Other News In Brief

Man Found Guilty Of Sisters Murders

A 29-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering two sisters in their central Birmingham flat. Mohammed Ali, of Old Snow Hill, admitted the manslaughter of Yasmine Labri-Cherif, 22, and her 19-year-old sister Sabrina, however he denied their murder. Birmingham Crown Court heard he had been in a relationship with Yasmine, who accused him of rape, but later dropped the charges. The girls' bodies were discovered in the Jupiter apartments in September last year. The 29-year-old claimed he had been provoked.

Girl Dies In House Fire

A four-year-old girl has died in a house fire in Bedfordshire. An adult and two other children were also hurt in the blaze, which broke out at about 10pm in Barleycorn Close, Leighton Buzzard, on Thursday. The injured children have since been charged from hospital and the adult was taken to Luton and Dunstable Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. A police investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

Workers Treated After Chemical Leak

Eleven workers are being treated in hospital after a chemical leak at an industrial estate in Flintshire. Twenty-two people were treated for breathing difficulties, eye infection and vomiting after the incident at Bretton late on Thursday. The Environment Agency said those affected were employees of a skip hire firm and it followed a spill as drums of a chemical were being moved. Local residents were initially told to keep doors and windows shut. Twenty-eight firefighters and the Environment Agency worked through the night to decontaminate the site at Alan's Skip Hire on Broughton Industrial Estate.

Man Arrested Over Protest

A fourth man has been arrested by police investigating anti-war protests during a soldiers' homecoming parade in Bedfordshire. Earlier this month three men were questioned in relation to the parade of the Royal Anglian Regiment in Luton on 10 March. All four men are from the Luton area and have been released on police bail pending further investigations. Protesters held placards saying "Anglian Soldiers Go To Hell" and "Butchers of Basra" during the event. Det Insp Mark Upex said: "These arrests are part of an on-going investigation... and are a result of extensive enquiries and review of CCTV from the day in question. Further arrests are anticipated."

Man In Court Iver Supermarket Crash

A man has appeared in court charged with recklessly endangering life and criminal damage after a car crashed into a supermarket in Hampshire. Six women suffered cuts and bruising after the Rolls Royce shattered the window of the Tesco store in River Way, Andover on Wednesday. Fifty-year-old Robert Caton, of Cusden Drive, was also charged with dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen.

Swift Response To UN Appeal

The UK has given an additional £10 million to help over 2,000,000 people displaced by the fighting in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. This is in immediate response to an urgent UN Appeal for humanitarian assistance for those fleeing the unrest in Pakistan, announced Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander today. The new commitment brings the UK's contribution to addressing the humanitarian situation in Pakistan to £22m. The £10 million will be distributed through the UN to aid agencies working in NWFP. They will provide food, water emergency shelter and other critical humanitarian help to those most in need.

(JM/BMcC)