Robber Died Of Heart Failure In Botched Raid

A masked armed robber who collapsed after he was tackled by a have-a-go hero during a raid on a bookmakers suffered a cardiac arrest and died, an inquest has heard.

Career criminal Alan Levers, 50, was wearing a black gas mask and carrying an imitation handgun when he was wrestled to the ground by a punter at the bookies.

The man, known only as Robert, described to the inquest how he "jumped on him from behind and wrestled him to the floor" when Levers stormed into the Ladbrokes branch on Crownhill Road in Plymouth, Devon.

He had him in a headlock, seconds after Levers had pointed the fake 9mm pistol at the betting shop manager and demanded cash.

John Doyle and his brother Patrick, who were also in the bookmakers on the evening of January 25, went to help and knocked the pistol out of the gunman's hand, holding him down until police arrived.

Robert, who asked not to give his full name publicly, said: "The man was struggling quite considerably and I was scared to let him up because I was concerned he might have had potentially some unconventional weapon like a knife or a screwdriver that could do as much damage.

"The other man said not to hold on to him too tight and I remember replying that I wasn't holding on to him too tight, I was just making sure he didn't get up.

The attempted armed robbery took place at a bookmakers in Plymouth

"We also didn't know if he had any people outside the shop who could have done anything - kick us, stab us - do anything to release that man."

John Doyle said in a written statement that he "kicked the robber to the right side of his ribcage" and "punched out at him several times at his hand" to try and get Levers to release the gun.

He added: "Paddy kicked the gun out of his right hand. The offender was struggling for a few minutes and then seemed to relax."

His brother described how once he had got the gun away, he "did not see the robber move much more".

Officers found that Levers, an alcoholic and former heroin addict, was not responding to their commands and when they removed his gas mask he was unconscious.

Paramedics could not revive him and he was pronounced dead later that night, the inquest in Plymouth heard.

A post-mortem examination found that Levers, a former steel erector from Plymouth, had 289mg of alcohol in 100ml blood, meaning he was more than three-and-a-half times the drink drive limit.

Dr Russell Delaney said the cause of death was a combination of chest compression, restricted breathing and alcohol intake.

The court also watched a recording of the incident which had been captured on two cameras inside the bookmakers.

Detective Sergeant Paul Otter, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the incident had been fully investigated and there was no evidence that any of the people involved in restraining Levers committed any offence.

Plymouth coroner Ian Arrow recorded a narrative verdict.

Levers' partner, Julie Lidstone, told the hearing he had been trying to overcome his alcohol addiction and that he had not been able to work as a roofer because of the bad weather and was short of money.

"I am sorry for what the witnesses were put through at Ladbrokes. What happened should never have happened in the first place and Alan paid the ultimate price," she said afterwards.

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Syria Rebel Beheaded In Error By Jihadists

Al Qaeda-linked jihadists in Syria have reportedly admitted beheading a rebel fighter by mistake.

They apparently believed he was an Iraqi Shiite fighting alongside President Bashar al Assad's forces.

A video posted on the internet on Wednesday allegedly showed two members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holding up a bearded man's head before a crowd in Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rebel fighters prepare to launch a rocket towards regime forces in Aleppo

The UK-based watchdog's chief Rami Abdel Rahman said: "Some minutes after the video was posted, the man was identified as Mohammed Marroush, a fighter with rebel group Ahrar al Sham.

"ISIL later admitted the rebel had been killed by mistake and said it had arrested one of its men, a Tunisian, for decapitating him. He was referred to their Islamic court."

The second man, also a foreign fighter and from the Gulf, has not been detained.

The Islamist Ahrar al Sham is an ISIL ally.

A UN inspector at a Syria chemcial weapons facility in October

The fighter had been wounded in fighting at a regime military base east of Aleppo, Syria's second city and former commercial hub.

He was taken to hospital outside Aleppo for treatment, and in his drugged state was heard to repeat the names Ali and Hussein, two revered Shiite imams.

"The two ISIL men deduced he was a Shiite fighter and cut his head off," the watchdog added in a statement, calling the decapitation "a war crime".

It comes as the world's chemical weapons watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), met in The Hague on Friday to approve a tight timetable for ridding Syria of its entire deadly poison gas and nerve agent arsenal by mid-2014.

A protest against the dismantling of Syrian chemical weapons in Albania

Under a Russian-American brokered deal, Damascus agreed to destroy all its chemical weapons after Washington threatened to use force in response to the killing of hundreds of people in a sarin attack on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21.

The US and Western allies accuse Syria's government of being responsible, while Damascus blames the rebels.

Exactly where the weapons will be taken remains unclear, but Albania, which successfully destroyed its own poison gas arsenal, is being tipped as a candidate, triggering protests there.

Syria's conflict has killed more than 120,000 people in the past two years, according to activists, and displaced millions more.

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Birmingham 'Needle' Attacks: Suspect Hunted

Detectives have released a CCTV image of a man suspected of attacking women with a hypodermic needle in Birmingham city centre.

It comes after a 30-year-old was stabbed in the thigh. The victim felt a sharp pain, which was later confirmed as a puncture wound.

Police believe a hypodermic needle may have been used in each attack

The attack happened at around 3am on November 3 and was reported to police several days later.

Officers believe it may be linked to similar attacks on a 20-year-old on June 23 and a 28-year-old on October 6.

Detective Inspector Julie Woods said police had received five reports in total over the last year-and-a-half.

She said: "Although the women have not been left with any obvious physical injuries they have had to endure an agonising wait to check that they have not suffered any long-lasting health effects.

"Whilst we have been unable to confirm exactly how the injuries were caused, it is believed that a hypodermic needle may have been used on each occasion, with young women being specifically targeted.

"Due to the nature of the offences, victims have not realised they have been injured until hours or days later, which has resulted in limited lines of enquiry.

"But we now have a particularly clear image of a man we want to identify in connection with the attacks and I would appeal for him, or anyone who knows who he may be, to come forward.

"These are strange offences and the motive at this stage is unclear, which is why it's so important for us to identify the person in this CCTV image as soon as possible."

Police patrols have been stepped up in Broad Street and around the city centre.

Anyone who recognises the suspect can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Sun Set To 'Flip Upside Down' Within Weeks

The Sun's magnetic field is expected to flip upside down within weeks as its north and south poles swap sides.

The phenomenon, which will send "ripple effects" throughout the solar system, happens once every 11 years as the solar cycle reaches its peak.

It will be observed throughout the heliosphere - the vast region of space affected by the Sun's magnetic field, which extends billions of miles beyond Pluto.

The swap could cause intergalactic weather events such as geomagnetic storms, which can cause radio blackouts and interfere with satellites.

The heightened solar activity it coincides with is also expected to give stargazers a better glimpse of the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights.

Todd Hoeksema, a scientist at Stanford University's Wilcox Solar Observatory, said the polar reversal takes place as the Sun's magnetic field moves north or south from the equator, eroding the existing pole as it does so.

"It's kind of like a tide coming in or going out," he said. "Each little wave brings a little more water in, and eventually you get to the full reversal."

Latest measurements show the Sun technically has two south poles, caused by its two hemispheres being out of sync.

Phil Scherrer, who works with Mr Hoeksema at the observatory, said: "The north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up.

"Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of solar max will be under way."

Mr Hoeksema said in early August that a "complete field reversal" looked like being "no more than three to four months away".

Instruments at the solar observatory near San Francisco have been staring at the Sun for nearly 40 years and record its magnetic field every day.

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Gibraltar: Spain Did Break Law, UK Insists

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

The Government has insisted Spain is breaking the law with its Gibraltar border checks despite a European Commission finding the country has not acted unlawfully.

Travellers faced delays of several hours over the summer following a war of words between Spain and the UK.

David Cameron asked the commission to investigate the lengthy queues after a diplomatic row over an artificial reef sunk off Gibraltar.

The Prime Minister claimed the checks were "politically motivated" and potentially in breach of EU law on free movement of people.

However, after a fact-finding mission in September, the European Commission has written to Spain and the UK to say the checks did not break the law and urged the two countries to work together.

Delays at the border

The Foreign Office has issued a robust response to the commission's findings saying that while it may not have discovered evidence, it did not mean that Spain was not breaking the law.

A spokesman said: "The fact that the commission has not found evidence that EU law has been infringed is not the same as concluding that Spain has not acted unlawfully.

"Border operated significantly more smoothly than normal during commission visit.

"We remain confident that the Spanish government has acted - and continues to act - unlawfully, through introducing disproportionate and politically motivated checks at the Gibraltar-Spain border. 

A Spanish diver inspects the artificial reef at the centre of the row

"Commission is clearly concerned by the situation, as they: have made recommendations to Spain to improve border functioning; have committed to remain engaged and review in six months; are reserving the right to reconsider; and have explicitly opened up the possibility of another visit in their letter."

A press release from the commission stated: "The commission has not found evidence to conclude that the checks on persons and goods as operated by the Spanish authorities at the crossing point of La Linea de la Concepcion have infringed the relevant provisions of union law.

"The management of this crossing point is nevertheless challenging, in view of the heavy traffic volumes in a relatively confined space and the increase in tobacco smuggling into Spain.

"The commission believes that the authorities on both sides could take further measures to better address these challenges, and is addressing three recommendations to both member states."

The recommendations include optimising the physical space at the border, increasing the use of targeted checks and developing the exchange of information between the two countries.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage tweeted: "Commission statement on Gibraltar a complete whitewash."

The tightened checks came after a dispute this summer over an artificial underwater reef.

Gibraltar's government dropped 74 concrete blocks into an area of the sea regularly used by Spanish fishing boats.

The Spanish saw this as an act of provocation, leading to a diplomatic row.

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Plane Crash: Two Die In North Wales Accident

A man and a woman have died after a light aircraft crashed near a runway in North Wales.

Police were alerted to the incident involving the twin-engine aircraft near manufacturers Airbus UK, in Broughton, at around 1.10pm.

A police spokesman said: "The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital where she later died.

"Police are currently at the scene and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has been informed. A full investigation will be undertaken to establish the full circumstances of the incident."

A spokesman for Airbus said the crash at the airfield did not involve one of its aircraft.

The runway at Chester Hawarden airport is next to the Airbus factory and manages business and private flights.

Airport owner Aviation Park Group said it could not comment on the crash and referred all queries to the police.

More follows...

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Man Caught With Stun Gun Plotted To Kill PM

A paranoid schizophrenic who drove to London with a 950,000 volt stun gun and other weapons in his car told police he was on his way to kill the Prime Minister, a court has heard.

Irfaq Naz, 34, had hammers, kitchen knives, a machete, an unsheathed Samurai sword and masking tape in his Vauxhall Astra when he was stopped in July after going the wrong way down street.

Officers later searched his home in Middlesbrough and found the Downing Street postcode and the names of other prominent political figures.

The taxi driver was detained under the Mental Health Act and admitted possessing a prohibited weapon, three counts of possessing an offensive weapon, seven counts of having a bladed article and dangerous driving.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, imposed a hospital order with a restriction order meaning Naz can only be released with the permission of the Home Secretary.

Teesside Crown Court heard he was stopped after driving down Camden High Street the wrong way.

Police found a knuckleduster in his shirt pocket and an 18-inch hunting knife in the waistband of his trousers.

Officers were concerned about his behaviour and found he had previously spent a month at Roseberry Park Hospital, Middlesbrough, as a mental health patient.

Nick Dry, prosecuting, said: "A search of his vehicle revealed other weapons. In the driver's door panel were three eight-inch kitchen knives.

"Between the driver's seat and door was a samurai sword, its sheath found nearby in the passenger foot well.

"From the rear seat officers recovered a claw hammer, a lump hammer and an axe which were in a plastic bag that also contained masking tape.

"In the boot they found a machete and a stun gun, shaped as a knuckleduster.

"That device, a Blast Knuckles 950,000 volt stun gun, was found to be in working order and a prohibited weapon."

The court heard that Naz had stopped taking his medication and was suffering from delusions at the time.

Dr Pratish Thakkar, a consultant psychiatrist, diagnosed paranoid schnizophrenia and said he posed a significant risk to others having acted on his delusions.

Outside court, Steven Orange, the district crown prosecutor for CPS Durham Tees, said: "It should be recognised that the sentence in this case is more about securing appropriate treatment for a man with significant mental health issues than punishment."

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Simon Cowell Slammed Over 'Get Lucky' Remark

By Amber de Botton, Deputy Head of Politics

Education Secretary Michael Gove has blasted X Factor boss Simon Cowell as "irresponsible and stupid" for suggesting that young people do not need to bother with education.

The Cabinet minister told the TV mogul he should "encourage" teenagers at school, rather than "rubbish" learning.

Mr Gove made the comments after the talent show boss advised that "the secret is to be useless at school and then get lucky".

Cowell admitted that he did not work hard at school, leaving at 16 without any qualifications.

"I was useless. The secret is to be useless at school and then get lucky," he told US radio station z100.

The remark appeared to be light-hearted and an agent at Cowell's production company, Syco, said: "This was quite clearly a joke made in a humorous radio interview and has been taken completely out of context."

But Mr Gove warned that "only a fraction of kids get lucky".

"This is an irresponsible and stupid thing to say," he told Mail Online.

"Teachers strive every day to ensure children understand the importance of learning, hard work and discipline. Simon Cowell's comments undermine their efforts. 

"The truth is that only a tiny fraction of people get lucky. For everybody else, it's all about hard work and that starts with hard work at school. Celebrities like Mr Cowell should encourage education, not rubbish it."

It is not the first time a politician has criticised Mr Cowell and his reality show.

In 2012, the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith warned of a "twisted culture" that leads people to thinking that appearing on X Factor is "the only route worth pursuing in life".

And shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has also cautioned against the "get rich quick culture" that certain TV shows promote.

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Toronto Mayor Ford Stripped Of Some Powers

Toronto's City Council has voted overwhelmingly to strip Mayor Rob Ford of some of his powers as he rebuffs huge pressure to resign.

The vote came a day after another series of antics from Mr Ford that angered city councillors, anti-drunk driving advocates and even Toronto's football team.

In the span of a few hours on Thursday, the leader of Canada's largest city used obscene language to deny that he pressured a female employee for oral sex, admitted that he had driven while drinking and then apologised for his vulgarity and said he was seeking professional help, though he refused to give details.

Mr Ford made an offensive statement while wearing a Argonauts jersey

Most city councillors are frustrated by Mr Ford's refusal to step aside since he admitted last week to smoking crack cocaine, but they lack the authority to force him out of office unless he is convicted of a crime.

John Filion, the councillor who introduced the motion on Friday, has said the goal is to prevent Mr Ford from firing executive committee members who speak out against him.

The vote suspends Mr Ford's authority to appoint and dismiss the deputy mayor and his executive committee, which runs the budget process.

Councillors turned their back on Mr Ford as he talked on Thursday

A subdued Mr Ford has vowed to fight the motion, which was approved in a 39-3, in court.

"I can't support this and obviously I have no other options but to challenge this in court," the mayor said.

The vote comes as it has been announced that Mr Ford it will be hosting a new weekly TV show with his brother.

Ford Nation will air on Monday on Canada's Sun News Network, following the cancellation of the pair's radio talk show just days ago.

Doug Ford, the show's co-host and a city councillor, said: "Rob is like Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh. You just never know what he is going to say."

Mr Ford apologised with his wife by his side

Rob Ford's troubles began escalating in May when news reports first surface of a video showing him smoking crack.

After months of evading the question, the mayor last week admitted he had smoked crack when Toronto police announced they had obtained the video during the course of a massive drug investigation.

Mr Ford said he had smoked crack cocaine in a "drunken stupor". He does not face any criminal charges.

But then he was caught on camera in a drunker, profanity-laced rant where he issued angry death threats.

And the scandal further deepened this week when court documents suggesting sexual misconduct and drug use surfaced.

There have been numerous calls for Mr Ford to resign

Mr Ford was verbally abusive to aides, drove his car while drunk and entertained women thought to be prostitutes, according to news reports citing the documents.

He has admitted buying drugs illegally for the past two years, but denied other allegations and said he was taking legal action against people who had made them.

Defending himself at a news conference on Thursday, Mr Ford said that he was "happily married" and at one point used obscene language to say he did not need to seek oral sex elsewhere, shocking reporters at the scene.

Mr Ford drew gasps, giggles and at least one exclamation of "oh my God" from the journalists.

Mr Ford's bobblehead dolls sold out quickly earlier this week

His crude remarks led to a complaint by the Canadian Football League, which slammed Mr Ford for making the offensive statement while wearing a Toronto Argonauts jersey.

The mayor later appeared before camera to apologise for his language, with his wife Renata by his side.

Mr Ford's repeated controversies are not just fodder for late night comedians.

A low-cost American airline, Spirit Airline, said in an ad that "We're not smoking crack" as they offered cheap fares next to Mr Ford's silhouette profile.

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Sri Lanka: Cameron Mobbed By Tamil Protesters

David Cameron has been mobbed by 250 Tamil protesters in north Sri Lanka, who claim their relatives have been murdered by the state.

In chaotic scenes, the Prime Minister's convoy was surrounded by demonstrators all trying to show him their family pictures and tell their stories of suffering in the country's 26-year civil war.

The protesters were the relatives of "the disappeared" - those who have just vanished without explanation but whom, it is alleged, have been either captured or killed by the state.

Sky's Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones, who is travelling with the Prime Minister, said: "He was in a vehicle, in his Jeep, but people spilled through the police line trying to get up towards the Prime Minister ...

"One or two young women really pressed up against the car as it was departing, trying to get photographs and testimony to what they fear may have happened to their loved ones to David Cameron."

The Prime Minister has travelled to the northern city of Jaffna, to meet Tamils scarred by years of ethnic fighting in the country, ahead of his meeting with the country's president in which he will raise the question of Sri Lanka's human rights record.

Protesters broke through the police lines

Mr Cameron, who is the first president or prime minister to travel to the region since Sri Lanka gained independent in 1948, said he had been confronted by "incredibly powerful" images during his visit to the north.

He said: "Going to the headquarters of a Tamil newspaper here in northern Sri Lanka and seeing pictures of journalists, shot and killed, on the walls and hearing stories of journalists who have disappeared long after the war has ended, that will stay with me.

"And also the image, in this camp, of talking to a young woman who came here when she was very young - a child in this camp - and wants nothing more than to go to her own home."

Mr Cameron added: "The fact is about this country that there is a chance of success because the war is over, the terrorism has finished, the fighting is done.

"Now what's needed is generosity and magnanimity from the Sri Lankan government to bring the country together."

The Prime Minister has pledged to use the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) to challenge President Mahinda Rajapaksa over "chilling" claims of human rights abuses. 

Mr Cameron meets with Tamils in a local village

As many as 40,000 civilians are estimated to have died in the final months of the regime's fight with Tamil Tiger separatists, according to the United Nations.

There have been allegations of battlefield executions and rapes by regime forces and claims they indiscriminately shelled Tamils fleeing the fighting as the Tigers were defeated.

Mr Cameron will put pressure on Mr Rajapaksa to agree to an independent inquiry into the alleged war crimes by state forces.

The UN says that abductions and torture continue in the country.

Mr Rajapaska used the international conference to warn the Commonwealth not to be judgemental.

He told those present that it was thanks to him that the "menace of terrorism" was at an end.

Police officers intervene as protesters attempt to get to Mr Cameron

He claimed the war crimes alleged to have been carried out by the military in 2009 amounted to "exerting the greatest right, the right to life" for his country's people.

Paul Harrison, Sky's Royal Correspondent who is in Colombo at the meeting, said: "The image of Sri Lanka which Mr Rajapaksa would rather portray to the world is one of handshakes with foreign heads of Government, colourful cultural shows and visits by royalty, like Prince Charles.

"After months of criticism ahead of the biennial Chogm meeting, this time in the Sri Lankan capital, Mr Rajapaksa hijacked his own international conference to warn the Commonwealth not to be 'judgemental'."

Labour leader Ed Miliband had called on Mr Cameron to boycott the Chogm event in protest at Sri Lanka's human rights record and said he should join other Commonwealth members to block Mr Rajapaska from taking up the two-year chairmanship of the 53-nation group.

But Mr Cameron insisted it was far better to go and raise concerns than stay away.

Earlier on Friday Prince Charles kicked off the Commonwealth summit at a colourful opening ceremony in the capital, Colombo, declaring his "admiration" for the way the country has rebuilt after a devastating tsunami in 2004.

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Typhoon Haiyan Survivors' Fear And Desperation

Gunshots have reportedly forced the delay of a mass burial of victims of the huge typhoon that smashed into the Philippines.

The mayor of Tacloban, the provincial capital of Leyte province where 16ft waves flattened nearly everything in their path, made the claim on Wednesday.

Alfred Romualdez said: "We had finished digging the mass burial site. We had the truck loaded with bodies but there was some shooting. They could not proceed."

The UN estimates 10,000 people may have died in Tacloban alone

Locals in Tacloban also reported seeing members of the army firing guns, as well as armed civilians in the street.

Meanwhile it has been reported that a 13-year-old boy who was walking alone through the city at night was slashed across the neck and stabbed in the stomach.

Jonathan Salayco said he was attacked by two men he did not know late on Tuesday, who then disappeared without a trace.

Homeless Tacloban residents inside a school

Red Cross nurse Mina Joset said: "He was still holding his toy car.

"For a boy like him, this is a serious injury."

Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, ripped apart entire coastal communities on Friday.

The situation in Tacloban is becoming ever more dire with essential supplies low and increasingly desperate survivors jostling for aid.

An injured typhoon survivor is carried by members of the military

Eight people were crushed to death after a huge crowd of typhoon survivors rushed a government rice warehouse, causing a wall to collapse.

The incident in Alangalang town, 10 miles from Tacloban, underlined the increasing sense of fear and desperation setting in among those battling to survive the aftermath of the typhoon.

The remains of an orphanage

Sky News Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "Those who survived desperately need help. There is nothing like enough supplies or aid here and there is a depressing lack of co-ordination."

The international relief effort is building momentum with many countries pledging help. 

The Philippines Government said it had received over £56m in international aid so far and praised the "generous and swift response". 

Supplies of rice are loaded on to a truck, but food remains scarce

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos also applauded the international community's reaction, but said much more needed to be done in a disaster of such magnitude.

Britain's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal has reached £13m just 24 hours after it was launched, it was announced on Wednesday.

The US and the UK are sending warships carrying thousands of sailors to the Philippines.

Britain's first flight delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid has arrived, the Government has said.

A chartered Boeing 777 carrying 8,836 shelter kits from UK Government stores in Dubai landed in Cebu City and was met by Department for International Development (DFID) humanitarian workers.

President Aquino has declared a "state of national calamity", allowing the government to impose price controls and quickly release emergency funds.

A US Marine coordinates the loading of water at an air base near Manila

The latest official government death toll stands at 2,344, with 3,804 injured and a further 79 missing.

But authorities have said they have not come close to accurately assessing the number of bodies lying amid the rubble or swept out to sea.

The UN estimates 10,000 people may have died in Tacloban alone.

Tacloban's infrastructure was devastated by the typhoon's impact

Health Secretary Enrique Ona admitted authorities were struggling to deal with the sheer numbers of the dead.

He told radio station DZMM they had delayed the retrieval of bodies because "we ran out of body bags".

He said: "We hope to speed it up when we get more body bags."

The UN estimates more than 11.3 million people have been affected with 673,000 made homeless, since Haiyan smashed into the nation's central islands on Friday.

Haiyan's sustained winds when it hit Samar island, where it first made landfall, reached 195 miles an hour, making it the strongest typhoon in the world this year and one of the most powerful ever recorded.

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India's Top Cop Under Fire For Rape Remarks

India's top police chief is facing calls for his resignation after he said: "If you can't prevent rape, you might as well enjoy it."

Ranjit Sinha, director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - India's equivalent of the United States' FBI - apologised for the remark.

However, his comment has sparked outrage across the country, which in the past year has seen widespread protests following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi.

Mr Sinha made the comment during a CBI conference about illegal sports betting and the need to legalise gambling.

"Do we have the enforcement?" Mr Sinha said at the event in New Delhi on Tuesday about whether sports betting should be legalised.

There have been widespread protests demanding tougher penalties for rape

"It is very easy to say that if you can't enforce it, it's like saying if you can't prevent rape, you enjoy it."

He insisted his comments were taken out of context and were misinterpreted, but angry activists called for his resignation.

"I regret any hurt caused," Mr Sinha said. "I gave my opinion that betting should be legalised and that if the laws cannot be enforced, that does not mean that laws should not be made.

"This is as erroneous as saying that if rape is inevitable one should lie back and enjoy it. I reiterate my deep sense of regard and respect for women and my commitment for gender issues."

But civil rights campaigners and opposition politicians said his remarks risked trivialising the issue of rape and raised questions over the CBI's ability to investigate serious sexual assaults.

Kavita Krishnan, an activist with the All India Progressive Women's Association, called for Mr Sinha to step down.

"How can he remain the head of India's premier investigation agency?" she said.

There were more than 24,000 reported rapes in India in 2011

Nirmala Sitharaman, spokeswoman for the main opposition group, the Bharatiya Janata Party, described the remarks as "shocking".

"Wonder if his colleagues in the Bureau, his family and well-wishers approve of his view," she wrote on Twitter.

Communist Party of India leader Brinda Karat condemned Mr Sinha's comments as offensive to all women.

"It is sickening that a man who is in charge of several rape investigations should use such an analogy," she said. "He should be prosecuted for degrading and insulting women."

The New Delhi bus attack last December caused nationwide outrage and forced the government to change rape laws and create fast-track courts for rape cases.

New laws introduced after the attack make stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment a crime.

They also provide for the death penalty for repeat offenders or for rape attacks that lead to the victim's death.

There were more than 24,000 reported rapes in India in 2011, but activists say the real number is many times higher.

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Mummifed Boy Hamzah 'Let Down' By Systems

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The official report into the death of four-year-old Hamzah Khan who was starved by his mother in Bradford has been condemned by the Government as "a rubbish document".

The serious case review (SCR) concluded that Hamzah's death "could not have been predicted" and said it was systems that failed him, not people.

The boy's mother Amanda Hutton, 43, was jailed for 15 years last month after his mummified body was found in a cot in her bedroom in 2011, almost two years after he died.

At a highly-charged news conference the heads of agencies involved in Hamzah's life repeatedly refused to apologise personally, saying no individual was to blame.

Professor Nick Frost, independent chair of the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board, said: "The SCR is very clear that Hamzah's death could not have been predicted but finds that systems, many of them national systems, let Hamzah down both before and following his death."

After more than an hour of questioning, Kath Tunstall, the strategic director of Children's Services for Bradford, told journalists: "We are all sorry for what has happened."

Amanda Hutton's kitchen was full of rubbish

But the Department for Education (DfE) condemned the report, telling Sky News: "There will have to be a proper investigation to answer the serious questions it raises".

A DfE source said: "It's even more worrying that local agencies don't realise how poor an investigation this is."

And Children's Minister Edward Timpson said he has "deep concerns" because it "fails to explain sufficiently clearly the actions taken, or not taken, by children's social care".

Mr Timpson demanded that Bradford's Safeguarding Children Board answer 10 key questions missing from the report.

He said the answers to the "glaring absences" from the review must be made public to "ensure such mistakes will not be repeated in the future".

Prof Frost said: "It is my responsibility, as independent chair, to ensure that lessons are learnt."

Hamzah's father Aftab Khan

He promised to write to the minister immediately and said the answers to his questions would be provided.

"Very sadly, I cannot give assurances that a tragedy like this will never happen again in our country - as we can't control or predict the behaviour of all parents, the vast majority of whom are doing their very best to care for their children," he said.

"However, I can assure you that at this stage I am satisfied each agency is responding adequately but this is an ongoing process which requires constant monitoring.

"No child should go through what Hamzah experienced. I am satisfied that systems are in place today that minimise the chance of a situation such as this ever being repeated in Bradford."

Bradford Crown Court heard how alcoholic Hutton was living in "breathtakingly awful" conditions with five of her young children as well as Hamzah's mummified remains when shocked police entered the four-bedroom house in September 2011.

A jury found she had allowed Hamzah to starve to death in December 2009 and left his body in a cot with a teddy.

The remains were only discovered due to a rookie police community support officer's tenacious pursuit of a minor anti-social behaviour complaint because she knew something was wrong.

The family was known to all the main agencies yet Hutton had a history of failing to co-operate with services that could have helped her.

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: "Tragically Hamzah became invisible, slipping off the radar of our entire society the moment he left hospital after birth.

"We have to ask how this could happen in 21st century Britain. His mother made no attempt to register his birth; he missed midwife appointments, health visitor checks, immunisations; and he was never registered for school.

"A red flag must be raised when key appointments are missed so that children cannot disappear.

"It cannot be right that the first time someone took serious steps to track him down was six years after his birth by which time he was already dead."

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Spy In Bag: MI6 Man Probably Locked Himself In

Spy Death: The Evidence Behind The Theories

Updated: 11:31am UK, Wednesday 13 November 2013

Three general theories have been put forward to explain the death of MI6 spy Gareth Williams, with evidence to support each one.

:: Suicide

The theory that Mr Williams' chose to take his own life is perhaps the most prosaic explanation for his death and the inquest has heard evidence that suggested he was unhappy with his work.

He had passed an exam to become fully operational with MI6 just months before his death but his sister said he disliked office culture and the rat race - and had spoken of friction among colleagues.

One common theme throughout the inquest has been Mr Williams' prodigious intelligence, which saw him secure a first-class mathematics degree at the age of 17 before his eventual fast-tracking through the ranks at GCHQ.

Correlations have often been drawn between depression and the high levels of perfectionism evident in Mr Williams - an impression his intense fitness regime and pristinely tidy flat did little to dispel.

Irrespective of his state of mind, however, no-one has been able to fully explain how he would have been able to lock the bag his body was found in from the outside.

Stephen Gale, his boss at GCHQ's Cheltenham base, said Mr Williams stunned fellow intelligence specialists with his codebreaking talents when he landed his first job at 21.

"He was considered something of a prodigy and it was quite remarkable that he had achieved those levels of qualifications at such a young age," he said.

It could be argued that such outstanding achievement at such an early age could lead to the kind of listlessness later in life that can eventually develop into suicidal thoughts.

But Mr Williams' reputation as a "world-class" codebreaker may also give rise to the more outlandish theory that he took his own life while deliberately leaving an apparently inextricable riddle.

:: Accident

Mr Williams' interest in women's clothing - on which receipts showed he spent around £20,000 during 2008 and 2009 - has been among the most prominently-reported details of the case.

His curiosity with drag queen culture has also been a focus for the media, as has his apparent interest in bondage footage.

The inquest heard that in 2007, Mr Williams' landlord and landlady had to rescue him in the middle of the night after he apparently tied his wrists to the headboard of his bed to see if he could "get free".

Such revelations could contribute to a theory that Mr Williams' death was an accident, even the result of a sex game gone-wrong.

However, close friends say he never mentioned cross-dressing and he is only known to have been to see a drag act once.

Detective Constable Simon Warren also moved to quell speculation around the 31-year-old's private life, saying his interest in bondage footage on his computer was "an isolated (incident) among a sea of other data".

And it is not entirely inconceivable that a third party may have manufactured an image of someone with flamboyant personal habits in order to distract from a more sinister truth.

Indeed, this possibility was acknowledged by the coroner in her summing up, when she questioned whether leaks to the media about Mr Williams' cross dressing were attempts to manipulate evidence.

She pointed out that most of the women's clothes found would have been too small for him and said the lack of female underwear was "inconsistent".

Mr Williams was described as a cautious risk assessor by his sister, which the coroner said did not "square" with the suggestion of an interest in bondage.

:: Murder

Despite having no suspects, the police have said from the outset that they believe a third party was involved in Mr Williams' death.

Found naked, curled up in a padlocked North Face holdall in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, central London, bag experts have said that even renowned escapologist Harry Houdini would have struggled to lock himself in the bag.

One even tried and failed to carry out the task more than 300 times before saying they were "unbelievable scenarios".

Lawyers for his family have suggested "dark arts" of the secret services were responsible.

The recent emergence of the news that MI6 failed to hand over nine computer memory sticks from Mr Williams' office to Scotland Yard has done little to confound such claims.

Conspiracy theories are fuelled by the fact that the force's counter-terror SO15 branch, which has specialist security clearance and acted as a conduit between MI6 and the investigation team, only took three items from Mr Williams' office - his phone, some notes and a copy of his birth certificate.

Detective Superintendent Michael Broster, who was the main liaison from SO15, said: "I have seen no information or evidence that someone is involved. I am not saying that a member of SIS is not involved. I don't know."

Poisoning and asphyxiation are the "foremost contenders" in causing Mr Williams' death, pathologists said.

But experts believe there would have been signs of damage to his fingers and hands if he had struggled to get out of the bag within the three minutes it would have taken to suffocate.

The fact that Mr Williams was dead for up to 10 days before his post-mortem examination meant many poisons and/or bruise marks could have disappeared from his body.

Another matter to have attracted suspicion is MI6's failure to report his absence for more than a week after his disappearance.

Forensic experts hope ongoing DNA tests on a green towel discovered in his kitchen may still yield a breakthrough.

But given the assumed capabilities of MI6, the fact that no physical evidence has yet been found to establish the involvement of a third party is unlikely to halt speculation that secret service agents were to blame.

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Nasa Video: Mars' Evolution From Watery World

Nasa has released a video revealing what Mars may have looked like as a young planet billions of years ago.

It appears to have had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support oceans of liquid water - a crucial ingredient for life.

The animation, created by Nasa's Conceptual Image Lab, shows how the surface of Mars might have developed over four billion years.

The artist's concept is based on evidence that Mars was once very different.

It shows vast Martian lakes surrounded by mountain ranges, beneath Earth-like blue skies and rapidly moving clouds.

The shift from a warm and wet climate to a cold and dry one is shown as the animation progresses.

Nasa's Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars since 2011

The lakes dry up and transform into a rocky landscape with canyons, volcanoes and craters.

The atmosphere gradually turns to the dusty pink and tan hues seen on Mars today.

Nasa scientist Dr Pan Conrad told Sky News: "We think that the when Mars was created it was a lot wetter and warmer than it is today.

"It probably lost much of its atmosphere over time and that's how it came to be such a desert and cold place."

Red dust - from the iron in its soil - now covers almost all of the surface of the Red Planet, which has an average temperature of -27C (-80F).

Nasa's Curiosity rover has been exploring the surface of the planet since August 2011 and has made several discoveries to support the theory that Mars was once able to support life.

These include pebbles providing evidence that a stream once flowed on the planet, and more recently, Martian dust, dirt and soil suggesting a "substantial" amount of water on Mars.

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Tories Try To Remove Speeches From Internet

The Conservatives have attempted to hide 10 years of speeches from the internet, it has emerged.

The speeches, news stories, press releases and blogs, which date back to 2000 until the party came to power in May 2010, have been hidden from public view on the Conservative Party website.

They have also removed the record of their past speeches from internet search engines, including Google, according to Computer Weekly.

It means those using the search engine to try to find the speeches on the Conservative Party website would simply get no results.

The removal of such a large collection of speeches will fuel speculation the Tories are attempting to make it difficult for people to hold them to account to pledges made ahead of the 2010 election with the 2015 vote looming.

In addition the archive of information has been erased from the Internet Archive, which is the public record of the internet.

The specialist computer magazine explained that the Tories had used something called a robot blocker to remove the speeches, which effectively hides speeches in a "secretive corner of the internet like those that shelter the military (and) secret services".

In a search for the speeches on the Internet Archive it simply responded: "Page cannot be crawled or displayed due to robots.txt".

Some of the speeches involved are those made by David Cameron and George Osborne in which they campaign to use the internet to make politics more transparent.

Responding to the claims, a  Conservative spokesman said: "We're making sure our website keeps the Conservative Party at the forefront of political campaigning.

"These changes allow people to quickly and easily access the most important information we provide – how we are clearing up Labour's economic mess, taking the difficult decisions and standing up for hardworking people."

Computer Weekly says that the Internet Archive has started to restore some of the files on its searches.

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Ella Hysom: Search For Missing Colchester Girl

Police are looking for a missing 15-year-old girl who had recently been in hospital suffering from depression.

Ella Hysom was last seen at 1.18pm on Monday in Clements Road, Ilford, walking in the direction of Cineworld.

The parents of the Colchester teenager, who was visiting the Goodmayes area, are appealing for her safe return.

She is described as white, 5ft 9ins to 5ft 10ins tall and was wearing blue jeans, a green hooded jumper with Ugg boots.

Officers are extremely concerned for her welfare and are asking members of public who have seen her or anyone with information to contact the Metropolitan Police immediately on 020 8345 2751 or 07979 311259, the police non-emergency line on 101 or Missing People on 116 000.

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Ding Murders: Jury Hears Family's 999 Call

Jurors in the trial of a businessman accused of murdering a family of four in their home have been played a harrowing recording of a 999 call made by one of the young victims.

Anxiang Du, 54, is accused of stabbing to death Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer Jifeng 'Jeff' Ding, his wife, Ge 'Helen' Chui, and their two daughters, Xing 'Nancy' 18, and Alice, 12.

Members of the jury of eight women and four men wept at Northampton Crown Court as they heard Nancy Ding's 999 call to police on her sister Alice's mobile phone.

The sound of female screams could be heard on the 20-second call - made on April 29, 2011 at 3.32pm - along with the muffled voice of the operator.

Du denies travelling from his home in Coventry to the Ding's house in Wootton, Northamptonshire, armed with a kitchen knife, to carry out the four murders on the day of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.

It is alleged he killed them in "revenge" after a business relationship between the Du family and Ding family "turned sour", and ended with Du owing £88,000 in costs after a lengthy legal battle.

The court heard the four bodies were discovered two days later on May 1, 2011 by police after concerned neighbour Jason Horsley went round to check on the family after not seeing them over the Bank Holiday.

The parents were in the kitchen and their children in an upstairs bedroom

The jury was read a statement by Mr Horsley in which he described seeing a body on the kitchen floor through a window.

The parents' bodies were found in the kitchen and their children upstairs

"I saw a pair of legs then I noticed it was blood on the floor," Mr Horsley told police in his statement.

PC John Campbell was the first officer to arrive on the scene.

"Were you able to make out a pair of legs lying on the floor and a dark blot that you concluded was probably blood?", Prosecutor William Harbage QC asked him. "Yes that's right," PC Campbell replied.

A second officer found the bodies of the two girls in an upstairs bedroom of the house in Pioneer Close, Wootton, Northamptonshire.

In a statement read to the court, Pc Eva Cheng said: "There was a young female child laid on the bed with her head on the headrest. She was curled up and facing away from me.

"She was in her pre-teens possibly between 10-12 years old. I could not see her face but I could see a lot of blood on the bed."

The officer went on to describe how she then saw another older female body to the left on the floor.

"She was doubled up in what I can only describe as a prayer position with her upper body slumped and her arms out," she said.

"There was a lot of blood on the carpet. The blood was thick and black in colour."

The officer said she felt "slightly sick" at the sight of the two children and had to "catch her breath".

Post mortem examinations found Mr Ding had been stabbed 23 times and Mrs Ding 13 times. Nancy had 11 stab wounds and Alice four.

The trial continues.

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McCririck Loses C4 Age Discrimination Case

Racing pundit John McCririck has lost his age discrimination employment tribunal case against Channel 4.

The 73-year-old had claimed he was dismissed by "anonymous suits and skirts" at the broadcaster because of his age, as part of a drive to hire younger faces.

But a Central London Employment Tribunal panel ruled against him.

In its judgment, the panel said: "All the evidence is that Mr McCririck's pantomime persona, as demonstrated on the celebrity television appearances, and his persona when appearing on Channel 4 Racing, together with his self-described bigoted and male chauvinist views were clearly unpalatable to a wider potential audience.

"The tribunal is satisfied that the respondent had the legitimate aim of attracting a wider audience to horseracing."

The colourful pundit, famed for his deerstalker, tic-tac gestures and gold jewellery, took his former employer and TV production company IMG Media Limited to the tribunal, alleging his sacking last year was motivated by age discrimination.

Both firms denied discrimination in the £3m case.

McCririck said: "This is an historic setback for all employees in their 30s to their 70s.

"After such a landmark judicial verdict, my failed legal action ensures that anonymous suits and skirts, who control the media, numerous other businesses and the public sector, will now enjoy complete freedom to replace older employees whatever their unimpaired ability and merit.

"I have let them all down along with my wife, the Booby, my legal team, friends, colleagues and countless members of the public who supported me throughout. My grateful thanks and apologies to every one of them.

"Former Labour home secretary David Blunkett MP said in August: 'The way TV executives worship the cult of youth seems to be an unstoppable fetish'. It is now.

"With my legal team we are now out of contact while studying the judgment in detail"

His wife, Jenny McCririck, told Sky News: "John feels terrible, he's very upset about this, but he felt it was something he had to do. It's not easy proving ageism. This has cost a lot of money, the legal bill will run into six figures.

"For John it was never about money. Had he won he would have given the cash to a horse welfare charity."

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Toronto Mayor 'Sincerely Sorry For The Past'

Toronto's troubled mayor Rob Ford has apologised for smoking drugs and drunkenly making threats to kill, but says the past "cannot be changed".

Appearing at a city council meeting, he admitted buying illegal drugs in the last two years but denied he was a drug addict or an alcoholic.

He told councillors he had "admitted to my mistakes" and that he was "sincerely sorry" for his actions.

However, he insisted he was "not going anywhere" and added: "Those mistakes were not in this council chamber. They were in my personal life.

"I sincerely apologise and I understand the embarrassment I caused every member of this council ... (and) every resident of this city.

"I'm humiliated by it but I cannot change the past. All I can do is move on and that's what I'm doing."

Mr Ford's apology came after he was filmed pacing around a room, swearing and threatening to "kill that ******* guy".

Two days before the video was published, he admitted during a radio interview that he had smoked crack cocaine.

He later told a news conference: "I know what I did was wrong and admitting it was the most difficult and embarrassing thing I've ever had to do.

"I have nothing left to hide. The past is the past and we must move forward."

Responding to councillors' questions, he said the admission had been "humiliating, embarrassing and degrading".

During a heated clash with Councillor Michael Thompson, he denied he had visited a "crack house" in the city.

"Have you visited the house?" Mr Ford asked. "Have you walked in the house? No, you haven't."

Cllr Thompson replied: "I have no interest being in that house. I'm not a crack user."

More follows...

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