London: Jamie Cooper-Hohn, the estranged American wife of financier Sir Chris Hohn, was awarded £ 337 million in what could be the biggest divorce payout ever awarded by a judge in England. But she is not satisfied and is planning an appeal in the high court. They had fought over their share of a £ 700 million fortune at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court. The £337 million award makes her even wealthier than the Queen who at 285 in the Sunday Times Rich List, has a personal fortune of £ 330 million. Sir Hohn said Jamie should get a quarter of their fortune, but she claimed she should get half because the wealth was created as a result of their "partnership".
Aristocrat Gibson's appeal against conviction rejected
London: Aristocrat Edward Charles d'Olier Gibson who appealed against his conviction for assaulting a police officer claiming that he did not know what a modern policeman looked like was rejected by a judge. Gibson, who is heir to the historic baronetcy of Ashbourne, was told by a senior judge that he will have to live with his conviction after she rejected his "unbelievable" assertion that he had grappled with a constable for 11 minutes without realising who he was. A court heard that the financier lashed out at the policeman as he tried to arrest him outside his £1 million farmhouse in the Oxfordshire countryside following a heated row with his wife.
Queen intervened to make Prince Philip regent
London: Government papers show that just after the coronation in July 1953, the Queen personally intervened to ensure that her husband Duke of Edinburgh to act as regent if she died early until the young Prince Charles was old enough to rule himself. The change meant Princess Margaret, who had been in the line to become regent, was superseded by the Duke, the Prince’s father, in a move said to have the full support of all members of the Royal family.
Mohammad, Sophia most popular baby names
London: The name Mohammed has become the most popular boys’ name in the UK replacing Oliver from the top spot. For girls, Sophia proved the most popular name of the year, according to website Babycentre. Its list of the top 100 baby names for 2014 reveals an “enormous” surge in Arabic names. Maryam is the biggest riser for girls, jumping 59 places to number 35, Nur is a new entry at number 29, while Omar, Ali, and Ibrahim are all new to the boys’ top 100. With the increase of other Arabic names plus Aarav, an Indian boys' name, the top 100 shows the ever-increasing diversity of the UK today.”
Wristband to instil good habits in people
Washington: An American company has created Pavlok - an electric shock wristband - that has been designed to change bad habits in people by giving them an electric shock when they stray. The Pavlok is worn like a FitBit bracelet, and can be activated manually or automatically through an app. Inspired by Pavlov's theory – who trained his dogs to expect food every time a bell was rang – the app wearer is supposed to learn to avoid certain behaviour, or else an electric shock will be sent out from the band. "The idea is everybody has these things they know they shouldn't do," said Maneesh Sethi, who created Pavlok. "If you start to add a small amount of shock when you do stupid things, you can mostly just increase the awareness of your activity in your daily routine. I like to say that for the last 1,000 years, we've tamed environment, but we haven't tamed ourselves."
Sethi explained that, for instance, those looking to lose weight could shock themselves when their plate was half finished, to encourage themselves to stop eating. Or if you knew that you wasted too much time on social media, you could shock yourself to snap your attention away from the device.”
People need better access to family doctor: Jeremy Hunt
London: British health secretary Jeremy Hunt while speaking during a debate in the Commons said that the society was changing and that the people needed better access to family doctors around the clock. He made the point amid growing concerns that the NHS is entering a crisis, even before winter sets in. He says that he has taken his own children to Accident & Emergency at weekends because the wait to see a GP takes too long.
Three-year-old develops incurable genetic condition
London: Three-year-old Eddison Miller has become one of the youngest people in the world to be diagnosed with an extremely rare condition which makes him completely intolerant to UV rays.
Miller suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), an incurable genetic condition that means he could get cancer from sunlight. He has to wear a special UV-protective suit to ensure he is completely covered up whenever he ventures outside and cannot even be near the door at home when the postman opens the letter box. Although his parents try to keep his life as normal as possible, he has to wear gloves and a hat with attached visor made of specialist film that covers his face, neck and shoulders and clothes specially selected to block UV rays. The condition affects fewer than 100 people in Britain and around 1,000 around the world.
Pakistani who seeks citizenship eats fake passport
London: Wasim Husain, an ambulance call operator, was jailed for eight months after he admitted that he had taken £300 to write the British citizenship exam on behalf of another person. The 26-year-old began devouring the document after being confronted by staff who had examined the Pakistani passport he was using under an ultra-violet light. Sarah Slater, prosecuting, told Derby Crown Court: “The member of staff told the defendant she believed the passport was false and that he would not be sitting the citizenship test. He became very angry and grabbed the passport from the desk then tried to leave but the door was locked. He then began ripping at the passport, pulling off the front page and started to eat the passport.” The police were called and he was arrested.
Husband, wife crushed by their own car
London: Iftikhar Ali, 65, and wife Hazim, 63, were crushed under their own driverless car when it rolled down a hill outside their home. The pair were standing behind the car putting bags into the boot for a Sunday trip when it suddenly began moving backwards. Ali is believed to have tried to stop it rolling - but was dragged underneath as it rolled more than 50 yards. His wife Hazim was also trapped under the car when neighbours raised the alarm. Firefighters used low-pressure air bags, hydraulic spreaders and chock blocks to lift the car off the couple. Police found Ali dead and his wife was airlifted to hospital where she was in a critical condition.
Abusive Blackburn groom forces airliner to land in Bermuda
London: A Blackburn man who was abusive towards airline staff on his honeymoon flight has been fined almost £2,000. The airliner, bound for Cuba, had to make an unscheduled stop in Bermuda because of the unruly behaviour of Mohammed Khelya. The 21-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of getting drunk while on an aircraft over Bermudian territorial waters and acting in a disruptive manner. He was ordered to pay $3,000 and returned to the UK, spending a night in London ahead of returning to his Roney Street home. The former Blackburn College student’s brother Minhaz and dad Gulum said they would support him. Khelya and his new wife Shireen were about to start their honeymoon. While on flight he became very drunk and became so abusive and the flight was diverted to Bermuda where he was arrested. In court, Khelya apologised for his behaviour, saying it was completely out of character. He told the court that he was really sorry and was fined for being drunk on the aircraft and for his abusive behaviour.
MPs defiant after China bans Hong Kong visit
London: The diplomatic dispute between Britain and China has deepened after the Chinese government asked the Commons committee to cancel its planned visit to its former colony, Hong Kong, which is convulsed by pro-democracy protests. The MPs have been granted a rare emergency debate at the House of Commons over the issue. Beijing warned the foreign affairs committee not to ignore its demand. Hugo Swire, the foreign office minister, told Guo Yezhou, the Chinese vice-minister for international affairs, that the decision to block MPs inquiring into UK-China relations was mistaken and counterproductive, a Downing Street spokesman said.
109 women prosecuted for false rape claims
London: At least 109 women have been prosecuted in the last five years for making false rape allegations in the UK, according to campaigners who are calling for an end to what they claim is the aggressive pursuit of such cases. Women Against Rape (War), a charity, is taking its campaign to the House of Commons, where some of those who have been jailed for lying about rape allegations will speak out against their treatment by the authorities.
Muslim school spent £1mn state funds in Pakistan
London: According to an investigation by the city council, a Muslim school in Birmingham which received up to £ 1 million funds from the government used the money to fund a boarding school in Pakistan, instead of spending its own welfare. Al-Hijrah School, one of only 14 state-funded Islamic schools in England, has a deficit of almost £900,000 and its governing body was removed after it failed an Ofsted inspection. An inquiry is looking into whether public funds intended for the school helped to fund an Islamic school for boys in Ziarat, near the city of Quetta, close to Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.