您现在的位置: Language Tips> Easy English> Today in History  
   
 





 
 
January 12
2001: Climbie carers guilty of murder
[ 2007-01-12 08:40 ]

January 12
Robert Carr narrowly escaped injury in the explosion
1971: British minister's home bombed

England have

Two bombs have exploded at the Hertfordshire home of Employment Secretary Robert Carr causing serious damage.

The first device went off soon after 2200, near the kitchen of the house in Barnet, where moments earlier Mr Carr's wife Joan had been preparing some drinks.

The second went off a few minutes later. A policeman answering an emergency call after the first explosion was blown off his feet as he hurried towards the house.

The explosions blew out windows and extensively damaged the ground floor of the house.

Mr Carr, his wife and their youngest daughter, Virginia, 13, left the house after the first explosion and took cover in a neighbour's home. No-one was hurt.

The blasts came after a day of protest against the new industrial relations bill.

Mr Carr described what happened: "I had just opened my dispatch box to do my evening's work and there was this loud explosion.

"The windows in the room we were in weren't blown in, but it was obvious we could hear other windows blown in and when we looked out into the hall, the front door had been blown open."

He said it was too soon to say who had planted the bomb and refused to be drawn on whether the attack could have anything to do with the industrial relations bill.

Mr Carr added: "I think it would be wrong to associate this with anything at the moment.

"The police are investigating and until they've investigated it would really be very foolish and wrong to suggest anything at all."

Mr Carr has been the chief negotiator with the unions over the industrial relations bill, which passed its second reading in the Commons on 15 December.

The government hopes to reduce industrial disruption by introducing the idea of strike ballots and a cooling off period before any action is taken. There are also proposals aimed at limiting the practice of closed shop agreements.

Labour and the unions claim the proposals are too restrictive andinfringeworkers' freedoms.

January 12
Anna Climbie moved to Europe in 1998 for a better life

2001: Climbie carers guilty of murder

Artificially 1969:
The The carers of an eight-year-old girl who died after being tortured and fed scraps of food like a dog have been found guilty of her murder.

The Home Office pathologist who examined her body declared it was the worst case of child abuse he had ever encountered.

The girl's aunt, Marie Therese Kouao, and her boyfriend Carl Manning were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Judge Richard Hawkins described their treatment of Anna Climbie as "truly unimaginable".

Manning denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child cruelty. Kouao claimed that the girl's death was due to witchcraft and denied all charges.

Anna's parents entrusted their daughter to her aunt in 1998. They sent her away from her home in the Ivory Coast in the hope she would have a better life in Europe.

The Judge told the court that Anna had left for France a "lovely child, full of hope and love", but had become an "inconvenience" to Kouao and her boyfriend.

The murder investigation and trial revealed a series of failings by the police, two hospitals and three local authorities to protect Anna.

The Director of Social Services for Haringey Council, Anne Bristow acknowledged that the first warnings of abuse were evident eight months before Anna's death.

"We should have acted to protect this child and accept responsibility for our failure," she said.

The Health Secretary, Alan Milburn, has ordered a statutory inquiry. The case has also been referred to the Police Complaints Authority.

Vocabulary:
 

infringe: to break; to violate; to transgress; to neglect to fulfill or obey(侵犯;破坏)






中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
相关文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本频道最新推荐
 
纽约“无裤日” 乘客光腿乘车很“淡定”
你遭遇了“新年障碍”吗
“幻日”英文怎么说
China's new wealthy head off to see world
自主品牌 self-owned brand
翻吧推荐
 
论坛热贴
 
原来国家的名字如此浪漫
Funny lines about getting married
关于工资的英语词汇大全
关于职业装的英语词汇
余光中《尺素寸心》(节选)译