Ebola Crisis: Alex Crawford's Special Report

In a week when the World Health Organisation declared deaths from ebola have reached over 4,000, Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford gained exclusive access to a body recovery team in Liberia.

You can watch a special version of the highlights of the report, or watch the full documentary and read her full story.

Our Health Correspondent Thomas Moore looks in detail at this latest global health crisis in this Sky News special report.

:: Watch a special Sky News programme on the ebola crisis at 3.30pm today and 3.30pm on Sunday - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

Video: Liberia Gripped By Ebola Virus Fear

Video: Africa Ebola Crisis: Special Report

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Ebola Exercise To Test Britain's Readiness

A national exercise is being held to test Britain's readiness for an ebola outbreak, with actors simulating symptoms of the deadly virus.

Government ministers will join dozens of medical professionals, some of whom will wear protective equipment, for the eight-hour drill in locations across the country.

Sky sources understand one of the locations that has been a part of the exercise is the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where a two-hour drill was conducted.

A simulated meeting of the Government's COBRA emergency committee will also be held, chaired by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Meanwhile, aid ship RFA Argus, which is to be sent to Sierra Leone next week to help fight the outbreak, has arrived in Falmouth, Cornwall, to be loaded with medical supplies before being deployed to West Africa.

It will carry three Merlin helicopters, aircrew and engineers to provide transport and support to medical teams and aid workers there.

Video: Hospital Staff Throw Gloves At PM

The exercise was ordered by David Cameron as part of the UK's contingency plan against ebola, which has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.

It comes after the Prime Minister was forced to defend the decision to introduce enhanced screening for the virus at major points of entry, saying it had been taken on "medical advice".

Questions have been raised about the checks, with a spokesman for Gatwick saying the airport had not been given any instructions about how the screening should be carried out.

The move was also criticised by health experts, with one describing it as a "complete waste of time", while Labour MP Keith Vaz said the lack of precise information was "shambolic".

Video: Ebola Screening Coming To The UK

Mr Cameron said: "What we do is listen to the medical advice and we act on that advice, and that's why we are introducing the screening processes at the appropriate ports and airports.

"What we are focusing on as a country is taking action right across the board to deal with this problem at source."

The Department of Health has said it will provide further details about ebola screenings at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Eurostar terminals next week.

The department has not revealed the locations of the national exercise, although a spokeswoman said it has been planning its response to an ebola case in the UK "for many months now".

Video: Ebola Crisis: On The Front Line

"It is vital that we test these plans in as realistic a situation as possible - with real people," she said.

As well as ministers these will include hospital staff, the ambulance service and Public Health England.

The spokeswoman added: "It is important to remember that the overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low.

"The UK has some of the best public health protection systems in the world with well-developed and well-tested systems for managing infectious disease."

Video: How Doctors Should Deal With Ebola

:: Watch a special Sky News programme on the ebola crisis at 3.30pm today and 3.30pm on Sunday - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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Airline Boss: MH370 May Not Be In Indian Ocean

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

There have been plenty of conspiracy theories about what happened to missing jet MH370 but now the respected head of one of the world's leading airlines says he believes the plane was not on autopilot at the end and may not even be in the Indian Ocean.

Emirates Airlines boss Sir Tim Clark made the controversial comments in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel.

"MH370 was, in my opinion, under control, probably until the very end," he said.

His theory goes against current thinking that the aircraft was on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

He added: "Our experience tells us that in water incidents, where the aircraft has gone down, there is always something.

Video: MH370: Plane Not In Search Area

"We have not seen a single thing that suggests categorically that this aircraft is where they say it is, apart from this so-called electronic satellite 'handshake', which I question as well."

The plane that disappeared was a Boeing 777 and Emirates operates 127 such aircraft, more than any other airline.

Sir Tim said he was suspicious of the fact that no-one seems to know where the plane ended up.

"There hasn't been one over-water incident in the history of civil aviation - apart from Amelia Earhart in 1939 - that has not been at least 5 or 10% trackable.

"But MH370 has simply disappeared. For me, that raises a degree of suspicion. I'm totally dissatisfied with what has been coming out of all of this," he told the magazine.

Sir Tim called for more transparency in the investigation.

Video: June: Families Pray 100 Days On

He said: "There is plenty of information out there, which we need to be far more forthright, transparent and candid about.

"Every single second of that flight needs to be examined up until it, theoretically, ended up in the Indian Ocean - for which they still haven't found a trace, not even a seat cushion."

Australian Danica Weeks lost her husband Paul on the flight.

In response to the comments from the respected airline chief she told Channel 9 news: "He's the man in the know so why aren't they talking to us? And what is all the silence about?"

Earlier this week the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) said latest analysis suggested the Malaysia Airlines flight went into a slow left turn and spiralled into the Indian Ocean when its fuel ran out.

An interim report pointed investigators towards the southern section the current search zone.

Video: June: 'Convinced Of A Cover-Up'

"MH370 remains one of the great aviation mysteries. Personally, I have the concern that we will treat it as such and move on," the airline chief told Der Spiegel.

"At the most, it might then make an appearance on National Geographic as one of aviation's great mysteries," he said.

"We mustn't allow this to happen. We must know what caused that airplane to disappear."

The next phase of the operation to locate the plane has now begun following an extensive mapping process of the ocean floor.

It is seven months since the aircraft went missing with 239 people on board.

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Thai Police: Beach Murder Confessions Stand

Thai police have said there is "concrete" evidence against two Burmese men accused of killing Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.

The British tourists were found bludgeoned to death on the island of Koh Tao last month.

Mr Miller, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds.

David Miller and Hannah Witheridge

The two bar workers, named as Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, have been charged with conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to rape and robbery over the attack.

Reports emerged earlier this week that a Burmese embassy official had formally retracted their confessions amid allegations the pair had been tortured.

Video: Charges Over Thailand Beach Murders

But a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police strongly denied claims of torture and suggestions the confessions had been withdrawn.

Deputy police chief spokesman Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen said: "We had them checked by a doctor before and after the inquiry because we thought the accused may claim they were tortured. The accused persons can say anything want.

"They can withdraw their confessions if they like. We have concrete evidence including DNA evidence from Hannah's body which matched the two suspects."

Thai police have been under domestic political pressure to solve the case, amid criticism over the investigation.

Video: Thai Suspects At Beach Murder Scene

Amnesty International has called for an investigation into the torture allegations.

The charity cited a lawyer from the Burmese embassy legal team who said he had been told police had beaten the suspect and "threatened him with electrocution".

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said it is concerned about the reports and expects a fair investigation.

Miss Witheridge's funeral took place on Friday at St Mary The Virgin church in Hemsby, Norfolk.

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UKIP Near-Miss Will Send Biggest Shock Waves

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

As I left the count with UKIP's deputy leader Paul Nuttall after a nail-biting night at Heywood and Middleton, he said to me: "I need a pint of Guinness!"

The Guinness and the foaming pints of bitter favoured by the UKIP leader Nigel Farage will taste especially good today after a storming by-election victory in Clacton, and a photo-finish in the safe Labour seat of Heywood and Middleton.

Douglas Carswell's comfortable victory by 12,404 votes in Clacton was predictable, but is still an ominous warning to David Cameron and the Conservatives of the damage UKIP can potentially inflict on the Tories in next year's General Election.

But Labour's near-defeat in Heywood and Middleton, clinging on by just 617 votes after a recount demanded by UKIP, has already sent shock waves through the Labour high command and will reignite the criticism of Ed Miliband's leadership inside his party.

Bad tactics, bad strategy, bad leadership, his accusers will claim.

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1. Gallery: The UKIP History In Pictures

   1993: UKIP is founded by Alan Sked in response to the Maastricht Treaty, which set out the modern day EU and paved the way for the Euro. He left the party in 1997 saying it had become a "racist party for the far-right". He is now the leader of New Deal, which has been called UKIP of the Left.

2. 1999: The party takes its first three seats in the European Parliament, under the leadership of the millionaire businessman Michael Holmes. Nigel Farage is one of those MEPs.

3. 2000: Michael Holmes resigns and Jeffrey Titford takes over as leader of UKIP. He leads the party to field 420 candidates at the 2001 General Election and secure 1.5% of the vote.

4. 2002: Former Conservative Roger Knapman takes over at the helm.

5. 2004: The party wins 12 seats at the European Elections, among the UKIP MEPs is the chat show host Robert Kilroy Silk.

6. 2005: Growing speculation Robert Kilroy Silk will take on the leadership comes to nothing and he announces he is leaving the party, calling it a "joke", setting up his own party, Veritas.

7. 2006: In a radio interview David Cameron calls UKIP members "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly". It's the same year Nigel Farage is elected leader with 45% of the votes. Mr Farage drives an armoured vehicle to the Conservative Party Conference demanding an apology.

8. 2009: UKIP wins 13 seats at the European Elections but Mr Farage steps down as leader so he can concentrate on preparing for the General Election.

9. 2010: Nigel Farage decides to oppose House of Commons Speaker John Bercow in Buckingham - not the done thing. He fails to win the seat and goes on to reject the party's manifesto as "486 pages of drivel".

10. 2011: Ed Miliband hits the campaign trail at the Barnsley by-election (pictured) but UKIP candidate comes second to Labour, indicating the party presents a challenge to both Left and Right.

11. February 2013: Diane James wins UKIP's highest by-election showing with 27.8% of the vote at Eastleigh. The Liberal Democrats hold the seat.

12. September 2013: MEP Godfrey Bloom quits the party after provoking a row when he called women party activists, who didn't clean behind their fridges, "sluts". It came shortly after he made a reference to "bongo-bongo land".

13. May 2014: UKIP becomes the first party other than Labour or the Conservatives in more than a century to win the majority share of the vote in a UK election at the local and European elections. Mr Farage claims he delivered the "earthquake" he promised.

14. August 2014: Conservative MP Douglas Carswell announces he is defecting to UKIP triggering a by-election in Clacton.

15. September 2014: Conservative MP Mark Reckless follows Mr Carswell and defects to UKIP on the eve of the Tory party conference, triggering a by-election in Rochester and Strood.

16. October 2014: Nigel Farage announces he has parked his tanks on Labour's lawns as he joins the campaign trail in Heywood and Middleton, where a by-election is triggered by the death of the Labour MP Jim Dobbin, on the same day as the Clacton vote.

Until now, Labour has complacently assumed that UKIP could unseat Conservative MPs but merely eat into Labour majorities in its safe seats in the north of England. That assumption has now been shattered by the Heywood and Middleton result.

Make no mistake, Labour got a horrendous fright in this former northern stronghold. At the beginning of the night, senior Labour figures were confident of victory and expected to win with a comfortable majority, with UKIP in second place.

But after it was revealed that the turnout was just 36% and not in the mid-40s, as they expected, I watched as the colour drained from the faces of the Labour campaign team.

They stared at the bundles on the tables in the centre of the room and saw that they were virtually identical in size.

Video: Speech: Douglas Carswell MP

As UKIP successfully called for a recount, Mr Nuttall declared that the margin between the two parties was 620 votes. He turned out to be almost spot on.

Last week, I went to Clacton on the day Prime Minister David Cameron paid a brief visit and inspected the sea defences being built to protect the coastline against storm damage.

But in a seaside constituency with an elderly electorate, the UKIP storm was always going to blow the Tories away.

Interviewed by Anna Botting on Sky News after his victory, Mr Carswell was gracious enough to admit that Heywood and Middleton was the more significant result.

Video: Interview: Labour MP

After Clacton, though, the second UKIP defector, Mark Reckless, looks well placed to hold his Rochester and Strood seat in his by-election.

But Mr Cameron's Tory conference gag: "Go to bed with Nigel Farage and wake up with Ed Miliband", looks mistaken now.

That's because these two by-elections, held on the Prime Minister's birthday, have shown that UKIP is capable of damaging Labour as well as the Conservatives.

The lesson for Labour is that just talking about the NHS, as its Heywood and Middleton candidate Liz McInnes did, isn't enough. Voters want to hear about the economy and immigration too.

Video: Interview: Nigel Farage MEP

The lesson for the Conservatives is that trying to out-UKIP UKIP doesn't do any good. Why vote for a party copying UKIP policies when you can vote for the real thing?

The beer and Guinness enjoyed by Mr Farage and Mr Nuttall will certainly taste better than ever now.

But Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband will need a stiff drink after these two results. And their by-election hangover will last seven months, all the way to the General Election in May 2015.

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'We're After You': UKIP Claims First Elected MP

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has warned David Cameron and Ed Miliband "we're after you" after the party claimed its first elected MP by winning 12,404 votes in the Clacton by-election.

Elsewhere, the party slashed Labour's majority in Heywood and Middleton to just 617 votes, which Mr Farage hailed an "absolutely astonishing" result.

Former Conservative MP Douglas Carswell won a landslide victory in Clacton, Essex, by securing 21,113 of the 35,386 votes cast.

UKIP also forced a recount in Heywood and Middleton, where Labour's Liz McInnes narrowly defeated UKIP's John Bickley.

Mr Farage said the results showed UKIP was now "a truly national party - indeed we are the only party that can challenge in solid Tory and Labour areas".

Video: No Complacency From Labour

He went on: "I've no doubt we'll hear, 'it's just a protest vote'. It's nothing of the kind. People from across the spectrum are saying. 'we've had enough of career politics'. They want to have a proper voice in Westminster.

"From today with Douglas Carswell they have got one, and in a few weeks time I believe they will have another in the shape of Mark Reckless, with another by-election coming up in Rochester and Strood.

"What we saw last night was the biggest and best night in UKIP's history

Video: 'UKIP Vote Risks Labour Government'

"We will now take the people's army of UKIP to the Rochester and Strood, and we will give that absolutely everything we have got."

Mr Farage earlier told Sky's Faisal Islam the strong UKIP result showed the Eurosceptic party was "ripping lumps out of the old Labour vote in the north of England".

Asked if he had a message for both Mr Cameron, who turned 48 yesterday, and Mr Miliband, he replied, "we're after you", adding: "Happy Birthday to David Cameron, and Ed Miliband, you have underestimated us."

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1. Gallery: UKIP Surge In By-Election Results

   UKIP has its first elected MP after Douglas Carswell took almost 60% of the vote in the Clacton by-election.

2. Mr Carswell won the seat with a majority of 12,404 over the Tory candidate Giles Watling.

3. Liz McInnes won the seat for Labour in the Heywood and Middleton contest, but its majority of almost 6,000 in 2010 was slashed to just 617 votes.

4. On a turnout of just 36%, Ms McInnes won with 11,633 votes, defeating UKIP's John Bickley on 11,016.

5. Ed Miliband's party's majority had been almost 6,000 in 2010, but a UKIP surge saw a 17.65% swing to Nigel Farage's party.

6. A triumphant Mr Carswell said "there is nothing that we cannot achieve" after winning Clacton.

7. UKIP's first elected MP to Parliament forced the election after defecting from the Tories.

8. Mr Carswell was the favourite to win, but there were still nerves on the night.

9. Mr Carswell took almost 60% of the vote.

10. Mr Farage said: "Congratulations Douglas Carswell, a brave and honourable man who has a just reward."

11. Ms McInnes won with 11,633 votes in Heywood and Middleton, defeating Mr Bickley on 11,016.

12. Despite UKIP's loss in the Lancashire constituency, Mr Bickley told Sky News "the Labour vote had collapsed".

13. Mr Farage went on to tell Sky News: "We are ripping lumps out of the old Labour vote in the north of England. The truth of what has happened in the North today is that if you are anywhere north of Birmingham, if you vote Conservative you get Labour."

14. He added: "And the reason we haven't won up there, despite a fantastic campaign, is that too many people have stuck with the Conservatives, not recognising that UKIP is now the challenger to Labour in every urban seat in the north of England."

15. Turnout in Clacton was 51.2%, while in Heywood and Middleton it was just 36%.

Mr Cameron said UKIP's success in Clacton and better-than-expected showing in Heywood and Middleton both spoke to a "wider truth" that a vote for UKIP risked a Labour government.

"If you vote UKIP you are in danger of getting a Labour government with Ed Miliband as prime minister, Ed Balls as chancellor, and you'll get no action on immigration, no European referendum, and most importantly you won't get a continuation of the plan that's delivering success for our economy and security for our people," the Prime Minister said.

"That is the wider lesson of last night and we have several months to demonstrate that only a Conservative government can give people the stability and security that we all want to see."

Video: UKIP Finally Makes The Breakthrough

Mr Miliband, who would not be drawn on the nail-biting recount at Heywood and Middleton, said: "There won't be a shred of complacency from us as we reach out to all of those voters who didn't vote Labour and those who didn't vote at all."

He said the 2015 election was a "fight against disillusionment and despair about politics" which he was determined to win.

Mr Carswell, who triggered the Clacton by-election when he defected from the Tories, said UKIP's success revealed a "profound change in British politics".

Video: By-Election Highlights

Ms McInnes, who gained 11,633 votes in Heywood and Middleton where voter turnout fell to just 36%, said the by-election result was a win for the NHS.

Analysts said Labour's vote was damaged by the low turnout. Voter turnout was higher in Clacton, where 51.2% of voters cast their ballot.

Sky's Jon Craig said the dramatic decline of Labour's majority in Heywood would trigger further debate about Ed Miliband's leadership.

Video: Inside The UKIP Party's Party

Concerns over the result have been raised by some Labour MPs, with one branding the vote "awful" and "terrible" and a member of the shadow cabinet describing it as "very worrying".

Sky's Joey Jones said one senior MP had warned Monday's gathering of the Parliamentary Labour Party "could be an absolute bloodbath". 

Voters in Heywood cast their ballot for a new MP following the death of Labour's Jim Dobbin last month, who held the seat from 1997 and was returned in 2010 with a significant majority.

Video: Interview: Labour MP

UKIP's next target is Rochester and Strood, where defector Mr Reckless is hoping to return to Parliament following his defection.

The by-election there is expected to take place early next month.

:: Watch full coverage and reaction throughout the day on Sky News - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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Alice's Body Wrapped In Bag And Weighted Down

The inquest into murdered Alice Gross has heard the teenager's body was wrapped in a bag and weighted down in a river by logs.

Alice's mother Rosalind Hodgkiss attended the formal opening of the inquest, which also heard the 14-year-old was identified by dental records.

The inquiry at the West London Coroner's Court heard the cause of Alice's death remained unknown and further tests were ongoing.

Alice's mum attended the brief hearing

Coroner's officer John Chadwick told the court: "On September 30, as a result of a search of the River Brent, the body of Alice Gross was found by London Fire Brigade divers.

"The deceased was found submerged, wrapped in a bag and had been weighted down. Alice was pronounced life extinct at 22.45pm."

Video: 'You Have To Be Incredibly Careful'

The coroner signed forms to allow Alice's body to be released to her family.

The hearing lasted only a few minutes and was adjourned until 29 January.

Alice went missing from her home in Hanwell, west London, on 28 August.

Video: Alice: Body Found In Suspect Hunt

Just over a month later, her body was found hidden on the bed of the River Brent.

The Metropolitan Police's Deputy Commissioner, Craig Mackey, has defended the amount of time it took to find her body, saying it was a "colossal" investigation.

The body of the prime suspect, Arnis Zalkalns, was found in Boston Manor Park - a mile from where Alice's body was recovered - on October 4.

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1. Gallery: Parents 'Devastated' At Alice Death

   A post-mortem into the death of Alice Gross has proved inconclusive

2. The schoolgirl's body was found in a river in west London on October 1

3. A cordon had been put in place after the discovery of human remains in the River Brent

4. Forensic officers at the scene

5. Alice's father has changed his Facebook profile picture from a campaign poster to a field of wild flowers

6. Alice's family had made a heartfelt plea for the safe return of the missing teenager

7. Scotland Yard released new images of Alice as police staged a reconstruction of her last-known movements

8. The teenager disappeared on 28 August

9. Police received more than 1,000 calls from the public in response to appeals

10. Alice pictured with sister Nina

11. The 14-year-old had been missing for five weeks

12. Police had carried out a fingertip search around Alice's home in Hanwell, west London. This image shows officers searching the area on September 22

13. The hunt for the 14-year-old had been the biggest search operation since the 7/7 bombings in 2005

14. A dinghy was brought in to help in the search

15. Here, on September 18, forensics officers are seen in the garden of builder Arnis Zalkalns

16. Zalkalns, a Latvian national, was named as the main suspect by police after he, too, went missing from his home in Boston Manor Road, which runs between Hanwell and Brentford

17. September 8: a police diver enters the Grand Union Canal to search for the missing schoolgirl

18. September 7: Police search the River Brent, near Hanwell

19. A missing persons flyer is attached to a lamppost in central London

22. Alice was seen on CCTV at Brentford Lock

23. Arnis Zalkalns was seen on CCTV in the same area

The Latvian vanished from his flat in Ealing a week after Alice is thought to have been abducted and murdered while walking home along a canal towpath.

Zalkalns was filmed cycling along the same route behind Alice on the day she went missing.

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Angelina Jolie Receives Damehood From The Queen

The Queen has presented Angelina Jolie with an honorary damehood during a private audience at Buckingham Palace.

The Oscar-winning actress was recognised in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas Birthday 2014 Honours list and received the honorary damehood (DCMG) for services to UK foreign policy and the campaign to end war-zone sexual violence.

After the presentation, her husband Brad Pitt and their six children were presented to the Queen.

The award was first announced in June as Jolie co-chaired the End Sexual Violence in Conflict (ESVC) global summit in London with then foreign secretary William Hague.

At the time she said of the honour: "To receive an honour related to foreign policy means a great deal to me, as it is what I wish to dedicate my working life to.

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1. Gallery: Hollywood's Golden Couple - Pitt And Jolie

   Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt got married at a chateau in the south of France

2. Special UN envoy Jolie and Pitt attend the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London on June 13, 2014

3. Jolie and Pitt attend the Bafta Awards at The Royal Opera House on February 16, 2014

4. The couple, accompanied by their children, arrive at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo in July 2013

5. Jolie poses with Pitt at the world premiere of his film World War Z in London in June 2013

6. Attending the Cinema For Peace Gala ceremony at the Konzerthaus Am Gendarmenmarkt at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012

7. Jolie and Pitt with the actor's parents, Bill and Jane Pitt, at the after party for the premiere of In The Land Of Blood And Honey in December 2011 in New York

8. The look of love - at the world premiere of The Tourist at the Ziegfeld Theatre in December 2010 in New York

9. The couple visit refugees in the village of Medjedja, near the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad, 70km (43 miles) east of Sarajevo in April 2010

10. At a screening of the Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds in May 2009

11. The stars at the Critics' Choice Awards in January 2009

12. Signing autographs at The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button premiere in Berlin in January 2009

13. Jolie and Pitt arrive at the screening of Kung Fu Panda in Cannes in May 2008

14. At the Screen Actors Guild awards in January 2008

15. Attending the premiere of God Grew Tired Of Us in January 2007 in Los Angeles

16. Pitt and Jolie arrive at the Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in January 2007

17. Jolie holds daughter Zahara as Pitt carries son Maddox during a stroll on the seafront promenade at the historic Gateway of India outside their hotel in Mumbai in November 2006

18. The stars ride on a scooter on a busy street in central Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in November 2006

19. Jolie and Pitt leave Hotel Belvedere in Davos in January 2006 while attending the World Economic Forum

"Working on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative and with survivors of rape is an honour in itself."

The Tomb Raider and Maleficent star's work as a committed humanitarian runs parallel to her career as a leading actress who has been a huge box office draw for more than a decade.

US Secretary of State John Kerry praised her humanitarian efforts after news of the award in June, describing her as as a "fierce and fearless advocate'' and he said her dedication to campaigning could overtake her successful film career as her lasting legacy.

Video: June: Jolie Hosts War Rape Summit

Jolie is also special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The leading lady joins the ranks of many acting greats who have received damehoods, including Judi Dench, Julie Andrews, Angela Lansbury, Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith.

The 39-year-old star has previously won an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009, 2011, and 2013.

Video: May 2014: Jolie On World 'Horrors'

The actress will not be able to call herself a Dame as she is an American citizen but can use the initials of the award after her name.

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Nick Clegg's Speech As It Happened

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1. Clegg Admits Lib Dems Tainted By Government
2. Breaking News: Spanish Ebola Nurse Touched Face With Glove
3. Terror Arrests May Have Foiled Major Plot
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5. The Apocalyptic Prophecy Fuelling IS Militants

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Terror Arrests May Have Foiled Major Plot

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences in a series of raids, during which one suspect was Tasered.

The men - all aged 20 or 21 - were detained by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command at addresses across London as part of an investigation into Islamist terror activities.

Officers believe the raids disrupted what could have been a "significant plot", according to a Whitehall source quoted by the Press Association.

The 21-year-old who was Tasered during his arrest did not require medical treatment, Scotland Yard said. 

"SO15 officers were assisted in the execution of warrants at one of the addresses by officers from the Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19). No shots were fired," police said in a statement.

"A number of residential addresses and vehicles are being searched by specialist officers in west and central London as part of the investigation. The searches are ongoing.

"These arrests and searches are part of an ongoing investigation into Islamist-related terrorism."

All four suspects have been taken to police stations in central London and remain in custody.

Sky News correspondent Mark White explained: "The information that we're getting from sources suggests that this was an early disruption of what might have been a significant plot had it been allowed to come to fruition.

"There has been a change in recent months in the way that the authorities will approach these plots... the authorities no longer have the luxury of following a terror group that might be buying the ingredients for an explosive device and conspiring among themselves for many months.

"These plots can spring up so quickly that the police have to intervene at a very early stage and that might mean that, at the end of the day, they don't get enough evidence that they can put before the court.

"But that's the trade off - disrupting plots and safeguarding the public at the expense, perhaps, of a trial further down the line."

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Clegg Admits Lib Dems Tainted By Government

Nick Clegg says his party has been tainted by time in Government and pledged never to make a tuition fees-style "mistake" again.

In his final conference speech before the General Election, the Liberal Democrat leader admitted he was no longer the "untainted ... fresh-faced outsider" who rode into the coalition on the back of "Cleggmania" in 2010.

Mr Clegg accused the Conservatives of lurching right and Labour of lurching left to combat the threat of UKIP, claiming the middle ground for his party ahead of the vote in May. 

Nick Clegg arrives for his speech with his wife, Miriam

He thanked Ed Miliband for forgetting to mention the deficit and he thanked the Chancellor George Osborne for announcing he would take away benefits from working age poor - making the party's job easier.

Mr Clegg said the Liberal Democrats were the only party to stand for "decent British values" and against the politics of "blame and grievance and fear" on offer from the other parties and he would "keep hammering away at the system every single day".

Video: Clegg: Tories Stole Our Tax Policy

And he said he had debated UKIP's Nigel Farage on the European Union because someone had to stand up for "liberal Britain".

The Deputy Prime Minister listed all of the Lib Dems' triumphs while in Government including increasing the personal tax allowance - effectively awarding tax cuts to millions - free childcare, better parental leave, gay marriage, and the pupil premium for disadvantaged children.

And he said he wouldn't stand by and see the Tories claiming the credit for all the Liberal Democrats had done while in Government telling activists: "David Cameron you can copy our ideas but you will never imitate our values."

Mr Clegg vowed to increase the personal tax free allowance to £11,000 by 2016 and £12,500 by 2020.

He accused the Conservatives of plagiarising Liberal Democrat policy with David Cameron's conference pledge increase the amount people can earn without being taxed to £12,500 by 2020, which would mean a tax cut for 30 million people. 

Increasing the personal allowance was part of the Liberal Democrats' manifesto pledge in 2010 but in the televised leaders debates Mr Cameron told Mr Clegg his plans were unaffordable.

Video: Full Interview: Deputy PM's Wife

Mr Clegg disclosed a conversation with Mr Osborne in which the Chancellor told him: "I don't want to deliver a Liberal Democrat budget"

In his speech, Mr Clegg also hit back at Home Secretary Theresa May accusing her of "playing on people's fears simply to try and get your own way".

In her speech to the Tory conference last week, Mrs May accused the Lib Dems of putting children's lives at risk by opposing measures that would allow intelligence agencies access to all phone, internet and email records.

Mr Clegg said: "Your Communications Data Bill was disproportionate, disempowering - we blocked it once and we'd do it again.

"There are times when the state needs to keep its nose out of our lives, to give us the freedom to make the most of our lives. There are times when the state needs to extend a helping hand so that everyone can make the most of their lives. That is a smart, liberal, enabling state."

He also had a rebuke for Mr Cameron over his attitude to environmental policies telling party activists: "It's not green c*** to us" as he made a manifesto pledge to five new green laws.

Video: Sky News By-Election Special

The Prime Minister was reported last year to have said: "We've got to get rid of all this green c***."

Mr Clegg also promised the vow on the devolution of powers to Scotland promised by the three party leaders would not be broken.

And he paid tribute to the two Britons killed by Islamic State terrorists saying their deaths had provided British forces in Iraq with a "clear, single objective".

He also announced there would be national waiting times for mental health patient and, like Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband, he pledged to increase spending on the like DNHS.

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Spanish Ebola Nurse Touched Face With Glove

The Spanish nurse being treated for ebola says she touched her face with a tainted protective glove after helping treat a man dying from the virus.

Theresa Romero, 40, is in quarantine in a Madrid hospital but told doctors she believes she made the mistake after cleaning up after the man.

Heath officials said she had twice entered the room of Spanish missionary Manuel Garcia Viejo - once to change his incontinence pad and then to retrieve items after he had died.

Mrs Romero is the first person to contract the virus outside Africa.

She earlier told El Mundo she had no idea how she was infected and that she had followed all precautions.

Another three people are also quarantined at the Carlos III hospital, including the woman's husband - who has made a video appeal for authorities not to destroy the couple's dog.

Some 50 other people - who either had contact with Mrs Romero or treated one of the two missionaries who died at the hospital - are also being monitored.

Teresa Ramos says she followed all the safety procedures

Spanish leader Mariano Rajoy has called for calm and promised "transparency" over the scare, which has raised questions over whether strict safety rules were properly followed.

As West Africa struggles to cope with a spiralling infection rate, burial teams in Sierra Leone have reportedly gone on strike.

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

The workers, who arguably have one of the world's most dangerous jobs, complain they have not been paid.

The situation is "very embarrassing", said health ministry spokesman Sidie Yahya Tunis.

He promised money was available for the workers.

"We haven't been paid for two weeks, so we need our money right now," said one angry worker.

"We don't even care if dead bodies have been littered all over the city - all we want is our money. We've been stigmatised in our communities, so let the government pay us our money."

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

Sky's Alex Crawford saw first-hand the extreme precautions burial teams in the region have to take as they retrieve corpses.

She said teams in neighbouring Liberia - the worst affected country with more than 2,000 deaths - were overwhelmed, with "not enough hours in the day for them to track down the dead".

Any temporary halt in collection only adds to the risk of further infection because the virus can stay on the bodies, said Sky's Health Correspondent Thomas Moore.

Six hundred people have died from the virus in Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organisation, and more than 3,400 in total.

The virus has swept through Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, with the World Bank saying the financial impact could hit $32.6bn (£20bn) by the end of the year

Video: Online Appeal To Save Ebola Dog

In Britain, David Cameron chaired an emergency meeting as four hospitals stand by to handle any UK cases.

The UN, meanwhile, has said one of its medical officials in Liberia has tested positive for ebola and is receiving treatment.

The unnamed official is the second member of their mission to contract the virus - the other died on 25 September.

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Ebola: Seven Facts About The Deadly Disease

Ebola is a virulent virus that has killed thousands during the latest outbreak and is notorious for its low survival rate among sufferers of the full-blown disease. Here we explain what it is.

What is ebola?

Ebola is a virus that can develop into a full-blown disease known as ebola haemorrhagic fever (ebola HF) or ebola viral disease (EVD), which in some patients leads to massive internal and external bleeding.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not flesh-eating, but destroys living tissue cells, which leads to the haemorrhaging, or bleeding.

Is it always fatal?

Video: Deadly Plague: In Ebola Country

The average fatality rate is 50% but case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% of people who contract the full-blown disease. It is not known why others survive.

Around 70% of those who have contracted ebola during the latest outbreak have died.

How is it transferred?

Ebola is transferred from person to person through contact with the blood or secretions of other bodily fluids of infected people.

It can also be caught from infected animals or during burial ceremonies in which mourners come into contact with dead victims.

Video: Ebola Outbreak: On The Front Line

Sufferers who are recovering after surviving the infection are known to have passed on the virus through sexual intercourse.

What are the symptoms?

Ebola often starts with a rapidly developing fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat.

This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, a rash, kidney and liver problems and bleeding.

In some patients death can be very painful, as the disease destroys connective tissue and also attacks skin and internal organs. The time from infection through to appearance of symptoms is between two and 21 days.

Video: Body Retrieval Worker Mark Korvoyan

How can it be prevented or treated?

There is no vaccine for ebola. Besides intensive supportive care to replace lost fluids (eg oral rehydration solution), the only medicine for the illness is ZMapp.

The experimental drug has been credited with saving lives since it was tested on sufferers for the first time this year.

However, it has not yet been subject to randomised clinical trials to establish its safety and whether it works.

Where does it come from?

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1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.

9. A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

The disease was first identified in Zaire in 1976, in a part of Africa that is now part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is believed that fruit bats may be one of the hosts and is also known to be present in monkeys and apes.

It is thought it may have made the leap from animal to human through the custom of consuming bush meat, which is common in some parts of Africa.

How dangerous is it?

It is classified as a level 4 biohazard, regarded as the most dangerous and requiring decontamination for those who work with it.

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Ebola Outbreak: 56 Being Monitored In Spain

A Madrid nurse who became the first person to contract ebola outside of Africa is being treated with antibodies from survivors of the illness, hospital officials have revealed.

Four people, also including her husband, have been placed in quarantine at the hospital over fears they may also have the deadly virus.

The nurse was part of a medical team at the city's La Paz-Carlos III hospital that treated two Spanish missionaries who died shortly after returning from Africa with the disease.

A second nurse who also helped treat an infected priest is among the four being monitored by health workers, as is a man who arrived on a flight from Nigeria displaying symptoms.

Spain's health authorities said they had been in touch with a total of 22 people who are thought to have been in contact with the 40-year-old nurse, whose name has not been released.

Video: Spanish Nurse Contracts Ebola

They are also monitoring around 30 other members of the health care team that treated one of the missionaries.

Officials added that although the nurse began a holiday after one of the missionaries she had been caring for died on 25 September, she did not leave Madrid during this time.

She began feeling ill on 30 September and was diagnosed with ebola on Monday, but is in a stable condition.

EU countries have demanded an explanation from Spain's health minister as to how the nurse caught the disease, despite all the precautions taken

Video: Body Retrieval Worker Mark Korvoyan

A spokesman said a letter sent to the health minister sought "to obtain some clarification" from Spanish authorities, adding: "The priority remains to find out what actually happened."

Spain's health minister, Ana Mato, said an emergency protocol is in place and that authorities are working to establish the source of the contagion at the Madrid hospital.

"We are working to guarantee the safety of all citizens," she said.

In the US, President Barack Obama says airport screening measures are being stepped up in the country to help identify people who might have the deadly virus.

Video: Spanish Nurse Contracts Ebola Virus

More than 3,400 people have died in the latest ebola outbreak, which has swept through West African countries Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the British Army said more than 100 British Army medics were being sent to Sierra Leone to help tackle the ebola crisis within the next few weeks.

Personnel from the 22 Field Hospital have been undergoing an extensive training exercise in full protective suits, with simulated casualties in make-up.

They will staff a field hospital set up specifically to treat medics who have caught the disease, not members of the general public.

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1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.

9. A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

An Army spokeswoman said: "They are going through all their procedures and getting atuned to wearing their personal protective equipment, working in quite hot temperatures."

Experts say quarantine systems in developed countries including the UK, US and Spain mean the disease is very unlikely to spread to the same extent seen in poor African countries.

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Kobani 'About To Fall' To Islamic State

Turkish President Recep Erdogan says Syrian border town Kobani is "about to fall" to Islamic State militants and that a ground operation is needed to defeat the group.

It comes as fresh airstrikes targeted fighters who have been bombarding the town with machine-gun fire and shells.

Plumes of smoke billowed into the air over Kobani after jets launched the attack, believed to have been part of the US-led mission.

IS fighters raised their black flag over two buildings in the key border town after a day of heavy fighting on Monday.

Kobani is just over a mile from Turkey

The militants were reported to have moved into the southwest of Kobani overnight, taking several buildings to gain attacking positions on two sides of the town.

Fierce fighting raged in the area over the weekend as local Kurdish fighters struggled to hold out against rocket and mortar attacks - despite support from another three US strikes.

Video: New Strikes Target IS At Border

But Jenan Moussa, a reporter just 500m over the border in Turkey, told Sky News that the fighting was much quieter compared with Monday when bullets were "flying over our heads".

"I can still hear shooting and shelling but nothing compared to yesterday," she said.

"I heard and I saw three airstrikes. One on the western side and two on the eastern."

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1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

Turkey has put a line of tanks close to the border in a show of force should IS cross the line into its territory.

At least 400 people - fighters from both sides, and civilians - have been killed during three weeks of fighting around the town, according to British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said it had documented the deaths from sources on the ground but added the real figure could be double.

Video: Firework Attacks In Istanbul Unrest

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the Kurds were angry that they had not been getting enough air support.

"If (Kobani) falls then symbolically and strategically it will send a message to the Kurds that the coalition is not going to come to their aid."

IS began its advance on Kobani on 16 September, prompting weeks of street battles and forcing around 160,000 people to flee into Turkey.

Video: Turkey Turns Water Cannon On Kurds

The group - who last week murdered British hostage Alan Henning - controls large areas of Syria and Iraq and wants more territory for its 'caliphate'.

Violent clashes were reported overnight in Istanbul and other Turkish cities as hundreds of demonstrators angered at the IS advance clashed with police.

Protesters set up barricades, threw stones, fireworks and petrol bombs at police in some Istanbul neighbourhoods, said the country's Dogan news agency.

Video: Desperate Help Needed In Kobani

Police also reportedly used tear gas and water cannon on protesters in the Kurdish-dominated cities of Diyarbakir, Batman, Van, Sirnak, Sanliurfa and Hakkari.

Tensions in Turkey - a member of the NATO alliance - are rising after its parliament last week authorised military action if necessary.

The order allows incursions into Syria and Iraq to counter the threat "from all terrorist groups" and also means NATO powers could use the country as a base for airstrikes.

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DJ Accused Of Raping Girl With Jimmy Savile

By Frazer Maude, Sky Reporter, Manchester Crown Court

A former DJ brought a young girl to Jimmy Savile to be raped - then raped her himself straight afterwards, a court has been told.

Ray Teret is accused of over 30 historical sexual offences against victims as young as 12, dating from 1962 to 1996.

As his trial got under way, jurors were told that Savile's name will crop up and that one of the charges involves the late broadcaster.

Tim Evans, prosecuting, told Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court that Teret - who worked at pirate station Radio Caroline and Piccadilly Radio - had a "deal of celebrity" in the 1960s and '70s, especially in the Manchester area.

Teret is on trial along with two other men - William Harper and Alan Ledger.

Mr Evans said: "The Crown's case in a nutshell is that he used the celebrity that he had to abuse young girls in various ways and that the other two defendants - Mr Ledger and Mr Harper - friends and associates of Teret - also became involved on occasions."

He said Teret's victims were abused after having "the spotlight of fame" shone upon them.

The 72-year-old from Altrincham knew Savile from when the pair were working together in Manchester.

One of Teret's alleged victims told police she was 15 when he took her to a flat in the city in the early 1960s.

William Harper is also on trial over the attempted rape of a girl

She told officers she "couldn't believe it" when she saw Jimmy Savile there and "couldn't wait to tell her friends she had met him."

The court heard that she was given a glass of Lucozade and sat next to Savile, but that seconds later he was raping her.

When Savile finished, she claims Teret pushed her back down on the bed and raped her himself.

Jurors heard that Teret told the girl she should "thank us" for what they had done, before giving her some money to catch a bus home.

The alleged victim told police she threw the money away when she left the flat, vomited and went home.

"All the way home I felt it was my fault," she said in her statement.

"I've kept it in for 51 years and always felt it was my fault."

Urging jurors not to allow the involvement of Savile to influence them, Mr Evans told them: "Nobody can have failed to come across all the publicity about Savile's conduct, whether at the BBC, prisons, hospitals or elsewhere with young girls and boys and other vulnerable victims. "

"This is the trial of these three men. In no sense are these men to be treated as guilty or contaminated because of the spectre of Savile."

Alan Ledger, 62, faces charges of indecent assault, indecency with a child and serious sexual assault. William Harper, 65 and himself a former DJ, is charged with the attempted rape of a girl under the age of 16.

The three men deny all the charges against them. The trial is due to last eight weeks.

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Shrien Dewani Tells Court He Is Bisexual

A British millionaire accused of murdering his wife on their honeymoon in South Africa has told a judge he is bisexual.

Shrien Dewani, 34, denies orchestrating his wife's death by hiring three men to kill the 28-year-old as they drove through Cape Town's Gugulethu Township on 13 November, 2010.

Appearing at Western Cape High Court in Cape Town, the care home owner denied charges of murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.

He told judge Jeanette Traverso: "I plead not guilty to all five counts, my lady."

Through a witness statement read to the court by his solicitor Francois van Zyl, he also told the court he was bisexual.

Video: Anni Dewani's Family Want Justice

In it, he said: "My sexual interactions with males were mostly physical experiences or email chats with people I met online or in clubs, including prostitutes."

Footage of the crime scene, including Anni's body inside the taxi, were also shown to the court.

The court heard Dewani had abnormally low levels of hormones and that he and his wife were unlikely to have children. He said he had discussed this with Anni, whom he began dating in summer 2009.

Their relationship broke down, but they got back together in March 2010 and married later that year in Mumbai.

Dewani said the carjacking in Cape Town was a "traumatic experience which resulted in the loss of my wife".

He added he has suffered "flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety attacks" since, which has affected his ability to remember clearly.

Mr van Zyl said his client remembered banging noises coming from the front of the car during the carjacking.

Dewani added: "The next thing I recall is somebody next to me, who told me to lie down. The person had a gun in his hand. He was waving the gun in the air."

Anni Dewani's family, including her father Vinod Hindocha and mother Nilam, were among those in a packed courtroom on Monday.

Prosecutors claim Dewani conspired with Zola Tongo, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni to kill his wife. All three are already serving jail terms in connection with Anni's murder.

He claims he and his wife were kidnapped at gunpoint as they drove through the township.

The court heard Anni Dewani was screaming inside the taxi and he was ordered to keep her quiet as they were driven by another driver. Dewani said he was ordered to get out of the car with a gun to his head and he had to climb out of a window because the door would not open.

He added: "The last thing I had said to Anni was to be quiet and not to say anything."

Dewani was released unharmed, but his wife's body was found in the abandoned taxi the following day with gunshot wounds to the hand and neck.

Before the trial, he was detained in a hospital in Britain with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and has spent the last three years fighting extradition to South Africa.

It is unclear if Dewani will give evidence in his defence. The case is due to run until December.

The trial continues.

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IS Raises Flag In Town Near Turkey Border

Islamic State militants have apparently captured part of a town close to the Syrian border with Turkey after days of fierce fighting.

The extremist group raised its black flag on a building on the eastern side of Kobani, where Kurdish fighters have been involved in clashes after a nearly three-week siege of the town, according to Reuters.

Idris Nahsen, a Kobani official, had said the militants were less than a mile from the town, which was hit by rockets and mortars during fighting over the weekend.

The US also carried out three airstrikes targeting IS positions near the town in Syria on Sunday.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed at least 33 IS militants and 23 Kurdish defenders were killed during the fighting.

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1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

12. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

13. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

14. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

One shell was fired from inside Syria and hit a house in the Turkish village of Buyuk Kendirci, injuring four people.

IS began its advance on Kobani on 16 September, forcing around 186,000 people to flee across the border into Turkey.

It has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq after declaring an Islamic caliphate in June, including a long stretch of the Syria-Turkey border.

The Turkish parliament authorised involvement in the campaign against IS last week, but no military operations have been announced.

It comes after a masked IS militant was filmed murdering British aid worker Alan Henning and threatening US hostage Peter Kassig in a video released on Friday.

Video: Militants Besiege Border Town

The 47-year-old former taxi driver, from Eccles in Greater Manchester, was captured as he drove an ambulance full of aid supplies into Syria on 27 December last year.

The Ministry of Defence said two Tornado fighters had dropped Paveway bombs on IS targets near Ramadi, in Iraq, on Sunday night.

The RAF jets, based in Akrotiri, Cyprus, attacked IS forces who were shooting at Iraqi troops from a building near the city.

A leader from the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a Taliban ally that has been based in Pakistan's tribal belt since 2001, has declared its support for IS.

The group was set up in the 1990s and is listed as a terrorist group by the US.

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Australian Chef Kills And Cooks Girlfriend

An Australian chef has killed his girlfriend, dismembered her and boiled parts of her body before taking his own life, police say.

Marcus Volke, 28, was fleeing officers who had come to his Brisbane apartment after reports of a foul smell when he slashed his own throat in a bin.

Officers discovered body parts of Volke's girlfriend in a pot on the stove, while other parts of the Indonesian woman's mutilated body were found in garbage bins outside the apartment, according to local media.

The woman has been named locally as Mayang Prasetyo.

The couple had moved into the recently opened apartment complex in the wealthy riverside suburb Teneriffe just weeks ago, according to reports.

Mayang Prasetyo was Indonesian. Pic: Facebook

Volke had met his girlfriend while they were both working on international cruise ships. He had recently returned to Australia, his mother said.

"He was happy and he was coming home for Christmas, everything was normal," Dorothy Volke told the Courier-Mail from her home in Victoria.

Police said they were trying to establish the exact time of death.

They arrived at the apartment on Saturday night when other residents in the complex said a "rotting meat" smell had pervaded the area.

Volke then fled through a glass door and leapt over a balcony and hid in an alleyway where he killed himself.

Resident Courtney Reichart told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that she first noticed the smell on Wednesday and it got worse each day.

Police were called to the area after reports of foul odour. Pic: ABC News

"On Saturday when I came out for a walk, it made your eyes water, it made you want to be sick," she said.

"The smell it was like as if somebody had put out some dog food or red meat and left it out for a few days.

"It makes you feel sick that that poor girl sat there for however many days and we've been walking past, living our lives and thinking 'hmmm what's that smell', but you don't put two and two together.

"You don't think that a bad smell equals a murder."

Ms Reichart had met the couple a number of times, telling the ABC that they were a "normal couple" and the girlfriend was "gorgeous".

Volke was originally from the Victorian city of Ballarat, where his funeral will be held.

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Briton Jailed In Morocco For 'Homosexual Acts'

The family of a British tourist jailed in Morocco for being gay are campaigning for his release.

Ray Cole, a retired magazine publisher from Deal in Kent, was arrested last Thursday and given a four-month sentence for "homosexual acts".

His son Adrian Cole told Sky News that his father had been in Morocco for about four weeks when he "suddenly vanished, the Facebook updates stopped, we couldn't reach him on his phone".

While his family looked for him with Interpol and the Foreign Office, Mr Cole managed to use the phone of a fellow inmate to communicate that he was in prison.

Adrian Cole said his father and a friend were waiting at a bus stop when they were approached by police and asked why they were together.

Adrian Cole said his father is "very discreet"

"They accessed my father's phone, and inside one of the folders they found a photograph that they said was compromising," he said.

"Based on that, they were charged with homosexuality."

He said his father, who came out as gay a few years ago, was respectful of Morocco's laws and that he is a "very discreet" person.

Adrian Cole said his father has been sleeping on the floor in a crowded jail, and that the conditions are starting to take a toll on the 70-year-old.

The family plan on launching an appeal.

"Our hope is that they (Moroccan authorities) would see fit to simply remove him from the country," he said.

They have also launched an internet campaign, with a Facebook page calling for his release and a #freeraycole hashtag set up on Twitter.

Former deputy speaker of the House of Commons Nigel Evans said he would talk to the Moroccan ambassador and ask her "to convey to His Majesty a plea from the gay community in the UK to release this man in order that he can return to the UK as soon as possible".

"I deplore the fact that Mr Cole is spending any time in a jail there," Mr Evans, a gay MP, told Pink news.

"I call upon MPs from Morocco to look again at the way they are treating gay people.

"Do they really want their country associated with such archaic laws, and do they really think it is wise to lock someone up for four months for something that is legal in so many countries around the world?"

A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed the detention of a British citizen in Morocco and said they are providing consular assistance.

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Alice Murder Hunt: Body Removed From Park

A body believed to be that of the man wanted for the murder of 14-year-old Alice Gross has been removed from a park in west London.

It is understood that Arnis Zalkalns was found hanged in woods at Boston Manor Park - a mile from where the schoolgirl's body was hidden.

The badly-decomposed body was taken by private ambulance to a mortuary in west London, and a post-mortem examination will be held later.

The convicted killer vanished from his flat in Ealing on September 4 - a week after Alice is thought to have been abducted and murdered while walking home along a canal towpath in Hanwell.

Alice was found dead in the River Brent on Tuesday after a five-week search.

Some people living near the park have voiced their alarm at the discovery.

Video: Alice's Movements Reconstructed

A 57-year-old called Zahra said: "I used to like this park, but now I feel it's not a safe place. I have been very upset about Alice Gross, I couldn't sleep when the body was found."

Zalkalns was filmed cycling along the same route behind Alice on the day she vanished on 28 August.

He reportedly sent his family a goodbye text the next day, saying: "I love you all."

His mother-in-law Gunta Mecize, 60 - whose daughter Liga Rubezniece, 34, married Zalkans after he was freed from jail for killing his first wife - does not believe he killed Alice or would take his own life.

"He is a good man. A very good man," she told the Sun On Sunday newspaper.

The Latvian labourer worked at a building site in Isleworth, west London, and is thought to have come to the UK in 2007.

Video: CCTV Footage Shows Alice Suspect

Authorities are facing criticism for apparently holding no record of his conviction for bludgeoning and stabbing his wife Rudite to death in Latvia.

It also emerged Zalkalns was arrested in London on suspicion of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2009, but was never charged.

A post-mortem examination on Alice was inconclusive and further tests are to be carried out to find out how she died.

Police said "significant efforts" were taken to conceal her body in the water.

Zalkalns had not accessed his bank account or used his mobile phone since September 3, nor had he returned home to his partner and young child in Ealing. He also left behind his passport.

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British Teacher Held Hostage In Libya Freed

A British teacher who was being held hostage by militants in Libya has been released and reunited with his family.

David Bolam, who worked at the International School in Benghazi, was abducted earlier this year.

His kidnapping had not been reported at the request of his family and the Foreign Office.

Although it has not been officially confirmed who his captors were, a group calling itself the Army of Islam, a faction in Libya, released an online video of Mr Bolam dated 28 August pleading for his release.

The 53-second video showed him sitting in a room wearing a white T-shirt.

In it, he said: "My name is David Richard Bolam. I am a British citizen. I am a teacher.

"My health is good at the moment. I have been here a very long time."

He went on to plead for Britain to arrange a prisoner exchange or other diplomatic initiative to secure his release.

The Foreign Office said: "We are glad that David Bolam is safe and well after his ordeal, and that he has been reunited with his family.

"We have been supporting his family since he was taken.

"We do not comment on the detail of hostage cases. The family have asked for privacy."

There are unconfirmed reports a ransom was paid through "unofficial channels" in exchange for Mr Bolam's release.

The Foreign Office confirmed the Government had paid no money, saying: "HMG never pays ransoms. It is illegal to pay ransoms to a terrorist group."

While several Western governments have paid money to secure the release of hostages held by militants, the UK and US governments have a policy of refusing demands for ransoms.

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Queen Will Pay Mansion Tax, Says Ed Balls

The Queen and Prince William would have to pay mansion tax under a Labour government, the shadow chancellor has said.

Ed Balls suggested the Queen would need to pay tax on her properties at Sandringham and Balmoral, although Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle would be exempt under special rules.

He told Sky's Murnaghan Programme: "There aren't different rules for anybody."

Under proposals announced by Mr Balls at the Labour conference, homes valued at more than £2m would be subject to an increased tax.

He suggested the rules would include the Queen and Prince William, who is due to move into a large home on the Sandringham estate, but added there would be exemptions for those living in homes open to the public, such as National Trust properties.

He said: "There has always been a cross-party consensus that we have fair and tough rules for the financing of the Royal Household but members of the Royal Household pay taxes just like everybody else and rightly so.

"There aren't different rules for anybody. That's the nature of our society."

The idea of a mansion tax was first proposed by the Liberal Democrats, who are currently holding their party conference in Glasgow.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told the Murnaghan Programme: "Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

Mr Balls admitted Ed Miliband had missed out his passage on the deficit during his speech to the Labour Party conference but still gave it "ten out of ten".

He said he had seen the speech two weeks ahead of the conference and it had a "strong passage about the deficit" in it but Mr Miliband had left it out in what Mr Balls said the Labour leader had described as a "mistake".

Mr Balls also hit back at Lord Prescott's criticism of the party's conference, saying it had been flat and uninspiring but admitted the party should learn from the party's 1997 election campaign.

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F1 Driver Suffers Severe Head Injury In GP Crash

Formula One driver Jules Bianchi is undergoing surgery after suffering a severe head injury in a crash at a wet Japanese Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old sportsman will be moved to intensive care where he will be monitored following the surgery, said world motor sport's governing body.

Bianchi lost control of his Marussia, travelled across the run-off area and hit the back of a tractor that was removing Adrian Sutil's stricken Sauber, the FIA added.

Jules Bianchi was unconscious as he was taken to hospital

Sutil's car had "aquaplaned" off the wet track, coming off at the same turn a lap earlier and skidding into a wall.

Frenchman Bianchi was unconscious as he was transferred to hospital by road in an ambulance because the medical helicopter could not fly because of heavy rain from Typhoon Phanfone.

Video: F1's Sutil: Rain Got More And More

The driver is in a critical condition, his father reportedly said.

Typhoon rains had been forecast for the race which began behind the Safety Car - and the drivers were called back to the pits minutes later.

Following Sutil's crash, yellow flags were waved before the corner to warn drivers of the incident, according to the FIA.

The Safety Car was sent out after Bianchi's crash on lap 44 and the race was suspended two laps later with the rain getting heavier and the light rapidly deteriorating at Suzuka.

Sutil, who was not hurt in his accident, told Sky Sports F1: "The yellow flags were out after I aquaplaned at the corner as the rain got more and more.

"And one lap later with waved yellow flags Jules came around and had the same spin there.

"It was more or less the same crash, but just the outcome was a bit different."

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1. Gallery: Profile Of Racer Jules Bianchi

   Frenchman Jules Bianchi is the grandson of three-time GT World Champion Mauro Bianchi

2. The 25-year-old graduated from karting in 2007 and performed in senior Formula Three races

3. He drove in the GP2 Series for ART, taking two pole positions

4. In 2010 he suffered a back injury after spinning off the track and being struck head-on by another car

5. He began his F1 career as a test and reserve driver at Ferrari in 2011

6. Bianchi's Marussia debut was in 2013 when he finished 15th in the opening race in Australia

7. His best result in the 2013 season was 13th at the Malaysian GP, beating teammate Max Chilton

8. In 2014 he overcame the odds to score both his, and his team's first points in F1, in Monaco

9. In Japan, Bianchi's car collided with a crane which was removing Adrian Sutil's car

Sutil said he felt the Safety Car should have been deployed after he crashed due to the risk of another driver going off at the corner.

"With respect to this corner I think everyone knows this is one of the most tricky corners and when it is getting late and the rain increases.

"Let's say when you have an accident there you should probably think about a Safety Car."

Williams driver Felipe Massa said "there was too much water on the track" and it was "dangerous".

He said: "In my opinion they started the race too early because it was not driveable at the beginning and they finished the race too late.

"I was screaming on the radio five laps before the safety car that there was too much water on the track. But then they just took a bit too long and it was dangerous."

FIA head of communications Matteo Bonciani told reporters: "The driver (Bianchi) is not conscious and has been sent to the hospital by the ambulance because the helicopter cannot fly in these conditions."

Video: Felipe Massa: Track Was Dangerous

The grand prix was won by Britain's Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes with German team-mate Nico Rosberg second.

Hamilton said: "Our first thoughts go to Jules - it overshadows everything else when one of our colleagues is injured and we are praying for him. Next to this, the race result doesn't seem significant at all."

After the prizes were presented, no champagne was sprayed on the podium and there were no celebrations.

Bianchi, a graduate of Ferrari's young driver academy, is seen as an up-and-coming talent in F1 after scoring Marussia's first ever points when he finished ninth at this year's Monaco Grand Prix.

Marussia is an Anglo-Russian team based in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

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