Russian Woman's Boyfriend Charged With Murder

The boyfriend of a 23-year-old Russian woman who was found dead in her flat has been charged with her murder, police have said.

Felipe Lopes, 27, was arrested on the street in the Farnborough area of Bromley on Wednesday morning after police discovered the body of Anastasia Voykina in a house in Streatham at around 2am on Monday.

A post-mortem examination found she died as a result of multiple fractures to the face, head and neck.

Lopes will appear at Bromley Magistrates' Court today, Scotland Yard said.

A missing person report for Ms Voykina was made on Sunday after friends became concerned.

Officers attended a maisonette in James Boswell Close, Streatham, where they found her body.

Formal identification has not yet taken place, but detectives are confident the deceased is the missing Russian. Next of kin has been informed.

Police said she made a phone call to her family on December 30, which was the last known contact with her.

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Northern Ireland Clashes: Four Officers Injured

Four police officers have been injured after more than 30 petrol bombs as well as other missiles were hurled at them in another night of Union flag demonstrations in Northern Ireland.

The most serious disorder was witnessed in Carrickfergus and the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey, both on the northern outskirts of Belfast.

A bus was also set on fire during the disorder. Police deployed water cannon in an attempt to restore calm.

Two people were arrested, police said.

A small viable pipe bomb device was found on the Westlink dual carriageway in Belfast but it was unclear whether it was linked to the loyalist disorder.

There were widespread demonstrations across Northern Ireland on Friday night in co-ordinated action dubbed Operation Standstill by organisers. Police said most of the protests were peaceful.

Many roads were blocked off between 6pm and 8pm as loyalist protesters again took to the streets to voice their opposition to Belfast City Council's decision to limit the number of days the Union flag flies at City Hall.

Rugby fans travelling to Ravenhill in east Belfast for Ulster's crunch Heineken Cup game against Glasgow faced major disruption due to the pickets.

Protesters carry the Union flag in Newtownabbey

But the city centre was not as empty as might have been expected after an online campaign urged people to defy the protests.

They were urged instead to stage an "Operation sit-in" in cafes, pubs and restaurants to give businesses hit by the six-week campaign of street action a much-needed boost to trade.

Restaurateur Michael Deane told Sky News that the crisis has cost his business dearly but refused to give up.

"I think Belfast is a fabulous city. I've invested everything I have in this city," he said.

"Whether I would come to visit Belfast, looking from outside what you see on the television, no I probably wouldn't but let's hope this all goes away very quickly and people can see the Belfast that we saw last year because it's a fabulous city."

And while loyalists called people onto the streets to protest, young church leaders called them to prayer instead.

Andrew Masters, from the Christian organisation called What Now? told Sky News: "We're asking people to pray at 11:11 every day and for two real simple prayers, that peace would come and hope would come and that things that have been lost - the finance, the business, the hope - would be returned."

Around 70 police officers have been injured and more than 100 people arrested in six weeks of trouble since Belfast City Council limited the number of days the Union flag flies over Belfast City Hall.

More than 100 people have been arrested during weeks of trouble

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesman said: "Police will continue to pursue a vigorous evidence gathering operation to bring those involved in the violence to justice."

The Democratic Unionist Party and Progressive Unionist Party have both submitted challenges in Belfast council over the decision to restrict the flying of the flag.

They claim the move contravened its equality policy.

A Belfast City Council spokeswoman said: "The decision to introduce the policy of flying the Union flag at City Hall was taken democratically by elected members at the monthly meeting of Belfast City Council on December 3.

"The council has taken legal advice throughout this process and the decision is in keeping with the outcome of the equality impact assessment that was undertaken in line with the advice of the Equality Commission.

"The designated days agreed are in keeping with those notified by the UK Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport."

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Two Charged With Midnight Mass Murder

Two men have been charged with murdering the church organist Alan Greaves in Sheffield on Christmas Eve.

Ashley Foster, 21, and Jonathan Bowling, 22, have both been charged with the murder of Mr Greaves, a lay preacher, who was attacked just a few hundred metres from his home.

Mr Greaves, 68, was walking to St Saviour's Church at High Green, Sheffield, for midnight mass when his assailants struck.

The father-of-four died from the severe head injuries he suffered three days later.

South Yorkshire Police have made four arrests in connection with the murder.

Two other men, one in his 20s and one in his 40s, were arrested last month and have been bailed pending further inquiries.

Foster and Bowling will appear in court later.

Mr Greaves' death shocked the community where he lived and more than 50 police officers were drafted in to help with the inquiry.

An inquest into Mr Greaves's death has been opened and adjourned by Sheffield Coroner Chris Dorries.

Mr Greaves's widow Maureen attended the short hearing.

At a service after her husband's death, Mrs Greaves said she had wept over the "evil that has been done".

She told the congregation of St Saviour's she had felt their love and support since her husband died.

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Adoption: 'Hotspots' Map Released To Cut Waits

A map showing the parts of England where most children are in need of adoptive parents has been published.

Education officials are concerned that prospective parents are often not being pointed to high-need areas if their own has few youngsters on its list.

The map is going online on the same day as a Government-funded hotline is launched offering advice from existing adopters on negotiating the process.

Children and families minister Edward Timpson said the initiatives should "arm would-be adopters with the information they need to approach any local area".

Rules allow people to apply to adopt from any part of the country.

Mr Timpson added: "We know many potential adopters out there can provide children with loving, stable homes but simply don't know where to start.

"These new tools will give many more people support in taking the first steps to adopting a child and giving them the chance to succeed in life."

But adoptive father Stevan Whitehead, from west London, told Sky News that the map is unlikely to have a big impact.

"It's not going to make any significant difference because it's not addressing the fundamental issues and problems in the overall adoption structure.

"We already know where all the children are. The problem is that local authorities are deterred from preparing sufficient adoptive parents," said Mr Whitehead, who is a trustee for the charity Adopt A Better Way.

The British Association of Social Workers branded the initiative a "gimmick aimed at 'exposing' an apparent world of local authority failure to find good homes for children".

"It is welcome to help signpost potential adopters to services that could help them to eventually take a child into their lives, but talk of 'hotspots', areas where children are spending the longest time 'waiting for new homes' is yet another example of this Government's simplistic approach to an incredibly complex subject," added BASW acting chief executive Bridget Robb.

The First4Adoption hotline can be accessed on 0300 222 0022 between 10am and 6pm Monday to Friday and the map can be accessed on the Department for Education website.

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Online Sales Boost A 'Sluggish' December

By Ursula Errington, Business Reporter

Strong online sales in December have buoyed what has been described as an "underwhelming and sluggish" Christmas on the high street.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said retail sales for the month were up just 1.5% compared to the Christmas period in 2011.

However Internet sales rose by almost 18%.

If the online contribution to total year-on-year sales growth is stripped out, it shows that high street trading stagnated compared to last Christmas.

"Online retail still accounts for a relatively small part of total sales," said BRC director general, Helen Dickinson.

The outlook for British retailers for 2013 year is 'subdued'

"But in December it played a disproportionately larger role in driving non-food sales.

"Shoppers took advantage of the investment many retailers have made in making their websites easier to use across multiple devices, in flexibility of delivery options as click-and-collect came of age, and in security - they now feel much more comfortable putting their credit card numbers into their mobile phones."     

Pimlico-based florist, Rosemary Watkins, knew it would be a tough December for the shop she has worked in for three years but it was worse than she imagined.

They closed early on December 24 and in the run-up to Christmas they hardly saw what could be termed as Christmas trade.

"We had the shop ready from the first week in December," she told Sky News. "But what we anticipated would happen, didn't happen.

"We were lucky to sell what we did. We had to stop buying stock as it's perishable; you can't hold onto it. If it's this bad here in SW1 I can't imagine what it's like in other parts of the country."   

The survey reveals shoppers are increasingly confident buying good online

Footfall was down considerably on last year largely because of bad weather and consumers buying more in one go, thereby reducing the opportunity to browse and be tempted to buy.

But perhaps the most influential factor was the shift towards the internet. It appears fewer shoppers were searching in stores first, before going online.

Pharmacy owner Nishma Hirani is just a few doors down from Rosemary's florist. She has decided to focus on internet sales of perfume and her higher-end health and beauty products for Christmas 2013.

She also intends to modify how much stock she carries in the run up to next Christmas. The BRC survey showed that generally, retailers bought in less stock and held off offering heavy discounts in order to keep their margins up.

But optimistic Nishma did not do that. Buoyed by solid sales in last year's difficult climate, she bought a lot of stock and is now stuck with it.

Surrounded by perfumes bearing sale stickers she explained: "Last year people were buying four or five bottles of perfume at a time but this year they only bought one or two - not bulk buying.

"We kept our stock quite high but we just didn't find it was moving as quick as we would have liked it too."

Overall, the BRCs outlook for this year is subdued. They have said their members expect the hard times to continue but not worsen, with this "bumping along the bottom" effect to continue for perhaps years to come.

KPMG's head of retail, David McCorquodale, said: "While consumer confidence remains low, shoppers will tighten their belts and rein in their spending, making life difficult for the average UK retailer.

"There will be no boom and it's likely more than a few will go bust".

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David Bowie Returns With New Single And Album

David Bowie has released a new single and is also bringing out a new album - 10 years after his last LP.

The single, Where Are We Now?, is available now on iTunes, while The Next Day, his 30th studio recording, is available as a pre-order, with the album's release being scheduled for March.

The single was released on the musician's 66th birthday, which his official website noted was a "timely moment for such a treasure to appear as if out of nowhere".

Where Are We Now?, which was produced by long-term collaborator Tony Visconti, was written by Bowie and was recorded in New York.

Bowie with his wife Iman

The single is accompanied by a haunting video directed by Tony Oursler which harks back to Bowie's time in Berlin.

He lived in West Berlin between 1976 and 1979 due to his interest in the burgeoning German music scene. Bowie worked with Brian Eno while sharing an apartment in Schoneberg with Iggy Pop.

The new video shows Bowie watching footage of the car repair shop beneath the apartment he lived in along with stark images of the city at the time and a lyric constantly raising the question Where Are We Now?.

Following the release of his last album, Reality, in 2003, fans had been wondering what they would hear next from the British musician, actor, record producer and arranger.

His website said: "In recent years radio silence has been broken only by endless speculation, rumour and wishful thinking. A new record. Who would have ever thought it, who'd have ever dreamed it!

"After all David is the kind of artist who writes and performs what he wants when he wants, when he has something to say as opposed to something to sell.

"Today he definitely has something to say."

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Briton Dies After Falling From Oz Waterfall

A British tourist has died after falling from a waterfall in New South Wales, Australia.

A 20-year-old man was walking with friends in the Blue Mountains near Sydney when he slipped over the edge of Wentworth Falls, according to New South Wales Police.

Police, paramedics and rescue teams were called and the man, who has not been named, was declared dead at the scene.

The accident happened at noon local time on Sunday (1am British time).

High winds prevented a helicopter crew from retrieving his body at the time.

Rescue crews travelled to the area by foot on Monday to renew their attempts to recover the man's body.

The accident happened at a waterfall in the Blue Mountains

A police spokeswoman said: "The location is extremely rugged and difficult to access, despite the rescue crew being very experienced."

The man was on holiday in Australia at the time, New South Wales Police said.

He was in a group of eight friends and had travelled from Sydney's Bondi area to the Blue Mountains for a picnic and a walk along a marked trail through the bush.

It is not believed the friends were part of an organised tour.

One witness, who was at the bottom of the waterfalls, said he saw a group of French and English people "mucking around" on the rocks.

"It's very slippery, then they went down to the next one. I knew something was going to happen and then we just saw panic and a 20-year-old boy fell over 100 metres down the waterfall."

His family and the British Consulate in Australia have been notified of his death and a report will be prepared for the coroner, police said.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in New South Wales, Australia, on 6 January 2013, and we are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."

The Blue Mountains national park is about 37 miles west of Sydney and covers about a million hectares, according to the Destination New South Wales website.

A World Heritage site, the landscape of huge cliffs, deep rainforest gulleys and sandstone canyons and waterfalls forms part of the traditional country of the Aboriginal people.

Wentworth Falls is a three-tiered waterfall near a town of the same name in the Blue Mountains. The overall height of the falls is 187m.

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Police Chief's Warning To Belfast Rioters

Northern Ireland's police chief has said loyalist violence over the flying of the Union flag in Belfast will be firmly dealt with for as long as necessary after a fourth night of rioting.

Matt Baggott's warning came just hours before fresh disturbances erupted in the east of the city, with police once again coming under attack.

A mob hurled steel barriers, bricks, fireworks and bottles at officers patrolling Castlereagh Street.

"I want to commend the tireless courage of my officers at this very difficult time," said Mr Baggott.

"Fifty two colleagues have now been injured while protecting the community during a series of violent incidents.

"You may be assured there will be sufficient resources in the event of more disorder for however long is necessary."

Mr Baggott said the Police Service of Northern Ireland would do "everything possible" to maintain law and order and deal firmly with the ugly scenes that had been witnessed over recent days.

The disturbances occurred after protesters headed home

He added: "As you have seen in the last few days we will continue to apprehend and put people before the courts."

A protest in the area earlier on Sunday had dispersed, before factions broke away and launched an onslaught on police lines.

Disorder was also reported on Mountpottinger Road and Beersbridge Road, where a car was set ablaze.

So far, 70 people have been arrested in connection with the sporadic rioting. Through special sittings of the city's magistrates court, 47 people have already being charged.

On Saturday, frontline officers reported coming under gunfire. A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

More than 1,000 demonstrators had earlier marched on City Hall, but despite tense scenes and some scuffles the rally passed off without major incident.

As the flag-waving crowds broke up, violence again flared on the Newtownards Road and surrounding areas in the traditionally unionist east of the city.

Last night's disorder was on a smaller scale than previous evenings

Around 100 loyalists hurled petrol bombs, fireworks, smoke canisters, bricks and other masonry at officers, the PSNI said. Laser pens were also directed at officers' faces.

Police responded with water cannon and fired three plastic bullets. One officer was injured.

After a meeting of church leaders, politicians and community representatives on Sunday, Presbyterian minister Rev Mervyn Gibson said there were accusations that police used batons against people who were not involved in the rioting.

"There's a genuine feeling that there was a change in tactics, that the gloves were off," he said.

"In these instances, not everybody is a rioter."

He said unionist leaders would seek meetings with the Policing Board, the local police commander and the local policing partnership.

Billy Hutchinson - who leads the Progressive Unionist Party, the political wing of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force - welcomed attempts by church leaders to ease tensions and called for all protests to be peaceful.

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Child Benefit Payment Cut-Off For Families

By Emma Birchley, East of England Correspondent

Child benefit payments to more than a million people are due to be cut from Monday, as part of the Government's plan to reduce spending.

If either parent earns £50,000 then payments are to be reduced on a sliding scale, with those on a salary of £60,000 or more losing it altogether.

Treasury minister David Gauke said it was a decision that had to be made to save the taxpayer as much as £1.5bn a year.

"Everybody has got to make a contribution, we're reducing benefits and we've made some cuts in benefits," he said.

"But it's right that those who are earning more than average, those who are in fact in the top 10-15%  of earners, make that contribution."

As many as 300,000 of the 1.1 million who will see changes to their child benefit are yet to have received a letter from the Government informing them of the cuts.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said it had been unable to contact everyone as it held incomplete data on some customers following changes to their income, relationship status, or address.

Child benefit is currently £20.30 a week for the first child and an additional £13.40 for each child after that.

For a family with two children and one parent earning more than £60,000 it means losing £1,752 per year.

But if both parents earn £49,000, the benefit will be unaffected.

Mother Mel Smith will be among the parents to lose out

Those expecting to lose payment have until the end of today to opt out of receiving the money by filling in a form on the HMRC website.

Otherwise they will continue to receive the handout and have to complete self-assessment forms to repay it in tax.

Mel Smith has two young children and does not work, but her husband's salary level means they will lose all of their child benefit.

"It doesn't seem fair when we only have one income," she said.

But while taking with one hand the Government is considering ways to give with the other.

It is thought new proposals may include allowing families to offset some of their childcare costs against their tax, making it easier for mothers like Mel to return to work.

"I would seriously consider going back to work full time if that were introduced," she said.

"It would be better for me to do full time really than part time but again you have to weigh up whether it works out as a family."

It is estimated that around one million women are missing from the workforce because of the price of childcare, which amounts to almost 27% of the average family income.

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Police Officer Dies Driving To 999 Call

A police officer has died in a road accident while answering an emergency call near Ripon, North Yorkshire Police said.

The officer was killed when his patrol car collided with a tree in the village of West Tanfield at 7pm on Saturday.

He was the only person in the vehicle when it crashed and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Temporary Chief Constable Tim Madgwick said: "This is terrible and tragic news and the thoughts of everyone at North Yorkshire Police are with the officer's family at this sad and very difficult time.

"The officer's immediate family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

"Everyone is shocked and saddened by the news of his death and I speak for every member of the force in extending our heartfelt sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues."

The road was closed for several hours as collision investigators examined the scene.

The Health and Safety Executive has also been informed and an investigation will be carried out into the cause of the crash, police said.

Anyone who was in the area at the time and saw the vehicle or witnessed the collision is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101.

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