Other News In Brief

Teen Found Guilty Of Murder

A 16-year-old boy has been found guilty of murdering David Idowu in Southwark earlier this year. The teen was found guilty at the Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday 9 December 2008 following a two-week trial and will be sentenced on 16 January 2009. Detective Inspector Mick Norman, from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command team who investigated the murder, said: "This has been a very tough investigation. Despite the fact there were a large number of eyewitnesses to the stabbing, many of whom knew the defendant, very few were prepared to name the person responsible or assist the investigation. David's family have been deeply affected by his senseless murder and I hope that this verdict can bring some peace to them."

Men Arrested After Siege

Two men have been arrested following a siege at a block of flats in Great Yarmouth. Armed officers were called to Southtown Road at 5pm on Tuesday afternoon, after a report that a woman was being attacked. Two men barricaded themselves inside two properties, while nearby properties were evacuated. Two men were later arrested in connection with the incident, while a 23-year-old woman was taken to hospital with minor head injuries.

Major Police Operation Targets Drugs Trade

Police in Wakefield arrested three people on suspicion of drugs offences on Friday (5th December) in Pontefract town centre. Two men aged 22 and 21 and a 20 year old woman, were arrested on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs and were subsequently charged with multiple counts of drugs trafficking offences. They will be appearing before Pontefract Magistrates Court next week. On the same evening officers from the Wakefield District Division, including local Neighbourhood Policing Teams, the Force’s Crime and Operation Support Divisions and other partner agencies, carried out searches under the Misuse of Drugs Act at Bigfellas nightclub.

Crossrail Announces design Framework Arrangements

Crossrail has announced the 12 firms who have secured Design Framework Agreements. The chosen firms will have the opportunity to compete for packages of design work on the Crossrail project, including work on tunnels and shafts, stations, and railway systems. Following an evaluation of all the received bids, the successful bidders are: Aedas Group Ltd, Atkins Ltd, BDP Ltd, Capita Symonds Ltd, Halcrow Group Ltd, Hyder Consulting (UK) Ltd, Jacobs Engineering U.K. Ltd, Mott MacDonald Ltd, Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd, Parsons Brinckerhoff Ltd, Scott Wilson Railways Ltd, and WSP UK Limited. The frameworks will run until the completion of the Crossrail scheme.

Turner Painting Belongs In UK: Culture Minister

Culture Minister, Barbara Follett, has placed on a temporary export bar on a painting by J M W Turner - Pope's Villa at Twickenham. This will provide a last chance to raise the money to keep the painting in the United Kingdom. The Minister's ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The Committee recommended that the export decision be deferred on the grounds that the painting is so closely connected with our history and national life that its departure would be a misfortune. It was also deemed to be of outstanding significance for the study of the connections between painting and poetry, and of the history of the preservation of our national heritage.

(JM)