Stigmabase | Isles

'Inspirational' Ugandan lesbian campaigner wins human rights award : by Jessica Geen for PinkNews.co. uk Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, the Ugandan gay rights campaigner, has been honoured with a prestigious human rights award. The activist, who has risked death to speak up for other LGBT people, received the Martin Ennals ... PinkNews.co.uk (blog)

Your views on the news: child poverty, generation bust and Europe's debt crisis : I work in the construction industry in Wales and the government budgets for social housing have been halved even though there is a housing shortage, in affordable rents and affordable housing to buy, yet thousands of construction workers are jobless, ... The Guardian (blog)

Drugs worth £2.9m seized at port : The lorry's load included 14 boxes listed as home decorations, which instead contained 320000 ecstasy pills, 600kg of cannabis resin and 30kg of skunk. A person was arrested and then released without charge, and inquiries are continuing, the UK Border ... BBC News

Breaking the prison cycle : He has announced extra funding for education programs in prison , drug and alcohol rehabilitation services and a second drug court with detoxification facilities, drug testing and treatment. It is early days and it remains to be seen where these ...

Man hurt in street knife attack : An 18-year-old man has been attacked as he made his way home from a night out with friends in Glasgow . The teenager was approached by two other men after leaving the Ashfield Bar in Maryhill Road, Possilpark, at about 00:45 on Sunday. ...

Victimized by the system? : She participated in a mother-child program , which allows some inmates to keep their babies in jail . The healing lodge reflects the rehabilitative side of women's incarceration, nestled on 65 hectares of wooded landscape without barbed-wire and ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Barbaric treatment of elderly that shames the NHS : Yesterday Chris Huhne, who once denounced nuclear as 'a tried, tested and failed technology', gave his support to the building of a new generation of UK nuclear power plants. The Energy Secretary's recognition that scarring the countryside with ... Daily Mail

The plight of lonely, elderly expats : Many of her former elderly expat friends had moved back to the UK or died and although courteous with the locals, she had never really integrated. As a childless widow on a small pension, she lamented the fact that she knew few people and not having a ... Telegraph.co.uk (blog)

U.K. Analog TV Signals to End October 2012 : The government had set aside millions of pounds to prepare people for the switchover, particularly vulnerable people, such as the elderly , disabled, and those in remote rural areas. The UK is one of the last countries to embrace a totally digital ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Duchess in red: William and Kate are guests of honour at charity gala : 'The funds raised will be transformational in helping us extend our reach to more bereaved children, families and professionals throughout the UK .' In a speech delivered before dinner, William said he felt a 'quiet pride' about what both organisations ... Daily Mail

High school to hold annual charity week : This year, the chosen charities are MAGS day centre in Worcester, Cancer Research UK and LEPRA, a charity fighting Leprosy and diseases common to poverty stricken countries. Mr Rob Elmes, director of Sixth Form at the school, said: “This is a really ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Head's charity swimming bid : Debbie Stewart, headteacher of Whitefriars Infant School in Rushden, took part in the epic swim to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society UK charity . The charity is especially close to her heart as her mother-in-law suffered with the condition. ... Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph

Festival is music to the ears of homeless centre : Order htis picture at www.buyphotos247.com A CASH-strapped homeless day centre in Worcester has been handed a funding lifeline by music lovers. The Maggs Day Centre has received a donation for more than £7000, which was raised during the Worcester ... United Kingdom | Ireland

More beds available for the homeless : Housing associations, councils and other providers throughout the country have seen funding increased in order to provide more beds for the homeless . It is estimated by the Homes and Communities Agency that the £37.5 million of funding will enable 1200 ... United Kingdom | Ireland

UK coroner to hold inquest into poisoning death of Russian ex-KGB officer ... On his deathbed, Litvinenko blamed then-Russian President Vladimir Putin for authorizing his poisoning — bringing UK -Russian relations to a freeze. London officials said Friday that police and British intelligence agencies have been asked to carry out ...

Renting 'unaffordable' for working families : Average private rents are unaffordable for working families in over half of all local authorities in England , according to new research from Shelter , the housing charity . It found that in the majority of local authorities, typical private rents for a ...

Cardiff promised 'dazzling' event to launch Christmas city festive celebrations by James McCarthy, South Wales Echo PLANS have been unveiled for a dazzling launch to Cardiff's festive celebrations with an event dubbed “Step Into Christmas”. Bosses at City Hall have promised to lay on “a world filled with lights, music, ...

The sound of Swn set to submerge South Wales “Also as a tourist attraction, it makes Cardiff and Wales a really cool place to be. Musically it puts Wales on the map. The major events unit recognised we weren't asking for millions of pounds. They realised we didn't need a lot to grow, ...

Occupy Wall Street protests are too big to ignore in the classroom : It owed £1.8 trillion. Both figures are a lot more than twice the total current UK government spending. When people use the phrase "too big to fail", they are not messing about. They are not saying that failure would be a bit awkward or unpleasant. ... The Guardian (blog)

Creative thinking: craft cafe proves a vital social network for older people : These days, Fox can paint and draw to his heart's content at the Craft Cafe, a bustling community enterprise in Glasgow's Castlemilk housing estate. Set up to combat social isolation among Castlemilk's older residents, the initiative has proved so ... The Guardian

Politics News: Fears grow that Con-Dem cuts could force more Scottish children ... At least 5000 vulnerable children, young people and families in the UK are in need of Action for Children's services. The charity's frontline workers have seen growing social, welfare and health problems among children and young people. ...

Artist helps others after death of brother with schizophrenia : She moved to the UK in 2008 after finishing her first art degree in Uganda. Although one in four people in the UK will suffer from a mental health issue at least once in their lives, she said the topic is a big taboo in her home country, which made it ... Ealing Gazette

Four men due to be sentenced for £12m cannabis smuggle : During a search of the vessel at Newhaven Harbour packages of cannabis were found stashed in a specially-adapted hull accessed through two deck hatches. It is the second-largest cannabis seizure in the South East so far this year, according to the UK ... United Kingdom | Ireland

UK Government's Official Drug Advisers Want to Decriminalize All Personal Drug Use LONDON – Possession of any drug for personal use should be decriminalized, the UK government's official drug advisers have recommended. Tens of thousands of people caught with drugs ranging from heroin to cannabis would go on drug education courses ...

How common is neurocognitive impairment in people with HIV? It depend who you ... : How much more common is brain impairment and dementia in people with HIV than in the general population? A study presented at the 13 th European AIDS Conference in Belgrade today showed that the answer could vary from 'no more common' to 'four times as ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Community care for East Lancashire mental health patients Just over 20000 people were subject to the Mental Health Act in England on March 31 this year – a rise of 991 since March 31, 2010. There was a 30 per cent increase in the number of people subject to community treatment orders. ...

Overstretched support services unable to meet rise in demand By Janaki Mahadevan - Rising unemployment, growing substance misuse, neglect and mental health problems are leaving already vulnerable families at breaking point as frontline support services struggle to cope with demand, ...

Paul Hunter Foundation seeks new Scottish snooker stars : Former world champion Graeme Dott will hold sessions in Glasgow on 15 October while current champion John Higgins will do likewise in Edinburgh. Chris Lovell, who is organising the events, told BBC Scotland that he was "thrilled" to be able to spread ... BBC News

No mystery to the NHS crisis : Virtually all the media outlets in the country were swamped by criticism of the NHS and its treatment of elderly patients today, but most of the critics seemed to miss the mark by a country mile. To listen to the bandwagoners who emerge every time ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Three reasons for rising rents : Since 1990, the building of " social " housing by housing associations has been lower than new local authority building seen in the 1960s, 1970s or the early 1980s. Housing Minister Grant Shapps says that councils will now be rewarded for freeing up ... BBC News

Law & Order: Breaking the crime cycle : Popular sentiment has traditionally called for handing down sterner punishments for criminals, noted Avraham Hoffman, the founder and former head of the Israel Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority, during an interview with The Jerusalem Post this week. ...

Three reasons for rising rents : By Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC News People are cutting spending on food and heating in order to finance their rent payments, according to the housing charity Shelter . In August, the cost of renting a home rose at its fastest rate for a ... BBC News

Committee approves $6 million jail-bed realignment plan : The 4-3 vote in favor of of the jail bed plan came after an at-times heated exchange between Sheriff Scott Jones, who wanted the beds, and Chief Probation Officer Don Meyer, who thought more money should be allocated for inmate rehabilitation programs . ...

1 in 10 people over 65 often feel lonely - what can be done? : In the UK loneliness and isolation is a stark reality: just over 1 million (11%) people aged 65 or over say they are always or often feel lonely and over half (51%) of all people aged 75 and over live alone. Isolated older people can lose their voice ... The Independent (blog)

Europe to focus on democracy and human rights in aid projects : "We played a huge role in helping to strengthen democracy in those countries," said Piebalgs, pointing to the EU's role in easing rural poverty in Timor-Leste and in helping to build infrastructure in Bangladesh. "As long-term progress can only be ... The Guardian

Tangles in the ties that bind : Charlie Sullivan is director of international CURE (Citizens United for Rehabilitation for Errants) in Washington, DC, a prison reform group. He says inmate phone calls to families are “ rehabilitative opportunities” easily scotched by “exorbitant” ...

New report says anti-gay bullying rampant in Northern Ireland : The joint study — “Left out of the Equation” — conducted by LGBT advocacy groups theRainbow Project and Cara-friend.org. uk , reports that 72 percent of survey respondents reported that when teachers heard homophobic language, they ignored it, ... LGBTQ Nation

Three rail network deaths probed : In a separate incident, another person died after being hit by the 18:30 Glasgow to Edinburgh service at Linlithgow Station on Wednesday night. British Transport Police (BTP) said none of the deaths were being treated as suspicious.

Anger as Perth pensioners are conned out of £65000 : Police are scanning CCTV footage in a bid to track down heartless thieves who conned two elderly Perth residents out of £65000. By Paul Reoch The callous crime involved a series of phone calls to the couple by the crooks posing as police, ... Scotland Courier

Lansley: Poor standards "simply unacceptable" : Elderly patients in hospitals across England are subject to 'alarming' care, with some hospitals allowing patients to go hungry or ignoring them completely, according to a report published today. Health secretary Andrew Lansley's leaked letter ...