Putin Brands Charles Hitler Slur 'Unacceptable'

Vladimir Putin has branded a comparison made by the Prince of Wales in which the Royal likened the Russian president to Hitler as "not what monarchs do".

Mr Putin said Prince Charles' reported comments were "unacceptable" and "wrong".

The president was talking to leading global news agencies in St Petersburg including the British Press Association ahead of elections in Ukraine on Sunday.

It is claimed the Prince made his comments in a private conversation with a museum volunteer whose Jewish family fled Nazi Germany during the war during a Royal tour of Canada.

Marienne Ferguson, 78, said that after telling Charles the story of how her family fled the Nazis he replied: "Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler."

It is understood that Charles had been talking to Ms Ferguson about the Nazi occupation of Danzig at the start of World War Two, and had appeared to draw a parallel with Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in March.

When asked by the Press Association's chief executive what he thought of what the Prince was reported to have said, Mr Putin replied: "It reminds me of a good proverb: 'You are angry. That means you are wrong."'

He added: "Give my words to Prince Charles.

"He has been to our country more than once, if he made such a comparison, it is unacceptable and I am sure he understands that as a man of manners."

Mr Putin added: "I met him personally, as well as other members of the Royal Family. This is not what monarchs do.

"But over the past few years we have seen so much, nothing surprises me any longer."

Mr Putin's response comes a month before he is due to take part in a D-Day anniversary event with the Prince.

His comments made it clear that the disapproval of prominent international figures such as the Prince of Wales would not influence his actions in the current crisis in Ukraine.

He added: "I will be guided not by what they say about me anywhere.

"I will only be guided by the interests of the Russian people, and I hope our colleagues in Great Britain will keep that in mind and will always remember that when finding solutions to any issues, we are always guided by international law and its norms."

Mr Putin had earlier said he would treat the new Ukrainian president due to be elected on May 25 "with due respect" and would "work with the authorities (in place) based on the elections".

The deteriorating crisis in Ukraine last week led to Prime Minister David Cameron warning that the UK may have to prepare for "a very different long-term relationship with Russia".

But Mr Putin indicated that he did not regard the current differences as the start of a long-lasting rift in UK-Russian relations.

A spokeswoman for the Prince of Wales declined to comment.

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Tragic Sailors: Skipper 'Dearly Missed'

The family of yachtsman Andrew Bridge say they are "deeply saddened" by the discovery of the upturned hull of the missing boat Cheeki Rafiki.

The search for the four British sailors ended at 3am UK time after a search of the capsized vessel found the only realistic means of survival had not been deployed.

Mr Bridge, the yacht skipper, was one of four men on board the boat which got into trouble on May 15.

From left: Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin

The family statement said: "Andrew will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families of the rest of the crew on the Cheeki Rafiki.

"We would like to thank everyone who's helped in the search for Andrew including the US Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard, the RAF, Merchant vessels, the yachting community and the British and American Governments."

The raft was found stored in the aft of the boat Pic: US Coast Guard

It added that they had been "overwhelmed" by public support.

US Navy divers found the boat with a missing keel and a completely flooded cabin with shattered windows, said the Coast Guard.

"A US Navy warship smallboat crew and surface swimmer captured underwater imagery clearly identifying the raft in its storage space [behind the wheel]. The image was shared with and acknowledged by the families," said a statement.

"The crew and swimmer deployed to investigate the overturned boat after a helicopter crew located it 1,000 miles offshore Massachusetts and within the US Coast Guard's search area.

The search effort involved military aircraft and ships

It had already been announced that the search would be called off in the early hours of Saturday if no signs of possible survival were discovered.

"None of the current developments" indicate the crew are still alive, said the US Coast Guard.

The upturned 40ft yacht had been found on Friday, with divers first knocking on the hull to check for signs of life.

The men's familes had campaigned for the search to go on

The families had said they were still hopeful their loved ones would be found.

Relatives of Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, said they had been told "endless stories" of people surviving for months at sea.

A statement on behalf of Steve Warren's family said it was an "incredibly difficult" time and that the search effort had been "exceptional".

The Cheeki Rafiki had been at a regatta in Antigua

The vessel ran into difficulties on May 15 and began taking on water while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

Yacht training and charter company Stormforce Coaching said it had been in contact with the skipper at the time, and that the crew were keeping the situation stable.

The original search was halted after 53 hours amid bad weather but resumed on Tuesday after a request from the UK government and a online petition which collected more than 200,000 names.

Rescuers scoured more than 21,000 square miles of ocean during their second search for the boat.

Experts had agreed it would be impossible for the crew to survive outside of the life raft in cold, rough seas for more than 20 hours.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My thoughts are with the families of the crew of the Cheeky Rafiki after the sad news its hull has been found with the life-raft unused."

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Revenge Video Link To Drive-By Mass Shooting

A revenge video in which a young man threatens to slaughter "spoilt, stuck-up, blonde" women is at the centre of an investigation into a drive-by shooting that left seven people dead.

The gunman was among the dead and seven others were injured in the rampage in Isla Vista - a student enclave next to the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said authorities are looking at written and video evidence that suggests the killings were "premeditated mass murder".

Officers are looking at a YouTube video in which a young man complains of repeated rejection by women and threatens to take revenge.

During a rant lasting nearly seven minutes, he says it is "not fair" that he is still a virgin and has never even kissed a girl.

"You throw yourselves at all these obnoxious men," he says, "instead of me - the supreme gentleman - I will punish all of you for it."

The killer was driving a black BMW and exchanged gunfire with deputies before crashing into a parked car.

It is not known whether he was shot by deputies, or if his wound was self-inflicted.

Sheriff Brown said the shootings occurred at several sites in the town, resulting in nine crime scenes.

He said the gunman is believed to have acted alone, appearing to discount earlier reports that a second suspect was detained after gunfire broke out at around 9:30pm local time on Friday.

A student told KEYT-TV he saw shots fired from the car, killing one woman and critically injuring another.

"I heard shots, scream, pain," Michael Vitak said. "All emotions. I hope she is going to be fine."

The station said the black BMW slammed into as many as two cars.

The shooting prompted officials to issue alerts urging people to stay indoors.

More follows...

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Three Killed In Shooting Near Jewish Museum

Three people have been killed and one other badly hurt in a shoot-out near the Jewish Museum in Brussels.

Belgian Interior Minister Joelle Milquet has tweeted to say he believes it was an "anti-semitic attack".

Two women and a man are thought to have been killed.

Sky's Robert Nisbet said a local website quoted witnesses as saying a car drove up to the museum and the driver and passenger got out and began firing indiscriminately at passers-by.

They then got back into the car and drove off.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders heard shots and arrived at the scene moments later to find bodies on the ground.

"I am shocked by the murders committed at the Jewish museum, I am thinking of the victims I saw there and their families," he wrote on Twitter.

Police have closed off the area around the museum, and a number of ambulances are at the scene.

More follows...

 

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Lib Dems Sinking Fast As Tide Turns To UKIP

Voters Brand Miliband 'Weird' In Election Blow

Updated: 2:39pm UK, Friday 23 May 2014

Ed Miliband was left fighting to salvage his public image after a disappointing performance in the local elections which saw members of his own party turn on his leadership.

The Labour leader was accused of being in urgent need of an overhaul after a series of blunders ahead of Thursday's vote, which saw unflattering pictures of him eating a bacon sandwich and him giving a wild underestimate of the cost of a family shop in interview.

In a further blow a poll found nearly half of voters considered Mr Miliband to be "weird" and the most likely leader to have been bullied at school.

The party failed to make the gains it should have done, leaving it far short of the number of seats it was expected to win to put it in a good position for the 2015 General Election.

As the results emerged, Mr Miliband was attacked by members of his own party for running a lacklustre campaign.

Labour MP Graham Stringer told Sky News: "Ed's behind in the personality stakes. We can sharpen up his presentation but we are also behind on economic policy. No party in opposition has evern won when they are behind in the opinion polls on both personality of the leader and economic policy.

"The team round him  haven't been good enough, the basic organisation of the campaign has been poor both in what message has been delivered and how it has been organised."

Labour veteran Tessa Jowell said: "If you are a politician ... don't eat a bacon buttie when the world's cameras are on you, quite frankly."

She said he had been caught out on the price of the weekly shop "presumably because Justine, his wife, does the shopping".

Charles Lewington, Sir John Major's  former press secretary, said one of Mr Miliband's problem was that he "looks like Wallace from Wallace and Gromit".

A poll by YouGov for BuzzFeed found 41% of people found the Labour leader "weird", which compared with just 34% of the 1,942 people questioned feeling the same way about Nick Clegg and 27% thinking David Cameron strange. It also found 36% thought Mr Miliband would have been bullied at school.

However, when quizzed on his performance and the way Labour had conducted itself, Mr Miliband said: "I think we ran a good campaign."

He said: "I think in some parts of the country we have had discontent building up for decades about the way the country has been run and about the way our economy works and people feeling that the country just does not work for them and so what you are seeing in some parts of the country is people turning to UKIP as an expression of that discontent and that desire for change."

Sky's election analyst Michael Thrasher said the numbers were well short of the sort of surge Ed Miliband needs to sweep him into Downing Street when the General Election takes place in a year's time.

Pollsters suggested Labour should look to gain between 300 and 500 seats, with the party predicting 200, but were falling well short.

Mick Temple, professor of journalism and politics at Staffordshire University, said on these results Labour were not likely to secure a majority in 2015. He said the party's politicians had told him privately that they were frustrated with Mr Miliband's leadership.

He simply isn't a bloke most of us would want to share a pint with, he argued, while Mr Cameron and certainly Nigel Farage might be.

Labour's enjoyed more success in London where UKIP are less of a threat, taking Hammersmith from the Conservatives, however, the party cannot win an election in the capital alone.

For the latest results from around the country as they come in follow Sky's live election blog.

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Local Elections: UKIP Makes Significant Gains

Nigel Farage has claimed his party is a "serious player" for 2015 after UKIP made significant gains in the local elections, leaving main party leaders admitting the public was voicing its discontent.

The Prime Minister conceded his party had to start delivering on immigration and welfare reform, and said the public had become "frustrated" with the status quo.

Mr Farage forecast his party would win double the 80 seats predicted leading to claims the elections had ushered in an era of four-party politics.

A ballot box is emptied at Trinity School in Croydon

UKIP took seats off both Labour and the Conservatives in their heartlands, which was particularly damaging to Ed Miliband, who has been accused by his own party of running an "unforgivably unprofessional" campaign.

David Cameron said: "People want us to deliver. The economy is growing, we are creating jobs, but we have got to work harder and we have got to really deliver on issues that are frustrating people and frustrating me, like welfare reform and immigration and making sure people really benefit from this recovery.

"We will be working flat out to demonstrate that we do have the answers to help hard working people."

Labour lost its grip in the north and, in a serious blow, the party lost control of Thurrock, a key marginal for the General Election in 2015, to no overall control, losing two seats to UKIP.

Mr Farage said UKIP would now be "serious players" in the General Election and said the party was expecting to win double the 80 seats that had been predicted.

He said: "The UKIP fox is in the Westminster henhouse" and added: "The idea the UKIP vote just hurts the Tories is going to be blown away by this election." 

Joey Essex may have supported Ed Miliband but Essex man voted UKIP

However, Mr Farage, who has consistently warned the local and European elections would deliver a UKIP "earthquake", admitted that the party was unlikely to be successful in London.

Ed Miliband defended the party's campaign and said people were turning to UKIP to express their discontent with the way the country is run.

He told Sky News: "I think we ran a good campaign."

He said: "I think in some parts of the country we have had discontent building up for decades about the way the country has been run and about the way our economy works and people feeling that the country just does not work for them and so what you are seeing in some parts of the country is people turning to UKIP as an expression of that discontent and that desire for change."

Mr Farage casts his vote in Cudham, Kent

Mr Miliband added that Labour would be able to provide the answer to the discontent by the 2015 vote.

UKIP made its greatest gains in Essex, where Margaret Thatcher once identified the "Essex Man", a man who moved out of London, once voted Labour but switched to the Tories.

UKIP took seats from Labour in Hartlepool, won 10 seats in Rotherham and polled more than a third of the vote in wards in big cities, such as Sunderland, Birmingham and Hull, where it previously had little or no presence.

The Camerons and the Milibands cast their votes

According to the latest Sky News projection, the results so far would give a hung parliament at the 2015 General Election, with Labour holding the largest number of MPs.

Sky's election analyst Professor Michael Thrasher said UKIP's success suggested the party would claim at least one seat in the House of Commons next year

As predicted, the Liberal Democrats suffered significant losses, particularly in Kingston-Upon-Thames where it lost control of the council after 12 years to its coaltion partners. In Portsmouth it lost control with UKIP gaining six seats.

However, the party managed to hold on in Eastleigh, where UKIP came second last year in a by-election.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg admitted the party had had a bad night but said: "Actually I think in the areas where we have MPs where we have good organisation on the ground ... we are actually doing well."

Mr Farage celebrated by going on a tour of the areas where he had been most successful.

Sky's Siobhan Robbins, who followed from Thurrock in Essex to Basildon, said that in Thurrock he had been greeted by a large crowd.

She said: "It was like he was a pop star. People were gathered around him and there was a scrum. I saw two grown men cry. One of them was saying: 'Thank you Nigel Farage. Thank you for showing us the light'."

:: Follow all the results as they come in on Twitter with @skyelections.

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Professor's 70ft Crevasse Plunge Escape Filmed

An American professor has filmed his incredible escape after falling 70ft (21m) down a Himalayan mountain crevasse while collecting snow samples.

Dr John All was researching climate change on the 23,379ft Mount Himlung, close to Mount Everest in Nepal, when he fell into a deep crevasse hidden by snow.

His body ricocheted between the walls of the ravine as he plunged to certain death.

But incredibly, he landed on a precarious ice ridge more than 300ft from the bottom.

Dr John Hall fillmed himself after landing on the ice ridge

The 44-year-old broke an arm, ribs and suffered severe cuts and bruises in the fall.

He recorded the scene on his mobile phone as he worked out how to get out of the crevasse.

He then spent the next six hours in agony, crawling inch by inch with his ice axe, knowing one slip and he would fall to his death.

Eventually, Dr All, a geology lecturer from West Kentucky University, managed to climb out out of the crevasse, and a few hours later reached his tent.

The view from the ledge to the top of the crevasse

Rescuers arrived the next morning and airlifted him to a hospital in Kathmandu.

"My body was shattered and I was in agony," he told the Daily Telegraph.

"My face hit one wall, my back and stomach hit the back wall and I bounced between them. My face was pretty torn up. I landed on a piece of ice at a midpoint.

"I could have fallen another 100 metres and it's amazing I didn't. The entire time climbing out I knew if I slipped I would have been dead."

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Tupac's 'Final Words Revealed By Ex-Cop'

US rapper Tupac Shakur's last words before he died in a drive-by shooting were "**** you", according to a police officer who said he was at the scene.

Former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer Chris Carroll made the claim 18 years after the attack in the city.

Shakur was travelling in a car along the Strip when another vehicle pulled up and a gunman inside opened fire, shooting him several times.

Mr Carroll said Shakur's swearing was in response to the officer's question "Who shot you?"

Shakur then lost consciousness, was taken to hospital where he was put on a life-support machine and then died six days later at the age of 25.

But his murder remains unsolved.

Shakur (R) and Snoop Dog at MTV Video Music Awards in September 1996

Carroll was on the city's bike patrol squad and was reportedly the first officer on the scene on September 7, 1996.

He said as he opened the car door, a blood-covered Shakur "fell into him" and he pulled him out of the vehicle.

He recalled to Vegas Seven: "I immediately notice that the guy's got a ton of gold on-a necklace and other jewellery - and all of the gold is covered in blood. That has always left an image in my mind."

The officer claimed he had asked the rapper who shot him several times, but Tupac would not answer.

Carroll said: "I kept asking over and over, 'Who did this? Who shot you?' And he basically kept ignoring me.

"And then I saw in his face, in his movements, all of a sudden in the snap of a finger, he changed. And he went from struggling to speak, being noncooperative, to an 'I'm at peace' type of thing. Just like that."

He added: "He went from fighting to 'I can't do it.' And when he made that transition, he looked at me, and he's looking right in my eyes. And that's when I looked at him and said one more time, 'Who shot you?'

Suge Knight was driving the car in which Shakur was shot

"He looked at me and he took a breath to get the words out, and he opened his mouth, and I thought I was actually going to get some cooperation. And then the words came out: '**** you.'

"After that, he started gurgling and slipping out of consciousness. At that point, an ambulance showed up, and he went into unconsciousness."

Shakur was a front passenger in Death Row Records founder Suge Knight's BMW when several occupants pulled up in a white Cadillac and one opened fire at an intersection.

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Ex-BBC DJ Denning Faces 41 Sex Attack Charges

Ex-Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning will be charged with 41 alleged sex attacks on boys aged between nine and 16, prosecutors have said.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Thursday that the alleged offences, which include 34 counts of indecent assault, related to 22 alleged victims between 1967 and 1985.

Baljit Ubhey, chief crown prosecutor for CPS London, said: "We have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Denning to be charged with 41 offences, including 34 counts of indecent assault.

"These date from between 1967 and 1985, and relate to 22 male complainants aged between nine and 16 at the time of the alleged offending."

Denning, 73, was initially arrested in June last year as part of Operation Yewtree - the police investigation sparked by the Jimmy Savile abuse claims.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Denning was one of Radio 1's launch team in 1967 after working as an announcer on BBC2 and as a music producer.

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Russia Brands Prince's Hitler Slur 'Outrageous'

When Is A Royal Conversation 'Private'?

Updated: 1:35pm UK, Thursday 22 May 2014

By Paul Harrison, Royal Correspondent

So when is a conversation deemed to be private and when is it considered public?

Clarence House has declined to talk specifically about what the Prince of Wales said about President Putin, insisting his comments were made during a "private conversation".

The problem is that the Prince was attending a "public" engagement at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at which he knew full well that once he departed, those with whom he spoke would, in turn, likely talk to the press.

So, in this case he will have expected that his comments. made to Marianne Ferguson comparing Mr Putin to Adolf Hitler, had a realistic chance of being made public in some form or another.

There is nothing to say the Prince of Wales can't have opinions.

We are well versed on the Prince's stance on the environment, conservation, architecture and education. But will people be able to stomach Prince Charles getting involved in international affairs?

Go to discussions on social networking sites, and there is general support for Charles.

Many even congratulate him for not sitting on the fence like many politicians do.

In addition, many feel his comments aren't too dissimilar from those made by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who in March said: "The claims by President Putin that they had to go into Crimea and maybe further into Eastern Ukraine because they had to protect Russian minorities is reminiscent of claims made back in the 1930s when Germany under the Nazis kept talking about how they had to protect German minorities in Poland, Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe."

So while Charles' opinions may have been expressed in a slightly more "off-the-cuff" way than Clinton's carefully worded comments, they aren't entirely ill-considered.

But is it, perhaps, the spontaneous nature of the heir's analogy that has upset some?

Diplomats will have been up early this morning working hard to limit any potential damage.

They have to clear up the mess, if any, left behind while Prince Charles moves on to his next walkabout and his next series of chats.

Will they, in turn, be considered private? In the eyes of Clarence House, yes. Until someone tells the press, that is.

Perhaps the only way of ensuring conversations are kept entirely private is to hold them behind closed doors and don't invite the press to public engagements. What would critics say then?

Does the Kremlin care, given Prince Charles and President Putin are both scheduled to attend the same key D-Day anniversary events in June?

Putin's spokesman hadn't even heard about Charles' comments, deemed private.

Anyway, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov added: "I can't really trust The Daily Mail as a source."

Diplomatic spat averted then.

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Thailand's Army Chief Announces Military Coup

Timeline Of Thai Political Crisis

Updated: 3:24pm UK, Thursday 22 May 2014

Thailand has a long history of political unrest with the army staging at least 11 coups since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932.

The latest crisis has its roots in the 2006 military overthrow of prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was embroiled in a telecoms corruption scandal.

September 2006: Thailand's armed forces oust Thaksin in a bloodless coup and impose martial law.

December 2007: The People Power Party made up of Thaksin's allies, wins elections and forms a coalition government.

May 2008: Royalist anti-Thaksin Yellow Shirts relaunch street protests that led to the 2006 coup.

September 2008: State of emergency declared after clashes between pro and anti-government groups leave one person dead and dozens wounded.

Constitutional Court strips Thaksin-allied prime minister Samak Sundaravej of his powers, ruling he illegally accepted payments for hosting TV cooking shows. Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat takes his place.

October 2008: Clashes between police and demonstrators leave two people dead and nearly 500 wounded.

Court sentences Thaksin in his absence to two years in jail for corruption after he flees the country.

November-December, 2008: Thousands of Yellow Shirts blockade Bangkok's airports. State of emergency imposed for nearly two weeks.

December 2008: Constitutional Court dissolves Somchai's party, forcing him from office. British-born Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrats becomes premier in a parliamentary vote with army backing.

January-March 2009: Red Shirts loyal to Thaksin stage mass protests in the capital against Abhisit's government.

April 2009: Red Shirts storm an Asian summit in the beach resort of Pattaya, forcing the evacuation of regional leaders. Riots and a 12-day state of emergency in Bangkok ensue, leaving two people dead.

March 2010: Tens of thousands of Red Shirts begin rolling demonstrations calling for Abhisit's government to step down, saying it is elitist and undemocratic.

April-May 2010: Street clashes between Red Shirt protesters and armed troops leave more than 90 people dead, mostly civilians, in the country's worst civil unrest in decades.

July 3 2011: Thaksin's allies sweep to power in elections on a wave of support from their Red Shirt followers.

August 2011: Parliament elects Thaksin's youngest sister Yingluck Shinawatra as Thailand's first female prime minister.

November 2012: Police fire tear gas at demonstrators as clashes erupt at the first major street protests against Ms Yingluck's government.

October 2013: Protests break out against an amnesty bill which critics say is aimed at allowing Thaksin - who went into self-imposed exile to avoid jail for a corruption conviction - to return home and escape prison.

November 2013: Opposition protesters occupy the finance and foreign ministries demanding Ms Yingluck resign.

December 2013: Police use water cannon and tear gas on protesters who storm the government and police headquarters. Opposition politicians resign en masse from parliament.

Ms Yingluck calls early elections as demonstrators return to the streets. Opposition announces a poll boycott.

February 2, 2014: Opposition demonstrators prevent 10,000 polling stations from opening for the election.

March 21, 2014: Constitutional Court declares February elections invalid.

April 30, 2014: Government announces new elections for July 20.

May 7, 2014: Constitutional Court removes Ms Yingluck and several cabinet ministers from office. New caretaker premier Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan appointed by remainder of cabinet.

May 15, 2014: The Election Commission says a general election scheduled for July 20 is "no longer possible" as polls cannot be held without the support of the protesters.

May 20, 2014: Army declares martial law, stressing the move "is not a coup".

May 22, 2014:  The country's armed forces announce a military coup.

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David Moyes Investigated Over 'Wine Bar Assault'

Former Manchester United manager David Moyes is being investigated over claims he assaulted a man in a wine bar.

The alleged altercation between Moyes, 51, and a 23-year-old man is said to have happened in Clitheroe, Lancashire, at around 10pm on Wednesday.

Moyes was having a drink with a friend in the Emporium wine bar when a "minor scuffle" allegedly took place, said Sky's Nick Martin.

Police said no one had been arrested and there are differing accounts of what happened.

The alleged incident is said to have taken place at the Emporium wine bar

They said officers were called to the venue after reports a local man had been assaulted by a 51-year-old man.

The alleged victim did not require hospital treatment, Lancashire Police said.

A spokesman for the Emporium said: "There was an incident outside the building.

"However, it did not affect any of our customers or staff and has been dealt with by the police."

The town centre bar describes itself as "half coffee shop, wine bar and brasserie; half interior design superstore", offering a "unique, intoxicating lifestyle experience".

Moyes was sacked from Old Trafford last month after a disastrous season.

He has been linked to the vacant manager's chair at Celtic and an immediate return to Champions League football.

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Prince Charles 'Compares Putin To Hitler'

Prince Charles has reportedly compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler over his actions in Ukraine.

The Prince of Wales' alleged remark about Mr Putin came during a four-day tour of Canada when he spoke to a woman who fled the Nazis and lost family members in the Holocaust.

A spokesman for Clarence House said: "We do not comment on private conversations.

"But we would like to stress that the Prince of Wales would not seek to make a public political statement during a private conversation."

Charles was being shown around the Museum of Immigration in Halifax, Nova Scotia, along with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The royal couple paid tribute to World War Two veterans and their families, and during the course of the visit they spoke to museum volunteer Marianne Ferguson.

Ms Ferguson told the Prince she fled to Canada with her family in 1939, not long before Hitler annexed the Baltic coastal Free City of Gdansk.

Prince Charles and Camilla in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island

After meeting Charles, the 78-year-old told the Daily Mail: "The Prince said 'And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler'.

"I must say that I agree with him and am sure a lot of people do.

"But I was very surprised that he made the comment as I know they [members of the Royal Family] aren't meant to say these things.

"I told the Prince that while my family and I were lucky to get a permit to travel, many members of my relatives had permits but were unable to get out before the war broke out on September 1.

"They were sent to the concentration camps and died."

The Mail reported that the Prince made his comments while surrounded by media and they were heard by several witnesses.

Mr Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Sky News: "I don't know anything about it. I can't really trust the Daily Mail as a source."

Protesters in Kiev have also compared Putin to Hitler

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg backed Prince Charles on his LBC Radio phone-in, saying: "Prince Charles should be perfectly entitled to express views in the confidence that he's expressing them privately."

But Labour (Co-op) MP Mike Gapes, who represents Ilford South, said the Prince "should abdicate" if he wants to make controversial statements.

He said on Twitter: "If Prince Charles wants to make controversial statements on national or international issues he should abdicate and stand for election.

"In constitutional monarchy, policy and diplomacy should be conducted by parliament and government. Monarchy should be seen and not heard."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has backed Mr Putin's anti-EU stance in the past, said: "Prince Charles has made those comments - I know some people feel that way about Putin.

"I think there's a difference. The difference is right from the very start Hitler was expansionist, and we haven't see very much evidence of that until now from Putin and arguably, what's happened in the Ukraine is because he's been poked with a stick by the rest of the world."

Mr Putin is in Shanghai meeting with Xi Jinping and other world leaders

Charles and the Russian leader are due to meet next month when they attend the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6.

Mr Putin has faced international anger over Russia's actions in neighbouring Ukraine, including the controversial annexation of Crimea.

In March, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly said Mr Putin's claim to be be defending ethnic Russians in Crimea was "what Hitler did back in the '30s".

She later backtracked, claiming she was not making a direct comparison but that Russia's behaviour was "reminiscent" of Germany in the build-up to the Second World War.

Prince Charles has been known for speaking his mind on issues such as architecture and the environment, but he rarely makes his feelings known on diplomatic matters.

There is an ongoing legal battle over the publication of letters he has sent to politicians, with the attorney general concerned their release could compromise the Prince's neutrality and create constitutional problems.

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Missing Yachtsmen: Coastguard Steps Up Search

The sister of one of the four sailors missing after their yacht capsized in the Atlantic Ocean believes there is every chance he will be found alive.

Kay Coombes, the sister of Steve Warren, also spoke of her relief that the search for the crew of the Cheeki Rafiki, which was returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua, had resumed after a public campaign.

She was speaking as the US Coast Guard stepped up the hunt, which now involves four ships and three planes.

A further three vessels and an aircraft are en route to the search area, about 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

An RAF Hercules is also on its way to join the hunt.

Air crews on the scene have scoured a total of 2,878 square miles since the search resumed.

Speaking from Somerset, Ms Coombes told Sky News: "We are all sticking together at this point. We are amazed by the public support we have had.

"We are very thankful to the US Coast Guard that they have started searching again.

"We are being realistic about what's happening but we are still hopeful at this point.

The US Coast Guard in Boston is coordinating the hunt. Pic: US Coast Guard

"Knowing my brother like I do - he's very very strong, physically strong, mentally strong - there's every chance he's still alive.

"We also are realistic. All we can do is hope and pray, and keep everything crossed that we can that we have a positive outcome.

"People are out there now looking for them, so if they are out there there's a good chance they are going to be found now."

The overturned hull of a yacht spotted by a cargo ship

Mr Warren's daughter Laura Carpenter said: "Obviously we are so pleased the search is back on again now."

The RAF Hercules plane will begin combing the ocean on Thursday and will be able to search for up to four hours at a time.

Mr Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, were on board the 40ft yacht when it ran into difficulties.

The US Coast Guard called off the search for them last weekend after two days, but the decision was reversed after more than 150,000 people signed an online petition.

Rear Admiral Dan Abel discusses the search operation. Pic: US Coast Guard

A sailor who survived for five days after being shipwrecked in the mid-Atlantic told Sky News he believes the crew are still alive.

Rory Nugent told US Correspondent Amanda Walker: "I was declared dead twice by the US Coast Guard and the US Navy and eventually got apology letters from both.

"I think human nature and these guys' desire to live will keep them alive and keep them going."

The Cheeki Rafiki's crew had sent out locator beacons 1,000 miles east of Massachusetts and the Coast Guard estimated the survival time for the Britons was 20 hours after "the time of distress".

Rory Nugent was declared dead twice

The capsized hull of a yacht was spotted by the crew of cargo ship Maersk Kure, which was assisting in the search.

But they did not attempt to climb down to the stricken vessel and insisted there were no signs of life on board and no life raft.

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Hunt For Two More On-The-Run Prisoners

Police are hunting two inmates, including a convicted robber, who have fled from an open jail in Warrington, Cheshire.

It is the latest in a series of embarrassing incidents in recent days where prisoners have absconded from custody.

In the latest case, Anthony Peloe and John Arnold, both from the Liverpool area, were reported missing around 10.30am on Tuesday by staff at Thorn Cross prison.

Police are warning the public not to approach the pair.

Arnold, 30, was convicted of robbery in May 2006 and jailed for two years. He is described as a white, around 5ft 11in tall and slimly built.

He has brown hair and brown eyes and may be wearing prison issue green trousers.

Peloe, 43, was convicted of possession of firearms with intent to commit harm in December 2005 and was sentenced to three years in jail.

Dean Jackson (L) and Damien Burns also absconded this week

He is described as white, 5ft 8in and of proportionate build. He has brown hair and blue eyes and may also be wearing green prison issue trousers.

Superintendent Martin Cleworth of Warrington Police said: "Cheshire Police are making every effort to locate these two men including liaising with colleagues in other forces.

"They may be travelling together or separately."

If anyone sees them, they are urged to call police using the non-emergency number 101 and quoting incident 306 of 20 May 2014.

On Tuesday, it emerged an armed robber had absconded from an open prison in Doncaster along with another inmate.

Both Michael Wheatley (L) and Thomas Moffett are back in custody

Police are also warning the public not to approach Damien Burns or Dean Jackson, who went missing from Hatfield Prison in South Yorkshire on Monday evening.

Burns, 39, originally from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, was serving an indeterminate sentence handed to him in 2007 for a knifepoint robbery.

Jackson, 27, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was on remand awaiting sentencing for what police described as "a theft-related matter".

Their escape came a day after a murderer who stabbed a blind man to death was arrested after going on the run from prison.

Arnold Pickering, who was jailed for life in 1991 for killing a man he wrongly thought to be a paedophile, was tracked down to an address in Oldham.

Arnold Pickering has also been arrested after going on the run

The 44-year-old had failed to return to HMP Kennet in Merseyside after leaving the Category C jail on day release on Saturday.

Another inmate, swastika-tattooed Thomas Moffett, 51, who is serving an indeterminate sentence for a number of robberies, also failed to return from day release on Saturday but was arrested on Monday night.

The series of escapes comes weeks after notorious armed robber Michael Wheatley - known as the Skullcracker - absconded from Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, while on temporary release.

Sky News Home Affairs Correspondent Mark White said: "Things are just going from bad to worse for the Ministry of Justice. Seven prisoners have now gone missing from open prison environments in less than three weeks."

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Ebay Users Urged To Change Their Passwords

By Tom Cheshire, Sky Technology Correspondent

Ebay has asked its users to change their passwords following a cyberattack that compromised the site's database.

The database, which was compromised between late February and early March, involved hackers infiltrating the database by accessing the log-in details of eBay employees.

The database included eBay customers' names, encrypted password, email address, physical addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. 

However, the company says extensive tests carried out on its networks confirmed the breach had not resulted in any unauthorised activity for its users or compromise of their financial data. 

Ebay said it was "best practice" for users to change their passwords as it would "help enhance security for eBay users".

The company first learnt of the initial break-in two weeks ago, and a subsequent forensic analysis confirmed that a customer database had also been compromised.

The company said it has seen no increase in fraudulent activity since the hack. Paypal - which eBay owns - is unaffected, and it runs from a different database, according to the company.

"Working with law enforcement and leading security experts, the company is aggressively investigating the matter and applying the best forensics tools and practices to protect customers," eBay said in a statement.

Customers of eBay who use the same password for other websites should change their passwords on all sites.

The new cyberattack is only the latest in a recent string of high profile incidents. In February, the details of 2,200 Tesco clubcards were leaked online. Last year, US retailer Target lost the credit card details of 40 million customers.

A recent Verizon report found 1,367 serious data breaches in 2013, dubbed "the year of the retailer breach", saying it was a year of "large-scale attacks on payment card systems."

David Emm, a senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, said:  "It's difficult to quantify the danger customers may be in following the eBay cyberattack, but of course any personal data in the wrong hands is bad news and it appears that the attackers have gained access to customers' names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth, as well as encrypted passwords.

"The fact that this attack took place two to three months ago means the attackers have had additional time with which to attempt to decrypt the stolen passwords as well as make use of the other personal data.

"On the face of it, it looks as though eBay has been slow to respond, but if the company has only just discovered the full extent of the attack it is now doing the right thing by notifying customers in a timely manner."

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Missing Yachtsmen: Coastguard In New Search

The US Coastguard has resumed the search for a yacht that is thought to have capsized with four Britons on board.

News emerged of the decision after more than 150,000 people signed an online petition, demanding the hunt was relaunched.

The search for the missing Cheeki Rafiki, which ran into difficulties in the Atlantic Ocean, around 620 miles (1,000km) east of Cape Cod, was called off after 53 hours.

An overturned hull of a yacht matching the description of the vessel was spotted and photographed by a cargo ship assisting the search.

And the families of the four yachtsmen - Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin - insist they would have had time to escape onto a life raft.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "My thanks to the US Coastguard, which has resumed its search for our missing yachtsmen."

It has also been confirmed that Foreign Office minister Hugh Robertson and representatives of the US Coastguard are due to meet relatives of the four men.

Mr Warren's sister, Kay Coombes, told Sky News: "I was on the phone to the US Coastguard and I was quite firm with them and asked to speak to somebody that could help me (and who I could ask) why they weren't searching.

"I was put on hold for a few minutes and they came back to say they had decided to start searching again.

"They said to me a plane would be in the air within the hour and also that they were also talking to the air force and the Canadians to see what resources they could spare.

"People-power has been amazing. We've moved a mountain today."

Mr Bridge's grandmother, Valerie, said: "We are delighted. It is at least something and that is all we were asking for, all we wanted was another search.

"It might not come to anything but people want them to do it and they are trying. It seemed too quick, just two days and we were saying 'if only they could do it (search) for a bit longer'. You never know what could happen."

The Foreign Office welcomed the decision and said: "We are very grateful for the extensive efforts the US have made to date but we wanted to make sure that absolutely all options were being explored."

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House Prices Up As PM Mulls Help To Buy Future

House prices have risen 8% in the year to March, figures have shown, as David Cameron said he would "consider" changes to the Help To Buy scheme if advised to do so by the Bank of England.

While the increase is down on the 9.2% rise announced in February, according to the Office for National Statistics, the continued strong price growth, particularly in London and the South East, is set to fuel criticism of the Government scheme which underwrites home loans for people without large deposits.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney told Sky News at the weekend that the housing market had "deep, deep" problems.

In an interview with Sky's Murnaghan show, Mr Carney warned rising house prices represented the biggest current risk to the economy.

Mr Cameron says Help To Buy has helped tens of thousands of people

In response, the Prime Minister indicated he was open to rethinking Help To Buy, which critics argue contributes to forcing up house prices by fuelling demand, which far outstrips the supply of available homes.

Asked if he would look at reducing the programme's £600,000 threshold, Mr Cameron said: "Of course, we will consider any changes that are proposed by Mark Carney.

"But, as he said, this is a well-targeted scheme and it's helped tens of thousands of people get on the housing ladder and to have mortgages."

The PM was speaking ahead of the release of the ONS report which said property values continued to increase "strongly across most parts of the UK".

The ONS said annual house price rises in England were being driven by a 17% year-on-year increase in London, a 6.6% hike in the East and a 6.1% rise in the South East.

It has been warned the housing market has reached "boiling point"

The average house price in London has reached £459,000, while the average price in the UK as a whole now stands at £252,000, slightly down on the £253,000 peak in February.

The 0.5% drop marks the first time property values have fallen month-on-month in just over a year.

However, first-time buyers now face having to pay 10% more than they did a year ago, with the average price of a starter home standing at £193,000 in March, according to ONS figures.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said: "These figures are yet more proof that our housing market is reaching boiling point.

"With every rise in house prices leaving more people priced out or stuck in cramped homes, rollercoaster house prices are rapidly losing their feel-good factor."

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Carney signalled he is ready to take action to cool the housing market.

He said the Bank could adopt a range of measures, including imposing a new "affordability test" for borrowers and advising the Government to curb the Help to Buy scheme.

Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: "Help to Buy doesn't change any of those, the qualifying criteria that people need to follow in order to get a mortgage, but what it does do is help to open up the housing market to people who otherwise would be excluded from it.

"I think that's a good policy objective but, of course, if the Bank of England suggest reforms to that we will certainly listen to that in the weeks and months to come."

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Police Hunt Pair On Run From Open Prison

An armed robber has absconded from an open prison in Doncaster along with another inmate.

Police are warning the public not to approach Damien Burns or Dean Jackson, who went missing from Hatfield Prison on Monday evening.

Burns, 39, originally from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, was serving an indeterminate sentence for knifepoint robbery handed to him in 2007.

Jackson, 27, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was on remand awaiting sentencing for what police described as "a theft-related matter".

Police think they may try to return to their home turf as they do not have any known contacts near the category D jail.

The incident comes a day after a murderer who stabbed a blind man to death was arrested after going on the run from prison.

Arnold Pickering, 44, who was jailed for life in 1991 for killing a man he wrongly thought to be a paedophile, was tracked down to an address in Oldham.

The 44-year-old had failed to return to HMP Kennet in Merseyside after leaving the Category C jail on day release on Saturday.

Another inmate, swastika-tattooed Thomas Moffett, 51, who is serving an indeterminate sentence for a number of robberies, also failed to return from day release on Saturday but was arrested on Monday night.

The series of escapes comes weeks after notorious armed robber Michael Wheatley - known as the Skullcracker - absconded from Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, while on temporary release.

:: Police are appealing for anyone who sees the pair to call them on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, quoting incident number 1009 or 1067 of May 19

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Steel Band Refuses To Play At UKIP Carnival

A steel band that was booked for a UKIP event packed up their gear after discovering they were to be performing for the anti-immigration party.

UKIP had organised a carnival in Croydon, south London, ahead of the European and local elections on Thursday.

But when the band, called Endurance Steel, realised who had hired them, they walked away.

At the same street rally, the party's candidates and supporters clashed with protesters and campaigners.

Romanians argued on Croydon High Street with party members about leader Nigel Farage's remarks last week about Romanian neighbours.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage

Police officers watched over the peaceful but heated clashes outside the Whitgift Shopping Centre.

The party brought an electronic advertising van to act as a centrepiece for the event, which drew around 100 people.

Mr Farage had been due to attend the event on Croydon High Street.

At 3.15pm, the ad van left with no sign of the UKIP leader appearing.

The UKIP leader said he regretted using the words "you know what the difference is" in his interview on LBC radio on Friday when asked what distinction he was drawing between Germans or Romanians living next door.

He said: "That gave people the impression that I was saying, 'A nod a wink, we don't really like Romanians'.

"I regret doing that but I do absolutely insist we must have a proper debate about this."

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Cyber-Spying Charges Against China Officials

The US has charged five Chinese military officials in Beijing with economic espionage and trade secret theft - allegations that China says are "made up".

The indictment accuses the five hackers of targeting US nuclear power, metals and solar products industries.

Six American companies, including Alcoa and Westinghouse, and one labour union were cited as victims of the hacking attacks.

US Attorney General Eric Holder said the case "represents the first ever charges against a state actor for this type of hacking".

"The range of trade secrets and other sensitive business information stolen in this case is significant and demands an aggressive response," he told a news conference.

Barack Obama and Xi Jinping have discussed cyber-security issues

China's foreign ministry decried the charges, and said the "so-called prosecution" would damage China-US relations.

"China is a staunch defender of network security, and the Chinese government, military and associated personnel have never engaged in online theft of trade secrets," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement.

Mr Holder called the indictment a "ground-breaking" step forward in addressing the threat of cyber-security.

"For too long, the Chinese government has blatantly sought to use cyber espionage to obtain economic advantage for its state-owned industries," said FBI Director James Comey.

The US believes China stole military trade secrets costing American businesses billions of dollars a year.

Sky News Correspondent Dominic Waghorn in Washington says the charges are "unprecedented".

Last September, President Barack Obama discussed cyber-security issues with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping when the two met on the sidelines of a summit in St Petersburg, Russia. 

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Dad Throws Child Into Pool 'To Teach Her Lesson'

A man has been charged with child abuse after he allegedly threw his 23-month-old daughter into a swimming pool to teach her a lesson.

Surveillance footage shows the toddler being tossed into a swimming pool in Phoenix, Arizona, as a woman rushes to her rescue.

Corey McCarthy has been charged

Police allege Corey McCarthy threw his daughter in the water after she had dropped a five-week-old puppy in the pool and it died, AZFamily.com reported.

It quoted the child's mother, Samantha, as saying she was "very angry" and "very hurt" by McCarthy.

She added: "What people don't know is also in the beginning of the video, he hoses her down with a water hose to kind of torture her that way."

The child's mother Samantha said she was "very angry"

The couple reportedly have two children.

Police said the act violates Arizona's law stating that discipline must be reasonable and not put a child in danger.

AZFamily reported that McCarthy has been beaten up in jail.

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Van Gaal 'Has Big Ambitions' As Man Utd Boss

Can Van Gaal Follow The Irreplaceable One?

Updated: 4:14pm UK, Monday 19 May 2014

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

Sir Alex Ferguson may be irreplaceable, but on the evidence of the last week, Louis van Gaal is going to give it a good try.

It remains to be seen what the man currently preparing Holland for the World Cup has planned on the field.

But in his dealings with the media, the second front for any manager, he shows all the signs of being a worthy successor.

British reporters dispatched to try and elicit a comment on United before his formal confirmation as manager found van Gaal by turns charming, evasive, astute, irascible, and downright rude.

In short, many of the qualities that made Ferguson a formidable interviewee, and an even more impressive manager.

Plenty more of this will follow when van Gaal takes up his post later in the summer, though United's owners and fans will be far more interested in his plans for the players than the press corps.

Van Gaal's record over two decades at some of Europe's leading clubs suggest he has the personality to succeed in a job which, as David Moyes found, can cow even the most confident individual.

He is a manager who expects to wield total authority and is seldom troubled by self-doubt.

Uli Hoeness, the former president of Bayern Munich, where van Gaal spent two seasons from 2009, said he thinks of himself as "God's very own father".

Hoeness, since jailed for tax evasion, may not be the best character witness, but there is no doubting Van Gaal's self-confidence.

It is built on two decades of success at the highest level.

He's won the league at every club he has managed, and shown himself capable of dealing with the world's best players.

Van Gaal's coaching career began at Ajax, where he oversaw perhaps the last great team to emerge from the Dutch giants.

The side that won the 1995 European Cup included Edwin van de Sar, Frank and Ronald  De Boer, Frank Rijkaard, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars and had Patrick Kluivert on the bench,

It is perhaps the finest crop of young players produced at any single club in the last 20 years, United's Class of '92 included.

From there he went to Barcelona, where in his first spell he twice won La Liga, but left under a cloud after falling out with, you guessed, the media.

His first spell as Dutch national coach proved his biggest failure to date.

The team did not qualify for the 2002 World Cup, unthinkable in Holland, and a disastrous second spell at Barcelona followed, after which he retreated home to rebuild his career at AZ Alkmaar before joining Bayern.

There he won the Bundesliga but that feat has been eclipsed by the achievements of the managers who followed him, Juup Heynckes and Pep Guardiola.

Van Gaal has said he serves credit for laying the foundations of Bayern's current domination. Deserved or not, no-one at United will complain if he does something similar at Old Trafford.

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Harris 'Wanted To Be First To Tongue Kiss Girl'

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Rolf Harris kissed a girl of 11 or 12 while she was off school "so he could be her first," a court has heard.

The woman, who is now in her fifties and cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was left "frozen" and "repulsed" by what happened.

She added that as a result she still felt "frazzled" whenever she was kissed, saying it caused her "panic attacks".

The woman, from the Northern Territory, was the first Australian witness to give evidence on day six of the trial at Southwark Crown Court.

There is no charge against entertainer Harris, 84, regarding the woman and her evidence is being used to support the prosecution's case.

The woman told the court she was assaulted in 1969 and was staying with friends when she woke up, came downstairs in her pyjamas and found Harris polishing wood.

She told the court: "He asked me how old I was and he said he wanted to be the first one to introduce me to a tongue kiss.

"I stood there. I didn't think anything. I just froze. I didn't think he was being serious. Then he walked up towards me."

Rolf Harris denies 12 counts of indecent assault

She said Harris ran his hands up her body, bent down and kissed her.

"I was scared. It seemed to last forever but it must have been very quick. He put his tongue inside my mouth," she said.

When asked how she felt afterwards the woman replied: "I was quite repulsed, absolutely. He just stopped and then said 'look at what I have been doing'."

The woman, who has been married three times, told the court the alleged incident had repercussions in her adult life as she found it difficult to tongue kiss.

She said she went to police after reports of the investigation against him emerged.

Meanwhile, a woman allegedly groped by Harris broke down in tears as she described how Harris molested her on a dance floor.

The witness, who is in her fifties and cannot be named, said he put his hand up her skirt during a wine launch event in New Zealand's North Island in 1970 or 1971 when she was 16 or 17 years old.

Sobbing heavily the woman told the court: ''I saw the dark side of a man who I thought could be trusted. It was in a public place."

She said the day after the alleged incident she told her mother what happened and described Harris as a ''disgusting, vile, repulsive man, who had taken away any trust in the fact that he was a celebrity.''

She added: ''He violated my trust, I never thought he was somebody who could not be trusted.''

Harris, from Bray, Berkshire, listened to proceedings from the glass-fronted dock, dressed in a black suit, striped shirt and tie.

His wife Alwen was in the public gallery along with other friends and relatives.

Harris denies 12 counts of indecent assault allegedly carried out between 1968 and 1986. The trial continues.

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Four British Yachtsmen Feared Dead In Atlantic

Four Britons are thought to have died after the yacht they were sailing from the Caribbean to the UK capsized.

The crew was returning from Antigua Sailing Week in the Cheeki Rafiki, a 40ft performance racer cruiser yacht, when it ran into difficulties in the mid-Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.

Missing: Andrew Bridge (L) and Steve Warren

Contact with Andrew Bridge, 21, James Male, 23, Steve Warren, 52, and Paul Goslin, 56, was lost in the early hours of Friday while they were diverting to the Azores.

US and Canadian aircraft as well as merchant vessels carried out a search on Friday and Saturday, but now the search has been called off.

The Britons had been sailing the boat back from Antigua for Southampton-based yacht training and charter company Stormforce Coaching when they went missing.

Director Doug Innes said the vessel had first started taking on water on Thursday.

James Male has also disappeared

But he said the company had been in contact with the skipper at that time, and the crew were keeping the situation stable.

He said it was possible the crew took to a life raft after contact was lost on Friday.

Mr Innes added: "Although the search efforts co-ordinated ... were exceptional we are devastated that the search has now been called off so soon."

A US Coastguard spokesman two US and one Canadian aircraft had been helped by three commercial vessels until the search was called off at 5am local time.

The yacht reportedly capsized on the way back from the Caribbean

He said: "We searched with multiple assets over 4,000 square miles for pings from the vessel's personal locator beacons.

"After receiving no more transmissions we believe that we would have found them by now if we were going to find them.

"These beacons are small devices and the ones being used have a very short battery life."

Mr Bridge, who is from Farnham in Surrey, was being paid by Stormforce for his role on the yacht, a spokeswoman for the firm said.

But Mr Goslin, from West Camel, Somerset, Mr Warren, from Bridgwater, also in Somerset, and Mr Male, from Southampton, were also described as "very experienced offshore yachtsmen".

Mr Bridge, Mr Goslin and Mr Warren are thought to have been delivering the vessel back after it participated in Antigua Week, regarded as one of the world's top regattas.

Stormforce, which was acting as the managing agent for the Cheeki Rafiki, is based in Southampton.

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North Korea Apology After Apartments Collapse

An apartment building housing around 90 families has collapsed in North Korea, potentially killing hundreds of people.

State officials offered a rare public apology after the collapse, saying the accident was "serious" and had upset leader Kim Jong-Un.

A report from North Korea's Central News Agency said the apartment block was under construction in capital Pyongyang when the collapse happened on Tuesday but gave no details of the numbers killed or injured.

A North Korea official salutes in front of residents at the site

The report said it occurred in the Phyongchon district on Tuesday "as the construction of an apartment house was not done properly and officials supervised and controlled it in an irresponsible manner".

In South Korea a government official speaking on condition of anonymity said the 23-story apartment building was presumed to have housed 92 families.

That could mean that the casualties could run into hundreds because a typical North Korean family has four members.

It is not unusual for people to start living in apartments before the construction is complete.

According to state media, the rescue operation ended on Saturday and officials apologised to bereaved families and district residents.

The report cited one official as saying Kim Jong-Un "sat up all night, feeling painful after being told about the accident".

The authoritarian regime's tightly-controlled media rarely report news that might be considered negative.

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Carney: 'House Prices Biggest Risk To Economy'

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

The British housing market has "deep, deep" problems, according to the Governor of the Bank of England.

In an interview with Sky's Murnaghan show, Mark Carney warned that rising house prices represented the biggest current risk to the economy.

He added that the number of large mortgages being approved to house buyers was on the rise and that the UK was in need of new house building.

Mr Carney said: "The issue around the housing market in the UK … is there are not sufficient (numbers of) houses (being) built."

Asked if more houses need to be built, Mr Carney replied: "That would help us out.

"We're not going to build a single house at the Bank of England. We can't influence that.

"What we can influence… is whether the banks are strong enough. Do they have enough capital against risk in the housing market?"

Mark Carney has issued a warning over the UK housing market

Mr Carney said they could also check lending procedures "so people can get mortgages if they can afford them but they won't if they can't".

"By reinforcing both of those we can reduce the risk that comes from a housing market that has deep, deep structural problems," he added.

Mr Carney said there was evidence that large mortgages, where lenders approve loans of more than four times people's salaries, are on the rise again.

"We don't want to build up another big debt overhang that is going to hurt individuals and is very much going to slow the economy in the medium term," he said.

"We'd be concerned if there was a rapid increase in high loan-to-value mortgages across the banks. We've seen that creeping up and it's something we're watching closely."

In an separate interview for Murnaghan, David Cameron admitted the Government needed to build more houses and said Mr Carney was "absolutely right".

However, he added: "The building of houses is going up. If you talk to any housing developer at the moment or builder they will tell you that the help to buy scheme the Government has put in place has been hugely helpful in bringing forward more development or house building.

"We are training apprentices in the building trade to make sure that we can deliver on these houses but we do need more, yes."

But shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the Government's Help to Buy scheme, designed for those who can afford mortgage repayments but not a large deposit, was making the problem worse and should be reformed.

He said: "The Governor's comment that the Bank of England can't build a single home puts the ball firmly in George Osborne's court to act on housing supply."

And he added: "Unless the Government acts, the danger is that the Bank of England will be forced to raise interest rates prematurely."

Last week, Mr Carney surprised many by playing down the chances of an imminent rise in interest rates despite fears of a growing house price bubble.

But he admitted the issue was the biggest current threat to the economy.

"The biggest risk to financial stability, and therefore to the durability of the expansion, centres on the housing market and that's why we're focused on that," he said.

Prices are currently rising at more than 10% a year across the country. Analysis by Sky News has shown the number of £1m properties has doubled since 2008.

Both the coalition and Labour are committed to building hundreds of thousands of new homes but construction still lags behind Government targets.

In an interview with Andrew Marr, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg indicated the Help to Buy scheme could be "pared back" if the housing market started to overheat.

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Ed Miliband: Nigel Farage Is 'Not A Racist'

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

Ed Miliband has told Sky News his political rival Nigel Farage is "not a racist", despite his controversial comments this week.

The UKIP leader has come under heavy criticism after an LBC interview in which he said he was uncomfortable with people speaking foreign languages on public transport.

He also told interviewer James O'Brien "you know the difference" between Romanian and German immigrants.

When asked whether Mr Farage was racist, Ed Miliband told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan: "Personally I don't think so.

UKIP's rise in the polls has brought with it increased media scrutiny

"I think his remarks he made were deeply offensive … I think they were a racial slur but I don't think of Nigel Farage as a racist himself."

Ahead of Thursday's European election vote, Labour is trying to present itself as a party with a tougher stance on immigration.

Mr Miliband admitted that the last Labour government failed to take people's concerns seriously enough, adding: "It was our attitude that was wrong, and needed to change."

David Cameron is also talking tough on immigration ahead of the crunch vote, arguing the Conservative stance on a referendum after the next election is the right one.

He also insisted he is still focused on the target of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands - despite there being little chance of achieving it in this parliament.

He told the Murnaghan programme the Government has taken "tough action on immigration", adding: "The point of having that target is it's what I want and what the British people want.

"We are working towards it."

When asked whether it is still a target, he replied "of course" - but refused to confirm when he hopes to achieve it by.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that Mr Farage's views should have "no place in modern Britain".

He told the Andrew Marr Show: "I think the mask is starting to slip and I think what's being revealed that sort of behind the beer-swilling bonhomie is a rather nasty view of the world."

He said anyone who singled out a nationality they would not wish to live next door to was practising the "politics of division".

The latest poll shows UKIP continuing its lead ahead of the European elections on 35%. Labour is second on 24% with the Tories on 20%. The Green Party is on 7% overtaking the Lib Dems on 6%.

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