Victoria Cross Award For L/Cpl James Ashworth

A soldier killed protecting his comrades in Afghanistan is to be awarded the Victoria Cross - the UK's top bravery medal.

Lance Corporal James Ashworth's courage was hailed as "beyond words" by friends who served with him until his death last June.

The 23-year-old died in a grenade attack during a fierce battle with the Taliban in Helmand's Nahr-e Saraj district.

He was on foot patrol and battling his way through compounds against enemy fighters when he was fatally wounded.

The cross was first bestowed during the Crimean War

It is expected that the rare VC award to the soldier from Kettering, Northamptonshire, will be officially announced later this month.

The VC has been awarded 10 times to British soldiers since World War Two and only once for bravery in Afghanistan.

At the time of L/Cpl Ashworth's death, his family said: "We are devastated by the loss of our son, brother, uncle and boyfriend. He meant the world to everyone and has left an irreplaceable hole in our hearts."

His father Duane was also a Grenadier Guard, while his younger brother Coran is also a soldier.

He also left behind his mother Kerryann, sisters Lauren and Paige, brother Karl and four-year-old niece Darcy, as well as his girlfriend, Emily.

His company commander, Captain Mike Dobbin, praised the soldier's actions.

He said: "Lance Corporal Ashworth was killed while fighting his way through compounds, leading his fire team from the front, whilst trying to protect his men and he showed extraordinary courage to close on a determined enemy.

"His professionalism under pressure and ability to remain calm in what was a chaotic situation is testament to his character."

Lance Corporal Ashworth's body being repatriated

Guardsman Jordan Loftus also paid tribute to his friend's bravery.

He said: "Selfless, brave, courageous ... words like these don't come close to what Ash demonstrated that day. He will be missed by all as a commander, but most of all a good mate."

L/Cpl Ashworth's Commanding Officer in the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, Lieutenant Colonel James Bowder said: "Lance Corporal Ashworth was an outstanding soldier whose loss has moved us all. A real self-starter, he excelled in everything that he undertook.

"Fit, strong and brilliant at his job, he set the bar very high. Indeed, such was his calmness under pressure, his charisma, and his selflessness that he made an exemplary junior leader."

The previous recipient of the VC in Afghanistan was 29-year-old Corporal Bryan Budd of 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, who died when he single-handedly stormed a Taliban position in Sangin in 2006.

The last living recipient was L/Cpl Johnson Beharry of 1st Battalion the Prince of Wales's Royal Regiment, who twice saved the lives of colleagues under enemy fire in Iraq in 2004.

The medal is the British military's highest bravery award and was first bestowed on troops during the Crimean War in 1854-55.

Johnson Beharry is the last living recipient of a medal

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India: Tourist Gang-Raped And Husband Beaten

A Swiss tourist has been gang-raped in India and she and her husband were reportedly beaten before being robbed.

The pair were on a cycling trip in the impoverished Madhya Pradesh state, when they were attacked by seven to eight men.

The perpetrators tied up the man and raped the woman in his presence, police official S M Afzal said.

He added they stole 10,000 rupees (£122) and a mobile phone from the woman.

The attack comes just a few days after the man accused of leading the fatal gang rape of a student on a New Delhi bus was found hanged in his prison cell.

Police say Ram Singh took his own life in the high-security Tihar jail where he had been on suicide watch in an isolated cell.

The case made headlines around the world and raised the issue of sexual violence against women in India.

The student's internal injuries were so horrific she died two weeks later in a hospital in Singapore despite surgery to try to save her.

The latest attack happened at a village near Datia where the 39-year-old woman and her husband were camping.

They had stopped there while on their way from Orchha to the tourist destination of Agra, home to the iconic Taj Mahal monument.

Local police superintendent C S Solanki told the Press Trust of India the couple were beaten and had their belongings stolen, and that the woman was gang-raped.

Mr Solanki said police were questioning 13 men in connection with the attack.

According to the woman's husband, a group of seven men with lathis (wooden sticks) in their hands overpowered him.

He said four of them gang-raped his wife and then beat him up.

The woman was taken to a hospital in Gwalior where a medical examination confirmed that she was gang-raped.

The couple will be asked to try to identify the accused, NDTV reported.

The chairman of India's national commission for women, Mamata Sharma, slammed the provincial government of Madhya Pradesh over its failure to curb violence against women.

She said: "The government should pay attention towards what is happening with the foreigners.

"I have said this for the past few days that the crime against women in Madhya Pradesh is increasing and the government should take stringent action to put an end to such incidents.

"Many incidents of violence against women have come into the limelight in Madhya Pradesh but the government is completely insensitive towards them.

"The accused should be punished and we should see what kind of image of India we are presenting to the outside world. The government should take strict action."

Sky's Alex Rossi, reporting from Delhi, said of the gang rape: "This is another shocking case of vionce against women, highlighting the very real problems that women face in this country on a day-to-day basis.

He added: "Foreign tourists, especially single women, face problems of unwanted sexual harassment in this country.

"This area of Madhya Pradesh in central India is known for its banditry. It is fairly lawless and it is also very poor."

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Pope Francis Wants 'Church For The Poor'

Profile: The Chemist Who Became A Pope

Updated: 1:17pm UK, Thursday 14 March 2013

Francis is the first ever pope from the Americas, an austere Jesuit intellectual who modernised Argentina's conservative Roman Catholic Church.

Known until Wednesday as Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis is respected as a humble man who denied himself the luxuries that previous Buenos Aires cardinals enjoyed.

In the past, the 76-year-old pontiff often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina's capital.

He accused fellow church leaders of hypocrisy, and forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes.

"Jesus teaches us another way. Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers, go out and share, go out and ask. Become the Word in body as well as spirit," the then-Cardinal Bergoglio told Argentina's priests last year.

He was born in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, one of five children of an Italian railway worker and his wife.

His legacy as a cardinal includes his efforts to repair the reputation of a church that lost many followers by failing to openly challenge Argentina's murderous 1976-83 dictatorship.

He also worked to recover the church's traditional political influence in society, but his outspoken criticism of President Cristina Kirchner could not stop her from imposing socially liberal measures, from gay marriage and adoption to free contraceptives.

He came close to becoming pope in 2005, reportedly gaining the second-highest total in several rounds of voting before bowing out in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Initially trained as a chemist, Bergoglio taught literature, psychology, philosophy and theology before taking over as Buenos Aires archbishop in 1998.

He became cardinal in 2001, when the economy was collapsing, and won respect for blaming unrestrained capitalism for impoverishing millions of Argentines.

Sergio Rubin, Bergoglio's authorised biographer, said the new pope felt most comfortable taking a very low profile, and his personal style was the antithesis of Vatican splendour.

"It's a very curious thing. When bishops meet, he always wants to sit in the back rows. This sense of humility is very well seen in Rome," Mr Rubin said before the 2013 conclave to choose Benedict's successor.

Bergoglio has stood out for his austerity. Even after he became Argentina's top church official in 2001, he never lived in the ornate church mansion where Pope John Paul II stayed when visiting the country.

He almost never granted media interviews, limiting himself to speeches from the pulpit, and was reluctant to contradict his critics, even when he knew their allegations against him were false, said Mr Rubin.

That attitude was burnished as human rights activists tried to force him to answer uncomfortable questions about what church officials knew and did about the dictatorship's abuses after the 1976 coup.

Many Argentines remain angry over the church's acknowledged failure to openly confront a regime that was kidnapping and killing thousands of people as it sought to eliminate "subversive elements" in society.

It's one reason why more than two-thirds of Argentines describe themselves as Catholic, but fewer than 10% regularly attend mass.

Under Bergoglio's leadership, Argentina's bishops issued a collective apology in October 2012 for the church's failures to protect its flock. But the statement blamed the era's violence in roughly equal measure on both the junta and its enemies.

"Bergoglio has been very critical of human rights violations during the dictatorship, but he has always also criticised the leftist guerrillas; he doesn't forget that side," Mr Rubin said.

The bishops also said "we exhort those who have information about the location of stolen babies, or who know where bodies were secretly buried, that they realise they are morally obligated to inform the pertinent authorities".

But that statement came far too late for some activists, who accused Bergoglio of being more concerned about the church's image than about aiding the many human rights investigations.

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Missing Prisoner John Anslow Arrested In Cyprus

A prisoner who has been missing since he escaped from a police escort van in January 2012 has been arrested in Northern Cyprus.

John Anslow, 32, has been wanted by police since he escaped near HMP Hewell in Worcestershire over a year ago.

He is charged with the murder of businessman Richard Deakin in Chasetown, Staffordshire, in July 2010.

Anslow, from Tipton, was arrested on Wednesday in Alancak in Northern Cyprus for immigration offences and deported by the Turkish Cypriot authorities.

He was then arrested at Heathrow Airport on Saturday morning and has been transferred to a high-security prison.

He will appear via video link at Stafford Crown Court on Monday for failing to appear at court in January 2012.

In the past three weeks, nine men have been arrested and charged by West Mercia Police in connection with Anslow's escape.

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HS2 High-Speed Rail Scheme's 'Unlawful' Ruling

The Government insists its HS2 high-speed rail project has not hit the buffers after a High Court judge ruled the consultation process for compensating those affected was "unlawful".

It was the only successful case among five in which Mr Justice Ouseley had been asked to send the multi-billion pound project back for reconsideration.

Despite the decision at London's High Court, Transport Minister Simon Burns insisted the scheme would not be held up.

"This has been a convincing victory for the Government," he said.

"It's a green light to go ahead. It will not hold up us going ahead with the project, which is in the national interest."

"This is a major landmark victory for HS2 and the future of Britain.

"HS2 is the most significant infrastructure investment the UK has seen in modern times and a project the country cannot afford to do without.

"The judgment ensures that nothing now stands in the way of taking our plans to Parliament.

The scheme has provoked angry opposition

"We will now move forward as planned with the crucial business of getting the scheme ready for construction in 2017 and delivering enormous benefits for the country."

The decision on compensation was a victory for the High Speed 2 Action Alliance (HS2AA), consisting of more than 70 affiliated action groups and residents' associations.

Human rights lawyer Richard Stein, who helped represent HS2AA, said: "This was never a Nimby argument. Many thousands of people living along the route will not be able to sell their homes for some 15 years because their homes are blighted.

"They should not have to bear the burden for this national project.

"We hope now that proper arrangements are put in place by the Government for compensation for those who live by the proposed HS2 route to make it possible for them to move if and when they wish, in the same way that the rest of us can."

The first phase of HS2 would see a high-speed railway line running through Tory heartlands from London to Birmingham.

Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said: "We've now had nearly three years of dither and delay over HS2 which must now come to an end.

"It is vital that the Government now gets on with introducing the necessary legislation to make this scheme a reality on the ground. When they do so, they will have cross-party support from Labour."

Supporters point to the benefits of a reduction in journey times between the UK's two biggest cities.

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Kevin McGeever Held By Police Over 'Kidnap'

An Irish property developer who claimed he was kidnapped for eight months is being held on suspicion of wasting police time.

Kevin McGeever was emaciated and disorientated when found wandering barefoot on the side of the road near the Cavan-Leitrim border on January 29 this year.

The 68-year-old former tycoon was arrested at his Craughwell home in Co Galway on Thursday and held under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act 1994, which contains provisions for wasting police time and making false allegations.

Mr McGeever, who is originally from Swinford, Co Mayo, had a long beard, hair and nails and was treated for malnutrition when he was found by a motorist in a dishevelled state.

He had lost about five stone and claimed he was abducted at gunpoint from his gated mansion on May 17 last year. His attackers also reportedly wrote insults on his face.

He had been reported missing by his partner last June.

Before the economic downturn, Mr McGeever sold luxury homes to expats in Dubai.

He made a fortune building houses, first in his native county and then further afield, before making big investments abroad. He fronted a company called KMM Commercial Properties.

A police spokesman confirmed a 68-year-old man had been arrested in relation to the ongoing investigation into the abduction.

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Missing Movie Executive: Murder Probe Launched

A murder investigation has been launched following a 10-month search for a missing movie executive.

Police believe 20th Century Fox executive Gavin Smith was killed after his Mercedes-Benz was discovered at a storage facility on February 21 in Simi Valley, California. His body has not been found.

A convicted drug dealer has been named a person of interest.

The storage facility has been linked to John Creech - a man who has been in prison since June serving an eight-year sentence on an unrelated drug conviction for sales or transport of narcotics, said Los Angeles County sheriff Dave Dolson.

Mr Dolson said 57-year-old Mr Smith had "some kind of relationship" with Creech's wife, Chandrika, after meeting her in rehab a few years ago, but he declined to provide details.

Mr Dolson said investigators have been focusing on Creech for a long time but stopped short of calling him a suspect.

"He has been a person of interest for several months, and he's still that person of interest," he said.

Mr Smith, who was with Fox's movie distribution department for nearly 18 years, was last seen on May 1 in Ventura County's Oak Park neighbourhood after leaving a friend's home at about 9.35pm.

Authorities believe Mr Smith's car was in the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley about a week after he was last seen, and was eventually moved to the storage facility by two people.

Mr Dolson said investigators have served between 25 and 30 search warrants in the case - primarily in the San Fernando Valley area - including on Creech's home and his car.

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Manchester Siege: Man Armed With Crossbow

By Mike McCarthy, North Of England Correspondent

Police in Greater Manchester are involved in a stand-off with a man armed with a crossbow.

The siege began at 8.30pm last night after the 31-year-old man is thought to have barricaded himself into his house and threatened police officers and social workers.

Police negotiators have arrived and streets around the address at North Lonsdale Street, in Gorse Hill close to the Manchester United stadium.

Neighbour Kathryn Sherden said the on-going operation had frightened people nearby who had been given little or no information about what was happening.

"I would have preferred the police to tell us there was an incident going on. My daughter has walked past on her way to school. If I'd known I'd have taken her myself. It terrified me."

Superintendent Simon Retford said: "We do not believe that anyone in the address is there under duress but our priority at the moment is to ensure that we reach a peaceful conclusion to this incident, and that this man gets the appropriate support he needs from our partner agencies.

"I would reassure the local community not to be overly alarmed by what is happening as highly trained officers are currently dealing with this incident.

"We have put a cordon in place around the house as part of the co-ordinated police response that is normally implemented when an incident of this nature occurs.

"As part of this, a small number of officers who are there are armed, but the main focus of our efforts is through the negotiating team.

"We are working closely with the local authority to minimise any disruption to the community and thank them for their support.

"Officers have been on the ground to offer reassurance to local people."

More follows ...

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Pope Francis: Profile Of New Catholic Leader

Francis is the first ever pope from the Americas, an austere Jesuit intellectual who modernised Argentina's conservative Roman Catholic Church.

Known until Wednesday as Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis is respected as a humble man who denied himself the luxuries that previous Buenos Aires cardinals enjoyed.

In the past, the 76-year-old pontiff often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina's capital.

He accused fellow church leaders of hypocrisy, and forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes.

The Archbishop of Buenos Aires kissing the hand of late Pope John Paul II

"Jesus teaches us another way. Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers, go out and share, go out and ask. Become the Word in body as well as spirit," the then-Cardinal Bergoglio told Argentina's priests last year.

He was born in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, one of five children of an Italian railway worker and his wife.

His legacy as a cardinal includes his efforts to repair the reputation of a church that lost many followers by failing to openly challenge Argentina's murderous 1976-83 dictatorship.

The new pope on the streets of Buenos Aires earlier this month

He also worked to recover the church's traditional political influence in society, but his outspoken criticism of President Cristina Kirchner could not stop her from imposing socially liberal measures, from gay marriage and adoption to free contraceptives.

He came close to becoming pope in 2005, reportedly gaining the second-highest total in several rounds of voting before bowing out in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Initially trained as a chemist, Bergoglio taught literature, psychology, philosophy and theology before taking over as Buenos Aires archbishop in 1998.

He became cardinal in 2001, when the economy was collapsing, and won respect for blaming unrestrained capitalism for impoverishing millions of Argentines.

Bergoglio talks with a man as he rides the subway in Buenos Aires

Sergio Rubin, Bergoglio's authorised biographer, said the new pope felt most comfortable taking a very low profile, and his personal style was the antithesis of Vatican splendour.

"It's a very curious thing. When bishops meet, he always wants to sit in the back rows. This sense of humility is very well seen in Rome," Mr Rubin said before the 2013 conclave to choose Benedict's successor.

Bergoglio has stood out for his austerity. Even after he became Argentina's top church official in 2001, he never lived in the ornate church mansion where Pope John Paul II stayed when visiting the country.

He almost never granted media interviews, limiting himself to speeches from the pulpit, and was reluctant to contradict his critics, even when he knew their allegations against him were false, said Mr Rubin.

Cardinal Bergoglio with his family members

That attitude was burnished as human rights activists tried to force him to answer uncomfortable questions about what church officials knew and did about the dictatorship's abuses after the 1976 coup.

Many Argentines remain angry over the church's acknowledged failure to openly confront a regime that was kidnapping and killing thousands of people as it sought to eliminate "subversive elements" in society.

It's one reason why more than two-thirds of Argentines describe themselves as Catholic, but fewer than 10% regularly attend mass.

Under Bergoglio's leadership, Argentina's bishops issued a collective apology in October 2012 for the church's failures to protect its flock. But the statement blamed the era's violence in roughly equal measure on both the junta and its enemies.

"Bergoglio has been very critical of human rights violations during the dictatorship, but he has always also criticised the leftist guerrillas; he doesn't forget that side," Mr Rubin said.

The bishops also said "we exhort those who have information about the location of stolen babies, or who know where bodies were secretly buried, that they realise they are morally obligated to inform the pertinent authorities".

But that statement came far too late for some activists, who accused Bergoglio of being more concerned about the church's image than about aiding the many human rights investigations.

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Acrobat Breaks Neck In Moscow Circus Fall

A Kenyan acrobat suffered serious injuries including a fractured vertebra after falling through a safety net during a show at a Moscow circus.

Video footage showed the moment 22-year-old Karo Christopher Kazungu fell nearly 50ft through the net and on to the arena floor during the show on Wednesday evening.

The Great Moscow State Circus said on its website that Mr Kazungu was conscious when he was taken to hospital.

Russian news agencies quoted the director of the acrobatics show saying the acrobat was diagnosed with a fracture of one of the vertebra in his neck and was in intensive care.

He in understood not to have been paralysed.

Life News reported the net broke underneath the acrobat, slowing his impact with the ground.

Mr Kazungu, 20, was one of a dozen Russian and Kenyan performers who were taking part in a highly complex show.

Edgard Zapashny, director general of the circus, told Russian television that the circus had never had any incidents of this kind and that the German-made safety net had been rigorously tested at the circus before it was used.

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Philpott Fire Trial: Wife Treated Like 'Slave'

By Darren Little, Midlands Correspondent

A man who is alleged to have killed his six children in a house fire has been accused in court of treating his wife like a slave.

Michael Philpott, 56, was accused at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday of controlling his wife Mairead, 31, and treating her like a "skivvy".

The pair, and a third defendant Paul Mosley, are on trial for the manslaughter of their six children in a house fire at their home in Allenton on May 11 last year. All three deny the charges.

On the second day of giving evidence in his own defence, Philpott admitted he had "been terrible to Mairead, I don't deny that".

Shaun Smith, representing Mairead, asked Philpott: "You regarded her as your property, didn't you? Your slave. That's what she was, wasn't she?

"She did everything in that house, didn't she, even when you were having a relationship with another woman? You think you own her, don't you?"

Tributes outside the family home in Allenton after the fire in May 2012

Philpott shook his head and said "no".

The court heard there was "a pattern" to the women Philpott was attracted to.

He began a relationship with Mairead when she was 19 and he was 43, and with Lisa Willis when she was 18 and he was also 43.

Miss Willis, 29, lived with the Philpotts and her five children - four of them fathered by Michael Philpott - until she left with the youngsters in February last year.

He admitted that Mairead had been present when he and Lisa first kissed but rejected claims she was "hurt" when he brought another woman into their relationship.

He said: "Can you help who you fall in love with?

"I didn't actually want two women in my life. It just happened and I regret it.

"It might sound strange to you but I asked Mairead's permission. And I got it. We was one happy family."

Philpott also told the court petrol residue found inside the house came from filling a garden strimmer.

Jade, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, all died in the fire on Victory Road, Allenton, last year.

Their brother Duwayne, 13, was taken to Derby Royal Hospital but died three days later.

The trial continues.

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Pope Francis Settles Hotel Bill After Prayers

Pope Francis has started his new life as leader of the Roman Catholic Church by praying at one of Rome's oldest basilicas - before checking out of his hotel.

The 76-year-old, who has become the first Jesuit pope and the first pope to be named Francis, opened his pontificate quietly leaving the Vatican with a visit to Santa Maria Maggiore - dedicated to the Virgin Mary - for private prayers via a side entrance.

"He spoke to us cordially like a Father," said Father Ludovico Melo, a priest who joined in the prayers. "We were given 10 minutes' notice that the Pope was coming."

the new Pope lays flowers on the basilica altar during his visit

Shortly after his election, Pope Francis had told a 100,000-strong crowd packed in a rain-soaked St Peter's Square that he intended to pray to the Madonna "that she may watch over all of Rome".

Choosing not to use the official papal car, but another with a Vatican plate, the pontiff then left the basilica and stopped by his hotel to collect his belongings..

And despite now effectively being in charge of the Church-run residence, he insisted on paying the bill.

Later, he will attend a mass with cardinals in the Sistine Chapel - where they elected him leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics - to officially close the conclave.

Francis leaves the basilica following his morning prayers

A planned trip to see his predecessor Benedict XVI at the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo at some point during the next few days is significant.

Benedict's resignation has raised concerns about potential power conflicts emerging from the peculiar situation of having a reigning pope and a retired one alive at the same time.

Francis, who faces many challenges to put the Church in order, has already spoken by phone with Benedict, who has been living at the papal summer residence, south of Rome, since the end of his papacy.

Prior to that, his second day in the job will begin with an audience with the College of Cardinals in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, where Benedict said his farewell to them last month.

Huge crowds welcomed the announcement of Pope Francis

The somewhat mild and media-shy new Pope, who has a busy few days ahead of him, is expected to speak to some 4,000 accredited journalists for the first time at a press conference on Saturday.

Francis will recite the Angelus at noon on Sunday from a window of the papal apartments, with tens of thousands of followers expected to gather in St Peter's Square below.

World leaders will descend on Rome on Tuesday for his inauguration mass - preparations for which are already under way.

Many were quick to congratulate Francis - the first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years - with US President Barack Obama describing him as "a champion of the poor and the most vulnerable among us".

And the reactions to his election continued on Thursday with Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, Al Azhar, calling for "better relations" with the Vatican under Pope Francis - as did China. Beijing has long had strained ties with the Vatican in a dispute about authority over China's Catholics.

The new pope is revealed on Wednesday night

The Dalai Lama expressed his "sense of joy" in a letter to the new pontiff, while the Syrian National Council called on Francis to "make a special gesture for Syria" where more than 70,000 people have been killed in two years of conflict.

Known for his humility and simplicity, his decision to slip out the Vatican earlier was seen as another example of his modesty.

Francis shunned the papal limousine last night for a shuttle bus with other cardinals to go back to a residence inside the Vatican for a meal.

That showed his humble side, according to prominent US cardinal Timothy Dolan, who also revealed that the new pontiff told the cardinals he would be visiting Benedict.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio becomes the first Jesuit pope

Speaking at the North American College, the US seminary in Rome said Francis was expected to arrive in the limousine.

"And as the last bus pulls up, guess who gets off? It's Pope Francis. I guess he told the driver, 'that's ok, I'll just go with the boys'."

During the dinner, Cardinal Dolan said the new pope also showed his humorous side.

As Francis toasted the cardinals, he said to them: "May God forgive you." It brought the house down, said Cardinal Dolan.

Known until Wednesday as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentine Pope Francis became a cardinal in 2001.

He has spent nearly his entire career in Argentina, and becomes the first ever pope from Latin America.

His election has pleased Latin Americans, who number 40% of the world's Catholics but have long been underrepresented in the church leadership.

Francis is certain to bring the church closer to the poverty-wracked region, while also introducing the world to a very different type of pope, whose first words to the faithful were a simple, "Brothers and sisters, good evening".

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Oklahoma Mum 'Tried To Sell Kids On Facebook'

A young mum has been accused of trying to sell her children on Facebook to bail her boyfriend out of jail.

Police in Sallisaw, Oklahoma said Misty VanHorn contacted a potential buyer via the social networking site.

They said the 22-year-old mother was looking to get $1,000 (£670) for her two-year-old, or $4,000 (£2,680) for the toddler and her 10-month-old baby.

"Just come to Sallisaw, it's only 30 minutes away and I'll give you all of her stuff and let y'all have her forever for $1,000," she allegedly wrote via Facebook.

The unidentified female buyer from Fort Smith, just over the state border in neighbouring Arkansas, notified the authorities last week.

Police moved in to arrest her soon after.

Neighbours said VanHorn had been going door to door trying to raise the $1,000 bond money to free her partner for days.

She is now being held in the Sequoyah County Jail on $40,000 (£26,800) bail.

The state has taken custody of the children.

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Marijuana Bong: Toddler Made To Smoke By Mum

A mother who got her 22-month-old son to smoke her marijuana bong has been arrested, after mobile phone video emerged of the incident.

Rachelle Braaten was detained by police in Centralia in Washington state last Friday.

Rachelle Braaten appears in court. Pic: KOMO-TV

She is now facing multiple charges, including delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.

KOMO-TV said the 24-year-old reportedly told police: "I guess it was a joke and stupid mistake that wasn't really funny."

In the video the child can be seen briefly sucking on the bong.

He coughs and people can be heard laughing.

Braaten said her son did not act sick afterwards.

He has since been placed in protective care, along with his five-year-old brother.

Police also found 40 marijuana plants when they arrested Braaten.

She remains in jail on $5,000 (£3,350) bail.

Washington is one of very few states which allows the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

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Pope Election: Black Smoke Signals No New Pope

Black smoke from the first two votes of the conclave entering its second day has signalled the cardinals tasked with electing a new pope are still not agreed on Benedict's successor.

They are expected to hold a further two ballots later on the first full day of voting.

The cardinals reconvened for the papal conclave behind closed doors after the first round of voting on Tuesday night proved inconclusive.

Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel

They awoke to attend mass in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace and returned to the Renaissance splendour of the Sistine Chapel to hold two morning ballots.

All eyes remain on the chimney atop the Vatican's Sistine Chapel as the process of finding a successor to Benedict XVI, who brought a troubled eight-year papacy to an abrupt end by resigning last month, will continue until his replacement is found.

The 115 voting eligible church leaders spent the night sequestered in the Santa Marta Hotel on the edge of the Vatican's gardens, without access to television, newspapers, mobile phones or computers.

The cardinals are scheduled to hold four votes each day

They first filed into the chapel chamber, renowned for its ceiling fresco painted by Renaissance master Michelangelo, on Tuesday morning to begin their deliberations.

Hours later after sunset, black smoke billowed from the chimney above the Vatican, indicating that no-one had gained the two-thirds majority needed to become the 266th pope.

Only the emergence of white smoke - produced by mixing the smoke from burning ballots with special flares - will signal that a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics has been chosen.

The tens of thousands that braved the rain and gathered in St Peter's Square to bear witness to the centuries-old tradition cheered in excitement or booed in mock disappointment.

Among the cardinals gathered in Rome, Italy's Angelo Scola, Brazil's Odilo Scherer and Canada's Marc Ouellet - all conservatives like Benedict - are the three favourites.

Modern-day conclaves normally last no more than a few days.

People packed St Peter's Square on Tuesday night awaiting the site of smoke

However, there is no clear frontrunner, meaning the election could go on for much longer than the two days and four rounds of voting that it took to elect Joseph Ratzinger in 2005, following the death of John Paul II.

Some analysts have suggested that Benedict's dramatic departure - the first papal resignation in over 700 years - could push the cardinals to take an equally unusual decision and elect an outsider.

Hopes are high in the Philippines for the popular Archbishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle, and on the African continent for South Africa's Wilfrid Napier, the archbishop of Durban, but in practice their chances are very slim.

Two-thirds of the cardinals are from Europe and North America and the view among many experts is that only someone with experience of the inner workings of the Vatican administration can drive reform and repair the scandal-ridden reputation of the Catholic Church.

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Shark-Wrestler Grandad 'Disgusted' By Sacking

A grandfather who grappled with a shark on a busy beach has told of his disgust at being sacked from his job after footage of his feat went round the world.

Charity worker Paul Marshallsea, 62, said he and his wife Wendy had been on long-term sick leave with stress and were on holiday on their doctor's advice when the incident happened.

He told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan he was feeling better by the time of the incident: "We'd been there a few weeks and I did feel better.

"When I came back I went to the doctor and told him I was better. The day I came back was the day I was ready for work."

Mr Marshallsea, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, was called a hero after he waded in to the surf and grabbed the 6ft shark by the tail amid fears it would attack paddling children.

A local news crew caught his exploits on camera and his story made headlines around the world and earned him praise from lifeguards.

But now Mr Marshallsea has lost his job with children's charity the Pant and Dowlais Boys & Girls Club. He had been signed off with work-related stress since last April.

The grandfather-of-one and his 56-year-old wife, who also worked for the charity and was off ill at the time, flew back to Britain to letters informing them they had been sacked.

He has now hit back saying he was "disgusted" by the way he has been treated. He said: "What am I going to do now? There's not much call for shark wrestlers in Merthyr Tydfil."

Mr Marshallsea claims that he should have received a pat on the back for his efforts and that he only took the holiday with his wife on the advice of his GP.

Mr Marshallsea worked as project co-ordinator at Dowlais Engine House, where the charity has a base, and his wife was a senior youth worker.

He had been featured on Sky News for his work with the charity and once met Prince Charles, who visited to find out about the project's work in the town.

The letter he received read: "Whilst unfit to work you were well enough to travel to Australia and, according to recent news footage of yourself in Queensland, you allegedly grabbed a shark by the tail and narrowly missed being bitten by quickly jumping out of the way, the photographs and footage appearing in newspapers and television broadcasts."

A follow-up letter added: "The breakdown of the trustees' confidence and trust in you and your ability to perform the role is so great that we find that dismissal is the only course of action we can recommend."

Mr Marshallsea said running the club became increasingly stressful as it gained in success and the couple were working up to seven days a week.

"We created a whip to hit our own backs. It grew so big and we didn't realise. There was no stopping it."

Sky News contacted the charity trustees and is awaiting their response.

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Snow And Ice Cause Chaos On Rail And Roads

Mid-March travel misery has continued for millions with the late blasts of winter closing roads, disrupting flights and cancelling trains.

Ice warnings were in place for much of the country, and drivers in snow-hit areas urged to postpone journeys if possible.

The Met Office issued yellow "be aware" warnings for parts of the South East. South West, northern Scotland and Ireland, as well as western parts of Wales.

Temperatures were expected to stay below freezing in many areas for the next few days, with the minimum as low as -7C.

Up to 10cm (4in) of snow was forecast to settle in the worst-affected areas, including Kent, Sussex and southern Hampshire, and over higher ground in areas like the Pennines.

The M20 southbound remains gridlocked due to the severe weather

Some of the roads where driving conditions were at their worst included the M20 in Kent and the A2.

The Highways Agency earlier warned motorists heading north from the Dover Ports to take the M20 London bound and to avoid the A2, while those driving in and around West Sussex were advised to avoid the A23 and M23.

Rail services also faced disruption. Southern warned of short-notice cancellations and delays of up to an hour on all services.

There were delays to Southeastern services between Paddock Wood and Strood in Kent because of a signalling problem, while some Gatwick Express services were cancelled.

On First Capital Connect, journeys between Bedford and Brighton were also subject to short-notice cancellations, with delays of up to 45 minutes.

Popstars Toyah Willcox and Cheryl Baker were among those trapped

Ice and snow made roads across much of the South East impassable, with Dover and Folkestone among the worst affected.

The Channel Tunnel reopened after technical issues, with delays back to Junction 10 (Ashford) on the M20.

Eurostar suspended its services for the day because of bad weather in France and Belgium.

A message on its website said: "Our advice to passengers is not to travel today and not to come to our stations. Exchanges and refunds will be available to affected passengers."

At the Port of Dover in Kent, cross-Channel ferry operations were operating "as far as possible", but passengers were advised to allow extra time for their journeys amid possible road blockages on the A2 and A20.

Jersey Airport was closed for the day, while travellers heading for Gatwick were warned to allow extra time to reach the West Sussex airport due to snow on the roads in the area.

Poor road conditions have hampered much of the UK

Speed restrictions were in place on the M48 Severn Bridge in Monmouthshire due to strong winds.

About 500 passengers on a ferry from Ireland to France were forced to spend the night anchored off shore after the vessel failed to dock due to high seas.

A number of French children on a school trip to Ireland were among those on board Irish Ferries vessel Oscar Wilde, which made numerous attempts to dock in Cherbourg in the north-west of France

Police in Sussex said they had attended more than 300 crashes during Monday and overnight across the county, where some motorists were trapped in their cars in the snow for up to 10 hours in blizzard-like conditions.

The force received nearly 2,500 emergency and non-emergency calls - around 700 more than an average March weekday.

The British Red Cross sent emergency teams out to help those stranded in the freezing conditions overnight on the A23 with tailbacks stretching 30 miles.

Residents in Crawley wake up to the snow

A spokesman for the police force said it was stretched to "capacity" recovering abandoned vehicles and helping those stranded.

Chief Inspector Phil Nicholas, from the force's roads policing unit, said: "Today is going to be about helping recover vehicles as many people fell asleep in their cars or abandoned them, so even when the roads did become clearer they were still blocked.

"Although the conditions have improved slightly, we are asking people to not make any journeys unless they are essential."

Cheryl Baker, the 1980s pop star with the Eurovision-winning group Bucks Fizz, was among those stuck on the A23 as she tried to make her way to Brighton to her children. At 10.30am she tweeted: "WE'RE HOME!! Only taken 15 1/2 hours!!"

South East Coast Ambulance Service asked the public to only dial 999 in a genuine emergency because staff were struggling to get into work.

The disruption followed a night of chaos on the roads during which snow ploughs and gritters struggled to get through to clear the roads after a number of vehicles jackknifed causing gridlock.

Snow ploughs and gritters were stuck in the traffic. (Pic: Jonathan Lava)

Temperatures plummeted to as low as -3C (27F), forcing many people to abandon their vehicles for service stations.

Abandoned cars had to be moved to allow the gritters, snow ploughs and emergency teams to pass.

The worst affected areas were the A23 between Crawley and Brighton and the M23 around Handcross Hill.

Toyah Willcox, another 1980s pop star, who was among those stranded on the A23 around 15 miles from Brighton, tweeted: "Still on A23, not moved yet northbound is moving freely. 6 hours! Come on snow isn't that bad."

A number of motorists questioned why gritters had failed to keep the roads clear despite clear forecasts of heavy snow.

The Highways Agency said extra gritters had been out on the roads since 6am on Monday preparing for the freezing weather.

Forecasters believe Monday was the coldest March day in 27 years, since March 1, 1986. Saughall, in south Lanarkshire, reached -12C (10F).

Ladbrokes said they have been forced to slash the odds of snow reappearing across Easter weekend, March 29 to April 1.

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Snowfall In Western Europe Sparks Travel Chaos

Snow has been causing travel mayhem in parts of Europe, leaving passengers stranded at airports, railway stations, on the roads - and at sea.

About 500 passengers on a ferry from Ireland to France were forced to spend the night anchored off shore after the vessel failed to dock due to high seas.

A number of French children on a school trip to Ireland were among those on board Irish Ferries vessel Oscar Wilde, which made numerous attempts to dock in Cherbourg in the north west of France

Passenger Caroline Mulreany told Sky News: "This boat, I feel, is in danger of a serious accident.

"Maybe more help is needed and they are not asking for it. The boat right now is swaying really, really bad and crashing in and out of the water.

People walk under heavy snow falls on Place de la Concorde in Paris

"Everyone on board is violently sick and they don't have a doctor or anti-sick tablets."

The company said the vessel had attempted to dock four times without success.

"The vessel remains off the port and it is expected that a further attempt will not be made until circa lunchtime today when some weather improvement is expected (or earlier, if possible)," it said.

"To complicate matters further, it is understood that the port area and roads around Cherbourg are gripped by snow and icy conditions.

"Save for the obvious discomfort of being delayed from going ashore, everyone on board is safe and reported to be in good spirits, are comfortable and are being well catered for on board.

In the docking attempt yesterday, one crew member suffered what is understood to be a fractured leg. It was not possible to evacuate him to hospital. He is being attended to by two doctors who were travelling as passengers.

Pedestrians walk through the snow in Cologne, western Germany

The vessel is not due to make its scheduled return sailing to Rosslare until later today and no Ireland-bound passengers have yet been affected by the delay, it added.

Frankfurt Airport - Europe's third busiest - was shut down by heavy snowfall until further notice.

The airport had already cancelled more than 100 flights and reported many delays after the German city saw about 12cm (5ins) of snow.

It was not immediately clear how many more of the scheduled 1,200 flights would be cancelled due to the closure.

Travel in France was also affected, with a quarter of flights out of Paris cancelled by the city's two main airports - Charles de Gaulle and Orly.

The nearby Beauvais airport, serving mainly low-cost airlines, cancelled all flights.

At Orly, a Tunisair flight carrying 140 people from Djerba skidded off the runway on landing but no one was injured, an airport source said.

A sculpture of a naked woman is decorated with leg warmers in Frankfurt

Several roads in the capital were closed too, while the French rail network SNCF advised rail users to stay at home because of "unfavourable weather conditions".

The unseasonable snowfall - coming only eight days before the official start of spring - also knocked out power to thousands of people in France and left hundreds of motorists stranded in their cars.

About 80,000 homes in the north and northwest of France were without power, following snowfalls of up to 60cm (24ins).

More than 2,000 people were stranded in their cars overnight as heavy snow paralysed roads in Normandy and Brittany, with many spending the night in emergency shelters.

"There are cars in front, there are cars behind. We're in a film, it's like the end of the world," said one trapped driver.

A traffic accident near Lille injured 14 people and a 58-year-old homeless man was found dead, presumably from the cold, outside a building in the town of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany.

Across the border in Belgium, motorists were hit by record traffic jams with many caught in treacherous conditions and battling icy roads, strong winds and reduced visibility due to snowdrifts.

Rail services were also affected - many cancelled - including some of the Thalys high-speed trains to Paris, Germany and the Netherlands, leaving thousands of commuters stranded on snowed-in platforms.

Long traffic jams because of snow and ice also snaked along motorways in the southern Netherlands, hampering travel to and from Belgium after more than 10cm (4ins) of snow overnight.

Eurostar suspended cross-Channel train services between London and Paris following heavy snow.

"Due to extremely difficult weather conditions in northern France and Belgium, with a major part of the high-speed train tracks closed, Eurostar trains have been suspended until further notice," it said.

"Our advice to passengers is not to travel today and not to come to our stations. Exchanges and refunds will be available to affected passengers."

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Man To Be Charged With Schoolgirl Bus Murder

A 22-year-old man is to be charged with the murder of 16-year-old Christina Edkins on a Birmingham bus, police confirm.

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Cardinals Prepare To Choose A New Pope

By Nick Pisa, Vatican City

Cardinals are gathered for a ceremony steeped in tradition to elect a new pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

The so-called Princes of the Church will assemble in the Vatican's beautifully ornate Sistine Chapel to decide on a new pontiff.

It follows ex-pope Benedict XVI stepping down last month after eight years in office.

In all, 115 cardinal electors, those below the age of 80, are involved in the process.

The first the world will know a new pope has been chosen is when white smoke appears from a chimney on the chapel's roof.

Brazilian cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherrer (C) attends the grand mass

But before that process begins, there were several key events due to take place.

The first took place on Monday when 90 people ranging from cleaning staff, drivers, priests and Swiss Guards swore an oath of secrecy.

They will be on hand as the cardinals gather and are not allowed to breathe a word of what they say or hear. If they do they will be excommunicated from the Roman Catholic faith.

Whilst the conclave is taking place the cardinals will be staying in a special residence inside the Vatican called the Domus Marthae. They will remain there until a pope has been chosen.

Today began with a Latin Mass in St Peter's for the cardinals and public and which is traditionally held before a conclave starts and is known as "pro eligendo Romano Pontifice".

It was led by the Dean of the College of Cardinals Angelo Sodano, who also gave a sermon in Italian which is expected to outline the spiritual significance of the task that faces them to elect the 266th pope.

After lunch they will then leave in a solemn procession from the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican to the Sistine Chapel.

They will be accompanied by Latin prayers and songs, as they ask the Holy Spirit for help in choosing the right man for the job.

Once inside the Sistine Chapel they will swear an oath, with their hand on a Gospel.

Next, all those cardinals who are not electors and other accompanying priests will be ordered to leave by the Master of Ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini.

US cardinal Sean patrick O'Malley prays during the morning service

He will say in Latin "extra omnes", which means "everybody out" and then the last pictures the world will see are the doors of the Sistine Chapel closing as the cardinals begin their deliberations.

The word conclave comes from the Latin "con clavum" or "with key" as cardinals in the past were kept locked in a room until they came up with a new leader.

As part of the selection process a jamming device has been installed in the chapel as the cardinals are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world.

It is feared that any contact could influence their vote and if they do break the vow of secrecy they also face excommunication.

The secret ballot will involve the cardinals writing the name of their preferred candidate on a slip of paper - trying to disguise their handwriting if possible - which they will then place on a tray with the ballot then sliding into an urn.

Dean of the College of Cardinals, Angelo Sodano, led the mass

Once all the votes are counted by the scrutineers they are pierced with a needle through the Latin word "Eligendo" (I elect) and a thread is fed through them. The key figure to look for is 77 votes, two thirds of the 115 elector cardinals plus one.

The voting papers are put into a 74-year-old stove, which has been specially installed in the Sistine Chapel, and burnt. Chemicals are added to produce white smoke to show a winner has emerged, and black if there is still no decision.

There will be one vote on Tuesday with smoke expected around 7pm (GMT) although Vatican officials have already said they do not expect a result straight away.

After final prayers and vespers the cardinals will then leave the Sistine Chapel and head back to their sealed overnight accommodation for dinner.

There will be two rounds of voting on Wednesday morning and two in the afternoon with smoke expected at around 11am and 6pm - with the eyes of the world watching the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel.

Spotlights will be trained on the chimney in case darkness has fallen, and to ensure everyone knows a new pope has been elected the bells of St Peter's will also ring out and his first appearance will be on the balcony where he will give a blessing.

Favourites so far include Italian cardinal Angelo Sodano and Brazilian Odilo Pedro Scherer, but no really strong candidate has emerged with Vatican watchers saying this may lead to a longer conclave than usual.

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Missing Grandmother: Partner's Murder Charge

A man has been charged with murdering his partner, following her disappearance more than a week ago.

More than 40 officers and specialist police staff are working on the case of Pamela Jackson, 55.

Adrian Muir, 50, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, has been charged with her murder.

Mrs Jackson, who is also known as Cris or Crissie, was reported missing on Thursday evening after her son, Joe, 21, became concerned.

A Durham Police spokesman said there has been no definite sighting of her since Saturday March 2 when she was last seen at her home in The Crescent, Chester-le-Street.

He said there had been no activity on her mobile phone for several days and her Facebook page had also not been updated in the same time.

Detective Superintendent Ken Donnelly said: "Our main focus is on finding Pamela and we have a number of actions to follow up in our continuing search for her."

Mrs Jackson does not drive and does not work due to health issues. She also has two other adult sons, Andrew and Christopher, police said.

The grandmother is described as petite and is 5ft tall, slim and with very long, black hair which is usually straight.

She has a black rose tattoo to the upper right arm and large Celtic style letters to the upper left arm and usually wears what is described as vintage-style clothing with rings and costume jewellery.

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Birmingham Terror Charge Teen Pleads Guilty

A teenage boy has admitted possessing explosive chemicals and bomb-making books and diagrams.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to two terror charges and another offence at a hearing at Birmingham Magistrates' Court.

He admitted possessing explosive substances and a host of literature including a book on how to make the explosive Semtex.

The court heard he had planned to carry out a massacre of fellow pupils at his school, and that detailed plans of his classroom were found at his home.

The boy, who was arrested at his home in Northamptonshire, in February last year, admitted possessing explosive substances, namely sulphur powder and potassium nitrate, between January 1 2012 and February 26 2012.

He also admitted possession of numerous books and manuals, of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism between October 1 2011 and February 26 2012 contrary to Section 58(1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The texts in his possession included; The Terrorist Handbook; The Black Book Companion: State-Of-The-Art Improvised Munitions; CIA Explosives For Sabotage Manual; Handbook of Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents; Home Explosives Workshop; Home-made Semtex; Home-made C4 - A Recipe For Survival and Improved Landmines - Their Employment And Destructive Capabilities.

The list of manuals also featured; The Department of the Army's Improvised Munitions Handbook; Improvised Munitions Black Book; Improvised Radio Detonation Techniques; Improvised Weapons of the American Underground; Incendiaries - Advanced Improvised Explosives; Kitchen Improvised Fertilizer Explosives; Ragnar's Detonators; An Anarchist Cookbook - Recipes For Disaster; The Anarchist's Cookbook and Department of the Army Manual - Unconventional Warfare Devices and Techniques - Incendiaries.

He also admitted possession of a quantity of prohibited images of children in Northamptonshire, on February 26, 2012.

Since his arrest he has been detained under the Mental Health Act in secure accommodation in the West Midlands area, said Mark Topping, prosecuting.

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Queen Cancels Westminster Abbey Visit

The Queen will no longer attend today's Commonwealth service as she recovers from gastroenteritis, Buckingham Palace says.

She had been due to attend the Commonwealth Day Observance at London's Westminster Abbey that will see High Commissioners from across the globe in the congregation, and a keynote address from Sir Richard Branson.

The Duke of Edinburgh will now be the only senior royal representative, but the Palace said the Queen would attend an evening reception where she will sign the new Commonwealth charter.

The monarch spent 24 hours in hospital last week being treated for the illness, which leaves sufferers with vomiting and diarrhoea.

Buckingham Palace had said on Friday that the Queen would attend the service and it was "business as usual".

The 86-year-old was struck down by the stomach bug just over a week ago and spent last Sunday night at the private King Edward VII's Hospital in central London before being discharged on Monday.

Concerns were raised about the Queen's general wellbeing as it was the first time she had been admitted to hospital in almost 10 years.

But she left the hospital looking well and cheerful.

Her engagements for last week were cancelled, including a brief visit to Rome to meet Italy's president.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "This time last week she was in hospital, but she's in great spirits and apart from this is in good health and will be going to the reception in the evening.

"It's just the tail end of the symptoms, her condition has not worsened at all."

The Palace announced the cancellation in a short statement: "The Queen will regrettably no longer attend the Commonwealth Observance at Westminster Abbey today as she continues to recover following her recent illness."

It added: "The Queen hopes to undertake some of her official engagements planned for the rest of this week."

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Chris Huhne And Ex-Wife Face Prison Sentences

Chris Huhne and his ex-wife have arrived at court where they are expected to be jailed later for lying about his penalty points.

The former Cabinet minister, 58, and Pryce, 60, have been warned they face prison for perverting the course of justice.

Mr Justice Sweeney, at Southwark Crown Court in London, has said they should be under no illusions about their likely punishment.

Perverting the course of justice carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with an average sentence of around 10 months.

Huhne is also facing a hefty legal bill after the Crown Prosecution Service announced plans to recoup the costs of his "sustained challenges" against the prosecution before his 11th-hour guilty plea.

Vicky Pryce smiling after her ex-husband admitted his crime

The sentencing comes after an ugly and protracted trial which saw Pryce claim she had been coerced into taking speeding points for her husband in 2003.

Huhne admitted lying to police on the first day of the planned joint trial, ending months of denials, but ex-wife continued to claim she was forced.

It was revealed during the court case that Pryce told The Sunday Times about the swap to "nail" her ex-husband after he left her for another woman in 2010.

During the trial, she also claimed that the senior Lib Dem had forced her to have an abortion in the 90s - in a bid to show how much influence he had over her.

Huhne with the woman he left Pryce for, Carina Trimingham

The wreckage of their marriage was laid bare in court and bitter text messages between Huhne and his youngest son Peter were also disclosed.

Pryce, a prominent economist and mother-of-five, was convicted last week after a retrial. The first trial collapsed when the jury failed to reach a verdict.

The case brought an end to Huhne's once-promising political career. His charge forced him to stand down as energy secretary and his guilty plea prompted his resignation as Eastleigh MP.

Despite the impact of his prosecution on the party, Huhne was lavished with praise at the weekend's Liberal Democrat spring conference.

Party leader Nick Clegg described him as an "effective" and "outstanding" politician.

He told a fringe event on Saturday: "Not only was he an outstanding local constituency MP, he was also an extremely powerful thinker and indeed a very effective secretary of state."

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Storm Sweeps Plum Island Homes Into Ocean

Powerful waves and winds have caused two homes to collapse - and left several others severely damaged - on a US beach.

The late two-day winter storm swept into New England, dumping more than a foot of snow in some areas and sending tides crashing into the northeastern coastline of Massachusetts amid flood warnings.

An aerial view of one of the collapsed properties

High seas washed away the dune from underneath some properties, compromising their foundations and rendering them a danger to the public.

One couple on Plum Island watched the ocean wash away the foundations of their summer residence on Annapolis Way.

A toppled house rests on the sandy beach

"High tide last night just eroded away the foundation on the side of the house, and that just couldn't take it anymore," said Stephen Bresnahan.

"It's an emotional, very important, emotional part of our lives."

A neighbour clears the sand from beneath his home

His wife added: "My children have been here in the summer. We got engaged here in the summer."

An empty house nearby was also ripped from its foundations and collapsed into the sea.

Demolition workers get to work on one of the houses

Some roads in coastal towns were flooded with up to 3ft of water.

Flooding at the morning high tide closed some coastal roads north and south of Boston.

Several other properties were also damaged by the storm

Other parts of New England experienced nearly 2ft of snow - wreaking havoc on the roads and causing some motorists to be left stranded.

Schools were also affected and were either forced to close or delay opening.

Elsewhere in New England, motorists battle the snow drift

National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Dunham said it was like a "conveyor belt of wave after wave of snow" coming in.

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1D: One Direction Pull Fans' Tattoo Request

One Direction have been forced to delete a social media request for fans to submit footage of their "real tattoos" to have a chance of appearing in the boyband's forthcoming film.

The band wiped the request from Facebook and Twitter after sparking a fury of criticism, as many fans of One Direction - who refer to the group as 1D - are under the age of 18.

Spokesman Simon Jones said: "This tweet was posted in error and has now been removed. One Direction do not want to encourage any of their fans to get 1D tattoos."

On Saturday the band put out the call for imagery of fans' tattoos on its official Twitter feed, which has more than 10 million followers, and to its 13 million Facebook friends.

The band had encouraged fans to send videos of their tattoos to an email address, giving them the chance for the footage to appear in a 3D movie due out in the summer.

The band tweeted: "Have a real #1D tattoo? Show us! Submit a 90 sec YouTube video to 1d3dfan@gmail.com and show us why you should be in the @1D3Dmovie!"

The appeal on social media was quickly retweeted by more than 4,000 followers and set as a favourite by nearly 6,000 people.

But fan reaction was swift and by late Sunday morning both sites had been wiped of the request, and Mr Jones was forced to release the explanatory statement.

Singer Harry Styles is known to have multiple tattoos himself

Facebook friend Julia Zwagerman said of the request: "Okay One Direction, I love you guys to pieces I really do, but promoting young girls to get a tattoo?"

Twitter follower plumlilo said: "Why would you encourage people to get tattoos that they'll regret in 10 years"

Follower JB1DJanoskians added: "A real tattoo of 1D, im so sorry but that is a load of b*******, people who do that is sick."

Although the social media request was removed fans can still upload photos of themselves to the band's website, as the group intends to use "a mosaic made of thousands of little things - you" for its movie poster.

No upload restrictions are in place for imagery, except that participants must be over the age of 14.

Some members of the five-piece band, which was formed for talent show The X Factor, have increasingly taken to having so-called hipster tattoos adorning their bodies.

Harry Styles and Zayn Malik have become famous for their collections of offbeat inked art.

One American website has even devoted a section to "The ugliest tattoos of One Direction".

However, not everyone was critical of the decision of the band to tweet the tattoo request message on Saturday.

A young fan from Colorado, 1DGottaBeYouu, tweeted: "Why the hell would most of directions have tattoos? We aren't even old enough. BUT when I turn 18= 1D Tattoo :)"

Twitter user The1DScoop, operated by five female followers of the band, said: "Finally you realise we aren't all 12."

The band are currently in Belfast and due to perform two sold out shows on Sunday and Monday nights.

Tickets for the show, which cost up to £35.50 each, come with the recommendation that children under the age of 14 should be accompanied by an adult.

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'Mummy Tax': Benefit Changes Criticised

By Tadhg Enright, Business Correspondent

The new Archbishop of Canterbury has chosen Mother's Day to fire a warning to the Government over planned cuts to welfare.

In his first significant intervention since being appointed, the Most Rev Justin Welby is among 43 bishops who have written an open letter condemning changes to the benefit system.

He warned that "children and families will pay the price" if the plans go ahead in their current form.

The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill will cap benefit rises at 1% a year until 2016.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who is attempting to steer the reforms through Parliament, has said they are needed to help get spending "back under control" and create a fairer deal for taxpayers.

But the archbishop, who will be formally enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on March 21, said the legislation would remove the protection given to families against the rising cost of living and could push 200,000 children into poverty.

His predecessor, Dr Rowan Williams, was strongly criticised for expressing his views about Government policy.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister had a Mother's Day card delivered to his door by campaigners for new mums whose benefits are about to be capped.

The Most Rev Justin Welby has criticised the planned reforms

Labour has accused the Government of imposing a "mummy tax" and said the welfare reforms are part of a series of austerity measures which unfairly target mothers.

Shadow minister for women Yvette Cooper MP told Sky News: "It's like David Cameron and George Osborne have a blindspot about women because they're paying three times more than men in tax and benefit and pay and pension changes.

"That is so unfair when women earn less and own less than men.

"It shows that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor just don't get it and it's outrageous that new mums are hurt hardest."

Around 340,000 women claim either statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance every year.

Until now their benefits have gone up in line with inflation, which currently stands at 2.7%, according to the Consumer Price Index.

But from next month new mothers' benefits will go up by just 1% every year as part of a three-year cap on welfare increases.

So by 2015 critics have calculated the benefits will be effectively cut by £180 because they will not increase by as much as the cost of living will.

Conservative MP Amber Rudd said: "The fact is there are so many good things we are doing to try to help mothers.

"What mothers really want is welfare that works, improved education and jobs.

"That's what they talk to me about on the doorstep and I feel this Government is doing a lot on that front.

Yvette Cooper has slammed the benefit cap

"And it's rank hypocrisy of Labour to accuse us on this front when they have made no suggestions about how to reduce the deficit."

And Schools Minister, Liberal Democrat David Laws MP, also defended the welfare reforms and said the Coalition had tried to help those on lower incomes.

He told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan: "We've had a public sector pay freeze. We've also had a 1% cap in the future on public sector pay. So we've have had to take difficult decisions not just for some of those on lower incomes but for everybody in society.

"And actually we've tried to help some of those on lower incomes by raising the tax free personal allowance and also exempting some of the lowest paid public sector workers from the effects of the pay freeze."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "In difficult economic times we've protected the incomes of pensioners and disabled people, and most working age benefits will continue to increase 1%.

"This was a tough decision but it's one that will help keep the welfare bill sustainable in the longer term. By raising the personal allowance threshold, we've lifted two million people out of tax altogether, clearly benefiting people on a low income."

Single mum-to-be Helen Mockridge has one clear suggestion for a better way to reduce the deficit.

"Taxing really rich people, obviously, that's where the money should come from," she said.

"For me it's a real no-brainer and it makes me really angry that certain parts of society are very, very wealthy and the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger.

"That's where the money should be coming from, not from single mothers or the disabled or any other vulnerable group."

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Nigeria: Italy Says Foreign Captives Are Dead

Foreign hostages - including reportedly a Briton - kidnapped by a Nigerian Islamist group have been killed, Italy has said.

"Our checks conducted in coordination with the other countries concerned lead us to believe that the news of the killing of the hostages seized last month is true," the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement.

A Nigerian Islamist group said on Saturday it had killed the seven foreign hostages abducted from compound of Setraco, a Lebanese construction company, in the town of Jama'are in Bauchi state on February 7.

The al Qaeda-linked Ansaru group, believed to be an offshoot of the larger Boko Haram, is said to be behind the abductions.

The British Foreign Office has said it is "urgently investigating" the reports.

More follows...

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