Other News In Brief

Man Dies After Stabbing

A murder investigation is underway after a man was found stabbed in a street in Derby. The 44-year-old victim was discovered in Crewe Street, Normanton, at about 8.30pm on Monday. He was taken to Derbyshire Royal Infirmary but was pronounced dead at the hospital. A Derbyshire Police spokesperson said officers would be making inquiries and carrying out a forensic examination of the area for most of the day. Police have appealed for witnesses or anyone with further information to come forward.

Man Charged With Rape

A 25-year-old man has been charged with raping a woman in Portsmouth and attempting to rape another woman in the city last summer. A 44-year-old woman was walking in a street in the city at about 0200 GMT on Saturday when she was approached by a man, dragged off the road and attacked. The second charge of attempted rape relates to an incident in another street on 28 June. The man is due to appear before Portsmouth magistrates on Tuesday.

Pensioner Missing From Home

An elderly woman has gone missing from her Aberdeenshire home, sparking a police appeal for sightings. Grampian Police said Nellie Knowles had been missing from her home in Inverurie since about 11pm on Monday evening. The 82-year-old was described as being 5ft 4in tall, of medium build, with short grey curly hair. She was believed to have been wearing a floral nightdress, dark trousers, and possibly an olive green casual jacket. Police appealed for information.

Whitehall Reviews Show Further Improvement

Government departments are continuing to improve as they prepare for the challenges of the next 10 years, according to the latest round of capability re-reviews. The reviews, published today by the Cabinet Office outline the progress made by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the Department for International Development (DFID), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The FCO and Defra both showed significant improvement in their ability to lead and deliver, while maintaining high scores in strategy. DCMS improved on all three measures of strategic thinking, the MoD has continued to improve in strategy and DFID once again performed extremely well in all fields.

Beach Death Case Adjourned

A 20-year-old man has admitted killing a cleaner who died after being attacked on a Cornish beach. Jody Crang, 28, was discovered on the sand dunes on Par Beach with serious injuries after what police described as a "serious altercation" in July 2008. Dean Grainger-Allen, 20, of no fixed address, admitted killing him. The case at Truro Crown Court has been adjourned until Tuesday, when Grainger-Allen will be sentenced.

(JM/BMcC)