14/05/17

[Maik]

Four killed as train crashes through house in northern Greece

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/14/greece-train-derailment-in-leaves-dead-injured-house

[Maik]

[Maik]

Why has Labour included bees in its manifesto?
Leaked draft says Labour will protect bees by banning all neonicotinoid pesticides, which have been linked to species decline

If you were wondering why bees popped up in the Labour party’s leaked manifesto this week, then here’s the answer.

Since 1900 about 20 bee species have become extinct in the UK and 35 more are now at risk.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/11/why-has-labour-included-bees-in-its-manifesto

[Maik]

Skirts for boys at private Highgate School under plans for gender-neutral uniform

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/14/skirts-boys-private-highgate-school-plans-gender-neutral-uniform/

[Maik]

How weapons confiscated in UK schools have changed over the years

Police in England and Wales say they have confiscated more than 2,000 weapons from schools in the last two years.

The haul includes samurai swords, axes and rifles and police are also warning there has been a "worrying" increase in young people carrying knives.

"I have seen a huge amount of weapons," teacher Guy Tarrant tells Newsbeat.

"They vary in degree of horribleness, from small, everyday missiles to much more dangerous weapons."

Guy has taught in more than 150 schools across London over the last 20 years and has noticed changes over time in the items he and other teachers have confiscated.

"If we look at the 1950s you had traditional catapults, pea shooters, cap guns, even everyday things like berries and crab apples [being used as weapons]," he says.

"Towards the 1970s it was a little bit more problematic. You've got kung-fu weapons, air pistols, knuckle dusters, spud guns, smoke bombs."

"Baseball bats were popular in the 1980s.

"Then during the 1990s it was things like laser pens and cap guns."

Guy says there are now better security measures to prevent illegal items being brought into schools that have a problem with weapons.

"A lot of schools now have metal arches that beep to alert when metal goes through," he says.

"There also police on site in mainstream schools."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39900770/how-weapons-confiscated-in-uk-schools-have-changed-over-the-years

[TonyKath]

Four killed as train crashes through house in northern Greece

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/14/greece-train-derailment-in-leaves-dead-injured-house

Looking at the video it's amazing more weren't killed, perhaps a quiet day on the railway.  The drone vid is eerily silent as it loops multiple times over the site with the train at the side of the track and with virtually no activity.  There's another vid which shows various people trackside again some time after the accident and features close-ups of the broken rail.  Wouldn't get that in the UK!

Tony