Pair Admit Burying Parents' Bodies In Garden

By David Crabtree, Midlands Correspondent

A couple have admitted burying the woman's parents in the back garden of their home nearly 16 years ago.

Susan Edwards, 55, and her husband Christopher Edwards, 57, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday and pleaded guilty to two charges.

They admitted obstructing a coroner in the execution of his duty by burying the bodies of William and Patricia Wycherley sometime between May 2 and May 10 in 1998.

They also admitted a further charge of theft of a credit balance from a bank account between May 4, 1998, and October 31, 2013.

At a previous hearing they denied murdering Mr and Mrs Wycherley, who disappeared 16 years ago.

Police discovered the remains in the garden of their Mansfield home in October last year. Post-mortems revealed that they had both been shot.

Judge Mrs Justice Thirlwall remanded the Edwards in custody.

Their trial begins on June 4 and is expected to last up to four weeks.

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Missing Plane: Expert Rules Out Fire Theory

A safety expert has ruled out fire as a cause for the disappearance of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane after it emerged lithium ion batteries were being carried in its hold.

Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, chief executive of the airline, revealed the batteries - which have posed safety concerns after causing fires on board Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft - were in the cargo hold.

He said: "We carry some lithium ion batteries but they are approved and not declared as dangerous goods.

"Airlines do this all the time; these goods have been flown many times."

Dreamliner aircraft were grounded in 2013 after fires caused by batteries

One of the theories behind the plane's disappearance has focused on a fire breaking out and causing the pilots to become incapacitated.

But David Learmount, operations and safety editor of Flightglobal, said the pilots would have alerted air traffic control if a fire broke out onboard.

He told Sky News Online: "The problem if you have a lot of them (batteries) and they start reacting with each other is that they cause an enormous amount of heat and that causes fire.

"The pilots would be immediately aware because of detectors and fires in the hold can be very dangerous because you can't get into it from the aircraft.

"They would be turning for the nearest airport as fast as possible and telling air traffic control - fire on any aircraft is absolutely terrifying for everyone.

"This aircraft has not come down because of fire. The idea that a pilot would keep a fire quiet is absolutely unthinkable."

Mr Learmount said the theory that the aircraft was deliberately turned off course by someone who knew what they were doing was the most plausible explanation for its disappearance.

Malaysian authorities have said the plane turned west and travelled back over the Malay Peninsula and out into the Indian Ocean after it vanished from radar during its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

The last contact with the Boeing 777 was heard from the cockpit, when a person thought to be the co-pilot said "all right, good night" to Malaysian air traffic control at 1.19am.

An international search team scoured areas of the southern Indian Ocean on Friday for sign of objects spotted by a satellite which could potentially be debris.

On Wednesday, pilot Fikri Zambi told Sky News that a fire in the cabin of the aircraft could have incapacitated both pilots.

He said the pair could have changed course to find the nearest airport, but were overcome by smoke before they were able to land.

Airlines grounded their Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleets for three months last year after fires caused by lithium ion batteries. The batteries were subsequently redesigned.

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'Miracle' Baby Born As Mum Dies In Bike Crash

A "miracle" baby has survived after being born during a motorcycle crash that killed his mum and dad.

One officer who was at the scene in Xiamen City, southeast China, said he spotted the baby lying five metres away from the body of his mum.

"The baby moved his legs and arms and cried out. We immediately rescued the new born baby," said Lyu Yiwen, of Xiamen Haicang Traffic Police Brigade.

The baby was spotted five metres away from the body of his mum

"The vehicle incident made us feel life is fragile, but the new born baby touched us with the miracle and the greatness of life. So, we are all in awe of this new born life."

A hospital spokesman said the baby, which weighs 9lb 2oz (4.2kg), is in a stable condition.

But he added: "At the current time, the baby is suffering from intracranial hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage and brachial plexus injury.

He is in a stable condition but doctors are still concerned

"After consultation, we think the baby is also suffering from lung contusion which can be life-threatening. We must keep a close watch on him."

The pregnant woman and her husband were instantly killed when their motorcycle collided with a truck.

They were on their way to hospital after the mother began feeling abdominal pains on Tuesday morning.

The driver of the truck has been detained by the police.

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Malaysian Plane: Hope And Activity In Perth

Pearce Air Force base, just to the north of the western Australian city of Perth, has become the centre of activity and of hope in the search for the missing Malaysian airliner.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base, which is usually used only for flight training, is now hosting highly sophisticated P3 Orion surveillance planes and their crews.

Three P3 Orions have flown up from their base in South Australia to spearhead the new focus in the search for flight MH370.

Orion pilot Russell Adams briefs reporters after a search

A long-range Bombardier Global Express jet, usually used as an executive private plane, has also been brought in to assist the search.

A fifth plane, the US Navy's brand new P8 Poseidon, has joined the search from its base in Okinawa, Japan, and is flying its own sorties from Perth International Airport.

The first RAAF P3 Orion left Pearce at about 9.15am. The journey to the search area deep in the southern Indian Ocean is 1,500 miles. It is closer to Antarctica than it is to Australia. 

The planes typically spend 10 hours in the air during each search

The second P3 Orion departed two hours later at 11.15am. Fifteen minutes later, the Bombardier jet departed, and the third P3 followed at 12.45pm.

For the ground crew, whose usual daily task is coordinating the movements of small trainer aircraft, it is a busy time.

In the searing heat, we spot the first of the P3 planes on the horizon. It is making its final approach back into Pearce after 10 hours in the air. Eight of those hours were spent travelling and just two searching.

A P3 Orion search and rescue plane returns to Pearce base

As the pilot walks towards us for a few words, it's clear he is tired but upbeat. For the whole flight crew, the work is long and tiring. As well as operating sophisticated search equipment on the planes, they are using their eyes, too.

Their radar picked up nothing on Thursday and so they have spent much of Friday flying low; at times just 50 metres above the water.

That sort of piloting is hard. It's also tough for the crews to keep their eyes focused on the water for so many hours. We discovered that much after seven hours on a search with the Royal Malaysian Air Force last week. Even small ripples in the water look like objects.

The aircraft are equipped with the world's most advanced search technology

Add to that the fact that the search zone is in one of the most remote corners of the planet. It is an ocean where currents are strong, the waves are rough and the waters are among the deepest in the world.

There is a media circus here, too. Tents are lined up next to each other, the Australian networks, who made it here first, have the plumb spots. Next to them is the Sky News spot, the BBC and then the three main American networks.

CCTV, China's main TV network, also has a big presence here. Most of those on board the missing plane are Chinese.

The sorties cease as night falls. The difficult work resumes at first light.

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'Columbine' Terror Trial Shown Petrol Bomb Video

A teenager armed himself with guns and explosives and planned a Columbine massacre on his old school, the Old Bailey has heard.

A shaky video was shown to the jury of Michael Piggin lighting a rag stuffed inside a bottle of flammable liquid and then throwing it down an alley.

Piggin 'seen with the petrol bomb'

The Molotov cocktail explodes leaving flames on the ground and up a brick wall.

Piggin, who was 17 when arrested but can now be named after turning 18, is accused of plotting a terror attack on staff and pupils at his former school in Loughborough, Leicestershire.

He identified Loughborough Mosque, a local cinema, Loughborough University and council offices as targets, it is alleged.

A second video was shown to the court of Piggin writing anti-Muslim graffiti on a wall.

In it, he spray-paints "No More Mosques!" in large black letters.

The Molotov cocktail exploded in an alley

Piggin, who has Asperger's syndrome, denies a charge of possessing items for the purpose, preparation and instigation of an act of terrorism.

They include partially-assembled petrol and pipe bombs, partially-constructed improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a stab proof vest and gas mask, air rifles, pistols, ammunition and a notebook containing information about making explosives.

He also denies possessing a document or record containing information likely to be useful for a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Piggin and two other teenagers, who cannot be named, have already pleaded guilty to possessing petrol bombs and component parts of pipe bombs for the use of explosive devices, the jury was told.

Piggin has also admitted possessing the component parts for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the court heard.

Twelve students and one teacher were killed in the Columbine high school massacre in Colorado in 1999.

The trial continues.

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Fifa To Investigate Qatar Corruption Claims

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

Fifa's ethics committee is to examine fresh allegations of corruption against two former vice-presidents of world football's governing body.

Earlier this week the Daily Telegraph alleged that Jack Warner, once one of the most influential and notorious figures at Fifa, received $1.2m from a company controlled by Mohamed Bin Hammam, a Fifa vice-president and a senior figure in Qatar's bid for the 2022 World Cup.

No explanation for the payments has been offered, but the newspaper alleged that an invoice for the payments was issued within days of Qatar winning the right to host the 2022 tournament in December 2010. The money was finally paid in July 2011.

Jack Warner left Fifa amid a corruption scandal in 2011

There have been numerous allegations of corruption against the Qatar 2022 bid, all of which it has denied. The tiny Emirate won a secret ballot of Fifa's executive committee, defeating bids from the USA, Australia, Japan and Korea.

In a statement released on Friday Fifa's chief investigator Michael Garcia said he was aware of allegations against Mr Warner and Mr Bin Hammam.

In a statement read to a media conference in Zurich by a Fifa official, Mr Garcia said: "The ethics committee is aware in the published article, and as with any allegation of misconduct, the ethics committee will take whatever action is considered appropriate."

Fifa president Sepp Blatter refused to comment on the allegation until Mr Garcia's investigation is completed.

Mohamed Bin Hammam was a senior figure in Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid

"I am happy that now we have an independent committee for ethics, it is a matter for the committee, I am not going to make any comments, please understand, as long as this file is open."

Mr Garcia has been examining the conduct of the 2018 and 2022 bid processes for more than a year and it remains unclear when he will report.

He visited Zurich unannounced this week and interviewed the 13 current members of the executive committee who took part in the 2010 election.

Mr Blatter also said he would visit Qatar before the Brazil World Cup this summer to seek reassurances on the issue of workers' rights.

Doha has been heavily criticised for the number of deaths among migrant construction workers, and Fifa is under pressure to secure assurances that World Cup venues will be built in safer conditions.

Mr Blatter also dismissed calls for the 2018 World Cup to be stripped from Russia following its annexation of the Crimea.

Former culture secretary Andy Burnham is among those who has said it should be considered as retaliation for Russia's actions.

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko, also a Fifa executive committee member, gave a progress report to his colleagues on Friday, and Mr Blatter said there was no chance of it being removed.

"The World Cup has been voted to Russia and we are going forward with that work," he said.

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Veiled Acid Attacker Sentenced To 12 Years

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky News Reporter

A woman who threw acid in the face of her friend, leaving her scarred for life, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Mary Konye, 22, cried as the sentence was handed down at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Her victim Naomi Oni has had skin grafts to cover the severe burns and has been left with scars on her face, legs, chest, stomach and arms.

The 22-year-old Victoria's Secret shop assistant was almost blinded in one eye, lost an eyelid, her eyelashes and hair following the attack on December 30, 2012, in Dagenham, East London.

Mary Konye dressed in a veil to carry out an attack on her friend.

In a statement read out in court, Naomi Oni said she felt "violated" by the attack, which left her feeling like killing herself.

Before the attack, she told the court, she was a "confident" young woman with a job she enjoyed.

"All this changed that day I was struck with acid and my life was turned upside down," she said.

She described every day now as "a battle to get by".

"I'm going to have these scars as a reminder forever ... my injuries are due to the carefully planned acts of an evil, wicked person," Ms Oni added.

Konye disguised herself in a Muslim veil and followed Naomi Oni home from work before attacking her.

No clear motive has ever been discovered but it is believed the pair fell out in April 2011 after Ms Oni allegedly accused Konye of texting her boyfriend and called her an "ugly monster".

On sentencing Konye, Judge David Radford said Konye had shown no remorse for the "deliberate and wicked act".

Naomi Oni had to receive months of treatment for her injuries.

Judge Radford said: "This careful, premeditated criminality was planned against a person who reasonably believed you were a true friend.

"Her friendship had been so wilfully betrayed by you," he said, adding the attack had "ruined" Ms Oni's life.

Following the assault Konye pretended to offer her former friend support, texting her in hospital.

Although it is thought Konye could have planned the attack for two years, she later suggested Ms Oni had devised the whole thing to get "fame and fortune".

The attack is believed to have been a copycat version of the one suffered by model and TV presenter Katie Piper, who was badly scarred and left blind in one eye in an assault arranged by her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, in 2008.

Previously, Ms Oni had told the court that Konye knew the impact the attack had on her after they watched a TV documentary about it.

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Missing Malaysian Jet: Debris 'May Have Sunk'

A search for two large objects that may be from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet has concluded for the day without any sight of flight MH370.

Friday's operation involved five aircraft, including three RAAF Orions, and a US Navy P8 Poseidon which scoured a remote area in the southern Indian Ocean of 8,800 sq miles (23,000 sq km).

An Australian P3 Orion search plane arrived back at base in Perth after failing to find any evidence of debris from the missing aircraft.

HMS Echo is heading towards the region

On his return to Perth, flight lieutenant Russell Adams told waiting reporters that conditions were perfect but there was no sign of any wreckage.

"We had really good weather compared to yesterday, better than 10km visibility and there was no rain in the area," he said.

"Unfortunately the conditions back here precluded us from staying on station as long as we'd like, however there are other aircraft out there still searching.

"We've got a lot of hope. Hopefully we'll find something soon."

RAAF AP-3C Orion pilot Adams speaks to the press in Perth upon his return

But Australian deputy prime minister Warren Truss admitted the objects spotted on satellite images in the remote southern Indian Ocean may have sunk.

"Something that was floating on the sea that long ago may no longer be floating," he told reporters in Perth.

"It may have slipped to the bottom."

At a news conference in Kualar Lumpur the Malaysian authorities said they were using every possible search and rescue asset in the world to help them find the missing aircraft.

Britain's HMS Echo is on its way and David Cameron told his Malaysian counterpart that Britain stands ready to help with whatever specialist support they can offer.

Malaysia's Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein at today's briefing

"The UK has remained in close touch with Malaysian authorities since the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on 8th March," said a government spokesman.

"The PM called PM Najib on Tuesday to offer any additional support to the AAIB assistance already in place.

"Following that, we have been in close contact with the Malaysians and have offered an additional package of support.

"We are also in close contact with the Australians and today we have confirmed that HMS Echo is already heading towards the southern Indian Ocean."

It was also revealed the plane could have been carrying lithium-ion batteries in the cargo hold.

The flammable batteries can pose a safety concern and are required to undergo stricter testing than other types of battery.

In Boeing's 787 Dreamliner's first year of service, some four aircraft experienced problems stemming from its lithium-ion batteries.

But Malaysia Airline's chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, told Sky's Kay Burley the batteries were an approved item and were not classed as dangerous goods.

Muslims perform a prayer for passengers at a mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia

"We carry some lithium ion batteries but they are approved and not declared as dangerous goods," he said.

"Airlines do this all the time; these goods have been flown many times."

Meanwhile, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the country was doing everything it could to find the suspected debris and to keep the families of the passengers informed of the progress.

"We owe it to the families, the friends and the loved ones of the nearly 240 people on board flight MH370 to do everything we can to resolve what is as yet an extraordinary riddle," he told a news conference.

"Because of the understandable state of anxiety they're in, we also owe it to them to give them information as soon as we get it to hand.

A message board of support at a shopping centre in Damansara, Malaysia

"We have five aircraft searching the area. We're looking for a visual that was picked up on satellite imagery and as soon as we have additional information we'll make it available."

A Norwegian merchant ship - the first vessel to reach the vicinity - has been using searchlights through the night to try to locate the objects.

They were spotted by a satellite last Sunday and could potentially be debris from flight MH370, one of which is thought to be 24 metres in length and the other about five metres.

The sightings have been deemed "credible" and a "potentially important development" by authorities - as the search for the passenger plane enters its 14th day.

Relatives of those on board wait for news at a hotel in Beijing

Australian naval vessel HMAS Success, which is capable of retrieving debris, is also en route to the search area but is some days away.

There has been no trace of the aircraft since it vanished from radar a short distance into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

Wider searches, including of a northern corridor from northern Thailand to Kazakhstan, are set to continue until investigators are certain they have located the plane. Some 18 ships and 29 aircraft are taking part.

Those areas were targeted after faint electronic "pings" picked up by one commercial satellite suggested flight MH370 flew on for at least six hours after it disappeared from air traffic control screens.

Satellite images show objects which may be debris from the plane

Willie Walsh, chief executive of the International Airlines Group, said he was baffled by the disappearance of the aircraft.

"My deepest sympathies to everybody associated with this, it must be truly awful for the families and friends of the passengers and crew," he told Sky's Jeff Randall Live.

"I'm baffled; I must have heard twenty, thirty, maybe even forty theories on what has happened and quite honestly, we just don't know.

"I've been in this industry 35 years and I've never seen anything like this. I'm confident that with the technology today and the fact accident investigation has progressed significantly, we will ultimately find out."

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John Terry's Father Cleared Over 'Racist Row'

Footballer John Terry's father has been cleared of headbutting an Asian man and racially abusing him in a dispute over a cigarette outside a pub.

The 59-year-old was found not guilty of carrying out a racially-aggravated common assault by jurors at the Old Bailey.

The Chelsea captain's father was also cleared of one count of racially-aggravated fear or provocation of violence.

It followed a five-day trial, during which he was accused of calling Amarjit Talafair, a railway customer services worker, a "******* Paki" outside the Windsor pub near Fenchurch Street station on March 22 last year.

Mr Talafair conceded he was not hurt because he was able to dodge Terry's alleged headbutt and admitted calling the defendant a "fat bald prick" during the confrontation.

Terry admitted calling Mr Talafair a "****** tight prick", but denied headbutting him or racially abusing him.

He told the jury: "I just said '**** off, go back downstairs', things like that. It wasn't no racist stuff."

His co-accused, former schoolboy boxing champion Stephen Niland, 36, from Romford, Essex, and Moldova-born Tudor Musteata, 47, from Greenwich, south east London, were also found not guilty of racially-aggravated fear or provocation of violence.

Terry, from Grays, Essex, said he was "relieved" afterwards.

"It's been a hard year for all of us. We all felt it was nothing, really. It was stupid," he said.

"I'm just going home and I'm going to phone John up," he added.

Jurors were told Terry received a 24-month conditional discharge for common assault in 2005 and a suspended prison sentence for an offence of supplying class A drugs in 2010.

Two months after his arrest last March, Terry admitted racially abusing another man and was fined £200 for calling him a "******* Irish prick" at Barking rail station, the court heard.

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Putin Signs Crimea Annexation As Russia Warned

Vladimir Putin has completed legislation for taking control of Crimea, as David Cameron warned Russia it faces international isolation and tighter sanctions over the move.

As the Russian President signed the final annexation document in a Kremlin ceremony broadcast live on state television, Mr Cameron and other EU leaders imposed sanctions on 12 more people to punish Moscow for its takeover of the Ukrainian territory.

The EU also agreed to step up moves to reduce the bloc's reliance on Russian energy.

Mr Cameron said EU members needed to do more to develop their own reserves, as well as their ability to use gas from overseas producers, including the US. 

The Prime Minister said: "Our message to Russia is clear: choose the path to diplomacy and de-escalation or face increasing isolation and tighter and tighter sanctions.

"It was very important that the European democracies represented here should send a strong and united message that Russia should face further consequences, and that is what we have done.

"We have subjected 12 more individuals to travel bans and asset freezes, bringing the total to 33. We have cancelled the EU-Russia summit, agreed not to hold bilateral summits and we'll block Russian membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Energy Agency.

Russia was accused by Ukraine of invading Crimea during recent unrest

"We have agreed to rapidly implement economic, trade and financial restrictions on occupied Crimea. We will only accept Crimean goods in the EU if they come from the Ukraine and not Russia."

Mr Cameron also refused to rule out further sanctions against several oligarchs, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Beyond punishing Russia, the EU leaders also showed backing for Ukraine by signing an agreement which aligns the new administration in Kiev more firmly with Europe.

The measures come a day after the US decided to slap sanctions on Mr Putin's inner circle of money men and security officials.

US President Barack Obama said 20 individuals linked to the Russian government and a bank supporting those individuals would be targeted.

Moscow immediately responded by banning nine US officials and politicians from entering Russia. It has yet to take retaliatory action against the EU.

But on Friday morning, Mr Putin mocked planned Western sanctions against his country over its annexation of Crimea.

He was reported to have claimed he will open a bank account at a sanction-hit bank and joked he will steer clear of allies on a list of people facing sanctions as they are "compromising us."

And Ukrainian troops begin leaving their military bases in the Crimean peninsula. The truce between the two countries has now expired.

The Russian takeover of the Black Sea peninsula has been largely bloodless, though one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and two others wounded in a shooting earlier this week.

But Ukraine's Acting President has vowed that the country will never accept Russia's seizure of Crimea.

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