News In Brief

rRebekah Brooks in court for hacking case

LEGAL: Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks appeared in court today to face charges linked to alleged phone hacking.

Ms Brooks was at Westminster magistrates’ court accused over an alleged conspiracy to illegally access voicemails.

She appeared in the dock to face one general charge, which prosecutors claim could affect more than 600 victims, and two other specific charges linked to murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and former union leader Andrew Gilchrist.

Major violence in capital falls a third

CRIME: Serious violence among young people in London is falling since a crackdown on gangs was launched just over six months ago, police said today.

Scotland Yard said serious youth violence was down by 34 per cent or 1,000 fewer victims, since Trident Gang Crime Comman was launched in February.

Knife injuries involving those under 25 have reduced by 29 per cent and the number of times a gun has been fired has dropped by 21 per cent.

Couple found dead in river

POLICE: A man and woman found dead in a river after a police search were a couple in their forties from the Surrey area, police said today.

Officers cordoned off a stretch of the River Bure between Wroxham Broad and Salhouse Broad in Norfolk after a 13-year-old girl was found alone on a rented boat on Saturday.