The Charity Commission has expressed its concern that a convicted paedophile and member of the Manchester Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses was reportedly allowed to question two of his victims – aged five and ten at the time of the offences – at a meeting held by elders of the church.

Jonathan Rose, 40, was jailed for nine months for the offences and the two women, now in their 20’s and 30’s and calling for Rose to be barred from the church, were apparently subjected to warnings about bearing false witness (lying) and then to questions related to whether they had encouraged Rose, or enjoyed the experience.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, unlike judges and juries, believe that incidents must be observed by at least two people to be credible, something that is almost never going to happen in cases of child abuse.

A ground-breaking study funded by Diabetes UK has established the value of a strap-on artificial pancreas in treating Type 1 diabetes.

The device, which monitors blood sugar levels every 12 minutes and then pumps in the right amount of insulin, was worn by 24 adult sufferers every night for four weeks – the longest time by far without medical supervision – and resulted in the amount of time blood sugar levels were in the safe range being increased by 13.5%.

Diabetes UK described the results as “hugely exciting” .

The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) has warned that anxiety is a mental health problem that is now felt a lot, or all of the time, by one in five people, with nearly 50% generally feeling more anxious than they used to and 60% feeling anxious on a daily basis.

The survey, of 2,300 adults, indicated that money worries were the biggest cause.

Meanwhile the Financial Ombudsman has revealed that the 13,659 people contacting them last year for help with a mortgage or secured loan problem was the highest number ever recorded. And the Citizen’s Advice Bureau now names council tax arrears as most common debt worry, for the first time ahead of credit cards.

A guide, Are You Anxiety Aware? is offered by the MHF.

o Police in Kent have arrested eight men as part of an investigation into charity fraud involving money given to help people in Syria. The arrests follow the seizing at Dover in January of more than £45,000 in sterling, dollars and euros from four charities, money the police believe was to be used for criminal or terrorist activities.

The fact that cash was being transported, rather than payments being made electronically, raised suspicions.

People wanting to give money to help in the Syria crisis are advised to first check a charity’s legitimacy on the website of the Charity Commission, which also now contains Safer Giving advice.

o The head of a Worcester-based charity that has carried out work in Syria, Burma, Kashmir and Palestine was recently filmed with his arms around two masked gunmen carrying AK47 assault rifles, prompting concerns about what the money the charity was raising was being used for.

The charity, Al-Fatiha Global is currently being investigated for its financial dealings by the Charity Commission, and its accounting procedures.

According to the World Economic Forum Syria is the fourth worst place in the world to be a woman. The organisation measures gender disparities in education, economics, health and politics and only Yemen, Pakistan and Chad have higher gender gaps.

Whilst some sectors of society, politicians perhaps, might be enjoying an economic recovery many are still struggling.

A poll by MoneySupermarket.com suggests that more than 30 million of us are in the red, excluding mortgages, with 75% having a credit card balance to pay off, and 40% of those using their cards to cover day to day expenses. Banks are owed money by 50% of us, and 10% of us owe payday loan companies, charging usurious rates of interest. The anticipated rise in interest rates may help those who can save but could severely hurt borrowers.

A new charity providing proof of animal cruelty to animal welfare charities is being formed.

Ethical Pup will have a website and phone app allowing people to send photos and videos of animal cruelty anonymously to charities that have the funds to take legal action, and is being set up by actress Heidi Mumford after being inspired by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

Violent criminals, including child-abusers often have a history of animal cruelty when younger.

Meanwhile the RSPCA is investigating reports that two six year-old boys fed a live tabby cat to two dogs in Highfields, Doncaster.

The Coeliac Society has warned that even a crumb of gluten can make someone with Coeliac disease ill, and that around 500,000 people in the UK have the disease and don’t know it, around 85% of sufferers.

This information has been released to coincide with Coeliac Awareness Week (12-18th May) and other points are:- Continue reading →

Disability charity Scope has welcomed the resignation of Swindon’s Conservative mayor Nick Martin.

Martin, 63, was overheard asking “Are we still letting those Mongols have sex with each other?” at a presentation to raise awareness of issues affecting adults with disabilities, staged last November.

Charities working in Third World countries where there are problems getting clean water to drink might want to consider a link-up with the manufacturers of the Water to Go plastic water filter bottles.

These purify 500ml of any water from a non-salt source, with a removable filter that lasts three months. The company have worked with organisations in the Gambia and Sri Lanka.

www.watertogo.eu