A 21-year-old British woman has died after being stabbed at a backpackers' hostel in Australia by a man shouting "Allahu Akbar".

The woman, named locally as Mia Ayliffe-Chung, from Derbyshire, was described as "gorgeous" by friends.

As well as fatally injuring Mia Ayliffe-Chung, the 29-year-old French man left a 30-year-old Briton - named locally as Tom Jackson - fighting for his life.

The knife attack took place at Shelley's Backpackers accommodation in the Home Hill area of Queensland at about 11.15pm local time on Tuesday, police said.

Miss Ayliffe-Chung, from Wirksworth, Derbyshire, was only days into a three-month trip to the country. She had been working as a waitress and with animals on a farm so she could extend her working holiday visa.

Friends have been paying tribute to both Britons since hearing of the attack.

Samantha Harrison wrote on Facebook: "Tom Jackson was a very close friend and one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Now Tom I need you too stay strong and beat this for yourself and all of your friends and family who love you."

While Amy Browne, 19, from the Gold Coast, who worked as a bartender at the Bedroom Lounge Bar, where Miss Ayliffe-Chung was a waitress, told the Press Association: "Mia was honestly the most bubbliest and most caring girl I knew.

"She got along with everyone she met, she just had that gorgeous personality that everyone seemed to enjoy.

"She always had a smile on her face, so innocent and full of life and love. Our memories will be cherished forever and I know she'd want us all to stay positive in the darkest of times. Rest in peace my beautiful friend, heaven has truly gained another angel."

Queensland deputy police commissioner Steve Gollschewski said all motivations were being considered, including criminal and political, as well as the impact of drugs and mental health problems.

He said: "Initial inquiries indicate that comments which may be construed as being of an extremist nature were made by the alleged offender.

"It is alleged that the suspect used the phrase 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack and when arrested by police."

Police said up to 30 people witnessed the "senseless act of violence" in which a 46-year-old local man also suffered non life-threatening injuries.

Friends paid tribute on Facebook, with Tom Paenga writing: "R.I.P Mia. I know that I will not find someone like you again, so happy, so motivating, in good times and in bad times always you were drawing a smile...

"My condolences to your family and to those who had the pleasure of meeting you. Taken to soon but never forgotten!!!"

Kyle Godwin wrote: "We really do live in a cruel world. The only good thing to come from this is that heaven really truly has gained an amazing and beautiful soul. I love you more then anything in this world beautiful".

Source: http://www.sundayworld.com/

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One in three teenage girls have been 'sexually assaulted by their boyfriends'

The rising sexual influence on television is being blamed for the alarming increase in assault cases
 

A third of teenage girls have been victims of sexual violence by a boyfriend, campaigners said last night.

Experts fear that some do not even realise they are victims of a crime and others are too terrified or embarrassed to speak out.

They blame the problem on the sexualisation of teenagers as TV, films and the internet bombard them with provocative messages.

The number of teenagers under the age of 18 are suffering the most
 

Sexual violence is often fuelled by online pornography that can be shared between mobile phones at the click of a button.

The Government revealed the figure before the launch today of an unprecedented advertising campaign to stem the tide of abuse.

Its hard-hitting advert is the first to confront teenagers with the grim reality of rape.

Ministers believe some young people define sexual consent too loosely. Research has shown some boys think girls must have sex with them if they spend enough money on them.

And campaigners say teenage girls often accept abuse in a relationship because they do not realise it is wrong or know how to stop it.

Based on research by the NSPCC and the University of Bristol involving 1,353 teenagers, the Home Office says a third of girls aged 13 to 17 have been the victim of some form of sexual violence from a partner.

It is thought that up to 900,000 young women are victims of sexual crimes that are likely to leave them scarred for life.

Further research found the highest proportion of sexual abuse is perpetrated by under-18s.

Officials discovered that while most teenagers know rape is wrong, many do not realise that sex without consent is always a crime.

The advertisement – to be broadcast on TV, in cinemas and online – urges young people to rethink their view of what constitutes rape.

It will be screened to viewers of TV programmes popular with teenagers such as Skins and Hollyoaks.

Both dramas have featured plots involving troubled adolescent relationships, violence and sexuality.

The advert shows an unwilling teenage girl being forced into sex by a boy at a party, superimposed with the words: ‘If you could see yourself, would you see rape?’ 

Campaigners believe explicit music videos and TV programmes are partly responsible for distorted views of sexual violence among young people.

And last month, NSPCC research found fewer than one in five girls who are sexually assaulted by boys tells anyone if the offender is under 18.

The charity said adolescents are responsible for a third of all sex offences committed against children, and in three out of four of these cases the victim will know the offender.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: ‘This hard-hitting campaign shows that rape is not just about violent attacks by strangers.

‘We want to bring this issue out into the open and get young people talking about the importance of consent.

‘The campaign will give teenagers the facts and support they need to recognise abuse and form healthy relationships.’ 

Jon Brown, of the NSPCC, said: ‘This campaign is highlighting a hugely important issue for teenagers, particularly girls who are raped or forced to carry out other sexual acts.

‘Many young people misguidedly accept this as part of a relationship and do nothing about it.

‘We have to change that view because this is sexual abuse and should not be tolerated.’

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

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Utah inmate asks to die by firing squad.

(CNN) -- A Utah death row inmate, convicted of beating a man with a tire jack and puncturing his liver with an inserted tire iron, has requested that he be allowed to die by firing squad, officials said Thursday.

Fourth District Judge Donald Eyre on Wednesday signed such a death warrant for Michael A. Archuleta, 49.

But the April 5 execution is not likely to happen, considering Archuleta still make can federal appeals.

The last convicted killer to die by firing squad in Utah was Ronnie Lee Gardner, executed in June 2010.

Gardner was only the third person to die by firing squad in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Assistant Attorney General Tom Brunker said Archuleta, when convicted in 1989, did not request a specific manner of execution, and was not legally entitled to die by firing squad. But the state did not object Wednesday to Archuleta's request, although it reserves the right to ask for lethal injection, Brunker said.

Brunker said there is no question of guilt in the case.

In 1988, according to court records, Archuleta and Lance Wood met Gordon Ray Church, 28, at a convenience store in Cedar City and rode with him to a secluded area. At that point, Church told them he was gay, and Archuleta began to engage in a sexual act on Church, but stopped.

The two then bound Church, put him in the trunk of his car and drove to another location nearly 80 miles away.

The two attached battery jumper cables to Church's testicles in a failed attempt to electrocute him. They inflicted blows to his head with a tire jack and iron, records show. A tire iron was forced inside the college student's rectum and it punctured his liver.

Church's body was found with tire chains wrapped tightly around his neck, records show.

The attackers took Church's wallet and watch, Brunker said.

"They both said the other one did everything," said Brunker. "Archuleta's pants were soaked in the victim's blood. Wood had some blood spots."

Wood received a life sentence.

An attorney for Archuleta did not immediately return a message left by CNN.

But in one of three appeals, Archuleta raised questions about the competence of his previous counsel and alleged errors by the trial court. The Utah Supreme Court turned down that appeal in November 2011.

According to Brunker, after a statutory change in 2004, lethal injection became the only available method of death in Utah for those who did not elect firing squad at sentencing.

A spokesman for the Utah Department of Corrections said four of the eight individuals on death row initially asked for the firing squad option at the time of their sentencing. Seven were sentenced before the 2004 law change.

In Utah, five anonymous marksmen, each with a matching .30-caliber rifle, are used in firing squads.

They stand behind a wall cut with two gunports, said corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke. One of the rifles will hold an "ineffective" round, similar to a blank, which delivers the same recoil as a live round.

The marksmen fire from a distance of 25 feet. The inmate is blindfolded and strapped to a chair with a target pinned to his chest.

SOURCE: CNN NEWS

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