Clifford's Sky Antics 'Show Lack Of Remorse'

The judge at Max Clifford's trial said the PR man's mocking appearance behind a Sky News correspondent was "extraordinary" and showed a lack of remorse for his crimes.

Clifford appeared behind Tom Parmenter as he was reporting outside the court while the trial was still continuing on April 8.

He appeared to mimic the correspondent as he described intimate details of the evidence and how his victims were affected.

The piece to camera was not being broadcast live - but Clifford did not know that at the time.

Judge Anthony Leonard said: "I have discovered that you appeared behind a reporter outside this court whilst he was making his report of your evidence and during which you mimicked his actions in a way that was designed to trivialise these events.

"I find your behaviour to be quite extraordinary and a further indication that you show no remorse."

Parmenter said Clifford had later asked him whether his news colleagues had found it funny.

The recording outside Southwark Crown Court was not aired until after Clifford had been convicted.

The 71-year-old was sentenced to eight years on Friday after being found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault against four women aged between 15 and 19.

He will serve at least half that sentence.

Detective Chief Inspector Michael Orchard said it had been a "painstaking investigation" which he hoped would encourage other victims of historical sexual abuse to come forward.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lee Ryan Urinated On Floor Of Police Cell

Blue singer Lee Ryan unleashed a tirade of foul-mouthed abuse at police officers before urinating and vomiting on the floor of a cell, a court has heard.

After being stopped for driving erratically and taken to a police station on a night out, he refused to take a breath test and swore at an officer.

When officers warned Ryan he would be prosecuted if he did not provide a specimen, he told them to "f*** off", a court heard.

He then continued to hurl a stream of expletives at those who were arresting him.

The star's bandmates were at court to support him

The star was handed a £3,325 fine and banned from the roads for two years after pleading guilty to failing to provide a specimen and causing £120 of criminal damage.

It was the urination that led to the charge of criminal damage.

The 30-year-old All Rise singer, who was recently seen in Celebrity Big Brother, appeared at Ealing Magistrates' Court in west London.

He was arrested in Ealing at 5.30am on April 11 this year after a night out in London's West End to celebrate the birthday of his bandmate Duncan James.

Bandmates Antony Costa and Duncan James leave the court

Majit Mahal, prosecuting, told the court: "Officers could immediately smell alcohol from Mr Ryan's breath and his eyes appeared glazed.

"Asked if he had consumed some alcohol that night, Mr Ryan said 'Yes, a few'."

Officers noticed that there was an empty bottle in the pocket of the driver's seat. Ryan was unsteady on his feet and slurred his speech when he got out of the vehicle.

Mr Mahal said he was in such a "drunken state" that officers took him straight to Acton police station.

It was there that he refused a breath test and repeatedly swore at officers.

Ryan outside court after being fined and banned from driving

After he became aggressive he was marched to a cell where he urinated and was sick all over the floor.

When officers returned to the cell, they could see urine leaking from the door and into the hallway. The star is said to have told officers: "I didn't realise there was a toilet here."

In court, he spoke clearly as he pleaded guilty to the two offences.

He blamed his meltdown on the torrent of online abuse he received in the wake of his controversial appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.

His defence team said he had fallen victim to attacks on Twitter and had even received death threats. Defence lawyer Peter Ratliff told the court: "There can be no doubt that decision (to take part in Celebrity Big Brother) was a mistake."

All three of Ryan's Blue bandmates - James and Simon Webbe, both 36, and Antony Costa, 32 - were in the public gallery of the court to support him.

Ryan shot to fame in 2000 and went on to sell 3.3 million albums and a million singles in the UK with Blue.

He was also rumoured to be involved in a love triangle during Celebrity Big Brother.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nasa Images Capture Huge Fires In North Korea

Dozens of raging fires in North Korea have been photographed from space.

The images taken from a Nasa satellite showed vast plumes of smoke rising from across the east and southeast areas of the secretive state, near its border with South Korea.

Many of the fires appeared to be in farm lands near rivers, which the agency said may have been lit by farmers clearing debris to help fertilise the soil.

Low-lying areas appear in brown and elevated areas in green

Others were in heavily forested areas, suggesting they could be wildfires, or started by drooping wires on ageing power lines.

"Collectively, the fires were producing enough smoke to send plumes of haze drifting east over the Sea of Japan," Nasa said on its website.

The images were taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Nasa's Aqua satellite, earlier this week.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Woman's Belly Button 'Burst' On Flight

A woman received compensation after her belly button "erupted" on a flight following a botched tummy tuck operation, it has been revealed.

Patricia Jackson, 68, was returning from a holiday in Portugal in 2011 when her navel "unexpectedly burst" after the cosmetic surgery years earlier had gone "wrong", according to Fletchers Solicitors.

She was awarded £22,500 compensation earlier this year after she successfully sued the doctor responsible.

Mrs Jackson said: "The result of my case means that awareness has been raised and it can hopefully change patient care in the future."

Plastic surgeon Edgardo Schiavone had performed an abdominoplasty on Mrs Jackson when he worked at the Hospital Group in Birmingham in 2005, her lawyers said.

Surgeons had removed fat and spare skin from Mrs Jackson before tightening the muscles in the abdominal wall.

But after the procedure Mrs Jackson was told that they had not "created" a new belly button for her because there was not enough skin left over.

Some six years later, while she was on her way home from the Portugal holiday, Mrs Jackson noticed that there were blisters where her old belly button had been.

After her navel burst on the flight, doctors discovered Mrs Jackson's old belly button had been left inside her and she was forced to undergo another round of reconstructive surgery.

Jeanette Aspinall, head of medical negligence at Fletchers Solicitors, added: "This case highlights how easy it is for an everyday cosmetic surgery procedure, like a tummy tuck, to go wrong, both with the surgery itself and if the proper after-care is not administered.

"Mrs Jackson had the operation to gain confidence, and instead was subjected to years of pain and embarrassment."

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

School 'Massacre Plot' Foiled By Tip-Off

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after police foiled an elaborate plot to kill his family, bomb his school and kill "as many students as he could".

John David LaDue, from Waseca, Minnesota, was arrested on Tuesday after a tip-off that somebody was acting suspiciously near a storage unit.

Police found LaDue inside the lock-up with bomb-making materials including a pressure cooker, steel ball-bearings, "pyrotechnic chemicals" and gunpowder.

"Numerous guns, ammunition and prepared bombs and paperwork documenting his plans" were later found at LaDue's house, said Captain Kris Markeson.

Police found LaDue in a storage unit with bomb-making materials. Pic: CBS

The haul included an assault rifle with 400 rounds of ammunition and a 9mm handgun.

Officers said he was less than two weeks from carrying out the attack, which they say was documented in great detail in a journal locked inside the teenager's guitar case.

Captain Markeson said: "During his interview with officers LaDue revealed his plan was to kill his family members, start a diversionary fire ... to distract first responders and travel to the Waseca Junior/Senior High School.

"Once there he intended to set off numerous bombs during the lunch hour, kill the school resource officer as he responded to help, set fires and shoot students and staff.

Firearms and a journal detailing the plot were found at the teen's home

"He planned to be killed by responding law enforcement officers."

Police said LaDue planned to carry out the attack on April 20 - the 15th anniversary of the Columbine school massacre - but had to put off the attack as the date fell on Easter Sunday.

LaDue had already experimented with smaller explosions in a local elementary school playground, police said.

The teen faces four counts of attempted first-degree murder, six counts of possessing explosive or incendiary devices and two counts of criminal damage to property.

He will next appear in court on May 12.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Schoolgirls Arrested Over 'Plot To Kill Teacher'

Two schoolgirls have been arrested on suspicion of planning to murder a teacher.

Gwent Police said the pair, aged 14 and 15, were arrested at Cwmcarn High School in South Wales because of concerns about their behaviour.

Detectives said they were informed about the alleged plot by a teacher at the school.

A police spokesman stressed "no physical confrontation" had taken place.

The 15-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of threats to kill, possession of a "bladed article" on school premises and conspiracy to commit murder.

It is believed a kitchen knife had been found in the girl's school bag.

Her 14-year-old friend was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.

Cwmcarn High School head teacher Jacqui Peplinski said in a statement: "You may be aware that concerns were raised about a pupil in the school yesterday.

"Please be assured that the concerns were dealt with swiftly. There was no risk to any staff or learner and the relevant support services were contacted as a precautionary measure.

"Cwmcarn High is a caring and safe environment and we are committed to everyone's safety. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns."

A spokesman on behalf of Caerphilly County Borough Council and Cwmcarn High School said: "We can confirm that concerns were raised about a pupil at Cwmcarn High School yesterday which were swiftly dealt with by staff and Gwent Police.

"Support is now in place for both pupils and staff and we would like to assure parents that all appropriate steps were taken to respond effectively to the situation. We are now helping the police with their enquiries."

It comes after teacher Ann Maguire died following a classroom attack at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds on Monday.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Thousands Missing As Landslide Buries Village

As many as 2,000 people are missing after a landslide buried part of a village in Afghanistan, according to officials.

Three hundred homes in the village of Hobo Barik were buried after heavy rains caused part of a hill to collapse at around 1pm local time on Friday.

Governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb said around a third of the village had been hit by the landslide and appealed for equipment for rescue teams.

He said: "It's physically impossible right now. We don't have enough shovels, we need more machinery."

Three hundred homes have been buried by the landslide

Mr Adeeb added authorities had evacuated a nearby village over fears of more landslides.

Ahmad Reza, an Afghan journalist, told Sky News: "They say they have warned another 700 homes to evacuate because of rock falls that might happen at any time.

"They are searching for survivors, but rescuers say this disaster is huge. Up until now only eight survivors have been found."

Ari Gaitanis, from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, said at least 350 people have died in the landslide.

Weeks of heavy rain caused part of a hillslide to slip

Faziluddin Hayar, police chief in Badakshan province, said seven people have been rescued and search crews were looking for more survivors.

Badakshan province is located in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges and is one of the most remote areas in the country.

The area, which borders Tajikistan and China, has seen few attacks from insurgents following the 2001 US-led military action in the country.

It comes after severe flooding left 150 people dead and thousands affected in Jowzjan, Faryab and Sar-e-Pul provinces in the north of the country.

Avalanches are also common in the mountains of northern Afghanistan. In February 2010, more than 170 people were killed in an avalanche in Salang Pass, which connects the capital Kabul with the north of the country.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine Military Assault: Many Killed

"Many" pro-Russian fighters have been killed as Ukraine launched its first major offensive against rebel forces that have seized official buildings across the country's east.

Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and seven wounded in clashes that saw two Ukrainian helicopters shot down.

But he said many insurgents had been killed and injured and that the army now controlled all of the checkpoints around Slavyansk.

A man, said to be one of the Ukrainian helicopter crew, is taken away

The Kremlin said Kiev's offensive against the insurgents had "destroyed" the two-week-old Geneva agreement on cooling Ukraine's crisis.

A spokeswoman for the pro-Russian militants also said one of their men was killed and another injured.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov urged local residents to stay indoors during the "anti-terrorist operation" in rebel-held Slavyansk early Friday morning.

A helicopter lands at Andreevka, just outside Slavyansk

Posting on Facebook, he said the city was "tightly surrounded" after government troops seized nine rebel-held road checkpoints.

"Against Ukraine's special forces, terrorists used heavy artillery, including grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missile launchers," Mr Avakov said.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the insurgency-appointed mayor of Slavyansk, said self-defence forces had shot down two helicopters and taken one person hostage.

Shoulder-launched missiles had downed the aircraft, according to the Ukrainian defence ministry.

A third helicopter, said to be carrying carrying medical staff, was also hit and one person wounded, according to the ministry.

Ukrainian officials believe the use of such heavy weaponry proves Russian forces are in the area - something repeatedly denied by Moscow.

Separatist forces were still reported to be firmly in control of Slavyansk's streets, with Ukrainian armoured vehicles restricted to the city's outskirts.

Ukrainian troops stand guard at a checkpoint near Slavyansk

The offensive by the Ukrainian government marks the first significant military response by Kiev.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "punitive operation" had destroyed a peace plan agreed with Western powers in Geneva last month.

"While Russia is making efforts to de-escalate and settle the conflict, the Kiev regime moved combat air forces against peaceful settlements, began a reprisal raid, essentially finishing off the last hope for the feasibility of the Geneva accords," Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Officials have been criticised for being slow to act to stop the pro-Russian forces seizing swathes of its Donbass coal and steel belt.

The armed groups seeking union with Moscow have seized a number of government buildings in towns in eastern Ukraine.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police To Request More Time To Question Adams

Police investigating the murder of Jean McConville are preparing to request more time to question Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.

With the initial 48-hour deadline fast-approaching for officers to either charge or release Mr Adams after his arrest on Wednesday night, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is seeking to apply for an extension.

The 65-year-old, who has always vehemently denied allegations levelled by former republican colleagues that he ordered the murder of Ms McConville, voluntarily presented himself for interview.

Ms McConville was dragged screaming from her home by an IRA gang in 1972

It came as Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness claimed the detention of his long-time party colleague and friend was politically motivated ahead of elections later this month.

Mr McGuinness accused "very senior people" in the PSNI who were opposed to the peace process of engaging in "political policing".

"There is a cabal in the PSNI who have a different agenda - a negative and destructive agenda - to both the peace process and to Sinn Fein," he said.

Mr McGuinness contrasted the treatment of Mr Adams with a series of cases involving the British military - such as the Bloody Sunday killings of 1972 - where no action had been taken.

Mr McGuinness said Sinn Fein would "reflect" and "review" its support for policing in the region if Mr Adams is charged but urged republicans to remain calm if and until that happened.

Martin McGuinness says the arrest of Mr Adams was politically motivated

Police are questioning Mr Adams about the killing of the Belfast mother of 10 in 1972.

She was wrongly suspected of being an informer to the British Army.

Ms McConville was dragged screaming from her children in the Divis flats in west Belfast by a gang of up to 12 men and women.

She was interrogated, shot in the back of the head and then secretly buried - so becoming one of the "Disappeared" victims of the Troubles.

Her body was not found until 2003 on a beach in Co Louth, 50 miles from her home.

Helen McKendry says she is ready to name the people who killed her mother

Ms McConville's eldest daughter, Helen McKendry, has told journalists she is now prepared to name the people responsible for her mother's death.

PSNI chief constable Matt Baggott has vowed the investigation into Ms McConville's death will be "effective, objective and methodical".

No one has ever been charged with the murder of the 37-year-old widow.

But after years without progress in the criminal investigation there have been a series of arrests in recent weeks.

The recent police activity followed a decision by a US court compelling a Boston university to hand over to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) recorded interviews with republicans about the murder.

Boston College interviewed a number of former paramilitaries about the Troubles on the understanding transcripts would not be published until after their deaths.

But that undertaking was rendered ineffective when the court ordered last year that tapes that contained claims about the killing be given to detectives.

00.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Clifford Jailed For Eight Years For Sex Crimes

The Letter Read Out In Court

Updated: 7:13pm UK, Wednesday 12 March 2014

The letter allgedly written by a witness to Max Clifford containing allegations of sexual assault.

"It has taken me 35 years to write this letter so I hope that it will reach you, I believe that it will.

"As anyone who opens this email/letter should realise just how important and significant this correspondence is to pass it to you

"Too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands, too serious not to inform you of its existence. You will not be surprised by it as you have often said that you are amazed that things haven't surfaced.

"I wondered if you remember, as I do the child sexual abuse you engaged in? befriending my parents, flattering their daughter and talking of an acting/modelling career, offices near Bond Street, they were impressed even though no one had heard of you

"Conversations with your friend Tommy Steele, wasn't it squash you played? Julie Christie and the new Star Wars film that was soon to hit the cinema.

"Lots of famous names, places and yet still down to earth the local lad made good.

"Recommending restaurants, funny stories, to gain their trust, The abuse started in your office, you sat behind your desk eventually persuading me to strip convincing me, my protesting was ridiculous and childish.

"Don't you want to be grown up, you took pleasure in degrading me, visiting me at home taking me out to meet fictious people, abusing me instead and returning me to my home with a story, so that my parents didn't become suspicious.

"Names of people we had met, places we had been to so they would be fooled their daughter was in safe hands and not those of a paedophile.

"The abuse continued, a friend's flat where you wanted me to act out a scene, you raped me, you blackmailed me with lies about photographs that had been taken, fooled me into believing that you were somehow protecting me by stopping them from being published.

"Even inventing another person who telephoned and continued with the pretence, and demanded that I talked dirty to them, what was his name ? That's right Max, pretending to be Terry.....

"I had no one to turn to. You were very clever A+ in grooming children! how proud you must be. What chance did I have ? You made my life a living hell up until the point I was even contemplating suicide.

"You got worried then and backed off. Too dangerous for you. You might have been found out.

"You repulsed me then as you do now. Wearing the mask of someone who has values, hiding behind charity work, trying to cleanse yourself of the guilt you must feel perhaps and stating that you don't have sympathy for paedophiles.

"You pretend to be normal but you know inside you are not and you will never escape that shame. It must feel horrible to know that the real you is so vile and repulsive.

"It must be frustrating that you have no one to talk to about that. Perhaps you will even try to clear the memories. Almost fooling yourself that you are a good person now.

"Better than that convinced yourself almost that it didn't happen or does it continue. Are you still abusing children ?

"I remember driving, pulling up behind you at traffic lights in Raynes Park, you in your yellow Jag, so obvious that it was you.

"What to do ? Wanting to get out of the car, confront you, let you know that I still remember wanting everyone to know - the real disgusting creature that you are.

"I wonder what your daughter would think of you if she knew. Perhaps she does know and it's a secret that you share. How terrifying for you, knowing that you have so much to lose.

"She was a child when I was a child, perhaps you abused her to or did you draw the line there ?

"Perhaps you made excuses, fed her a line and you think she's fooled as well. If she does suspect, maybe she is not ready to face the reality, too painful too horrific, every little girls worse nightmare.

"Of course, one day she will find out the truth, and perhaps you won't be around to beg forgiveness or feed her the excuses or blame someone else. What an awful memory she will be left with.

"I truly feel huge sympathy for her. I can't imagine how unbearable it would be to find out that your father was a paedophile. It would probably ruin her life and certainly make her doubt everything about your relationship.

"You may have gotten away with it for tears but inside you can't escape from the monster that you are. A repulsive vile reality. That terrible festering secret of yours which burdens you, your secret not my secret.

"The hypocrisy of your life you say you can't bear hypocrisy and that is what spurs you on, when you yourself are a hypocrite worse than any of those you seek to shame. A peaedophile that publicly condemns other paedophiles to divert attention.

"A double bluff ! How many others like me are there out there ?  I shudder to think of all those opportunities that you had/have to groom children. All the time wearing that mask, shame on you.

"Part of the reason that I am writing to you is that my counsellor has recommend it as part of my therapy. I am undecided how much it will help or where we go from here....."

00.47 | 0 komentar | Read More