Yes, We can Change

A school which allowed pupils as young as 11 to smoke in the playground has been forced to end the policy after receiving heavy criticism. Elmete Central School in Roundhay, Leeds, gave permission to children aged between 11 and 16 to smoke cigarettes in the grounds. It is understood cigarettes were confiscated at the beginning of the day but then given back to pupils, by staff, during lunchtime and other breaks. The school provides specialist education for pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties and has around 75 pupils. It is thought the students were allowed to smoke to keep them at school throughout the day. ...

Drivers in remote areas will be given a 5p a litre discount on their petrol under plans put forward by ministers. Three locations in England and seven in Scotland have been selected after deciding they meet strict criteria to justify a cut. The Government has applied to the European Commission to vary the duty rates in the 10 towns. Discounts have never been permitted on the mainland before, although they are already in place for the Scottish islands, Isles of Scilly and other island communities in Europe. Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander said the "strongest possible evidence" had been put together to secure an extension...

Average annual temperatures in Britain have increased at a rate of about 0.18C per decade since 1950, compared with the 0.12C global surface temperature rise highlighted by the IPCC last month. The speed of warming in the UK was highlighted in a policy note published on Friday by the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, and the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics.  The seven warmest years in the past 100 have all occurred since 2000 in Britain, and six of the ten wettest years on record have come in the past 15 years, the authors noted. Previous studies have warned that global warming is happening faster in northern latitudes, and that land regions are heating faster than oceans. The briefing document also claimed that global sea level, which is rising at a rate of 3.2mm per year on average, could be more severe along the south-east coast of England.

The government says it has not been issued with a deadline by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to address concerns over human rights. External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunatillake Amunugama said that the media had misunderstood what Pillay said at the Council when she presented an oral report on Sri Lanka last week. Pillay had said in her report that if the government does not address human rights concerns by March 2014 she believes the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry mechanisms. In a statement on Sri Lanka, which was delivered to the UN Human Rights Council by the Deputy High Commissioner Flavia Pansieri, Pillay said that she had not detected any new or comprehensive effort to independently or credibly investigate the allegations which have been of concern to the Human Rights Council. Amunugama however said that all Pillay meant was that if the government meets her expectations then it will be included i...

UK Muslims warned of militant al-Shabab threat British Muslims who speak out against extremism are being warned that they could be targeted by members of the Somali militant group al-Shabab. British Muslim commentator Mohammed Ansar said he was currently under police protection because of what he was told was a "credible threat". It comes after al-Shabab militants posted a video online which named Muslims who have criticised jihadists. Scotland Yard said it was investigating the video. The hour-long film, called The Woolwich Attack: An Eye for an Eye, is narrated by an unidentified man with a British accent. It praises the killing of the soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, south-east London, on 22 May, and includes footage of Mr Ansar and other Muslims condemning the attack. Kenya mall Mr Ansar said he was visited by police and given protection earlier this week. The imam and broadcaster Ajmal Masroor said h...