There are two sources of information on road traffic mortality in England and Wales: ONS records giving the place of residence and police records giving the place of the accident. Use of the police records has been limited by the lack of an obvious denominator to control for population at risk. This study compares the two measures and explores the implications of using the same population denominator for both

The number of road traffic deaths occurring in 403 local authority districts in England and Wales during 1995-1999 was compared to the number of deaths to residents in the same period. Both numbers were related to the expected number of deaths to residents and selected environmental risk factors using regression techniques

Large differences were found between the number of deaths in each district and the number of deaths to residents. The expected number of deaths to residents was the strongest predictor of both observed totals. The number of deaths in the district and the number divided by expected deaths of residents were highly predictable from road accident risk factors, but the number of deaths to residents and the conventional SMR were not.

Information on the place of residence of road traffic accident fatalities does not show true variations in accident risk. Police records are better for this purpose. The expected number of deaths to residents estimate provides a partial but effective and unbiased control for population effects.
Shaping the Defence Review Debate
In the next few weeks, the long-awaited Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) takes centre stage in British politics.

During the course of this year, RUSI’s defence research has been noted for its perceptive grasp of the forthcoming Review.

RUSI has set the parameters of the debate by highlighting the scale of the cuts to the defence budget, examining the UK's place in the world and reappraising Britain's Nuclear deterrence. RUSI's work has been cited in Parliament, in government reports and commented on widely in the media.

To see RUSI's work on the Defence Review, visit: www.rusi.org/defencereview

Latest Future Defence Review Working Paper
Entente or Oblivion:
Prospects and Pitfalls of Franco-British Co-operation on Defence
In this paper, Etienne de Durand argues that France and the United Kingdom must exploit the present window of opportunity and substantially enhance their strategic co-operation. A mutual defence policy is now rational, politically feasible and extremely urgent. Download Paper >

COMING SOON !!! COMING SOON!!
DEBATE ON NIGERIA ELECTIONS
A debate by NIGERIA's Diaspora in the House of parliament on Nigeria elections .
The Nigeria Government has promised an ideal electoral cycle that would have a legal frame work, electoral planning and organized implementation, official voter register that is not prone to fraud , civic training and education, proper campaign without fear or intimidation or corruption, certified and verifications of elections results and post election process. These electoral cycle promised to Nigerians derive their Authority from The African Charter on Democracy , elections and Governance ( Signed by 30 member states including Niger),The OAU/AU Declaration Governing Democratic elections in Africa , adopted in Durban in 2002 and The guide lines for Africa Union electoral Observation and Monitoring Missions , also adopted in Durban 2002.
There are only 50 seats remained.To register please email swahilidiaries@yahoo.co.uk
or Tel 07556130219

NIMO and Chiku wish all Nigeria a happy independence celebrations

Press release

Sunday 26 September 2010

For immediate use

Labour’s 21st Century Women Summit

Labour’s Deputy leader Harriet Harman MP today hosted the first ever women’s summit at Labour Party conference.

The event was the biggest political meeting of women in any political party in recent times, bringing together Labour women activists, new members and
elected representatives from across the UK.

Party membership has risen by 35,000, 40% of whom are women. Women now form the highest percentage of the Parliamentary Labour Party ever and almost half the new intake of Labour MPs are women.

Harriet Harman said:

"Labour women are at the forefront of the fight for women’s equality and will be at the forefront in the campaign against Tory Lib-Dem cuts, unfairness and broken promises."

Recent polling has also shown that women are even more worried than men about public spending cuts, and that a majority think that the cuts are being made in an unfair way.

The Women’s Summit debated how Labour will campaign to fight for women and families, as well as debating ideas for the future including on women and the economy, women’s representation and violence against women.

Speakers included Yvette Cooper, leadership contender Diane Abbott, Oona King and Ed Miliband, the new Leader of the Labour party.

Ends

Press release
Friday 24 September 2010

For immediate use




Ken Livingstone wins race to be Labour’s candidate for next London Mayor




Ken Livingstone was today declared as Labour's candidate to be the next Mayor of London.

The ballot was conducted by Electoral Reform Services.

Ken Livingstone said:

"We need a Mayor who will stand up for London.

"The choice between me and Boris Johnson could not be clearer. I will protect the fare payer. After Boris Johnson’s unnecessary fare increases that go hand in hand with cuts to investment we need fairer fares. I promise that fares under my administration will be lower than if Boris Johnson is re-elected.

"Today’s decision by London Labour members signals the start of a campaign to change London for the better and to protect Londoners from the cuts of this government that threaten to wreck lives and push us back into recession.

"I will unite Londoners around this message.

"The London election in 2012 will be the chance to send a message to David Cameron and George Osborne that we don’t want devastating cuts to our public services, fewer jobs, and declining living standards.

"If you want them out, first vote Boris out."

Harriet Harman, Acting Leader of the Labour Party, declaring the result this morning, said:

"Ken is the decisive choice for Labour's candidate to stand for London Mayor. He has the backing of London's growing Labour Party membership, Labour's growing team of London councillors and London's Labour MPs.

"He will win the backing of all Londoners who want London to be a safe, prosperous, fair city. He will provide leadership to communities across London who are threatened by Tory spending cuts.

"Oona has won the admiration of Londoners. She will play a vital part in Labour's campaign for London and a leadership role in Labour politics in the future."

Ken Livingstone won 68.6 per cent of the votes cast and Oona King won 31.4 per cent. A breakdown of results is below in Editor's notes.




Ends







Editor's notes:


1. The votes break down as follows:

Ken Livingstone
68.6 % - Overall percentage across both ballots of individual London Labour Party members and individual members of the London Labour Party's affiliates, of which:
32.97 % - Ballot of individual London Labour Party members (50% of electoral college)
35.634 % - Ballot of individual members of organisations affiliated to London Labour Party (50% of electoral college)

Oona King
31.4 % - Overall percentage across both ballots of individual London Labour Party members and individual members of the London Labour Party's affiliates, of which:
17.03 % - Ballot of individual London Labour Party members (50% of electoral college)
14.366 % - Ballot of individual members of organisations affiliated to London Labour Party (50% of electoral college)

2. Labour won more votes in London than the Tories at the General Election and was elected to serve the public in 17 out of London's 32 councils on the same day, 10 more councils than Labour was running last year.

3. More than 8,000 new members have joined Labour in London since the General Election.

Please SAVE THE DATE of Friday 15th October to attend Nigeria: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – a major Africa Centre event celebrating Nigeria ’s 50th anniversary of Independence . Other dates to put in your diary are the 22nd and 23rd of October, with two consecutive events each focusing on the influence of Yoruba culture in the Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian traditions and the success of Nollywood - Nigeria’s bourgeoning film industry. More details on these three events to follow shortly.



In the meantime, we would be grateful if you could note the above dates in your diaries. Also, the AC is looking for volunteers - any ideas, help, contacts in this respect gratefully received!



Read below for other events happening in and around London that may also interest you...



A season of contemporary African films being screened this weekend as part of the 30th Cambridge Film Festival (16-26 September): www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk



Omo London at Oval House Theatre - a 3 week-long festival celebrating the growing influence of Nigerian playwrights on British theatre and marking the 50th anniversary of Nigerian Independence (21 September ­– 9 October):

http://www.ovalhouse.com/cn/event_details.php?sectionid=theatre&eventid=408&searchid=current



Afrovibes Festival at the Albany Theatre presenting cutting-edge theatre, dance and visual arts from South Africa (Tuesday 5 - Sunday 10 October): http://www.thealbany.org.uk/event_detail/540/Afrovibes/Afrovibes-Festival:-No-Borders



All the best,

Sheila



Sheila Ruiz

Programming & Communications Consultant

Business of Culture

6 Paddington Street

London W1U 5QG

Tel: 020 7224 5680 Fax: 020 7224 5681

www.businessofculture.com

Dear OBV supporter,

The Liberal Democrats today voted on an important motion which, if passed fully, would have had a real impact on black and minority ethnic representation in the Liberal Democrats party and Parliament. I'm disappointed they didn't go far enough.

I've written a piece for the Comment is Free, please join me there in discussion about this crucial issue:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/22/liberal-democrat-conference-diversity

Best Regards

Simon Woolley
OBV Director

:: Join the discussion at: http://operationblackvote.wordpress.com

:: Follow OBV on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpBlackVote

:: Join our Facebook group, key word search: Operation Black Vote

Dear Colleagues,

We wish to inform you that the Final Communique of the 14th COMESA SUMMIT held in Swaziland is now available on our website. Please click here to access it.

On the site, you will also have access to speeches made by the Heads of State and Government, photo gallery and video clips.

We take this opportunity to thank you for the support you gave us during this period and for your comments which kept us going and made us improve on our services. We assure you that we will strive to keep you informed on the happenings at COMESA as they unfold.

PS: Visit www.comesa.int for the latest news and information from COMESA or subscribe to the COMESA RSS News Feed by clicking on the link below:-

http://www.comesa.int/index.php?option=com_ninjarsssyndicator&feed_id=2

Thank you,

e-COMESA TEAM

Washington Foreign Press Center
U.S. Department of State
======================================

WHAT: Washington Foreign Press Center On-The-Record Briefing



BRIEFER: Admiral Mark P. Fitzgerald, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe/U.S. Naval Forces Africa; Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples



BIO: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio.asp?bioID=111



TOPIC: "U.S. Naval Operations in Africa and the Mediterranean"



WHEN: Tues. Sept 14th at 1:30 PM



WHERE: 800 National Press Building, 529 14th Street, NW



CONTACT: To RSVP for this event or request an interview please contact Andy Strike at StrikeAP2@state.gov. RSVP is not required to attend.



BACKGROUND:



Admiral Mark P. Fitzgerald, the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa, and NATO naval forces in the Mediterranean, will brief foreign media on Tues. Sept 14th at 1:30 PM. The Admiral's remarks will focus on:



(1) the results of the U.S. Navy's new Africa Partnership Station (http://www.naveur-navaf.navy.mil/apshome.html) and other aspects of the Navy's support to the U.S. Africa Command;



(2) U.S. and allied efforts to help counter piracy and other irregular and transnational threats;



(3) enhance stability and secure freedom of navigation for the benefit of all nations;



(4) support of the revised U.S. National Maritime Strategy; and



(5) conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations to mitigate human suffering.





The Admiral is able to answer questions on all aspects of U.S. Naval operations in Europe and Africa. The Admiral's Operational Objectives are available here:



http://www.naveur-navaf.navy.mil/Operational_objectives.html



TV/RADIO ONE ON ONE INTERVIEWS: TV or radio media who wish to request a 1-on-1 interview with ADM Fitzgerald should please submit their bio, organization's audience figures, and sample questions to Andy Strike at StrikeAP2@state.gov. A limited number of interviews will be granted for foreign media that submit all the requested information. Media should bring their own cameras to the event.



Foreign Media Only

Dear Guest,

The European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) and European Cities Marketing (ECM) will shortly be launching a new event: City Fair.

What is City Fair?

City Fair is a one day event of pre-scheduled appointments dedicated to the lucrative and growing sector of city tourism.

It combines ETOA’s long track record in running highly-targeted workshops with ECM’s expertise in city marketing. ETOA’s tour operator members alone represent a combined buying power of over €5 billion, while ECM has a membership of more than 100 cities.
This is a unique opportunity for European city tourist boards and their suppliers to meet, network and conduct business with tour operators and city product developers from all over the world.
Why attend City Fair?
•City tourist boards and suppliers (such as hotels and attractions)
Participate as an exhibitor to gain competitive advantage for your destination, and to meet with operators, whose business represents both high volume and niche sectors from Europe and all major long-haul markets.
You will be able to register soon to benefit from rates of:
· ECM and ETOA members: £995 *
· Non members: £1495 *
· Secondary delegate: £400 *
* Rates exclusive of UK VAT
Register before 10th October 2010 to benefit from these preferential rates.
•Tour operators
Participate as a buyer to consolidate your existing programmes, to keep abreast of the latest developments in European cities and source new product for your city tours. Attendance is free of charge for buyers.

For more information please contact ETOA:
Exhibitor enquiries – Blanca Lopez de Uralde – blopez@etoa.org
Buyer enquiries – Nick Greenfield – ngreenfield@etoa.org
ECM (European Cities Marketing)– Flavie Baudot – flavie@europeancitiesmarketing.com

The Criminal Justice System
People from ethnic minority backgrounds are effectively discriminated against three times over when it comes to crime and the whole criminal justice system.
Trinidadian-born Leonard Woodley became Britain's first African-Caribbean QC in 1988.
They are more likely than white people to be victims of crime; they are likely to receive much harsher penalties than their white counterparts; in terms of employment the legal establishment is almost uniformly white and ethnic minorities are under-represented in both the prison and police services.
Victims of crime
Whereas 25% of the white and black populations are likely to be victims of crime generally, Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshi people are more likely (at 27 and 29%) to be victims of crime. While 0.3% of white people are likely to be victims of racially motivated offences, 2.2% of Black people, 3.7% of Indians and 4.3% of Pakistani / Bangladeshis are likely to be. In other words, a Bangladeshi is fourteen times more likely than a white person to be a victim of a racially motivated offence.
Creating criminals
Right through the system, from a stop on the street to the type of sentence and prison allocation, ethnic minority people are affected by racial bias. In 2001/02 of 714000 stops and searches recorded by the police, 12% were of black people (1.8% of the population), 6% Asian (2.7% of the population). Black people were eight times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. Compared with the previous year, searches rose 8% for whites, but 30% for black people and 40% for Asians in London. In the rest of England and Wales there was a rise of 6% for black people and 16% rise for Asians.
Figures on the ethnicity of those arrested also show ethnic minorities coming off worst. Arrests of black and Asian people rose in 2000/01 by 5 and 8% while those of white people arrested fell by 2%. Black people were four times more likely to be arrested than white people.
And in those being let off with a caution, while 16% of white people and 17% of Asians were cautioned, only 13% of black people were. When it came to getting bail as opposed to being remanded in custody pending trial, bail was more likely for white offenders (84%) than black (71%).
That so many more black young offenders (than white) plead not guilty in magistrates and crown courts, 33 and 48% respectively (compared to 21 and 30% for whites) suggests that there may well have been a bias earlier on in the system. Certainly acquittal rates go on to suggest this. 58% of Asian young people in magistrates' courts are acquitted, 59% of blacks and only 41% of whites. This differential is repeated, if less starkly, in crown court acquittals.
Partly as a result of a whole discriminatory system, ethnic minority groups represent a disproportionate percentage of the prison population. In June 2000, ethnic minorities accounted for 19% of the male prison population (12% black, 3% Asian) and 25% of the female prison population (19% black and 1% Asian). According to an academic survey published in December 2002, black people are six times more likely to be sent to prison than whites and more likely to be imprisoned for a first offence. Almost a quarter of the 72416 jail population came from an ethnic minority background with black prisoners accounting for 15% of all prisoners.
Employment
Relative to the population, people from minority ethnic backgrounds are under-represented in all grades as employees in the police and prison services and in all senior posts in all criminal justice agencies.
In 2001 not one Law Lord and not one High Court Judge was from an ethnic minority. Just six of the 610 circuit judges (1%) are from an ethnic minority. Just 4.8% of 33000 magistrates are from ethnic minorities and of the 1074 Queen's Counsels (QCs - senior barristers), only 7 are black and 7 Asian. That is despite the fact that 9% of the 13000 barristers from which QCs are drawn, are from ethnic minority groups.
Given all these facts about discrimination in the system, is it any wonder that of all complaints made against the police in 2000/01, 8% were from black people, 5% from Asians and 2% from other ethnic minority groups?
Sources: Lord Chancellor's Department, race and the Criminal Justice System (Home Office, 2002); British Crime Survey 2000, Statistics on race and the Criminal Justice System; HM Inspectorate of Probation: Thematic Inspection Report, Ethnic Differences in decisions on young offenders dealt with by the CPOS; Section 95 findings No 1 (2000); Prison Statistics, England and Wales, 2000; Observer, 28 December 2002.
The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.