Family feud behind UK cabbie's killings



LONDON // A bitter family feud over his mother's will appears to have prompted "the nicest bloke you could meet" to go on a shooting spree across the English countryside that left 12 people dead. Taxi driver Derrick Bird wounded 11 other people, three of whom remained in serious condition in hospital last night, as he drove for three hours across the quiet Cumbrian countryside in north-west England before turning the gun on himself.

Most of those who died were shot at random but Bird's first three victims - his twin brother, David, the family solicitor and a fellow taxi driver - appear to have been deliberately targeted. Mild-mannered Bird, a divorced father of two sons ages 16 and 28, had been locked in a fierce dispute with his twin and the solicitor, Kevin Commons, over the will of his ailing 90-year-old mother. Armed with a hunting rifle and shotgun, which he had legally held for the past 20 years, Bird killed both men before driving to the taxi rank in Whitehaven from which he worked and shot three fellow drivers, killing one of them.

Police declined to confirm reports yesterday that Bird, 52, had lost his temper with fellow drivers the night before Wednesday's shooting during a row over "passenger stealing" on the rank. Driving out of Whitehaven, Bird embarked on his rampage across western Cumbria, shooting people at random including a woman buying a newspaper and then her husband when he went to help her; a young farmer in a field; a mother out shopping; and a 64-year-old man cycling down a country lane.

With police closing in, Bird finally abandoned his car in woodland outside the village of Boot and walked a short distance before shooting himself. Such massacres are rare in the UK and this week's was the worst since the 1996 "slaughter of the innocents" when Thomas Hamilton, 43, an unemployed shop worker, walked into his local primary school in Dunblane, Scotland, and killed 16 children and one teacher with four handguns he was carrying.

Previously, in 1987, 27-year-old Michael Ryan went on the rampage in and around the country town of Hungerford in southern England, killing 16 people and wounding 14 others with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun. Like Bird, both Ryan and Hamilton killed themselves. No motives were ever established for the first two killing sprees but both led to further restrictions on Britain's already strict laws on gun ownership.

The government will now look at a further tightening although, with the private ownership of semi-automatic rifles banned after Hungerford, and of handguns after Dunblane - all with a negligible effect on the annual tally of about 200 people killed by guns in Britain each year - major changes in the law are not expected. The prime minister, David Cameron, and home secretary, Theresa May, will visit Cumbria today to meet Cumbria Chief Constable Craig Mackey to discuss the shootings.

Mrs May announced in the House of Commons yesterday that the government would provide additional funding for the police inquiry if necessary. Meanwhile, the scattered, tight-knit communities in Cumbria have been left to grieve as they struggle to understand the reasons for Bird's rampage. "He was mild mannered and down to earth. He was the nicest bloke you would wish to meet. All of his mates would tell you that," said Richard Kirkbride, one of Bird's friends.

Michelle Haigh, the landlady at The Hound pub close to the village of Rowrah where Bird lived, said: "He was just a normal bloke, a nice guy. "He would come into the pub, have a couple of pints of lager, have a chat with his friend and go home. This is not in character with the Derrick Bird we know. Everybody is shocked." But another friend said that, the night before the shootings, Bird had told him ominously: "You won't see me again."

Yesterday, growing numbers of people were questioning why Cumbria police - one of Britain's smallest forces - had failed to stop Bird sooner during almost three hours of drive-by shootings. Locals complained that the death toll could have been much lower had officers tracked down the rampaging taxi driver more quickly. Among many messages of condolence left on the website of the Whitehaven News, the local weekly newspaper, were angry condemnations of the police's actions.

One wrote: "The police should have been all over it as soon as there was a reported shooting. Any other country and this guy would have been taken out hours earlier. The police have a lot to answer for in my opinion." The queen has sent a message of sympathy to the families of the victims, saying she was "deeply shocked" by the shootings and that she shared the nation's "grief and horror". @Email:dsapsted@thenational.ae

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A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.

NBA Finals so far

(Toronto lead 3-1 in best-of-seven series_

Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109

Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109

Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123

Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105

Miss Granny

Director: Joyce Bernal

Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa

3/5

(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)

START-UPS%20IN%20BATCH%204%20OF%20SANABIL%20500'S%20ACCELERATOR%20PROGRAMME
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If you go...

Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.

Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50

Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company

CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

RESULT

Manchester United 2 Burnley 2
Man United:
 Lingard (53', 90' 1)
Burnley: Barnes (3'), Defour (36')

Man of the Match: Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)