The Hangover News

More British Emancipation
THREE MEN WERE RESCUED DURING SLAVERY RAIDS NEAR BRISTOL
Eight properties were searched during an investigation into forced labour and people trafficking

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Just a couple of weeks after the Brixton slave case, three men – all suspected to be victims of slavery – were rescued near Bristol.

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of slavery offences after Avon and Somerset police raided eight properties in an investigation into forced labour and people trafficking.

Police said five others were arrested during the raids at three travellers' sites near Bristol on suspicion of offences including cannabis production, handling stolen goods and money laundering.

Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said, "It shows that modern slavery is happening around us and I am pleased that the police, local authorities and Unseen UK have worked together to tackle and disrupt this abhorrent network of criminality."

Protest Perseverance
PEOPLE ARE STILL DEMONSTRATING IN UKRAINE AND THAILAND
Protesters in Kiev destroyed a Lenin statue and the Thai opposition are quitting Parliament

Protests in Independence Square, Kiev (Photo by Henry Langston)

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Protesters in both Ukraine and Thailand are still pissed off with their governments.

Demonstrations started in Kiev after the Ukrainian government shelved a potential trade agreement with the EU, allegedly because of pressure from Russia.

The alternative deal for Ukraine is a customs union with Russia, which protesters illustrated their opposition to this weekend by destroying a statue of Vladimir Lenin – a symbol of Ukraine's shared history with Russia.

Anti-government protests have also continued in Thailand, with the country's main opposition party announcing that its members are resigning en masse to protest against a government they say is illegitimate.

Democrat party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said his party couldn't keep on going because the political system was "no longer accepted by the people".

Righteous Rulers
THE GERMAN PRESIDENT IS BOYCOTTING THE SOCHI OLYMPICS
He's the first major political figure to speak out against the Games

German President Joachim Gauck (Photo via)

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German President Joachim Gauck has become the first major politician to boycott the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

Prior to being the president of Germany, Gauck made his name as a civil rights activist, so it's no surprise that Russia's violations of human rights and harassment of the opposition haven't gone down too well with him.

Since coming to office in March of 2012, Gauck has declined any official visits to Russia and repeatedly criticised the country's "deficit of rule of law" and "air of imperialism".

After Gauck informed the Kremlin of his decision, Russia decided to throw some shade the president's way, with the head of the Russian parliament's foreign delegation tweeting: "The German president Gauck has not criticised the killing of children and women in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But he is so critical of Russia that he doesn't even want to travel to Sochi."

Gauck hasn't yet become embroiled in the Twitter cat-fight, but he's got almost three months to respond before the Games begin.

Political Bloopers
UKIP HAD ANOTHER EMBARRASSING SLIP-UP
Nigel Farage had to defend a party member for saying she wanted to send all immigrants home 

UKIP leader Nigel Farage (Photo via)

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Once again, a UKIP member did something that made the party look like a bit of a shambles.

In a five-year-old video about immigration made with her then-husband, UKIP councillor Victoria Ayling says she'd like to "send the lot back".

Much like Godfrey Bloom's existence, that probably isn't the kind of thing UKIP leadership want in their campaign to be perceived as anything other than Tories who were too racist for the Tories.

Ayling, however, has insisted she is not in favour of the mass deportation of immigrants, and says she is a victim of a set-up by the Mail on Sunday – the paper that released the video – and her bitter ex-husband.

"During the process of making this video I struggled to find the right words to express the views I held which were that we needed a sensible immigration policy and must not be afraid to deport those who come here illegally or who fail the asylum process," she said.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage stood by Ayling in kind of the least committed way he could, saying, "While this comment looks odd and unpleasant, there may be a context here that is slightly different to the way it appears."

Partying Pensioners
RECORD AMOUNTS OF PENSIONERS ARE GOING TO A&E AFTER RECREATIONAL DRUG USE
Experts are blaming the "free love" generation for all the over-65s ending up in hospital

Some older gentleman smoking weed in our film Nimbin Mardi Grass

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According to the latest NHS figures, a record number of people over the age of 65 are requiring hospital treatment after using recreational drugs.

Nearly 900 men and women visited A&E last year after using drugs like cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines, up from 283 ten years ago.

Experts are blaming the increase on the fact that a lot of these people were probably hippies, with the National Drug Prevention Alliance’s David Raynes saying, "We are getting to the period where people who grew up in the 1960s are of that age. People who have used drugs their whole lives will start to hit the NHS."

A researcher at King's College London told the Sunday Times that illicit drug use among people over 50 was found to have increased dramatically since 1993, saying that, "The assumption is that these people would have grown up during ages when it was considered more acceptable."

So if the NHS ever need a scapegoat for all this, the good news is that they don't have to look much further than Dave Gilmour and Paul McCartney.