North Korea Executes Leader's 'Traitor' Uncle

The Rise Of Jang Song-Thaek

Updated: 10:52am UK, Friday 13 December 2013

While hereditary leader Kim Jong-Un is the unquestioned ruler of North Korea, his uncle Jang Song-Thaek was thought to be the country's second most powerful figure.

The 67-year-old had occupied a privileged and yet precarious spot within the inner circle, and his ties to Mr Kim were more than political.

He was the son-in-law of the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung, and was married to Mr Kim's aunt, Kim Kyong-Hui, the younger sister of the former leader, Kim Jong-Il.

A native of the far northeastern border city of Chongjin who hailed from humble roots but was sharp enough to gain entry to prestigious Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, he rose from municipal bureaucrat to vice chairman of the National Defence Commission and member of the Political Bureau.

These posts put him second in power only to Mr Kim.

He started his career as instructor for the Pyongyang City Committee of the Workers' Party, and rose post-by-post reaching the top ranks.

Despite not being a career military man, he was made a four-star general, and helped engineer a campaign to bring the once-powerful military into the party's fold.

He was purged and sent to a labour camp for two years in the mid-2000s, according to Kim Young-soo, a North Korea expert at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. That purge was widely seen as a move to clip his wings.

It was after Kim Jong-Il's stroke in 2008 that he was assumed to be serving in a regency role while the young heir Mr Kim, then in his late 20s, was being groomed to succeed his father.

Gen Jang would accompany Mr Kim on guidance trips, often dressed in a trim white general's uniform and standing within arm's length of the young heir on field visits and at state events.

That rise to the inner circle gained speed after Kim Jong Il's death from a heart attack in December 2011.

A well-travelled diplomat with a network that spread to China, Gen Jang was considered the chief architect of economic policy that focused on partnering with the neighbour and ally.

He had recently added a new title to his portfolio - chairman of the State Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission - one of Mr Kim's pet projects. Mr Kim is a basketball fan and famously invited US basketball star Dennis Rodman for a rare official visit to the country.

Last seen publicly in early November meeting a sports delegation from Japan, rumours of Gen Jang's dismissal began surfacing in Seoul last week.

On Sunday, he was fired from all posts at a special party meeting and dragged away by the arms by soldiers - his ordeal broadcast on North Korean television.

Four days after his dramatic public arrest, Gen Jang was tried for treason by a special military tribunal.

On Friday, North Korea's official news agency KCNA announced he had been executed. He confessed, according to state media.

He was described as "a traitor to the nation" and "worse than a dog".

The list of crimes against Gen Jang was long, with plotting to overthrow the leadership the most serious of the allegations.

Subsequently, pictures showing both Mr Kim and Gen Jang were doctored to remove the uncle - a technique notoriously used by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the 1930s.

Gen Jang's demise offers an intriguing and revealing glimpse into the murky, feudalistic world of politics in the secretive country.

The fall from grace, accompanied by allegations from corruption to womanising and capped by his arrest at the party meeting on Sunday, has suggested to some analysts that Mr Kim is still trying to consolidate the power he inherited from his father two years ago.

For North Koreans, the shocking public humiliation of a man seen as a father figure to Mr Kim was designed to send a clear message about the intolerance of opposition in a totalitarian state that demands absolute loyalty to the leader.

It was a humiliating end to a complicated career.

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Migrants Told 'Speak English Or No Benefits'

Migrants who cannot speak English well enough to get a job face being denied benefits under a new tougher test, the Work and Pensions Secretary has said.

The upgraded test for migrants who want to claim income-related benefits will be rolled out across Jobcentres this week.

Those applying will have to answer more individually tailored questions, provide more detailed answers and submit more evidence before they can claim.

For the first time migrants will be quizzed about whether their English language skills will be a barrier to them finding employment and about what efforts they had made to find work before coming to the UK.

Officials will have 200 questions to choose from when assessing claimants - 100 more than previously.

Iain Duncan Smith said: "It is vitally important that we have strict rules in place to protect the integrity of our benefits system.

"The British public are rightly concerned that migrants should contribute to this country and not be drawn here by the attractiveness of our benefits system.

"And we are taking action to ensure that that is the case.

"The roll-out of the new habitual residence test is the first in a series of measures to ensure that we have a fair system: one which provides support for genuine workers and jobseekers, but does not allow people to come to our country and take advantage.

"It is a crucial part of our long-term plan to secure Britain's economy."

Iain Duncan Smith says the public is 'rightly concerned' about immigration

Britain is already in a legal battle with the European Commission which says that it unlawful to test immigrants before they can claim benefits.

It comes amid concerns over an influx of Romanians and Bulgarians next month when they will be entitled to come to the UK for work and will be able to claim benefits like other EU citizens.

The Prime Minister was accused of "hysteria" and turning Britain into the "nasty country" last month when he announced new measures that would bar EU migrants from claiming out-of-work benefits, such as jobseeker's allowance, for their first three months in the UK.

Labour's shadow welfare minister Chris Bryant said: "For generations, people have come to this country and worked hard to contribute to Britain, but the principle of contribution is an important one, and the controls on immigration must be fair to those who live here.

"That is why Labour called for stronger restrictions on benefits for new arrivals from the EU, including proposals eight months ago to strengthen the habitual residence test to make it clear that people should not be able to claim benefits when they first arrive.

"At the time, the Government dismissed those proposals, but eight months later they have changed their minds and keep re-announcing their proposals.

"Yet the Government are still doing nothing to tackle the serious problem of low-skilled migrant workers being exploited, undercutting local workers and responsible businesses too.

"That is bad for everyone, yet they are doing nothing about it."

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Mandela: Mourners Barge Police To See Body

Hundreds of South Africans pushed their way past a police cordon in a bid to see Nelson Mandela's body, in the final moments of his lying in state.

The group bustled past officers after tens of thousands of mourners were told that time had run out to pay last respects to the country's first black president.

They ran toward the amphitheatre at Union Buildings - the seat of government - where Mr Mandela has been lying in state since Wednesday.

The coffin is transported from Union Buildings in Pretoria

Shortly afterwards, the coffin was moved from Union Buildings. On Saturday it will be flown to the icon's boyhood village of Qunu for burial on Sunday.

Because of the sheer volume of mourners - around 100,000 - many of those who queued for hours, and in some cases days, were left disappointed.

Police officers gave up trying to restrain one group, ordering them in vain to get in line.

Some of the crowd break police lines and run towards the coffin

"Police said we should make a queue, but they (the group) didn't. They then started to push," said Gilbert Setshedi, 27, who queued from 7am.

Meanwhile, the South African government has condemned the posting on Twitter of a hoax photograph appearing to show the body of Mr Mandela.

The image, in which the anti-apartheid icon is apparently lying in his coffin, has provoked an angry backlash on social media networks.

It is believed to be a digitally manipulated picture taken of Mr Mandela in 1991.

Government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said: "We would urge people to not to view this content and delete it."

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Cameron: No To University Segregation

Sexism Row: Can Separate Be Equal?

Updated: 6:18pm UK, Wednesday 11 December 2013

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

On Tuesday I spent much of the day watching the memorial service for Nelson Mandela, a human being who spent his life fighting against segregation.

It was International Human Rights Day. That evening I was driving through central London, noticed a small demonstration, a few photographers, and the glare of a TV camera light.

So I pulled over and joined perhaps 100 people outside the Universities UK (UUK) building. They also were demonstrating against segregation.

Last month, UUK published guidelines saying that if an external speaker at a university wanted to segregate men and women during a lecture, then that should be acceptable.

The National Union of Students (NUS) agreed that religious rights trumped women's rights to sit where they wish. Both organisations say that the decision is not discriminatory.

The report does not specify that if such a scenario ensued it would be because of a demand from a radical Muslim speaker or student group, but everyone knows that is what lies behind the guidelines and some of the speakers at the demonstration said they had been on the end of streams of abuse.

UUK have tangled themselves in knots trying to balance discriminating on religious grounds against discriminating on gender grounds, and end up arguing that because women would be seated one on side of a room, and not at the back of a room, therefore, they would not be discriminated against.

The strength of this argument could be tested if, instead of demanding that women sit in certain areas, a speaker demanded that gay people had to be removed from the midst of the audience.

It could be argued on religious grounds that homosexuality was so abhorrent to the speaker that they would only speak if gays were separated from the rest. I find it difficult to believe the UUK would issue guidelines saying that was acceptable.

So why is segregating women acceptable? The rationale appears to be to uphold deeply-held religious and cultural beliefs and thus those people's rights.

But as argued, if those deeply-held beliefs required gays or black people to sit to one side, they would be challenged, probably by the UUK, the NUS and a lot more than 100 people.

All this is hypothetical, you might say. But it is not. The Student Rights group has done research suggesting that gender separation has already occurred, or been called for, on about 50 occasions at 21 universities. More will follow.

At the rally the demonstrators were of the view that what they called abhorrent views were being accepted because the universities wanted to ensure they attracted enough fee-paying students from South Asia.

Mosques, synagogues and churches can have their own rules, but Britain's institutions of higher learning are supposed to be places for the free exchange of ideas for all. Ideas based on a fear of women's sexuality could indeed be part of that, but if they are to be discussed, surely it should be on an equal basis without segregation.

That argument accepts that the mixing of the sexes is a positive thing and part of freedoms won over centuries, which are indeed the overwhelming views prevalent in the UK, and a right enshrined in law. But the UUK and the NUS are pushing the other way.

"Separate but equal" was the lie the South African apartheid regime pedalled for decades. Only the stupid and the bigoted ever bought it. Mr Mandela never did.

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Nigella Lawson's Ex-PA: 'She Lied In Court'

Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi have been accused of lying under oath by one of the sisters accused of fraudulently spending £685,000 on the former couple's credit cards.

Giving evidence in court, Elisabetta Grillo, who was one of the TV cook's personal assistants, also claimed other members of her employer's so-called "Team Cupcake" had lied in court.

Last week, Ms Lawson admitted taking cocaine but said she had only used the drug after she found out her late husband John Diamond had terminal cancer, and in July 2010 during her troubled marriage to Mr Saatchi.

However, Grillo told Isleworth Crown Court that although she had never seen Ms Lawson taking drugs, there were signs of regular use.

Jurors heard she found a packet of white powder in the home Ms Lawson shared with Mr Diamond, as well as rolled-up banknotes and credit cards with white powder on them.

As details of some of her alleged spending were revealed, Grillo claimed Ms Lawson allowed her to buy a bed from Ikea and sign up for a fashion course because she was a "very generous" person.

She was given permission to use a credit card during a weekend in Paris because "it was my birthday" and bought Calvin Klein underwear while shopping for Ms Lawson's daughter "because we are the same size", the court heard.

"Nobody told me I could not take money," she said, adding that Ms Lawson allowed her to withdraw extra cash for herself if she worked beyond her hours.

Grillo, 41, claimed Mr Saatchi gave her £200 to bump up sales of his book.

She denied she was better dressed than any other household staff and said she bought clothes at discount stores and online.

She told jurors she was "not a shoes person" and had just 10 pairs, including some inexpensive ones from H&M, Zara and Primark.

"I was allowed to buy clothes for myself ... I worked hard," she said. "I was part of the family for 14 years."

Grillo and her sister Francesca, 35, deny committing fraud by using a company credit card for personal gain.

The trial, now in its third week, continues.

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Nelson Mandela Twitter Photo Hoax Backlash

By Emma Hurd, Sky Correspondent

The South African government has condemned the posting on Twitter of a hoax photograph appearing to show the body of Nelson Mandela.

The image, in which the anti-apartheid icon is apparently lying in his coffin, has provoked an angry backlash on social media networks.

It is believed to be a digitally manipulated picture taken of Mr Mandela in 1991.

Government spokeswoman Phumla Williams said: "We would urge people to not to view this content and delete it."

She said the photograph was posted online by a South African woman and has since been removed.

People paying their respects have been banned from taking photographs

Since Wednesday, thousands of South Africans have filed past the glass-topped casket as the nation's first black president lies in state in Pretoria.

The public have been banned from taking photographs, and the government says no official images will be released of Mr Mandela's body in accordance with the wishes of his family.

The posting of the hoax photo by the Twitter name INyqobi prompted some users to declare it disgusting, while others wondered how it could have been taken amid the high security surrounding the former statesman's body.

"Wow, how can you take pictures of a corpse, you are sick!" one person tweeted.

A spokesman for Mr Mandela's family, Lieutenant General Themba Mathamzima, said his relatives were very concerned about the picture.

"We don't know who did this but we want the government to investigate," he said.

The funeral cortege carrying Mr Mandela's coffin passed through the streets of Pretoria early on Friday morning as it was transported to the capital's Union Buildings to lie in state for a third and final day.

Hundreds began queuing in the early hours of the morning to get the chance to view the body and pay their final respects.

On Saturday a military ceremony will be held at the Waterkloof airbase in the city from where his body will be flown to his ancestral home of Qunu in the Eastern Cape ahead of the State Funeral on Sunday.

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Crawley Free School To Close As Cash Pulled

A failing free school has had its funding pulled and been told to shut amid "grave concerns" over the standard of education being provided.

Discovery New School (DNS) in Crawley, West Sussex, has been ordered to close its doors on April 4.

It is the first time the drastic decision to permanently close a site has been taken, and will come as a blow to the flagship government policy championed by Education Secretary Michael Gove.

In a damning letter to the school's chairman of governors, Chris Cook, Schools Minister Lord Nash said he was ending its funding agreement.

Discovery New School was declared failing and placed in special measures by the education watchdog Ofsted in May.

A Department for Education (DfE) spokesman said it had been monitoring the school's progress and found it was not making the changes needed to improve standards.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has championed free schools

DNS was one of the first 24 free schools to open in 2011.

In his letter to Mr Cook, Lord Nash said he had expressed his "grave concerns" about education standards last month, and asked the school for a statement on the action they were taking to address this.

Lord Nash said this statement had been considered, but Education Secretary Michael Gove was "not satisfied that the action the academy trust proposes to take is sufficient in all the circumstances".

A Department for Education spokesman said: "We are now working with West Sussex County Council to ensure the children affected have suitable alternatives in place and their transition is as smooth as possible."

Lord Nash's letter said that during a visit to Discovery New School last month, Ofsted found that "no progress in the quality of teaching and learning had been made since the original special measures judgement in May".

It added: "None of the school's teachers were delivering good lessons and all were still consistently inadequate or required improvement."

The minister concluded: "I recognise that my decision to terminate the funding agreement is likely to be disappointing for pupils, parents and all those involved with the school, but I will not allow a failing school to continue with no clear, workable plan to improve rapidly. It is not in the best interests of pupils to remain in an inadequate school."

West Sussex County Council said: "Although we have had no control over this situation, every effort will now be made to try and minimise disruption to children's education."

Free schools, set up by parents and other groups, are state-funded but operate outside local authority control.

Responding to the closure, Labour's Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt said: "The closure of this free school is yet another shocking example of why David Cameron's flagship schools policy is failing.

"In his terrible rush to roll out the free school programme, David Cameron has abandoned high standards and basic safeguards - and the pupils at the Discovery Free School have paid the price."

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PR Blunder Over Labour MP's 'Pikey' Tweet

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

Shadow cabinet minister Jack Dromey has become embroiled in a race row after calling a post worker a "pikey" on Twitter.

On a visit to a Royal Mail sorting office, he posted a picture of himself with one employee with the caption: "With Gareth Martin, the Pikey from the Erdington Royal Mail Sorting Office. A great guy!"

Hundreds of Twitter users pulled him up on the use of the word, with some threatening to report him to the police.

Since 2007 it has been possible to be arrested for a racially aggravated offence for using the word "pikey", which is an offensive word used to refer to Irish travellers.

When Sky News approached the Labour party, a press officer said Mr Dromey had fallen victim to autocorrect, which had automatically switched the word "postie" for "pikey".

He pointed to other tweets made by Mr Dromey, referring to the Royal Mail employees he met as "posties".

Mr Dromey attempted to smooth over the matter with a further tweet

However, minutes later this explanation was undermined by Mr Dromey himself.

He tweeted: "Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring. This morning's meeting was with Gareth, a Postie nicknamed after Corporal Pike from Dad's Army."

It is not the first time that the shadow minister has got into hot water on the social networking website.

Last month Mr Dromey, who is married to Labour's Deputy Leader Harriet Harman, made a link to a gay porn website one of his "favourites".

Labour sources said he had been trying to block the pages when he accidentally pressed the wrong button.

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Teen Drink-Drive Killer's Sentence Slammed

A man whose wife and daughter were killed by a teenage drink-driver has spoken of his anger after the boy's wealthy background was used as a defence and he avoided prison.

Ethan Couch, 16, could have faced up to 20 years behind bars after losing control of his vehicle and killing four pedestrians in Fort Worth, Texas.

Instead, he was given 10 years' probation - plus rehab - after his lawyers argued his reckless behaviour was due to "affluenza".

The condition is said by some psychologists to affect young people who come from rich families.

Defence witness Gary Miller, a psychologist, said Couch should not get the maximum prison sentence that was being sought by prosecutors.

Mr Miller said Couch had grown up in a house where the parents often argued and eventually divorced.

Hollie Boyles and her daughter Shelby, 21, were among those killed

He told State District Judge Jean Boyd the mother had spoiled him, telling the court: "Her mantra was that if it feels good, do it."

Couch, whose blood-alcohol was three times the legal limit at the time of the crash, had admitted he was drinking and driving and confessed to intoxication manslaughter.

Eric Boyles, whose wife Hollie and his 21-year-old daughter Shelby were among those killed in the crash in June, told Fox News: "We knew the maximum sentence was a 20-year sentence which in the juvenile system meant the boy would be eligible for parole in two years.

"And while recognising that that's, you know, kind of the circumstances we were dealing with, I wasn't really happy with those circumstances.

"You look at 180 years of future life taken from the four individuals.

"And so you sit and think that even a two year sentence before he is eligible for parole didn't exactly seem fair under those circumstances."

He added: "Money always seems to keep the boy out of trouble. This was one time I did ask the court, that for justice, for money not to prevail and ultimately today I felt like money did prevail."

The scene of the deadly June crash in Texas

Speaking after the case, another psychologist, Dr Gary Buffone, said "affluenza" was never meant to be used as a defence in court cases.

He said the condition, which was popularised in the 1990s, was attributed to children with a sense of entitlement, and who are irresponsible and sometimes use drugs and alcohol.

"The simple term would be spoiled brat," he said. "The defence is laughable, the disposition is horrifying … not only haven't the parents set any consequences, but it's being reinforced by the judge's actions."

The American Psychiatric Association says it does not recognise the diagnosis of "affluenza".

Judge Boyd said the intensive rehab therapy Couch needs might not be available in the Texas juvenile justice system.

However, he could be treated at a centre in California which was proposed by the defence. The estimated yearly treatment cost of $450,000 (£276,000) is set to be paid by his parents, according to Fort Worth newspaper the Star Telegram.

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Missing Jayden: Police Release CCTV Image

Detectives looking for a teenager who went missing 10 days ago have released a CCTV image of the last known sighting of her.

Jayden Parkinson, from Oxford, was last seen leaving Didcot Parkway train station at 4.27pm on December 3 - and did not return home that evening as planned.

A man from Reading, Berkshire, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering the 17-year-old.

The 22-year-old is currently being held in police custody in connection with her disappearance.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Murray, of Thames Valley Police, told a news conference the detained man was "part of our enquiries to prove or disprove whether Jayden has come to harm".

He revealed information had come to light to focus the search for the teenager in certain areas, including a wide, rural area between the village of Upton and Didcot.

Appeal: Superintendent Christian Bunt (L) and Det Ch Supt Andy Murray (R)

Mr Murray said teams had been deployed to search a path or track leading from Upton in the general direction of Didcot, partly following a disused railway line.

He said: "We do not know where Jayden is at the moment, but as time progresses it is obvious that we are becoming increasingly concerned about her welfare."

He added officers remained "focused on the hope that she is still out there".

Jayden is described as slim, with shoulder-length dark brown hair and brown eyes.

She was living with her mother in Didcot until November this year, when she found herself homeless.

The teenager relocated to an Oxford service called One Foot Forward, which offers assisted and supported accommodation for young people.

Inspector Chris Simpson, leading the search, said: "She has little access to money and she has not been in phone contact which is out of character for her.

"She could be in Oxford or Reading areas with friends and if this is the case we would urge her or them to get in contact.

"Jayden is not in any trouble but we need to get in touch with her to ensure she is safe and well."

Anyone with information has been urged to contact Thames Valley Police on 101 and quote URN 542 10/12, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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