Fresh concerns have been raised about the integrit
Fresh concerns have been raised about the integrity of the disability benefits system, after a disabled woman’s appeal against having her benefits removed was rejected before she was even told her claim had been turned down.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) sent Mandy Moseley a mandatory reconsideration notice, confirming that her appeal against the decision to reject her claim for the new personal independence payment (PIP) had been unsuccessful.But she was astonished to receive the letter because she had not yet been told the result of her claim.Until a claimant receives a decision notice that informs them of the result of their claim, they cannot ask for a mandatory reconsideration (MR) of that decision, and she had not done so.Moseley, from Birmingham, who was assessed on 28 June, had been receiving disability living allowance since 2004, and has been receiving the highest rates of that benefit since 2007, but has been told by DWP that she will receive no PIP at all, a decision which has cost her £141 a week.She said: “They are saying it was a mistake and it was an internal document. How can it be an internal document if it’s [described] as a mandatory reconsideration?”She believes her case proves DWP is preparing the MR notices – automatically turning down the first-stage appeals – at the same time it prepares the original decision notices.Disabled activists have been questioning for months why success rates for MRs are so low, when so many appeals that are taken to tribunal – the next stage of the appeal process after the MR – are successful.A DWP spokesman said: “Clearly, this was a clerical error. We’ve apologised to Ms Moseley and asked her to ignore the letter.“Any mandatory reconsideration outcome would be based on an appeal being lodged in the first place, and Ms Moseley hadn’t even received her decision notice.”But Moseley said she was “disgusted” by DWP’s tactics, and added: “I am just astounded by what they have done.”She has a number of long-term health conditions, currently receives 17 hours of care a week from her local authority, is constantly in pain, and is awaiting training so she can start using a white cane because of her deteriorating vision.After her son moves out from the family home in October, she has been told by her local council that she will probably receive 40 hours of care a week.But she was awarded a total of just two points after being assessed. She would have needed eight for the standard rate and 12 for the enhanced rate of the daily living and mobility components of PIP.
WELCOME to four more players who will tour Australia with the Academy.Joseph McLoughlin is a prop forward who signed from Blackbrook Royals.Ben Morris is a second row who signes from Blackbrook Royals.James Nicholl is a prop forward who signed from Blackbrook Royals.Daniel Richardson is a scrum half who signed from Halton Hornets.Many thanks to the sponsors who made the trip possible for this quartet.They are:Cardinal Newman Catholic HighMaghull High School E C Services Keep Keen Controls Calataln Sports Tours DonationNW Truck & Mixer Repairs Ltd Halton HornetsGreen Monkey VillasMFG ConstructionAnother four players will be introduced tomorrow.To catch up with all the latest on the tour, and meet the players, click here.
The rally comes as new developments about the water situation have become harder to come by.One attendee, Robin Moody, says she’ll continue to make her voice heard about GenX, even if the well of information is continuing to dry up.“I’m just trying to educate myself and be aware of what’s going on with our water. I’ve lived here for 27 years and I’ve always been drinking the water, so I just want to know what we’re drinking,” said Moody.Related Article: When will bridges close due to bad weather?Environmental activist Erin Brockovich was scheduled to be in attendance. She’s been in the Cape Fear all week talking about the GenX issue. Photo: Justin McKee/WWAY WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The fight for clean water continued this weekend with a rally in downtown Wilmington.The steps of Thalian Hall were packed with people young and old clamoring for clean water in the Cape Fear Saturday morning.- Advertisement – 
They’ll be working Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m.Wilmington has about four miles of brick streets that have been covered with asphalt over time.Removing the asphalt from these old bricks is part of the city’s preservation efforts. Crews work to remove the asphalt that covers the brick road on 4th Street in Wilmington (Photo: Justin McKee/WWAY) WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — One street in Wilmington is saying goodbye to asphalt and hello to its roots.Crews are removing a layer of asphalt covering bricks on 4th Street between Market and Dock Streets this week.- Advertisement – 
SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) — The Caswell Beach Fire Department was struggling after Brunswick County made a cut in supplemental funding. So, they turned to Southport for some help.The Southport Board of Alderman voted to help out their neighbors over in Caswell Beach after they came asking for help. The B.O.A signed a contract for fire protection for the Town of Caswell Beach starting July 1.- Advertisement – “The Board of Alderman’s decision did not come as a surprise. It did come as a surprise when Caswell Beach approached us,” Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew said.That means the Caswell Beach Fire Department will merge with the Southport Fire Department to get more resources. Drew says this was a result of Brunswick County cutting funds from fire departments.“The fire department that was servicing Caswell Beach, they had a very small district and a very small amount of calls per year and so there was not enough revenue in that size of a district to support a standalone fire department,” Drew said.Related Article: Southport Fire Department responds to woods fireChief Drew says the only problem they see in the future is when the Oak Island Bridge closes but they already have a plan worked out.“We’re going to have the station staffed 24 hours a day with the correct number of people that it takes to satisfy requirements with the state, fire marshals office and everything looks like it’s on target and everything will be fine during that time period,” Drew said.People in the area say they’re glad the merger went through especially since tourist season started.“People coming to the beach to vacation. I mean the more resources the better for everybody,” Steve Ramsey said.Drew says right now the hardest part is transferring the people at the Caswell Fire Department into the Southport Fire Department’s system, but he should finish it soon.
<a href=’http://revive.newsbook.com.mt/www/delivery/ck.php?n=ab2c8853&cb={random}’ target=’_blank’><img src=’https://revive.newsbook.com.mt/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=97&cb={random}&n=ab2c8853&ct0={clickurl_enc}’ border=’0′ alt=” /></a> Miguela XuerebMiguela Xuereb Birkirkara, Mtarfa and Xagħra are the three localities which got a new local councillor after casual elections were held on Wednesday.Francis Pullicino was elected on Birkirkara replacing Michael Fenech Adami, Christianne Mifsud was elected on Mtarfa replacing Anthony Mifsud while Anthony Attard was elected instead of Kevin Cutajar.Both Fenech Adami and Mifsud had resigned in order to remain president of their respective regional council which precludes them from serving on the local council.Cutajar had resigned after he was elected to parliament after Stellini vacated his seat to return to his former job in Brussels.WhatsApp SharePrint
SharePrint Church communicators in Kenya listening to Bishop Kihara about child abuseChurch communicators in Kenya listening to Bishop Kihara about child abuse Child abuse is a reality that the Church must confront. The Church has to respond to all cases of child abuse and cannot afford to run away from its responsibility in ensuring that children are safeguarded.This statement was made by Bishop Peter Kihara, Vice Chairman of the Commission for Social Communications of the Kenyan Episcopal Conference.“We must accept the reality of child abuse,” said Bishop Kihara. “We cannot run away from child abuse cases. We must face this reality. If any of our Church personnel is involved, it means the Church has to respond accordingly. You cannot protect the Church by hiding,” he emphasised.According to Vatican News the Bishop has since called for the establishment of child protection desks in every diocese in the country.Child protection policiesBishop Kihara reiterated the importance of having child protection policies in the dioceses, saying this has now become part and parcel of all project implementation procedures.“Child protection policies are now part of donor funding requirements,” said the prelate. “Dioceses that do not have their own child protection policies should use the Episcopal Conference’s policy. I am glad that we now also have the Child Safeguarding Standards and Guidelines,” he said, adding: “All the people that are involved with children need to be introduced to the child protection policy to know and understand their responsibilities towards children under their care,” said the Marsabit Bishop.Do not confine seminars to cities onlyThe Bishop said there is the need to conduct training at the local diocesan level, especially for those who are handling children.He nevertheless cautioned: “Child protection seminars should not be confined to the cities. We should go to the grassroots, in the dioceses – hold training there so that we can have an open discussion on the way forward,” advised the Bishop.Bishop Kihara was recently addressing Kenyan diocesan communication coordinators, radio station managers, missionary communications personnel as well as Catholic media directors attending a training session held at Our Lady of Africa Pastoral Centre in Mombasa, Kenya.WhatsApp <a href=’http://revive.newsbook.com.mt/www/delivery/ck.php?n=ab2c8853&cb={random}’ target=’_blank’><img src=’https://revive.newsbook.com.mt/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=97&cb={random}&n=ab2c8853&ct0={clickurl_enc}’ border=’0′ alt=” /></a>
Advertisement Two days later the agency’s tech news Twitter feed was taken over and pro-Syrian government messages posted.It is unclear who is behind the hack.Reporting on the breach, Reuters said that cyberwar between the pro and anti-government factions in Syria had intensified with Saudi Arabia emerging as a staunch opponent of Assad. – Advertisement – WordPress platformIt offered little more detail on how its system had been breached.“Reuters.com was a target of a hack on Tuesday. Our blogging platform was compromised and a fabricated blog post saying Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal had died was illegally posted on a Reuters journalist’s blog on Reuters.com,” said a spokesperson.“Reuters did not report the false story and the post was immediately deleted. We are working to address the problem,” the spokesperson added.Reuters uses the WordPress platform for blogging and, after the first attack Mark Jaquith, a member of the WordPress security team, told the Wall Street Journal that it was using an old version of the software, known to have security issues.The agency has not been the only victim of spoof attacks related to the conflict in Syria.A group calling itself the “Syrian Electronic Army” claimed responsibility for defacing a Harvard University website to post a picture of President Bashar al-Assad in military uniform last year.Last week, a Twitter account purporting to be that of a senior Russian official said that Mr Assad had been killed in Damascus. It was later confirmed to be false.Source: BBC
Advertisement For those that thought Instagram was for the chosen few with smart phones, things are about to take on a new twist. Photo-sharing app Instagram has attracted more than 100 million users by encouraging people to snap pictures with their smartphones, dress them up with filters and share them with friends.In the two years since Instagram launched, it’s been a mobile-only network for an increasingly mobile society.Now that’s about to change. Instagram announced Monday it will be adapting user photos and data into Web-based profiles for people to enjoy from laptops or desktops. Each Web profile will feature a selection of recently shared photographs along with the user’s profile photo and bio, offering a quick visual snapshot of someone’s interests and aesthetic.“We’re launching Web profiles to give you a simple way to share your photos with more people and to make it easier to discover new users on the Web,” Instagram said in a blog post.Photos are expandable on the new Web pages, meaning your followers will be able to view your prized pics in a larger, 6×6-inch format instead of peering at those little square images on their phones. – Advertisement – Users won’t be able to upload images to their accounts from the Web, although they can follow others, comment and like photos. It’s a big upgrade over Instagram’s traditionally bare-bones website, which has contained little more than a blog and information for app developers.Instagram says its Web profiles will launch for all users in the next week or so. “If you can’t see your profile yet, rest assured that you’ll see it in the next few days,” the company says.Instagram also says that if your photos are set to private, they will be visible on the Web only to Instagram users you’ve allowed to follow you.Source CNN
Advertisement If you’re a private person or you’re into shady dealings, Whatever the reason, sometimes you need to send an email or text without any chance of other people seeing it. Technology is more than capable of helping you out in your covert pursuits.The David Petraeus method Use a shared email account and simply save drafts of your messages without sending them. The other person can log in, read, and respond. Of course, Petraeus was found out, so let’s look at some alternatives.Black SMS app This iPhone app turns your secret messages into scrambled nonsense pictures that you can pass along via text message. The recipient loads the images into the app, which converts them back to normal text. – Advertisement – Price: $0.99 Silent Sender Want to tell your boss what you really think? Use Silent Sender to anonymously email him or anyone else from right inside your Web browser. (Don’t use your work computer, though—employers have ways of tracking this kind of activity on corporate networks.) Check it out here Wickr When you send a text message through the usual means, you relinquish control of it. Wickr is an app that lets you maintain control and remove your messages from the recipient’s phone. You can even use a self-destruct option. Price: free Top Secret Email Top Secret Email is as straightforward as its name. It scrambles and unscrambles coded messages by making use of a secret key word that both parties know. Check it out hereSilent Circle If it’s good enough for the military, surely it’s good enough for you. Silent Circle is a suite of covert communication tools so you can text and even make voice calls while wrapped in a layer of protection. The apps are free, but the suite costs $20 per month to use. Check out the voice app here > Check out the texting app here > Dont Use technology at all No matter what you do online, there’s almost no way to totally cover up your tracks. Why not pull some old-school spy moves and exchange secret messages written on paper?It’s easier than worrying about someone following your digital footprints.Credit: BI