Welsh villagers in shock after suicide of another youth brings total to 20
A community blighted by a series of apparent suicides was last night coming to terms with the death of another young person.
Neil Owen, 26, is believed to have been good friends with 19-year-old Sean Rees, who was found hanging in Bridgend, south Wales, in April. Twenty young people in or from the county of Bridgend are suspected to have killed themselves since the beginning of last year. Mr Owen was from the Bettws area of the county and residents said he lived in a flat above the Oddfellows pub.
Mr Rees, who lived in the same village, was found hanging in woodlands after he had been out socialising with friends.
People in Bettws were reluctant to talk about the latest death, the majority of them simply saying "no comment".
And the landlord of the Oddfellows pub, David Simons, said: "The police have told me I'm not allowed to say anything".
One man, who did not want to be named, said: "I know he was very good friends with the lad who died in April".
Inspector Marion Stevenson, of South Wales Police, said: "The death is not being treated as suspicious. HM Coroner has been informed".
She added: "South Wales Police now ask that the media respect the privacy of the family and that no attempt be made to contact them".
She would not confirm yesterday when the latest death was discovered or whether it was being treated as a suicide.
South Wales Police has previously said the earlier deaths do not appear to be linked.
Attack on home of Kosovar PM Thaci
SECURITY guards exchanged fire with a man trying to enter the house of Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci late on Friday, in what the government said was an attack on the home.
Mr Thaci was not in the building at the time of the incident. Police say guards spotted a man on the balcony of the Pristina home and there was an exchange of fire.
Mr Thaci's wife and son were in the house, but were unhurt.
"The attackers ran away in an unknown direction. We believe one of the suspects was injured," police said in a statement yesterday.
"This is a very serious event," said deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci. "We still don't have details or information on who is behind this criminal attack."
Mr Thaci is an ethnic Albanian and former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought a guerrilla war against Serb forces in the province in 1998-99.
Five recovering after island rescue
Five Europeans were recovering from dehydration and exhaustion last night following their rescue from a remote Indonesian island two days after they failed to return from a diving trip.
Britons Kathleen Mitchinson, Charlotte Allin and Charlotte's boyfriend James Manning were found Friday morning on deserted Rinca island, along with two other divers from France and Sweden. The group had been missing since 3pm local time on Thursday.
The alarm was raised after the group failed to return following a dive off Komodo National Park in Indonesia.
The good news followed a tense night for their families.
Abbas will run for president in 2010
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who had said he would not seek another term, will stand in presidential elections in 2010, a senior official said yesterday.
"President Abbas is Fatah's candidate for the Palestinian presidency," said chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurie, a member of Abbas's secular Fatah group.
Fatah officials have said they would press Abbas, who has also reportedly threatened to resign unless Israel and Palestinian officials reach a peace agreement by the end of the year, to run again because of no better alternative.
The long-dominant Fatah faction was defeated by Hamas, its Islamist rival, in 2006 parliamentary elections, ending more than 40 years of Fatah ascendancy. Hamas later routed Fatah forces to take over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, leaving Abbas's authority to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Younger members of Fatah have said the Hamas's victory reflected dissatisfaction over the monopoly of power and corruption with some of the older guard.
Spelman used public funds for nanny
THE chairman of Britain's Conservative Party, Caroline Spelman, confirmed yesterday that she would meet with the British parliament's standards watchdog after confirming she had paid her nanny money from publicly-funded allowances.
Spelman paid the woman, Tina Haines, for secretarial work from her parliamentary staffing allowance while also providing free board and lodging in return for childcare.
"At the time I thought that was entirely within the rules and that is still my belief," Spelman said.
The arrangement, which began when Spelman was elected as an MP in 1997, was ended after she hired a separate secretary following a conversation with the party's chief whip.
Labour MP Kevan Jones said there was a "big question mark" over Spelman's use of the allowance, claimed during 1997 and 1998, after BBC's Newsnight raised doubts over the amount of secretarial work the nanny actually did.
Posh more influential than politicians
NEARLY half of young women surveyed could name more WAGs -- footballers' wives and girlfriends -- than female politicians. And politicians have less influence on young women than celebrities and the internet when forming opinions, a UK survey revealed yesterday.
Victoria Beckham was the celebrity most Girlguiding UK members said was likely to influence them. The singer and designer was chosen by 35 per cent of those polled.
Behind her were X Factor winner Leona Lewis with 32 per cent, model Kate Moss with 29 per cent and singer Amy Winehouse on 23 per cent.
Female friends were the biggest influence on those questioned, all members of Girlguiding UK aged 10-25.
Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of around 650 respondents to the internet poll said friends influenced them, with family a close second on 63per cent.
More than two fifths (42 per cent) admitted they were swayed by celebrities and 40 per cent said the internet had an influence on them.
But hardly any people -- only 2 per cent -- said they believed their opinions were influenced by politicians and only one in 10 (10 per cent) thought that they were affected by advertisers.
