This is to make a level playing field for everybody. It helps to prevent unfair competition."

The new rules set basic service standards for the companies that serve private pilots at the airport. They mandate, for example, that any company offering refueling keep at least one 10,000-gallon gas tank at the airport and stay open at least eight hours a day. Any air charter or air taxi service must have a waiting area and restroom for customers, and its instructors must be Federal Aviation Administration-certified.

In most cases, the standards call for just one employee certified in the work the business does, although the county encourages companies to exceed the standards if they can. The rules also compel businesses to obtain one or several $1 million insurance policies, depending on the work they do.

The rules, adopted by Sussex County Council on Tuesday, come amid ramped-up public spending on the airport to expand its longest runway from 5,000 to 5,500 feet, part of a plan by the county to rely on the airport as a main driver of economic development. An eventual extension to 6,000 feet would allow a major employer based at the airport, PATS Aircraft, to offer repair services to larger planes, up to a fully-fueled, 178-foot-long Boeing 757. Last year, the FAA agreed to pay nearly all of the cost of the first 500-foot extension, and groundbreaking on that project will start in mid-August.

On Monday, the Delaware Department of Transportation announced it was awarded a $148,000 federal grant to develop a business plan for the airport and write an economic impact study of aviation development statewide.

Source: www.delmarvanow.com

Katie Holmes' divorce is good news for her fashion line - heatworld

Katie Holmes' divorce is good news for her fashion line - heatworld

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It seems to be doing wonders for her career and her ability to crack a smile, but it seems Katie Holmes’ divorce from Tom Cruise is also good for business. The New York Times says Katie’s fashion line Holmes &Yang has seen sales soar since she ended ...
Source: www.heatworld.com

Professor Child Debuts Educational Film “Children and Divorce” - YAHOO!

Professor Child has just released its first educational film, “Children and Divorce”. The documentary style film highlights the personal stories of eight children whose families are going through or have gone through a divorce. The film focuses on the child’s perspective and is helpful for any child looking for a way to relate to or work through the difficulties of divorce.

Bend, Oregon (PRWEB) August 01, 2012

After a discouraging search to find a hopeful and healing product for her niece, Jenni O’Keefe, co-founder of Professor Child, was inspired to create a new type of educational tool. “I was dismayed at the lack of resources available for children dealing with grief and divorce. I knew there had to be a way to instill a sense of hope and healing to children going through a painful time. There was an opportunity to create something special.” Ultimately, after partnering with co-founders Sharon Richards, a mental health counselor, and Rory Kidder, an elementary school teacher, Professor Child was launched with a focus on children teaching children by sharing their own personal stories. “This truly was a collaboration of working moms with diverse backgrounds in therapy, education, and personal experience. Once we started discussing the problem we wanted to solve, the solution of ‘children teaching children’ was a shared vision,” said O’Keefe.

Professor Child offers a different type of educational tool ­ one in which children teach children by sharing their stories without clinical messages or adults giving advice. “We want children to know they are not alone in what they are experiencing. We believe they can learn valuable lessons by simply listening to each others’ personal stories,” said Rory Kidder, co-founder.

“Children and Divorce”, the first Professor Child production, brings together eight children to share their stories. In the film they describe what divorce means to them, how it has changed their lives, and what has helped. The documentary style film offers simple visuals of the children telling their unique stories. “We didn’t know what to expect as we prepared to film these children and their stories. We just knew we wanted to provide a venue for them to share their experience, what they learned from it, and what advice they would give to children affected by divorce. Ultimately, we were blown away by their honesty, sincerity and courage,” said Sharon Richards, co-founder.

“It is one thing when an adult gives advice and says everything will be OK; it is another message altogether when a ‘peer’ says it,” said Kim Kelly, Licensed Professional Counselor, after viewing the film.

Professor Child produces educational tools from films to workbooks that focus on providing a message for children that is relatable, healing, and hopeful and purely child focused. Professor Child is currently in production with films focusing on grief, children who have a sibling with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and children from military families.

About Professor Child, LLC

Professor Child is the creation of three moms coming together with a fundamental belief in empowering. Founded on the belief that children have a powerful voice that is relatable, healing and hopeful, Professor Child focuses on challenging events that may arise in a child’s life. Professor Child produces educational films and workbooks.

To learn more about Professor Child’s projects, visit http://www.professorchild.com

Jenni O'Keefe
jenni@professorchild.com
541-598-4077
Email Information

Source: news.yahoo.com

Kent PCC hopeful pledges to introduce youth police commissioner - Kent News

Ann Barnes

By Marijke Cox, Reporter Wednesday, August 1, 2012
9:00 AM

Independent candidate Ann Barnes says she wants to give young people in Kent a voice

A hopeful in the Police and Crime Commissioner race has vowed to give young people a voice if elected by creating a youth police commissioner post.

Ann Barnes, who is the current chair of Kent Police Authority (KPA), the body which currently monitors the county’s force, said it would be a paid job and open to all young people, from school leavers to gap year students and unemployed youngsters.

“A police youth commissioner will create a link to those who really know what it’s like to be a young citizen in Kent,” she said.

“There are a lot of disenchanted young people out there and we need to give them a say in policing.”

Last week Mrs Barnes made the surprise announcement she would be standing in the PCC election as an independent on November 15 despite previously criticising the upcoming role, which is being introduced by the Home Office.

She told this website she had no other choice but to stand if the Government was to push ahead with the shake-up. She is expected to stand down as KPA chair in August.

The PCC will be an individual voted in by the public for a four-year term to replace the existing KPA on November 22.

They will set the budget, determine a policing strategy and have the power to hire and fire the Chief Constable.

The annual salary is £85,000.

Mrs Barnes launched her youth initiative during a visit to community radio Academy FM at the Folkestone Academy.

She pledged to use some of her own salary to fund the post.

“It would be a paid job, different to an internship, and it will last for a year,” she said.

“I’ll take someone new on each year and they will be the face of policing for young people – the person who will give them a voice.”

Mrs Barnes said the idea stemmed from the suggestion made by independent London mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita in April who said there should be a youth Mayor of London.

“I thought it made sense and was a really good idea. This is not just an electioneering gimmick,” she said.

“It will be something a young person can benefit from, they will gain experience and to have something like that on their CV would be brilliant.

“They will help me engage fully with young people the length and breadth of the county. So often, young people say they feel isolated from the work of the police. My youth commissioner initiative will bridge the gap.”

Mrs Barnes said if she is elected the youth post would be in place by April 1, following an open recruitment process.

She is inviting feedback about the role at www.annbarnes.co.uk.

Other PCC candidates are Craig Mackinlay (Con), Harriet Yeo (Lab), Steven Uncles (English Democrats) and independent hopefuls Dai Liyanage, Ken Little, Fran Croucher, Fergus Wilson and Ian Driver.

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Source: www.kentnews.co.uk

Law firm Dewey secures two extra weeks of bankruptcy funding - Reuters UK

Law firm Dewey secures two extra weeks of bankruptcy funding - Reuters UK

NEW YORK, July 30 | Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:39pm BST

NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - Dewey & LeBoeuf on Tuesday secured an extra two weeks of funding for its bankruptcy, giving the defunct law firm some leeway in trying to convince former partners to accept a settlement and avoid what could be years of litigation.

Judge Martin Glenn in a court filing approved Dewey's request to extend its funding deadline - which would have lapsed on Tuesday - through Aug. 15. The request had the support of Dewey's lenders, who are effectively bank rolling the case by letting the firm use money pledged to them as collateral.

The extension comes as Dewey tries to claw back payments made to its former partners, the proceeds of which would go toward paying back creditors. The law firm went bankrupt in May after deciding to close its doors due to high debt and a raft of partner defections.

It has offered former partners a deal under which they would pay between $5,000 and $3.5 million depending on compensation, with a maximum total recovery of $90.4 million.

Failing a robust settlement, it is unlikely Dewey's lenders would continue to fund a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That would likely force Dewey to convert its case to a streamlined liquidation under Chapter 7, in which a court-appointed trustee would take control of Dewey's assets and litigate against partners.

The firm had hoped to know by July 24 whether partners would accept the settlement, but requested the extension after it decided to alter the terms of a previous offer in response to partner concerns.

The case is In Re Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-12321. (Reporting By Nick Brown; editing by Andre Grenon)

Source: uk.reuters.com

London 2012 Olympics: day four – as it happened - The Guardian

Good morning and welcome to day four of the London 2012 Olympics.

China has become embroiled in the first doping controversy of the London Games after one of the world's most respected coaches, the American John Leonard, executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, described the swimming prodigy Ye Shiwen's gold medal performance as "unbelievable" and "disturbing".

China is currently top of the medal table with nine golds. The USA is second with five, and France is third with three.

Britain is in 20th place with one silver and two bronzes, following yesterday’s stunning third-place finish for the male gymnasts – which was so nearly a silver.

There are 15 medals up for grabs today, so all this could change dramatically by the end of the day. Or China and the USA could win lots more medals.

Coming up today:

• 9am onwards: Kobe Bryant and his team-mates on the US basketball team continue their campaign for gold, today taking on Tunisia. Meanwhile, Britain, who lost their opening match against Russia, need to beat Brazil to keep alive their hopes of progressing.

• 10am: Fencing: the men’s individual foil gold medal will be decided at the North Greenwich Arena today. Three British athletes will be competing, with the highest hopes for James David and Richard Kruse.

• 10.30am: The fourth and final day of the eventing competition. Can Zara Phillips win the first royal Olympic medal? The individual honours look out of her reach, but the British riders – including Mary King and world No 1 William Fox-Pitt – are well-placed to challenge for the team gold.

• 11.30am onwards: At Wimbledon, Venus Williams plays Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak in the second round on centre court, followed by Andy Murray v Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. After that Andy Roddick plays Novak Djokovic, and then Britain’s Laura Robson plays Maria Sharapova. On court one, Maria Kirilenko of Russia plays Britain’s Heather Watson, among other matches. In the doubles, Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel play Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.

• Midday: In the sailing, Britain’s Ben Ainslie has a great chance of gold in the Finn class, as does Paul Goodison in the Laser. The regattas continue today, with the medal races at on Sunday and Monday.

• 1.30pm: Britain’s David Florence, a silver medallist in Beijing, hopes to go one better this afternoon when he lines up in the men’s canoe slalom. The semi-finals and finals take place today.

• 2pm: The Royal Artillery barracks will host the men’s skeet shooting finals, where the world record holder Vincent Hancock of the US will defend his title.

• 2.10pm: Olympic champions Hungary play Montenegro in the water polo. Britain is also playing, at 10am against Serbia.

• 4.30pm: Gymnastics. Team GB’s women – including uneven bars expert Beth Tweddle and 15-year-old Rebecca Tunney, the squad’s youngest and shortest member – face tough competition in today’s team final. The US achieved the highest qualification score to participate.

• 4.15pm: A geopolitical grudge match as Serbia play Croatia in the men's handball preliminary round. Serbia are fourth in the world rankings to Croatia's 13th.

• 7.30pm onwards: And there’s a dramatic evening ahead in swimming finals at the Aquatics Centre. American arch-rivals Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will team up at 8.45pm for the 4x200m freestyle relay final, less than an hour after Phelps – who is hoping to overtake gymnast Larisa Latynina as the most decorated Olympic athlete in history – has taken part in the 200m butterfly final. Meanwhile the US’s Missy Franklin and perhaps also Britain’s Caitlin McClatchey will race in the 200m freestyle final at 7.40pm.

• 7.45pm: Great Britain – who have been very impressive so far – play Brazil in their final group-stage match in the women’s football tournament. Britain have won both their previous group matches so are already through to the quarter-finals, but both teams tonight will want to top the table to avoid meeting world champions Japan in the quarter-finals. The brilliantly-named Brazilian Marta has been Fifa’s world player of the year five times. Elsewhere in women’s football, New Zealand play Cameroon, Japan play South Africa, the USA play North Korea, Canada play Sweden, and France play Colombia.

Source: www.guardian.co.uk