Woolwich Suspects Deny Lee Rigby Murder

Two men have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby earlier this year.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale appeared at Old Bailey via videolink before their trial.

Drummer Rigby, a father of one, was stabbed as he returned to the Woolwich barracks in southeast London on May 22.

The soldier's widow Rebecca Rigby watched in tears as Adebolajo, 28, and Adebowale, 22, each denied attempting to murder a police officer on the day of Drummer Rigby's death.

They also denied conspiracy to murder on or before that day.

Adebolajo, from Romford in Essex, has asked to be known as Mujaahid Abu Hamza in court, while Adebowale, from Greenwich, southeast London, has asked to be called Ismail Ibn Abdullah.

They were remanded in custody to face trial at the Old Bailey on November 19.

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Global Warming '95% Certain', Say Scientists

China Is No Friend To Environment

Updated: 9:19am UK, Friday 27 September 2013

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent, in Beijing

China is not kind to the environment. It is far and away the world's biggest consumer of coal, burning three times as much of it than America in 2012.

These days, the country is responsible for a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. The projections suggest it will get considerably worse over the coming years before peaking.

The causes are multiple. In Beijing, the most obvious pollutant is the traffic.

Since the 2007 UN climate report, two million more cars have been added to Beijing's roads.

There are now five million vehicles on the streets of the Chinese capital alone. All of them are filled with poor quality fuel, the fumes from which are spewed out into the city's air.

This year, the country has seen some of the worst air pollution on record.

On a bad day, you can smell the pollution. On a really bad day, you can taste it.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a safe Air Quality Index (AQI) is 25. In Beijing, in January, the index hit 900.

The 2013 "airmageddon", as it became known, could mark a turning point.

China's state-run media used to insist that the smog was "fog".

These days though, they're clear about its health implications.

China's people are increasingly asking questions and wondering aloud why their government isn't doing more to improve their environment.

The government appears to be taking their concerns seriously.

New measures are in place to limit car numbers in big cities and the quality of the fuel is being improved.

China's latest five-year plan to take on its pollution problem includes a cap on coal consumption.

To date though, it has failed to meet any of its previous pollution targets.

A "carbon cap-and-trade system" is now in place in the southern industrial city of Shenzhen.

Others are planned in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai and Beijing.

However, globally, governments have proved that implementing such measures and actually sticking to them are entirely different things.

Of course, much of the pollution may come from China, but that fact doesn't necessarily make it all China's fault.

The problem is that China is in the middle of its own industrial revolution. As long the West continues to demand its products are "Made in China" and on the cheap, we'll continue to pay the price for its pollution.

Essentially, the West has exported its own pollution to China. London's "pea-soupers" of the 1950s - a product of the UK's industrial revolution - are now being re-lived in China as it meets our demands.

And arguably, China is only adopting the same principle as the West did a century ago: the "grow first, clean up later" attitude.

But the speed at which China has industrialised has exacerbated its pollution problems.

It would be wrong though to suggest that China is doing nothing to sort out its problems and live up to its global responsibility.

It is a world leader in green technology. Chinese investment wind and solar power is second to none.

Britain, for one, recognises that. On Thursday, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey was in Beijing to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chinese government.

The MoU, on offshore wind power, is the first of its kind that China has signed with another country.

"I am delighted that the UK and China have cemented their 'Strategic Partnership on Offshore Wind' through the signing of an MoU," Mr Davey said.

"The UK has more offshore wind installed than the rest of the world combined and we have ambitious plans for the future.

"Together with China, who plans to develop 30GW of offshore wind by 2020, we want to make offshore wind a competitive low carbon energy choice.

"Our strengthened cooperation will bring significant commercial and environmental benefits for both countries."

The broad point is this: China's impact on the global environment is so huge that a substantial shift in attitude and policy here alone could be a global game changer.

The concern is that many of China's considerable commitments to change its ways are, for now at least, on paper only; paper which, incidentally, comes from trees that China is chopping down at a frightening pace.

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Kenya Attack: 'Car Used By Terrorists Found'

A vehicle believed to have been used by the terrorists who attacked Nairobi's Westgate Mall, killing at least 67 people, has been recovered by investigators.

Kenyan police are trying to trace details of the ownership of the car, which was found outside the bullet-scarred and scorched shopping centre.

They are also building the profile of a man who warned a pregnant woman at the mall to flee for own safety moments before the attack.

Forensic teams continued their examination of the mall and sifted through the rubble of the complex's collapsed multi-storey car park.

FBI agents along with investigators from Britain, Canada, Israel and Germany have been dispatched to help investigate the crime scene.

A Kenyan government official disclosed the latest developments on condition of anonymity.

Speaking to the Associated Press, the official said there may be other vehicles used by the attackers.

Family and friends attend the funeral of radio host Ruhila Adatia Sood

Sky's Stuart Ramsay, in Nairobi, said: "There has been much discussion about whether they pre-positioned weapons inside the shopping mall using a shop that had been rented. We believe they had a house nearby as well.

"The shop came with a parking space. We understand that a truck was in there and hadn't moved for the best part of a week.

"We also understand that the owner of the shop is now being questioned in connection with this, probably in terms of who did he lease the property to."

The news emerged as the country continued to observe a period of national mourning in the aftermath of Saturday's massacre, which al Shabaab, the Somali militant group, has claimed responsibility for.

Colleagues gathered at the funeral of pregnant journalist Ruhila Adatia Sood, who bled to death after being shot in the leg.

"Just before it happened Ruhila texted a friend to say she could feel her baby kicking," said friend Shelina Manji.

More than 2,500 members of Nairobi's Ismaili Muslim community, a branch of Shia Islam, attended the service to pay their last respects to the slain radio host and another woman killed in the attack, 44-year-old Shairoz Dossa.

Meanwhile, a British passport holder stopped at Nairobi's international airport was still being questioned by Kenyan police.

The man, who was heading for London, has been held since earlier this week after he aroused suspicions at Jomo Kenyatta Airport because he had facial bruising, Sky News understands.

A global hunt was also under way for British terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite, dubbed the "white widow", who was married to 7/7 London suicide bomber Jermaine Lindsay.

Interpol issued a red notice, or internationally wanted persons alert, for the Muslim convert to its 190 member countries on Thursday at the request of Kenya.

The 29-year-old is wanted by Kenya on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a crime dating back to December 2011.

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Kenya Survivor 'Smeared Herself In Blood'

A survivor of the Nairobi mall attacks has described how she smeared herself with a victim's blood to play dead and fool the terrorists.

Radio presenter Sneha Kothari Mashru said a teenage boy lying next to her died of his wounds as they hid from the gunmen at the Westgate shopping centre in the Kenyan capital.

"I realised he was shot, because he was bleeding," she said.

"So I pulled out (his) phone slowly and I tried to switch it off, it was all full of blood, and I tried to switch off the phone so that it could stop ringing (in case it alerted the attackers).

"So I took a lot of his blood, (as) much (as) I could and I tried to put it on myself. I put it on my arm, a lot of the teenager's blood, and while I was trying to put it on my hand I just realised that he had stopped breathing at that time.

"So I put it on my arm, as much as I could, and I covered my face with my hair, because my hair was let loose even then, just to pretend that I'm dead or probably badly injured.

"I would still love to know who he is and everything, because his blood probably protected me from getting probably more injured or attacked."

Niall Saville and his wife Moon Hee Kang who died in the attack

Meanwhile, the family of a British man Niall Saville who was injured in the attack have paid tribute to his South Korean wife, Moon Hee Kang, who was killed.

"The Saville and Kang families are devastated and heartbroken by the sudden loss of Moon Hee.

"She was very close to the Saville family and brought so much joy to all of their lives. She and Niall had lived in numerous locations around the world together, but they always had time for both families," the statement said.

"Moon Hee was a bright, loving, kind and genuine person who will be greatly missed."

Terror group al Shabaab has claimed its militants carried out a "meticulous vetting process" to separate Muslims from non-Muslims before killing dozens of men, women and children in the mall.

Witnesses had described how the gunmen rounded up those inside centre before asking them questions about Islam.

In an email exchange with the Associated Press, the al Qaeda-affiliated terror group confirmed its fighters specifically targeted foreigners during the attack.

Security officials enter the mall to search for more evidence

"The Mujahideen carried out a meticulous vetting process at the mall and have taken every possible precaution to separate the Muslims from the Kuffar (disbelievers) before carrying out their attack," the group said.

It added: "Our targets have always been disbelievers, invaders and the apostate governments officials/troops who are allied with them."

The number killed in the attack is expected to rise from the current figure of 67, with speculation there could be additions to the six British dead.

Five terrorists were also killed in the four-day siege at the shopping centre, while 10 suspects remain in custody in relation to the incident.

Former prime minister Tony Blair told Sky News that terrorists are a "cancer" who will only be defeated by better education.

Speaking outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, the current envoy to the Middle East said Islamist ideology had created an enemy that was "insidious and venomous, but also difficult to beat".

"Unless we are educating people to a tolerant and respectful and open-minded approach to the world, then this cancer of these terrorist groups will continue," he said.

Miraculous tales of survival have emerged since the attack

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud has warned that such attacks may become more frequent as al Shabaab tries to reassert its dwindling power base.

"Some people sometimes mix the issues that Shabaab want an Islamic state in Somalia - that's not true. Shabaab want a unified state all over the world," he told Channel 4 News.

"They do not believe in borders, they do not believe in sovereignty, so their theme is global, it's not even regional. They may do this act again and again."

On Wednesday the group threatened that if Kenyan troops remain in Somalia, they must "be prepared for an abundance of blood".

Experts from countries including the UK, the US and Israel are helping Kenyan authorities with the forensic investigation at the mall. Explosives experts and sniffer dogs are searching for booby traps in the wreckage.

Newly-released pictures show a gaping hole in the mall's roof and mounds of rubble.

The devastation was caused after soldiers fired rocket-propelled grenades and knocked out a support column.

A Kenyan government official said the soldiers fired to distract a sniper so that hostages could be evacuated.

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Stuart Hall Faces New Rape Allegations

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

Detectives are preparing to question jailed broadcaster Stuart Hall over dozens of new rape allegations.

A woman has told police that Hall raped her regularly over several years when she was a young teenager.

The alleged victim is thought to be a relative of friends of the disgraced presenter.

Hall, 83, could be re-arrested in prison and, if charged and convicted, he may never be freed.

Hall was jailed this year for 15 months after admitting 14 charges of indecent assault on girls aged between nine and 17 between 1967 and 1985.

At the time, a single rape charge was not pursued and was left on the file.

His sentence was later doubled when the Attorney-General appealed after some of Hall's victims complained he had been dealt with too leniently.

If Hall is charged with further offences, prosecutors would have to decide whether more expensive and time-consuming court action is in the public interest. 

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April Jones Funeral: Machynlleth Says Goodbye

The funeral of April Jones has begun in the murdered schoolgirl's home town in mid-Wales.

A white horse-drawn cortege led mourners, including the five-year-old's parents Paul and Coral from their Machynlleth home to St Peter's Church.

Crowds lined the streets and filled the church and its graveyard for the long-awaited ceremony.

Those paying their respects were asked to wear pink, April's favourite colour.

As the tiny coffin was carried into the church by family members, Coral wept, holding her hand to her face, comforted by Paul, while other relatives fought back tears.

April's body has never been found

A message from April's family, written on the order of service, said they "would like to say a big thank you to everyone for their overwhelming kindness, sympathy and support during this sad, sad time".

Among the crowds were members of the mountain rescue, who helped search for April.

Beginning the service, the Reverend Kathleen Rogers said: "We know that there are no words we can say at this moment to express what we are feeling.

"No words can alleviate our sorrow or take away our pain."

The order of service for the ceremony

Two poems by a local writer - one called April and the other called An Autumn Night - are being read during the service and the words of well-known hymns have been changed to suit the family.

It is almost a year to the day since the five-year-old went missing - with her murderer, Mark Bridger, jailed for his entire life in May - but reminders of the youngster are visible throughout the town.

Flowers from April's Nan and Grandad

A memorial garden has been built on the estate of Bryn y Gog, close to the home where she lived throughout her brief life.

Earlier April's father Paul inspected flowers and dolls left at the garden, which has become a focal point for locals.

A bench bearing her name has been placed among the trees and next to a pink playhouse.

Up in the Welsh hills overlooking her hometown, a tree has been intricately wrapped in knitted pink patches and below in the valley pink ribbons still adorn many of the shop fronts and houses.

But the town is different now according to Councillor Mike Williams, a friend and neighbour of April's family.

People in Machynlleth joined the search for the missing girl

He explained: "It's the magnitude of an event in which a five-year-old girl was ripped from her family, ripped from the community, in such a vile and vicious way.

"But the town has stayed together and together we will be. We will be as one and we will be always with the family in support."

April Jones' funeral reflects the wishes of her grieving parents Paul and Coral, who had wondered for months whether it would even be possible as their daughter's body was never found apart from fragments of bone.

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Hamzah Khan: 'He Died In My Arms', Mum Says

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The mother of four-year-old Hamzah Khan, whose mummified body was found in her bedroom almost two years after he died, told police he died in her arms, a court has heard.

Amanda Hutton, 43, is on trial accused of Hamzah's manslaughter after the grim discovery was made in her Bradford home in 2011.

In her police interviews read out to the jury, she said Hamzah had been a difficult child who shouted and screamed and would only eat bananas and milk.

Hutton said her son lost a large amount of weight in December 2009 and lay in a travel cot "really silent and still and peaceful".

She claimed Hamzah told her in "the kind of gabble" that he spoke in: "Oh, I love you mum, are you alright mum?"

Hutton told officers she went to a Morrisons supermarket chemist for something to build up his strength when her eldest son Tariq rang her, saying: "Mum, you need to come back, Hamzah's eyes are rolling into the back of his head."

She said she picked him up when she returned home, adding that when he died in her arms, she did not know what to do next.

The moment Hamzah's body was discovered was described to the jury by the police officer who found it.

DC Richard Dove, of the child protection unit at West Yorkshire Police, was searching Hutton's bedroom after the alarm was raised about her lifestyle and the filthy house she was living in.

DC Dove said that as he stood in the bedroom looking at a travel cot, he could sense there was something wrong.

"There was clothing and shoes and bedding piled up in the cot so I started taking them off," he explained.

In the dock, Hutton buried her head in her hands as DC Dove was asked: "What did you find?"

DC Dove replied: "The body of a small child, Asian in origin."

Hutton denies manslaughter and the trial continues.

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Miliband Warns Energy Firms After Backlash

Ed Miliband has rejected warnings his plans for an energy price freeze if Labour regains power will spark blackouts.

The Labour leader told Sky News he was serious about ending the "blatant overcharging of millions" as he brushed off criticism about the pledge.

In a surprise move, Mr Miliband vowed on Tuesday to freeze gas and electricity prices for 20 months if he becomes prime minister in 2015.

He has also now written to the "Big Six" energy companies warning that they will be "part of the problem" unless they support the move.

Ed Miliband insists it is time to "reset the market"

Firms claim it could lead to energy shortages and power cuts as the industry is starved of the investment it needs and business chiefs have also been critical.

Shares in Centrica - British Gas's holding company - were down almost 4% in early trading, and shares in Southern Electric and Swalec owner SSE fell 3.6%.

Centrica chairman Sir Roger Carr said: "We are all concerned about rising prices and the impact on consumers, but we also have a very real responsibility that we find supplies to make sure the lights stay on."

Energy Secretary Ed Davey added: "When they tried to fix prices in California it resulted in an electricity crisis and widespread blackouts. We can't risk the lights going out here too.

"Fixing prices in this way risks blackouts, jeopardises jobs and puts investment in clean, green technology in doubt."

But Mr Miliband hit back, saying: "There are bound to be people coming up with scare stories ... California was a totally different approach."

Energy firms argue they need money to overhaul UK power stations

His plans would see a price freeze from 2015 until 2017 while the sector is reformed, with watchdog Ofgem axed, firms split into generation and retail arms and competition increased.

The Labour leader insists it is time to "reset the market" and told the industry he would not help guarantee funding for its development if it does not fall in line.

In his letter, he wrote: "I appreciate that you will not welcome all aspects of this package but it is my firm view that without resetting the market we are not going to see the public consent that is required to underpin the scale of taxpayer backed guarantees for which you have argued.

"I am prepared to make the case for sharing the risks of such investment, but that must be against the backdrop of a market that customers believe works for them.

"You and I know that the public have lost faith in this market. There is a crisis of confidence. We face a stark choice.

"We can work together on the basis of this price freeze to make the market work in the future. Or you can reinforce in the public mind that you are part of the problem not the solution."

Mr Miliband announced the 20-month price freeze in his conference speech as he sought to show only his party could tackle a "cost-of-living crisis".

Pitching the next election as a battle between Tories representing the "privileged few" as ordinary families and small businesses suffer, he repeatedly declared: "Britain can do better than this."

"I will lead a government that fights for you," he vowed as he insisted he would relish a contest with David Cameron based on leadership and character.

Labour claims the freeze, to last from May 2015 until January 2017, would save the typical household £120 and an average business £1,800.

Consumer group Which? has said it will "give hope to the millions worrying about how they can afford to heat their homes" but the CBI warns it will damage Labour's "pro-enterprise credentials".

The energy sector's umbrella group, Energy UK, accused Mr Miliband of "posturing to no purpose" and warned the freeze could have drastic consequences.

Chief executive Angela Knight said: "Freezing the bill, may be superficially attractive, but it will also freeze the money to build and renew power stations, freeze the jobs and livelihoods of the 600,000 plus people dependent on the energy industry and make the prospect of energy shortages a reality, pushing up the prices for everyone."

SSE claimed price freezes would lead to "unsustainable loss-making retail businesses" and suggested the Government's energy policy costs be put into general taxation instead of on bills.

"This would wipe £110 off the average person's bill and shift the cost away from those who can't afford to pay and on to those who can," a spokesman said.

Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said: "We should think very, very carefully before piling more distortion on an already grossly distorted energy market. Price controls only add greater uncertainty to companies who we need to take the financial risks of energy investment.

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "When the government fixes prices, it always ends in a disaster for consumers.

"Ed Miliband is sticking by the green taxes and expensive subsidies that drive up the price of energy, so at best this new policy would just store up massive price hikes for another day. At worst it could create a crisis and force the government to bail out the sector."

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Kenya: Gunman 'Could Still Be Hiding In Mall'

There are fears that one of the gunmen who launched a terror attack on a Kenyan shopping mall could still be hiding inside.

Sky's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay said: "There is a distinct possibility that somebody could have survived, one of the gunmen could be in there.

"There have been sources saying that is something under consideration whenever the clearance operation moves further into the building."

Kenya has begun three days of mourning for the victims of the Nairobi attack, as authorities look to retrieve the bodies of victims still trapped inside.

Smoke rises from the Westgate mall in Nairobi

At least 67 people have been confirmed dead in the attack, including 61 civilians and six security officials.

Kenyan authorities say the number of dead may rise further, as bodies are feared to be trapped beneath rubble in the mall after three levels collapsed.

Six Britons - including an eight-year-old girl - are among the dead, and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has warned there may be further British victims.

A Western embassy official said the number of additional dead could reach as high as 100. Morgue workers are preparing to receive further victims.

People queue up to give blood

About 175 people were also wounded when al Shabaab militants stormed the Nairobi mall on Saturday afternoon.

More video shows the rescue of a woman and two children from the mall by a police officer.

Meanwhile a photo taken by Sky's Alex Crawford showed people lining up to give blood.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta announced in a televised address that troops had "shamed and defeated" the militants following a four-day siege.

Kenyan troops stormed the shopping complex

"Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed. These cowards will meet justice as will their accomplices and patrons, wherever they are," Mr Kenyatta said.

Some 11 suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, and a further five died during the siege at the complex.

The Foreign Office has confirmed the arrest of a Briton, and say they are making contact to offer standard consular assistance.

"Now it is for the forensic and criminal experts," said police spokesman Masoud Mwinyi.

Explosives experts are searching for booby traps in the wreckage.

Teams of sniffer dogs have been taken into the building to check for explosives and to find bodies.

The attackers marched into the four-storey, part Israeli-owned mall at midday on Saturday, shooting dead shoppers with machine guns and tossing grenades.

Al Shabaab has claimed it carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.

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Kenya Mall Siege: 'Six Britons Killed'

Six Britons, including a young girl, are among the 62 people killed in the attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi.

British businessman Louis Bawa confirmed his daughter Jenah, eight, and wife Zahira were among the dead.

"The people who did this, they are vigilantes, they are animals," Mr Bawa told The Daily Telegraph.

"They are using religion as an excuse to kill people. Zahira and Jenah were Muslims, but these animals just shot them the same as all of the others."

Smoke seen billowing from the shopping complex

He said he had spoken to his daughter last week and had told her if she did well in her exams he would "buy her any present in the world."

She had replied that she wanted a pony and Mr Bawa said that she told him to "start saving up because she was going to work very hard."

Mrs Bawa was born in Kenya and moved to the UK several years ago. A relative, Shakuntna Bawa, told Sky News: "It's very hard, we can't believe it."

Another family member, Tania Bawa, described the mother and daughter as "wonderful people".

Two of the other victims, British-Australian architect Ross Langdon and his Dutch wife Elif Yavuz, were expecting their first baby in two weeks.

Mr Langdon at a conference in 2012

Mr Langdon, 33, who was born and grew up in Tasmania, designed an Aids hospital in Kenya for free and helped create eco-lodges and socially sustainable tourism.

His wife, Ms Yavuz, also 33, was a malaria specialist with a PhD in public health policy from Harvard University.

She had completed her dissertation research on malaria in eastern Africa and was working with the Gates Foundation in Kenya and the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Tanzania.

She recently met former US president Bill Clinton and posted a photograph of the meeting on her Facebook page last month.

"Elif was brilliant, dedicated, and deeply admired by her colleagues, who will miss her terribly," Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton said in a statement.

A friend of the couple, Tasmanian sculptor Peter Adams, said the pair dedicated their lives to working for a peaceful world.

Ms Yavuz meeting Bill Clinton

"Besides a personal loss for myself, this is a major global loss," Mr Adams wrote on his blog.

Mr Langdon founded his own firm, Regional Associates, in 2008. The firm said on its website: "Profoundly talented and full of life, Ross enriched the lives of all those around him."

A businessman from Leicester, Samir Bharma, said four of his young relatives, who had been taking part in the recording of a TV programme called Junior Super Chef, had been killed in the attack.

Also killed was a Peruvian public health consultant, Dr Juan Jesus Ortiz-Iruri, 63, who was due to take up a post at Liverpool School of Tropical Medical next week.

Most of those killed among the attack were Kenyans but other victims came from China, Ghana, France, the Netherlands and Canada.

Among the dead were Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor, 78; a Canadian diplomat, Annemarie Desloges; Mbugua Mwangi, the nephew of President Kenyatta of Kenya and his fiancee Wahito; and Radio Africa news presenter Ruhila Adatia Sood.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond warned that the number of Britons killed in the attack may rise further.

"Our current best estimate is we now have six British nationals who have died in this incident," he said, after leaving a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee in the Cabinet Office.

"Of the additional two, one is confirmed and another one we believe to be a British national and we are awaiting final confirmation but we are pretty certain we now have six British nationals who have died."

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000. 

The gunmen killed at least 62 shoppers and staff during the attack

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