Thailand court ousts PM Yingluck must visit

A Thai court has ruled that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra must step down over abuse of power charges.The Constitutional Court ruled that Ms Yingluck acted illegally when she transferred her national security head.The court has also ruled that some cabinet ministers involved in the transfer must also step down.

The ruling follows months of political deadlock. Anti-government protesters have been trying to oust Ms Yingluck since November 2013.

The move is likely to trigger protests by supporters of the government, which remains very popular in rural areas.

Ms Yingluck had been accused of improperly transferring Thawil Pliensri, her national security chief appointed by the opposition-led administration, in 2011.

Appearing court on Tuesday, she had rejected the suggestion that her party had benefited from the move - but the court ruled against her.

Continue reading the main story Sep 2006: Army ousts Thaksin ShinawatraDec 2007: Pro-Thaksin party wins electionAug 2008: Thaksin flees ThailandDec 2008: Huge anti-Thaksin protests; court bans ruling party; Abhisit Vejjajiva comes to powerMar-May 2010: Huge pro-Thaksin protests; more than 90 killed over 10-week periodJul 2011: Yingluck Shinawatra elected PMNov 2013: Anti-government protestsFeb 2014: Snap election held, but protesters disrupt polls; court rules polls invalid"The prime minister's status has ended, Yingluck can no longer stay in her position acting as caretaker prime minister," a judge said in a statement.

It is not yet clear whether one of Ms Yingluck's ministers can step in or whether Thailand now faces a political vacuum.

Power struggle

Anti-government protests began in the Thai capital late last year, with demonstrators blockading several parts of the city.

In response, Ms Yingluck called a snap general election in February that her party was widely expected to win. But the protesters disrupted the polls and the election was later annulled.

Ms Yingluck's supporters believe that the courts are biased against her and side with the urban elite at the heart of the protest movement.

Thailand has faced a power struggle since Ms Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted by the military as prime minister in a 2006 coup.

Mr Thaksin and his family are hated by an urban and middle-class elite who accuse them of corruption and abuse of power.

But Mr Thaksin's policies won him huge support in rural areas, and both the elections since the coup have returned Thaksin-allied governments to power.

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Mother in court over child deaths must visit

A mother has appeared in court charged with murdering three of her children in south-west London.

Tania Clarence appeared before Wimbledon magistrates, charged with killing her three-year-old twin boys and four-year-old daughter.

Mrs Clarence, of Thetford Road, New Malden, has been remanded in custody until the next hearing at the Old Bailey on 29 April.

The children were found dead at their home on Tuesday night.

Gary Clarence, centre, leaves Wimbledon Magistrates' Court after his wife's appearance Teddies, bouquets and plants have been left outside the family's home in New Malden

The 42-year-old was flanked by two police officers as she confirmed her name, address and date of birth.

She cried throughout the 20-minute hearing as the charges of murdering her children Olivia, Ben and Max were read out to her.

Post-mortem examinations are ongoing at Great Ormond Street Hospital, police said.

Mrs Clarence's husband Gary, a director at City bank Investec, was in court for his wife's appearance.

He was on holiday in South Africa with members of his family, including the couple's eight-year-old daughter, when he was told about the deaths of the three children.

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New Family Court comes into being must visit

A review found that vulnerable children were having their "futures undermined" by excessive delays New combined Family Courts have come into being in England and Wales as part of family justice system reforms.

The plan also includes new time frames for cases where children are taken into care and compulsory mediation awareness sessions for separating couples.

Justice Minister Simon Hughes said it was "a hugely important change" to what had been a "very dysfunctional system".

Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, said the changes were the biggest in a lifetime.

Range of shortcomings

There are about 270,000 new family cases each year dealing with issues such as local authority intervention, divorce, domestic violence and adoption.

Continue reading the main story Clive Coleman Legal correspondent, BBC News

Removing a child from its parents and placing it in local authority care, is arguably the most draconian thing that the state does to a family. It is critical that care proceedings are conducted as comprehensively and efficiently as possible in the courts.

Babies, toddlers and teenagers going through care proceedings have been removed from their parents for their own well being and are seeking a decision on a permanent and secure home. The Family Justice Review in 2011 found care cases taking on average 56 weeks.

The new 26-week time limit should mean speedier and better outcomes for vulnerable children. But there are risks. If a biological parent is on a drug or alcohol rehabilitation programme lasting a year, it is unclear whether the time limit for the care case will be extended.

There is a power to extend the 26-week period if it is necessary to resolve the case justly, but this is new law and no one quite knows how it will be applied.

A review carried out in 2011 found that vulnerable children were having their "futures undermined" by excessive delays, with care and supervision cases taking an average of 56 weeks.

Although that has come down, the reforms address a range of shortcomings. They include rules to ensure:

Care cases are normally completed within six months in a single Family Court, which replaces the current three-tier court system in family casesSeparating couples must attend a mediation awareness session before taking disputes over their finances or their children to courtLimits on the amount of expert evidence that can be used in cases involving children, only being permitted when it is necessary to resolve the case justly

There are also changes to the way in which children are dealt with in family cases, with the abolition of labels such as "residence" and "contact", which were thought to focus on the rights of parents rather than the needs of the child.

The changes are also intended to ensure the right level of judge is appointed for a particular Family Court case, and that it is held in the most suitable location.

Justices' clerks and their assistants will be authorised to assist all judges across the Family Court.

'Cultural revolution'

BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said: "The new 26-week time limit should mean speedier and better outcomes for vulnerable children. But there are risks.

"There is a power to extend the 26-week period if it is necessary to resolve the case justly, but this is new law and no one quite knows how it will be applied."

Sir James Munby said: "Today marks the largest reform of the family justice system any of us have seen or will see in our professional lifetimes.

"Taken as a whole, these reforms amount to a revolution. There has been, indeed there had to be, a fundamental change in the cultures of the family courts. This is truly a cultural revolution.

"I have visited every care centre to see for myself how it is taking shape.

"These visits have brought home to me just how enthusiastically and with such determination and commitment everybody in the family justice system has embraced the process of reform: local authorities, Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), court staff, judges (in whom, of course, I include the magistrates), justices' clerks and the legal professions."

Family Justice Minister Simon Hughes told the BBC that under the previous system "the battle over children went on for weeks and weeks and months and months absolutely against the interests of the child".

The new rules would provide "security and certainty", he predicted, and would prevent children being "moved from pillar to post".

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Nurse in court charged with murders/must visit

 29 March 2014 Last updated at 11:52 Victorino Chua was remanded in custody by magistrates in Manchester

A nurse has appeared in court charged with murdering three patients at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport in 2011.

Victorino Chua, 48, of Churchill Street, Heaton Norris, is also charged with 31 other offences including GBH and attempted poisoning.

He is accused of murdering patients Tracey Arden, 44, Arnold Lancaster, 71, and Alfred Derek Weaver, 83.

At Manchester Magistrates' Court, he confirmed his name, age and address.

Mr Chua was remanded in custody to appear at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday.

He faces one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, 22 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, seven counts of attempting to administer poison and one count of causing poison to be administered with intent.

Investigators have been examining the contamination of various medical products, between June 1 and July 15 2011 at the hospital.

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