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[ {"tags": "", "title": "Why quitting heroin substitute methadone is 'vital'", "news_post_date": "2010-08-06T02:46:40.000Z", "raw_content": "<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p><b class=\"ssrcss-14iz86j-BoldText e5tfeyi0\">The heroin substitute methadone can be used as a way of weaning addicts off heroin but the substitute can also become addictive.</b></p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Earlier this year a debate broke out in Scotland when Professor Neil McKeganey, director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow, said more effort was needed to get people off drugs, including methadone, through abstinence. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>But a group of 40 specialists, including university professors and doctors who treat addicts, responded: \"If policy makers were to heed the critics' advice to close down methadone treatment or impose an arbitrary time limit on its administration, the community can anticipate more overdose deaths, more HIV and more crime.\" </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>So what do recovering addicts think? Chris used methadone for five years to help wean him off heroin but felt he had to quit the drug substitute last October</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"I just thought, I've got to get a grip here, because I've been in and out of prison since I was 16 - that's half my life,\" he told The Report. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Chris, an inmate of HMP Edinburgh, lives in Ratho Hall, a specialist Addiction Support Area that helps prisoners achieve abstinence. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"I heard about Ratho Hall, and it's given me the wake-up call that I needed,\" he said. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Chris was prescribed methadone, a synthetic opiate that is taken orally, to wean him off his heroin addiction but although methadone can help addicts stabilise their lives, it is also addictive. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Ratho Hall is the only facility of its kind in Scotland. It opened last year in brand new accommodation. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Of the 30 inmates resident last week, 11 have become completely drug-free. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>The Scottish government produced its strategy document on drugs, The Road to Recovery, in 2008. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>In this, the Community Safety Minister, Fergus Ewing of the SNP, explained how he wants to see \"a new vision\" for Scotland \"where all drug treatment and rehabilitation services are based on the principle of recovery.\" </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>This is a shift away from an acceptance that people will stay on methadone for lengthy periods of time unchallenged. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Chris, who started to use heroin when he was 18, talked of his own addiction: \"When you're on heroin or methadone your head's hazy. I realised when I was on methadone that I was just putting my life on hold. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"Now I feel that abstinence is a walk in the park compared to taking drugs. When you're abstinent you can just be yourself - it's a weight off your shoulders.\"</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Chris said he could not have done it on his own. In Ratho Hall, there are drug counsellors, regular peer-support meetings and medical staff. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Paul Davidson, unit manager of Ratho Hall, explained how the unit works. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"If guys come in here on a methadone prescription, they have to have a reduction plan. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"So they'll be reduced at a rate they feel comfortable with and the doctor feels is right for them.\" </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Around one in five prisoners in Scotland is being prescribed methadone. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>But across the whole of Scotland it is estimated that 22,000 people are taking methadone. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Some of them may have been on it for decades. In England more than 150,000 people are receiving a substitute drug treatment for their addiction, normally methadone. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Maxie Richards, a committed Christian has been helping addicts get clean since 1986, and is a firm believer in abstinence. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Her suburban Glasgow home is an unlikely venue for drug rehabilitation. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"The majority of those I see now want to come off methadone. And it's harder to come off than heroin, it's so sad. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"It's also a very debilitating drug too, and can lead to memory loss,\" she explained.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>James Boyd, one of the addicts who came to Maxie Richards for help, looks fit and well, but when he arrived on her doorstep in June, he was three stone lighter.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"I thought death would be better than the way I was feeling. What methadone does to you is wrecks you physically, mentally and spiritually. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"I said to myself, I can't do this any more. Every single person I know is on heroin and they are all on methadone too.\"</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>James stopped methadone and all other drugs nearly two months ago. He thinks he has got over the withdrawal symptoms now.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"It's just two weeks ago that I had my first full night's sleep.\"</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Another former addict - Gail - is looking forward to a drug-free life. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>She is slowly reducing her methadone dose with the support of her doctor. Gail has been taking methadone for eight years. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"A lot of addicts use methadone as a backup plan - so when you can't get hold of any drugs, you've got something to hold you. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"I was taking heroin on top of my methadone. Then I took half of it and used to sell the rest, which I know is wrong.\" </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Eighteen months ago, Gail started to take methadone as it was prescribed.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"When I stopped injecting and started to take my full prescription, that's when I started to feel the benefit of methadone. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"I could get up in the morning, do the housework, and attend the appointments I'd made. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>For the first time in many years, Gail is planning for her future with the help of the charity Centrepoint in Edinburgh. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>She wants to go into a drug rehabilitation centre to make sure she overcomes her addiction once and for all. Then she aims to find a job. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>And it is her methadone prescription that is keeping her away from heroin. </p></div></div>", "content": "The heroin substitute methadone can be used as a way of weaning addicts off heroin but the substitute can also become addictive.Earlier this year a debate broke out in Scotland when Professor Neil McKeganey, director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow, said more effort was needed to get people off drugs, including methadone, through abstinence. But a group of 40 specialists, including university professors and doctors who treat addicts, responded: \"If policy makers were to heed the critics' advice to close down methadone treatment or impose an arbitrary time limit on its administration, the community can anticipate more overdose deaths, more HIV and more crime.\" So what do recovering addicts think? Chris used methadone for five years to help wean him off heroin but felt he had to quit the drug substitute last October\"I just thought, I've got to get a grip here, because I've been in and out of prison since I was 16 - that's half my life,\" he told The Report. Chris, an inmate of HMP Edinburgh, lives in Ratho Hall, a specialist Addiction Support Area that helps prisoners achieve abstinence. \"I heard about Ratho Hall, and it's given me the wake-up call that I needed,\" he said. Chris was prescribed methadone, a synthetic opiate that is taken orally, to wean him off his heroin addiction but although methadone can help addicts stabilise their lives, it is also addictive. Ratho Hall is the only facility of its kind in Scotland. It opened last year in brand new accommodation. Of the 30 inmates resident last week, 11 have become completely drug-free. The Scottish government produced its strategy document on drugs, The Road to Recovery, in 2008. In this, the Community Safety Minister, Fergus Ewing of the SNP, explained how he wants to see \"a new vision\" for Scotland \"where all drug treatment and rehabilitation services are based on the principle of recovery.\" This is a shift away from an acceptance that people will stay on methadone for lengthy periods of time unchallenged. Chris, who started to use heroin when he was 18, talked of his own addiction: \"When you're on heroin or methadone your head's hazy. I realised when I was on methadone that I was just putting my life on hold. \"Now I feel that abstinence is a walk in the park compared to taking drugs. When you're abstinent you can just be yourself - it's a weight off your shoulders.\"Chris said he could not have done it on his own. In Ratho Hall, there are drug counsellors, regular peer-support meetings and medical staff. Paul Davidson, unit manager of Ratho Hall, explained how the unit works. \"If guys come in here on a methadone prescription, they have to have a reduction plan. \"So they'll be reduced at a rate they feel comfortable with and the doctor feels is right for them.\" Around one in five prisoners in Scotland is being prescribed methadone. But across the whole of Scotland it is estimated that 22,000 people are taking methadone. Some of them may have been on it for decades. In England more than 150,000 people are receiving a substitute drug treatment for their addiction, normally methadone. Maxie Richards, a committed Christian has been helping addicts get clean since 1986, and is a firm believer in abstinence. Her suburban Glasgow home is an unlikely venue for drug rehabilitation. \"The majority of those I see now want to come off methadone. And it's harder to come off than heroin, it's so sad. \"It's also a very debilitating drug too, and can lead to memory loss,\" she explained.James Boyd, one of the addicts who came to Maxie Richards for help, looks fit and well, but when he arrived on her doorstep in June, he was three stone lighter.\"I thought death would be better than the way I was feeling. What methadone does to you is wrecks you physically, mentally and spiritually. \"I said to myself, I can't do this any more. Every single person I know is on heroin and they are all on methadone too.\"James stopped methadone and all other drugs nearly two months ago. He thinks he has got over the withdrawal symptoms now.\"It's just two weeks ago that I had my first full night's sleep.\"Another former addict - Gail - is looking forward to a drug-free life. She is slowly reducing her methadone dose with the support of her doctor. Gail has been taking methadone for eight years. \"A lot of addicts use methadone as a backup plan - so when you can't get hold of any drugs, you've got something to hold you. \"I was taking heroin on top of my methadone. Then I took half of it and used to sell the rest, which I know is wrong.\" Eighteen months ago, Gail started to take methadone as it was prescribed.\"When I stopped injecting and started to take my full prescription, that's when I started to feel the benefit of methadone. \"I could get up in the morning, do the housework, and attend the appointments I'd made. For the first time in many years, Gail is planning for her future with the help of the charity Centrepoint in Edinburgh. She wants to go into a drug rehabilitation centre to make sure she overcomes her addiction once and for all. Then she aims to find a job. And it is her methadone prescription that is keeping her away from heroin. ", "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10869329", "author": "By Linda Pressly", "language": "en_GB", "_id": "45cbcb62-840b-5a1d-9b59-d7f57f3ab7f6", "region": "Health", "short_description": "Heroin substitute methadone is used to wean addicts off heroin but it can also become addictive.", "category": "BBC News", "crawled_at": "05/02/2021, 17:19:39"}, {"tags": "North Korea, Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-nam death", "title": "North Korea leader's eldest son 'opposes dynasty'", "news_post_date": "2010-10-12T08:54:42.000Z", "raw_content": "<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p><b class=\"ssrcss-14iz86j-BoldText e5tfeyi0\">The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il says he opposes a dynastic succession that would see his younger half-brother take power.</b></p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Kim Jong-un, the youngest son, has been unveiled as the nation's heir apparent, appearing alongside his father at a series of recent high-profile events.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>His elder brother, Kim Jong-nam, 39, lives overseas in China and Macau.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>His comments are highly unusual in the secretive North. But he is not thought to have influence inside the country.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>He was once thought to be his father's likely successor, but fell out of favour when he was caught trying to sneak into Japan in 2001 using a false passport. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"Personally, I am against third-generation dynastic succession,\" Kim Jong-nam was quoted as saying by Japanese TV station Asahi.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"But I think there were internal factors. I think we should adhere to it if there were internal factors involved.\"</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>He added that, \"For my part, I am prepared to help my younger brother whenever necessary while I stay abroad.\"</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Kim Jong-nam lives in China and in the gaming resort of Macau, near Hong Kong. Although a member of the ruling family, he is thought to be no longer part of the inner circle that runs the country. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>In a rare interview last year in China, he said he had \"no interest\" in taking power.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>North Korea's ailing leader Kim Jong-il took over the reins of the country after the death of his father Kim Il-sung in 1994.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>In recent weeks he appears to have designated his youngest son Kim Jong-un his successor.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>The youngest Kim, who is thought to be about 27, was made a four-star general and promoted to a key position in the ruling Workers' Party last month.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>He was unveiled to an invited audience of the world's media last weekend during celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of the ruling party.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>He would take the Kim dynasty rule over the nation of 24 million into a third generation.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>He would also inherit a weighty legacy. North Korea is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear weapons programme and is struggling to revive its crumbling economy.</p></div></div>", "content": "The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il says he opposes a dynastic succession that would see his younger half-brother take power.Kim Jong-un, the youngest son, has been unveiled as the nation's heir apparent, appearing alongside his father at a series of recent high-profile events.His elder brother, Kim Jong-nam, 39, lives overseas in China and Macau.His comments are highly unusual in the secretive North. But he is not thought to have influence inside the country.He was once thought to be his father's likely successor, but fell out of favour when he was caught trying to sneak into Japan in 2001 using a false passport. \"Personally, I am against third-generation dynastic succession,\" Kim Jong-nam was quoted as saying by Japanese TV station Asahi.\"But I think there were internal factors. I think we should adhere to it if there were internal factors involved.\"He added that, \"For my part, I am prepared to help my younger brother whenever necessary while I stay abroad.\"Kim Jong-nam lives in China and in the gaming resort of Macau, near Hong Kong. Although a member of the ruling family, he is thought to be no longer part of the inner circle that runs the country. In a rare interview last year in China, he said he had \"no interest\" in taking power.North Korea's ailing leader Kim Jong-il took over the reins of the country after the death of his father Kim Il-sung in 1994.In recent weeks he appears to have designated his youngest son Kim Jong-un his successor.The youngest Kim, who is thought to be about 27, was made a four-star general and promoted to a key position in the ruling Workers' Party last month.He was unveiled to an invited audience of the world's media last weekend during celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of the ruling party.He would take the Kim dynasty rule over the nation of 24 million into a third generation.He would also inherit a weighty legacy. North Korea is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear weapons programme and is struggling to revive its crumbling economy.", "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11520566", "author": "", "language": "en_GB", "_id": "771b9c0d-88e1-589f-bf56-8ef80ce161a2", "region": "Asia-Pacific", "short_description": "The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il says he opposes a dynastic succession that would see his younger half-brother take power.", "category": "BBC News", "crawled_at": "05/02/2021, 17:19:39"}, {"tags": "", "title": "Paintings by gangster Reggie Kray go on sale in Lincoln", "news_post_date": "2010-10-27T17:35:24.000Z", "raw_content": "<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p><b class=\"ssrcss-14iz86j-BoldText e5tfeyi0\">Seven oil paintings created by notorious gangster Reggie Kray while in prison are being auctioned in Lincoln.</b></p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>The pictures were painted by Kray during art classes attended by him and his brother Ronnie at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight in the 1970s.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>A portrait of the Krays by serial poisoner Graham Young will also go under the hammer. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>The Krays ran a notorious gang in London's East End known as The Firm during the 1950s and 1960s. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>They were jailed in 1969 for a recommended 30 years - Ronnie for shooting George Cornell in the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel and Reggie for stabbing Jack \"The Hat\" McVitie in a North London flat.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Auctioneer John Leatt from Thomas Mawer and Son said: \"Whilst not of great artistic merit, these will be popular with collectors of Kray and gangster memorabilia.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>\"We anticipate a great deal of interest in these paintings on sale day and estimate they will fetch between \u00a3200 and \u00a3300 each.\"</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Young, known as the 'Teacup Poisoner', was fascinated by poisons from a young age. At just 14 in 1962, he laced his step-mother Mollie's food with two poisons - antimony and digitalis - causing her death.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>After spending nine years in Broadmoor, he was released and went to work in a photographic studio where he had access to dangerous chemicals. </p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>Soon after, two colleagues fell ill and died after he spiked their tea with poison. He went on to make 70 others ill before being caught in 1972 and sent to Parkhurst.</p></div></div><div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\"><div class=\"ssrcss-3z08n3-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\"><p>The sale is taking place on 5 and 6 November.</p></div></div>", "content": "Seven oil paintings created by notorious gangster Reggie Kray while in prison are being auctioned in Lincoln.The pictures were painted by Kray during art classes attended by him and his brother Ronnie at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight in the 1970s.A portrait of the Krays by serial poisoner Graham Young will also go under the hammer. The Krays ran a notorious gang in London's East End known as The Firm during the 1950s and 1960s. They were jailed in 1969 for a recommended 30 years - Ronnie for shooting George Cornell in the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel and Reggie for stabbing Jack \"The Hat\" McVitie in a North London flat.Auctioneer John Leatt from Thomas Mawer and Son said: \"Whilst not of great artistic merit, these will be popular with collectors of Kray and gangster memorabilia.\"We anticipate a great deal of interest in these paintings on sale day and estimate they will fetch between \u00a3200 and \u00a3300 each.\"Young, known as the 'Teacup Poisoner', was fascinated by poisons from a young age. At just 14 in 1962, he laced his step-mother Mollie's food with two poisons - antimony and digitalis - causing her death.After spending nine years in Broadmoor, he was released and went to work in a photographic studio where he had access to dangerous chemicals. Soon after, two colleagues fell ill and died after he spiked their tea with poison. He went on to make 70 others ill before being caught in 1972 and sent to Parkhurst.The sale is taking place on 5 and 6 November.", "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-11636899", "author": "", "language": "en_GB", "_id": "768e3fc6-c406-5570-8328-2e6fb75abd1b", "region": "Lincolnshire", "short_description": "A series of oil painting produced by gangster Reggie Kray while he was in Parkhurst Prison will be auctioned in Lincoln.", "category": "BBC News", "crawled_at": "05/02/2021, 17:19:39"} ]