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Image copyrightHANDOUTImage captionLevi Ogden died in hospital after being discovered injured the street
A man has admitted killing a mother of two who was found injured in a town centre street.
Levi Ogden, 26, was discovered in Silver Street, Halifax, in November, and died later in hospital.
Lloyd Birkby, 27, was initially charged with murdering Ms Ogden, but prosecutors accepted his plea of guilty to a charge of manslaughter.
He also pleaded guilty to common assault in relation to another woman on the same night.
Appearing via video-link at Bradford Crown Court, Birkby, of Langdale Street in Elland, West Yorkshire, was remanded in custody and told he would be sentenced on 8 April.
Prosecutor Dafydd Enoch QC said the intended pleas were considered in detail both with the team involved in the investigation and Ms Ogden's family.
"The bottom line is that plea is acceptable to the Crown," he said.
Mr Enoch said the prosecution intended to offer no evidence on the murder charge.
Birkby's defence barrister Stephen Wood QC told the judge that a psychologist's assessment of his client was ongoing.
Judge Jonathan Rose said Birkby would be sentenced for the manslaughter and common assault by the Recorder of Leeds next month.
"You know full well a custodial sentence will follow," he added.
People in the UK are being asked to improve their personal hygiene in an effort to limit and slow the spread of coronavirus. But how's the government going about it?
Don't touch your face.
It's something people are thought to do more than 20 times an hour on average,but the official advice is to desist so that coronavirus doesn't spread any faster.
It's not easy to give up unhygienic habits picked up over a lifetime, though.
So the government is using "Nudge theory", a branch of economics designed to get us to do the "right thing" by making it easier, more normal and more obvious.
The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), a company part-owned by the Cabinet Office, is advising ministers on how best to do it. It's come up with some ideas to prevent face-touching, as featured on its blog.
How about asking friends, family or colleagues to shout "face" every time they see you're about to reach up for a scratch or rub?
Or folding your arms in a locked position, grabbing the biceps to avoid the hands slipping free and heading upwards?
Another suggestion is creating an alternative "habitual" action, such as drumming fingers on legs or playing with a substitute object, such a ball.
"Even if you're very concerned about coronavirus, it's very difficult to stop doing something like face-touching because it's such a habit," says Cynthia McVey, former head of psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University. "There have been reports of people who are worried enough to wear masks who have still removed them so they can rub their nose."
Nudge theory, already widely used by governments, aims to instil better habits - or change social "norms" - rather than focusing on explicit "top-down" advice.
If enough people do something, you feel a sense of oddness, of missing out, of guilt perhaps, if you don't do the same.
"It's more powerful than traditional methods of getting across certain advice," says Kelly Hunstone, chief executive of the Social Change UK agency and a former adviser on behavioural science to the government. "We've left the age of deference and need to communicate differently.
"In some instances we don't trust the experts but the person on the street to show us how to act. It's a bit like using Tripadvisor - you'd rather take the advice of Bob in Essex than a travel operator."
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Since the coronavirus crisis began, the government has recommended singing Happy Birthday to yourself twice while washing your hands. It's easier to remember than counting the full 20 seconds this equates to.
Both tips bear the signs of Nudge theory, which emphasises putting across a "clear message".
Nudge theory also assumes people don't always act in their own best interests, or those of society - for reasons such as laziness, selfishness and ignorance. Hence the need to ease the way towards doing what a government wants us to do.
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It's an idea that has caught on at local and national level since the book Nudge, by US academics Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, was published in 2008.
Some UK councils provide recycling bins that are larger than their normal waste bins, in an effort to get people recycle more.
Tax reminders are sent out saying the "majority" of people in an area have already paid, putting social pressure on recipients to do the same.
What can be done, though, to deal with the effects of coronavirus on society? The government is urging people not to stockpile toilet paper, pasta and other goods, while supermarkets are putting up notices asking people not to over-purchase and leave others without.
The logic is clear, but Ms Hunstone advocates a more Nudge-y, emotion-led approach.
"It would be more effective to show a picture of Doris Jones, 76, who can't get out easily to visit the supermarket, if you're trying to persuade people not to buy too many cans of baked beans or loo rolls," Ms Hunstone says.
She argues that pictures like this, seen recently on Facebook, could be placed in shops, inducing guilt in those tempted to stuff their trolleys.
"It's also important to use the ego when you're putting out this kind of message and people like to be seen doing what's right," Ms Hunstone adds.
People leaving enough provisions on shelves could photograph their trolleys or baskets and share them on social media, further marginalising those who do not, she says. So, in a way, "annoying" virtue-signallers could encourage the spread of virtuous behaviour in others.
The UK government has faced criticism for adopting a different approach to other countries towards coronavirus, focusing more so far on people following advice than creating a wider "lockdown".
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled a change of approach this week, urging people to reduce social contact with others, but the measures are less severe than in many other European countries, necessitating simple advice.
Staff with the Behavioural Insights Team are honing and testing messages to create the greatest impact.
"Simplicity is key," says Ms Hunstone. It might get boring hearing the same thing again and again. But you have to hear messages like that nine times before people really understand them and they get through. Consistency is absolutely vital."
There have been criticisms that Nudge theory infantilises people, not crediting them with the ability to think for themselves and removing effective choice.
But it's very much in favour in Downing Street. Whether it can stop people touching their faces remains to be seen.
The Woyene national professors verses the Team Lemma students of Isaias Afwerki in Ethiopian current politics.
The world witnessed the ultimate nationalism of the Tigrai people during the 45th anniversary of the Tigrai people’s liberation front (Woyane ) last Wednesday. Few months ago, a group of politicians (by the name of team Lemma) within the ruling party of Ethiopia emerged to bring change, peace and unity of the country which was entering in to ethnic cleansing and civil war in most of the regions across the nation.
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The goal of the so-called team Lemma shifted shortly after seizing power to targeting the Tigrai people politically, emotionally and economically. Several thousand people of Tigrai origin were killed, harassed, displaced and their homes and businesses burned in several regions of the Ethiopia. The federal government endorsed this evil act and blamed only the Tigrai people for all the mistakes, corruptions, and all the ethnic crisis in Ethiopia during the EPRDF in power for the last 27 years. due to continuous harassment by the federal government, many Tigraian civilians, civil servants, professions, merchants and almost all retired personnel from the federal government returned back to Tigrai for their own security and safety.
The strategy of such harassment and intimidation by the federal government against the Tigrai people was to put pressure on the state and diminish national dignity of the people of Tigrai and to reverse the national independence and equality they gained after a bloody 17 years of armed struggle against the late butcher fascist government Mengistu Hailemariam.
It was unfortunate to witness that the dictator government of Eritrea emerged a synergistic power with a the Abiy Ahmed regime against the Tigrai people. The EPLF is said to have been trying to negotiate for federation or confederation with the DERG government during the armed struggle. Meetings were held in Germany, Yemen and in Kenya. While the negotiations were underway, the Tigrai people’s liberation front ( Woyane) then liberated the entire Tigrai region by defeating the DERG and secured a liberated Tigrai for two years before marching to the capital city of Adis Abeba while the EPLF was in heavy fighting to defend their base against the Ethiopian government offensives.
The DERG also attempted several times to recapture Tigrai again and lost several military divisions and armaments. The Eritrean people’s liberation front had no choice except to dismantle the negotiations with the DERG and fix the broken bridge with the powerful Woyane and collaborated for a united front to defeat the DERG and that was the only way for them to get their freedom from Ethiopia. Now again the Eritrean government led by the tyrant dictator is collaborating with the Ethiopian government to invade Tigrai.
History repeats itself and the theme of slogans of the Tigrai people during the 45th anniversary of the TPLF was, unity of the people to defend national identity and dignity to defend against the two aggressions from Ethiopia and Eritrea. They showed their national unity, sustainability, political maturity, and the selfless new generation emerging to combat any enemies with passion and willingness to sacrifice without any reservations for their nationalism.
The relationship of Abiy Ahmed and the Eritrean dictator will be short lived since their strategy is failure and immaturity. Their collaboration was only to weakened the Tigrai people and isolate the TPLF from the people. Otherwise, they have no political strategy for a longer term under any circumstances. However, their strategy was the opposite and the people of Tigrai and the TPLF are now under one flag, one nation, one principle and united than any time in history.
The Tigrai people have fought bitterly to defeat the largest black army on earth, the DERG and no one can undermine their experience and they are ready to defend their identity and nationality again this time around.
“Madness is something rare in individuals, but in groups, parties, people and ages, it is the rule “. Fried rich Nietzsche.
The peoples of Tigrai have a lot of reason to be mad with this current government of Ethiopia and the Eritrean dictator. Both Isaias and Abiy tried to humiliate, intimidate, harass, kill Tigraians every chance they got.
“We have got to have rules and obey them. After all, we are not savage. We are English and English people are the best at everything “. William Golding, lords of files.
At this time the people of Tigrai are more united, organized, armed, and they have the most extensive experience of war and leadership, no army can stop them if they marched to all directions from Tigrai. The Tigrai leadership should keep working to bring sustainable good governance to the united force democratically and revolutionize the society to bring about modern economic reality. If a war comes to Tigrai from any corner their victory is certain.
It is very clear to predict who is the winner and looser in this political crisis, but for sure time will tell the truth in a short period of time and let’s reserve our predictions. I remember the New York Times said to Mr Hailemariam Desalegn after he was elected as prime minister, “he is a technician and not politician "and unfit for the position, they were correct. We can say that Mr. Abiy Ahmed is a preacher and not a prime minister. All Ethiopian are witnessing that the current prime minister has no ability, charisma, moral, integrity and authority to be a leader of 110 million people. The more he stays in power, the more damage he will inflict to Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people.
“nationalism is a movement as in the arts based upon the folk idiom, history, aspirations etc... of a nation”, the American heritage dictionary.
More than 2,000 nomads in Ethiopia’s Somali region have died since 2014 after falling ill from a mysterious disease that caused bleeding from their mouths and noses.
Other reported symptoms include swollen limbs and green or yellow eyes.
The affected people roam with their cattle around the Ogaden Basin region, which is being explored by companies looking for oil and natural gas.
Reports of the mysterious illness and deaths have drawn Western reporters and researchers from rights groups to investigate.
Residents of Calub, Ethiopia, have accused a Chinese project that includes construction of a pipeline from Ogaden to Djibouti of destroying the environment where their animals are grazing.
Chinese firm Poly-GCL has been prospecting for natural oil and gas in Ogaden since 2014. It is expected to start commercial gas production soon. The Ethiopian government has signed a deal with the Chinese company that gives it 50% of any income from oil or gas exploration.
The pipeline will enable Ethiopia to export natural gas.
Local residents say they have not been consulted.
The government in Addis Ababa has denied allegations that the project is causing a health and environmental crisis in the region.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has promoted oil and gas industry as essential for Ethiopia’s economic growth
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