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Moroccan Athletes Killed In Bus Crash

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 11 April 2015 | 00.48

At least 31 people have died and nine others hurt in a head-on collision in Morocco between a truck and a coach containing teenage athletes and officials.

Two of the wounded are in a serious condition as a result of the accident which happened near the southern city of Tan-Tan.

Many of those who died were killed in the fire that engulfed the bus after it collided with a tanker carrying hydrocarbons.

The tanker was reportedly flattened.

The coach was reportedly transporting the young people from a national sports competition in Bouznika, a beach resort in the north between the capital Rabat and Casablanca.

Report said 10km runner Hassan Issengar, a well-known Moroccan sportsman, was among the dead.

Road accident fatalities have increased in recent years as more Moroccans own cars.

Although the main cities are linked by motorways, much of the country is still limited to two-lane, poorly maintained roads.

About 4,000 people die on the roads of Morocco each year, the equivalent of about 11 people a day in a country of 34 million people.

The worst road accident happened in September 2012 when 42 people died after their bus plunged into a ravine.

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Scone Way Round! PM In Jam Over Cream Tea

It's been a food-themed week for the Prime Minister - from eating a hot dog with a knife and fork in Poole, to his haggis and square sausage breakfast in Edinburgh, and now Sconegate in Devon.

The age-old question baffling David Cameron today is what comes first - the jam or the cream?

Choosing the 'correct' answer is something that divides the South West into the jam-first Cornish and the cream-first Devonians.

But the PM got it wrong: favouring the Cornwall method in Devon.

Eek, that is a food faux pas that will tickle the local press.

And the South West media will be getting used to seeing Mr Cameron in their patch.

:: For full coverage of the General Election click here

The Tory election mantra is there are only 23 more seats needed for a majority so the key to this campaign is focus - targeting the most marginal seats.

And just as voters in different parts of the country layer their jam and cream up differently, they also have varying political tastes.

In Plymouth in Devon, there is the traditional Labour v Tory fight.

But earlier in the week when we visited North Cornwall, the Conservatives had their coalition rivals in mind.

In fact, the repeated visits to the South West are, in part, to do with a belief that here Lib Dems could be the softest targets, whose downfall could help push the Tories towards a majority.

The Prime Minister told me that he tends to go jam first when it comes to a tasty scone.

But politically speaking, he will use any technique that might work when it comes to winning seats in the South West.

:: Click here to make your own Government with our Shaker Maker

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Shaker Maker: Form Your Own Virtual Government

Fancy creating your own unique power-sharing coalition? Have an urge to slash support for your political rivals by half?

Well, you're in luck, we're giving you the chance to build your own government in our Shaker Maker interactive feature.

It's called Shaker Maker because it allows you to make your own government by shaking your mobile device - or clicking a button if you're on desktop.

You can see what shape a government would take based either on the current poll of polls or on figures you enter yourself.

Our Political Editor Faisal Islam then pops up on video to explain whether what you've created is viable or not.

Click here for Shaker Maker and check out the various possibilities - or just hit the Election 2015 tab on the Sky News website or mobile app.

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Jewel Heist: How Easy Was Vault Break-In?

Drilling experts have demonstrated on Sky News how burglars would have broken through a two-metre-thick wall in a lucrative raid at the heart of London's diamond centre.

They said those behind the heist would have had to use specialist power tools costing thousands of pounds to get through reinforced concrete walls in the basement of the building in Hatton Garden.

But that is a tiny fraction of what the burglars are expected to make from breaking into as many as 70 boxes inside Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd.

Video of an expert using a similar drill on a large block of concrete shows just how big the scale of the operation was - after a minute, it had hardly scratched the surface.

Joel Vinsant, secretary of the Drilling and Sawing Association, told Sky News: "It would take anything from 45 minutes to an hour-and-a-half - it's two metres thick so they'd need specialist equipment."

The thieves would also have needed a constant water supply to keep the drill cool as it powered through the thick wall, he said.

"They'd have a lot to set up in terms of getting it under way," he said.

The thieves are thought to have accessed the building on upper floors. Police believe they disabled a lift and climbed down the shaft into the basement, but there was no sign of forced entry anywhere in the building, which the safe deposit company is only part of.

Officers found a scene of chaos when the theft was discovered on Tuesday, with dust, debris and power tools strewn across the floor.

On Thursday, they said only a few people would have the skills to carry out the "sophisticated" operation over the Easter weekend.

Former Flying Squad member John O'Connor has suggested the criminals would have needed help from someone with inside knowledge.

Victims are still being identified, but they are likely to have been left millions of pounds out of pocket.

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said one jeweller had told him that five of his customers were victims - one had lost emeralds, diamonds and other valuables to the tune of £1m.

He said: "Other customers have told us that they use this safe deposit centre to avoid big insurance premiums, so some of the stuff here won't have been insured.

"A little while ago somebody came and stuck two letters on the sign here in front of the word 'Safe' so it read 'Unsafe' - it was there for a few minutes and reflected a pretty sombre and angry mood here."

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Man Critical After Being Hit By Tube Train

A man has been critically injured after he was reportedly hit on the head by a Tube train as he bent down to pick up his bag.

The victim was struck by an oncoming Northern line service at Stockwell station around 9am as commuters watched in horror and were "visibly very distressed".

The south London station was closed as medics treated the man whose head was reportedly covered in blood.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was later taken to hospital where he is in a critical condition.

Witness Chris Duncan tweeted: "Was on this train. Awful. Man hit in the head by oncoming Tube train in horrific accident."

Isabelle Zonderland told London's Evening Standard: "I was on the Tube when it happened. He got hit only metres from our carriage.

"When we were let off the Tube I saw him lying there. Someone who I believe was on the platform was checking for a pulse. His face was covered in blood."

Actor Raj Lucas told the same publication: "I was about midway on the platform and the Tube was pulling in and suddenly I heard screams from the start of the platform.

"The people closer to the incident (who saw it) were visibly very distressed."

London Underground has begun an investigation into the incident. It claimed the station had been busy but the platform was not overcrowded.

Nick Brown, the company's chief operating officer, said: "Just before 9am a passenger on a Northern line platform was struck by a train entering Stockwell station.

"Our emergency response team and the London Ambulance Service attended the scene.

"We are investigating the incident to understand exactly what happened but we have already established that while the station was busy, the platform was not overcrowded."

Last month, Londoner Nick Mann, 35, died of severe head injuries when he attempted to save his 32-year-old brother Robert from being struck by a train at Old Street Tube station.

Robert Mann remains in hospital.

On 12 March, a rush-hour passenger was dragged along Clapham South Tube station in south London after getting her coat caught in a train door.

The woman ended up falling into the gap between two carriages of the Northern line train and was taken to hospital with serious arm and head injuries.

The incident is being investigated by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.

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Boy, 13, Locked Up For 11 Years For Murder

A 13-year-old boy who admitted stabbing a man to death has been locked up for at least 11 years.

The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to murdering Christopher John Barry, 53, in Edmonton, north London, last December.

The youngster's mother wept in court as he was sentenced at the Old Bailey.

The court heard the child had left a 13th birthday party with a group of friends to see another boy who was heading home on to a bus.

But on the their way back to the party, they went to the wrong block of flats and came across one of its residents, Mr Barry, who was outside the building with his girlfriend.

Mr Barry - a builder who was originally from Cobh, Co Cork - refused to let the three boys into the flats, the court heard.

After some "pushing and shoving" between Mr Barry and the boys, the defendant managed to get in the building.

He followed Mr Barry into the lift, pulled out a kitchen knife from his rucksack and said: "What you saying now? What you saying now?"

The boy then stabbed Mr Barry twice, the court was told.

A short time later, he collapsed in a pool of blood and went into cardiac arrest, she said.

Mr Barry died shortly afterwards.

Sabrina Finn, the girlfriend of Mr Barry - who was known as Jack - said in a victim impact statement: "I'm back at work now and although I walk, talk and look the same as I did before, inside I'm tired and my heart is broken.

"Jack and I had four happy years together and this young man has taken that away from me."

After the attack, the boy - who had been a gang member since he was 10 - told one friend he was going to prison and texted another: "OK, if anyone asks, I wasn't there today".

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Stephen Kramer told the boy: "You are only 13 years old but shortly after 7.30pm on the evening of 14 December, 2014, you were carrying a knife in your bag.

"You wanted to get into a block of flats but you went to the wrong block with tragic consequences for everyone involved."

He took into account the boy's remorse, which his mother wrote about in a letter that was not read out in court.

The judge said the letter also detailed a "troubled background as well as positive aspects".

The boy's lawyer, Michael Turner QC, described the case as "unique" and said in all his years as a barrister it was the only time such a young defendant had pleaded guilty to murder.

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Woman Accused Of 10 Marriages Without Divorce

By Sky News US Team

A woman accused of marrying 10 times without divorce in a sham-marriage scam has appeared in a New York City court.

Liana Barrientos, 39, of the Bronx, pleaded not guilty on Friday to two felony charges of filing a false instrument, involving marriage licences.

According to the indictment, in March 2010 Barrientos married Salle Keita, of Mali, stating on a licence that it was her first and only marriage.

But authorities suspect she wed nine other times, between 1999 and 2002, to help foreign nationals gain US residency.

Police say Barrientos is currently married to four people and was once wed to eight.

Until recently she was living with her boyfriend, who is not thought to be one of the 10 men she is accused of marrying.

Prosecutors say the other bogus grooms were from Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Czech Republic and the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

Groom number eight, Rashid Rajput, was deported in 2006 to Pakistan after an investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

On each marriage licence, Barrientos allegedly used variations of her name and her real Social Security number.

US immigration officials brought the case to the attention of the Bronx County District Attorney's Office.

She faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

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14-Year-Old Sentenced For New Year Killing

A 14-year-old boy who killed a man on a street moments after wishing him a "Happy New Year" has been detained for three years.

Kyle Major, from Blackpool, followed his victim and knocked him to the ground by punching him in the back of the head from behind in an unprovoked attack.

Father-of-two Paul Walker, 52 and also from Blackpool, was believed to be unconscious before he hit the ground.

A passer-by found Mr Walker lying face down in the street in the early hours of New Year's Day this year.

His hands were still in his pockets when paramedics arrived.

He died shortly after in hospital.

Before Mr Walker was attacked, he had asked Major's friends for directions in Sutton Place, Blackpool.

He had become lost after leaving his sister's New Year's Eve party "in good spirits", the court heard.

He came across the group of youths - including Major - who told him where he was.

A girl in the group said Mr Walker seemed "lost, disorientated and affected by alcohol" but was "nice and friendly".

Major was heard to wish Mr Walker "Happy New Year".

But moments later the defendant and a male friend followed Mr Walker.

After felling him, Major ran off and later texted another friend: "I'm scared. Don't want to go to jail. Two/four years. Don't say anything."

He later claimed his friend filmed the attack on his phone, but no such footage has been found.

Major initially denied any involvement in the attack when arrested, but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Sentencing him at Preston Crown Court, Judge Anthony Russell QC said: "Your upbringing was unfortunate. You have been allowed to run wild.

He added: "Unprovoked violence of this kind is completely unacceptable and will be punished."

Major stared blankly ahead throughout the proceedings. He showed no emotion as he was led from the dock.

On the night of the attack, the boy had drunk six bottles of lager and a quarter of a bottle of whiskey, the court heard.

His parenting was described as "out of control" and he had seven previous convictions for non-violent offences such as burglary and theft.

The boy's lawyer, Julie Taylor, said at the time of the attack her client "was somebody at that stage in his life who perhaps did not have the parental guidance he needed at that time".

She said Major was now "extremely remorseful" and apologised to Mr Walker's family for what he had done.

Ms Taylor said Major's current foster family said he showed "a caring and kind side" when under their guidance.

One of Mr Walker's sons stormed out of the court as that comment was made.

Family members described Mr Walker as "a lovely man with a big heart", and his sister Harriet said she had not only lost a brother but "her best friend".

Judge Russell lifted reporting restrictions on naming the juvenile following an application from the media that the public interest in identifying the child outweighed his welfare.

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Jewel Heist: Victims' Anger As Alarm Ignored

The Metropolitan Police has come under fire after it emerged officers initially failed to go to the scene of the Hatton Garden jewel heist despite a burglar alarm going off.

A security firm had contacted the force about an intruder alert at the safe deposit company shortly after midnight on Good Friday.

But the call was graded in a way that meant officers did not consider it worthy of a response.

And it was not until Tuesday morning, following the four-day bank holiday Easter weekend, that the raid - one of Britain's biggest - was discovered.

The Met is now investigating why the force did not respond to the alarm activated as the heist in London's jewellery district was thought to be getting under way.

Police insisted it was too early to say if the handling of the call about the alert would have had an impact on the outcome.

But the revelations have led to anger from potential victims who spoke of their shock that the police "just weren't there".

Michael Miller, from Knightsbridge, who may have lost £50,000 in uninsured jewellery, said: "I am just so shocked and disappointed to hear the police didn't answer that alarm.

"I mean before, we thought maybe the police didn't even know about that but now we know that they knew something was wrong.

"This completely changes things, the knowledge that something could have been done.

"The police pride themselves on being somewhere in a couple of minutes, but on this occasion they just weren't there."

A store owner near the scene, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's just shocking that someone didn't answer that call that come in when the alarm went off.

"You think what on earth isn't a high priority call if it's isn't a safe deposit alarm going off in there.

"I know they're investigating but really what is the good of that when the damage is done. There are people who will have lost their livelihoods because of this."

Scotland Yard said: "The call was recorded and transferred to the police's CAD (computer aided despatch) system. A grade was applied to the call that meant that no police response was deemed to be required.

"We are now investigating why this grade was applied to the call. This investigation is being carried out locally."

Those behind the raid disabled a communal lift shaft and climbed down to the basement before using power tools to drill through a two-metre wall into the vault.

Once inside, they ransacked a total of 72 safety deposit boxes, although five were empty at the time.

A further 11 were due to be "drilled out" due to non-payment of fees, meaning detectives are attempting to contact a total of 56 box holders.

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Miliband Attacks SNP's 'Â£7.6bn Black Hole'

Ed Miliband has visited Scotland for the first time in the election campaign - claiming SNP policy would cause a £7.6bn black hole that would need to be funded by cuts or tax rises.

Sharing a platform with Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and Ed Balls he attacked SNP plans for full fiscal autonomy for Scotland.

He said SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon's announcement on Wednesday that nationalist MPs at Westminster could vote for autonomy for Scotland as early as next year was "one of the most significant" events of the campaign.

Ms Sturgeon dismissed Mr Miliband's attack as "desperate" and said the only cuts facing Scottish voters are "the ones that the Tories are proposing and Labour are backing".

:: For full coverage of the General Election click here

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Gallery: Election 2015: Sky News' Poll Of Polls

Almost half (46%) of voters would back the SNP at the General Election, according to Sky's latest poll of Scottish polls

In Sky's poll of polls on 10 April, Labour have a 2% lead over the Tories

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The projection, compiled by Sky's election analyst Michael Thrasher, would give the SNP 49 seats in the House of Commons, compared with 290 for Labour, 265 for Conservatives, 20 for Lib Dems, two for UKIP, and 24 for others

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Labour are under massive pressure north of the border thanks to soaring support for the SNP, which could cost them dozens of seats and even deprive them of a majority.

Almost half (46%) of voters would back the SNP at the General Election, according to Sky's latest poll of Scottish polls.

:: Ed Miliband Profile: The Picture Imperfect Leader

Scottish nationalists hope to wrestle full control over taxation and spending for Scotland if they win kingmaker position in the May 7 election.

But Mr Miliband said this would mean a "£7.6bn black hole" in Scotland's finances that "would need to be filled with more taxes on working people or more borrowing".

"This strikes to the very heart of what I believe in. I will never sell Scotland short by signing up to the SNP's plans," he said.

He challenged the SNP to say where cuts would be made to service the funding gap.

"Which services will be cut? Which taxes will be raised? And what cuts will it mean for pensioners in Scotland when they are taken out of the UK pensions system?" he said.

"The SNP claim in this campaign to be proposing no reductions in spending, but in fact they are planning dramatic reductions in spending. They must now come clean."

Mr Miliband also attacked the Conservatives, saying their campaign is descending into "desperation and panic" after David Cameron unveiled plans to freeze commuter rail fares and offer workers three paid days off for volunteering.

He accused the Tories of deploying personal abuse and "unfunded and unbelievable promises" in their efforts to keep Mr Cameron in power.

Mr Murphy has previously been careful to put distance between himself and Labour's Westminster leadership, saying: "I'm my own man".

It was the first time the two men have shared a platform since the start of the campaign.

Mr Murphy began the speeches, saying his party are "determined to end this Tory austerity".

He said the SNP's plans for fiscal autonomy had not been thought through and were a "slogan in search of a policy".

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

Earlier, Ms Sturgeon denied there are billions of pounds of cuts on the horizon under her autonomy plan.

"This is desperation on the part of the Labour Party," she said while campaigning on the streets of Stirling.

"Instead of putting forward a positive case of their own, they are resorting to the same fears and smears that they resorted to during the referendum.

"The truth is the only cuts on the horizon for Scotland are the ones that the Tories are proposing and Labour are backing."

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who was accused of dragging politics into the gutter by saying Mr Miliband had "stabbed his own brother in the back" to lead Labour, said the SNP "are already pulling Labour's strings".

"Nicola Sturgeon makes a statement, and the Labour leader rushes to Edinburgh to respond," he said.

"If it's like this now, imagine what it would be like with the SNP propping up Ed Miliband in Downing Street. Borrowing, taxes, our defence policy - all of it would have to be signed off by the SNP."

:: Click here to make your own Government with our Shaker Maker

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Europe's Most Notorious Jewellery Heists

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 09 April 2015 | 00.27

As detectives hunt those who raided around 70 safety deposit boxes in London - potentially making off with millions of pounds of diamonds - we look at some of the most notorious European heists of recent years.

:: Carlton Hotel, Cannes - £88m, July 2013

A lone gunman enters the hotel in the luxury French resort in broad daylight and less than a minute later escapes on foot with a suitcase full of jewels that were on show in the lobby.

The stash included pink and yellow diamonds, emeralds and sapphires.

It is one of many robberies blamed on the "Pink Panther" gang, who Interpol say have snatched jewels worth more than £280m since 1999.

The gang is thought to be a loosely-affiliated group of several hundred criminals from the former Yugoslavia.

:: Cannes Film Festival - £2m, May 2013

Thieves make off with a £1.7m necklace during a celebrity party attended by the likes of Sharon Stone and Paris Hilton.

A week earlier, £660,000 of Chopard jewels had also been stolen when a safe was ripped from a hotel wall.

:: Brussels Airport - £30m, February 2013

Dressed as police and armed with machine guns, eight men cut through fences and hold up a plane packed with 120 boxes of uncut diamonds.

Some of the robbers stand in front of the aircraft with their laser sights pointing at the pilots.

Passengers waiting to take off have no idea the robbery is taking place - it lasts barely 10 minutes.

Thirty-three people were arrested in connection with the robbery in May 2013.

:: Diarsa, Madrid - £19.5m, December 2012

The gang - whose ringleader was known as The Troll - use laser equipment to break into a distribution centre where they crack open safes and scoop up more than 1,700 luxury watches.

No alarms are triggered and they later try to sell the loot on the Chinese black market.

Seventeen of the group were eventually arrested after some of them splashed out on luxury holidays and yacht hire.

:: Graff jewellers, London - £40m, August 2009

Wearing make-up and suits to pose as legitimate customers, the gang carries out Britain's biggest jewellery raid in just two minutes.

Once inside the Mayfair store they pull guns on unsuspecting staff.

The group's ringleader takes a shop assistant hostage and fires at a security guard as he makes his escape.

Police eventually tracked down the gang of four and they were jailed for up to 23 years.

:: Harry Winston jewellers, Paris - £74m, December 2008

With some of the gang dressed as women and wearing wigs, the exclusive Champs-Elysees store is stripped of rings, necklaces and watches.

The window display and back room storage are both cleaned out as it is raided for the second time in a year.

Several employees are coshed over the head with handguns as robbers refer to them by name.

Millions of pounds of the loot was found in a drain in a Paris suburb in 2011, but most remains missing.

Eight men were finally jailed for the robbery this year.

:: Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam - £76m, February 2005

Thought to be the biggest diamond heist ever, two men in stolen KLM airline uniforms hijack a truck laden with uncut diamonds on the airport tarmac.

The drivers are forced out at gunpoint and made to lie on the ground before the pair speed off.

The vehicle was later found abandoned but the diamonds and suspects were long gone - the crime is still unsolved but police suspect an inside job.

:: Antwerp Diamond Centre, Belgium - £70m, February 2003

An Italian group known as the The School of Turin pulls off a diamond robbery said to be four years in the planning and described as the "heist of the century".

The haul was so large the gang could not carry all the stones and left the floor littered with jewels.

No alarms were tripped, despite security including infrared heat detectors, a seismic detector and a lock with more than 100 million combinations.

Guards did not realise until the following day.

A half-eaten sandwich discarded during the getaway provided DNA evidence that led to the group's ringleader - but the fate of the diamonds remains a mystery.

:: O2, London - £350m, November 2000 - The foiled plot

The gang barge through gates using a JCB digger and let off smoke bombs as they try to smash display cases with sledgehammers and a nail gun.

Their target was a collection of 12 diamonds, including De Beers' flawless 203-carat Millennium Star stone.

It could have been the world's biggest robbery but police were tipped off about the audacious plan and had swapped the jewels with imitations.

Armed police disguised as cleaners helped round up the gang, who were planning to make their getaway on the River Thames on a speedboat.

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Cop Shot Fleeing Man Like He Was 'Running Deer'

By Sky News US Team

The father of a black South Carolina man who was killed while fleeing a white policeman has said the officer shot his son as if he was trying to "kill a deer running through the woods".

Patrolman Michael Slager, 33, has been charged with murder over last Saturday's death of 50-year-old Walter Lamer Scott in the city of North Charleston.

A bystander captured video which appears to show the policeman firing eight shots at Mr Scott, who was running away at the time.

The two men had apparently engaged in a brief scuffle following a traffic stop for a faulty brake light.

The dead man's father, Walter Scott Sr, told NBC's Today Show on Wednesday: "It looked like he was trying to kill a deer or something, running through the woods."

Mr Scott Sr said his son may have fled because he owed child support money.

He said his "heart was broken" upon seeing the video.

Mr Scott Sr also told NBC that without the footage "it would have never come to light. They would have swept it under the rug, like they did with so many others."

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said on Wednesday that Slager had been fired and all officers in the city would in future wear body cameras.

In the footage, the officer is seen with his weapon raised before firing at the fleeing man. Mr Scott falls face-first to the ground.

Authorities said the officer opened fire after using a stun gun on Mr Scott.

Slager said into his police radio after the shooting that Mr Scott had taken his stun gun.

The video shows the patrolman handcuffing the victim as he lies on the ground, before walking back to a spot near where he opened fire.

The footage then shows him appearing to pick something up, return to Mr Scott, then drop it next to him on the ground.

Mr Scott was hit by five bullets - three times in the back, once in the upper buttocks and once in the ear, said family lawyer Chris Stewart, quoting a coroner.

The dead man's brother, Anthony Scott, said his late sibling was a father of four who served for two years in the US Coast Guard.

Slager, who was with North Charleston Police for five years, is being held without bail on a murder charge that could carry the death penalty.

The victim's family plans to sue Slager, the department and the city, alleging that his civil rights were violated, a family lawyer said.

The mayor said the city would continue to cover health insurance for Slager's wife, who is eight months pregnant, until she has the baby.

Nearly half of North Charleston's 100,000 population is black, according to Census data.

But some 18% of its police force is African American, the local Post and Courier newspaper reported last year.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Justice Department has also launched an investigation into the shooting, which comes after a series of police killings of unarmed black men.

The deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner on Staten Island both led to nationwide protests.

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US Soldier Killed In Afghan Insider Attack

An Afghan soldier was shot dead after opening fire on American troops - killing one and wounding several other people.

The attack was believed to be an attempt to assassinate a senior US diplomat, sources told Sky News.

The Afghan soldier opened fire after a meeting between Afghan provincial leaders and Donald Yamamoto, a former ambassador to Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, in the compound of the provincial governor in Jalalabad.

According to sources, a convoy was leaving the compound when the Afghan soldier shot at the last car using a vehicle-mounted machine gun.

Mr Yamamoto, who was recently appointed as special advisor to Afghanistan, had already left the compound by this stage and was unharmed.

The American soldier, who has not been named, was part of a unit training and advising Afghan forces

General Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, police chief for eastern Nangarhar province, said American troops immediately returned fire, killing the Afghan soldier.

An Afghan interpreter working with the US troops had previously said no American soldiers had died in the incident.

It is the second insider attack in the country this year, after an Afghan soldier killed three American contractors on 29 January.

The Western-backed Afghan government's 13-year war against the insurgents has intensified as both sides seek to strengthen their positions ahead of possible peace talks.

However, the Taliban did not immediately claim responsibility for the latest attack and many such attacks are believed to stem from personal grudges and cultural misunderstandings.

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Everything You Need To Know About Non-Doms

Who are the non-doms, what tax do they avoid and who introduced these rules anyway? Here is all you need to know.

:: What is non-dom status?

Non-domiciled status can be claimed where you are living in the UK but your father or grandfather was resident in another country when you were born. (Grandfather because non-dom status can be inherited).

It means you do not have to pay UK tax on money earned outside the UK.

:: What if my mother or grandmother were resident outside the UK when I was born?

Tough luck, you do not qualify. The rules are a bit sexist like that.

:: Rules or law?

Actually non-dom status is a tax rule. It was introduced by William Pitt the Younger in 1799 - along with income tax.

The caveat was included as an allowance for ships bringing goods back from the colonies.

:: How many non-doms are there?

Around 116,000. They tend to be very rich.

Among them are HSBC boss Stuart Gulliver and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.

Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft gave up his non-dom status in 2010 so he could remain in the House of Lords.

:: And does it effectively turn the UK into a tax haven for the rich as Labour is claiming?

Yes, and no. People may still have to pay tax in the country where they are earning cash.

That said, leaked files earlier this year showed some were paying no tax anywhere in the world by using Swiss bank accounts at the suggestion of HSBC.

:: So do non-doms get away without paying anything in the UK?

They did - but now they only do for seven years. In 2008 Labour tightened the rules.

Those who have lived in the UK for seven years had to pay an annual fee of £30,000 if they wanted to keep their non-dom status.

George Osborne tightened it further still in the Autumn Statement - increasing the fee for those living in the UK for 17 years to £90,000.

:: For really rich people that annual fee still seems a pretty good deal

It has been said. One non-dom told Sky's Political Editor Faisal Islam that the Chancellor could raise the annual fee to £250,000 and it would still be worth him staying in the UK.

:: And Labour is going to abolish non-dom status?

That is what Ed Miliband has said. It's part of his "broadest shoulders bearing the heaviest burden" approach.

However, the Conservatives point out that technically it is more small adjustments on how long people can be non-dom.

The full details of Labour's plans are as yet unclear, but it will allow only "real temporary residents" to take advantage of the tax benefits.

:: If non-doms had to pay UK tax how much would the country get?

Hundreds of millions according to Labour.

:: Then what are the drawbacks?

The UK could lose hundreds of millions, according to the Tories.

There is a fear if the very rich had to pay tax at the same level the rest of the population do then there would be a "flight of cash and talent", ie they would leave the UK and take the investment, fees they do pay, money they donate to the arts and charities with them.

This could be more costly in the long run. In the 13 years it was in power Labour did review non-dom status and decided not to scrap it.

:: Would the rich really move out lock, stock and barrel?

Just as a number of people cry flight, many also point out that London as a financial capital is a significant draw to the very wealthy and the attractions of that would not be wiped out by paying tax - although it is broadly accepted there would be some departures.

The Financial Times has spoken in support of scrapping the status.

Dragon's Den star Duncan Bannatyne, who last week signed up to a letter supporting the Tories on corporation tax, is in favour of the move.

:: Any other issues?

As Sky's Economics Editor Ed Conway points out: "If Labour do scrap non-dom status & bring in a mansion tax, one can only imagine the scale of collapse of the prime London property market."

:: And are all party members on the same page with this?

There is some confusion.

Tory Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said in interview that the Tories wanted those based in the UK to pay tax on all their earnings - even those from abroad. Although this has not been the Conservative standpoint.

Meanwhile, an interview with shadow chancellor Ed Balls has been unearthed in which he says the UK could not afford to scrap non-dom status.

:: What do other countries do?

The UK deal is very generous but others, including Belgium and the Netherlands, have similar rules.

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Coalition With Nationalists 'Would Be Treason'

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

A coalition government with the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru or Sinn Féin would be tantamount to "treason", according to the English Democrats.

The party, formed in 2002 to bring about English independence from Britain, made the comments at the launch of their General Election campaign.

In a speech at the Hung, Drawn And Quartered pub in central London, party chairman Robin Tilbrook pointed out that the title of the drinking hole would be the sort of punishment that the likes of SNP and Plaid Cymru supporters could have faced in the past.

Behind the jokes, Mr Tilbrook said there was a serious issue about the English not having a strong enough voice in government.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

"Look at last week's leaders' debate which had Nicola Sturgeon being the strong voice for Scotland and Leanne Wood for Wales," he said.

"We need a strong voice for England."

The party is hoping to match Plaid Cymru's number of parliamentary candidates and field around 40 in May, but admits that funding and interest is relatively low.

Mr Tilbrook said: "We have around 3,500 members which isn't an insignificant number.

"But we need to get our membership up to about 10,000 to really be fully self-sustained - so I am keen to build the party. This election will be important.

"I don't think we'll win any seats but if we get the kind of government that we think we will have, people in England will start to wake up.

"I believe we will one day have an independence referendum in England."

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Mum Jailed For Fatally Poisoning Son With Salt

A suburban mother who blogged for years about her son's poor health has been sentenced to 20 years to life for poisoning him to death with salt.

Lacey Spears, 27, was convicted last month by a jury in White Plains, New York, of second-degree murder in the 2014 death of five-year-old Garnett.

She repeatedly force-fed sodium to the boy - whose father was killed in a car accident - through a stomach tube before he died on 23 January last year.

Spears portrayed herself as a devoted mother while documenting on social media her son's battle with a mysterious illness.

Prosecutors said she eventually killed the boy because she feared he would reveal she was poisoning him.

The trial heard that Spears loved the drama of Garnett's illness.

Assistant District Attorney Patricia Murphy said in closing arguments: "She apparently craved the attention of her family, her friends, her co-workers and most particularly the medical profession."

Doctors testified in court there was no medical explanation for the fatal surge in Garnett's sodium levels.

Spears tweeted in November 2009, adding a sad-faced emoticon: "My sweet angel is in the hospital for the 23rd time."

"Please pray he gets to come home soon."

But footage showed her twice taking Garnett into a hospital bathroom with a connector tube and the boy suffering afterwards.

Spears maintained her innocence despite the fact that two feeding bags heavily tainted with salt had been found in her apartment.

She asked a friend to hide one of them.

"Get rid of it and don't tell anybody," she said.

The equivalent of 69 McDonald's salt packets was in one bag, a forensic toxicologist testified.

Her social media posts of Garnett's final hours on life support were introduced as evidence by the prosecution.

The court heard Spears was a "calculating child killer" who carried out online research into the dangers of sodium in children.

Prosecutors said Spears often lied to doctors about Garnett's health, falsely claiming he suffered from Coeliac disease, Chrohn's disease and ear abnormalities.

Spears was living in Chestnut Ridge, New York, at the time of the boy's death, but she is originally from Decatur, Alabama.

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Army Cadet 'Left Pregnant By Recruiter's Rape'

An Army recruitment sergeant carried out sex attacks on 11 victims as young as 15 while working at an Army careers centre, a jury has heard.

Edwin Mee, from Croydon, south London, left a young cadet pregnant after raping her during his campaign of sex abuse against female recruits, it is claimed.

The 45-year-old established a "pattern of bullying sexual behaviour that was repeated again and again," London's Southwark Crown Court was told.

Prosecutors say the "bullying" Scottish officer, known as Jock, had a preference for vulnerable black women born overseas.

The divorced father-of-five is said to have carried out the attacks on women, aged from 15 to their early 20s, between October 2010 and September 2011.

One of the women, a virgin in her early 20s, became pregnant when Mee raped her in a locked waiting room, the court heard.

Doctors found she had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and was operated on after collapsing in hospital.

It is alleged when she called Mee to tell him what had happened, he replied "I thought you were safe" and never spoke to her again.

Mee would stay later at the careers centre and hold interviews with applicants out of hours to "deliberately" target his alleged victims, the jury heard.

He disregarded normal Army interview procedures to keep the complainants to himself and "gauge their vulnerability".

Prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC said the attacks had been an "abuse of trust and power by this defendant in order to bully and groom young women".

He would speak to the women about sex, touch them and in the most serious instances rape those he had established control over, she said.

"A number of the complainants in this case were young black women, born outside the United Kingdom," she added.

"Whether the defendant believed that this gave them a vulnerability in relation to their immigration status, or gave him an excuse to pretend that he had some power over them, the inference that the prosecution say can be drawn is that he deliberately targeted these young women."

Alleged victims had been left in no doubt that they should "put up or shut up", Ms Cottage said.

One of the complainants, aged 16 at the time, claimed Mee slapped her bottom and, when she complained, told her: "It's you who needs the Army."

The woman decided not to pursue a career in the Army "because of the defendant's behaviour".

The youngest alleged victim was 15 when she went several times to the recruitment office.

He asked her for a date and tried to kiss her on the lips in a corridor, but she turned away and he "got her on the cheek," the court heard.

Mee denies 17 counts of sexual assault, three rapes and one count of assault by penetration.

The trial continues.

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Labour Would Abolish 'Non-Dom' Tax Status

By Jason Farrell, Senior Political Correspondent

Ed Miliband has defended his policy to abolish non-dom status after it emerged the shadow chancellor recently said scrapping the tax rule would cost the country money.

The Labour leader unveiled plans to end the rule that allows some of the wealthiest to limit the amount of tax they pay in the UK and stop Britain effectively becoming an "offshore tax haven" for the wealthiest.

But the Conservatives were quick to point out an interview with BBC Leeds in January in which Ed Balls said doing away with non-dom status would be expensive.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

In the interview Mr Balls said: "I think if you abolished the whole status then probably it ends up costing Britain money because there will be some people who will then leave the country.

"But I think we can be tougher and we should be and we will."

The Tories tweeted out a version of the video in which Mr Balls' last sentence was omitted as evidence that the Labour policy was "unravelling".

:: All You Need To Know About Non-Dom Status

However, tackled about the interview during his speech at Warwick University, the Labour leader said: "We've found a way to do this that independent experts say will raise hundreds of millions of pounds."

Mr Balls later tweeted: "My interview with BBC in January, when we working on policy, fully consistent with announcement today - but Tories edited my interview."

Mr Miliband announced plans to end non-dom status for all but "real temporary residents".

There are 116,000 non-doms in the UK who pay no tax on their earnings outside the UK because either they, their fathers or grandfathers were born in another country and consider that home. The status can be inherited.

Mr Miliband said: "It works against every business and working person in this country who has to pay more as a result, everybody who relies on public services like the NHS, everybody who believes in Britain and a fair and modern country.

"The United States doesn't do it. No other major country in the developed world does it. No one would propose doing it now if didn't already exist. One rule for some and another for others? It is unjust, it does not work, it holds Britain back and we will stop it."

The Conservatives say scrapping the 200-year-old tax rule would cost the country money because non-doms would simply leave the country.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "We have Ed Balls himself saying it would cost the country money.

"It is a classic example of the economic chaos and confusion you get with Ed Miliband.

"It's why they have no economic credibility."

Mr Osborne tightened the rules on non-doms in the Autumn Statement, charging those who have been resident in the UK for 17 years £90,000 a year to allow them to retain non-dom status.

There had been confusion when Nicky Morgan, the Tory Education Secretary, suggested in an interview on the BBC's Today programme the party would tax all those based in the UK on all earnings - including those earned abroad.

Mr Miliband was also sharply criticised because of the significant increase in the number of non-doms under the last Labour government.

The Liberal Democrats said the "vast majority" of those who took advantage of "non-dom" status spent less than five years in the UK.

Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said the policy might be a "shrewd political move" but added: "It's very unclear what additional revenue would be raised, but the UK's international reputation would be put at risk."

Nigel Farage said UKIP would put up the fees for people to retain the non-dom status and would stop it from being hereditary.

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Jewellery Heist: Gems 'Already Out Of Country'

Gems stolen in one of the largest and most daring jewellery heists ever will already be out of the country, a former Flying Squad chief believes.

Jewellery and precious stones, which could be worth millions of pounds, were snatched by thieves from a vault in Hatton Garden, London, over the weekend.

The audacious villains are believed to have broken into the building through the roof and abseiled down a lift shaft to access the vault.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police said heavy cutting equipment was then used get into a vault at the premises, where 60 to 70 safe boxes were raided.

The vault is believed to be reinforced with thick metal and concrete protection doors, up to 2ft thick.

This afternoon, questions were raised about security at the premises amid reports guards responded to an alarm on Friday, but left without checking inside.

Safe box owner Gerry Landon said he was devastated after losing the precious items in his safe box, and found the break-in "unbelievable".

"Apparently, as you may have read, the alarm went off at one o'clock on Friday and the the security guards came down," Mr Landon said.

"They more or less looked through the window to see that there was no activity there - and then they left."

Speaking to Sky News earlier, former Flying Squad chief Barry Phillips described the heist as "sophisticated" and "highly organised".

He said the robbery will have been carried out by a "professional team".

"This has all the hallmarks of a TV or Hollywood film production," Mr Phillips said.

"It was a highly organised, sophisticated crime.

"It's highly likely that any gems or jewellery will have already been sourced and out of the country.

"If past jobs of this nature are taken into account, the thieves will have placed all of the jewellery prior to the robbery.

"That takes a high degree of organisation on behalf of the villains."

Neil Duttson, a diamond dealer who buys stones for private clients, said tracing any gems stolen in the heist would be nearly impossible.

He said: "Once diamonds have been re-cut and polished there is no geological map.

"I imagine they will be sat on for six months. You can expect some cheap diamonds will be coming on the market soon."

Police have not put a value on the goods stolen, but estimates vary widely from hundreds of thousands of pounds to £200m.

One victim of the heist, a jeweller from the area, has spoken of his "extreme shock".

He said he feared that a £5,000 watch he bought for his son on the day he was born might have been stolen.

Michael Miller told Sky News he "felt sick" at the prospect of losing up to £50,000 of jewellery and watches during the burglary.

Mr Miller said his goods - like those of many with deposit boxes there - were uninsured.

The safe boxes might be worth up to £2m each, he said.

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "The suspects have had perhaps several days (over the Easter weekend) in which to get in.

"One report, I'm told, suggested that they used a lift shaft at some stage to get into the centre, which must be pretty heavily protected.

"It's probably going to be some days before we get an idea of exactly how much has been stolen or what indeed has been stolen."

Hatton Garden is known as London's jewellery quarter and the safe deposit boxes are mainly used by local jewellers to store loose diamonds in packets.

Other boxes - around 10% of them - are rented by private individuals and so the true value of the heist may never be known, Mr Phillips said.

Lewis Malka, a diamond jewellery expert who works in Hatton Garden, tweeted: "Quiet day in the office and then I found out one of my client's antique bracelets was stolen in the Hatton Garden robbery."

Mr Malka added: "Most of the people who have got safe deposits there are people in the trade.

"I know for a fact that some of my work colleagues have got boxes down there and we are talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds in goods."

In 2003, cash and valuables worth an estimated £1.5m were stolen after a suspect emptied safe boxes at the Hatton vault while posing as a customer.

In July 1987, the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre was hit by one of the largest robberies in history.

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Gallery: From Securitas To Brink's-Mat

The Securitas depot raid in Tonbridge, 2006, was the largest cash robbery in UK history, netting the gang more than £53m after they kidnapped the site manager and his family. Four received life terms

Graff's Jewellers in London's New Bond Street was hit by men whose faces had been disguised by prosthetics in 2009. They took jewellery valued at £40m but the gang was jailed for a total of 71 years

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Terrorism Officers Investigate Death Of Preacher

Detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command are investigating the death of a Syrian preacher in north-west London.

Abdul Hadi Arwani, 48, was found in his Volkswagen Passat in Wembley with a gunshot wound to the chest on Tuesday morning.

Mr Arwani, a British national born in Syria, was living in west London and was a preacher at the An-Noor Mosque in Acton.

Officers from the Counter Terrorism Command unit have taken the lead in the investigation because of their "expertise in the management of investigations with international dimensions and an established liaison network abroad", Scotland Yard said in a statement.

The force said: "The investigation remains in its very early stages and officers remain open-minded about the motive."

A post-mortem examination into Mr Arwani's death will take place on Thursday. Formal identification has not yet taken place.

Mr Arwani is said to be a staunch critic of the Bashar al Assad regime in Syria.

An-Noor Mosque has previously hosted the son of radical preacher Abu Hamza, and was the location for the November 2013 escape of terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, who dressed himself in a burka.

Supporters posted messages about the preacher's death on Twitter.

One read: "Just received the news Sheikh Abdul Hadi has been murdered. May Allah grant him jannatul firdous [paradise]."

Another wrote: "Former imam of Masjid an-Noor in Acton, Sheikh Abdul Hadi Arwani has been found shot dead in his car. May Allah have mercy on him and accept him."

:: Anyone with information should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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