Wisbech man police feared had been killed found after five years - BBC News

A man police feared may have been murdered has been found hiding in a wood, five years after he disappeared.

Ricardas Puisys, then 35, of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, was last seen at his workplace in September 2015.

No trace of him was found, but in November last year a Facebook account was set up in his name.

Last month he was found in a Wisbech wood. Police believe he was in hiding to escape the clutches of people who had been exploiting him.

He is now being safeguarded and a police investigation is under way.

The last confirmed sighting of the Lithuanian national was at his workplace, Nightlayer Leek Company in Chatteris, on 26 September 2015.

Mr Puisys had been with a small group of Lithuanian men at the time.

"There were genuine concerns Ricardas came to harm that evening," said Det Ch Insp Rob Hall, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.

A man was arrested and released during the murder investigation, during which no trace of Mr Puisys was found.

'Very well concealed'

Last year a social media account was set up in his name, displaying photographs of him, but officers were unable to verify Mr Puisys was still alive.

"For almost five years Ricardas' disappearance has been a complete mystery," Det Ch Insp Hall said.

"That was until we received information at the end of June which led us to finding him.

"Following a search of a wooded area in Harecroft Road, Ricardas was eventually found living in undergrowth, very well concealed after having deliberately hidden and having not spoken with anyone for some time."

He said officers believe Mr Puisys "made the decision to run away as he had been a victim of crime, having previously been subject to exploitation".

Mr Puisys is now being given "the support he needs after having lived through extremely difficult circumstances during the last five or more years", Det Ch Insp Hall added.

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2020-08-03 11:12:19Z
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Nicola Sturgeon blasts 'dangerous' scenes at Aberdeen boozer and warns pubs could be closed again - Daily Record

Nicola Sturgeon has blasted an Aberdeen bar for 'dangerous' queues- following a coronavirus outbreak in the Granite City.

Aberdeen South MP tweeted pictures from Saturday night of Soul Bar in the city centre saying he was 'scunnered' at the flocks of punters packed together on the pavement.

The scenes came days after 13 cases of covid-19 were linked to the city's Hawthorn bar less than one mile away.

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The First Minister urged drinkers to 'keep the heid' branding the queues as 'dangerous scenes'.

She tweeted: "Spot on from @StephenFlynnSNP - COVID remains a real and present threat to our health and wellbeing. Scenes like these are dangerous, and could easily result in pubs being closed again - which no one wants. We all have a responsibility here. Please, please everybody #keeptheheid"

Queues snake down the street (Image: Twitter)

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The Aberdeen South MP had tweeted: "A bit scunnered by some of the photos appearing online from the city centre over the weekend. Covid-19 has not gone away - as is evident from the cluster linked to The Hawthorn Bar. Should act as the wake-up call some folk clearly need."

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Bar owner Paul Clarkson has robustly defended the establishment saying more staff had been hired and that the police had found no issues on their visit on Saturday.

Paul Clarkson outside Soul Bar in Union Street, Aberdeen (Image: Newsline)

He said: "We have told customers to follow social distancing guidelines until we are blue in the face- we can't go out and physically break up queues so what are we supposed to do?

"The police visited the venue on Saturday night and said nothing at all about the queues.

"The whole reason there are queues is because of the social distancing measures we have put in place.

"We have hired extra staff, the place is being constantly cleaned and we have more door staff on to deal with queues.

"It was a very busy weekend for us and I think the criticism is unjust and unfair on our staff.

"At the end of the day we are trying to get our business going again and it is frustrating for people to walk past and take pictures of the queues without really knowing what is going on."

Health officials have allowed the Hawthorn bar to continue trading despite the finding that customers who visited on July 26 had tested positive for coronavirus.

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2020-08-03 11:05:00Z
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New 'life saving' 90-minute tests for coronavirus and flu to be rolled out from next week - Evening Standard

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1. New 'life saving' 90-minute tests for coronavirus and flu to be rolled out from next week  Evening Standard
2. Coronavirus: New 90-minute tests for Covid-19 and flu 'hugely beneficial'  BBC News
3. How to get one of the NEW 'ground-breaking' 90-minute coronavirus tests: Are you eligible?  Express
4. 90 minute COVID-19 tests: Government orders 5.8 million DnaNudge kits | Imperial News  Imperial College London
5. 90-minute Covid tests to be rolled out in hospitals and care homes  Surrey Live
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2020-08-03 10:25:53Z
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John Hume: Former SDLP leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner dies - Sky News

Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume, "the architect of the Northern Ireland peace process", has died.

The former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) had been ill for some time.

Having committed his life to the pursuit of Irish unity by peaceful means, he was fiercely criticised for holding secret talks with Gerry Adams.

Image: In 1998, John Hume and his Unionist counterpart David Trimble were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace

But in 1993, Mr Hume persuaded the British and Irish governments that the gun could be taken out of Irish politics.

When the IRA declared its ceasefire the following year, Sinn Fein were brought in from the political cold.

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It was the beginning of a peace process that would culminate in the Good Friday Agreement and power-sharing government at Stormont.

In 1998, Mr Hume and his Unionist counterpart David Trimble were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

More from Northern Ireland

Speaking at the award ceremony in Oslo, Mr Hume said: "I want to see Ireland as an example to men and women everywhere of what can be achieved by living for ideals rather than fighting or dying for them."

In a statement, his family said: "We are deeply saddened to announce that John passed away peacefully in the early hours of the morning after a short illness.

"We would like to extend our deepest and heartfelt thanks to the care and nursing staff of Owen Mor nursing home in Derry.

"The care they have shown John in the last months of his life has been exceptional."

They added: "John was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather and a brother. He was very much loved, and his loss will be deeply felt by all his extended family.

"It seems particularly apt for these strange and fearful days to remember the phrase that gave hope to John and so many of us through dark times: we shall overcome."

Irish prime minister Micheál Martin described Mr Hume as one "of the greatest Irish people that ever lived" and said his life was one of "towering achievement".

"John Hume was a great hero and a true peace maker," he said, adding: "All people on this island will give thanks for his life."

Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster said he was a "giant in Irish nationalism".

"In our darkest days he recognised that violence was the wrong path & worked steadfastly to promote democratic politics," the Democratic Unionist Party leader wrote on Twitter.

Author and journalist Eamonn Mallie, who knew him well, said: "Hume was driven by one thing - a passion for peace. He hated that violence. He resented that violence.

"At every conference, constant at the northern star, Hume spelled out, underscored, amplified, the grotesqueness of what the IRA were doing."

Mr Hume had come to prominence during the civil rights movement in his native Derry.

An MP for 22 years, an MEP for 25, he became a towering figure in the Anglo-Irish politics of the 20th century.

Former US president Bill Clinton described him as "the Martin Luther King of Northern Ireland", while former British prime minister Tony Blair said he made an "epic" contribution to the peace process.

"John Hume was a political titan; a visionary who refused to believe the future had to be the same as the past," Mr Blair said.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood MLA said: "His legacy is Ireland at peace with itself. His legacy is the ending of 800 years of history and allowing us now to achieve all sorts of possibilities.

"We're no longer fighting with each other and there's no prospect that we will in the future.

"We're at peace, we have a democratic opportunity to set our own future. John Hume did that."

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2020-08-03 09:11:15Z
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John Hume: Former SDLP leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner dies - Sky News

Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume, "the architect of the Northern Ireland peace process", has died.

The former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) had been ill for some time.

Having committed his life to the pursuit of Irish unity by peaceful means, he was fiercely criticised for holding secret talks with Gerry Adams.

Image: In 1998, John Hume and his Unionist counterpart David Trimble were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace

But in 1993, Hume persuaded the British and Irish governments that the gun could be taken out of Irish politics.

When the IRA declared its ceasefire the following year, Sinn Fein were brought in from the political cold.

Advertisement

It was the beginning of a peace process that would culminate in the Good Friday Agreement and power-sharing government at Stormont.

In 1998, John Hume and his Unionist counterpart David Trimble were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

More from Northern Ireland

Speaking at the award ceremony in Oslo, Hume said: "I want to see Ireland as an example to men and women everywhere of what can be achieved by living for ideals rather than fighting or dying for them."

In a statement, Mr Hume's family said: "We are deeply saddened to announce that John passed away peacefully in the early hours of the morning after a short illness.

"We would like to extend our deepest and heartfelt thanks to the care and nursing staff of Owen Mor nursing home in Derry.

"The care they have shown John in the last months of his life has been exceptional."

They added: "John was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great grandfather and a brother. He was very much loved, and his loss will be deeply felt by all his extended family.

"It seems particularly apt for these strange and fearful days to remember the phrase that gave hope to John and so many of us through dark times: we shall overcome."

Irish prime minister Micheál Martin described Mr Hume as one "of the greatest Irish people that ever lived" and said his life was one of "towering achievement".

"John Hume was a great hero and a true peace maker," he said, adding: "All people on this island will give thanks for his life."

Author and journalist Eamonn Mallie, who knew him well, said: "Hume was driven by one thing - a passion for peace. He hated that violence. He resented that violence.

"At every conference, constant at the northern star, Hume spelled out, underscored, amplified, the grotesqueness of what the IRA were doing."

John Hume had come to prominence during the civil rights movement in his native Derry.

An MP for 22 years, an MEP for 25, he became a towering figure in the Anglo-Irish politics of the 20th century.

Former US president Bill Clinton described him as "the Martin Luther King of Northern Ireland", while former British prime minister Tony Blair said he made an "epic" contribution to the peace process.

"John Hume was a political titan; a visionary who refused to believe the future had to be the same as the past," Mr Blair said.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood MLA said: "His legacy is Ireland at peace with itself. His legacy is the ending of 800 years of history and allowing us now to achieve all sorts of possibilities.

"We're no longer fighting with each other and there's no prospect that we will in the future.

"We're at peace, we have a democratic opportunity to set our own future. John Hume did that."

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2020-08-03 08:34:27Z
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Coronavirus map LIVE: Greater Manchester declares major incident as infection rates spike - Express

The decision was taken by the Strategic Coordination Group on the weekend after they met to discuss the increased lockdown restrictions announced last week across parts of the North West. New measures forbid people from different households from meeting each other inside their homes or in gardens, while also banning separate households from mixing in pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues. Out of the top 20 worst affected local authority areas for Covid-19 infections in England, Greater Manchester boroughs - home to almost 3 million people - comprise more than a third of the list, with seven entries.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: "People should not be alarmed that a major incident has been declared."

He called the move "standard practice for complex situations" and said it would allow a "central command structure" to be created to enable agencies to "draw on extra resources".

The decision was taken by the Strategic Coordination Group on the weekend after they met to discuss the increased lockdown restrictions announced last week across parts of the North West.

New measures forbid people from different households from meeting each other inside their homes or in gardens, while also banning separate households from mixing in pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues.

Out of the top 20 worst affected local authority areas for Covid-19 infections in England, Greater Manchester boroughs - home to almost 3 million people - comprise more than a third of the list, with seven entries.

The decision comes after Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester tweeted: "I listened to the Government when they came to me late on Thursday & asked for our support for new restrictions.

"I am now asking them to listen to us: please reinstate the shielding policy in Greater Manchester from first thing tomorrow.

"Failure to do so is wrong and inhumane."

(THIS IS A LIVE BLOG - SCROLL DOWN FOR REGULAR UPDATES)

8.38am update: 90-minute tests "a game-changer", sayhs Zahawi

Business and Industry Minister Nadhim Zahawi described 90-minute tests for coronavirus as a "game changer".

He told BBC Breakfast: "This is a game changer because the ability to do a test by just over an hour or 90 minutes will make a massive difference to our response to coronavirus whether at hospitals if somebody's coming in for surgery and people need to know very quickly if they've got coronavirus.

"You need to be able to test very rapidly and get those results that are accurate rapidly."

Asked if the tests will be used in care home settings, Mr Zahawi said 50,000 tests are being delivered to care homes daily, adding: "This will make a further difference because being able to administer these tests without any clinical training is another game changer."

8.35am update: Germany posed to begin testing travellers

Mandatory testing of travellers returning to Germany from countries with a high risk of COVID-19 infection will take effect later this week, Health Minister Jens Spahn said.

He told German broadcaster ARD: "We have first drafts.

"We want to coordinate this well with the states because they need to be able to implement it at airports and train stations."

8.22am update: Sadiq Khan orders Boris Johnson to STOP plan to ‘seal off London’

Sadiq Khan has ordered Boris Johnson not to seal off London in a angry letter in which he complains of not being informed of the Government's plans.

Mr Khan was writing after news emerged relating to an exercise staged last week in which a major resurgence of COVID-19 in the capital was central.

Reports in several media outlets suggested the M25 would be used as a "quarantine ring" - effectively sealing the city off.

Mr Khan write: "Our surprise is such that far reaching contingency plans have been discussed and tested without the involvement of London's government."

8.19am update: Sewage surveillance stepped up in fresh bid to halt second wave

Health experts are to begin testing sewage to identify coronavirus hotspots across the UK.

Results from the programme will indicate which areas of the country need to go into lockdown to prevent a second wave of infections.

The tests are being rolled out nationwide after trials across 44 sites in England provided accurate information on local COVID-19 flare-ups.

The scientists behind the tests believe infected people shed virus material in faeces within hours of symptoms appearing, meaning regular checks of sewage could identify the presence of the virus much quicker than swab tests.

Under the existing programme people are only tested once they start to show symptoms which normally take five days to appear.

Researchers from Bangor University in North Wales have been analysing sewage since March and found the volume of virus in samples plummeted after lockdown was imposed.

7.52am update: HSBC suffers profit crash

HSBC has suffered a 65 percent drop in pre-tax profit in the first half of the year as Europe's largest bank was struck by a dive in interest rates and coronavirus disruption.

The bank reported profits of 4.3 billion US dollars (£3.2 billion) in the half year to June 30, down from 12.4 billion dollars (£9.5 billion) in the same period in 2019.

The bank has endured a torrid year on the markets with the London listed shares falling more than 40% from 595p to 342p as of June 30.

Group chief executive Noel Quinn said: "Our first half performance was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, falling interest rates, increased geopolitical risk and heightened levels of market volatility."

7.43am update: Major incident in Greater Manchester

Soaring numbers of coronavirus cases have prompted authorities in Greater Manchester to declare a major incident amid assurances that there is "no cause for alarm".

The decision was taken by the Strategic Coordination Group on the weekend after they met to discuss the increased lockdown restrictions announced last week across parts of the North West.

New measures forbid people from different households from meeting each other inside their homes or in gardens, while also banning separate households from mixing in pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues.

Out of the top 20 worst affected local authority areas for Covid-19 infections in England, Greater Manchester boroughs - home to almost 3 million people - comprise more than a third of the list, with seven entries.

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2020-08-03 06:43:00Z
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Coronavirus: Major incident declared in Greater Manchester - BBC News

A major incident has been declared by authorities in Greater Manchester following recent rises in coronavirus infection rates.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the decision was taken to help agencies respond "as effectively as possible", including with extra resources.

People "should not be alarmed" by the news as it was "standard practice", Manchester City Council said.

Greater Manchester is one of the areas subject to new lockdown measures.

The new restrictions announced on Thursday - that also apply in east Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire - ban separate households from meeting each other at home.

The new rules also banned members of two different households from mixing in pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues, but those businesses are permitted to remain open for those visiting individually or from the same household.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which is made up of ten councils - Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan - said the public should be "reassured" that the guidelines remain unchanged.

"This move was simply to enable public agencies to access any additional resources they need as quickly and efficiently as possible," a GMCA spokesperson said.

"This is no more than a boost to our capabilities... and maximise our resources in the drive to reverse the spike in infection which we have witnessed in the last seven to 10 days."

Out of the top 20 worst affected local authority areas for Covid-19 infections in England, Greater Manchester boroughs make up more than a third of the list with seven entries.

Oldham, the second worst affected borough in the country, saw its seven-day rate jump from 41.6 to 62.8 per 100,000 people, with 148 new cases reported in the past week.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said declaring a major incident was "standard practice for complex situations which require a co-ordinated multi-agency response".

"Although the council and partner organisations have been working closely to tackle the impacts of the pandemic since early this year, declaring a major incident means we can ramp this up further," he said.

"Following last week's government announcement of preventative public health measures across Greater Manchester to address the rising number of Covid-19 cases, the public would expect us to give this situation our concerted collective attention.

"That, with a view to enabling these restrictions to be lifted as soon as possible, is exactly what we are doing."

GMP Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey said: "It is part of our desire to protect the population of Greater Manchester and provide them with the highest levels of assurance that agencies are doing all they can to reduce infection rates and bring Greater Manchester back to as near a state of normality as current times allow.''

The Department of Health and Social Care is yet to comment.

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2020-08-03 04:50:00Z
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