MP Issues Public Apology For 'Degrading' Woman

Portsmouth MP Mike Hancock has issued an apology to a vulnerable woman for an "inappropriate" relationship that "degraded" her.

In the page-long public apology, Mr Hancock admits carrying out an "unprofessional relationship" with the woman and that he lied when she launched a legal action against him, accusing her of trying to make money out of the case.

The statement comes after the woman settled her claim for sexual assault against the former Liberal Democrat, who is currently being treated for depression in the Priory Hospital in Southampton.

In it he said: "In October 2009 you first came to me as a constituent to seek my assistance as your MP and councillor. Subsequently and over several months I came to your home on several occasions, sometimes unannounced, and conducted a friendship with you that was inappropriate and unprofessional.

"I understand that you felt degraded. I did not treat you with sufficient respect. I made you feel deeply uncomfortable and discriminated against, and I crossed the line."

Mr Hancock resigned the Liberal Democrat party whip in 2013 in order to concentrate on the legal battle but he has remained as an Independent MP for Portsmouth South.

He lost his seat as a Portsmouth councillor in last month's local election after 43 years.

The woman constituent was suing Mr Hancock, accusing him of sexual assault after she contacted him for help in a neighbour dispute.

Mr Hancock had vigorously denied the claims. He was arrested by police over the allegations in 2010 but no action was taken as the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution.

In his statement he said: "I also recognise that hurtful and untrue statements were made publicly about your motivation in bringing the claim. These statements sought to discredit and undermine you.

"This never should have happened. I accept that you did not bring the claim for financial gain and any statements made to the contrary were wrong."

The MP said he had learnt from his mistakes and would not repeat them.

The Liberal Democrats have said he will be expelled from the party soon, however, Sky's Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones pointed out there were questions to answer for the party because the matter had been so protracted.

The solicitor for the woman said that Mr Hancock was no longer fit to be an MP and there were growing calls for him to step down.

However, as an independent MP, there is nothing that can be done to remove Mr Hancock from his role and no party to put pressure on him to go.

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Fatal Attack Victim Was Wearing Muslim Dress

A woman has died after being attacked in Colchester - and police say her full Muslim dress and veil may have been a factor.

The woman, who has not yet been identified, was walking on the town's Salary Brook Trail at 10.40am on Tuesday when she was violently beaten and attacked with a knife or other bladed weapon.

Paramedics tried to save her but she died at the scene from injuries to her head and body.

Essex Police have said the woman, who was in her 30s, was wearing a dark navy blue full length robe (known as an Abaya) and a patterned multi-coloured Hijab headscarf.

Detective Superintendent Tracy Hawkings said officers were keeping an open mind about the motive of the attack.

But she added: "We are conscious that the dress of the victim will have identified her as likely being a Muslim and this is one of the main lines of the investigation, but again there is no firm evidence at this time that she was targeted because of her religion."

The murder took place in Colchester

A 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Detectives want to hear from anyone who used the trail between 8.30am and 11am on the day of the killing.

They have also asked residents to check their gardens and rubbish bins for any discarded weapons or blood stained clothing.

A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Wednesday afternoon.

Officers have said they are not ruling out a link between this murder and that of James Attfield, a vulnerable man with brain damage who died after being stabbed more than 100 times at a park in the town in March.

Officers will be carrying out additional patrols in the area.

Anyone with any information should contact the major investigation team on 01245 282103, Essex Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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PM Warns Iraq Terrorists Will 'Hit UK At Home'

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 2:12pm UK, Tuesday 17 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

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Toddler Survives Crash That Killed 4 Relatives

A toddler is fighting for her life in hospital after she was the only survivor of a car crash that killed her mother and three other members of her family.

Eighteen-month-old Holly Hind was rescued by firefighters from the back of a wrecked vehicle that was in a smash with a tanker and a van.

Holly's mother Alison Hind, 28, her uncle Martyn Pugh, 47, and his parents-in-law Margaret, 65, and John Kehoe, 72, all died in the crash.

It happened at a notorious accident blackspot on the A44 at Llangurig near Aberystwyth, West Wales, as the family returned from a trip to the seaside.

Holly, who was pulled from the crumpled vehicle in a car seat, was flown by air ambulance to University Hospital of Wales Cardiff where she is in a serious condition but expected to survive.

Her father, Steve Hughes, 36, who was not involved in the crash, has been at her hospital bedside as she receives specialist care.

Holly's great-grandfather Emrys Davies, 80, said: "It is such a tragedy. The police came last night for Steve and he is down in Cardiff now with Holly in hospital. We are all just hoping she will be okay."

The family all lived in the village of Llanidloes in West Wales - where people told of their shock at the tragedy.

Friend Margaret Pugh said: "This is just terrrible - they were a very close and caring family. The one comfort we can take is that the little girl survived. We are all praying she will be fine."

Alison Hind and Steve Hughes have another son Ethan, six, who was in school at the time of the tragedy.

The crash happened at Llangurig in West Wales

Martyn Pugh lived with his partner Lynn Kehoe, 39, in the village of Llanidloes. He was a full-time carer for disabled Mr Kehoe who lived in a neighbouring street with wife Margaret.

He had taken the couple along with niece Alison - known as Ali - for the trip to the seaside town of Aberystwyth with baby Hollie because of the warm weather.

Llanidloes councillor Gareth Morgan said: "It is a dreadful shock - four in the car were killed but the little girl miraculously escaped.

"I often see Martyn with the little girl in the town walking their chocolate Labrador. She is a lovely child.

"They are nice people. Martyn was Mr Kehoe's carer because he hadn't been in good health for some years. He lived with their daughter Lynn who wasn't in the car at the time of the tragic accident.

"I imagine Martyn had taken his girlfriend's family out for a day trip when this terrible accident happened. They had been to Aberystwyth 29 miles away and were returning home when the accident happened.

"It was at a real accident blackspot, one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Wales. Fatal accidents have happened there far too frequently.

"But everyone here in Llanidloes uses the road regularly to get to Aberystwyth and the coast.

The tanker driver was taken from the scene by police, who are investigating the cause of the crash. 

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Iraq Asks For US Airstrikes To Combat ISIS

Iraq's government has asked the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed the request on Wednesday, as Barack Obama prepares to brief lawmakers on what options Washington could pursue.

When asked whether the US should honour that request, Gen Dempsey said: "It is in our national security interest to counter ISIL wherever we find them."

A car bomb in a mainly Shi'ite district of Baghdad killed at least seven

Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari said: "Iraq has officially asked Washington to help under the security agreement (between the two countries), and to conduct air strikes against terrorist groups."

But he added: "A military approach will not be enough. We acknowledge the need for drastic political solutions."

US officials said on Tuesday Mr Obama is not expected to approve immediate airstrikes, partly because there are few clear targets.

Claims made by ISIS in its 2013 annual report

Iraq's prime minister Nouri al Maliki has said his forces are "striking back" after a "shock" defeat at the hands of Sunni militants in the country's north, where fighters have taken swathes of territory.

Mr Maliki's address came as insurgents were seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they had taken over three-quarters of the oil refinery.

Smoke was seen billowing from the Baiji complex, Iraq's biggest, as an official told Reuters it had been infiltrated by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants - potentially giving them control of the energy supply in northern Iraq.

Volunteers to fight the insurgency take a training session in Kerbala

But chief military spokesman Lieutenant General Qassim al Mousssawi said government forces had repelled an attack and killed 40 fighters, although this has not been verified.

The attack on Baiji follows the revelation that ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report.

The 2013 version claims 10,000 operations in Iraq, including 1,000 assassinations and 4,000 improvised explosive devices planted.

An Iraqi boy joins a Shi'ite tribe preparing to fight the militants

Other claims in the 2013 report include the freeing of hundreds of radical prisoners - and hundreds of "apostates" being turned.

As ISIS continued its move towards Baghdad, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned "the great Iranian people will do everything to protect" revered Shia shrines in Iraq from Sunni militants - the clearest indication yet that Tehran is prepared to mobilise.

Mr Rouhani's chief of staff, Mohammad Nahavandian, said Iran could work with the US on Iraq if talks about its nuclear programme are successful.

Kurdish security forces in training in Irbil

The announcement came as David Cameron warned that if Britain did not intervene, terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Mr Maliki's pledge to strike back against ISIS appears set to begin with the "liberation" of the strategic northern Shia town of Tal Afar, which a security spokesman said would be completed by Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, Kurdish forces in the northern towns of Saadiya and Jalula began a counter offensive against ISIS.

The Indian government has confirmed that 40 construction workers have been seized near Mosul.

Turkish diplomats are investigating reports 60 foreign construction workers, including some 15 Turks, near Kirkuk.

Some international oil companies have confirmed the evacuation of foreign workers.

The head of Iraq's southern oil company, Dhiya Jaffar, said Exxon Mobil had carried out a major evacuation, while BP had pulled out 20% of its staff.

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British Girl, Five, Drowns In Cyprus Hotel Pool

A five-year-old British girl has drowned in a hotel swimming pool in Cyprus during a family holiday.

The youngster died on Monday afternoon at the Evalena Hotel in Protaras, on the southeastern coast of the island.

The child had arrived in Cyprus on Sunday for a week's holiday with her mother, grandparents and other relatives, according to the Famagusta Gazette.

Adam Kirk, a spokesman for Famagusta Police, said: "At about 4.15pm on Monday afternoon a five-year-old girl from England was found drowned in the pool of a hotel in Protaras.

"A tourist saw the child in the bottom of the pool. He dived in and took her out but it was already too late.

"It seems that the parents had not seen the child. She was in the bottom of the pool for around five minutes."

He added that officers would be examining CCTV footage of the pool.

A post-mortem examination at Larnaca General Hospital on Tuesday confirmed the cause of death was drowning.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Cyprus on June 16 and are providing consular assistance at this sad time".

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Nokia 'Blackmailed For Millions Of Euros'

Nokia paid several million euros to criminals who threatened to sabotage its smartphone operating system, it has been reported.

It was claimed in a local TV report that the Finnish phone giant left the cash in a car park for the blackmailers to collect – as police looked on.

But the crooks managed to slip the police tail after picking up the money, and are still at large.

Detective Chief Inspector Tero Haapala, from Finland's police service, confirmed the force was investigating a case of alleged blackmail.

The Nokia N97 running the Symbian software in 2008

He said: "We are investigating felony blackmail, with Nokia the injured party."

The TV report claimed that hackers managed to get hold of the security encryption key for a key part of Nokia's Symbian software, and threatened to make it public.

If the hackers had done so, anyone could have written additional code for Symbian, including possible malware.

Nokia contacted police before agreeing to deliver the cash to a car park in Tampere, central Finland.

After the money was picked up, police lost track of the culprits.

The blackmail attempt happened in 2008, but has only just been revealed.

Nokia later moved to Microsoft's Windows software in its smartphones, and its phone arm has since been sold to the software giant.

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Father Convicted For Avenging Daughter's Death

A man has been convicted by a French court for organising the kidnapping of his daughter's killer so he could be brought to justice.

Andre Bamberski suspected ex-doctor Dietrich Krombach, his 15-year-old daughter Kalinka's stepfather, of giving her a lethal injection so he could rape her.

The teenager was living with her stepfather, mother and younger brother in the German town of Scheidegg when she died in 1982.

Germany refused to extradite Krombach, who was convicted in his absence in France, on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

But Bamberski was determined  to see him face justice and took matters into his own hands in 2009 - hiring two men to kidnap Krombach and bring him across the border to face trial over Kalinka's death.

Krombach was found bound and gagged outside a French courthouse and convicted in 2011 of "deliberate violence leading to involuntary death".

The 79-year-old is currently serving a 15-year sentence in a Paris prison.

On Wednesday, Bamberski was given a suspended one-year prison sentence for kidnapping Krombach, who had been suspended from practising medicine in 1997 after admitting drugging and raping a 16-year-old girl in his office.

Bamberski, who had faced 10 years in jail, said he was "disappointed" by the ruling, but would not be appealing.

He said he believed he should have been acquitted because he had a "moral compulsion" to act.

Asked by a reporter if he regretted his actions, he replied: "No, no. Not at all. As I said again a few days ago, for me, the main thing was Kalinka."

The two men who carried out the kidnapping were also found guilty and each sentenced to a year in prison.

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Mayor Who Tossed Poo In Man's Yard 'Quits'

The mayor of a wealthy Los Angeles suburb who landed himself in the brown stuff after he was filmed flinging dog poo into his neighbour's front yard has reportedly quit.

San Marino leader Dennis Kneier resigned on Tuesday following an outcry from residents over what became known as "Poopgate", according to the Pasadena Star-News.

"I have apologised to my neighbour for my action, and I will pay a fine for littering," Mr Kneier wrote in his resignation letter, according to the newspaper.

"These events continue to be embarrassing to me and to the city. Because of this, I have decided to step down as mayor."

Kneier, who will reportedly remain on the city council, admitted he messed up after footage of the incident went viral earlier this month.

Householder Philip Lao called police after recognising Mr Kneier from his home surveillance video.

Mr Lao said he believed the incident was payback for his past opposition to some of the mayor's proposals, including plans for a dog park. 

Mr Kneier, who had begun his second term as mayor in January, denied this.

He said he and his wife were walking home from a park when they found the bag of faeces on a pavement.

Mr Kneier said he had made "a mistake" of dumping it in his neighbour's front yard instead of properly disposing of it.

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RAF Fighter Jets Sent To Head Off Russia Planes

RAF Typhoons were scrambled yesterday to intercept "multiple Russian aircraft" over Baltic airspace, it has been revealed.

A Russian SU-25 Flanker (top) with a RAF Typhoon fighter

The fighter jets from 3 (Fighter) Squadron were launched after four separate groups of aircraft were detected by air defences in international airspace near the region.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence said the operation was part of Nato's ongoing mission to police Baltic airspace.

Two Russian SU-25 Flankers with a RAF Typhoon fighter (distant) A Russian SU-25 Flanker

"Once airborne, the British jets identified the aircraft as a Russian Tupolev Tu22 'Backfire' bomber, four Sukhoi Su27 'Flanker' fighters, one Beriev A50 'Mainstay' early warning aircraft and an Antonov An26 'Curl' transport aircraft who appeared to be carrying out a variety of routine training," the statement said.

"The Russian aircraft were monitored by the RAF Typhoons and escorted on their way."

Russian Beriev A50 Mainstay early warning aircraft during the mission A Russian Tu22 Backfire bomber during the operation

It added that the Typhoon pilots involved in the operation were Flight Lieutenant Mark Long of 29 (Reserve) Squadron and a French Air Force exchange pilot Commandant Marc-antoine Gerrard, who is currently attached to 1(Fighter) Squadron.

Flt Lt Long said: "The Typhoon is a superb aircraft that makes intercepting other aircraft exceptionally easy, today's interception of the Russian Flankers is all in day's work for an RAF fighter pilot."

An Antonov An26 'Curl' transport aircraft during the intercept

Typhoon Detachment Commander Wing Commander Ian Townsend said: "We regularly intercept Russian and civilian aircraft ... so this type of mission is core business for us and exactly what we were sent to the Baltic region by Nato to do.

"It was a thoroughly successful operation with both my groundcrew and aircrew performing to the exacting professional high standards I have come to expect."

The RAF also released a number of images from the operation.

The Russian Beriev A50 'Mainstay' early warning aircraft A Russian SU-25 Flanker

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