Knowsley football talent goes head to head

THE budding young football stars in Knowsley battled in out in a national competition for the chance to play at the iconic Wembley Way. The latest regional round of the National Street Soccer Showdown was held at Knowsley Park Centre for Learning last week, where teams from the school went head to head. The 2 winning teams will now head to the grand final which will be held at Wembley Way on 16 July 2011.

The competition has been organised by Streetwise Soccer, a community interest company that offers a range of street soccer and freestyle football events, activities and coaching packages. Knowsley Housing Trust supported the event with a grant towards the operation costs. Street Soccer is a form of football that involves short, three a side games where there are no fixed positions, which encourages creativity and flair, and is often set to up-beat urban music.

Kevin Tasker, Streetwise Soccer Director, said:- “The day was a fantastic success. All the players gave it their all and we now have two finalist teams from Knowsley who will be heading to Wembley Way.”

Streetwise Soccer uses portable arenas to take the competition around the country, looking for the finest street soccer talent. The company aims to use street soccer as a way of reducing anti-social behaviour in communities and of introducing a more inclusive and fun version of the Beautiful Game to the masses.

Terry Bonner, Operational Director of Landlord Services at KHT, said:- “Football is a huge passion for people in Knowsley and this is a fantastic opportunity for our young talent to try a different form of the sport and have the chance to play at Wembley Way. Who knows, we might have even found the next Everton or Liverpool stars!”

MERSEYSIDE POLICE SCOOPS NATIONAL EMERGENCY SERVICE COMMUNICATION AWARD

MERSEYSIDE Police, on Thursday, 7 April 2011, scooped an award at the National Emergency Services Awards held in London.

The event, held at the Emirates Stadium, recognises outstanding achievements in the police, fire service and ambulance service.

Merseyside Police beat off stiff competition to win the coveted "Public Communication Award." The award recognises the Emergency Service communication campaign that engages with the community and delivers its messages successfully and cost effectively, and was given for the force's "It All Adds Up" and "Just Talk" campaigns.

The "It All Adds Up" communication campaign was put together after Merseyside Police was given a Home Office target to improve public confidence by 12% by March 2010. The campaign used real crime statistics to gets its message across to the public and helped increase public confidence by 15%. The "Just Talk" campaign was delivered across the force and concentrates on the importance of talking and the power of being polite.

Chief Constable Jon Murphy said:- "We are very proud that two of our communication campaigns have received such a prestigious accolade. What I believe is at the heart of good police work is talking to the public, not just when they have been a victim of crime or where there is a reason or necessity, but because we want to. When I returned to Merseyside Police as Chief Constable, one of my priorities was to ensure my officers focused on this aspect of policing. The Just Talk campaign achieved this in a light-hearted and effective way and we have received very positive feedback from the public, with 46% agreeing that officers were stopping and engaging with them more. It is equally important that the public know what the police achieve in their area to ensure that they are confident in the work that officers do. The "It All Adds Up" campaign was designed to show the results of police work, and the benefits to the local communities. All the small gains that police make, add up to make a real difference to Merseyside"

* Merseyside Police Confidence Survey conducted by MRUK Research showed an improvement from 57% in July 2009 to 72% in June 2010.

Nick Clegg praised by North West MEP

A senior Liberal Democrat has called on his party's council candidates on Merseyside to promote the party's achievements in government. Chris Davies, a former councillor who has represented the North West of England in the European Parliament since 1999, said that Liberal Democrats could be proud of the work of Nick Clegg and government ministers. He claimed that nearly 1 million people on low incomes no longer had to pay any income tax at all. He pointed to the link now restored between pensions and earnings that would see incomes of the elderly rise. And he praised the restoration of civil liberties that he said had been curbed by the Labour government. Davies said:- "No party won the last general election, but Liberal Democrats are working hard to ensure that government policies promote the principle of fairness. We have always understood the need to be in government if policies are to be into practice. Now we have real influence and we should spell out our achievements in election leaflets." The MEP advised his party colleagues to treat electors as adults who understood that the government had inherited the fastest growing debt in Europe. "Labour left the country's finances in a complete mess. They paid for improvements in public services with borrowed money and now cuts are being made simply to pay the extra interest charges. While the debt is still growing at £400m a day! I don't believe there is one of us who could do a better job than Nick Clegg in ensuring that Liberal Democrats get the balance right and use our influence to the full." he claimed in a press release.

Liverpool - Saudi Arabia infectious disease research venture launched
Photographs by McCoy Wynne

A delegation from The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health (KSA MOH), accompanied by the Ambassador of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are visiting Liverpool yesterday and today to mark the launch of a new venture with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC).

With US $5.5 million as seed funding from the KSA MOH, the three organizations have established a joint research centre in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, with the mission of improving health through cutting edge research that will result in the development and delivery of innovative ways to control, monitor and evaluate insect borne diseases such as malaria and dengue which are a major threat in the gulf region and around the world.

The KSA Minister of Health His Excellency Dr Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah and The Ambassador, His Excellency HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Nawaf Bin Abdulaziz and their delegation toured LSTM and met key staff before visiting the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the Town Hall, where they were received by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool.

His Excellency was also presented with the Mary Kingsley Medal, the highest award which LSTM can bestow, in recognition of the Minister’s outstanding contributions to medicine through his expertise in the separation of conjoined twins and in recognition of his vision in facilitating the establishment of the new centre.

“We are very excited about this new venture with two world class leaders in research and development in infectious diseases. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to advancing our country’s scientific capabilities in order to contribute to improve health nationally, regionally and globally.” said Dr Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Rabeeah.

LSTM Director and CEO of IVCC, Professor Janet Hemingway, added that the Joint Centre will rapidly establish an international standard research portfolio by utilizing the strengths in Liverpool and from within the IVCC to seed the joint centre and making provision for capacity development at PhD, Masters and short course level to expand the cadre of qualified staff that the centre can draw on.

Professor Hemingway added:- “We applaud the commitment and vision of the Saudi Ministry of Health. The Centre will not only be a research institute of the highest international standard, it will push forward the frontiers of science in order to make an important contribution to global health. We look forward to helping to nurture talents from the region and learn from their experience and knowledge.”

UK unemployment falls by 17,000 to 2.48 million

THE latest statistics from the ONS shows that UK unemployment fell by 17,000 to 2.48 million the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. The ONS announced that youth unemployment stood at 963,000, with the jobless rate for young people remaining above 20%. Although unemployment amongst men fell by 31,000 in the three months to the end of February, the number of jobless women rose by 14,000. Carmen Watson, Managing Director of Pertemps Recruitment Partnership said:- “It’s re-assuring the unemployment figures fell this month, however youth unemployment still stands at 963,000 and this still remains a great concern. Given Britain’s aging population, it is important that young people are placed into work early on, and employers should remain flexible and welcome them into the workplace through internships. It is important that that these young people end up with long term sustainable employment otherwise we will see another sharp rise in unemployment figures in future months. Short term employment is not the answer and only provides a short term solution. Youth unemployment still remains a grave concern and although the figures show a fall in unemployment this issue cannot be overlooked.”