Tens Of Thousands To Demonstrate Over Pay

Tens of thousands of workers are holding protests in London, Glasgow and Belfast to call for an increase in wages.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is organising the demonstrations under the banner Britain Needs A Pay Rise, following days of industrial action from nurses, midwives and civil servants.

Midwives went on strike for the first time in their history over the Government's decision not to pay a recommended 1% increase to all NHS staff.

Protesters prepare for the march in London

Hospital radiographers and prison officers are due to hold strikes next week over the same dispute.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Our message is that after the longest and deepest pay squeeze in recorded history, it's time to end the lock-out that has kept the vast majority from sharing in the economic recovery.

Video: Life On NHS Wages Is 'Demeaning'

"The average worker is £50 a week worse off than in 2007 and five million earn less than the living wage. Meanwhile, top directors now earn 175 times more than the average worker."

Lynn Burbidge, a healthcare assistant at a hospital in Kent, said she was joining the march "because the Government needs to listen to us".

She said every month she faces a decision of whether to "pay your bills or buy food" and constantly having to budget was "demeaning".

Video: TUC: Workers £50 A Week Worse Off

"I've worked for the NHS for nearly 30 years and I'm still in the same position," she told Sky News.

"I'm 20% worse off now than what I was 10 years ago ... while the Government they've just accepted an 11% pay rise - I'm only after 1%."

One cleaner, called Nana, told Sky News how he struggles to provide for his family despite juggling three jobs and working a 12-hour day on minimum wage.

Video: Wages Fall As Economy Grows

"My social life is very bad. Secondly, I have a lot of debt to pay. The TV licence is coming up and we haven't got enough money to pay it," he said.

"They wrote to me that the bailiffs will come to my house. I've no choice, (but to) pray for the nation to come to our aid, to increase our wages and then we can make our ends meet."

A Treasury spokesman said: "Under this Government we've seen the largest annual fall in unemployment, more people in work than ever before, and inequality lower than the average under the previous government, proving that the Government's long-term economic plan is working.

Video: Family Needs £40,000 To Live In UK

"The only sustainable way to raise living standards is to keep working through the plan that is building a resilient economy and has enabled us to announce the first real-terms increase in the minimum wage since the great recession.

"We appreciate that the effects of the great recession are still being felt, which is why we have taken continued action to help hard-working people by cutting income tax, freezing fuel duty, helping local authorities to freeze council tax, cutting energy bills, providing free school meals, and reducing childcare costs."

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Fears For Britons Caught In Nepal Snowstorms

Fears are growing for the safety of a number of British trekkers who have not contacted their families since a series of deadly blizzards and avalanches in Nepal.

The Foreign Office has confirmed it has spoken to concerned families who have not heard from their relatives since the unseasonably bad weather caused at least 29 deaths earlier this week.

The body of a victim is moved from an ambulance to the morgue

A spokeswoman said they had been in close touch with authorities in Nepal but had not been informed of any British casualties.

More than 230 trekkers - most of them foreigners - have been rescued since Wednesday and search teams continue to scour the Annapurna range looking for more survivors, who may be sheltering in lodges and huts.

An unofficial list of trekkers suggests more than a dozen Britons may have been in the area at the time of the storms, although some of them have since been confirmed as safe or rescued.  

A list of patients rescued and receiving treatment at hospital in Kathmandu

Officials believe some people may be stranded in waist-deep snow in remote locations where mobile phone signal is poor.

The skies were clear at the start of the week, said Gombu Sherpa, who was guiding a group of Germans near the popular trekking circuit. But that changed suddenly when the snow blew in.

"We could hardly see anyone, even within a couple of feet. The wind was blowing snow and visibility was almost zero," he said, adding many people lost their way in the storm, but that everyone in his group survived.

A friend of Lizi Hamer posted a message on Facebook to say she was safe

One of his assistants, who was behind the group when the storm hit, was missing for an entire night, lost in the blizzard.

"We found him the next morning wandering in the snow. It is a miracle that he is alive," he said.

Meanwhile, a British survivor has told how he escaped the disaster - likely to become the worst trekking and climbing tragedy Nepal has seen.

A rescued trekker is stretchered to safety

Paul Sheridan said walkers were left stumbling through "an abyss of nothing" as dense snow left them unable to get their bearings on the slopes of the mountain range in northern Nepal.

Mr Sheridan said that trekkers should have been prevented from going up the mountain, but were "herded to their deaths" by guides who he alleged were not carrying the correct emergency equipment.

The Nepalese government has announced a high level committee with two senior ministers to monitor and co-ordinate rescue efforts.

Some British trekkers remain unaccounted for despite the rescue effort

For two days this week, Nepal was lashed by heavy rain brought by the cyclone that also battered neighbouring India.

The 150-mile (240km) Annapurna circuit offers spectacular views of jagged peaks and Buddhist villages.

It takes almost three weeks to complete and is nicknamed the "apple pie" circuit because of the teahouses lining the route that offer cold beer and home baking.

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Sheffield Denies Offering Ched Evans Contract

Sheffield United has denied reports it has offered a contract to disgraced footballer Ched Evans.

The striker has been released from prison after serving half of a five-year sentence for raping a 19-year-old in a hotel room in Rhyl, North Wales.

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Fourteen Feared Dead At Girl Band Pop Concert

Fourteen people are feared dead after a ventilation grate collapsed at a pop concert in South Korea.

The victims were standing on the grate while watching an outdoor performance by the group 4Minute, who are popular across Asia.

They fell 20 metres into an underground parking area following the collapse, the Yonhap news agency and YTN TV reported.

Two people have been confirmed dead and 12 others were unresponsive after the accident in Seongnam, south of the capital Seoul, according to fire officials.

The group are popular across Asia

They said 10 others were seriously injured.

About 700 people had gathered to watch the concert, which was part of a local festival, according to Yonhap.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

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Ebola: Not All Passengers Being Screened In UK

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Some passengers arriving at London Heathrow from West Africa are still not being asked any questions about ebola.

Sky News joined a flight from Paris to London earlier this morning where passenger Saikou Keita from The Gambia said he was disappointed that he was asked nothing when he landed at Terminal 4.

He had flown into Paris from Dakar in Senegal, and transferred on to a shuttle flight from Paris to London.

He said: "It is disappointing. They should be questions for people who come out from West Africa, they should be thinking more of the health of the people here as well."

Fellow passengers on the flight into London had started their journeys in Guinea - one of the countries worst hit by the ebola crisis.

Video: Testing Heathrow's Ebola Checks

One family from Nigeria explained that they were reassured by the checks that were made in Abuja before they started their trip.

Nigeria has managed to contain a small outbreak they had a few months ago but stringent screening remains in place.

Hani Yashe Jaafar was travelling with her four-year-old daughter and said they were regularly using hand sanitisers to do everything they could to protect themselves.

Hani told Sky News that she was reassured by the huge efforts being made in Nigeria: "The checks were very vigilant and quite serious."

"When you go into the airport your hands have to be sanitised and then the temperature monitors are being used just to make sure everyone is monitored."

There were though no further checks for her family as they transited through Paris.

As they crossed the UK Border at Terminal 4 at Heathrow Hani said she was surprised that the were no questions at all about ebola.

Video: How China Screens At Airports

She said: "I was just asked the normal immigration questions, no health related questions or anything based on the outbreak of ebola.

"I was a bit surprised because ebola is spreading in Europe so I expected some sort of vigilance."

Screening of passengers started at Terminal 1 at Heathrow this week and is in the process of being rolled out.

French authorities have said rigorous screening will begin at Charles De Gaulle airport this weekend.

Following a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee on Thursday, David Cameron expressed concern about the quality of checks in place elsewhere in Europe.

The Prime Minister indicated that he would like to see other countries adopt Britain's screening regime, warning they "must do more" to halt the spread of the disease.

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Sobbing Pistorius 'Should Get 10 Years In Jail'

Oscar Pistorius solemnly hugged his lawyer Barry Roux and then sat down alone in court as the defence and prosecutions teams finished their closing arguments.

The Paralympic athlete sobbed through parts of the final day as Mr Roux claimed the runner "lost everything" after shooting dead his girlfriend.

Pistorius has admitted killing Reeva Steenkamp and said he mistook her for an intruder, thinking he and the model were in danger.

Mr Roux said Pistorius had lost his sponsors, lost all his money and had not got enough to pay for legal expenses following the tragedy on Valentine's Day last year.

He argued the disabled runner should not be sent to prison but should be put under house arrest and have correctional supervision - community service.

However, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued he should be jailed for a minimum of 10 years.

Video: Prosecution Praises Reeva's Cousin

Judge Thokozile Masipa adjourned the court in Pretoria, South Africa, until next Tuesday when she is expected to hand down her punishment.

Mr Roux said Pistorius was an icon, in the eyes of South Africans, who had "lost everything", "has not earned a penny" since the shooting and "is broken".

He said his client sold his last asset - his car - to give money to the Steenkamp family.

The lawyer added he will have to live with "excruciating pain which will never go away" - that he killed his girlfriend.

Mr Roux criticised "wildest speculations" when he was first arrested on suspicion of pre-meditated murder.

He said the false claims included how Pistorius allegedly crushed her head with a cricket bat, had roid (steroid) rage, took acting lessons and pretended to have feelings for her.

Video: Pistorius Walks Ahead Of Sentence

Mr Roux said his client's actions when he killed her in his bathroom were "dominated by vulnerability and anxiety".

He said the double-amputee athlete was a "compromised person" when he opened fire on 29-year-old Ms Steenkamp.

Mr Roux told the court his client "did not consciously act unlawfully", though he admitted the runner had "acted excessively".

Mr Nel urged the judge to think about what happened to Ms Steenkamp, and losing a child was the "most devastating thing that can happen to a person".

He said society may lose their trust in court if Pistorius was not jailed for killing the model who died a "violent" and "horrific" death.

She had "nowhere to go, she was in a small cubicle" as she was hit by four bullets, he said.

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1. Gallery: Reeva Steenkamp's Life In Pictures

   Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was born in Cape Town and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She went to a convent school and studied law. She was a keen horse rider until she broke her back.

2. She moved to Johannesburg from Cape Town to model for Avon cosmetics. In 2012, Reeva was voted number 45 in the South African FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.

3. She featured as a celebrity contestant on BBC Lifestyle show Baking Made Easy in 2012.

4. The model was a keen Twitter user, and had more than 34,000 followers. She used the site to promote women's rights and empowerment.

5. Her former fashion editor, Barbara Robertson, described the model as being "sweet, and down-to-earth" with the "it factor". She compared her to an "early Kate Moss".

6. Reeva Steenkamp on the set of reality TV show Tropika Island of Treasure (Pic: Stimulii)

He said "we were lucky" to hear in court the voice of the victim's cousin Kim Martin - which he called a voice representing society.

Mr Nel argued her "softly-spoken" remarks imploring the court to hand down a prison term "trounced any other noise referred to".

On Thursday, Ms Martin told the judge the alternative sentence of community service while under house arrest did not seem to fit the crime.

She said Pistorius needed "to pay for what he'd done" and warned a lenient sentence would send the wrong message out to society.

She said: "My family is not seeking revenge, but to shoot someone behind a door who's unarmed and harmless needs sufficient punishment."

Pistorius, 27, could face a fine and a suspended jail sentence or up to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the UK.

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Pistorius 'Needs To Pay For What He's Done'

Reeva Steenkamp's cousin has told Oscar Pistorius' sentencing hearing that the athlete "needs to pay for what he has done".

Kim Martin told the High Court in Pretoria "everybody has suffered" since the athlete shot dead his girlfriend on Valentine's Day 2013.

Making a clear appeal for Pistorius to be jailed, she said: "I feel Mr Pistorius needs to pay for what he's done for taking Reeva's life, for what he's done to my uncle and to my aunt [Ms Steenkamp's parents], what he's done to the rest of my family but also what he's done to his family."

Pistorius makes her "very fearful" but Ms Steenkamp's family is not looking for revenge, Ms Martin added.

"I've tried very hard to put him out of my mind," she said.

Pistorius, 27, could face a fine and a suspended jail sentence or up to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the UK.

Video: Cousin Wants Justice For Reeva

He was acquitted of murder last month after he said he had mistaken Ms Steenkamp, 29, for an intruder in his home.

Ms Martin, who was the first prosecution witness at the sentencing hearing, was completing her evidence to the court after speaking on Wednesday for the first time about how the death of the model and law graduate affected her family.

Sky's Alex Crawford, who is in Pretoria, reports that as the court was breaking up for lunch, Pistorius' sister complained of "intimidation" from two men in the public gallery of the court.

Aimee Pistorius left the court weeping, Crawford said, telling a court official that one of the men mouthed obscenities at her.

Crawford said: "One of the Pistorius family tells reporters he mouthed 'f*** you' at Aimee Pistorius."

Video: Prison Boss On Pistorius Disability

Earlier, another witness, Zacharia Modise, the acting national director for South Africa's prison service, was asked about the ability of the service to accommodate double amputee Pistorius if he got a custodial sentence.

He said that although some of South Africa's prisons are "very old", every region has a "facility where we are able to cater for people with disabilities".

Asked by Pistorius' defence lawyer Barry Roux whether his client would be kept in the hospital section of prison, Mr Modise said that would be decided only after an assessment of his needs once he arrived in prison.

Pressed by Mr Roux, Mr Modise indicated that the assessment would find that Pistorius' disability meant he should serve any jail sentence in a hospital wing - rather than be kept with other inmates in the main section of the prison.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said this week that anything but a prison sentence for the athlete would be "shockingly inappropriate".

1/6

1. Gallery: Reeva Steenkamp Life In Pictures

   Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was born in Cape Town and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She went to a convent school and studied law. She was a keen horse rider until she broke her back.

2. She moved to Johannesburg from Cape Town to model for Avon cosmetics. In 2012, Reeva was voted number 45 in the South African FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.

3. She featured as a celebrity contestant on BBC Lifestyle show Baking Made Easy in 2012.

4. Her former fashion editor, Barbara Robertson, described the model as being "sweet, and down-to-earth" with the "it factor". She compared her to an "early Kate Moss".

5. The model was a keen Twitter user, and had more than 34,000 followers. She used the site to promote women's rights and empowerment.

6. Reeva Steenkamp on the set of reality TV show Tropika Island of Treasure (Pic: Stimulii)

The hearing is expected to continue to a fifth day on Friday.

If Judge Thokozile Masipa is unable to deliver a sentence by the end of the day the court will not resume until she is next available, on 10 November.

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Ebola: Mistakes In Fighting Deadly Virus

A man has been spotted helping a nurse in the US with ebola board a flight to a specialist unit - without wearing any protective equipment.

The man, who is carrying a clipboard, comes within feet of Amber Vinson, who is now being treated in isolation in Atlanta, Georgia.

He is seen handling items given to him by a person wearing protective clothing.

Ebola is contracted through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, and it is not airborne.

But this incident is the latest to raise questions about the US response to the outbreak, which has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.

Video: Ebola Nurse Told She Could Fly

Other mistakes include:

:: Allowing Ms Vinson to travel on a commercial plane from Cleveland, Ohio, to Dallas, Texas, even though she was showing the early symptoms of ebola.

The nurse did tell officials she was running a temperature, and now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is trying to track down 132 other passengers who were on that plane.

Video: Why Is The Ebola Virus So Deadly?

:: Another nurse who contracted ebola did so after an "unspecified breach of protocol". Nina Pham, 26, had been wearing full protective gear when she was treating Thomas Eric Duncan, who died after catching ebola in Liberia.

:: Healthcare workers have inadvertently violated protocols by wearing too many protective layers, according to CDC director Thomas Frieden.

:: Mr Duncan was sent home from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital with antibiotics, despite telling medical staff he had come from the West African nation. Staff mistakenly thought he was suffering from a "low-grade common viral disease".

Video: Speed of Ebola Spread Graph

:: Workers were seen not wearing any protective clothing while they cleaned the outside of his Dallas apartment.

:: A nursing union has alleged a litany of errors in the treatment of Mr Duncan, claiming that he was kept in a non-isolated area of the emergency department for several hours and that nurses treating him were also taking care of other patients.

However, one notable success in the fight against ebola involves Nigeria and Senegal, two countries where the outbreak has been largely contained.

Video: Hazmat Crews Board Plane In Boston

Nigeria had eight deaths but brought its outbreak under control by tracking 894 people who had been in contact with a man who brought the virus from Liberia, and visiting 18,500 more people to check for symptoms.

Francisco Ferreira, the World Bank's chief economist for Africa, said the organisation was "incredibly impressed by the ability of Nigeria and Senegal to keep their epidemics contained".

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Second Ebola Nurse Told She Could Fly By CDC

A nurse with ebola who was able to board a flight in the US despite suffering from a fever did tell officials she was running a temperature, it has emerged.

Amber Vinson was able to travel from Cleveland, Ohio, to Dallas, Texas, on a commercial plane even though she was showing the early symptoms of the killer disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now trying to track down 132 other passengers who were on the plane at the same time in case they too have been infected.

CDC director Dr Tom Frieden said Ms Vinson should not have been allowed to travel by plane, but added that "the level of risk to people around her would be extremely low".

However, the admission heaps further pressure on an organisation that has been criticised for the speed of its response to the ebola crisis, and raises questions about the readiness of the US to cope with the virus.

Video: Unprotected Man Helps Ebola Victim

It comes as British army medics are due to arrive in Sierra Leone to help in the fight against the virus, which has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.

France will start screening passengers for ebola at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday, while screening is expected to start at Heathrow airport's Terminal Three.

Ms Vinson, who is one of two nurses in the US to have contracted ebola, has since been transferred to a specialist unit in Atlanta, Georgia, where she will be treated in isolation and monitored.

Video: Why Is The Ebola Virus So Deadly?

CDC spokesman David Daigle said Ms Vinson, 29, reported that her temperature was below 100.4 degrees (38C) and had no symptoms. Ebola sufferers are not contagious until they show symptoms.

As a result, the nurse was told she could travel on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 and the plane's crew said Ms Vinson did not exhibit any symptoms during Monday's flight.

Ms Vinson caught ebola after being one of several nurses to treat Thomas Eric Duncan, who came down with the virus and died after travelling to the US from Liberia.

Video: Obama Warns Of Global Ebola Spread

The other infected nurse, 26-year-old Nina Pham, remains in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and is said to be in stable condition after receiving a plasma transfusion donated by ebola survivor Dr Kent Brantly.

President Barack Obama has cancelled a scheduled trip to Rhode Island and New York to remain at the White House to monitor the government's response.

A meeting of the UK Government's emergency committee, COBRA, is due to take place on Thursday.

Video: Dallas Turns To Brit Ebola Expert

A team of 91 British medics, including nurses, doctors and infectious disease consultants, will join 40 soldiers already in Sierra Leone to work at a UK-supported treatment centre, which has 12 out of 92 beds set aside for healthcare workers who risk infection while treating others.

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Bono Says Sorry For iTunes Album Giveaway

U2 frontman Bono has apologised to fans for invading their iTunes library, saying they "might have got carried away" with their album giveaway.

In a filmed Q&A session on Facebook, the band answered questions from their fans about their friendship and music. 

But it was to Harriet Madeline Jobson's question that Bono gave his revealing answer.

"Can you please never release an album on iTunes that automatically downloads to people's playlists ever again. It's really rude," she said.

Looking sheepish, the musician answered: "Oops, I'm sorry about that. Um, I had this beautiful idea ... might have got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing."

Apple tool to delete U2 album

Bono could have stopped there, but he continued with his mea culpa, which seemed to provide some amusement for his fellow band members.

"A drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, dash of self-promotion and a deep fear that these songs that we poured our lives into over the last few years won't be heard, there's a lot of noise out there.

"I guess we got a bit noisy ourselves to get through it."

The Irish rockers made their surprise announcement last month at an Apple unveiling event, but it was met with wide criticism.

More than half a billion people had Songs Of Innocence automatically downloaded to their iTunes libraries.

Bono with Apple chief executive Tim Cook

Twitter user @EricAmer wrote: "Waking up with the new U2 album on automatically installed on your iTunes is like waking up with a pimple in the morning. #nothanks"

On Monday Iggy Pop slammed the band for the move, saying they had stolen the listener's choice to buy or download music.

Apple created a special tool which allowed users to delete the album if they wished.

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