Survivor Found Two Days After Kenya Massacre

Six Questions About Nicola Sturgeon Memo

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 April 2015 | 20.49

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has denied telling a French diplomat she would rather see David Cameron as Prime Minister than Ed Miliband.

:: For full coverage of General Election 2015 click here

The claims come from a leaked memo, published in the Daily Telegraph, of Ms Sturgeon's meeting with the French Ambassador in February.

The memo was written by a British civil servant after a conversation with France's consul general in Edinburgh, Pierre-Alain Coffinier, who was present.

But speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Mr Coffinier said no preference for PM was discussed at the meeting.

So what do we know about this supposed memo - and who will the story damage most?

:: What does the supposed memo say?

"The Ambassador … had a truncated meeting with the FM [Nicola Sturgeon] (FM running late after a busy Thursday …)

"Discussion appears to have focused mainly on the political situation, with the FM stating that she wouldn't want a formal coalition with Labour; that the SNP would almost certainly have a large number of seats … that she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM (and didn't see Ed Miliband as PM material)".

:: How did it come to light?

The Daily Telegraph claims the allegations are contained in a leaked UK government memorandum.

It was drafted by a Whitehall official after speaking to France's consul general in Edinburgh, Pierre-Alain Coffinier.

He called the Foreign Office, following protocol, to pass on a confidential account of several of the ambassador's meetings in Edinburgh.

Those meetings also included talks with the Scottish Secretary, Alistair Carmichael. The letter appears to have been leaked to the newspaper.

:: What has the reaction been?

Ms Sturgeon was quick to react, angrily denying the claims by tweeting the Daily Telegraph's Scottish Political Editor: "Your story is categorically, 100% untrue … which I'd have told you if you'd asked me at any point today."

Labour Leader Ed Miliband said: "I think these are damning revelations ... in public the SNP are saying they don't want to see a Conservative government, in private they are actually saying they do want a Conservative government.

"It shows at this General Election that if you want the Conservatives out is to vote Labour for a Labour government."

Mr Coffinier has also denied the story, telling Sky News: "It is normal to talk about the political situation in broad terms, but I do not know where this comes from, because it is certainly not in my report that anyone gave any preference."

:: Who do these allegations affect most?

For Mr Miliband it is not great, that one of your potential political partners would view you as "not PM material".

But ultimately it is Ms Sturgeon who could be most damaged. Critics have long believed that the SNP's long-term aim of an independent Scotland is best served by stoking anti-Conservative rhetoric.

With the Tories pledging greater spending cuts and offering what could be a toxic EU referendum - those unpopular measures north of the border, administered by Westminster, could strengthen Scottish nationalism.

But if the strategy was exposed it could turn voters off.

:: Could Labour gain?

If Labour can convince former Scottish Labour voters that by voting for the SNP, Mr Cameron is more likely to be Prime Minister, that could boost Jim Murphy's beleaguered party.

And inversely, increased support in Scotland for Labour, would increase the chance of Mr Miliband walking into Number 10.

:: And who do we believe?

The denials from both Mr Sturgeon and Mr Coffinier are strong. That begs the question of why a civil servant based in Whitehall would record something that wasn't true.

SNP supporters may well believe Ms Sturgeon, while her opponents might seize on it. But the only people who know for certain exactly what was said were the ones present in February's meeting.

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Sturgeon Calls For Inquiry Into Govt Memo Leak

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon wants an inquiry into how a controversial memo about a meeting with the French ambassador was leaked.

A Daily Telegraph report claims a leaked UK government memorandum - likely from the Foreign Office - sets out an account of a meeting between Ms Sturgeon and the French ambassador to the UK Sylvie Bermann.

It claims she told the ambassador she would rather see David Cameron than Ed Miliband as PM after the election, a claim she strongly denies.

She has now asked for Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood to investigate how the memo was released.

She said: "The bigger question and one I am raising with the head of the civil service is who wrote this memo since the Foreign Office seem to be denying all knowledge of it.

:: For full coverage of General Election 2015 click here

"How did it come to contain such an inaccuracy and how did it get into the hands of the Tory-supporting Daily Telegraph?"

The memo was written by a British civil servant after a conversation with France's consul general in Edinburgh, Pierre-Alain Coffinier, who was present.

But speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Mr Coffinier said that no preference for Prime Minister was discussed at the meeting in February.

:: Six Questions About The Nicola Sturgeon Memo

"At no stage did anyone comment on their preference regarding the elections."

The memo reportedly said: "Discussion appears to have focused mainly on the political situation, with the (First Minister) stating that she wouldn't want a formal coalition with Labour; that the SNP would almost certainly have a large number of seats ... that she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM."

It added that Ms Sturgeon said the Labour leader was not "prime minister material".

The final line of the memo, however, read: "I have to admit that I'm not sure that the FM's tongue would be quite so loose on that kind of thing in a meeting like that, so it might well be a case of something being lost in translation."

Mr Miliband said: "I think these are damning revelations.

"What it shows is that while in public the SNP are saying they don't want to see a Conservative government in private they're actually saying they do want a Conservative government.

"It shows that the answer at this General Election is that if you want the Conservatives out the only answer is to vote Labour for a Labour government."

Sky's political correspondent Anushka Asthana said: "The fact that Nicola Sturgeon has 'categorically' denied that she expressed a prime ministerial preference during a private conversation with the French ambassador will do little to stem the political fallout from this story.

"After all, the very suggestion of a conversation could be political gold-dust for Labour, whose national electoral hopes hinge on how well the SNP perform in Scotland."

Meanwhile, campaigning continues into Easter with Labour unveiling a plan to build 125,000 homes by creating a £5bn housebuilding fund.

The Tories, meanwhile, are unveiling a pledge to force pornography websites to use effective age-verification tools to keep out under-18s.

Ms Sturgeon is due to join the annual Scrap Trident group march in Glasgow, only a short distance from the Faslane home of nuclear-armed submarines.

The latest Survation/Mirror poll puts Mr Miliband ahead of Mr Cameron, with 33% and 31% of the vote respectively.

UKIP polled at 18%, the Liberal Democrats 9%, the SNP 5% and Greens 3%.

These results are markedly different from a YouGov/The Sun poll which was published on Thursday night.

It suggested that the Conservative Party had hit a three-year high - with 37% of those questioned stating they would vote Tory if the General Election was tomorrow.

Labour was on 35%, the Lib Dems on 7%, UKIP on 12% and the Greens on 5%.

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Proton Beam Therapy Centres To Open In UK

The UK will get its first three proton beam therapy centres from next year in what experts say is a significant breakthrough for cancer treatment.

The first centre will be opened in Cardiff by local company Proton Partners International Ltd, with two others to follow in London and Northumberland by 2017.

The centres will be available for NHS patients from England, Scotland and Wales, as well as self-paying patients and those with private medical insurance.

Currently patients must head overseas for this type of treatment.

Life sciences entrepreneur Professor Sir Chris Evans says there are more than 150,000 people treated for cancer each year and that demand for treatment is growing.

Health insurer Bupa has estimated that by 2021 the UK's ageing population is likely to see a 20% rise in the number of new cancers and a 62% rise in the cost of treatment - to £15.3bn.

Proton beam therapy is a targeted type of radiotherapy that can treat hard-to-reach cancers, such as spinal tumours, with a lower risk of damaging the surrounding tissue or causing side effects.

The announcement comes just weeks after the parents of brain cancer survivor Ashya King told how the five-year-old made a "miracle" recovery after receiving proton beam therapy in Prague in the Czech Republic.

The treatment was not available for him on the NHS, although the health service later agreed to fund it.

Professor Gordon McVie, senior consultant at the European Institute of Oncology, who has been appointed chairman of Proton Partners International, says the development is "exciting and important".

He added: "As things stand, patients who can benefit from this treatment have to go abroad for treatment, often at great expense to the NHS.

"The creation of these centres will go a long way to ensuring the very best of treatment is available in the UK."

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Survivor Found Two Days After Kenya Massacre

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A survivor of the Kenya university massacre which saw 148 people killed has been found two days after the attack.

Kenyan medical staff are reported to have found Cynthia Cheroitich during the grim task of dealing with the bodies of those killed by members of Somalia-based terror group al Shabaab.

The 19-year-old said from her hospital bed that she hid in a large cupboard, covering herself with clothes, refusing to emerge when some of her classmates came out of hiding at the demands of the gunmen.

She said she drank lotion to stave off thirst and hunger.

She said she did not believe that rescuers urging her to come out of her hiding place were there to help, suspecting at first that they were militants.

It was only when Kenyan security forces had one of her teachers appeal to her that she did she come out, she said.

Ms Cheroitich, a Christian, said: "I was just praying to my God."

Fellow student Cheruiot Tiebafy told how he used the blood of his colleagues to survive the massacre.

He said: "Actually I am the only man who survived from all the boys who were held hostage.

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Gallery: Graphic Images From Kenya Massacre

This man was captured at the scene by Kenyan authorities

Mohamed Mohamud has been named as the mastermind behind the attack

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"I just smeared the blood of my colleagues, I ate the blood to be my lunch and I go to sleep there for around 13 good hours when we got to be hostage and I pretended to be dead.

"They turned me around, they kicked me but I'm alive."

Meanwhile, more details have emerged of those arrested or sought over the attack.

Police named militant Islamist Mohamed Mohamud, a quietly-spoken former teacher, as the alleged mastermind of the massacre in Garissa.

The alleged al Shabaab member, a Kenyan of Somali origin, is also wanted in connection with a string of recent cross-border killings and massacres in Kenya's northeastern border region.

While Mohamud, thought to be in his late 50s, did not take part physically in the Garissa attack, survivors described the attackers as men like him: speaking Kenya's Swahili language well, with some suggesting they may have been Kenyan too.

Kenyan police have arrested five men in connection with the university massacre and four gunmen were killed on Thursday at the end of the day-long siege.

The name of the three suspected organisers were not given, but the two arrested on campus included university security guard Osman Ali Dagane and Tanzanian Rashid Charles Mberesero found hiding in the university's ceiling with hand grenades.

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Gallery: A Look At The History Of Somali Terrorist Group Al Shabaab

Al Shabaab ("the Youth") emerged from a group called the Union of Islamic Courts which controlled Mogadishu before being forced out by Ethiopian troops in 2006

The group has been banned by both the US and UK but has 7000-9000 fighters, many of them foreign, and it is thought to have close ties with al Qaeda

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The attack at the university, which is near the border with Somalia, left 148 dead, including 142 students, three police officers and three soldiers, and was Kenya's deadliest attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi.

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Written By Unknown on Jumat, 03 April 2015 | 20.49

Nicola Sturgeon denied handing the keys to 10 Downing Street to David Cameron with her commanding performance during last night's leaders' debate.

The Scottish First Minister said that if the election delivered a landslide for the SNP and Labour made a deal with the nationalists then together they actually lock the Tories out of number 10.

Ms Sturgeon is widely considered the winner of the high-stakes, seven-way showdown, although snap polls gave no clear victor, particularly in Scotland where she is being praised for delivering a "Sturgeon surge".

Among her champions this morning was Tory Chief Whip Michael Gove who said she had given an "impressive" performance.

:: For full coverage of General Election 2015 click here.

:: For the General Election live blog click here.

Labour accused the Conservatives of "bigging up" Ms Sturgeon in an attempt to return Mr Cameron to power.

The SNP is forecast to deliver a significant blow to Labour in Scotland, all but wiping out the number of the party's MPs.

This could be crucial at a time when neither Labour nor the Conservatives are expected to win a majority on 7 May.

However, Ms Sturgeon said the SNP was not planning on delivering a victory to Mr Cameron and added: "If Labour and the SNP combined to have more seats than the Tories we can lock the Tories out of government.

"But crucially if SNP is a big force in Westminster we can make sure a Labour government does not sell out on its values like the last Labour government did."

Speaking in Manchester, where he was meeting people who had benefited from the Government's Help To Buy scheme, Mr Cameron issued a warning about a coalition including the small parties.

He said: "My impression of the debate is very much that there is one person, one leader, one party that is offering the competence of a long-term plan that is working and then there is a kind of coalition of chaos out there that wants more debt, spending and taxes."

His comments echoed those made by Mr Gove earlier in the day. He said: "If the country chooses to, it could vote for a patchwork coalition ... I prefer to say a lethal cocktail of different parties which all have different objectives - there would be an automatic instability."

Speaking shortly after the Labour campaign bus arrived in Blackpool, Ed Miliband said his position on ruling out a formal coalition with the SNP had not changed as a result of Ms Sturgeon's success in the debate.

Labour's Caroline Flint said: "There is not going to be a coalition with the SNP and there are not going to be any SNP ministers, I can assure you that and Alex Salmond certainly won't be Deputy Prime Minister.

"I think there is something pretty shallow about the processing discussions about coalitions and deals. You know we hear George Osborne and Michael Gove bigging up the SNP because they know that every vote for the SNP is more likely to secure David Cameron the keys to number 10 for another five years."

The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the debate had made it increasingly clear that another coalition would be the outcome of the vote in May.

He said: "The fact that there were seven there just shows that politics is becoming more fragmented. The only people who don't realise that are Ed Miliband and David Cameron - they think it's still a game of pass-the-parcel between the two old parties."

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Video Of Massacre At Kenya University Campus

Video has emerged of the massacre at a university campus in north-eastern Kenya in which 147 people were killed by Islamist extremists.

It shows students running for their lives and hiding behind bushes as bullets whistle through the air.

Four masked al Shabaab gunmen rampaged through Garissa University College at dawn on Thursday in the group's deadliest attack in the country.

They were eventually killed by security forces 13 hours later after a lengthy gun battle.

The attackers, who were strapped with bombs and armed with AK-47s, singled out non-Muslim students and gunned them down without mercy, survivors said.

They took dozens of hostages in a dormitory as they battled troops and police before they were hit by gunfire and exploded, according to Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery.

He said most of the victims were students, but two security guards, one policeman and one soldier were also killed.

At least 79 people were wounded on the campus, which lies 145km (90 miles) from the Somali border. Some were flown to the capital Nairobi for treatment.

One suspected extremist was arrested as he tried to flee, Mr Nkaissery told a news conference.

One survivor, Collins Wetangula, told The Associated Press he was about to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from a nearby dormitory, one of six on the campus.

"All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots. Nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are," he said.

He added: "The gunmen were saying, 'Sisi ni al-Shabab'" - Swahili for "We are al Shabaab."

He said he heard the attackers arrive at his dormitory, open the doors and ask if those inside were Muslims or Christians.

"If you were a Christian, you were shot on the spot," he said. "With each blast of the gun, I thought I was going to die."

He said fortunately soldiers then arrived and took him and around 20 others to safety.

Another student, Augustine Alanga, said the attack began at about 5.30am as morning prayers were under way at the university mosque, where worshippers were left alone.

At least five heavily-armed gunmen opened fire outside his dormitory, sparking panic, he told AP. He said some students remained indoors but scores of others fled with the attackers firing at them.

Police say the massacre may have been masterminded by Mohammed Mohamud and are offering a large reward for information leading to his capture.

Also known by the names Dulyadin and Gamadhere, he was a teacher at an Islamic religious school, or madrassa, and claimed responsibility for a bus attack in Makka, Kenya, in November that killed 28 people.

A spokesman for Somalia-based al Shabaab said the college attackers were members of their al Qaeda-linked group.

Al Shabaab has been blamed for a series of attacks in Kenya, including the siege at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013 that killed 67 people, as well as other violence in the north.

The group has vowed to retaliate against the government for sending troops to Somalia in 2011 to tackle militants staging cross-border raids.

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Black Box Data Confirms Alps Crash Deliberate

Data from the second black box recovered from the Germanwings plane wreckage has confirmed the co-pilot crashed the jet deliberately.

"A first reading shows that the pilot in the cockpit used the automatic pilot to descend the plane towards an altitude of 100ft (30m)," said the French BEA crash investigation office in a statement.

"Then, several times during the descent, the pilot changed the automatic pilot settings to increase the aircraft's speed."

The latest information appears to confirm the theory that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally flew into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.

Authorities found the second black box, which contains technical flight data, on Thursday after a nine-day search in difficult mountain terrain.

Data from the first black box, which records conversations in the cockpit, suggested Lubitz, 27, locked the captain out and then set the Airbus A320 on a collision course.

It smashed into the mountains at 430mph, instantly killing everyone on board. Half were German and more than 50 from Spain.

It emerged on Thursday that Lubitz had searched online for information about suicide and cockpit doors.

German prosecutors have said he was diagnosed as suicidal "several years ago" before he gained his pilot's licence.

Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, has come under huge pressure after it was revealed Lubitz had told bosses he suffered from depression.

The German flag carrier said he had informed the airline about his illness in 2009 after interrupting his flight training.

Doctors had recently found no sign he intended to hurt himself or others, although he had been signed off sick a number of times, including on the day of the crash.

Police found torn-up sick notes during a search of his apartment after the disaster.

The first black box suggested people were only aware of what was happening seconds before the plane, which was heading from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, crashed.

However, French and German media claim to have seen a video showing the final moments aboard the airliner, which they said was shot on a mobile phone found in the debris.

The video reportedly shows a chaotic scene with people screaming "my God" in several different languages.

On Thursday investigators said they had found mobile phones amongst the debris of the jet, although they had not yet produced any clues as to what happened.

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Syria-Bound Brits To Be Deported Tomorrow

The nine Britons stopped by Turkish police for allegedly trying to cross the border into Syria are to be deported tomorrow, according to Sky News sources.

Waheed Ahmed, son of Rochdale Labour councillor Shakil Ahmed, arrived in Turkey on 30 March, three days after the rest of the group.

The 21-year-old will be sent back to the UK along with four other adults and four children also stopped in Turkey's Hatay province.

Police have been searching the house of Waheed's father Shakil, who represents the Kingsway ward on Rochdale Borough Council.

He said the group were on holiday but he had thought his son was on a work placement in Birmingham.

"My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don't understand what he's doing there. If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised, I would have reported him to the authorities.

"I just want to speak to my son and get him home as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on."

Neighbour Mohammed Sharif said he "never had suspicion about the family" and remembered Waheed as a "nice quiet young lad" who would "speak to you with respect".

Greater Manchester Police says the group includes two women aged 47 and 22, three men aged 24, 22 and 21, along with children aged one, three, eight and 11.

Officers are trying to establish their reason for travelling to the Syrian border.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: "What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a war zone.

"Such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever."

The group is understood to have been kept in a police station in Turkey on Thursday night and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was unable to confirm when they were expected back in the UK.

Usman Nawaz, who went to the same school as Waheed Ahmed in Rochdale, said mosques and his school in Rochdale were not to blame for Waheed's actions.

The 25-year-old, a former member of the Young Muslims' Advisory Group and mentor to young Muslims through Rochdale's Youth Council, said: "For some it's an adventure but for some they think that they are doing something noble.

"The ideology which is peddled, this very hardcore understanding of the faith, one which is state sponsored by Saudi Arabia, that has to be challenged and it's quite difficult to challenge it in a coherent manner when the Saudi ideology has the backing of petrodollars."

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said news of the group's actions was "deeply worrying", adding: "The idea you can take young children into a war zone is despicable and we condemn those adults who have done this."

The Metropolitan Police believe around 600 Britons have travelled to Syria and Iraq since the conflict began, while around half are believed to have returned to the UK.

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Mobile Phones Found In Plane Crash Debris

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 02 April 2015 | 20.48

Investigators say they have found mobile phones amongst the debris of the German passenger jet that crashed in the French Alps.

So far the devices have not produced any clues as to what happened when the Germanwings A320 went down, killing all 150 people on board.

However, Lt. Col Jean-Marc Menichini said they had yet to be given a full examination. He declined to elaborate.

Earlier this week French magazine Paris-Match and German tabloid Bild said they had seen a video of the final moments of the flight recorded on a mobile phone.

Paris Match, which has not published the video, reported: "The sounds of the screaming passengers made it perfectly clear that they were aware of what was about to happen to them."

A lead investigator into the crash later called on anyone with footage of the disaster to hand it over to authorities.

Special mountain troops are continuing to search the area for personal belongings and the second black box flight recorder.

Investigators believe the 27-year-old co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately steered the plane into the mountainside after locking the pilot out of the cockpit.

It has also emerged Lubitz had been treated for suicidal tendencies before he got his pilot's licence and had torn up sick notes.

Germany is to set up a task force to examine safety issues such as the cockpit door mechanism and pilots' mental health.

It follows a meeting between Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt and the German Aviation Association, which represents airlines.

"We want to look at psychological criteria and procedures. We also want to look at the question - how do we recognise any indication of psychological issues," Mr Dobrindt said.

Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said on Wednesday it will take a "long time" to fully establish what led to the crash.

"We are learning more every day about the causes of the accident," he said in a statement near the crash site.

But he added: "It will take a long, long time for all of us to understand how this could happen."

He refused to answer questions on what Lufthansa knew about Lubitz's mental health.

On Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande said all 150 victims will be identified by the end of the week.

This contradicted an earlier report in Bild that said relatives may have to wait much longer, with no guarantees their loved ones will be found.

The violence with which the Airbus smashed into the French Alps last week has severely hampered the DNA identification process.

Flight 4U 9525 was on its way from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it came down. To date not a single body has been found intact.

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Seven Party Leaders Set For Debate Showdown

The leaders of Britain's seven main political parties will do battle in a high-stakes TV showdown tonight, marking the only time David Cameron and Ed Miliband will debate each other in the General Election campaign.

The two-hour event sees the Prime Minister, the Labour leader and Nick Clegg joined by the leaders of UKIP, the Greens, the SNP and Plaid Cymru for a live debate before a 200-strong studio audience in Salford.

The event is the first and only debate featuring all the leaders to be held before voters go to the polls on 7 May and has the potential to shape the course of the remaining five weeks of campaigning.

:: For full coverage of the General Election 2015 click here

During the debate - which is hosted by ITV - the leaders will give an uninterrupted one-minute answer to each question posed by the audience.

There will then be up to 18 minutes of debate for each question. ITV said "four substantial election questions" will be addressed in all.

Leaders will not be given advance notice of the questions, which have been selected by an "experienced editorial panel".

Sky News will broadcast the debate live from 8pm until 10pm, with coverage also available online and via Sky News apps.

Greens leader Natalie Bennett will make the first opening statement, while Mr Cameron is scheduled to speak last.

Campaigning is expected to be largely placed on hold today as the party leaders make their final preparations for the event.

Key issues in the first three days of the campaign have included the battle between the Conservatives and Labour over economic policies and support for business.

Labour has been campaigning heavily on the use of zero-hours contracts, saying it will outlaw "exploitative" contracts if it wins power.

The Liberal Democrats have sought to highlight mental illness as a major issue.

Speaking at Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire on Wednesday, Mr Clegg insisted he would not be losing any sleep ahead of tonight's event.

"I have been in politics long enough now to know that you shouldn't over-think these things or over-rehearse them," he said.

"I will try and answer the questions as best as I can and make sure that the Liberal Democrat voice is heard loud and clear in the cacophony of other political voices that will be represented on that stage."

Mr Cameron is also apparently relaxed about the debate, according to his wife Samantha who spoke as she made a solo appearance on the campaign trail in the Rochester and Strood constituency.

Asked how her husband was feeling, Mrs Cameron said: "He doesn't seem too nervous, but I have to say I'm very glad it's him and not me."

The three-way debates in 2010 saw a boost in the polls for Mr Clegg, although this year's debate is more likely to present an opportunity for one of the smaller party leaders such as Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP or Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood.

While campaigning at a factory in Huddersfield on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said the debate was a good opportunity to speak directly to Britons.

"The way I'm going to prepare for this debate is by coming to talk to good people here and keep campaigning," he said.

"The thing I value about the debate is the chance to talk directly to the British people, as I am doing today, about the things that matter to me and how I want to change the country," he added.

UKIP's campaign chief Patrick O'Flynn said Nigel Farage is preparing "rigorously" for the event.

"Obviously this will be the only chance he gets to be on the same stage as David Cameron and that's David Cameron's doing, not Nigel Farage's, so that again means that there will be key arguments to put there," Mr O'Flynn said.

Ms Sturgeon described the debate as "historic" and added: "Tonight's debate will hear a real progressive alternative to Westminster cuts.

"The SNP will be a positive and constructive voice, willing and ready to join forces with others in a progressive alliance to end austerity and to protect vital public services like the NHS."

In a video posted on Twitter by the Green Party, Ms Bennett said she was "really looking forward to the debate".

She added: "Finally, the debate about the debates has finished and we can now start talking about the issues."

Ms Wood, who believes her party could hold the balance of power after the election, wrote a message on her Facebook page this morning which said: "Big day for Plaid Cymru today. A big thanks to all for your kind messages."

:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.

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What's At Stake For The Seven Party Leaders?

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Tonight's TV debate is the big one, in terms of the number of party leaders taking part.

Seven leaders, including an initially-reluctant David Cameron, will clash for two hours in a debate chaired by ITV's Julie Etchingham, formerly of Sky News.

After Mr Cameron and Ed Miliband endured bruising interrogations by Jeremy Paxman in the Sky News/Channel 4 showdown, this time it's different: a real debate between the seven.

Still to come is a debate involving the leaders of the five smaller parties and then a Question Time-style event with Mr Cameron, Mr Miliband and Nick Clegg.

:: For full coverage of the General Election 2015 click here

But tonight is the only opportunity for the PM, Leader of the Opposition and DPM to challenge each other in debate, and perhaps also to be embarrassed by the leaders of the smaller parties.

So what do the seven stand to gain or lose?

:: David Cameron (Conservative)

Gain: The PM surely can't be as ill-prepared and exposed as he was by Jeremy Paxman's blistering opening questions on food banks and zero-hours contracts.

He is likely to be better-briefed on the sort of questions that could leave him open to the charge that he's out of touch with ordinary voters.

Lose: After notoriously shouting "Calm down, dear!" across the despatch box at Labour's Angela Eagle in PMQs, he needs to be careful how he deals with his three female opponents, particularly the formidable Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP.

Any "Bullingdon Club" or "Flashman" temper would be disastrous on TV.

:: Ed Miliband (Labour)

Gain: He needs to build on his "Hell yes!" toughness that began to emerge towards the end of his Paxman clash.

At the same time, if he can appear more statesmanlike and more measured than the leaders of the smaller parties he may convince the many doubters among voters that he could be PM material after all.

Lose: If he's poor on the economy he'll be in big trouble.

He will be attacked as a spendthrift socialist by Cameron and Clegg, but denounced for backing Tory cuts by Sturgeon and the Greens' Natalie Bennett.

A member of the audience is bound to ask about his brother again. He was wobbly on that, too, first time.

:: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats)

Gain: This is his big chance, after being shut out of the Paxman interviews.

He has a chance to claim the credit for coalition successes like raising income tax thresholds.

He can also sound moderate on the economy by attacking Tory cuts and Labour spending.

He will have allies in the debate, too, for his pro-EU stance.

Lose: The same pro-EU stance will leave him vulnerable to attacks from UKIP's Nigel Farage, who roughed him up in last year's Euro-election debates.

He also risks looking like an also-ran by being lumped together with the leaders of the minor parties.

He will be accused of betrayal over his tuition fees U-turn too.

:: Nigel Farage (United Kingdom Independence Party)

Gain: A great opportunity to display his man-of-the-people common touch and kick lumps out of the established parties and portray them as "the Westminster elite".

His humour and flamboyant style should come over well in a TV debate and if he's on form he could make his opponents look wooden and aloof from voters.

Lose: At the same time, his style alienates some voters, who regard him as "the pub bore" who's anti-everything and wants Britain to return to life as it was in the 1950s.

He's vulnerable, too, on accusations against some Kippers of expense-fiddling, racism and homophobia.

Needs to be careful debating against women opponents.

:: Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party)

Gain: Scotland's new First Minister has the potential to be the star of the show and inflict more misery on Labour.

She's more serious and business-like than the flamboyant Alex Salmond.

She will attack the two big parties on austerity and Trident and David Cameron would be foolish to under-estimate her.

Lose: If the SNP has a weakness, it's that it can be guilty of complacency, though that was a fault of Salmond rather than Sturgeon.

Mr Miliband will want to use the debate to fight back against the SNP.

Critics also claim that on the economy, oil prices and the future of sterling the SNP's sums don't add up.

:: Natalie Bennett (Green Party)

Gain: For the Greens, this is the sort of publicity the party could only have dreamed of, Mr Cameron - in his determination to damage Mr Miliband and Labour - insisted on them being invited to the party.

It's a great chance to spell out the Green Party's policies and pinch votes off the Lib Dems as well.

Lose: Ms Bennett will need to be better briefed than when she self-destructed in a radio interview with LBC's Nick Ferrari, blaming a cold.

She will be attacked by her opponents over the Greens' record in local government, particularly in Brighton.

And many viewers may wonder why she's leader and not Caroline Lucas.

:: Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru)

Gain: Just being included is already a gain for Plaid. Both they and the SNP currently have fewer MPs than the Democratic Unionist Party, who weren't invited.

It's great publicity for a party that doesn't get much media attention UK-wide and has had nothing like the success of the SNP in Scotland.

Lose: Short of a Bennett-style disaster, Plaid really has nothing to lose.

They're there at the table with the big boys and girls, sharing a platform with a PM, a DPM and a Leader of the Opposition and a First Minister whose poll ratings and popularity are to die for.

:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.

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'Many Dead Bodies' As Hostages Taken At College

An "unknown number of student hostages" have been taken by masked terrorists who have killed at least 15 people after storming a university in eastern Kenya.

Two police officers are among the dead following heavy gunfire and explosions in a campus building at Garissa University.

At least 65 others have been wounded.

Somalia's al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility.

"We sorted people out and released the Muslims," said spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab.

"There are many dead bodies of Christians inside the building. We are also holding many Christians alive. Fighting still goes on inside the college."

One of the suspected gunmen was arrested as he tried to flee, according to Kenya's interior ministry.

The Red Cross counted 50 students that had been safely freed, while the interior ministry said 280 of 815 students had been accounted for.

Student Michael Bwana, who managed to flee, said most of the hostages were girls.

Kenya Police Chief Joseph Boinet told reporters that gunmen forced their way into the university at 5.30am by shooting at the guards manning the main gate.

"The gunmen shot indiscriminately while inside the university compound," he said.

"Police... engaged the gunmen in a fierce shootout; however, the attackers retreated and gained entry into one of the hostels."

A gunfight between security services and the perpetrators lasted several hours, according to the Red Cross.

The area has been sealed off and the army called in to try and "flush out" the attackers.

The National Disaster Operations Center said on Twitter that students had been evacuated from three of four dorms.

The gunmen have been cornered in the other.

Students reported seeing five masked attackers.

Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from a dorm.

"All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots; nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are," he said.

"The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabab (Swahili for we are al-Shabab).

"If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot. With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die."

Grace Kai, a student at a neighbouring college, said there had been warnings of an imminent attack.

"Some strangers had been spotted in Garissa town and were suspected to be terrorists," she said.

"Then on Monday our college principal told us... that strangers had been spotted in our college. On Tuesday we were released to go home, and our college closed, but the campus remained in session, and now they have been attacked."

Kenya's northern and eastern regions, which border Somalia, have been most affected by attacks blamed on al Shabaab Islamists from Somalia.

The militants, who have links to al Qaeda, have vowed to take retribution against Kenya for sending its troops to Somalia.

Al Shabaab was responsible for the deadly attack in 2013 on the Westgate shopping mall. At least 67 people were killed when a group of gunmen rampaged through the centre in Nairobi.

On the latest raid, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said: "I extend condolences to the families of those who have perished in this attack. We continue to pray for the quick recovery of the injured, and the safe rescue of those held hostage."

He added that 10,000 police recruits would be fast-tracked following the attack.

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Miliband: Epidemic Of Zero-Hours Contracts

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 01 April 2015 | 20.48

By Jason Farrell, Senior Political Correspondent

Workers on zero-hours contracts will be able to demand a regular contract after 12 weeks under proposals announced by Ed Miliband.

The Labour leader promised to outlaw the "exploitative" contracts in a commitment to be included in Labour's election manifesto saying: "We have got to end the epidemic of zero-hours contracts.

Speaking at an event in Huddersfield, Mr Miliband said: "You shouldn't be left at the beck and call of an employer who can ask the world of you but give you no security in return. It's not fair, it's not good for businesses and we will put a stop to it."

The proposal strengthens Labour's previous policy on the contracts, which sought to give workers the right to a regular contract after 12 months.

:: For full coverage of General Election 2015 click here

The announcement comes after Prime Minister David Cameron admitted that he could not live on a zero-hours contract during questioning from Jeremy Paxman on Sky News' Battle For Number 10 programme.

Mr Miliband said zero-hours contracts have become a symbol of a low-wage, low-skill economy.

In reference to Mr Paxman's interview with the Prime Minister, the Labour leader said: "If Cameron can't live on it, nor should you - Labour will give workers a legal right to a regular contract, not a zero-hours contract.

"Today I can announce that in our first year of government after the election, Labour will legislate for a new principle: If you are working regularly, you have a legal right to a regular contract."

Mr Miliband first set out the 12-week proposal in 2013 at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference, but later backtracked.

A spokesman for the party leader said the change back to 12 weeks would incorporate 92% of people on the controversial employment terms.

The proposal is expected to include exemptions for employees such as so-called bank nurses, who request a zero-hours contract so they can work at another hospital as well as their usual job.

Mr Miliband was asked by a worker at the Huddersfield factory what was to stop employers only providing work for 11 weeks to dodge the provision. He replied a "legal mechanism" would be put in place to prevent it.

The Coalition Government sought to prohibit exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts, but the Labour Party argues this does not go far enough.

A Conservative spokesperson accused Labour of "presiding over zero-hours contracts" for 13 years.

"Zero-hours contracts account for just one in 50 jobs in our economy," the spokesperson said.

"This Government has already banned the abusive ones - and all the while Labour presided over zero-hours contracts with no safeguards for three terms and 13 years while they were in power."

Speaking on the campaign trail Boris Johnson, who is running for MP in Uxbridge, said he would rather people were in work than left feeling "ill-used by society, left out, unable to express themselves with their self-esteem sinking and sinking."

:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Thursday on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.

20.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Video Captures Final Moments Of Alps Crash

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Mobile phone footage taken from inside the Germanwings flight during its final moments has reportedly been recovered from the crash site in the French Alps.

European newspapers Paris Match and Bild have reported that the video, which Sky News has not seen, was discovered on a mobile phone found among the wreckage of flight 4U 9525.

Paris Match, which has not published the video, reported: "The scene was so chaotic that it was hard to identify people, but the sounds of the screaming passengers made it perfectly clear that they were aware of what was about to happen to them.

"One can hear cries of 'My God' in several languages."

The newspaper added that metallic banging can be heard in the footage, before the screaming gets louder and the video ends.

A lead investigator into the crash later called on anyone with footage of the disaster to hand it over to authorities.

Prosecutor Brice Robin said videos were not yet an official part of the probe, but that anyone with footage "must hand it over immediately to investigators".

It comes after Lufthansa revealed the co-pilot accused of deliberately crashing the Germanwings plane told officials at a training school he had gone through an "episode of severe depression".

Andreas Lubitz, 27, informed instructors in 2009 that he had to break off from his pilot training for several months because of his illness.

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Gallery: Tributes Laid Near Crash Site

A memorial, carved in French, German, Spanish and English, in memory of the victims of the Germanwings Airbus A320 crash, in the small village of Le Vernet, French Alps

The chapel prepared for the families of the victims and the medico-legal tents for investigators at Seyne les Alpes near the crash site

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Investigators gathered near the scene

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Emergency crews stand aside as relatives pay their respects at the memorial for the victims

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Members of the French Red Cross pay their respects. Continue through for more images

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After resuming training six years ago, he provided the school with medical documents which showed he had gone through a "previous episode of severe depression," Lufthansa said.

Dusseldorf state prosecutors said on Monday Lubitz had been treated for suicidal tendencies before getting his pilot's licence.

Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said it will take a "long time" to establish the events that led to the crash.

"We are learning more every day about the causes of the accident," he said in a statement near the crash site on Wednesday.

1/16

Gallery: The Victims Of The Germanwings Crash

American Emily Selke, a recent graduate, was on the plane with her mother Yvonne. Raymond Selke has described his wife and daughter as 'amazing people'. Pic: Facebook

Iranian sports journalist Hussein Javadi was on his way to Austria to cover a football match. A friend said he was 'a kind, loving, caring man'. Pic: Maysam Bizær/Hossein Javadi

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"It will take a long, long time for all of us to understand how this could happen."

He refused to answer questions on what Lufthansa knew about Lubitz's mental health.

French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday all 150 victims of the plane crash will be identified by the end of the week.

This contradicted an earlier report in Bild that said the relatives of the victims may have to wait months for their loved ones to be identified, with no guarantees they will all be found.

The head of the Criminal Research Institute at France's National Gendarmerie told the newspaper it would take forensic teams between two and four months to complete the DNA identification process.

The violence with which the Airbus A320 crashed into the mountainside in the French Alps last week has severely hampered the identification of the remains of those on board.

Recovery teams scouring the crash site have said not a single body has been found intact.

Some 78 different DNA profiles have been isolated so far from around 400 body parts, although none have been directly linked to the victims.

Family members have been asked to provide forensic teams with DNA samples to help in the identification.

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