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Shopkeepers are demanding stricter laws to protect people’s health, with many concerned for children vaping, a new report has said.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) surveyed 961 small tobacco retailers across the UK.

The research found eight out of 10 (81%) agree there should be compulsory rules in place to prevent selling tobacco to children and stop illegal sales.

An equal proportion also supported a mandatory age verification for anyone who looks under 25, to aid enforcement in England.

Only one in 20 shopkeepers opposed both these measures.

The poll also revealed that over half (54%) of retailers believe the age for buying tobacco should be increased from 18 to 21.

When asked whether tobacco manufacturers should have to pay a government fee to support people quitting and avoiding smoking, 73% agreed that they should.

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While many retailers hold these anti-tobacco views, the study found 76% don’t want to isolate local smokers from buying other products at their stores and 51% said their overall profits are reliant on the revenue.

Although, most shopkeepers agreed that cigarettes themselves do not make much profit in comparison to other items, stocking it does help increase the chances of the customer buying additional products.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH said: “To achieve a smoke-free 2030, the Government needs to ratchet up regulations to support smokers to quit and to prevent young people starting to smoke.”

Pack of cigarettes stock photo

“Retailers aren’t anti-regulation; they know that good regulation can make their lives easier by ensuring there’s a level playing field”, she added.

The report also indicated that 71% of retailers support bigger fines for breaking the law, 81% back more regular checks by trading standards, and 79% support closure orders for retailers that repeatedly break laws.

In terms of e-cigarettes, more than half of retailers said they expect them to become more significant to their business over the next decade.

London, UK - 27 February, 2020 - Electronic cigarettes displayed at window of a vape shop

Yet 69% supported stricter rules to limit their appeal to children including use of colours, cartoon characters and naming e-cigarettes after sweets.

The report concluded that the Government should “not be deterred from introducing new tobacco control measures because of concerns about their impact on local retailers”.

“Among retailers, support for new measures far outweighs opposition, even for measures which will directly affect daily sales of tobacco products including the proposed increase in the age of sale from 18 to 21.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “The Government continues to enforce strong regulations around the sale of cigarettes which help smokers to quit, and protect future generations from starting this lethal habit.

“We are currently considering the wide range of independent recommendations as set out in the Khan Review (published in June), which includes further regulation. We will provide a further update in due course.”

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Child dies and another injured after car driven on to sports pitch

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Child dies and another injured after car driven on to sports pitch

A child has died and another has been injured after a car was driven on to a sports pitch in Cumbria.

Police say they were called at 4.58pm to reports of a collision involving a BMW i40 and two children on a pitch at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club on Shap Road, in Kendal.

Cumbria Police say one child died, while the second is being treated by paramedics.

A man aged in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: “Specialist investigators are at the scene and the area has been cordoned off as initial investigation enquiries take place.”

The force said the incident was not believed to be terror-related. Immediate family members of both children have been informed, it added.

In a post on its Facebook page, the club said it was “deeply saddened to confirm that an incident occurred today at Kendal Rugby Club.”

The post, attributed to club chairman Dr Stephen Green, continued: “Our thoughts are with their family and friends and we kindly ask for privacy for all involved at this difficult time.”

The club and its facilities are now temporarily closed while it cooperates “fully” with authorities, it added.

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Tim Farron MP, whose constituency includes Kendal, posted on X: “This is devastating, utterly heartbreaking news. I’m praying for the children and for their families and friends.

“Our community in Kendal is stunned and in mourning.”

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PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China

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PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China

A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.

Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.

Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences

He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.

Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.

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Moment police arrest student guilty of rape

The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.

He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.

***ONLY USE IF HE IS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST TWO RAPES*** The trial heard Zou kept a 'lost property box' full of women's belongings. Pic: Met Police
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The trial heard Zou kept a ‘lost property box’ full of women’s belongings. Pic: Met Police

The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.

Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.

***ONLY USE IF HE IS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST TWO RAPES*** A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police
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A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police

Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.

The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.

Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.

“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.

“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.

“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”

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James Scott Rhys Anderson: British man who ‘fought for Ukraine’ jailed for 19 years in Russia

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James Scott Rhys Anderson: British man who 'fought for Ukraine' jailed for 19 years in Russia

A British man has been jailed for 19 years after a Russian court found him guilty of fighting for Ukraine in the country’s Kursk region.

James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, had been charged with terrorist and mercenary offences and was found guilty after a closed trial.

The court said he was to serve the first five years of his sentence in prison and the remainder in a penal colony.

In the trial, a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit was questioned as a witness.

Ukrainian troops broke across the border into Kursk region on 6 August last year.

They still hold some territory there seven months later, despite attempts by Russian forces to force them out.

Investigators accused Anderson of illegally crossing into Kursk in November as part of an armed group that committed unspecified “criminal acts against civilians”.

Russian state media published video showing him being led in handcuffs and locked in a cage of the kind where defendants in Russian court cases are placed.

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It apparently showed Anderson saying he had served in the British army from 2019-2023 before deciding to join the foreign legion of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Early on in the war, Ukraine’s authorities said more than 20,000 people from 52 countries came to Ukraine’s aid.

Since then, the number of foreign fighters in Ukraine’s military has been classified.

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