Beheading Devastates Aid Worker's Home Town

By Nick Martin, North of England Correspondent, in Eccles 

News of the murder of Alan Henning has shocked those who live in his home town of Eccles in Greater Manchester.

The 47-year-old worked as a taxi driver here before deciding to join an aid convoy to Syria last Christmas.

Vigils had been held for Mr Henning in churches, mosques and community centres over the past two weeks.

The Rt Rev David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, said the "brutality" of the Islamic State would unite the community.

Alan Henning worked as a tax driver before joining an aid convoy to Syria

"In his life Alan Henning united people across the boundaries of nationality and faith.

"He did so both through his humanitarian actions and by the love that drove him on.

Video: Shock At Murder Of Alan Henning

"That his tragic death continues to unite people across Britain and beyond is demonstrated today by the range of people and organisations paying him tribute.

"To ISIS we say 'You no longer have the power to shock us, now you just sicken us.

"Your brutality, against any who don't share your narrow, perverted world view, doesn't undermine our determination, it stiffens our resolve.

Video: PM Pledges 'All Assets' Against IS

"Your destiny is not to be a force in human history, merely one of its sad footnotes'."

Orlando Napolitano, 68, who runs a cafe in Salford, where Mr Henning was a regular has spoken of his shock at his friend's murder.

"He was just a nice guy. I will never forget him," he told Sky News.

Video: UK Muslims 'Disgusted'

Local Pastor Bill Green, from the Gateway Community Church, had led some of the vigils.

He told Sky News: "Eccles is waking up to horrific news. People will be devastated. It's a close-knit community especially where Alan and his family live and I'd like to send my sympathies to Barbara and family at this time.

"The people of this town never lost hope we always thought there was a chance that he might come back and we came together and prayed that would happen. It hasn't happened."

Video: Al Qaeda Could Not Free Henning

Yellow ribbons adorned lamposts and railings across the town in a symbol of hope for Mr Henning.

Just days ago his wife Barbara made an emotional plea to the Islamic State for her husband's safe return.

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

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Muslims Say Beheadings Are An Insult To Islam

Muslims have condemned the murder of aid worker Alan Henning, branding it a "cowardly and criminal act".

In a strongly worded statement, the Muslims of the North Of England said Mr Henning had been a "local and national hero" and called for justice to be carried out on his killers.

Muslim leaders said the beheading of Mr Henning had been carried out on the eve of the "great day of mercy" (Eid Al-Adha) in the Islamic calendar, which set the terrorists apart from ordinary Muslims.

Alan Henning's widow, Barbara

And they condemned the way in which the jihadists had toyed with the family's emotions.

"The killing of Alan Henning was a cowardly and criminal act of appalling brutality by a group who do not represent Islam at all and in fact are an insult to the Islamic faith," they said in a statement.

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

"The killing of Alan Henning marks the beginning of the end of this group. We now call for justice to be carried out on the killers of Alan Henning."

Speaking to Sky News, Naved Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of Britain, said there were "very clear distinctions" between the jihadists and ordinary Muslims.

He said that what had sickened people most was the "way in which they were toying with the family. Giving them a glimmer of hope".

Video: Latest Analysis: Sky's Joey Jones

Mr Siddiqi said Muslim leaders were still trying to understand why young Muslims were travelling out to Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State fighters.

He said he thought a great number were expecting to find "some sort of utopia" and only by questioning them on their return could the Muslim community understand why those born and brought up in Britain were seeking to join the terrorists.

Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "This reported murder is a despicable and offensive act, coming as it does on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha.

Video: Eccles Pastor: 'It's Gut-wrenching'

"It is quite clear that the murderers of Alan Henning have no regard for Islam, or for the Muslims around the world who pleaded for his life.

"Alan was a friend of Muslims, and he will be mourned by Muslims.

"In this period of Hajj and this festival of Eid, Muslims remember the mercy of God and the emphasis God places on human life.

Video: Alan Henning Beheaded In IS Video

"Alan Henning's murderers have clearly gone against that spirit of Islam. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family."

Sara Khan of Inspire, an anti-extremist campaign group of British Muslim women, said: "The only thing that the killing of Alan has achieved is greater revulsion for ISIS and the fact that more people from across our world, within our communities, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are united in their stance against their barbarity and inhumanity."

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Alan Henning's Family 'Numb With Grief'

The family of Alan Henning have paid tribute to a "decent, caring human being" after he was murdered by Islamic State (IS), saying they are "devastated" after his killing.

In a statement they thanked those who campaigned for his release, saying they had comfort "knowing how many people stood beside us in hoping for the best".

"There are few words to describe how we feel at this moment. Myself, Lucy and Adam, and all of Alan's family and friends are numb with grief," the statement said.

Support from the Government, Foreign Office and Greater Manchester Police "meant that we were able to get through the most awful of times", the family said.

The statement went on to add: "His interest was in the welfare of others.

Video: Shock At Murder Of Alan Henning

"He will be remembered for this and we as a family are extremely proud of him and what he achieved and the people he helped."

David Cameron earlier vowed to do "everything we can" to "hunt down" Mr Henning's killers.

Mr Cameron has been meeting with officials from the Foreign Office, intelligence agencies and the military at Chequers, his official country residence.

Video: Al Qaeda Could Not Free Henning

The PM said: "We will use all the assets we have as we have been up to now to try and find these hostages, to try and help these hostages, to help their families and do everything we can to defeat this organisation which is utterly ruthless, senseless and barbaric in the way it treats people."

Mr Cameron also paid tribute to Mr Henning, the second Briton to be beheaded by IS, for his "kindness, peacefulness and gentleness".

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We will do everything we can to support the efforts of the Government to bring those guilty of this terrible act to justice."

Video: Eccles Pastor: 'It's Gut-wrenching'

A video lasting one minute and 11 seconds and titled Another Message To America And Its Allies, was posted on YouTube on Friday.

It shows Mr Henning, a taxi-driver who was captured on an aid mission in Syria in December 2013, kneeling in front of a knife-wielding militant in a desert setting before being beheaded in front of the camera.

Mr Henning, who is dressed in red, says: "I am Alan Henning. Because of our Parliament's decision to attack the Islamic State, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision."

Video: Terry Waite: Beheading 'Tragic'

The masked killer, who speaks with a British accent and is believed to be the man responsible for previous beheadings, makes a direct statement to Mr Cameron: "The blood of David Haines was on your hands, Cameron. Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British Parliament."

Last week MPs voted to join the US-led coalition and take part in airstrikes against IS fighters in Iraq.

At the end of the video another hostage, a former US soldier turned charity worker believed to be Peter Edward Kassig, is paraded in front of the cameras. The militant in the video says Mr Kassig will be the next victim.

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

The UK Muslim community condemned Mr Henning's murder, which came on the eve of the Islamic festival Eid Al-Adha.

Leaders said it was a "cowardly and criminal act" and called for action to be taken to bring the terrorists to justice.

:: Full coverage now on Sky News – watch Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

Video: UK Muslims 'Disgusted'

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Man Stabbed 15 Times By Stone-Throwing Gang

A man was stabbed 15 times in the body and head after chasing a gang of youths throwing stones at his house.

Police are treating the attack on the 22-year-old in Bury, Greater Manchester, as attempted murder.

The victim is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The assault happened after a group started to throw stones at the window outside a house on Kingfisher Drive, at around 1.30am on Saturday, 4 October.

The man walked outside and asked them to stop before he was hit with a stick.

He went back inside but stones continued to be thrown, and he returned to remonstrate with them before giving chase.

When they reached a footpath at the back of Kingfisher Drive, the group turned on him and he was stabbed multiple times.

His attackers ran off before police were called.

Four teenagers - two 15-year-olds, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old - have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remain in police custody for questioning.

Detective Sergeant Lawrence Dixon said: "When the man confronted the group and gave chase, he was set upon and stabbed numerous times.

"His injuries are serious and he is lucky to be alive.

"Due to the severity of this attack, we are treating it as attempted murder and I would appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact us.

"Although we have made arrests, we are still investigating and asking for information.

"Obviously the local community will be deeply upset by what has happened but we have stepped up patrols in the area and are dedicated to finding out who is responsible."

Anyone with information should phone police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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Six-Month-Old Baby Mauled To Death By Dog

A baby girl has died and a relative has been injured in a dog attack at a home in Northamptonshire.

Police said they were called to an address in Daventry at around 10.30pm on Friday night after receiving reports that the baby, who was in the care of a relative, was being attacked.

Paramedics from East Midlands Ambulance Service attempted to resuscitate the six-month-old baby girl, but were unsuccessful.

She was taken to Northampton General Hospital where she was confirmed dead.

A relative in the home was injured in the attack, sustaining multiple bite wounds as she attempted to intervene to save the little girl.

Northamptonshire Police have not yet confirmed the breed of the dog, which was destroyed at the scene.

They say tests will be carried out by experts early next week to determine the breed.

Detective Sergeant Gary Baker, who is leading the investigation, said: "This was a deeply distressing and tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family who have been left devastated by the events of last night.

"Incidents such as these are extremely rare in this country, but that will be of little comfort to the relatives of this tragically young victim.

"The family have requested that they be left to grieve at this difficult time."

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Bogus Bomb Detector Scam Pair Sentenced

A husband has been jailed and his wife given a suspended prison sentence for creating and selling bogus bomb detectors by making "fantastical" claims about what the gadgets could locate.

Sam Tree was jailed for three-and-a-half years, while his wife Joan, 62, was handed a two-year prison sentence and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work in the community for her role in the scam which earned them about £2m.

An example of the fake bomb detectors which were sold by Sam and Joan Tree

The 68-year-old claimed the dud devices - of which he made some 1,500 in his garden shed in Dunstable, Bedfordshire - could track down explosives, drugs and people - including missing Madeleine McCann.

Detectives heralded the sentencing as the "concluding act in a highly complex, extensive and significant investigation".

The pair were associated with three other British con artists convicted of making fake detectors.

It is believed the criminals made around £80m from the scam.

Gary Bolton, of Chatham, Kent, was jailed last August for seven years, James McCormick, of Langport, Somerset, for 10 years last May and Anthony Williamson, of Gosport, Hampshire, was also convicted last May.

They were sold around the world including in Iraq, Lebanon and Mexico

Detective Constable Joanne Law, of City of London Police, described the device - known as the Alpha 6 -  as an empty hand-held, plastic, rectangular unit with a free-swinging aerial on the front which had a card inside marked with the explosive, substance or person it was designed to locate.

She told Sky News: "We received information some years ago that these hand-held devices were being sold internationally, predominantly in Iraq.

"We were able to secure one of the devices and test it. We quickly realised that these devices were not capable of finding explosives.

"We found a handle which had a picture of Madeleine McCann inside of it, and they claimed they used that to try and locate Madeleine.

Gary Bolton (Top) and James McCormick were convicted of the scam last year

"They said the picture was enough to excite neutrons and ions within the device to make the antenna work. They also claimed static electricity generated by your body when you walk was enough to power the device. There are no batteries in it - no electrical equipment at all."

The officer said the detectors and the so-called science behind them were examined by experts who concluded "it's absolute rubbish, none of it is true".

She added: "They decided people's lives were not worth considering, above their own greed."

The Trees were found guilty at the Old Bailey in August of making an article for use in a fraud between January 2007 and July 2012.

Passing sentence at London's Kingston Crown Court on Friday, Judge Richard Marks QC told the couple: "The aerial would point to the vicinity or direction of the objects or person being looked at.

"One only has to look at the facts to see this as a bizarre and fantastic proposition as to be almost akin to something out of Alice in Wonderland."

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Anni Dewani Sister 'Haunted' By Lost Opportunity

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

The parents of murdered bride Anni Dewani say they hope to hear the truth from her husband Shrien at his murder trial next week.

They insist their long fight for justice has left them unable to grieve for their daughter who was kidnapped and shot dead on her honeymoon in South Africa four years ago.

Shrien Dewani, 34, is accused of hiring a hitman to murder his new bride.

The Bristol businessman denies faking the carjacking of their taxi and fleeing before Anni Dewani, 28, was driven off to her death.

Her father, Vinod Hindocha, 65, told Sky News: "We really hope we get to know what happened to Anni. That's all we are asking for.

"Shrien, tell us the truth, tell us what's happened. You were there.

Video: Anni Dewani's Bedroom Now A Shrine

"Anni had no right to die the way she did. This is not acceptable, the way she left us."

This week the Hindocha family were packing their suitcases at their home in Mariestad, Sweden, for the 6,000-mile journey to Cape Town, where the trial is due to start on Monday.

Anni's mother, Nilam, 62, said: "I hope we get justice. And I would love to hear what Shrien has to say.

Video: Sister's Shock Over Anni's Death

"They say time will heal the wounds, but they get deeper and deeper. Let's hope we get justice and we can move ahead with our lives."

Shrien Dewani was extradited to South Africa in April after fighting extradition for three years.

He had claimed he was mentally unfit to stand trial, but psychiatrists eventually agreed he was well enough to be treated in a Cape Town clinic, where more doctors said he was ready for the court case.

Video: 'I Told Anni It Was Wedding Stress'

Dewani denies murder, arguing that he loved his wife and had no motive to have her killed.

The prosecution is expected to suggest he is gay and wanted to escape his marriage.

Anni's elder sister, Ami Denborg, 37, revealed: "Three weeks before the wedding Anni actually threw the ring back at Shrien.

Video: Sky's Martin Brunt On Dewani Case

"She called me and said a lot of things, like it wasn't working well.

"I thought she was just stressed out and told her she would get over it.

"Looking back, I should have told her to break it off. If I had, maybe she would be alive today. It still haunts me."

Three local men have already been jailed for Anni's murder.

One of them, taxi driver Zola Tongo, told police Dewani offered him £1,300 to arrange for her to be killed.

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Gerry McCann Says Make Example Of Web Trolls

Madeleine McCann's father has called for tougher action against web trolls after Sky News exposed a woman who abused his family online.

Gerry McCann said online abuse had caused "severe distress" to him and his wife Kate and that police should be more willing to prosecute the perpetrators.

He was speaking after Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt revealed in a special report that Scotland Yard is investigating a dossier of social media abuse targeting the McCanns - whose three-year-old daughter went missing on a family holiday in 2007.

When confronted over her actions, one of the trolls, who used the name "Sweepyface" online, told Sky News she believed she was "entitled" to attack the couple on Twitter.

Mr McCann said he had not read the Sweepyface tweets, but he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Clearly something needs to be done about the abuse on the internet. I think we probably need more people to be charged.

Video: Sky News Confronts McCann 'Troll'

"We do not have any significant presence on social media or online and I've got grave concerns about our children as they grow up and start to access the internet in an unsupervised capacity.

"People are threatening to kidnap our children, people are threatening violence against Kate and myself."

He said police should be more willing to charge internet trolls.

Video: Some Material 'Really Disturbing'

"I'm glad to see the law around this area has been reviewed. We need to make examples of people who are causing damage," he said.

"It causes us severe distress. There is so much vile nonsense written on the internet."

Mr McCann also branded the Sunday Times "disgraceful" after winning a £55,000 libel payout over a story which claimed the couple had deliberately hindered the search for Madeleine, who vanished in Praia da Luz.

Video: McCanns Abused On Social Media

He said the story showed there had been no change in the newspaper industry as a result of the Leveson Inquiry.

"This damaged us, it damaged the reputation of the fund and it quite potentially can damage the search for Madeleine," he said. 

Video: Special Report: McCann Trolls

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Top Gear Team Driven Out Of Argentina

The BBC has dismissed accusations that Top Gear deliberately chose a car with a number plate appearing to refer to the Falklands War to cause controversy while filming in Argentina.

The programme's cast and crew are flying out of the country after facing protests from politicians and army veterans.

Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond were reportedly among those who had to abandon their cars at the roadside and flee after being pelted with stones by an angry crowd.

The team used a Porsche with the registration number H982 FKL, which some people suggested could be seen to refer to the conflict which took place in 1982.

A group of war veterans protested outside their hotel and one local politician said they were escorted to the airport.

Video: May 3: Clarkson On Final Warning

Juan Manuel Romano, secretary of social development for Ushuaia in southern Tierra del Fuego province, said: "They have taken the decision to leave."

The BBC confirmed they were leaving the country, although show bosses have said the number plate was merely a coincidence.

The programme has already run into problems this year, with one episode found to be in breach of Ofcom's broadcasting code for the use of a racially offensive term during a two-part special filmed in Burma, following a complaint from a couple of viewers.

And Clarkson apologised after unbroadcast footage emerged in which he appeared to use the N-word, although he denied actually saying it.

The team from the show are in South America filming a special on a remote highway passing through Chile and Argentina.

Executive producer Andy Wilman said: "Top Gear production purchased three cars for a forthcoming programme; to suggest that this car was either chosen for its number plate, or that an alternative number plate was substituted for the original is completely untrue."

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Hostage John Cantlie's Father Pleads With IS

The father of a Briton being held by Islamic State militants has tried to contact the group in an appeal for the freedom of his son, who he describes as a "good man".

Speaking from his hospital bed, Paul Cantlie said he could not think of a "greater joy than seeing my dear son released and allowed to return home to us".

"My family and I are trying to communicate with the Islamic State to deliver an important message regarding John and can only hope that it has been received as we have had no response," he said.

"To those holding John: please know that he is a good man, he sought only to help the Syrian people and I ask you from all that is sacred, to help us and allow him to return home safely to those he loves and who love him."

Islamic State has taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq

Footage of the journalist, dressed in orange and sitting behind a desk as he spoke to the camera, was released by his captors last month.

In the video - the first of a series - he said he wanted "to convey some facts" which "if you contemplate might help preserving lives".

Video: Barbara Henning's Desperate IS Plea

Mr Cantlie said the Western media "tries to drag the public back ... to another war" with IS.

His father said the video released by IS was the first time in almost two years the family had seen him.

"As a family we experienced great relief seeing and hearing John and knowing that he is alive. This was followed by the feeling of despair and helplessness," he said.

The 43-year-old was seized in northern Syria in 2012, where he had been working as an independent photojournalist.

His father said he was "seeking out the true story of the suffering of the Syrian people and ensuring the world was made aware of their plight".

"John felt a strong need to help in the best way that he could: as an impartial and respected journalist he knew that he could make a difference by acting as a platform for the world to listen to and take notice, using his journalistic skills for the good of the people; as a friend and as a civilian," he said.

"I have had many messages saying they cannot conceive what we, his family and all those who love him, must be feeling.

"Speaking entirely for myself, this is not how I had imagined I would be passing my 81st year.

"I want John to know how very proud I am of him. I can think of no greater joy than seeing my dear son released and allowed to return home to us."

The insurgent group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq, has previously killed three western hostages - Briton David Haines and Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

It has also threatened the life of UK aid convoy volunteer Alan Henning.

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Photographers Told To Leave Prince George Alone

Lawyers for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have written to two photographers to stop them following Prince George.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson told Sky News that the photographers had been told their activities were "tantamount to harassment".

The legal warning followed reports that at least one photographer had tried to photograph George while he was out with his nanny in Battersea Park.

A spokesman for the royal parents said: "The Duke and Duchess have taken legal steps to ask that an individual ceases harassing and following both Prince George and his nanny as they go about their ordinary daily lives.

"An incident last week has prompted their royal highnesses to seek reasonable assurances from the individual about his behaviour.

George stole the show on a tour of Australia and New Zealand

"The individual was spotted at a central London park in the vicinity of Prince George, who was removed from the park immediately.

"There is reason to suspect that the individual may have been placing Prince George under surveillance and monitoring his daily routines for a period of time.

Video: Prince George: His First Year

"The Duke and Duchess understand the particular public role that Prince George will one day inherit, but, while he is young, he must be permitted to lead as ordinary a life as possible.

"No parent would tolerate the suspicion of someone pursuing and harassing their child and carer whilst their child is playing in a public park or going about their daily activities."

The Evening Standard reported there was also been an episode when police told a photographer to move on when he was seen waiting outside Buckingham Palace, where Prince George is sometimes taken for a swim in the palace pool.

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1. Gallery: Prince George Pictured Walking

   Prince George was photographed at Cirencester Park Polo Club

2. Princes William and Harry were lining up on opposing sides as they competed for the Jerudong Trophy on Sunday

3. The princes ride side by side during the match

4. George, third in line to the throne, went on to celebrate his first birthday on Tuesday, July 22

5. Clarence House described the event as an "impromptu family day out"

6. Tiring work: George soon returned to his mother's arms

7. But it wasn't all smiles for the young prince

8. George was also spotted playing football at the event, perhaps getting into the World Cup spirit

An "unofficial" picture of the prince could command thousands of pounds for the photographer, if newspapers were prepared to publish it.

It is not the first time the royal couple, who are expecting their second child, have complained about intrusions on the family's privacy.

French magazine Closer printed topless images of the duchess while she was sunbathing on a private holiday with William in September 2012.

Video: 2013: Prince George Born

And earlier this year, German tabliod published a photograph showing Kate's bottom after a gust of wind blew up her dress while the couple were visiting Australia.

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RAF Tornados Take Out IS Truck Using Guided Bomb

RAF Tornados have helped Peshmerga forces destroy an Islamic State armed pick-up truck using a guided bomb in Iraq - as a UN report condemned "gross" human rights abuses by the terror group.

Two war planes provided air support to the Kurdish forces on the ground who were battling IS fighters in the north-west of the country.

The Ministry of Defence said the "successful precision attack" was carried out with a Paveway IV guided bomb overnight.

The strikes came as militants took control of most of the western Iraqi town of Hit in Anbar province.

IS has declared territories it controls in Iraq and Syria a 'caliphate'

"Ninety percent of the town of Hit has been overrun by militants," said Adnan al Fahdawi, a provincial council member.

The United Nations report, based on nearly 500 interviews, found the Islamist militant group had carried out mass executions, abducted women and girls as sex slaves, and used children as fighters.

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1. Gallery: The Moment RAF Jet Attacks IS Truck

   The RAF carried out its first airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq on 1 October, 2014 (All pictures: MoD)

2. Tornados destroyed a heavy weapon position, which was attacking Kurdish forces, and an armed pick-up truck (pictured). The red circle shows the path of the missile fired at the vehicle

3. The strikes were the first since MPs voted to support aerial raids in Iraq last Friday

4. The targets were in the northwest of Iraq

5. The moment the truck, which had a mounted machine gun, was destroyed by a Brimstone missile

6. A plume of smoke rose above the area

7. The strike was successful, according to an initial assessment, said Defence Secretary Michael Fallon

8. The Tornados safely returned to their base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after the sortie

9. Six of the GR4 fighter jets are based on the island in the Mediterranean

10. The aircraft began their combat missions on Saturday

"These include attacks directly targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, executions and other targeted killings of civilians, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence perpetrated against women and children, forced recruitment of children, destruction or desecration of places of religious or cultural significance, wanton destruction and looting of property, and denial of fundamental freedoms," the report said.

It also said the acts of violence over a nine-week period included the systematic targeting of diverse ethnic and religious communities - including Turkmen, Shabak, Christians and Yazidis - aimed at "destroying, suppressing or cleansing them" from areas under IS control.

IS, formerly known as ISIL, has declared the establishment of a "caliphate" - or Islamic state - on the territories it occupies in Iraq and Syria.

"The array of violations and abuses perpetrated by ISIL and associated armed groups is staggering, and many of their acts may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

The report also found airstrikes by Iraqi government forces had caused "significant civilian deaths and injuries".

The UK is supporting Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling Sunni Muslim extremists from IS, which has taken over large parts of Iraq in recent months.

Video: Tornado Returns From Strike Mission

Calls have been growing for strikes against the group's Syrian strongholds too.

However, a vote in Parliament last Friday did not include the authorisation of airstrikes over the country.

Turkey's parliament is currently considering whether to join the international coalition against IS and approve military action in Iraq and Syria - and allow forces to use its territory for possible operations.

"In the struggle against terrorism, we are open and ready for every kind of cooperation. However, Turkey is not a country that will allow itself to be used for temporary solutions," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Meanwhile, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau dismissed Nigerian military claims of his death, and said the group was "running our... Islamic caliphate" in captured towns.

"Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath," he said in a video obtained by the AFP news agency.

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Thai Murders: Man Admits Killing Britons

A Burmese man has confessed to the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand, police have said.

Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds on Sairee beach last month.

Their semi-naked bodies were found on the southern island of Koh Tao, near where they were staying, in the early hours of September 15.

A garden hoe with Miss Witheridge's blood on it was discovered nearby, and investigators have been searching for a blunt metal object used on Mr Miller.

"The investigation has advanced considerably," deputy national police chief Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda said.

Video: David Miller Seen On CCTV

"Three Burmese workers were detained and we took their DNA for testing. During the investigation one of them admitted to killing the two foreigners."

He said the man who had confessed was being detained, but had not been arrested.

"We still have to wait for DNA tests results which we expect to have in 14 hours from now in order to confirm this," he added.

Reports suggested the man had been in detention since September 16 - the day after the killings.

Thursday's development came as the Phuket Gazette reported a Koh Tao taxi driver had accused police of trying to bribe him into giving a false testimony to frame members of a Thai football team whose DNA samples were also collected for tests.

Police had originally said they believed three men were involved in the attack.

On Wednesday, they revealed Miss Witheridge had been raped by her two killers, while a third man watched.

1/6

1. Gallery: Thailand Beach Murders

   The family of Hannah Witheridge in Thailand. Miss Witheridge was killed alongside David Miller on a beach on Koh Tao

2. Police outside the Ware family home on Jersey. Christopher and James Ware, who were childhood friends of Mr Miller, have been questioned in Thailand as part of the investigation

3. The pair suffered "gruesome" injuries, according to police

4. The victims were staying in this hotel

5. Thai police at the scene of the beach attack

Two different semen samples were collected from her body.

Almost three weeks after the deaths police also announced they were offering a reward of more than £13,000 (700,000 baht) in an effort to catch the killers.

Thai authorities have been concerned the killings could lead to a further slump in tourism which has never recovered since the bloody protests on the streets of Bangkok that preceded a military coup in May.

On Tuesday, the country's tourism minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul announced plans to issue tourists with wristbands in the wake of the murders to help identify those who run into trouble.

Party curfews and restrictions on where they can be held are also being considered, as well as the idea of introducing a "buddy system" - pairing tourists with a local minder.

"The next step would be some sort of electronic tracking device, but this has not yet been discussed in detail," said the minister.

However, the Phuket Gazette reported the wristband idea had been dismissed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

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Gang Jailed For Killing Man For Phone

A gang of youths have been jailed for stabbing to death a man with the mental age of nine as they attempted to steal his phone.

Jamal Jones, 17, was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to life with a minimum of 15 years, while three other teenagers also involved in the attempted robbery, were also jailed.

Jones was caught on CCTV stabbing Dean Mayley in the heart after he approached him on the street in Greenford in West London and demanded his mobile phone.

He denied he meant to seriously injure the 24-year-old when he wielded the knife against him.

"It was Jamal Jones who plunged the knife into Dean's heart," Judge Martyn Zeidman QC said.

"But make no mistake, you all have blood on your hands. You each played an important part in this event and you did so knowing that Jamal had a knife and realising that he might stab Dean with it.

"Put bluntly, now Dean is dead and it's your fault."

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'Evil' Trolls In Hate Campaign Against McCanns

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

The Metropolitan Police is investigating a catalogue of vile internet abuse targeting the family of Madeleine McCann including death threats, Sky News can reveal.

Officers are in talks with the Crown Prosecution Service after being handed a dossier of more than 80 pages of Tweets, Facebook posts and messages on online forums aimed at Kate and Gerry McCann.

Over the past few years hundreds of shocking messages have been posted by 'trolls' who believe - despite no evidence - that the McCanns had some involvement in the disappearance of their daughter in Portugal in 2007.

These include suggestions that the McCanns should be tortured and killed and calls for them to "burn in hell".

Some messages are even directed at Madeleine's younger siblings, now aged nine.

Manipulated images involving the McCanns - many of them graphic - are also in wide circulation online.

One troll - who uses the Twitter identity "Sweepyface" and has posted dozens of anti-McCann messages using the #mccann hashtag - was confronted by Sky News.

Video: Some Material 'Really Disturbing'

When asked about her use of social media to attack the couple, she replied: "I'm entitled to."

The dossier - compiled by members of the public alarmed at the online treatment of the McCanns and shown to Sky News - calls on police and MPs to act to crack down on such abuse.

The Met wrote to the campaigners: "In consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and the McCann family the material will now be assessed and decisions made as to what further action if any should be undertaken."

Video: McCanns Abused On Social Media

Among the messages identified in the dossier is an exchange on a message board which reads: "These 2 should burn in hell"; "I will supply the petrol"; "I'll supply the lighter - happily".

Other posts include: "We need some numbers for some assassins on taps", "I hope that the McCanns are living in total misery" and "I want to see them smashed up the back of a bus or trampled by horses".

In one of her tweets "Sweepyface" called for the McCanns to suffer "for the rest of their miserable lives".

Video: Sky News Confronts McCann 'Troll'

Her Twitter account has since been deactivated.

In addition to threats and abuse, several trolls have claimed to live nearby to the McCanns in Leicestershire and reported on their movements.

The campaigner spearheading the appeal - who has asked to remain anonymous - told Sky News: "We're very worried that it's only going to take somebody to act out of some of these discussions, some of the threats that have been made, and we couldn't live with ourselves if that happened and we had done nothing."

Video: Sky's Martin Brunt On McCann Abuse

Author Anthony Summers, whose book Looking for Madeleine was published last month, said: "There is a campaign of hatred against the parents.

"It is venomous and vitriolic, most of it done by cowards. We are taken aback by the extent of the sheer evil behind it all."

Sara Payne has become a campaigner for parents' right to a controlled access to the Sex Offenders Register since her daughter, Sarah, was murdered in 2000.

Video: Sept 7: 'Charity Worker' A Suspect?

Responding to the story of the abuse against the McCanns on Twitter, she wrote: "About time, they are certainly not the only victims but they are the most abused.

"I hope this means this kind of disgusting abuse will finally be stopped."

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Dead Deputy Head Had Images Of Boys Changing

Images from a school changing room have been discovered at the house of a deputy head teacher who was found dead earlier this month.

Essex Police began an investigation on 9 September into allegations that Martin Goldberg, 46, had images of naked teenage boys on his computer and had bought material from abroad.

He was not arrested at the time because police said there was insufficient evidence, but when officers returned to his home in Shoeburyness the next day following concerns for his welfare, his body was found.

Officers continuing their investigation found the photos on a camera hidden inside a bag.

Essex Police said the camera had been used to film male children undressing at Thorpe Hall School, in Southend, in the changing rooms at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre swimming pool and two other unidentified locations.

In total 75 images in the school's male changing rooms, which are classified as indecent, were recovered.

There were a further 465 images from the swimming pool and 38 from the other two locations.

"These are criminal offences of voyeurism under the Sexual Offences Act 2003," a spokesman said.

Specialist detectives have identified four of the children and their parents have been informed.

Officers believe the images date from 2000 onwards and appear to be of boys aged from nine to 12.

Just over 1,000 still and moving images have been recovered from Goldberg's computer, although there was evidence he had tried to delete content.

Police added that they have found no evidence to suggest that Goldberg had any inappropriate physical contact with the children.

The force said Thorpe Hall School has cooperated with their investigation and there is no reason to believe the teacher shared the images with anyone else.

Anne Jones, Southend-on-Sea Council's executive councillor for Children and Learning, said: "We have been working very closely with Essex Police and Thorpe Hall School since this matter was drawn to our attention earlier this month.

"As a parent myself, I can understand how upsetting this must be to all those concerned."

Nick Alston, the county's police and crime commissioner, said there were indications that mistakes may have been made in the case.

He added that the original investigation had been launched after police in Toronto, Canada, contacted Essex Police in November 2013 with information suggesting that Goldberg had bought videos of naked boys several years ago.

As a result of this delay, the case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

At a press conference, Chief Superintendent Luke Collison of Southend Police refused to confirm there was a delay or discuss the issue because of the IPCC's involvement.

Mr Goldberg's death is not being treated as suspicious and the matter has been passed to the coroner.

A statement from the school at the time of his death said: "Mr Goldberg was a fantastic maths teacher who inspired countless young Thorpe Hallians over the last 23 years to strive to do their best and achieve amazing things."

A special number has been set up for anyone with concerns - 0800 056 0944, or +44 207 158 0010 if they are outside of the UK.

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'Radicalised' Schoolgirl Heading For Syria

A British teenage girl has gone missing from home and is feared to be travelling to war-torn Syria, possibly because she has become radicalised.

The 15-year-old, who is yet to be named, is currently in Turkey, and police are urgently trying to find her before she crosses the border.

Although she left for school as normal on the morning of her disappearance last week, the teenager was nowhere to be seen when her father went to pick her up at the end of the day.

She is believed to be with a 17-year-old woman, also of Somali descent, from Lambeth.

"There are indications she may have been radicalised, but at the moment, our priority is to find her before she crosses the border to Syria," said Assistant Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe, of Avon and Somerset Police.

The student, from Bristol, has been described as "incredibly bright, articulate and popular" by her family in a statement.

Ms Rolfe added: "We must all be vigilant and ready to stop the signs of radicalisation. Often, young people who go to Syria can be naïve and don't recognise that they are being sucked into joining extremist groups.

"This is not about criminalising these young people, it's about preventing tragedies."

Cllr Hibaq Jama has issued a message on the family's behalf. It read: "Please come back. We miss you very much. You are not in any trouble. We just want you to be safe and to come home as soon as possible."

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Thai Murders: British Backpacker 'Was Raped'

A British backpacker in Thailand was raped by both her killers before she was murdered, police have said.

They believe three people were involved in the attacks on 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, 24, whose semi-naked bodies were found on a beach on the island of Koh Tao earlier this month.

Lieutenant General Panya Mamen told the Bangkok Post: "Two of the suspects raped and killed Witheridge while another one witnessed the murder.

"We're confident we have a very high chance of finding the suspects."

David Miller, 24, died from drowning and a blow to the head

Two different semen samples were collected from Ms Witheridge's body, he added.

Mr Miller, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds on Sairee beach in the early hours of September 15.

A blood-stained garden hoe, which is thought to be the murder weapon, was discovered nearby.

Officers have collected 200 DNA samples from people on the island - including more than eight Thai footballers - and the results are expected at some point this week.

Almost three weeks after the murders police are no closer to an arrest

The group of Thai footballers, who reportedly threw a late-night party at the nightclub where the victims spent their final hours, are the latest to be questioned by officers investigating the murders.

Almost three weeks after the deaths police are no closer to making an arrest and are offering a reward of more than £13,000 (700,000 baht) in an effort to catch the killers.

The latest development in the probe comes as it emerged tourists in Thailand may be issued with wristbands in the wake of the murders to help identify those who run into trouble.

Party curfews and restrictions on where they can be held are also being considered, as well as the idea of introducing a "buddy system" - pairing tourists with a local minder.

Tourists in Koh Tao where the bodies of two British backpackers were found

Thailand's tourism minister, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, said: "When tourists check in to a hotel they will be given a wristband with a serial number that matches their ID and shows the contact details of the resort they are staying in so that if they're out partying late and, for example, get drunk or lost, they can be easily assisted.

"The next step would be some sort of electronic tracking device, but this has not yet been discussed in detail."

Having consulted hotels over the identity wristband idea, she admitted it had already been met with some resistance.

"Most people welcome the idea but some hotels are concerned that tourists may not want to wear the wristbands," she said.

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British 'Islamic State Recruiter' Arrested

A British man has been arrested in Bangladesh on suspicion of recruiting people to fight alongside Islamic State militants in Syria.

Samiun Rahman, who is from London, arrived in the country in February to find fighters for both IS and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, according to Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective and Criminal Intelligence Division (DCID).

"He has plans to recruit and send a team from Bangladesh to fight in Syria," Commissioner Monirul said.

Islamic State fighters have seized large parts of Iraq and Syria

Rahman, whose parents are from a town northeast of the capital Dhaka, has confessed to trying to recruit fighters for the groups, police said, although it is not clear if his efforts were successful.

He told police he had joined the Nusra Front in Syria last September and fought with the group until December 2013.

Police say Rahman returned to Britain at some point and visited other countries to recruit jihadis before going to Bangladesh to do the same.

Foreigners have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight with IS

IS has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in recent months, and fighting is reportedly continuing around the capital, Baghdad.

An explosion at a makeshift IS hospital has killed at least three fighters in Baquba, Diyala province on Monday, according to Sky sources.

There has also been intense fighting between Kurdish rebels and IS militants close to the Turkish border.

The US has been conducting airstrikes in Iraq since last month in a bid to reverse IS gains, and recently expanded their campaign to neighbouring Syria.

Britain joined the mission last week when MPs approved military action against the Islamists in Iraq.

Although RAF Tornados have flown a number of missions over northern Iraq since then, they have yet to fire any missiles.

Kurdish peshmerga fighters in position in Jalawla

But, a former IS fighter has told Sky News the airstrikes are backfiring, bringing extremist groups closer together.

A key part of the effort against IS are the Kurdish peshmerga battling the group in the north.

A peshmerga commander has also told Sky's Stuart Ramsey that airstrikes alone will not be enough to defeat the group.

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Clegg Summons Chinese Ambassador Over Demos

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has summoned the Chinese ambassador over concerns about the handling of protests in Hong Kong.

Tens of thousands of activists have been demonstrating against China's decision to only allow vetted candidates to run for elections on the island in 2017.

At the weekend police fired tear gas at demonstrators, and Hong Kong's chief executive Leung Chun-Ying has called on protest leaders to "immediately" withdraw their followers from the streets.

Mr Clegg will meet the ambassador later this week to discuss the protests.

More follows...

22.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

British 'Islamic State Recruiter' Arrested

A British man has been arrested in Bangladesh on suspicion of recruiting people to fight alongside Islamic State militants in Syria.

Samiun Rahman, who is from London, arrived in the country in February to find fighters for both IS and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, according to Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective and Criminal Intelligence Division (DCID).

"He has plans to recruit and send a team from Bangladesh to fight in Syria," Commissioner Monirul said.

Islamic State fighters have seized large parts of Iraq and Syria

Rahman, whose parents are from a town northeast of the capital Dhaka, has confessed to trying to recruit fighters for the groups, police said, although it is not clear if his efforts were successful.

He told police he had joined the Nusra Front in Syria last September and fought with the group until December 2013.

Police say Rahman returned to Britain at some point and visited other countries to recruit jihadis before going to Bangladesh to do the same.

Foreigners have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight with IS

IS has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in recent months, and fighting is reportedly continuing around the capital, Baghdad.

An explosion at a makeshift IS hospital has killed at least three fighters in Baquba, Diyala province on Monday, according to Sky sources.

There has also been intense fighting between Kurdish rebels and IS militants close to the Turkish border.

The US has been conducting airstrikes in Iraq since last month in a bid to reverse IS gains, and recently expanded their campaign to neighbouring Syria.

Britain joined the mission last week when MPs approved military action against the Islamists in Iraq.

Although RAF Tornados have flown a number of missions over northern Iraq since then, they have yet to fire any missiles.

Kurdish peshmerga fighters in position in Jalawla

But, a former IS fighter has told Sky News the airstrikes are backfiring, bringing extremist groups closer together.

A key part of the effort against IS are the Kurdish peshmerga battling the group in the north.

A peshmerga commander has also told Sky's Stuart Ramsey that airstrikes alone will not be enough to defeat the group.

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Memorial Service For Stabbed Leeds Teacher

Hundreds of people have gathered for a memorial service in Leeds to remember teacher Ann Maguire.

The 61-year-old was stabbed while teaching a Spanish lesson at Corpus Christi Catholic College in April.

The mother-of-two had taught at the school for more than 40 years. She was due to retire this month.

Mrs Maguire died from multiple stab wounds following an attack in April

The memorial service at Leeds Town Hall was led by Reverend Monsignor John Wilson, of the Catholic Diocese of Leeds.

Organisers said beforehand the event would be "a celebration of Mrs Maguire's life in song, on screen and through words".

Members of the public were invited to join Mrs Maguire's family, colleagues and pupils at the memorial.

Mourners gather for the funeral of Mrs Maguire in May

Those attending the service, as well as schools across Leeds, also took part in a minute's silence at about 12.30pm.

Some 300 people attended Mrs Maguire's funeral mass in May. A long line of flowers and tributes were also laid outside the school.

Flowers laid outside Corpus Christi Catholic College in April

The Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund has been established to provide bursaries and funding for young people through music, drama, language and dance.

Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/ann-maguire.

A 15-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with Mrs Maguire's murder. He is remanded in custody and will appear in court again in November.

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Placenta And Umbilical Cord Found At Cemetery

A new mother has been urged by police to come forward with her baby after a human placenta and umbilical cord were discovered at a cemetery.

A worker at Preston Cemetery made the discovery shortly before 9.30am on Friday.

Tests confirmed the remains are human and police say there are traces of both female and male DNA, possibly from the mother and a baby boy.

Further examinations will take place to try and narrow down the identity of the mother.

Chief Inspector Geoff Hurst, from Lancashire Constabulary, said: "This is a significant inquiry and we are working extremely hard to try and establish exactly what has happened.

"Our inquiries are focusing on the basis that someone has given birth here or elsewhere and that there is a woman and young baby out there who will be in need of urgent medical and emotional support and it is vital that they contact us.

"We are carrying out a number of inquiries to try and identify the remains and we are talking to healthcare professionals to see if they have any knowledge or information which could help us

"We are not here to judge. This is about finding whoever has left these remains here and make sure they are safe.

"I can't stress how important it is for people to come forward with information. We may have an extremely vulnerable woman out there who is in desperate need of help and support."

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting log number 0287 of September 26.

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Alice Gross: Police Search National Trust Park

Police trying to trace schoolgirl Alice Gross are carrying out searches in Osterley Park - a National Trust Georgian country house and estate in the western suburbs of London.

The move is an extension of the ongoing search operation and follows the dredging of a canal close to where she disappeared a month ago.

More than 300 officers are involved in the massive hunt for the 14-year-old, who failed to return to her home in Hanwell, west London, on August 28.

A map showing Alice Gross's last-known movements

She was last seen on CCTV walking along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal towards Hanwell at 4.26pm.

A stretch of canal was searched in the hope of finding possessions such as her iPhone - but no new leads were discovered.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "That search was conducted as part of the wider search and nothing of significance was found. Searches are ongoing."

Officers from more than a dozen forces are now involved in the hunt, while the RAF has been drafted in to help identify new search areas.

Runners in a half-marathon in Ealing wore yellow ribbons

Runners taking part in a half-marathon in Ealing on Sunday wore yellow ribbons to raise awareness of Alice's disappearance.

Ribbons were also tied to trees and fences along the route, close to where Alice was last seen.

Her mother, Rosalind Hodgkiss, said: "Every morning, as Alice's disappearance grows longer and longer, brings new agony, new anguish."

On Saturday, officers revealed that footage from 300 CCTV cameras within a six-square-mile radius was now being analysed.

A reconstruction of the teen's last-known movements prompted 150 calls

Police received 150 phone calls after staging a reconstruction of the teenager's last-known movements.

Convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, the prime suspect in her disappearance, who has also vanished, was filmed cycling the same route behind the teenager.

But police stress the Latvian, who was also accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, is just "one line of enquiry".

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered to anyone who has information that leads police to find Alice.

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RAF Airstrikes Wait As Intelligence Is Key

As I write this, RAF Tornados have completed four armed missions over northern Iraq and are currently engaged in a fifth.

They have managed more than 12 hours of flying time in the theatre of operations since Friday's Parliamentary vote, hunting for Islamic State (IS) convoys, hideouts and strongholds. 

And yet, the Tornados haven't dropped a single bomb or fired a single missile. Should we be surprised? Not necessarily.

Privately I know military chiefs and senior politicians are slightly dismayed that the British haven't managed their first strikes on IS, but they acknowledge that it proves their pre-emptive warning that this will be a slow conflict with much patience required.

"Intelligence, intelligence, intelligence," is how analyst put it to me this morning. "That is the key to this battle, intelligence."

He is spot on.

The UK has its Rivet Joint aircraft flying out of Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar. It vacuums up communications data from 30-odd thousand feet. Telephone conversations, email traffic, text messages.

Tornado GR4 aircrew have completed four missions over Iraq. Pic MoD

The US has at least eight drones monitoring patterns of life. These can stay up in the air for many hours, watching a single spot if necessary.

IS have been smacked around a bit this past week and they're changing their tactics, minimising their exposure.

For all the technology in the sky, nothing beats eyes on the ground. Local knowledge.

The person who quietly points out the farmhouse down a track, an IS bomb-making factory. The source that passes on details of militants' movements. This is the aim: the local population working against the occupying insurgency.

But the local population needs to be convinced that the coalition, which they can barely see up in the skies above them, is the right side to be on.

They need to be sure the airstrikes will work. If they don't, the IS reprisals will be unforgiving.

Too many times, in this part of the world, has the West promised to defend the people only to leave them at the mercy of the enemy.

Peshmerga fighters have been unable to retake Mosul

In 1991, after American and British missiles pummelled Saddam's Iraq for weeks, President Bush encouraged the Iraqi people to rise up and overthrow the government themselves.

Rise up they did, expecting the support of US fighter jets. Instead Iraqi helicopter gunships came for them. Some 60,000 Iraqis were killed; two million Kurds fled to Turkey and Iran.

Last year the United States, UK and France promised airstrikes against the Assad regime. They never came.

In the aftermath of that fateful vote in the House of Commons, we have talked much about the damage that night did to Washington-London relations. It was nothing compared to the loss of trust between anti-Assad forces and the West.

What will they now make of these airstrikes which, if anything, are helping Assad?

We mock the abject failure of the Iraqi army to protect its country against the march of ISIS, but in truth they were never going to succeed. They just weren't welcome in many of the towns and cities they sought to defend.

The widespread Sunni hatred of the Maliki government kept them out.

They were weak - yes, too weak for an army that has received billions of dollars in equipment and training from Washington. Their capitulation was a failure of politics as much as it was one of military.

My colleague Stuart Ramsay writes today about the Peshmerga's inability to re-take Mosul, despite their will to do so.

The truth is that at the moment there is a dramatic mis-match between the modern warplanes dropping precision missiles and the poorly armed, inadequate armies on the ground.

The two need to work together, if this is going to work at all. 

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Sex Scandal And Defection Hit Tory Conference

The Conservatives have been dealt a devastating double blow after a minister quit over a sex scandal and another party MP announced he was defecting to UKIP.

Cabinet Office minister Brooks Newmark resigned after reportedly sending explicit pictures of himself online to an undercover tabloid newspaper reporter.

His announcement came just hours after Rochester and Strood MP Mark Reckless declared he was joining UKIP leader Nigel Farage's "people's army".

Meanwhile, an opinion poll in the Sunday Mirror and Independent on Sunday suggests Mr Farage is more popular than Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mr Reckless is the second Conservative to defect to UKIP within a month, joining Clacton MP Douglas Carswell.

Mr Reckless and Mr Farage got further acquainted in a pub on Sunday

Speaking on the BBC's The Andrew Marr show on Sunday, the PM said it was "counterproductive and senseless".

Mr Reckless was forced to cut short a visit to his constituency by his new party leader on Sunday after local Conservatives angry at his defection turned up and he received hostile questions from members of the public.

It comes as the Conservative Party's conference got under way in Birmingham.

It was opened by party chairman Grant Shapps, who said voters, activists and donors had been "betrayed" by Mr Reckless.

The UKIP leader could not contain his delight at the Tory MP's defection

He said he had "lied, lied, and lied again".

The setbacks overshadowed the announcement of plans for a new squeeze on benefits to fund millions of new apprenticeships.

According to the Sunday Mirror, Mr Newmark allegedly exchanged explicit pictures over the internet with a female reporter posing as a Tory PR worker.

The 56-year-old married father of five tendered his resignation after learning that the newspaper was about to publish details of their exchanges.

Samantha Cameron and the PM arrive in Birmingham for the conference

He said on Sunday: "I have been a complete fool. I have no one to blame but myself. I have hurt those I care about most. I am so, so sorry. But I just need time with my family."

Downing Street said that Reading East MP Rob Wilson had been appointed the new Civil Society Minister.

Mr Reckless received an ecstatic reception from UKIP activists at their party conference in Doncaster after he declared he was leaving the Tories.

He accused the leadership of failing to keep its promises on Europe, the economy and immigration.

"People feel ignored, taken for granted, over-taxed, over-regulated, ripped off and lied to," he declared.

He dismissed the PM's promise of an in/out EU referendum as a "device" designed to deliver the "pre-ordained" result in favour of Britain's continued membership.

Brooks Newmark resigned over claims he sent explicit photos

There was deep anger in the Conservative ranks at Mr Reckless' move, with a party spokesman denouncing the defection as "completely illogical".

Mr Reckless' constituency party chairman, Andrew Mackness, said that he was "astonished and disgusted" at the decision, and said he had been given assurances by Mr Reckless that he would not defect.

Like Mr Carswell, Mr Reckless said that he would be standing down as an MP in order to fight the seat as a UKIP candidate in a by-election.

Although he took the Kent constituency with a majority of almost 10,000 at the last general election, he may face a tough battle to return to Westminster.

00.35 | 0 komentar | Read More

RAF Helps Search For Missing Teen Alice Gross

The RAF has been helping in the search for missing teenager Alice Gross, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

Along with more than a dozen police forces across the country, the air force has provided support with "aerial analysis" - which allows officers on the ground to focus their efforts to find the 14-year-old, who disappeared five weeks ago.

Runners taking part in a half-marathon in Ealing, west London, have worn yellow ribbons to raise awareness of Alice's disappearance.

Ribbons have also been tied to trees and fences along the route, which runs close to where Alice was last seen.

Runners wore yellow ribbons to raise awareness of Alice's disappearance

Kelvin Walker, race director for the event, told Sky News: "We thought it would be a really good idea to give some runners bows to run around the course.

"The course is now covered in ribbons and it's quite an emotional sight to see, so we're just really happy to be involved in helping them."

The schoolgirl, from Hanwell, west London, disappeared on 28 August. She was filmed on CCTV walking along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal towards Hanwell at 4.26pm, but has not been seen since.

The 14-year-old disappeared five weeks ago

On Saturday, police revealed that footage from 300 CCTV cameras is now being analysed, taken from a six-square-mile radius.

Officers will continue to search scrubland along the towpath near the canal.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "This continues to be a massive investigation.

Police will continue a search of scrubland near the Grand Union Canal

"A range of officers and staff from across the Met are taking part in the ever-expanding search for Alice."

Police received 150 phone calls after staging a reconstruction of the teenager's last known movements.

Convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, the prime suspect in her disappearance, who has also vanished, was filmed cycling the same route behind the teenager.

But police stress the Latvian, who was also accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, was just "one line of inquiry".

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for anyone who has information that leads police to find Alice.

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TV Actress Bellingham May Have Months To Live

Lynda Bellingham, the actress best known for playing a mum in the Oxo TV adverts, plans to end life-extending chemotherapy treatment, allowing her to die.

The 66-year-old star, who has colon cancer that has spread to her lungs and liver, says she wants to spend one more Christmas with her family before she passes away.

She is set to stop having chemo around November and believes she may lose her life by the end of January.

In her new autobiography, Bellingham, who was diagnosed in July last year, said how she revealed her plans to doctors.

In excerpts printed in a newspaper, she said: "August 13, 2014. Yesterday was the glorious 12th - a day for us to remember because it is also the day I decided when I will die. I am very dramatic aren't I?

"I know it is not ultimately my decision, but it is my last vestige of control to sit in front of the oncologist and say when I would like to stop having chemo and let the natural way do its thing.

"I sat down with (husband) Michael and Professor Stebbing and announced: 'The time has come to cease and desist.

"'I would love to make one more Christmas, if possible, but I want to stop taking chemo around November in order to pass away by the end of January'."

Earlier this year, the regular Loose Women panellist, whose sister Barbara died from lung cancer, picked up an OBE from Buckingham Palace, recognition for a career has spanned 40 years.

Highlights included TV series All Creatures Great And Small, competing in Strictly Come Dancing and starring in the touring stage production of Calendar Girls.

Her starring role as the mother in a squabbling family in the long-running Oxo TV adverts was first screened in the 1980s.

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'Nothing Token' About Britain's Iraq Mission

Britain's Role In Anti-IS Mission Explained

Updated: 4:37pm UK, Saturday 27 September 2014

Codenamed Operation Shader, the British military action now under way sees UK warplanes swap their surveillance role in Iraq for combat missions.

There are six Tornado GR4s based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and on missions they will be armed with Paveway and Brimstone missiles capable of hitting moving targets.

Having carried out reconnaissance missions over Iraq for the last six weeks, the pilots know the terrain well.

The combat operation is directed out of Qatar from the Al Udeid airbase - shared by both the British and US.

The man heading the RAF mission is Air commodore Al Gillespie, but it is the US directing the growing coalition air operation in Iraq, which also includes Australia, Denmark, and France.

Former RAF navigator John Nichol, who flew in the 1991 Gulf War, told Sky News: "The Americans will be telling each different nation what the target list is, where to patrol, what sort of weapons might be needed, and then they will be launched into the air."

While the Tornado aircraft is 40 years old, Mr Nichol said: "It's been hugely updated. The big updates are the weapons systems.

"When I was flying it was very much what I would call 'dumb bombs'. The weapons that this GR4 deploys are all precision-guided, very, very accurate munitions."

While the planes are capable of flying quicker than the speed of sound, on patrol the planes would travel at around 300-400mph to conserve fuel.

The Tornados fly in pairs and take around two hours to reach northern Iraq from Cyprus.

The two-man crews can be on board for up to eight hours in the cramped cockpits.

The on-board technology allows them to operate at low level, day or night and in poor weather.

During the recent reconnaissance missions the jets often refuelled in mid-air by connecting to fuel lines from an RAF Voyager plane - like "trying to refuel your car on the motorway at night, at 600mph, when the petrol station is doing 600mph", according to Mr Nichol.

The crews are highly skilled and normally very experienced, who have flown many times over Iraq in previous deployments.

Mr Nichol said: "These are young men and women. They are trained to do a job. They want to do the job.

"I compare it to a firefighter. You never want to see anyone's house burning down but its your job to put those flames out and that's what they are getting a chance to do.

"Some of them are battle-hardened veterans, but you have the younger members there as well.

"There's an excitement about what you are going to go and do but a reality and a knowledge of what the cost could be as well."

In the absence of IS command and control centres, he believed  the air crews would be looking at the ground in "real time" for targets.

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Teenager Arrested After Elderly Woman Raped

By Emma Birchley, East Of England Correspondent

A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of raping an elderly woman in her home.

The 17-year-old, from Ipswich, was taken into custody shortly before 3pm on Sunday in the seaside town of Felixstowe and is currently being questioned.

The woman called police in the early hours of the morning reporting that she had been sexually assaulted by a man who had broken into her home.

She was taken to Ipswich Hospital to be treated for a number of injuries and is now being comforted by her family.

Crime scene investigators have been working at the scene in the Walton area of Felixstowe.

Police say they will speak to the woman about her ordeal on Monday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Suffolk Police on 101.

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Sex Scandal And Defection Hit Tory Conference

UKIP Defections: PM Did Too Little, Too Late

Updated: 10:09pm UK, Saturday 27 September 2014

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

During the 2010 election, I travelled to Rochester and Strood in Kent, where I met the Tory candidate Mark Reckless.

One thing that struck me as I watched him take to the doorsteps, was the number of constituents raising the issue of immigration.

One awkward incident involved an elderly man ranting about why he supported the far-right National Front. Mr Reckless backed off, embarrassed.

He certainly didn't share those extreme views. But it was clear then that he was a politician who was worried about immigration and angry about Europe.

I remember another conversation with Mr Reckless last year in the Commons.

Tory backbenchers were nervous about immigration, he told me. They felt David Cameron hadn't done enough, and the looming prospect of transitional controls lifted on Bulgarians and Romanians was of particular concern. 

Things could get tetchy in January 2015, he said.

Mr Cameron knew about these misgivings among his MPs and tried to act on them.

Late last year he unveiled a toughening up in the rhetoric on immigration – bringing in new rules to crack down on the access that new EU migrants would get to benefits. Then came the pledge of an EU referendum.

The hope was to appease the concerns of people like Mr Reckless, and you might have thought it was working.

After all, following the defection to UKIP of Douglas Carswell many asked the MP if he would be next. He insisted not.

When I texted Tracey Crouch, a neighbouring MP in Kent, about his decision to leave the Tories, she replied: "Nothing I can say right now would be becoming of a lady. I'm so angry. He looked me in the eye and promised he wasn't going to defect."

Others pointed out that he was openly supportive of the Conservatives as recently as yesterday.

Then he tweeted: "Good to lead coach for Team2015 campaigning in Birmingham Northfield on Sunday + will be followed by our Clacton action next Thursday."

That is why Tory sources say they are "surprised". Other MPs told me they felt "let down", "frustrated" and "fed up".

"Another battle when we should be fighting Labour," said one.

Others argued that although he had behaved irresponsibly, giving a leg-up to Ed Miliband, that a number of backbenchers were angry with the party's position on Europe.

They believe that Mr Cameron hasn't done enough to prove he can loosen Britain's ties to the EU. They want to see the issue addressed at his conference speech this week.

The problem for men like Mr Reckless is they don't share the Prime Minister's views on Europe.

Mr Cameron wants to reform the UK's relationship with the continent and then – ideally – campaign for us to stay IN.

And that is the sticking point with Mr Reckless.

The former Tory MP was clear today that he believes in an independent Britain, and wants to follow the Scotland Yes campaign with what he said was a positive, patriotic message for voters.

He wants OUT – and UKIP is the only party that is fully with him.

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RAF Helps Search For Missing Teen Alice Gross

The RAF has been helping in the search for missing teenager Alice Gross, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

Along with more than a dozen police forces across the country, the air force has provided support with "aerial analysis" - which allows officers on the ground to focus their efforts to find the 14-year-old, who disappeared five weeks ago.

Runners taking part in a half-marathon in Ealing, west London, have worn yellow ribbons to raise awareness of Alice's disappearance.

Ribbons have also been tied to trees and fences along the route, which runs close to where Alice was last seen.

Runners wore yellow ribbons to raise awareness of Alice's disappearance

Kelvin Walker, race director for the event, told Sky News: "We thought it would be a really good idea to give some runners bows to run around the course.

"The course is now covered in ribbons and it's quite an emotional sight to see, so we're just really happy to be involved in helping them."

The schoolgirl, from Hanwell, west London, disappeared on 28 August. She was filmed on CCTV walking along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal towards Hanwell at 4.26pm, but has not been seen since.

The 14-year-old disappeared five weeks ago

On Saturday, police revealed that footage from 300 CCTV cameras is now being analysed, taken from a six-square-mile radius.

Officers will continue to search scrubland along the towpath near the canal.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "This continues to be a massive investigation.

Police will continue a search of scrubland near the Grand Union Canal

"A range of officers and staff from across the Met are taking part in the ever-expanding search for Alice."

Police received 150 phone calls after staging a reconstruction of the teenager's last known movements.

Convicted murderer Arnis Zalkalns, the prime suspect in her disappearance, who has also vanished, was filmed cycling the same route behind the teenager.

But police stress the Latvian, who was also accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, was just "one line of inquiry".

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for anyone who has information that leads police to find Alice.

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