World Cup: England 'Well Prepared' For Opener

World Cup: 11 Players You Need To Watch

Updated: 3:39pm UK, Thursday 12 June 2014

By Nick Powell, Sports Editor

Like the Grand National, the World Cup has become a great participation event in offices, clubs and schools.

Join the sweep, pick the top scorer, guess how far England will go, perhaps even have a bet.

So to help, here's a team of men who are probably not big names in your household or workplace - but might be in a month's time.

:: Thibos Courtois, goalkeeper (Belgium/Atletico Madrid)

Actually a Chelsea employee, but doing so well on loan at Atletico that his future has become a big debating point in the last few months.

If Belgium are to do as well as the bookies predict, then he is certain to have enhanced his reputation even further.

Italy's veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon has picked him out as a man to watch - and he should know.

:: Mauricio Isla, attacking right-back (Chile/Juventus)

Older than some of his colleagues in this fabled team at the age 25 and with almost half a century of appearances for Chile behind him, he has a great chance to win more admirers of his charging runs down the right.

Chile are in the same group as Spain and Holland but do not rule out Isla helping dump one of those giants out at the first hurdle.

:: Raphael Varane, central defender (France/Real Madrid)

He has only played five times for France, but at 21 years old he is part of a badly needed new generation for the 1998 world champions.

Big and strong - not to mention fiery - he got involved in an altercation on the pitch with opposition boss Diego Simeone at the end of the Champions League final, in which his Real team beat city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Jose Mourinho says he's the world's best young defender.

:: Mats Hummels, central defender (Germany/Borussia Dortmund)

If Germany go a long way in the World Cup, Hummels has the potential to be one of the stars of the tournament.

A dominant figure who can play as well as block, he also has a memorable name and a girlfriend, Cathy Fischer, who has been described as Germany's top WAG.

:: Yuto Nagatomo, left-back (Japan/Inter Milan)

Nagatomo has talked ambitiously about Japan winning the World Cup. One day, perhaps. Although they did reach the last 16 in 2010.

If they are to do it again, he will need to be at his best, both in defence and marauding down the left.

:: Juan Cuadrado, midfield (Colombia/Fiorentina)

Top scorer from midfield for Fiorentina in the Italian League with 11 goals last season, Cuadrado was converted from a right-back and is already interesting many of Europe's top clubs.

There is every chance there will be a long queue at his agent's door after the World Cup.

:: William Carvalho, midfield (Portugal/Sporting Lisbon)

You thought Angola was not the place to look for football talent?

This young man from Luanda has to force his way into Portugal's team but he is big and powerful (think Manchester City's Yaya Toure) with a future to match.

:: Paul Pogba, midfield (France/Juventus)

Still only 21, he has been in the headlines since Sir Alex Ferguson decided he was not good enough for Manchester United.

His poise belies his years. Zinedine Zidane, a World Cup winner in 1998, says his young countryman will become one of Europe's best central midfielders.

:: Ciro Immobile, striker (Italy/Borussia Dortmund)

This guy could be huge and may even be the World Cup's top goalscorer - worth a punt at around 50-1 if you like a bet.

No one got more than him in Italy last season and he has just signed for Dortmund.

Mario Balotelli is the big name in the Italians' attack ... so far.

:: Carlos Bacca, striker (Colombia/Sevilla)

Now carrying a nation's goalscoring hopes on his shoulders after injury ruled out his more illustrious colleague, Radamel Falcao, but he is up to the task.

He scored four goals towards the end of the season for his Spanish club, the Europa League winners.

And Bacca has every chance of helping Colombia progress from a group that also includes Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan - therefore boosting his own reputation.

:: Joel Campbell, striker (Costa Rica/Arsenal)

You're going to hear plenty about Joel Campbell because he is a big threat to England's hopes of progress from Group D.

Arsenal have loaned him out for the last three seasons, most recently to Greek club Olympiakos, for whom he scored against Manchester United in the Champions League.

His mum told him to read Psalm 27 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" - before matches and apparently he does so.

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Retailers Set Goals On World Cup Success

By Emma Birchley, Sky News Correspondent

England fans are not the only ones hoping the players can find the back of the net as their World Cup campaign finally gets under way.

Retailers too are banking on success.

The Centre for Retail Research has estimated that every time England scores - shops, restaurants and pubs will benefit to the tune of almost £200m.

At Sainsbury's, designers started working on the merchandise more than a year ago.

Corporate affairs director Alex Cole said: "The longer England stays in the tournament, the more excuse we have got for parties as a nation.

"But also the sun is really important so the sunnier it is the more likely we are to say, yes, we will have a BBQ and get some people round to watch the match with us."

The further in the competition England progress, the better for retailers

But it is not just sales of sausages and beer that soar. TVs are selling well. So too are souvenirs and sportswear.

Takeaway pizzas are expected to sell in their millions but many people will head straight from work to bars or restaurants to watch the matches.

Phil Collinson, manager at Rileys Sports Bar in central London, is expecting 30,000 fans to come through the doors during the tournament.

"It's our responsibility to make sure everyone from all the different nations has the chance to see the matches," he said. "It will be an incredible atmosphere and great to be part of."

Reaching the final 16 is expected to see the takings by retailers, bars and restaurants rise by more than £1.3bn while a place in the final would be worth almost £2.6bn to the economy.

Michael Jarman says success equals spending

With England taking on Italy in their first game, it can mean split loyalties if you are running an Italian business in the heart of London.

But while there is no surprise who Lorenzo Mariotti, manager of the restaurant Little Italy in Soho, wants to win, he knows the importance of the home nation staying in the competition.

"We really need both teams to play well and go (as) far as they can and hopefully meet in the semi-final or final," he said. "It will be the most great game of the World Cup."

Former footballer and city trader Michael Jarman says success in the tournament will see football fans out spending.

"You find the general morale and momentum of the UK consumer is going to be more upbeat, a bit more optimistic," he said.

"You then have the new football season starting. Naturally there will be a better feel-good factor."

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Great North Swim Challenger Dies Taking Part

A 52-year-old man has died after taking part in the Great North Swim in Windermere.

He was taken to hospital by air ambulance because of a "medical emergency", Cumbria police said.

Officers attending the event were alerted to the incident on Friday afternoon.

The man, who has not been named, was from Wallington, south London, police said.

The event's organiser, Nova International, released a statement, expressing its condolences.

It said: "Nova International deeply regrets the tragic loss of life at the Great North Swim today and offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of the individual concerned.

"In the case of a fatality there is a strictly planned procedure that we adhere to with the professional organisations.

"We must ensure that the next of kin are informed before any further comment is made but we will provide an update as soon as we are in a position to do so."

The Great Swim Series is staged in lakes, lochs and docklands across the country, its website says.

The Great North Swim was being staged this weekend and consists of various courses of between a half-mile and 3.1 miles.

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Queen's Birthday Honours: Stephen Sutton's MBE

By Rhiannon Mills, Sky News Reporter

Stephen Sutton, the teenage cancer sufferer who raised more than £4m for charity, has been honoured with an MBE in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours.

Stephen, who was 19 when he died last month, had been told about the honour before his death.

His fundraising efforts have inspired others to help him raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

His mother, Jane Sutton, said he saw it as an incredible honour to be nominated and gave it the thumbs up.

Jolie receives an honorary Damehood for her work to fight sexual violence

In a statement she added: "Although Stephen continually told all of us that he didn't do his charity work for recognition, even he acknowledged that to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire was 'awesome'."

He is joined on the list by the likes of actress Angelina Jolie, who is receiving an honorary Damehood for her work to fight sexual violence.

This week, Jolie has taken centre stage at a summit in London to End Sexual Violence in Conflict (ESVC).

Her honorary Damehood is part of the Diplomatic Service and Overseas Birthday 2014 Honours List for exceptional service to Britain overseas.

Jolie said: "Working on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) and with survivors of rape is an honour in itself.

"I know that succeeding in our goals will take a lifetime, and I am dedicated to it for all of mine."

In the acting world, Dame Maggie Smith is made a Companion of Honour, while Daniel Day-Lewis receives a knighthood, and Homeland star Damian Lewis gets an OBE.

In sport, Britain's winter Olympic winners are honoured. Skeleton gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold receives an MBE, as do visually-impaired skier Kelly Gallagher and her guide Charlotte Evans.

An OBE also goes to Wales rugby head coach Warren Gatland, while England women's cricket captain Charlotte Edwards receives a CBE.

Homeland star Damian Lewis gets an OBE

Golfer Laura Davies becomes a Dame, as do author Hilary Mantel and fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.

And MBEs go to Torchwood star John Barrowman, singer songwriter Cerys Matthews, and Nicola Clarke, chair of the Military Wives Choirs Foundation.

The Cabinet Office said 1,149 people had received an award and alongside the famous faces, 73% have been given to people for the charity or voluntary work they do for their local community.

Ron and Avril Head, who have fostered 140 children over the past 30 years, were in shock at receiving their MBEs.

Mrs Head said: "We hope this will be a way of promoting fostering. There are hundreds of children waiting for people to look after them and hopefully we might inspire people."

IT entrepreneur Scott Fletcher, from Manchester, also gets an MBE for helping young people into work.

Women receive 49% of the honours, while 6.2% of all those honoured come from ethnic minority communities, a slight increase on recent lists.

The last New Year Honours List was the first in which the women outnumbered the men.

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Delays In Cancer Tests May Put Lives At Risk

Cancer patients' chances of survival could be put at risk by growing delays in the NHS carrying out tests that can diagnose the disease, experts have warned.

The number of patients in England waiting longer than the recommended six weeks for investigations such as MRI and CT scans has doubled in a year.

In April, the figure reached 16,981 - or 2.2% of all the patients waiting for such tests.

That was a six-year high and compared to April 2008 when just 2,904 patients were waiting for the 15 checks which also include audiology assessments or cardiac echos.

Macmillan Cancer Support called the delays "worrying" and said each hospital has a responsibility to meet the targets.

But it added "the Government and the next also need to take responsibility".

The charity's chief executive Ciaran Devane said: "It is extremely worrying that the proportion of people who face delays in receiving vital tests which can diagnose cancer has doubled since this time last year, from 1.1% to 2.2%.

"Only two weeks ago we heard that more people are waiting longer to start treatment and now more people are waiting longer just to get diagnosed.

"Once again, we see that cancer care in this country isn't fixed. The NHS is under strain and cancer risks being overlooked and not given the focus it needs.

"Each individual hospital has a responsibility to meet these targets, or they risk putting a patient's best chance of survival at risk."

An NHS England spokeswoman said: "Timeliness of diagnosis and treatment is what patients expect and is essential to providing high-quality care.

"The vast majority of patients get their tests promptly with most patients waiting less than three weeks from referral, despite the number of tests rising by almost 56,000 when compared to the same period last year."

On Friday, it was announced that extra funds are to be ploughed into the NHS to help keep waiting times down.

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Robber Is One Of 89 On Run From Same Prison

A convict on the run from an open prison is one of nearly 90 currently at large from the same jail.

Police have warned that David Blood, who absconded from Ford Prison in West Sussex on Thursday, may pose "a threat to the public".

The 48-year-old is one of the latest inmates to go on the run from the jail, with Sussex police revealing there are 89 convicts missing from Ford, including a number of murderers, and some who have been missing for years.

It is thought to be the second time Blood has escaped from an open prison. It is understood he went missing from HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire in April 2012.

On that occasion, he was not found until almost three months later.

Simon Rhodes-Butler handed himself in at Sutton police station

Blood was jailed for life at Stafford Crown Court in 2003 after he was convicted of robbing a post office in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands with a number of other men in December 2000.

PC Stephen Reed said: "Because of Blood's record, we have to consider that he could pose a threat to the public.

"I would urge anyone that sees him to contact us on 999 rather than approaching him."

Police have described Blood as 6ft 1in tall (1.85m), of small build with brown eyes and cropped black hair. He is known to have links in Staffordshire and Warwickshire.

Blood's escape is the latest in a spate of inmates absconding from open prisons.

The most high-profile offender to go missing was the violent armed robber Michael Wheatley - known as Skullcracker.

Wheatly carried out a raid on a building society while on the run after being let out of the Standford Hill prison in Kent last month.

He was later jailed for life.

The latest escape came as another convicted robber who had failed to return to Ford on May 22 handed himself into police.

Simon Rhodes-Butler - who robbed a garage owner of his watch in March 2011 - has been charged with escaping lawful custody.

His capture brings to 89 the number of inmates at large from the prison.

In a statement Sussex police said: "Some have been missing for a matter of weeks but others have been missing for a number of years.

"We are focused on returning each and every one of these people to prison."

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The Justice Secretary has been clear that keeping the public safe is our priority and has already ordered major changes to tighten up temporary release processes and open prison eligibility.

"Absconds have reached record lows under this Government - down 80% over the last 10 years - but each and every incident is taken seriously, with the police contacted as a matter of urgency.

"Open prisons and temporary licence are an important tool in rehabilitating long-term offenders but not at the expense of public safety."

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Passport Surge: Theresa May Warned A Year Ago

Theresa May was warned a year ago the closure of overseas passport offices would lead to 350,000 extra applications, it has emerged.

It comes as a huge surge of requests for passports was blamed for a significant backlog, prompting the Home Secretary to bring in a series of measures aimed at tackling delays.

Mrs May said the hold-ups, affecting holidaymakers and business travellers had been caused by the highest demand seen for more than a decade, and agreed it was an "unprecedented increase...which no one could have foreseen".

Boxes of applications waiting to be dealt with at Liverpool passport office

But in a report published in July last year, Paul Pugh, the head of the Identity and Passport Service, predicted there would be around an extra 350,000 applications to UK offices as a result of overseas embassies closing their passport desks and relocating operations back to Britain in a £20m cost-cutting move.

In an emergency Commons statement on Monday, Mrs May said the passport office was receiving "350,000 more applications for passport applications and renewals" than normal for this time of year.

Mrs May also indicated the increase was due in part to the "improved economic environment".

She insisted the Government was doing all it could to deal with the backlog of more than 30,000 applications which had not been dealt with within the normal three-week deadline.

In a sign of the continuing crisis, interviews for first-time applicants for passports have been suspended in London, with people directed to other offices in the region.

The Home Office insists the two figures are completely separate

With anger mounting over the delays, Mrs May announced a series of measures aimed at tackling he problem.

Urgent applications will be fast-tracked for free, and an extra 200 staff would be drafted in to deal with applications.

People applying to renew passports overseas for travel to the UK would be given an automatic 12-month extension.

And those applying for passports overseas for their children would also be issued with emergency travel documents for travel to the UK - although they will still have to provide "comprehensive proof" that they are the parents.

Mrs May admitted there was no "big bang, single solution" to the crisis.

But her Labour opposite number accused Mrs May of presiding over a "sorry shambles" and called on her to apologise to the thousands of people whose travel plans had been thrown into doubt.

The Home Office says the 350,000 mentioned in the IPS report and those quoted by Mrs May are two different sets of figures.

The forecast figure was also for the full year, while the extra applications mentioned by the Home Secretary covered the period January to May.

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Twenty-Three Treated In Salmonella Outbreak

More than 20 people at a hospital in the West Midlands have been struck down by an "unusual" salmonella outbreak.

Health officials have expressed concern at how it has been spreading and are investigating the cause.

They said there were usually two to four cases reported across the region each month.

Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital said eight patients were being treated in its wards for the effects of the bacteria. All are in a stable condition.

Four staff members and 19 patients have so far tested positive for a common strain of salmonella.

This has prompted fears of a more widespread community-based outbreak.

Restrictions have been put in place on visitors to eight wards at the hospital, and deep-cleaning processes have been implemented.

A hospital spokesman said tests had not highlighted any signs of the salmonella bacteria in hospital food or water.

All visitors to the medical facility are being asked wash their hands on entry and exit from any ward area.

And they are advised not to visit the site if they have had diarrhoea or vomiting within the previous 48 hours.

Medical director Dr Andrew Catto said: "Any infection in someone who is already ill can be very serious and we are taking every precaution possible to protect our patients and staff.

"We are concerned by the spread and number of patients who have tested positive, as this is unusual.

"Not all community salmonella cases get reported, as many people recover quickly and do not feel the need to go to see their GP.

"Usually, we see between two and four cases across the West Midlands reported monthly and for a hospital to see this number in such a short space of time requires expert investigation."

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Daughter 'Lost It' And Shot Mum 'After Taunts'

A woman has told her trial she "lost it" and shot her mother who had claimed to have had a sexual relationship with the daughter's husband.

Susan and Christopher Edwards are accused of murdering Patricia and William Wycherley in 1998, burying them in their garden and pretending they were alive for 15 years.

Susan Edwards admits the manslaughter of her mother on the basis of provocation and the two defendants each deny two counts of murder.

Christopher Edwards

In the witness box, she said was visiting her parents without her 57-year-old husband on a May bank holiday in 1998 at their home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and was woken in the night by a noise.

She told the jury she went into her parents' bedroom and found her mother standing over her 85-year-old father, who was dead on the floor.

Former librarian Edwards, 56, said she picked up the gun after her mother had put it on a bed and shot Mrs Wycherley who was provoking her with relentless taunts.

Edwards said: "I knew my father was dead. I don't know how I knew, I just knew. She (her mother) started saying things to me."

According to the defendant, 63-year-old Mrs Wycherley told her she was not wanted as a child, she knew her father abused Edwards when she was growing up and she had had a sexual relationship with Christopher Edwards.

She told the jury: "I picked (the gun) up to keep it from her. She kept saying all of these things. She said she knew of my father's abuse.

Susan Edwards' father William Wycherley

"She kept saying things over and over again. I asked her 'please stop saying these things and go away. Please stop saying these things'.

"She didn't. She kept going on and on. It seemed like a long time. At some point I lost it. I shot my mother."

The Edwards are accused of raking in £245,000 by making it seem like the couple were still alive.

Their neighbours and relatives were told after their deaths that they had gone travelling or had moved to the coast for health reasons, according to prosecutors.

The prosecution claims the Edwards, who married in 1983, had been in severe financial difficulties for much of their relationship and they killed the elderly couple for the cash, claiming pension money and selling the Wycherleys' house.

The trial was adjourned until Monday after Susan Edwards completed her evidence.

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Barefoot Boy To Be Reunited With Family

A three-year-old boy who was found alone and barefoot in a Birmingham street is to be reunited with his family.

Police made an appeal on Friday morning to trace his parents and about an hour later the child's "distressed" father contacted police to report him missing. 

The youngster was discovered in Chesterton Road, Sparkbrook - a few streets from his home - by a member of the public who alerted officers just before 10pm on Thursday.

They went to the scene and took him to a police station. He was later looked after by social services.

The child was believed to be of Somali origin but had been unable to give officers his name or any other details.

West Midlands Police say the child was black, has short black afro hair, and wore a yellow t-shirt and navy tracksuit bottoms.

Chief Inspector Ian Green, from Birmingham East Police, said: "We are very relieved to be able to hand back the little boy back to his family.

"We will of course be investigating how the boy got out of the house and we'll be speaking with the family.

"We would like to thank local people and the media for their help.

"We really appreciate all the shares and re-tweets on social media which we know has reached hundreds of thousands of people."

Earlier, Acting Inspector Amer Shams said: "This is obviously very unusual and worrying."

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Workers Threatened Over Passport Pile-Up Leak

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

Workers have been threatened with disciplinary action over leaked photographs that revealed the scale of the backlog at the Passport Office.

The images, which showed documents piling up in a meeting room in Liverpool, ramped up the pressure on ministers who were forced to admit there was a major problem developing.

The Home Office had previously denied there was any backlog, claiming instead that the Passport Office was dealing with 97% of "straightforward" cases within three weeks despite unprecedented demand. 

The letter sent to Passport Office workers

They said it was a sign of an improving economy that people wanted to go on holiday.

But after the publication of the pictures the Prime Minister admitted there was a backlog of 30,000, and Passport Office staff were asked to take on seven-day working and extended hours to clear it.

Theresa May has also changed the rules for Brits overseas, who have been hit particularly hard, and ordered two reviews of HM Passport Office (HMPO).

The letter warns: "This is being viewed as a serious security breach and I have notified the Internal Investigations team accordingly. They will be making a full investigation and if there is clear evidence linking a member of HMPO, Steria or our contracted staff to the breach, formal misconduct procedures will be considered.

"Whatever the motives behind the leak, there does not appear to be any recognition of the impact this has had on colleagues working exceptionally hard to manage the unprecedented levels of demand currently being experienced."

It reminds workers that the use of mobile phones is only allowed in designated break-out areas and during breaks from work, and warns that failure to adhere to the rule will lead to an all-out ban.

Files filled with applications in the Liverpool office

Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of PCS – the union that represents workers at the Passport Office, called it a "ludicrously over-the-top response".

He added that it "will do nothing to restore the goodwill that has been lost in recent days and weeks, as officials and ministers have sought to cover up the extent of the problems caused by a chronic shortage of staff.

"Arguably, if it wasn't for those photographs, we wouldn't have had the debate in the Commons today and there was clearly an overwhelming public interest in publishing them," he said.

According to Sky sources, a Home Office excellence awards ceremony that had been planned for Thursday night has now been cancelled so workers can focus on the passport crisis.

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Man, 86, Held Over Death Of 70-Year-Old Woman

An 86-year-old man is due to appear in court following the death of a 70-year-old woman in her home in Scotland.

The body of Francine Clark was found at about 10.30am on Wednesday at her house in Fintry Gardens in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire.

Following the discovery police detained the man, who is expected to appear at Dumbarton Sheriff Court later today.

A Police Scotland statement said: "An 86-year-old man has been arrested and is presently detained in police custody in connection with the death of a 70-year-old woman.

"Relatives are aware and a full report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal."

Bearsden is a prosperous suburb about six miles northwest of greater Glasgow. 

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Mourning Mum In Call To Legalise Drugs

By Lisa Dowd, Sky News Correspondent

A single mother who lost her only child after she took MDMA is calling for drugs to be legalised and regulated.

Martha Fernback was just 15 when she died after swallowing half a gram of the powder - better known as ecstasy - in July last year.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded at Oxford Coroner's Court after a short hearing.

In a statement following her daughter's inquest, Anne-Marie Cockburn said: "It has been 328 days since my precious girl was safely by my side.

"Martha wanted to get high, she didn't want to die - no parent wants either, but one of those is preferable to the other.

"I wish Martha was sitting her GCSEs alongside her friends at school right now.

"I wish the drug education she received had enabled her to make a more fully informed decision, instead of leaving her so vulnerable and in danger.

"I would like to meet with Theresa May, Norman Baker and Yvette Cooper to start a sensible dialogue for change, from prohibition to strict and responsible regulation of recreational drugs.

Martha's mother, Anne-Marie

"This will help to safeguard our children and lead to a safer society for us all by putting doctors and pharmacists, not dealers, in control of drugs."

The drug that killed the teenager was unusually high in its purity.

On a website set up in her daughter's memory, Ms Cockburn said: "Free drug testing facilities should be widely available in order to fully educate young people and, by putting some safeguarding measures in place, levels of harm are significantly reduced.

"Had Martha been able to access drugs that had been legally produced and labelled accordingly, she would have been able to make a more informed decision - in fact, I'd go as far as to say that she might still be alive."

The inquest heard how the MDMA powder that Martha took was 91% pure and doctors found that the concentration of the drug in her blood was "very high".

The hearing was told that the purity level would normally be around 58%.

After she had taken the drug, Martha had told friends it "was amazing ... it feels like a dream".

But in statements read out at the hearing her friends said she began to "sweat profusely", her behaviour became "more erratic", and she started to tremble and shiver.

She collapsed in a local park. An ambulance was called, but she was pronounced dead at the the city's John Radcliffe Hospital.

Sky News has approached the Home Office for comment but received no immediate statement. 

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Urgent Passport Cases 'Fast-Tracked For Free'

Passport Service Cuts Hit Expat Applications

Updated: 12:14pm UK, Wednesday 11 June 2014

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

The backlog and workload problems at the passport office are causing frustration and anger - not just for people based in the UK, but for Britons living all around the world.

Until a few years ago, British citizens living abroad could simply wander down to their embassy and apply for a passport. It would be issued within a day or two. Job done.

The system was then changed largely because passports had become more sophisticated - with biometric technology for security. Embassies didn't have the equipment to produce the new biometric passports.

So, regional offices were set up within certain embassies around the world. For those of us living here in Beijing, Hong Kong became the regional hub.

We could apply via the British Embassy in Beijing, the application would be sent to Hong Kong and the new passport would be issued there. A little more bureaucratic but still entirely workable.

But in December, "cost saving" measures were made to the application system. All regional offices were shut and Britons globally were told they must apply for their replacement passports in the UK.

They now have two options. Either they can travel to the UK and then apply for the "one-day" service. That could cost a huge amount in air fares.

The alternative is to send their application form, together with their old passport, to the UK Passport office in Liverpool - a process that the Passport Office says will take "at least six weeks".

That means that for at least six weeks the applicant is unable to leave wherever it is they live. For many, that's entirely impractical. For some, it will impact on their business.

With a bit of research and a half-hour long distance phone call to the passport office, I have discovered that it is possible to send a copy of your old passport rather than the original, but only in "exceptional circumstances" determined on a "case-by-case basis".

However, this leads to its own problems - the moment the new passport is issued (back in the UK) the old one (still in the hands of the applicant) is cancelled.

So in the time it takes to send the new one to the applicant overseas - several weeks - they are unable to travel because the passport they hold will be flagged as 'cancelled' at immigration.

Confusing? Frustrating? Certainly.

The stories we're hearing are mounting up - a British bride-to-be, living in Hong Kong, has been waiting for her replacement passport for eight weeks. She still doesn't have it. Her wedding, in Bali, is in two weeks.

A Briton living in South Africa who's taking a group of South African children to the World Cup, had been waiting 15 weeks.

A British businessman living in Hong Kong told us he'd waited 10 weeks. His new passport has just arrived but the passport office forgot to send back his old one which contained his visas. He is therefore still unable to travel.

The bottom line is this - not all that long ago, Britons living abroad could get a replacement passport in a day or two.

Now they are being grounded for "at least six weeks" and in many cases, far longer.

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Rik Mayall Died Of Heart 'Event' After Run

Comic Rik Mayall suffered "an acute cardiac event" after returning from a morning run, his wife has said.

The actor, 56, who died at his home in Barnes, southwest London, on Monday, was best known for the TV shows The Young Ones and Bottom, in which he starred alongside long-time collaborator Adrian Edmondson.

Barbara Mayall said her family has received "thousands and thousands of messages of condolence" from around the world.

She said: "We always knew that Rik was well loved but we are all overwhelmed by so many joining us in our grief.

Rik and Barbara Mayall had been married for 25 years

"We now know that our darling Rik suffered an 'acute cardiac event' at our home around midday on June 9th."

Mrs Mayall said he had just returned from his "usual run" and that many people would have seen him.

She thanked the press "for their discretion" and "all the wonderful coverage", adding: "It would have made him very happy."

She added: "I am sure that you all know Rik's response would be something along the lines of.....' well thanks very much all of you.............now f*** off!!!"'

Earlier, West London Coroner's Court said a post-mortem examination into his death had been inconclusive and more tests were being carried out in an attempt to determine how the star died.

Mayall with Ade Edmonson (L) in The Young Ones

Mayall could feature in this weekend's top 40 after a track he recorded for the 2010 World Cup - Noble England - entered at number 38 after a social media campaign by fans.

He was in several other programmes including The New Statesman, in which he played conniving MP Alan B'Stard, Blackadder II and Blackadder Goes Forth.

He also appeared in film roles including Drop Dead Fred.

In 1998, he was seriously injured in a quad bike accident which left him in a coma for several days.

Mayall as MP Alan B'Stard

Mayall said doctors had kept him alive on a life-support machine for five days and were about to turn it off when he began to show signs of life.

He leaves his wife and three children - Rosie, Sidney and Bonnie who paid tribute to her "foul-mouthed father".

She wrote on Facebook: "My dad was loved not only by my family, but by many many others.

"We will never forget him and neither will the world.

"RIP to the man, the myth, the legend - my wonderful, generous, foul mouthed and hysterical father. My idol now and forever.

"We love you daddy."

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Madeleine McCann Police Search A Third Site

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 7:29am UK, Wednesday 11 June 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

:: June 11 - Police begin to search an area between Praia da Luz and the town of Lagos behind a water treatment plant. The search of the scrubland site was wound down on June 9.

22.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Passport Pile-Up: PM Says Backlog Is 30,000

David Cameron has admitted around 30,000 passport applications have been delayed - after the Government earlier denied a backlog.

The Prime Minister told the House of Commons there had been 300,000 more applications than normal at this time of year and that 10% of these had been delayed.

He said emergency plans were being put in place to ensure families who want to go on holiday get their passports in time.

In an angry exchange at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Government needed to "get a grip" on the unfolding crisis.

He said the row between Theresa May and Education Secretary Michael Gove had distracted the Home Secretary from her job.

"The truth of the picture of this Government is we have the Home Secretary fighting with the Education Secretary but not paying attention to the business of government," he said.

"The truth is that is tens of thousands of people are finding that their holidays are being cancelled because they are not actually getting a passport."

Those British citizens living abroad are being hit

However, Mr Cameron said the Home Office had been on top of the situation since the beginning of the year.

Earlier on Wednesday the Government denied there had been a pile-up of applications after unions claimed a 12-year high in applications and cuts in staffing had lead to a 500,000 backlog.

Mr Cameron and Mrs May said 250 staff had been redeployed to tackle the problem, working seven days a week around the clock to make sure people got their documents.

Meanwhile, Sky has seen a letter sent to the UK Visas and Immigration Department saying 72 of their staff will start training next week on how to process passport applications with a view to being redeployed.

The increase in passport applications started in January and coincides with the closures of regional application offices across the world in an attempt to cut costs.

Applications in the Liverpool passport office

British citizens living abroad now have to apply in the UK and many of those are now reporting significant delays.

The increase has also been blamed on the number of people feeling they can now afford holidays with the economic recovery.

Pictures taken by a disillusioned worker in the Liverpool passport office show tens of thousands of applications waiting to be dealt with.

One MP said thousands of families face having their summer holiday plans ruined because documents were not being prepared in anything like the normal time.

Some families who want to make sure their documents are returned in time face paying extra for a faster service - up to £55.50 on top of the £72.50 standard fee.

Families are frantic to get their passports

Three million passports have already been issued this year, with officials processing an average of 18,000 applications a day over the last two months. 

Mike Jones, from the PCS Union said: "There are half a million applications that are waiting within the Passport Office at the moment.

"That figure is raised steeply over a number of months. The Home Office and the Passport Office used to have strategies in place for when the figure reached 150,000. They would put contingency plans in to deal with those amounts."

He told Radio 4's Today programme: "Now we have seen the figures are up to 500,000 and rising at the moment. Even all the contingencies that they are trying to put in place, we are still seeing that figure rising, so there is clearly a crisis going on within the Home Office and the Passport Office as well."

22.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Passport Service Cuts Hit Expat Applications

The backlog and workload problems at the passport office are causing frustration and anger - not just for people based in the UK, but for Britons living all around the world.

Until a few years ago, British citizens living abroad could simply wander down to their embassy and apply for a passport. It would be issued within a day or two. Job done.

The system was then changed largely because passports had become more sophisticated - with biometric technology for security. Embassies didn't have the equipment to produce the new biometric passports.

So, regional offices were set up within certain embassies around the world. For those of us living here in Beijing, Hong Kong became the regional hub.

We could apply via the British Embassy in Beijing, the application would be sent to Hong Kong and the new passport would be issued there. A little more bureaucratic but still entirely workable.

But in December, "cost saving" measures were made to the application system. All regional offices were shut and Britons globally were told they must apply for their replacement passports in the UK.

They now have two options. Either they can travel to the UK and then apply for the "one-day" service. That could cost a huge amount in air fares.

The alternative is to send their application form, together with their old passport, to the UK Passport office in Liverpool - a process that the Passport Office says will take "at least six weeks".

That means that for at least six weeks the applicant is unable to leave wherever it is they live. For many, that's entirely impractical. For some, it will impact on their business.

With a bit of research and a half-hour long distance phone call to the passport office, I have discovered that it is possible to send a copy of your old passport rather than the original, but only in "exceptional circumstances" determined on a "case-by-case basis".

However, this leads to its own problems - the moment the new passport is issued (back in the UK) the old one (still in the hands of the applicant) is cancelled.

So in the time it takes to send the new one to the applicant overseas - several weeks - they are unable to travel because the passport they hold will be flagged as 'cancelled' at immigration.

Confusing? Frustrating? Certainly.

The stories we're hearing are mounting up - a British bride-to-be, living in Hong Kong, has been waiting for her replacement passport for eight weeks. She still doesn't have it. Her wedding, in Bali, is in two weeks.

A Briton living in South Africa who's taking a group of South African children to the World Cup, had been waiting 15 weeks.

A British businessman living in Hong Kong told us he'd waited 10 weeks. His new passport has just arrived but the passport office forgot to send back his old one which contained his visas. He is therefore still unable to travel.

The bottom line is this - not all that long ago, Britons living abroad could get a replacement passport in a day or two.

Now they are being grounded for "at least six weeks" and in many cases, far longer.

22.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Madeleine McCann: Site Was Identified In 2007

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 7:29am UK, Wednesday 11 June 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

:: June 11 - Police begin to search an area between Praia da Luz and the town of Lagos behind a water treatment plant. The search of the scrubland site was wound down on June 9.

22.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Black Cab Demo Causes Central London 'Gridlock'

Parts of central London are currently gridlocked after thousands of black cab drivers took industrial action at Trafalgar Square.

Up to 12,000 black cabs have headed to the centre of the capital with the intent to cause traffic chaos.

Helicopter footage shows long queues of cabs across Westminster Bridge and along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square.

The traditional cabbies are protesting at Transport for London's (TfL) regulation of rival cab service Uber.

A line of black cabs pictured in Westminster

The Google-backed app allows users to order a car at the touch of a button, and the fare is calculated using GPS tracking.

But traditional cabbies say this is effectively a taxi meter, which only black cabs are legally entitled to use in the capital.

Sky's Ashish Joshi said that Trafalgar Square was "gridlocked" just before the protest officially started at 2pm.

He said: "This is technology against tradition. It's the new Battle of Trafalgar."

The protest is aimed at Transport for London and Uber

One driver with 15-years' experience told Sky News: "It's got to be a level playing field. England are playing Italy on Saturday, what if Italy turn up with 15 men against England?

"We love competition, we thrive on competition in this city, but it's got to be a fair competition."

But Uber general manager Jo Bertram has defended the company's business model, and says the number of app downloads has soared.

She said: "Londoners are voting with their fingers, tapping the app in support of new and innovative services as we see our biggest day of sign-ups in London today since launch two years ago.

Drivers in Spain took part in a similar protest

"In fact, today we're seeing an 850% increase in sign-ups compared to last Wednesday.

"Unsurprisingly, the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which is stuck in the dark ages, is intent on holding London to ransom and causing significant economic impact to Londoners today, estimated to be £125m."

Earlier the app goaded black cab drivers by urging them to sign up to their pre-booking app, saying it gave greater "choice for consumers".

But the cabbies dismissed it as a PR stunt.

Similar demonstrations have also taken place today in Paris, Madrid and Barcelona.

22.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cameron Sets Out 'British Values' For Schools

'Trojan Horse': Full Statement

Updated: 10:45am UK, Monday 09 June 2014

The full statement from Park View Educational Trust on a damning Ofsted inspection of its schools as part of the checks sparked by alleged Islamist infiltration plot.

"On behalf of the staff, students and parents who have worked so hard to improve their schools, we're extremely disappointed to confirm that Ofsted has graded Park View, Golden Hillock and Nansen schools as inadequate and put them into special measures.

"We support the role of Ofsted in holding schools to account in a fair and transparent way. But we wholeheartedly dispute the validity of these gradings.

"Park View, Golden Hillock and Nansen are categorically not inadequate schools.

"Our Ofsted inspections were ordered in a climate of suspicion, created by the hoax Trojan letter and by the anonymous unproven allegations about our schools in the media.

"Ofsted inspectors came to our schools looking for extremism, looking for segregation, looking for proof that our children have religion forced upon them as part of an Islamic plot.

"The Ofsted reports find absolutely no evidence of this because this is categorically not what is happening at our schools. Our schools do not tolerate or promote extremism of any kind. We have made a major commitment to raising all students' awareness of extremism, people who know and have worked with our schools are appalled at the way we have been misrepresented.

"Our schools serve some of the most disadvantaged communities in Britain. In spite of this, 75% of students at Park View achieved at least five good GCSEs last year including English and maths. This makes it the best school of its type in England.

"Golden Hillock and Nansen are on course to get their best results ever.

"Quite simply this is because we believe our role is to break the link between demographics, deprivation and destiny. We refuse to let our students' backgrounds limit what they can achieve and who they can become.

"The speed and the ferocity with which Park View school in particular has been condemned is truly shocking.

"Park View School, where we are standing today, has helped to transform the lives of local families by realising their hope and ambition for educational success. School communities in Park View, Golden Hillock and Nansen, that have worked hard to turn round failing schools, are being condemned when they should be being celebrated.

"The problem here is not extremism, or segregation, or religious indoctrination, all the things that Ofsted looked for but failed to find in our schools. The problem here is the knee-jerk actions of some politicians that have undermined the great work we do here and undermined community cohesion across Birmingham and across many of our cities.

"They have put Muslim children from these communities at substantial risk of not being accepted as equal, legitimate and valued members of British society.

"And they have allowed suspicion to be cast on the aspirations of their parents and anyone else who believes that these children deserve the same rights and excellent standards of education as any other child.

"It is important you know that we will now be challenging all these reports through the appropriate legal channels."

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Madeleine McCann: New Search 'Will Be Useful'

By Tom Parmenter, Sky Correspondent, in Praia da Luz

The renewed searches in Praia da Luz will be "useful" in understanding what happened to Madeleine McCann, a former Portuguese attorney general has told Sky News.

Pinto Monteiro, who was in post when Madeleine disappeared in the resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007, explained that he believed the Portuguese and British are working professionally together in the latest phase of the investigation.

"All investigations deemed to discover what happened to Madeleine will be useful - we need to establish some certainty as to what happened," he said.

The site of digs in Praia da Luz

He added that the case was a complex criminal investigation due to "hundreds of false directions, hundreds of false statements … some were well-intentioned and others just malicious".

Specialist teams have spent the past week on new searches.

Monday was a rest day for the detectives and search staff who will move their focus onto a new site on Wednesday. Today is a national holiday in Portugal.

The scrubland they cordoned off for the past week is once again open; most of the holes dug have now been filled back in.

A discarded police bag on scrubland where searches finished at the weekend

A discarded Metropolitan Police evidence bag is one of the few items the teams have left behind.

The detectives have not revealed what intelligence led them to conduct the searches on the land which now seems to have been discounted from their investigation.

Portuguese police sources confirmed to Sky News that the next searches on Wednesday will take place on sites just outside Praia da Luz.

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Rik Mayall: Comedian 'May Have Died After Fit'

Stars Mourn 'Funniest Man Of Generation'

Updated: 8:00am UK, Tuesday 10 June 2014

Comedian Adrian Edmondson has led tributes to his long-time friend and collaborator Rik Mayall, who has died aged 56.

The pair worked together on hit shows such as The Young Ones and Bottom after meeting at Manchester University.

"There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing," said Edmondson. "They were some of the most carefree stupid days I ever had, and I feel privileged to have shared them with him. And now he's died for real. Without me. Selfish b*****d."

Mayall's CV stands alongside anyone in sitcom, rising to fame in the 1980s as Cliff Richard superfan Rick in The Young Ones.

Sir Cliff said: "I became a fan of his when he was in The Young Ones show and was always thrilled when he used my name during his series. I am so sad at his passing."

Shows like Blackadder and The New Statesman contributed to Mayall becoming one of the most recognisable comics of the modern era.

Blackadder writer Ben Elton and co-star Stephen Fry were quick to pay their respects.

"I met Rik when I was 18 and his friendship and extraordinary comic talent have been an inspiration to me ever since," said Elton.

"I owe him so much, he changed my life utterly when he asked me to co-write The Young Ones with him and he was with me on the day I met my wife. He always made me cry with laughter, now he's just made me cry."

Fry added: "Simply distraught to hear of the death of Rik Mayall. An authentic comedy genius and a prince among men."

Comic Bob Mortimer was one of the first to respond to news of Mayall's death.

He wrote on Twitter: "Last time I saw him he grabbed my crotch and said 'Not eaten yet then?' So sad … Funniest man of his generation."

Mortimer was joined by a host of fellow comedians.

"Very sad to hear of the passing of Rik Mayall," said Monty Python star Eric Idle.

"Far too young. A very funny and talented man."

Impressionist Rory Bremner too: "Oh no. Awful news about Rik Mayall - a fireball of creative comic energy and inspiration. Such brilliant raw talent."

Here are some of the other tributes made:

:: DJ Chris Moyles: "RIP Rik Mayall. Thank you for making me laugh a million times. Woof."

:: Actress Helen Lederer: "Rik Mayall, I loved you. Gutted. The man who taught me not to crash laughs, has crashed. Real love to wife, children. Massive loss."

:: DJ Chris Evans: "RIP Rik Mayall. I'm off to hit the gasman with a frying pan. It's the least I can do."

:: Comedian Jack Dee: "So shocked to hear about Rik Mayall. A wonderfully funny icon of British comedy."

:: Satirist Charlie Brooker: "Rik Mayall was just pure wiry, energetic, unpredictable humour poured into the shape of a human. You couldn't not watch him."

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Rolf Harris 'Used Fame To Mesmerise Women'

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter, at Southwark Crown Court

Entertainer Rolf Harris "mesmerised" his victims with his fame and talent before sexually assaulting them, a jury has heard.

Harris, 84, who is facing 12 counts of indecent assault, was described by prosecutor Sasha Wass QC in her closing speech as being a man of "deviant sexual behaviour".

Drawing on his fame as an entertainer for more than 50 years, Ms Wass told the jury of six men and six women his celebrity status was no excuse for his behaviour.

Reminding them of how he had burst into song during his evidence last month, she said: "All men are equal in the eyes of the law, you cannot buy your way out, you cannot bully your way out and you certainly cannot sing your way out of a criminal charge."

She also explained how the police investigation into Harris had "uncovered more and more women" who had been abused in the "seemingly untouchable world of the famous children's entertainer".

Ms Wass said the prosecution had "no doubt" of Harris's guilt, adding the evidence against him was "compelling" and that the victims had "no motive in making it up".

She said: "It has never been acceptable for an older man, in particular one with responsibility over children, to abuse them.

"They suffered a dreadful set of experiences at the hands of Rolf Harris and neither fame, age, wealth or talent provide any excuse for this behaviour."

Ms Wass said Harris was "arrogant, brazen and didn't believe he would be challenged" as he carried out the alleged assaults over a period of almost 20 years.

She said: "There is a strikingly similar pattern of deviant behaviour. How he treats women of all ages as objects for him to abuse and take advantage of when trapped and they could not get away."

Earlier she had described his technique of molesting women by saying: "Mr Harris started with a bear hug and then rapidly moved his hands over their bodies. They were trapped and then the sexual assaults very suddenly and very swiftly took place."

She dismissed Harris's defence as a "smoke screen and a red herring" also labelling it as "spurious" - in particular his claims that a make up artist could not have been groped by him because he is allergic to face powder.

Ms Wass said: "The accounts they (victims) give paint a picture like Rolf Harris pictures, each stroke is vague or unclear but put together you can identify what happens."

She also compared him to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, reminded the jury that Harris had admitted "being good at concealing his dark side".

Referring to the main victim, the best friend of his daughter Bindi, Ms Wass said "there was no place in which she felt safe, not even her own home".

Ms Wass said that Harris used the victim even in her late twenties for his "own sexual gratification, like she was a blow up doll" as she had been "dehumanised" by him.

Harris, dressed in a blue pinstriped suit and tie, listened to proceedings via a hearing loop as his wife Alwyn and daughter looked on from the public gallery.

He denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four girls and women aged between seven or eight years old and 19.

The trial continues with the jury expected to retire next week.

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America's Cup: Kate Helps Sir Ben Launch UK Bid

The Duchess of Cambridge has joined Sir Ben Ainslie as he launched Britain's bid to win the America's Cup.

Kate could not conceal her passion for sailing as she eyed the trophy admiringly during the launch this lunchtime.

Sir Ben, a four-time Olympic gold medal winner, will skipper the team that aims to win the historic trophy - something a British team has never done.

Kate, who wore a Jaeger dress, has been a keen sailor since childhood and even raced and comprehensively beat Prince William in Auckland earlier this year.

The Duchess's support for the team will be a long-term committment

Their yachts were used by New Zealand in the America's Cup.

The Duchess's support for the team will be a long-term commitment and will see her "getting out there" to back the challenge, said a Kensington Palace spokeswoman.

Sir Ben was famously employed as a tactician during the last America's Cup race, helping the US Oracle team overturn an 8-1 deficit to beat New Zealand.

The sportsman said he had a burning desire since he was a child to be part of a British America's Cup bid.

Kate has been keen on sailing since childhood

He told Sky News: "The budget for the team is around £80m and that's what we need to have a chance to be successful - to get the right talent, the right designers and to build the boats.

"A proportion of that is through private investors, about 40%, and the other 60% we need to raise commercially.

"We are just starting to go out into the market after launching a team and our initial conversations are really encouraging and we expect to get there."

The Duchess of Cambridge poses with members of Ainslie Racing team

The Olympic sailor added: "We want to bring it home, it would be an amazing thing for this country."

He will skipper the team that aims to triumph in the 35th America's Cup being staged in 2017, with the entry made through the Royal Yacht Squadron.

The club hosted the first race which took place off the Isle of Wight in the mid-19th century.

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'Trojan Horse' Pupils: School Is Too Extreme

Girls attending a school placed in special measures by Ofsted because of concerns over infiltration by Islamic extremists have told Sky News that Park View deserved to face action.

The girls, who did not want to be identified, told Sky's Social Affairs and Education Editor Afua Hirsch: "Our school deserves this ... for the things that it has done."

Their comments come after Ofsted acted to put five Birmingham schools in special measures, a move described by David Hughes, vice-chairman of the Park View Educational Trust as "truly shocking".

The girls said: "Our school is too extreme but not in a terrorist way. They are strict with us and they use religion as an excuse.

"Basically they don't let boys and girls mix and stuff.

"If they see you talking to a boy they will call your parents or come to your house, which they did to a lot of people."

The girls said that the truth was often embellished and added to when parents were approached.

The school says that boys and girls are not stopped from sitting together but the girls said "that's not true".

"Before, we couldn't sit next to boys and if we did we would get moved. Now we don't even dare sit next to boys because of the consequences."

They said that pupils were afraid to speak out about what had been happening at the school.

The girls said that they weren't taught about other religions, although the view from two male pupils was somewhat different.

Kasim Shah and Sadak Ali said they believed everyone has open choice and that they were taught about other religions.

They said the school had a "small proportion" of non-Muslim pupils who mixed well.

"Everyone is treated equally. No one is forced to pray. No one is forced to do anything. Its an open school," said Sadak.

"I'm a 'beat boxer'," he added. "I get involved in music even though it is not encouraged in my religion but I want to do it.

"The school don't force you to do things you don't want to do. It's your choice."

Sadak said the school would probably change, adding: "At the moment I enjoy school life."

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Scottish Independence 'A Leap Into The Unknown'

Backing Scottish independence would be a vote for "a leap into the unknown to a very uncertain destination", MP Alistair Darling has warned.

The leader of the Better Together campaign, which has rebranded itself as the No Thanks campaign, urged campaigners fighting to keep Scotland in the UK to match the emotion of the nationalist case for independence.

"Together in the days ahead we must, and we will, meet and match them in emotion as surely we have mastered them on the evidence," said Mr Darling at a pro-Union rally in Glasgow.

The Labour MP and former Chancellor of the Exchequer also stressed with 100 days to go until the referendum on September 18 "the terms of trade have changed" with Holyrood in line for "substantially enhanced powers".

He pointed out all three parties - the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems - have signed up to giving more powers to the Scottish Parliament in the event of a 'No' vote.

The MP for Edinburgh South West said he wanted to use the next three months to "plan for Scotland's positive, possibility-rich future" which was "a vision that the overwhelming majority of us want".

Asked by Sky's Political Editor, Adam Boulton, if the rebranding of the No campaign stemmed from a lack of confidence in whether keeping the status quo would be better for Scotland, Mr Darling replied: "No. We believe that Scotland is better and stronger together as part of the UK.

"What we are saying is no thanks to the risks and costs that come from separation. In Scotland we can have the best of both worlds with a Scottish parliament with more powers, but at the same time have the opportunities and the security that comes with being a part of the UK," he told Sky News.

Asked whether it was a mistake - as his former boss Gordon Brown has said it was - to use Lego figures to try and tell the Scottish people that if they voted 'No' they could have more fish suppers, Mr Darling said: "There are lots of different ways of campaigning, some work better than others... I never actually saw it myself.

"The bigger picture is: what is in Scotland's best interests? Are we better staying part of the UK with the strength that comes with that, or should we take a leap into the unknown to a very uncertain destination?

"I think the majority of people in Scotland - and all the evidence suggests this - are not persuaded of the nationalist case, they are running out of arguments and running out of time in which to make them."

Leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, insisted the Yes campaign was within "touching distance" of winning the referendum.

MSP Fiona Hyslop says Scotland has 'every opportunity' to be independent

He told Sky News: "This is the first time that people in Scotland have had a democratic opportunity to vote themselves into independence.

"It is an opportunity not just of a lifetime, it is an opportunity of the centuries, and I believe in my heart that people will grasp that opportunity."

The SNP's Fiona Hyslop, the Scottish secretary for culture and external affairs, added: "We have got every opportunity to be a normal, independent country.

"In terms of our resources we have both wealth and talent, more income per head than Japan, France and the rest of the UK."

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Ex-Tesco Boss Leahy 'Disappointed' At Decline

The former boss of Tesco has told Sky News he is "very disappointed" with the performance of Britain's biggest retailer.

Speaking to Ian King Live, Sir Terry Leahy said: "As a shareholder I am very disappointed. I know the business will be disappointed and the board will be keen to take whatever action is necessary in order to improve the situation.

"Tesco is a great business. And it's a great employer and we need to see it back with confidence and growing again."

The supermarket chain has reported a 3.8% decline in UK like-for-like sales, excluding fuel and VAT, for the 13 weeks to May 24.

Tesco's current CEO, Philip Clarke, took charge of the business in March 2011.

He admitted last week this was Tesco's worst quarterly sales performance in his four decades with the business.

Mr Clarke insists that he does have the right strategy and that more price cuts are planned.

Shares have fallen substantially since the start of the year and its market share are in decline.

Tesco has more than 3,000 UK shops and employing more than 300,000 people, with annual sales of £48.2bn domestically and £70.9bn globally.

But it has struggled with the rise of cut-price rivals at one end of the market and premium providers at the higher end.

:: See the full interview with Sir Terry Leahy - including details of the Festival of Business - on Ian King Live at 6.30pm tonight.  

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'Failures Were Made' At Birmingham Schools

Education Secretary Michael Gove says the Government will consult on new rules to require schools to "actively promote British values".

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Gove told MPs the findings of inspections by Ofsted into 21 Birmingham schools needed a "robust but considered response".

He acknowledged that there had been "a failure in the past" to address concerns about extremism, adding that the school inspection regime should be strengthened.

"There are questions for Birmingham Council, Ofsted and the Department of Education. I am also concerned that the DofE may not have acted when it should," he said.

"We all must acknowledge that there has been a failure in the past ... But no government has done more to attack extremism than this government."

He added: "We will put the promotion of British values at the heart of what every school has to deliver for children."

Mr Gove's comments come after Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said schools in Birmingham were being run under a "culture of fear and intimidation".

Park View Academy has gone from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'

He said successful head teachers had been forced out of their posts or "marginalised", leaving a "vacuum" leading to "a collapse in morals and a rapid decline".

The "steep and sudden decline" meant schools which were recently judged outstanding by inspectors were now found inadequate, he said.

In addition governors were exerting "far more influence on the day to day running of these schools than is either appropriate or acceptable".

Ofsted inspected 21 schools across Birmingham after allegations of an attempted takeover of the city's schools by Islamist extremists. Five have now been placed in special measures as a result.

Sir Michael said: "Some of our findings are deeply worrying and in some ways quite shocking, while a number of these schools are doing well and providing their children with a good, well-rounded education, there are others that give cause for grave concern.

"In the most serious cases, a culture of fear and intimidation has taken grip since the schools were last inspected. We found evidence that some head teachers, including those with a proud record of raising standards, have been marginalised or forced out of their jobs.

"This has left a vacuum in which schools previously rated good or outstanding have suffered enormous staff turbulence, a collapse in morale and a rapid decline in their overall effectiveness."

Golden Hillock has also been placed in special measures

He said that a number of head teachers had "reported that there's been an organised campaign to target certain schools in Birmingham in order to impose a narrow faith-based ideology and alter the schools character and ethos."

Inspectors found schools were not taking seriously enough their duty to protect children from extremism and radicalisation. One school had even invited a speaker known for their extremist views to give a talk.

Teachers reported  they were being treated unfairly because of their sex or religion and that boys and girls were not treated equally.

Sir Michael also placed significant levels of blame at the door of Birmingham City Council saying it had reacted too slowly.

He said: "Our evidence points to a serious failure on the part of Birmingham City Council, a failure to support schools in their efforts to keep pupils safe from the risk of extremism."

He has made a number of recommendations including better training for governors, better vetting of governors and a register of interests.

Schools will also be issued with guidance on what a broad and balanced curriculum should be.

David Hughes says inspections were carried out in a 'climate of suspicion'

Sir Michael's recommendations could raise big questions for Mr Gove's Free and Academy schools project, which gives schools more freedom over what they teach.

Speaking in the House of Commons after the publication of the reports the Home Secretary Theresa May said: "We need to do everything we can to protect children from extremism."

The vice chairman of the Park View Education Trust, which runs three of the schools put in special measures - Park View Academy, Golden Hillock and Nansen primary - has hit back saying the schools do not "promote extremism".

David Hughes said: "Ofsted inspectors came to our schools looking for extremism, looking for segregation, looking for proof that our children have religion forced upon them as part of an Islamic plot."

He said they would be mounting a legal challenge against Ofsted's findings.

The other two schools placed in special measures were Saltley and Oldknow.

David Cameron has ordered Education Secretary Michael Gove to carry out  "dawn raids" on the schools, which have been accused of covering up evidence of infiltration.

It comes after a row erupted between Mr Gove and Mrs May after the Education Secretary said the Home Office had failed to properly deal with extremism.

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