Belfast Flag Violence: Rioting In City Centre

Belfast has been hit by another night of rioting as hundreds of loyalists took to the streets to protest over flags.

Eight police officers were injured, with two needing hospital treatment, and five people were arrested following clashes across the city.

Police are carrying out a major security operation to prevent further violence later today.

With a major protest planned in the city's centre, traders are worried business could be seriously affected on what should be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The Christmas market in Belfast city has been temporarily closed.

Police vans cut off part of Belfast's Sandy Row area

Trouble flared at Shaftesbury Square - a popular party spot near Queen's University - after a man tried to drive a black van through a loyalist road block of about 200 people.

Eye witnesses said police officers were pelted with stones, bricks, bottles and other missiles. Two cars were also set on fire.

Two PSNI water cannons were deployed to the area but were not used against the rioters.

There were also reports of minor sporadic disorder in other parts of the city.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr said: "This behaviour is simply not acceptable. These people are only wrecking their own communities and putting innocent people's lives at risk.

"Twenty-one officers have been injured so far this week dealing with this disorder. That's 21 officers who have been pulled away from their roles of protecting the community."

A burned out car in Belfast city centre after rioters dispersed

"This mob violence and intimidation cannot be allowed to continue and I am urgently appealing to politicians and those with community influence in these areas to do what they can to put a stop to this behaviour now before someone is seriously injured or killed."

He added that the PSNI would provide a "very strong presence" over the weekend "to assist in creating a safe environment for everyone".

Loyalists opposed to a restriction on the number of days the Union flag can be flown over Belfast City Hall have held protests across Northern Ireland every night since the decision was taken, despite appeals from the First Minister for the pickets to be suspended.

Last night, demonstrations were also held in the greater Belfast area, Bangor, Co Down, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh and Dungannon, Co Tyrone.

Police said there were no reports of violence outside Belfast. On Friday night, police clashed with loyalists in Ian Paisley's home town of Ballymena, Co Antrim.

During her visit to Northern Ireland, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appealed for the violence to stop.

Hillary Clinton has condemned the recent violence

Much of the anger has been directed towards the non sectarian Alliance Party, whose councillors in Belfast voted to limit the number of days the Union flag could be flown over the city hall from 365 to 17.

A death threat against the party's only MP, Naomi Long, marked a significant escalation in the seriousness of the sectarian tension.

On Wednesday, a constituency office in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim was destroyed in an arson attack. An attempt to burn down Bangor premises occupied by the Alliance Party's Employment Minister Stephen Farry was thwarted.

Belfast city councillor Laura McNamee was also advised to leave her home while two others living in Bangor had their house vandalised.

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Drink-Driving: Crashed Car Shown To Clubbers

A dad whose daughter was killed in a drink-drive crash hopes that parking her wrecked car outside nightclubs will stop others getting behind the wheel while over the limit.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, lost his eldest daughter in the crash near Fleet, Hampshire, last November.

The 23-year-old was four times over the drink-drive limit when her Vauxhall Corsa collided with a van on her way home from a night out. She died instantly.

Her father has now agreed to let police display her car in town centres in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight in the hope it will encourage others not to drink and drive.

"I wanted to tell my story, her story, because I wanted people to see what devastation they can cause by making that choice," he said.

"It's a split second decision which can have far-reaching consequences.

"To anyone else who would consider getting behind the wheel after having alcohol, I plead with you as a father, as the husband of a devastated mother, as the parent of two grieving children and on behalf of the many people who knew and loved my daughter, please don't.

"You can't imagine the pain you could leave behind, either for your family or for someone else's."

The Smashed campaign will target drivers aged between 20 and 24, who accounted for nearly a quarter of drive-drink arrests last Christmas.

Interviews with some of the emergency service personnel who attended the crash, including paramedic Kate McDougall and firefighter Craig Gregory, have been released on YouTube as part of the campaign.

Sergeant Jay Hewes, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "We don't ever want to tell another parent, partner or child, that someone they love is gone, but chances are that before the year is out, we will have to.

"If one person, regardless of their age, sits up and takes notice, this young person will have left a legacy her parents can take some comfort from and those who knew her can be proud of."

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First Picture Of Kate Hospital Hoax Nurse

The first picture has been released of a nurse who apparently committed suicide after being duped by a prank call.

Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead days after taking the hoax call from an Australian radio station and putting it through to a nurse on the Duchess of Cambridge's ward, who divulged private information about her treatment.

The body of the 46-year-old mother-of-two was discovered at an address near King Edward VII's hospital in London - where she had worked for four years - on Friday morning.

Kate, who is understood to be well under 12 weeks pregnant, was admitted to the hospital on Monday with severe morning sickness and released again on Thursday.

Kate was treated at the hospital for severe morning sickness

Royal College of Nursing chief executive Dr Peter Carter said: "It is deeply saddening that a simple human error due to a cruel hoax could lead to the death of a dedicated and caring member of the nursing profession."

Her family said in a statement: "We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha."

Driving instructor Jeff Sellick, who taught Ms Saldanha last year, told Sky News she was a "delight to teach".

"I heard about it yesterday and it's just such a shame she was such a nice person, I can only imagine what happened would have played heavily on her mind," he told Sky News.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard called it a "terrible tragedy"

"I just feel for the family at this point because she must have been deeply traumatised by what happened to her."

The storm over 2Day FM's prank is growing; major firms have pulled advertising while presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian have been taken off air.

Speaking at a news conference in Melbourne, Rhys Holleran, CEO of 2Day FM's parent company Southern Cross Austereo said the "shocked and devastated" DJs had been offered help dealing with the tragedy.

He said: "This is a tragic event that could not have been reasonably foreseen and we're deeply saddened by it.

"I spoke to both presenters early this morning and it's fair to say they're completely shattered.

"These people aren't machines, they're human beings. We're all affected by this."

Supermarket giant Coles and telecoms firm Telstra both announced they are withdrawing their business from the station at the earliest opportunity, while Australian media are reporting that media company Optus is also reviewing its position.

The station later announced that it would pull all advertising from its airwaves with immediate effect.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority, which regulates the country's media industry, said it had been inundated with complaints.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the incident as a "terrible tragedy".

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Starbucks Tax Protest: Stores 'Shut Down'

Campaigners claim to have shut down a number of Starbucks' UK stores during protests over the coffee chain's tax arrangements.

Activisit group UK Uncut had planned more than 40 demonstrations across the country, "transforming" Starbucks stores into refuges, creches and homeless shelters to highlight the "disproportionate" effect the coalition government's cuts to the public sector are having on women.

Pictures uploaded to its Facebook page showed campaigners holding banners and posters while others staged sit-in protests.

The demonstrations came despite an announcement from Starbucks that it expects to pay around £10m in UK corporation tax for each of the next two years.

It followed a revelation that the US-owned company has paid just £8.6m in 14 years of trading in Britain and nothing in the last three years.

Starbucks' Kris Engskov wrote an open letter to customers on Thursday

Lisa Stewart, a 30-year-old UK Uncut activist, said: "If they (the Government) made tax-dodgers like Starbucks pay, that would bring in £25bn a year. Think of all the spending cuts we could cover with that.

"Today we are standing up for the women's services we refuse to see destroyed."

Ms Stewart said the reaction from customers inside the store in London where she had campaigned had been positive, adding: "There is lots of anger out there and people realise they are being lied to."

In an open letter to customers on Thursday, Kris Engskov, managing director of Starbucks UK, said the company had begun "a process of enhancing trust with customers and the communities that we have been honoured to serve for the past 14 years".

He said the company injects nearly £300m annually into the UK economy, and will train more than 1,000 apprentices over the next two years.

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Suffolk Light Aircraft Crash: One Person Dead

One person has died after a light aircraft crashed into a tree in a Suffolk village.

Suffolk Police said the aircraft came down in Aldham, near Hadleigh, at around 11.20am.

After colliding with the tree, the plane became submerged in a pond.

It is not yet known whether there are any further casualties.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Woodbridge, Hadleigh, Needham Market, Bury St Edmunds and Halstead, Essex, were called to the village, around eight miles from Ipswich.

Police and ambulance crews and a water rescue team were also sent to the scene.

An area around the crash site was cordoned off and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch were alerted.

More follows...

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Clinton Condemns NI Violence Amid Bomb Finds

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for an end to a new outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland and urged all parties to confront the sectarian challenges together.

The unrest erupted on Monday night after Belfast City Council voted to only fly the Union flag over City Hall on designated days during the year. The Union flag had flown over the building every day for over 100 years until the vote.

A loyalist protest outside the council meeting turned violent and 15 police officers were injured as well as two security guards and a press photographer.

Another protest in Carrickfergus on Wednesday also left four police officers injured. And there were minor disturbances in Ballymena on Thursday night.

Sky's Vicki Hawthorne said: "Members of the neutral Alliance Party have also been targeted during the disorder because of their stance during the flag vote. The home of two councillors was paint bombed and the office of an MLA was destroyed.

Armagh's Mayor Sharon Haughey, then 14, with President Clinton in 1995

"The Alliance Party MP for East Belfast Naomi Long has received a death threat which has been linked to the flag protests."

Mrs Clinton, who has already visited Dublin, was speaking during a visit to Northern Ireland, where she met First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont before attending a lunch at Titanic Belfast in the city's docklands.

She said: "Peace does take sacrifice, compromise and vigilance day after day. We've seen that again this week that the work is not complete. We have seen violence break out again.

"I join with both Peter and Martin and all the leaders and citizens who have condemned the recent attacks in Belfast and around the whole area.

"All parties need to confront the remaining challenges of sectarian division peacefully and together." She added violence was "never an acceptable response to disagreements".

Mrs Clinton has already visited Dublin and met children at the US embassy

Mr Robinson has urged loyalists to suspend their protests over the flag issue. "Those who riot and engage in violence do a disservice to the flag they claim to represent," he said.

This is Mrs Clinton's second visit as secretary of state. The last was in 2009 when she encouraged the devolution of policing and justice powers from London to Belfast.

She arrived in Northern Ireland just hours after a bomb was discovered in a car. Officers investigating dissident republican activity had stopped the vehicle in the Creggan area of Londonderry on Thursday evening.

Two men aged 47 and 49 were arrested at the scene at about 8.40pm. Two others, also in their 40s, were detained later.

Security chiefs believe dissident republicans opposed to the peace process were planning an attack in the centre of the city, next year's UK City of Culture.

Police have also revealed the discovery of a letter bomb at a postbox in a loyalist area of Co Down. The bomb was made safe and taken away for forensic examination.

It was 1995 when the Clintons paid their first historic visit to Northern Ireland. Thousands turned out to greet them and to herald the dawn of the peace process here.

Teenager Sharon Haughey, who had written a letter about 'The Troubles' to the White House, welcomed them to Armagh. She's now the city's Lord Mayor and gives them the credit.

"The Clintons have played a very important role in the pathway that I have chosen in my life," she said. "They gave me a platform as a very ordinary 14-year-old schoolgirl. 

"They gave me an extraordinary opportunity and I decided to use that opportunity to help shape that future that I wanted and that's really why I'm here today."

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Firefighters Killed: Council Fined Over Blaze

Warwickshire County Council has been fined £30,000 following a warehouse fire in which four firemen died.

The local authority was sentenced for health and safety breaches linked to the blaze in Atherstone-on-Stour in November 2007.

Mr Justice MacDuff said the fine reflected deficiencies in record-keeping and information given to fire crews at the time of the tragedy.

During his sentencing at Stafford Crown Court, the judge described the deaths as a "dreadful accident" caused by a series of mishaps and failures which occurred together.

The council had pleaded guilty in January this year to a charge brought under the Health and Safety at Work Act following an inquiry.

Although the council pleaded guilty on a limited basis, the charge alleged it had failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees contrary to Section 2 of the Act.

The inquiry into the blaze has cost around £4.6m

The sentencing came seven months after three fire service managers were cleared of manslaughter at the same court in relation to the blaze at a vegetable packing plant.

A jury cleared Adrian Ashley, 45, and 51-year-old Timothy Woodward of gross negligence manslaughter after hearing six weeks of evidence about the deaths of Ashley Stephens, Darren Yates-Badley, John Averis and Ian Reid.

A third defendant, 50-year-old Watch Manager Paul Simmons, was acquitted of manslaughter on the directions of the judge part-way through the trial.

The decision to prosecute the senior firefighters was criticised immediately after the trial by Chief Fire Officer Graeme Smith, the head of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, who claimed the defendants had been "treated like common criminals".

The inquiry into the blaze is estimated to have cost around £4.6m, with much of the bill incurred during efforts to recover evidence from the scene of the tragedy.

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Cancer Boy's Mum In Court To Explain Fears

By Nick Martin, Sky Correspondent

The mother of a seven-year-old boy suffering from cancer says she does not want him to receive potentially life-saving radiotherapy because she is worried about the side-effects.

Neon Roberts underwent surgery on a brain tumour in October and as a follow-up treatment doctors recommended a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

But his mother Sally Roberts said the side effects of the radiation could have a "damaging effect on his future".

Her estranged husband Ben Roberts, however, agrees with doctors who say his chances of survival would be increased if he had the treatment.

Giving evidence in the High Court, Mrs Roberts said: "I wish for the best future for my son, the best quality of life.

"I fear radiotherapy could have damaging effects on his future," she said.

Mrs Roberts described her son as having an "incredible sense of humour" of being "a great artist, vibrant and healthy".

She told the court that she had researched the side effects of radiotherapy and asked experts for advice.

She said she feared his IQ would be effected and that he could have a shorter life with increased chances of suffering a stroke.

Doctors said the boy's chances of surviving would be significantly reduced if he did not receive the radiotherapy. They want to start the treatment next Thursday.

The High Court is expected to rule on the matter later.

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Tia Sharp's Grandmother Won't Face Charges

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

The grandmother of Tia Sharp, who was questioned over the 12-year-old's murder, will face no further action.

Christine Sharp was arrested in August after her granddaughter's body was discovered in the loft of her home in New Addington, south London.

The 46-year-old was questioned by police on suspicion of murder and bailed while inquiries continued.

Tia Sharp's body was found a week after the youngster was reported missing

The Metropolitan Police have now confirmed that she will face no further action.

The disappearance of schoolgirl Tia sparked a huge search around the Croydon area with family members leading the campaign.

Police officers had previously visited Christine Sharp's home but it was only days into the search that Tia's body was discovered hidden in the loft.

Stuart Hazell has been charged with Tia's murder and has been remanded in custody ahead of a trial scheduled for early 2013.

Another man, a 39-year-old neighbour, who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender remains on police bail until mid-December.

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Royal Prank Call Nurse 'Commits Suicide'

A hospital nurse caring for the Duchess of Cambridge who was duped by two DJs pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles is understood to have committed suicide.

More follows...

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Snow And Ice Could Cause More Delays

Commuters face further disruptions in parts of the UK as forecasters predict more snow, a day after air and train passengers endured miserable delays.

A light dusting of snow sent the UK's transport system into meltdown on Wednesday, with major holiday airport Stansted shut for more than two hours and road and rail journeys delayed.

While England and Wales were enjoying milder conditions on Thursday, Scotland experienced more cold temperatures and snow.

Western parts of Scotland had snow later into Wednesday night, and by mid-morning Thursday there was snow or freezing rain in most areas north of the border.

Sky News weather presenter Isobel Lang said: "The risk of disruption from winter weather is further northwest across Scotland, northern England and Wales with the potential for ice, rain and heavy snow."

:: Live transport updates

Overnight temperatures in Scotland plunged to -12C in Braemar, and up to 15cm (6in) of snow could fall on higher ground on Thursday, and 3cm (1.25in) in Aberdeenshire, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

On Wednesday Robert Johnston, 79, was found dead near a school in Angus. It is unclear whether his death was related to the weather and police are not treating it as suspicious.

Motorists are warned to be careful on the icy roads

Two schools in Aberdeenshire closed to all pupils and 50 either closed to pupils having to travel or changed the usual transport routes.

One nursery in Aberdeen city was closed to children who have to use transport because of icy roads and the threat of more snow.

Friday will bring slightly better weather all round but there could still be some problems with transport, said Lang.

"There may be some snow early on Friday which could again bring some temporary disruption to motorists - in particular over eastern counties of England," she said.

"The main theme for Friday is a drier and brighter one as the weather improves from the west, but with a cold and gusty northerly wind."

Lang said the weekend should be better, however she warned motorists should prepare for difficult driving conditions.

"Travel disruption is unlikely at the weekend - although there will still be icy roads and perhaps some fog on Saturday and the risk of some wintry showers in the north during Sunday."

But next week is expected to be much worse, according to Lang.

Passengers' patience wore thin at Stansted

"The weather is looking much colder next week with the potential for an icy blast from the east. This could bring some significant snow falls across eastern Britain."

On Wednesday, forecasters said the snow that caused transport chaos had amounted to no more than "one or two centimetres in places".

Luton, Aberdeen and Stansted airports were affected by the wintry conditions on Wednesday.

Stansted Airport, in Essex, was shut from about 6am to 8.30am, and passengers' patience wore thin as flights were delayed and then cancelled.

Patrycja Kubiak, from Poznan in Poland, was due to fly home on the 7.05am flight, but at around 8.30am she was told it had been cancelled.

The 20-year-old music student said: "I'm just surprised that such a small amount of snow can cause these problems. It only snowed for half an hour."

Flight schedules for Stansted are currently operating as normal, the airport's website said, and Luton airport also showed no indications of delays.

Rail routes in southern England were also hit by poor conditions.

Trains were cancelled between Watford Junction in Hertfordshire and Harrow and Wealdstone in northwest London, while snow caused delays of up to 90 minutes between London and Reading in Berkshire.

There were cancellations between Barnes and Hounslow via Brentford in west London, while there were delays between London and Ashford International in Kent and also between Sevenoaks in Kent and Hither Green in southeast London.

The A120 was one of the many roads in Essex to be affected by the weather, while the A171 near Scarborough was one of Yorkshire's snow-hit routes.

:: Read more on Sky News Weather, including Thursday's forecast

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Dorries: Stop Harassing Me Or I'll Call Police

Nadine Dorries has threatened to call the police after claiming she is being harassed by newspaper journalists.

The MP was suspended from the Tory party after leaving her Mid Bedfordshire constituency to take part in I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! in Australia.

The rift between the high-profile MP and party chiefs has been the subject of significant media coverage – now Ms Dorries says she has had enough.

"If another red top journalist visits my home, members of my family, their homes or my office I will inform the police," she wrote on Twitter. "This is harassment."

The Mid Bedfordshire MP appeared on the jungle-based reality show

In another post she wrote: "If any journalists turn up at my surgery tomorrow the same applies – you are hindering my staff and constituents."

One follower replied, saying she had "asked for this sort of attention" by raising her public profile on the reality show.

But she replied: "Not true. There are boundaries of appropriate behaviour which cross over into harassment."

Responding to another user who accused her of wanting "publicity on her own terms", she wrote: "Publicity is one thing, harassment another. My family members should not be harassed."

Earlier this week Ms Dorries told Sky News she enjoys being an independent politician after having the Conservative whip suspended.

The outspoken politician insisted she would be allowed back into the Tory Party, but she also claimed she was revelling in her new-found freedom.

There had been speculation that Ms Dorries could leave the party and stand for UKIP at the next general election.

But she told Sky News' Murnaghan show: "I am quite sure, confident, that I should get the whip back very shortly."

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Hedge Trimmer Cuts Bus 'Like Tin Opener'

Four school children have been hurt after an industrial hedge trimmer cut open a double-decker bus "like a tin opener".

At least 45 pupils were left "shocked and confused" after being showered with broken glass when the bus collided with the tractor-type vehicle, which had been trimming branches.

Paramedics were called to the scene of the freak accident in Wivenhoe, Essex, just before 8.30am.

Trevor Redburn, assistant general manager for the East of England Ambulance Service, told Sky News: "I think they've had a very lucky escape in some respects and were very fortunate it wasn't worse.

"We arrived within five minutes and it was quite a scary-looking scene. The top of the bus had been cut open. It's very similar to the way you'd use a tin opener to open a tin.

"We counted 45 children who were all shocked and confused."

He said the four who were hurt had suffered minor head injuries, mainly from flying debris from the shattered windows.

A replacement bus service was organised and parents arrived to take the injured children to hospital.

Mr Redburn added: "I want to commend our team for the work they did in quickly identifying the injuries and providing everyone with a full assessment."

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'Mega-Mosque' Proposal Rejected By Council

A proposal to build one of the UK's biggest mosques with a capacity for almost 10,000 worshippers has been rejected by planning chiefs in east London.

Just over six hectares in size, they said the proposed mosque building was "too big" and would have an impact on important historic buildings nearby.

Abbey Mills Mosque - also known as the Riverine Centre - would have become one of the biggest Islamic centres in Britain and western Europe.

According to reports, the new mosque would have taken up three times the floor space of St Paul's Cathedral and matched the biggest Islamic building in Britain - Baitul Futuh in Morden, south London - for size.

The Tablighi Jamaat group, a missionary Islamic sect, was denied permission to erect the mosque by members of Newham Borough Council at a planning meeting on Wednesday night.

The facility would have included a prayer chamber, library and dining hall

It was seeking the green light to build a new mosque, a library and a 2,000-capacity dining hall at the southern end of Canning Road in West Ham, Stratford, near to the Olympic Park.

Councillor Conor McAuley, the local authority's executive member for regeneration and strategic planning, said the committee had considered the application "at length and with great care" before rejecting it.

He said the development of new homes and jobs was a priority on the Abbey Mills site, and there were also "concerns" about the size of the proposed buildings and impact on parking and traffic in the area.

"The council undertook a rigorous and extensive consultation about the proposals in the run-up to this decision," said Mr McAuley.

"Our planning policies promote the development of the Abbey Mills site for a mix of residential, employment and community uses, to help create a new local centre near West Ham station and regenerate the area. The creation of new homes and jobs are a priority for Newham Council.

The Baitul Futuh mosque in Morden, south London

"It is not considered that this application is consistent with these policies. There are also concerns about the size of the proposed buildings and impact on parking and traffic in the local area."

He added: "The applicant's view that the site should only be used as a mosque was discussed at a public inquiry last year relating to the council's planning policy (the Core Strategy). The inspector did not accept their case."

Since Tablighi Jamaat moved to the Abbey Mills site in 1996, it has become embroiled in a series of application and enforcement disputes with Newham Council.

The group, which traces its origins to India in the late 1920s, has been accused in the past of radicalising young Muslims.

Tablighi Jamaat itself has said it "refrains from political or controversial activities and stands for democracy and freedom" and that it "promotes social and religious integration".

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Max Clifford Arrested By Savile Detectives

Publicist Max Clifford has been arrested by police investigating sexual abuse claims against Jimmy Savile, it has emerged.

The 69-year-old is being held by detectives working on Operation Yewtree, a probe into historic sex offences.

Mr Clifford is the sixth person to be questioned as part of the Metropolitan Police investigation. Scotland Yard has not named the man it revealed it had arrested as part of the operation shortly after 7.30am.

But Sky sources understand it to be 'super agent' Mr Clifford, who is being held at a central London police station.

Sky's crime correspondent Martin Brunt said: "He is, as we speak, being questioned by detectives."

Police working on Operation Yewtree had said they were looking at three categories of offences; those allegedly committed by Savile alone, those allegedly committed by Savile and "others", and alleged offences by "others".

Brunt added: "Max Clifford falls within that group of allegations that pertain to others."

Clifford's lawyer, Charlotte Harris, said he would assist the police "as best he can with their inquiries".

A Met spokesman said: "The individual (held today) falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Others'. We are not prepared to discuss further."

Gary Glitter, comedian Freddie Starr, DJ Dave Lee Travis and a man in his 70s, reported to be former television producer Wilfred De'Ath, have been arrested and bailed as part of the probe.

Last month Scotland Yard said it was dealing with about 450 potential victims, the vast majority of whom claimed they had fallen prey to Savile.

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EuroMillions Jackpot Winner Still Unknown

Top 10 National Lottery Winners

Updated: 7:29am UK, Wednesday 05 December 2012

1. Colin and Chris Weir: £161,653,000

The Scottish husband and wife said they were "tickled pink" after becoming Europe's biggest lottery winners in July 2011. The couple have reportedly bought a fleet of cars for friends since their win, as well as a mansion.

2. Adrian and Gillian Bayford: £148,656,000

The couple, from Suffolk, decided to go public after scooping nearly £150m on the EuroMillions August 10 draw.

Mr Bayford said he would carry on running his music shop in Haverhill. Mrs Bayford, a children's ward healthcare assistant at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, said she would treat herself to her dream car, an Audi Q7.

3. Anonymous: £113,019,926

One British ticket scooped the massive prize on October 2010 but decided not to go public.

4. Dave and Angela Dawes: £101,203,600

The Cambridgeshire husband and wife hit the EuroMillions jackpot in October last year. It was only the third time the couple had played the lottery.

5. Anonymous: £84,451,320

The haul was won in May 2010 but the winner kept their identity secret.

6. Nigel Page: £56,008,113

Self-confessed white van man Nigel Page took home the win in February 2010. The skydiving enthusiast, who lived in a three-bedroom semi near Cirencester, Wiltshire, married his girlfriend Justine and moved into a mansion in the Cotswolds.

7. Anonymous: £46,432,285

A British ticket scooped the massive prize in February this year but also decided not to go public.

8. Les and Sam Scadding: £45,570,835

Unemployed mechanic Les Scadding and his wife Sam from South Wales bought one of two winning tickets which shared a £90m jackpot in November 2009. The other £45m-winning ticket was bought by a syndicate of seven office workers based in Merseyside. They each banked £6.5m.

9. Cassey Carrington: £45,160,170

The 22-year-old from Nottingham banked the staggering total after matching all five numbers and two Lucky Stars in a EuroMillions draw in February this year. The Iceland store supervisor said she planned to marry painter fiancee Matt Topham this September.

10. Gareth and Catherine Bull: £40,627,241

The Mansfield husband and wife scooped the bumper prize in January this year. Mr Bull, a self-employed builder, said he planned to splash out on an executive box at Manchester United and a new carpet.

His wife said she might go back to her job as a health insurance worker. The couple also said they planned to take their two sons, aged nine and 10, to Florida's Disneyland.

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Norovirus: More Than 600,000 Struck By Bug

More than 600,000 people are believed to have been struck down so far this year by the winter vomiting bug, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has said.

Symptoms include a sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhoea, while some people may have a temperature, headache and stomach cramps.

Laboratory tests have revealed a 64% rise in the number of people with the norovirus, with 2,313 confirmed cases on December 2, compared with 1,412 at the same point last year.

But the HPA estimates there are 288 unreported cases for each confirmed one, which means 666,144 people are likely to have contracted the illness.

The agency said it was unsure why more people were suffering with the virus but added that the norovirus season was always "unpredictable".

"The norovirus season is always completely unpredictable as it peaks and falls over several months - usually October to April," said Dr Bob Adak, head of the gastrointestinal diseases department at the HPA.

"However, one thing we do know is that every year we will see a large amount of norovirus activity because it is highly contagious.

"The figures for the last two weeks show that there has been a reduction in the numbers of outbreaks in hospitals although there are clearly a lot of other people becoming unwell as we can see from the number of lab reports.

"We would like to remind people to avoid visiting friends or relatives in hospital or care homes if they have symptoms consistent with a norovirus infection as it can lead to ward closures and severe disruption."

The HPA last week reported an outbreak of norovirus had led to the closure of 45 hospital wards across the previous fortnight - the virus spreads rapidly in closed environments such as hospitals, schools, nursing and residential homes.

Dr Adak added: "Norovirus is a short-lived unpleasant infection but most people will fully recover in a couple of days.

"It is important to remain hydrated as you will be losing a lot of fluids due to the symptoms. Over-the-counter medicines can also be useful in reducing headaches and other aches and pains."

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Pregnant Kate: Hospital Admits Falling For Prank

Prank callers have managed to trick hospital staff treating the Duchess of Cambridge into revealing detailed information about her condition.

Australian radio DJs impersonating the Queen and Prince of Wales were given an update about Kate, who was admitted to London's King Edward VII on Monday with severe morning sickness.

Mel Greig and Michael Christian from Sydney's 2Day FM were transferred to a duty nurse who divulged details of how doctors were treating the duchess.

The hospital has said it "deplores" the stunt and will be conducting a review of its phone system.

As Prince William arrived to visit his wife as she spends her third day in hospital, St James's Palace declined to comment on the incident.

A spokesman for the hospital said: "King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes can confirm that an Australian radio station made a hoax call to the hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Australian duo Mel Greig and Michael Christian have apologised

"This call was transferred through to a ward and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff. King Edward VII's Hospital deeply regrets this incident."

John Lofthouse, chief executive at King Edward VII's Hospital, said: "This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore. We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."

Michael Christian has been posting congratulatory Tweets and reports of the prank from around the world on his Twitter page.

He tweeted: "Can't believe we got put through!"

The DJs and their radio station have since apologised - saying the hosts had "the best intentions".

Mel Greig and Michael Christian said: "We were very surprised that our call was put through, we thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents. 

Prince William visits his wife on her third day in hospital

"We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well."

In a statement, 2Day FM said: "2Day FM sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the inquiry to Kate's hospital, the radio segment was done with the best intentions and we wish Kate and her family all the best."

Knowingly or recklessly obtaining personal information without consent is an offence under Section 55 of Data Protection Act 1998, punishable by a fine of up to £5,000.

During the debate over UK press standards, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called for those guilty of obtaining personal information by deception - known as "blaggers" - to be jailed.

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Starbucks Close To Deal On Paying More Tax

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Starbucks will try to end the damaging row over its UK tax affairs by striking a deal with the Government that it believes will involve paying a comparable level of corporation tax to Costa Coffee, the British-based chain.

The US-owned coffee shops group is close to agreeing with Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) a binding agreement over its UK corporate and tax structures.

The new terms could land Starbucks with a corporation tax bill of in the region of £10m for the current financial year.

In the 14 years since arriving in the UK, the chain has paid just £8.6m in corporation tax.

I have learned that the two sides have been in discussions about whether the agreement will be backdated as a gesture from Starbucks that would reflect its concern over the impact of the recent row on its image among British customers.

Sources close to the talks said that a retrospective application of the new structure was now unlikely.

A full statement will be made by Starbucks before the end of the week.

The company is unlikely to refer directly to Costa's tax bill, but insiders said that it had been "a reference point" in talks between Starbucks and the Government.

Tax experts questioned the premise of that discussion because Whitbread, Costa's owner, operates under a different tax structure.

In 2010-11, Costa paid around £15m in UK tax, while a year later it is expected to have paid £18m.

Costa has about 1479 shops in the UK, some of which are run by franchisees, while Starbucks owns approximately 720.

Multinationals with large operations in Britain, including Amazon and Google, have faced intense criticism in recent weeks over their minuscule UK tax bills.

The light tax burdens have been generated by a practice called transfer pricing, which involves charges being made by companies in the same group based in different jurisdictions, with the effect of depressing profits in the higher-tax jurisdiction.

In Starbucks' case, that relates to the royalty fee paid to a sister company in the Netherlands for the right to use its brand and coffee recipe.

Earlier this week, the Chancellor committed £77m of additional funding to combat tax avoidance and evasion.

The Treasury and Starbucks declined to comment.

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Girl, Four, Dies After Level Crossing Crash

A four-year-old girl who was injured when the car she was travelling in collided with a train at a level crossing has died in hospital.

Emma Lifsey had been airlifted to Sheffield Children's Hospital after the incident in Nottinghamshire on Tuesday.

A British Transport Police spokesman said "she was sadly pronounced dead in the early hours Wednesday".

The other person injured in the crash, a 67-year-old woman who was driving the car, remains in hospital and is in stable condition.

The girl's parents, Mark and Zoe Lifsey, said in a statement: "Emma meant the world to us. She was our much-loved daughter and a baby sister to her 11-year-old brother Jack.

"We are still trying to come to terms with the terrible incident on Tuesday afternoon and there are no words that can properly express how utterly distraught we are."

The Beech Hill crossing after the crash

The couple said they were thankful for the support received in the aftermath of the incident, but sought privacy at a time of grief.

They added: "This tragic incident has left us shocked and devastated and we would ask that we can be left to grieve in private at this acutely difficult and sad time for us."

The woman travelling in the car, a black Volvo, sustained serious neck injuries and bruising.

Police were investigating the accident, and said they would talk to any witnesses while experts examine evidence from the scene and the car.

Girl's death has left her parents 'shocked and devastated'

The train, a Lincoln to Doncaster service, was damaged but remained upright and on the tracks. No injuries have been reported among passengers or staff onboard.

Speaking at the scene on Tuesday, Inspector Andy Selby of the British Transport Police declined to comment on whether the barriers and lights at the unmanned crossing were working correctly.

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EastEnders' Rita Simons Accused Over Deaf Op

An EastEnders star who wants her deaf six-year-old daughter to have an operation to help her hear says she has been accused of abusing the child.

Rita Simons, who plays Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap, said she and her husband, Theo Silveston, have encountered "extraordinary" hostility making the decision.

Their daughter Maiya, who has a twin sister Jaimee with perfect hearing, will undergo a cochlear implant operation to give her hearing in both ears.

Simons told Hello! magazine the hostility "comes mainly from people who firmly believe that deafness should be embraced rather than treated as a physical deficiency that should be corrected".

EastEnder Rita Simons speaks out in the latest edition of Hello! magazine

She said: "I totally respect their point of view. But when a 19-year-old girl told me that I was an 'abuser' to let my child have a cochlear implant, I was horrified and deeply hurt.

"I would throw myself in front of a bus for my girls, and yet I was being judged by someone who didn't know me or understand my emotional stance at all."

Simons said she wanted to treat Maiya, who featured with her in a BBC documentary about deafness, the same way as Jaimee.

She told the magazine: "We've brought Maiya up as a hearing child, and she attends the same mainstream school as her twin sister.

"She was born with some hearing; when that goes completely it will leave a void in her life and she will miss it.

"All we want to do is give her back what she has lost and help to expand her life.

"If you've got the opportunity to give your child the gift of sound, why would you not do that?"

Simons added: "We know it's not a miracle cure and her hearing won't be perfect.

"But, in time her brain will process what it is hearing and compensate, making sounds more familiar to her."

:: Read the full interview in Hello! Magazine out now.

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Winter Weather As Snow Hits Northern UK

Snow is continuing to fall across the north of the UK, with up to 10cm settling across the high mountains overnight.

Glasgow and Edinburgh have seen up to 5cm fall overnight, with up to 4cm settling in Teesside and County Durham.

The mountains in Cumbria, Northumbria and parts of Scotland have been decorated with a blanket of 10cm of snow.

Sky's weather presenter Isobel Lang said: "Winter started on December 1 and the weather has become more seasonal.

"In fact it looks set to stay that way with a continued threat of frost, ice and snow.

"Even looking ahead towards Christmas the rather cold and wintry story continues."

And the rest of this week is bound to be frosty, said Lang.

"On Tuesday colder north winds will bring in more widespread snow showers across northern and eastern Scotland, with these spreading across hillier parts of eastern England on Wednesday," she said.

"During Thursday another Atlantic frontal system is set to sweep east bringing in more persistent rain, preceded again by a period of snow."

Frozen flood water at York Racecourse, North Yorkshire, on Sunday

Further south, including Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, escaped the snowfall but were greeted with rain and very cold temperatures instead.

Eastern England shivered in temperatures dipping to -4C and it dropped to -7C in western Scotland.

But hasn't been cold all over Britain - areas of Cornwall and west Wales enjoyed far warmer highs of 11C.

The extreme weather in parts of the UK caused signal failures on transport, meaning delays for passengers on Sunday.

The big chill comes just days after severe flooding hit Britain, from which many areas are still recovering.

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HS2: Campaigners Take Rail Fight To High Court

By Enda Brady, Sky News Correspondent

Campaigners fighting government plans for the proposed new high speed rail link between London and Birmingham are taking their case to the High Court today.

The Government wants work to start on the £32bn project within the next three years, but must first negotiate a series of legal hurdles.

Campaign groups claim the Government is "proceeding at a reckless pace" and have said they are confident of winning a judicial review of the decision to press ahead with the scheme.

Richard Houghton, from the HS2 Action Alliance group, said: "We've raised £300,000 in the space of seven weeks to get this far.

The planned route from London to Birmingham

"There are 150,000 homes that are within a kilometre of the route and only 2% of them will qualify for compensation. How is this fair?"

Five judicial reviews are being heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London over the next seven days.

Campaigners have asked Lord Justice Ouseley to look at the impact of the scheme on the environment, the business case made by the Government for HS2, compensation to homeowners and concerns raised by a golf club in Buckinghamshire.

They hope the £34bn project will be declared legally flawed and sent back for reconsideration.

The Government aims to have a hybrid HS2 bill read in Parliament by the end of next year, but appeals against the process could eat into that time.

The legal challenge is expected to last seven days and Lord Justice Ouseley is likely to give his decisions early in the New Year.

It is being fought in several parts. Today, a QC for 51m, an alliance of local authorities opposed to HS2, accused the Government of fundamental failures.

Nathalie Lieven QC, representing 51m, said there had been no proper environmental assessment of the impact of the "entire project".

She told the court: "It is a decision involving the purchase and demolition of hundreds of homes.

"In Camden (London) alone between 200-500 dwellings are affected. They have no idea what the figure will be north of Birmingham."

The second application for a judicial review, by HS2 Action Alliance (HS2AA), concerns the legality of compensation arrangements for homeowners living near the proposed line.

Lawyers for HS2AA say homeowners are in danger of not being properly compensated following a "fundamentally flawed" consultation process.

Chairman of the 51m group, Martin Tett, who is also leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, said: "We are doing this with immense reluctance.

"However, we feel that we have been left with not alternative.

"We cannot let the Department for Transport, with its atrocious record on managing key investment decisions, not answer for why these have been ignored."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "HS2 will bring cities closer together, drive regeneration, tackle overcrowding and stimulate economic growth.

"While it would not be appropriate to comment on the specific claims, the Government is confident that the decisions on HS2 have been taken lawfully and fairly and it is vigorously defending these legal challenges."

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Bicester Murder: Janee Parsons Found Dead

A man is being questioned after his American beauty therapist wife was stabbed to death in the family home.

Janee Parsons, 31, was found by police who were called to her detached home on Saturday after neighbours reported hearing a heated argument and screams.

Despite attempts by officers and ambulance staff to resuscitate her, she was declared dead at hospital.

A 38-year-old man, believed to be her husband Andrew, remains in police custody after he was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Members of the victim's family who have flown from the US are believed to be caring for the couple's two young sons.

A post-mortem examination found that mother-of-two Mrs Parsons died from multiple incised wounds, Thames Valley Police said.

Janee Parsons with friend Antonia Mariconda (pic: Antonia Mariconda)

It is thought the family moved from the US to Bicester, Oxfordshire, where Mrs Parsons was killed at the family's home in Lucerne Avenue.

She was originally from Yukon, Oklahoma, and for several years ran the Oxford Spa beauty salon in Oklahoma City before moving to the UK.

Her friend, health and beauty writer Antonia Mariconda, tweeted: "R.I.P my beautiful friend Janee Parsons murdered last night I'm devastated at her loss, words are beyond the grief."

Detective Chief Inspector Joe Kidman, leading the investigation, said: "The victim's family has been informed of the death and, although formal identification of the woman's body is yet to take place, we believe her to be Janee Parsons, aged 31.

"We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident but are keen to speak with anyone in Lucerne Avenue who may have important information to help us establish the circumstances of this tragic incident."

Area Commander Superintendent Andy Boyd said: "I would like to offer the reassurance to residents that I can say at this stage that this is not believed to be a random attack and we believe that the victim and the offender knew each other."

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M1 Crash: Man Arrested After Two Killed

A 25-year-old has been arrested after two men were killed in a crash on the M1 this morning.

The man, from East London, is being held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

The collision between the two black BMWs happened shortly before 2.40am, near Watford in Hertfordshire.

The crash, on the southbound carriageway between junctions four and five, forced the closure of a section of the M1, leading to morning traffic chaos.

The men killed, reported to be 22 and 24, were one of the drivers and his rear seat passenger.

Two other passengers of the vehicle, who are both men, suffered serious injuries and were taken to a hospital in London.

The accident happened between junctions four and five

The four men in the second car were also injured and were taken to hospital.

Those who escaped the wreckage started fighting with the occupants of a third car that had pulled over to lay blame over the death of their friends, the Evening Standard reported.

Basit Nasir, who witnessed the crash, told the newspaper: "They all jumped out and everybody started punching each other. They said, 'What have you done? You have killed them.'

"I tried to break up the fight and called the police from my mobile."

He also said: "It was total mayhem. There was mangled metal everywhere."

The crash resulted in the closure of five junctions of the motorway in both directions, causing massive delays which is said to reach Hemel Hempstead.

The junctions later reopened.

Drivers were advised to use the A1, A40  or M40.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Weather: Snow Continues As Mercury Plunges

Weather forecasters are warning of more snowfall in parts of England and Scotland, as Britons continue to shiver in below-freezing temperatures.

Overnight temperatures dropped to -6C in many parts of the country, from central Scotland through to Cumbria and Buckinghamshire.

Many areas will see up to 3cm of snow, while 15cm is predicted to fall in the Scottish mountains.

Sky News weather producer Jo Wheeler said there would be "significant snowfall" in the Scottish mountains and the Pennines later.

She said: "There is also the possibility of seeing between 1cm and 3cm of rain, even at lower levels for parts of the East and North East."

Many areas are likely to see about 3cm of snow

Edinburgh, the Pennines, the Peak District, County Durham, Yorkshire, Norfolk and East Anglia are all expected to be affected.

The Met Office has issued a low-level severe weather warning across most of Scotland, north and east England, and north Wales, because of the freezing temperatures and snowfall.

"Following showers of rain, sleet and snow on Saturday, ice is expected to form on untreated surfaces on Saturday evening and persist well into Sunday morning. Further wintry showers are likely to affect eastern coastal counties through the night.

"The public should be aware of possible disruption to travel."

The Met Office believes the freezing temperatures will last into next week, possibly followed by more snow.

The white start to the month has been enough to prompt record numbers of punters to place bets on snow falling on Christmas Day.

According to bookmakers Ladbrokes, more money had been staked on a white Christmas on Saturday than by any other December 1 in its history.

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Open Prison Fugitive Arrested By Police

Fugitive Ivan Leach, who absconded from an open prison, has been found by police in Camden, north London.

The 47-year-old had been on the run from North Sea Camp open prison in Boston, Lincolnshire since October 9.

Police arrested him on suspicion of a number of offences this morning in the Camden area, Scotland Yard said.

Leach, also known as Lee Cyril, was wanted for questioning about a rape in Scotland committed while police hunted for him.

On October 15, a woman was woken and raped by an intruder in her home in Perth, and the following day a mattress was stolen from her home.

Leach, from Preston, was jailed in 2005 for robbing a 90-year-old woman in her home in the city.

He was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of five years.

Leach is currently in custody in a north London police station.

Police had warned people not to approach the fugitive under any circumstances.

00.35 | 0 komentar | Read More

George Osborne Takes On The Tax Avoiders

Little Christmas Cheer From Osborne

Updated: 3:29pm UK, Sunday 02 December 2012

By Peter Spencer, Political Correspondent

Borrowing costs up, growth forecasts down. Little wonder, then, that George Osborne's Autumn Statement will look more like January's credit card bills than Santa's stocking.

And there's a rare degree of unanimity across Fleet Street about what form the nasty fiscal news will take.

This seems to point to behind-the-scenes briefings of a kind Lord Leveson would like to outlaw.

But for now it's everywhere.

The expectation is that George Osborne will announce tax rises on the pension pots of the wealthiest AND a freeze on many benefits.

It's also predicted there'll be a lowering of the annual limit of tax relief on pension contributions from £50,000 to £30,000. Alongside this, it seems, we can expect a freeze on out-of-work benefits.

However, any form of mansion tax - or splitting council tax bands - is likely to be ruled out. That's a battle the Lib Dems have lost.

A battle that Tory backbenchers appear to have won, by contrast, is agreement to delay the 3p per litre rise in fuel duty planned for January.

While that last one will come as some comfort for many, the overall picture is bleak.

No surprise there, given that economic experts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility to the Governor of the Bank of England agree that unless the Chancellor's prepared to let his debt reduction target slip further into the future, he has no choice but to make himself deeply unpopular.

Though he knows this as well as anyone, he's sticking doggedly to his script.

Speaking to The Sun On Sunday, he said: "We are still all in this together. Everyone must make a contribution to dealing with our debts, from the richest in our society to those living a life on benefits.

"The road ahead may be longer than we thought, but it leads to a better future. Let's have the courage to stay the course."

Labour say that course is made that desperately more uphill and potholed by HIS actions. Trying to cut the deficit too far and too fast.

But they know that if THEY'D won the election there'd still have had to be deeply unpopular austerity measures following the economic meltdown of 2008.

Governments across Europe have been falling like dominoes for precisely that reason.

But, in the short term at least, Mr Osborne's offering will be judged on the basis of fairness. Or otherwise.

Research by the consumer group Which? suggests that almost one in four UK households are already feeling "financially squeezed".

For them at least, any talk from the Treasury of discomfort (that favourite doctor's euphemism) will mean what it really means. Pain.

Which is why, for the Chancellor, the political stakes this week could hardly be higher.

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Starbucks Tax Backlash: Firm Pledges Action

Starbucks has announced it is reviewing its tax affairs after a public backlash over the low amount of tax the US company pays in the UK.

The Seattle-based company reportedly paid just £8.6m in corporation tax in 14 years of trading in Britain.

It recently revealed it paid no corporation tax for the past three years, despite sales of £1.2bn in the UK.

Now, the coffee chain has revealed it is in talks with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Treasury over its tax affairs as part of a bid to "build public trust".

"Starbucks is committed to the UK for the long term and we have invested more than £200m in our UK business over the past 12 years," the statement said.

"Starbucks has complied with all the tax laws in this country but has regretfully not been as profitable as we would have liked.

"We have listened to feedback from our customers and employees, and understand that to maintain and further build public trust we need to do more.

"As part of this we are looking at our tax approach in the UK.

"The company has been in discussions with HMRC for some time and is also in talks with the Treasury."

The firm is one of many multinationals to have the amount of tax they pay in the UK put under the spotlight.

Starbucks operates more than 700 stores in the UK

Chancellor George Osborne is set to address the issue in his Autumn Statement on December 5.

On Sunday Mr Osborne announced extra investment to help clamp down on the multinational companies' tax avoidance.

Last month, the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is charged with monitoring government financial affairs, questioned senior executives from Starbucks, Google and Amazon on why they pay so little tax in the UK while racking up millions of pounds' worth of sales.

"I assure you we are not making money," Troy Alstead, the chief financial officer of Starbucks, told the committee.

"It's very unfortunate. We're not at all pleased about our financial performance here. It's fundamentally true everything we are saying and everything we have said historically."

His comments came despite operating more than 700 UK stores and employing nearly 8,500 people, along with plans to employ another 6,000 staff and open 300 outlets.

Companies are able to sidestep the taxman legally by conducting different operations in different countries, and constructing complex global frameworks that allow them to move money through offshore subsidiaries and locations.

The three leading US companies and their corporate tax rates

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Army Staff Granted Five Days Extra Leave

Army staff have been granted an extra five days holiday this Christmas in recognition of their hard work during 2012.

Defence officials have ordered staff to take leave for 25 days between December 14 and January 7 following their service during the London Olympics and Diamond Jubilee.

The extra holiday will allow buildings to be closed, cutting utility costs, and staff will have the option of working from home.

But the move has been criticised as a cost-cutting exercise by one former Army official.

Richard Kemp, a former commander of UK ground forces in Afghanistan, told The Sunday Times: "Shutting down the army for an extended period over Christmas is an act of sheer desperation by military commanders starved of cash by the Government.

"The troops themselves will welcome the extra time off.

"But nevertheless, to an Army at war this sends an insulting and morale-sapping message that makes it entirely clear just where spending priorities do not lie."

He added: "For a few office-bound staff home-working might be possible, but even among these the majority are tied to classified and networked computer systems that they do not have at home."

An Army spokesman said: "To suggest the Christmas leave plan is a cost-cutting measure is ridiculous.

"In recognition of the exceptionally busy year the Army has had both on operations and at home - including vital support to the 2012 London Olympics, fuel tanker drivers strike and Diamond Jubilee - the usual Christmas leave period has been extended.

"Personnel who are essential to supporting operations will remain on task regardless of this leave period and there will be no impact to the mission in Afghanistan."

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Open Prison Fugitive Arrested By Police

Fugitive Ivan Leach, who absconded from an open prison, has been found by police in Camden, north London.

The 47-year-old had been on the run from North Sea Camp open prison in Boston, Lincolnshire since October 9.

Police arrested him on suspicion of a number of offences this morning in the Camden area, Scotland Yard said.

Leach, also known as Lee Cyril, was wanted for questioning about a rape in Scotland committed while police hunted for him.

On October 15, a woman was woken and raped by an intruder in her home in Perth, and the following day a mattress was stolen from her home.

Leach, from Preston, was jailed in 2005 for robbing a 90-year-old woman in her home in the city.

He was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of five years.

Leach is currently in custody in a north London police station.

Police had warned people not to approach the fugitive under any circumstances.

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First Text Was Sent To A Mobile 20 Years Ago

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

Monday marks 20 years since the first text message was sent to a mobile phone.

The first SMS was sent on December 3, 1992, when a 22-year-old British engineer called Neil Papworth - an employee of the technology company Sema - used his computer to send the message "Merry Christmas" to an Orbitel 901 mobile phone.

Texting has now surpassed the traditional phone call as the most common method of staying in touch.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Papworth said he never envisaged that texting would be so popular.

"Back then I had no idea - I was just doing a day's testing. It wasn't until the 10th anniversary that I realised and thought 'Wow, that was a big thing'.

"And here we are another 10 years later and text messaging has gone on to even bigger and better things now."

According to figures released by Ofcom, more than 150 billion texts were sent in the UK last year, almost triple the amount sent five years ago.

Its most prolific users are 12 to 15-year-olds, who send an average of 193 texts every week, almost four times as much as the UK average.

In fact, most of us are now more likely to text a friend than to pick up the phone or have a face-to-face conversation with them.

But the first half of 2012 saw two quarterly declines in the volume of SMS messages sent in the UK.

The drop is being put down to the meteoric rise in web-based communications - many of which are freely available on smartphones and tablets - like WhatsApp, Blackberry Messenger (BBM), iMessenger, Google Talk and MSN Messenger.

An increase in communication through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook is also thought to be having an impact.

SMS stands for Short Messaging Service and a message is traditionally under 160 characters in length.

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Weather: Snow Continues As Mercury Plunges

Weather forecasters are warning of more snowfall in parts of England and Scotland, as Britons continue to shiver in below-freezing temperatures.

Overnight temperatures dropped to -6C in many parts of the country, from central Scotland through to Cumbria and Buckinghamshire.

Many areas will see up to 3cm of snow, while 15cm is predicted to fall in the Scottish mountains.

Sky News weather producer Jo Wheeler said there would be "significant snowfall" in the Scottish mountains and the Pennines later.

She said: "There is also the possibility of seeing between 1cm and 3cm of rain, even at lower levels for parts of the East and North East."

Many areas are likely to see about 3cm of snow

Edinburgh, the Pennines, the Peak District, County Durham, Yorkshire, Norfolk and East Anglia are all expected to be affected.

The Met Office has issued a low-level severe weather warning across most of Scotland, north and east England, and north Wales, because of the freezing temperatures and snowfall.

"Following showers of rain, sleet and snow on Saturday, ice is expected to form on untreated surfaces on Saturday evening and persist well into Sunday morning. Further wintry showers are likely to affect eastern coastal counties through the night.

"The public should be aware of possible disruption to travel."

The Met Office believes the freezing temperatures will last into next week, possibly followed by more snow.

The white start to the month has been enough to prompt record numbers of punters to place bets on snow falling on Christmas Day.

According to bookmakers Ladbrokes, more money had been staked on a white Christmas on Saturday than by any other December 1 in its history.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

George Osborne Takes On The Tax Avoiders

Little Christmas Cheer From Osborne

Updated: 1:01pm UK, Sunday 02 December 2012

By Peter Spencer, Political Correspondent

Borrowing costs up, growth forecasts down. Little wonder, then, that George Osborne's Autumn Statement will look more like January's credit card bills than Santa's stocking.

And there's a rare degree of unanimity across Fleet Street about what form the nasty fiscal news will take.

This seems to point to behind-the-scenes briefings of a kind Lord Leveson would like to outlaw.

But for now it's everywhere.

The expectation is that George Osborne will announce tax rises on the pension pots of the wealthiest AND a freeze on many benefits.

It's also predicted there'll be a lowering of the annual limit of tax relief on pension contributions from £50,000 to £30,000. Alongside this, it seems, we can expect a freeze on out-of-work benefits.

However, any form of mansion tax - or splitting council tax bands - is likely to be ruled out. That's a battle the Lib Dems have lost.

A battle that Tory backbenchers appear to have won, by contrast, is agreement to delay the 3p per litre rise in fuel duty planned for January.

While that last one will come as some comfort for many, the overall picture is bleak.

No surprise there, given that economic experts from the Independent Office for Budget Responsibility to the Governor of the Bank of England agree that unless the Chancellor's prepared to let his debt reduction target slip further into the future, he has no choice but to make himself deeply unpopular.

Though he knows this as well as anyone, he's sticking doggedly to his script.

Speaking to The Sun On Sunday, he said: "We are still all in this together. Everyone must make a contribution to dealing with our debts, from the richest in our society to those living a life on benefits.

"The road ahead may be longer than we thought, but it leads to a better future. Let's have the courage to stay the course."

Labour say that course is made that desperately more uphill and potholed by HIS actions. Trying to cut the deficit too far and too fast.

But they know that if THEY'D won the election there'd still have had to be deeply unpopular austerity measures following the economic meltdown of 2008.

Governments across Europe have been falling like dominoes for precisely that reason.

But, in the short term at least, Mr Osborne's offering will be judged on the basis of fairness. Or otherwise.

Research by the consumer group Which? suggests that almost one in four UK households are already feeling "financially squeezed".

For them at least, any talk from the Treasury of discomfort (that favourite doctor's euphemism) will mean what it really means. Pain.

Which is why, for the Chancellor, the political stakes this week could hardly be higher.

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Starbucks Tax Backlash: Firm Pledges Action

Starbucks has announced it is reviewing its tax affairs after a public backlash over the low amount of tax the US company pays in the UK.

The Seattle-based company reportedly paid just £8.6m in corporation tax in 14 years of trading in Britain.

It recently revealed it paid no corporation tax for the past three years, despite sales of £1.2bn in the UK.

Now, the coffee chain has revealed it is in talks with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Treasury over its tax affairs as part of a bid to "build public trust".

"Starbucks is committed to the UK for the long term and we have invested more than £200m in our UK business over the past 12 years," the statement said.

"Starbucks has complied with all the tax laws in this country but has regretfully not been as profitable as we would have liked.

"We have listened to feedback from our customers and employees, and understand that to maintain and further build public trust we need to do more.

"As part of this we are looking at our tax approach in the UK.

"The company has been in discussions with HMRC for some time and is also in talks with the Treasury."

The firm is one of many multinationals to have the amount of tax they pay in the UK put under the spotlight.

Starbucks operates more than 700 stores in the UK

Chancellor George Osborne is set to address the issue in his Autumn Statement on December 5.

On Sunday Mr Osborne announced extra investment to help clamp down on the multinational companies' tax avoidance.

Last month, the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is charged with monitoring government financial affairs, questioned senior executives from Starbucks, Google and Amazon on why they pay so little tax in the UK while racking up millions of pounds' worth of sales.

"I assure you we are not making money," Troy Alstead, the chief financial officer of Starbucks, told the committee.

"It's very unfortunate. We're not at all pleased about our financial performance here. It's fundamentally true everything we are saying and everything we have said historically."

His comments came despite operating more than 700 UK stores and employing nearly 8,500 people, along with plans to employ another 6,000 staff and open 300 outlets.

Companies are able to sidestep the taxman legally by conducting different operations in different countries, and constructing complex global frameworks that allow them to move money through offshore subsidiaries and locations.

The three leading US companies and their corporate tax rates

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