India Diplomat 'Repeatedly Stripped' In US

Shock In India At Diplomat Strip Search

Updated: 3:50pm UK, Wednesday 18 December 2013

By Neville Lazarus, Asia Producer

Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade's father Uttam said he and his family are devastated their hard-working girl has been publicly "handcuffed, strip searched and cavity searched".

She was arrested while dropping her daughter at school last week, for allegedly underpaying her housekeeper and committing visa fraud to get her into the US.

In India, the sort of punishment Ms Khobragade received in New York is reserved for inhuman crimes. For a middle class educated family this is surely a nightmare.

The country has been shocked and outraged over the incident.

Every Indian is hurt as a foreign service officer is well respected and has a position in society.

The family would be feted and most sought after in social circles.

The foreign service in India is reserved for the best and brightest.

To give an example the civil services examination through which Ms Khobragade would have had to qualify is one of the most difficult competitions in the country.

On average, 500,000 candidates apply for the examination for a total of about 800 positions. That means one in 500 are selected, the probability of success is less than 1%.

Cutting across party lines all political leaders in parliament have deplored the actions of the US Marshals.

One lawmaker wants the same treatment meted out to American diplomats here in India if they have violated a local law.

This will make them realise what dishonour is, he said.

The normally reticent Prime Minister called the treatment "deplorable".

His government has now shifted Ms Khobragade to the permanent mission at the UN giving her full immunity under the Vienna Convention and to bring her back to India as soon as possible.

As general elections are due in the summer next year, there is a tinge of politics.

While the present government does not want to be seen to be cowing to the US, the opposition parties blame the government for grovelling to US pressure over the years, and as a result a foreign policy that is ineffective and one sided.

But at the moment, all political parties back the measures of the Indian government.

Women in India are still victims of social, political, economical and caste prejudices.

And this is borne out with the rising number of cases of violence, sexual and otherwise, against them. In a patriarchal society women have found it very hard to break out but they are trying.

After the horrific bus gang rape case in December 2012 the mood in the nation has changed.

New laws were formulated and fast track courts are pronouncing time-bound judgements, which otherwise take decades to conclude.

India is fighting an internal battle and everyone knows it's a very long one - but there is a start.

And that's why when a well-educated, career woman is dishonoured, there is an outcry.

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Grandmother Murder: Man Jailed For Life

A drug addict who murdered his grandmother by stabbing her 50 times in her bed has been sentenced to life in prison.

Police said Louisa Denby was subjected to a "brutal and frenzied attack" at the hands of grandson Nathaniel Flynn, who has never explained why he killed her.

The most likely explanation for why he stabbed the 84-year-old retired teacher to death was that "she got on his nerves", a court heard.

Flynn, who later tried to kill a nine-year-old boy, was told by Mr Justice Keith that he must serve a minimum of 24 years in prison.

The 27-year-old admitted killing Ms Denby at their home in Prospect Mount, Shipley, West Yorkshire, in July, and stabbing Jason D'Arcy in nearby Carnegie skate park later the same day.

Louisa Denby was found murdered at her home in Shipley

Bradford Crown Court heard that Jason suffered a shallow wound to his chest and a much more serious injury to his arm as he tried to defend himself.

Detectives said it was "only through sheer luck that he wasn't murdered".

The child ran home after he was stabbed twice and received first aid from his father Lee D'Arcy, who struggled to call an ambulance because there was so much blood.

The schoolboy later told police: "He went for my heart."

Flynn then tried to entice eight-year-old  Ellie Palomar from her garden where she was playing and later assaulted a 59-year-old man outside his home.

Three psychiatrists found that Flynn had no diagnosable mental illness, but said he had been influenced by his heavy, "entrenched" use of cannabis and other drugs.

A police officer at the skate park where Jason D'Arcy was attacked

He was due to go on trial earlier this month but pleaded guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder.

Flynn ordered an SAS survival guide, two knives, tarpaulin and rope from the internet in the days before he killed his grandmother.

Police believe one of the knives was used in the attacks, although the weapon has never been recovered.

The court heard that Flynn was still wearing pyjamas when he walked into Ms Denby's bedroom on the morning of July 1.

He later told a psychiatrist that he thought his grandmother was "deteriorating" and wanted to end it for her, despite there being no evidence from anyone else in the family that Ms Denby had any problems.

The judge heard that he told the doctor: "I got her a cup of tea and said 'I love you' and then I attacked her."

Ms Denby's family said afterwards her "horrific" death had had "a devastating effect" on them.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Wallen, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "The attack on Louisa was brutal and frenzied and we can only imagine the impact of Flynn's actions upon her family who continue to suffer from the consequences of her loss to this day. Louisa was a lovely lady and our thoughts remain with her family at this time."

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Syria: Sky News Gains Access To UK Jihadists

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Sky News has gained the first access to a previously unknown brigade of exclusively British jihadists fighting in Syria.

Until now, the existence of this UK brigade has been kept a secret, but it reveals that British security services have hugely underestimated the scale of UK nationals involved in the bloodshed.

In a series of wide-ranging and frank interviews, the jihadists, who have asked Sky News to protect their identities for fear of a backlash against their families in the UK, reveal that hundreds of young men from Britain have joined the fight against Bashar al Assad's government and that "at least" four die each month.

They also claim that the UK remains the largest single source of private fundraising for jihadi fighters, outdoing countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

In the interviews, carried out by US journalist and Muslim convert, Bilal Abdul Kareem, exclusively for Sky News, the Islamic fighters insist they have no intention of attacking UK targets or waging jihad on British soil.

One of the men, identified as Mustafa, is asked directly if he is part of al Qaeda and why he insists on hiding his identity.

"I'm not part of al Qaeda, and I've never been a part of al Qaeda - ever,"  he says.

UK jihadists say they are no threat to Britain

"I'm not a terrorist in any way. If people could see how much goodness we have in our hearts, how much mercy we have for people and how much you know we are driven by compassion to help other people they wouldn't think that we were terrorists.

"But this is a line that they have been fed and there are people that benefit from pushing that narrative about us, so I protect my identity."

This denial follows warnings from the heads of the UK's security services that young men travelling to Syria risk being radicalised before returning home to carry out terror attacks in Britain.

Fighting on a mountain top in the northeast of the country, these men look like hardcore jihadists, but when they speak they are pure Brits.

They say they will not attack UK targets

They joke and laugh between themselves, sometimes comparing the now ubiquitous "selfies".

But they hardly speak any Arabic and are dependent on one of their number to give orders on the battlefield.

Like British soldiers, they discuss kit and the best things to buy for jihad. In one exchange a young man, advised to buy new binoculars, naively asks if eBay will deliver.

"No man," one of the more seasoned fighters laughs in reply, shaking his head, "eBay won't deliver here man."

It is pure comedy. The men insist they have a moral obligation to help in Syria because of the outside world's refusal to intervene in the near three-year-old civil war, and deny they are terrorists.

"When you see atrocities carried out like what you see from the images that you see from Syria, then really as a human being, you know morally there should be an obligation just being part of the human race to defend such people," one of the brigade's leaders told Sky News.

"But if morals can't, if that's not enough to motivate you, our religion demands for us that people that cannot defend themselves, that somebody needs to get up and respond to their call. Ethically, it's the only right thing to do," he said during a pause in the fighting.

The Britons say they were angered by the lack of international intervention

The armed opposition to President Assad in the north of the country is now being waged almost exclusively by a myriad of jihadist groups supported by a significant number of foreign fighters from the USA, Canada, Northern Europe, North Africa and the former Soviet republics of Chechnya and Dagestan.

The British contingent say their numbers are increasing daily and social networking sites are helping to organise the influx into Syria.

They know that returning to their families in the UK will be extremely difficult from now on, but in reality they probably won't get the chance - the fighting footsoldier's life expectancy in Syria is very short once serious combat begins.

This committed group buck many stereotypes used to describe the Islamist fighters in Syria.

Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with them is not in itself relevant, not yet at least, as this is the first time we have ever heard them speak.

:: A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Syria is the number one destination for jihadists anywhere in the world. There are thousands of foreign fighters in Syria, including large numbers of Europeans, gaining combat experience and forging connections with extremists.

"Some people who travel from the UK to Syria for jihadist fighting will pose a security threat when they return. We are concerned that Al-Qaeda affiliates such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al Nusrah Front (ANF) are now able to operate in the large areas of ungoverned space that have been created by the conflict.

"We are aware of at least 200 UK-linked individuals of concern who have travelled to Syria, but the true number is likely to be higher."

The FCO said it is taking the following action:

:: Intelligence agencies and police are working to identify and disrupt potential threats.
:: The police have the power to examine and detain individuals at the UK border to investigate any concerns of terrorism involvement.
:: UK nationals of concern seeking to travel from the UK can have their passports removed or withdrawn. And foreign nationals resident in the UK can have their leave to remain revoked if they are deemed non-conducive to the public good.
:: Working with our international partners we have secured the designation of the al-Nusrah Front under the UN al Qaeda sanctions regime.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The report has rightly highlighted the importance of finding a political transition in Syria to bring this brutal regime to an end and the continuing vigilance we must have."

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Plastic Notes Issued In UK From 2016

Plastic banknotes are to be issued for the first time when the new £5 featuring Sir Winston Churchill appears in 2016.

A £10 note featuring Jane Austen to follow around a year later will also be made from polymer rather than the cotton paper currently used, the Bank of England said.

It follows a three-year research programme that concluded plastic notes stay cleaner for longer, are more difficult to counterfeit and are at least 2.5 times longer-lasting.

A public consultation, giving people the chance to handle the notes, found 87% of 13,000 individuals who responded were in favour of polymer.

Bank governor Mark Carney said: "Ensuring trust and confidence in money is at the heart of what central banks do. Polymer notes are the next step in the evolution of bank note design to meet that objective.

"The quality of polymer notes is higher, they are more secure from counterfeiting, and they can be produced at a lower cost to the taxpayer and the environment."

The new notes will stay cleaner and last longer than cotton paper

The new notes will retain their familiar look, the Bank said, including the portrait of the Queen and a historical character.

A contract is expected to be signed with Innovia Security to supply polymer material, which would see Innovia establish a polymer production plant in Wigton, Cumbria.

The Bank acknowledged when it launched its consultation in September that plastic banknotes were more expensive to produce.

But it argued that because they are longer-lasting they should prove cheaper in the long run.

It also says that, being thin and flexible, they can fit into wallets as easily as paper banknotes.

The Bank said the new notes would be slightly smaller than existing paper notes, but the practice of note size increasing with denomination will be maintained.

More than 25 countries issue polymer banknotes, including Australia - which began printing them in 1988 - as well as New Zealand, Mexico, Singapore, Canada, and most recently Fiji and Mauritius.

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Bitcoin Value Slumps Amid China Restrictions

The virtual currency Bitcoin has dramatically fallen in value after China's biggest trading platform banned deposits in yuan.

BTC China said the action follows new regulations from Beijing, which keeps a tight grip on the yuan and enforces capital controls, which the e-currency threatens to upend.

At its peak, Bitcoin traded at $1,250 (£764) but on Wednesday one Bitcoin was listed for sale for as little as $636 (£389).

Bitcoin was invented after the global financial crisis by a mysterious computer guru and can be stored either virtually or on a user's hard drive.

The e-money offers a largely anonymous payment system, which China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, warned can be used for illegal activities.

Two weeks ago it ordered financial institutions against providing Bitcoin-related services and products.

The central bank reportedly banned domestic third-party payment companies from providing clearing services for virtual currency trading platforms earlier this week.

Analysts worry the new restrictions will all but destroy Bitcoin trading in China.

"If the channel for depositing yuan in the platforms was completely cut off, all domestic exchanges would be invalid," James Gong, a digital currency expert and member of the US-based Bitcoin Foundation, told AFP.

"Bitcoin trading might be forced underground or shift to overseas markets," he said.

BTC China posted an apology on its website for the new ban on deposits, calling the measure "temporary".

"Due to new government regulations, BTC China will temporarily suspend CNY (yuan) deposits.

"Rest assured that BTC China will continue to operate normally. We deeply apologise for any inconvenience."

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Russia Will Free Arctic 30 And Pussy Riot

The Arctic 30 Greenpeace activists and jailed members of Pussy Riot are set to be freed under new amnesty laws.

The State Duma voted 446-0 in favour of the Kremlin-backed bill.

It will allow investigators to drop charges against the 30 activists from Greenpeace's ship Arctic Sunrise detained in Russia's Arctic in September.

The activists, who include six Britons, were arrested after Russian authorities boarded their vessel following attempts by some of them to board an offshore oil platform.

They have been on bail but the 26 non-Russians among them were not allowed to go home.

The six British Greenpeace activists who were arrested in Russia

Greenpeace said a last-minute amendment to the amnesty bill meant Russia would almost certainly end legal proceedings against activists who faced jail terms of up to seven years if convicted over the protest.

Arctic Sunrise's American captain Peter Willcox was quoted by Greenpeace as saying: "I might soon be going home to my family, but I should never have been charged and jailed in the first place.

"We sailed north to bear witness to a profound environmental threat but our ship was stormed by masked men wielding knives and guns ... We were never the criminals here."

Lawyers said the amnesty, which could come into force this week, would also lead to the early release of Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina.

Their two-year sentences over an anti-Putin protest in a cathedral have been criticised in the West as excessive.

Protesters climb the Prirazlomnaya oil platform

Officials in Krasnoyarsk and Nizhny Novgorod, where the two women are currently held, have promised to free them "right away and without bureaucratic delay, probably tomorrow", Ms Tolokonnikova's husband Pyotr Verzilov wrote on his Twitter blog.

The pair's sentences run out in early March next year.

The lower house of parliament passed the amnesty, which President Vladimir Putin proposed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passage of Russia's post-Soviet constitution.

The move has been largely viewed as the Kremlin's attempt to soothe criticism of Russia's human rights records ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi next year.

The amnesty affects a range of categories like mothers with dependents, minors and the elderly. However, it also specifically mentions the charge of hooliganism as well as the charge of participating in mass riots.

Pussy Riot's "punk prayer" protest at Christ The Saviour Cathedral, Moscow

It does not require approval by the upper chamber of parliament and will come into effect when it is published, probably on Thursday.

The foreign crew from Arctic Sunrise will then request to leave, and still hope to be home by Christmas, said Greenpeace spokesman Ben Stewart.

"There is certainly a chance, but until they actually leave Russia everything is speculation," he said.

All were arrested after the ship was boarded by Russian special forces in September and were first held under arrest in a jail in northern Murmansk, where the ship remains in Russian control.

The Britons have been named as Alexandra Harris, Kieron Bryan, Anthony Perrett, Phil Ball, Frank Hewetson and Iain Rogers.

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Ian Watkins Gets 35 Years For Sex Offences

Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has been given a 35-year sentence for 13 sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby.

Watkins, 36, shook uncontrollably as he was handed down the sentence at Cardiff Crown Court, and it was greeted by shouts of "yes" from the public gallery.

Two female co-defendants, aged 21 and 25, were also sentenced for various sex offences, with 'Mother A' given 14 years in jail and 'Mother B' given 17 years. They cannot be named for legal reasons.

Watkins was convicted of sexually touching a groupie's 11-month-old baby, then trying to have sex with the child. He also encouraged a second fan to abuse her child during a webcam chat and secretly stashed child porn videos, some of which he had made himself.

Justice Royce QC told Watkins and the two co-defendants, "what you three did plumbs new depths of depravity".

He said the singer had a "dark and sinister side" and the gravity of his offences "breaks new ground".

Watkins with his former bandmates

"You had many fawning fans. That gave you power. You knew you could use that power to induce young female fans to have help satisfy your insatiable lust and take part in the sexual abuse of their own children," he said. 

"Away from the highlights of your public performances lay a dark and sinister side."

Earlier, he said Watkins had a "high risk of causing emotional and sexual harm to children and to women".

Sentencing Watkins to a combined jail term of 29 years, he told him that he was being given an extended sentence.

That means he will serve two-thirds of the term behind bars before being released.

On his release in around 20 years' time he would normally have been on licence for the remainder of the 29-year term. The judge, however, added an additional six years on licence and told him: "Your total sentence, therefore, is one of 35 years."

Watkins performing at the Reading Festival in 2010

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle, who is heading up a hunt for potential further victims, described Watkins as a "committed, organised paedophile".

"My view of him as an individual is that he has shown no empathy, no sympathy or any remorse for what he has done," he said. 

"It's as if he just doesn't care. He has shown no remorse at any time. In my view, that potentially makes him the most dangerous sex offender I have ever seen."

Mr Doyle said Watkins committed the worst kind of offending and specifically targeted babies. 

He said: "Offending against children does not get any worse. We are not talking about children of any age here, we are talking about babies. I don't know what he is not capable of."

The abuse is thought to be so widespread that investigating officers have since launched a nationwide appeal for other potential victims to come forward - and are pursuing new leads after receiving a flurry of calls.

Watkins performing at the Download Festival in 2008

Mr Doyle told Sky News the force is working with Homeland Security in the US, Interpol and police in Germany to identify if any other children have been abused by Watkins.

"I think that it is likely that there will be further matters put to him, and others, in due course," he said. 

The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating whether the force failed to act quickly enough after tip-offs about Watkins, has said it will now also look into South Yorkshire and Bedfordshire forces.

The IPCC said it is investigating the effectiveness of the responses by South Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and South Wales forces to reports of abuse made to them between 2008 and 2012.

Earlier today, the court heard Watkins spoke with a female fan from prison the day after admitting two counts of attempted baby rape and said he intended to issue a statement when he was sentenced saying it had all been "mega lolz".

In the conversation, Watkins denied being a paedophile and expressed exasperation at the way people had reacted to his guilty pleas.

Using text-speak, he said: "I'm going to put out a statement on the 18th just to say it was mega lolz.

"I do not know what everybody is getting so freaked out about."

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Ronnie Biggs: Great Train Robber Dies Aged 84

Biggs: An International Fugitive

Updated: 3:11pm UK, Wednesday 18 December 2013

Here is a timeline of Ronnie Biggs' life.

Ronald Arthur Biggs was born in Lambeth, south London, on August 8, 1929.

:: January 1945: The 15-year-old Biggs made his first court appearance - for stealing pencils from Littlewoods.

:: 1950: Biggs cut a faintly absurd figure in the robbery of a bookie in Lambeth Road. His contribution was to ask the bookie's wife for her handbag.

"When she did not have one, Biggs picked up a vase as though to hit her," reads the court report of the case.

:: August 1963: With nine convictions to his name, he was given the chance to play a bit part in a robbery on an altogether grander scale and, by accepting it, set himself on the path to a lifetime of infamy.

About a month after the attack, Biggs and other members of the gang were tracked down by police after an operation led by Scotland Yard detective Jack Slipper.

:: January 1964 - Biggs stood trial for the robbery and was jailed for 30 years.

:: 1965 - after serving just 15 months, he escaped from London's Wandsworth Prison by scaling a wall and jumping on to a mattress in an open-top van.

:: The same year, Biggs took his wife Charmian and sons to Spain and spent two months convalescing after having plastic surgery in France to change his appearance.

:: 1969 - Biggs was tracked by Scotland Yard to Melbourne, Australia and fled to Brazil.

:: 1970 - The mail train driver Jack Mills, who never made a full recovery after being coshed during the robbery, died.

:: 1971 - Biggs' son Nicky died in a car crash aged 10.

:: 1974 - Biggs made a deal with the Daily Express amid rumours he would surrender if assured an early parole date, but the paper contacted detective Jack Slipper who arrested him in Rio de Janeiro.

The convicted robber successfully argued against extradition because he had a Brazilian dependent, a young son, Michael, by his girlfriend Raimunda de Castro.

:: April 1977 - Biggs went aboard the British frigate Danae for a few drinks. The ship was in Rio for a courtesy visit, but surprisingly he was not arrested.

:: 1978 - He recorded No One Is Innocent, for the Sex Pistols and also raised money by selling T-shirts of himself and entertaining Japanese tourists.

:: March 1981 - Biggs was kidnapped in Rio by a gang of adventurers and smuggled to Barbados by boat. Their aim was to bring him back to Britain.

The Barbados High Court decided the rules governing extradition to Britain had not been properly put before the island's parliament, and Biggs was allowed to return to Rio.

:: 1988 - Pop star Phil Collins starred in Buster, a film based on the train robbery.

:: January 1994 - Biggs published his autobiography, Odd Man Out.

:: 1997 - The Brazilian Supreme Court rejected a new request by the British Government to extradite him.

:: March 1998 - The fugitive collapsed at his home in Rio and suffered a stroke which temporarily left him unable to speak.

:: August 8, 1999 - Biggs celebrated his 70th birthday in the company of 140 friends including fellow Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds, 36 years to the day after their infamous crime.

:: September 1999 - Biggs appeared in a worldwide TV advert for hair grafts. In the same month he suffered his second stroke, followed by a third stroke 12 days later.

:: May 3, 2001 - After 35 years on the run, Biggs sent an e-mail to Scotland Yard saying he wanted to come home.

:: May 7, 2001 - Biggs arrives on a private plane at RAF Northolt, and is immediately arrested. He is later sent back to prison.

Within weeks Biggs was in hospital receiving treatment for a suspected stroke. He spent much of his time in the prison hospital at Belmarsh after suffering a series of heart attacks, strokes and epileptic seizures.

:: January 30, 2002 - The Criminal Cases Review Commission rejects an application to send Biggs' case to the Court of Appeal. He had argued his sentence was inappropriate and unnecessary.

:: March 28, 2002 - Biggs's lawyers lodge papers at the High Court arguing his is an "exceptional case" and should be sent back to the Court of Appeal.

:: July 10, 2002 - Biggs marries Brazilian former Samba dancer Raimunda Rothen, the mother of his son Michael, in a private ceremony at Belmarsh jail attended by 11 guests.

:: January 13, 2003 - Michael claims his father was punched and "karate kicked" by a prison officer in Belmarsh.

:: October 2, 2003 - Biggs' attempt to appeal against his sentence is thrown out by a High Court judge who calls it "hopeless" and "misconceived".

His son Michael complains that his father was not given legal aid to fight the case and announces plans to go to the European Court of Human Rights.

:: January 6, 2004 - Biggs is taken to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Woolwich, south London, suffering from pneumonia.

:: January 8, 2004 - After returning to Belmarsh the day before, Biggs is taken back to hospital after becoming dehydrated and vomiting. His barrister Nigel Sangster QC says he is making an immediate petition to the European Court of Human Rights about Biggs's continued imprisonment.

:: August 9, 2004 - Biggs' lawyers launch a High Court legal bid to win his release on compassionate grounds. Solicitors ask for a judicial review of Biggs' detention at high security Belmarsh.

:: August 30, 2004 - Biggs is taken to hospital again, this time it is understood it is because he was passing blood.

It is the fifth time the ailing robber has been moved to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital from the hospital wing at Belmarsh after suffering a series of strokes, minor heart attacks and contracting scabies.

:: June 15, 2005 - Solicitors say they have written to Home Secretary Charles Clarke to ask for Biggs to be released on compassionate grounds.

:: July 12, 2005 - Sources say prison bosses have decided that Biggs is not ill enough to qualify for early release.

:: August 10, 2005 - The Home Office confirms Biggs has become infected with MRSA while in hospital undergoing routine treatment.

:: September 21, 2005 - Prison service sources deny claims Biggs has gone on hunger strike.

:: October 26, 2005 - Home Secretary Charles Clarke rejects a plea for Biggs to be released from prison on compassionate grounds - because his illness is not deemed terminal.

:: December 2, 2005 - Biggs' solicitors say they have asked Mr Clarke for a pardon, using "prerogative powers".

:: July 4, 2007 - Prison sources say the Great Train Robber has been moved from Belmarsh to a unit for elderly life-sentenced inmates, even though he is not serving a life sentence, at the lower security Norwich jail.

:: October 4, 2007 - Biggs apologises for "glamorising" his crime and promises that if he is freed from jail he will live outside the UK.

:: February 13, 2009 - Biggs is moved to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in Norwich after falling ill in Norwich Prison.

:: July 1, 2009 - Biggs is refused parole by Justice Secretary Jack Straw, who said the Great Train Robber was "wholly unrepentant".

:: August 8, 2009 - Biggs was granted release from his prison sentence on compassionate grounds. Mr Straw said the decision was based on medical evidence that Biggs' condition had deteriorated and he was not expected to recover. The next day he was officially released from the the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

:: August 17, 2009 - Biggs moved into his final home, the Carlton Court Care Home in Barnet, north London, where he received 24-hour care.

:: March 20, 2013 - Biggs was last seen in public at the funeral of of fellow great train robber Bruce Reynolds. He had a defiant message for the waiting press as he flipped the 'V' sign.

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British Boy Dies In Ski Holiday Avalanche

A British teenager has been killed and his father seriously injured in an avalanche in Austria.

The 16-year-old boy - who was skiing with his father, twin brother and a guide - was buried under an avalanche at the exclusive resort of Lech am Arlberg on Tuesday.

His brother escaped but his 51-year-old father was buried alongside him and remains in hospital.

The father and son, from Winchester in Hampshire, successfully activated their emergency anti-avalanche airbags - designed to stop people being buried - but it failed to save the 16-year-old's life.

Austrian police said the guide who is said to be very experienced, will face a criminal investigation.

"The father and his boy were buried," said a police spokesman. "The ski guide was able to get away from the avalanche and immediately after he called rescue teams.

"He then started trying to free the two who were buried. The rescue team finally rescued the father and got the boy out some time later."

The spokesman added: "The instructor will face a criminal investigation. It will be investigated if he could have or should have avoided the accident.

"He was a guide, so there should have been no problem. The whole group was properly equipped with avalanche equipment."

An avalanche warning of one, on a scale of one to four, was in place on the day of the accident.

Pia Herbst, from the Lech am Arlberg Tourism Board, defended the 39-year-old ski guide.

She said: "He is a very good guide and he has a lot of experience. He has the highest level of education you can have in skiing and he didn't do anything wrong.

"It was a normal day to go for a tour, and unfortunately it was an accident with avalanche risk 'one', which is not high at all. Still something can happen. It was a very, very sad accident."

The Foreign Office confirmed the death and is providing consular assistance to the family.

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Facebook And Banks To Face IPO Lawsuit

Facebook, its CEO and several banks must face a lawsuit over alleged misleading of investors ahead of the company's initial public offering, a judge has ruled.

Mark Zuckerberg and dozens of banks are accused of misleading investors about the social media company's financial condition before its $16bn IPO in May 2012.

In a decision made public on Wednesday, US District Judge Robert Sweet said investors could pursue claims that Facebook omitted material information from its registration statement.

The investors had alleged, among other things, that Facebook should have disclosed internal projections on how increased mobile usage and product decisions might reduce future revenue.

On Monday, Judge Sweet ruled that investors could also pursue claims accusing Nasdaq OMX Group Inc of concealing technology problems that resulted in difficulties in processing trades on Facebook's first day of trading.

More follows...

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