EDL Leader Lennon Jailed For Passport Offence

The leader of the English Defence League has been jailed for 10 months for using someone else's passport to get into the United States.

Stephen Lennon, 30, pleaded guilty to possession of a false identity document with improper intention, contrary to the Identity Documents Act 2010, at Southwark Crown Court.

Lennon used a passport in the name of Andrew McMaster to board a Virgin Atlantic Flight from Heathrow to New York, but was caught out after his fingerprints were taken by customs officials.

The court heard that Lennon, who had previously been refused entry to the US, used his friend's passport to travel to the country in September.

He used a self check-in kiosk to board the Virgin Atlantic flight at Heathrow, and was allowed through when the document was checked in the bag drop area.

But when he arrived at New York's JFK Airport, customs officials who took his fingerprints realised he was not Mr McMaster.

Lennon was asked to attend a second interview but left the airport, entering the US illegally.

He stayed just one night and travelled back to the UK the following day using his own legitimate passport - which bears the name Paul Harris.

The court heard that is the name that appears on the EDL leader's passport, although he uses aliases.

The court heard that he was previously jailed for assault in 2005 and also has previous convictions for drugs offences and public order offences.

Sentencing the 30-year-old, Judge Alistair McCreath, told him: "I am going to sentence you under the name of Stephen Lennon, although I suspect that is not actually your true name, in the sense that it is not the name that appears on your passport.

"What you did went absolutely to the heart of the immigration controls that the United States are entitled to have.

"Had it been known in this country that you were proposing to leave under a false passport, you would not have been accepted on to the plane and you would not have been permitted to leave this country on a false passport.

"It's not in any sense trivial."

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Mother Jailed For Murdering Son Over Koran

A mother has been jailed for life after beating her son to death for failing to learn the Koran by heart and then burning his body to hide the evidence.

Sara Ege, 33, collapsed as the sentence was delivered at Cardiff Crown Court and had to be helped, trembling and sobbing, from the dock.

Ege had been praised as a "brilliant mother" to seven-year-old Yaseen but was convicted of his murder by a jury at the same court last month.

The court heard she treated Yaseen like a "dog" and repeatedly beat him with a stick for failing to memorise religious texts quickly enough.

The schoolboy had suffered multiple injuries to his body and died in July 2010 from internal injuries caused by three months of punishing beatings.

His death was treated as a terrible tragedy in the aftermath of the house blaze but it was quickly discovered that he was dead before it started.

Mr Justice Wyn Williams ordered her to serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars and said: "The violence that you perpetrated on your son was not confined to one day.

Sara Ege tried to blame the murder on her husband

"I am satisfied that, over three months, you beat him on a number of occasions, often with a wooden pestle.

"His injuries must have caused him a good deal of pain. In my judgment Yaseen was subjected to prolonged cruelty."

Ege accused her husband Yousef Ege, 38, who stood trial with his wife, of being a violent bully who beat her and was their son's real killer.

But he was cleared of causing or allowing his son's death at home in Pontcanna, Cardiff, South Wales, by failing to act to prevent it.

Ege was found guilty both of murder and of a charge of perverting the course of justice.

Following her conviction DC Kim Roche from South Wales Police said: "Throughout this investigation we have heard many tributes to Yaseen.

"Quiet, hard-working, bright, well-behaved, obedient, respectful, polite, smiley - are just some of the words used to describe Yaseen by those who knew him.

"It is a tragedy that such a promising young life was taken away in such disturbing circumstances and that those who knew him will not have the opportunity to see him grow up to become a young man."

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CCTV Released In Organist Murder Hunt

Police have released CCTV footage of two people they want to question in connection with the murder of organist Alan Greaves.

More follows...

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Police Pursuit Crash Leaves Teenage Girl Dead

A teenage girl has died in a crash involving a car being pursued by police in southeast London.

The 13-year-old was travelling with her mother, father and brother when their Volkswagen Polo and a Peugeot 308 being chased by a marked police car collided.

The girl was in the rear of the Polo and died at the scene from her injuries, Scotland Yard said. Her parents and brother were taken to hospital. Their injuries were not thought to be serious.

Debris lies beside the road

The crash happened just before 6.30pm on Sunday in Ilderton Road, between New Cross and South Bermondsey and close to Millwall Football Club's stadium.

The male driver of the Peugeot was arrested and taken into custody. A female passenger was taken to hospital suffering from minor injuries.

The Metropolitan Police said the police car involved had its blue lights and sirens on when the collision happened.

The crash happened in southeast London near Millwall Football Club

Commander Tony Eastaugh said: "An innocent family are now dealing with the tragic loss of a loved one.

"The Metropolitan Police has now begun a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this terrible incident. The thoughts of our staff and officers are with the family at this time."

Traffic police and officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards are now investigating, the force said.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has also been informed and an investigator was at the scene assessing the circumstances of the collision.

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NI Clashes: 'Several Shots Fired' At Police

Frontline police officers in Belfast have reportedly come under gunfire as fresh violence erupts over the flying of the Union flag.

A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after gunshots were reportedly fired during clashes between loyalist and nationalist protesters.

Sky sources revealed that pictures from a PSNI helicopter prompted the detention of the suspect.

The PSNI said last night around 100 loyalists pelted officers with rocks, fireworks and fire bombs in the Newtownards Road, Albertbridge Road and Castlereagh Street and Templemore Avenue areas of the city.

One officer was said to have been injured.

A PSNI spokesman said they were investigating reports from their own officers that a number of shots were fired at police lines.

Conall McDevitt, policing spokesman for the nationalist SDLP, said the firing of shots at police officers ended any claim to legitimacy by protest organisers.

Police used water cannon to extinguish the fires

"Whatever grievance some people may have had, it is totally lost when they allow people to use these protests as cover for attempted murder," said the South Belfast MLA.

"There is only one response possible - and that's a firm policing response against everyone involved in illegal protests and anyone seeking to organise or encourage illegal or violent demonstrations."

The violence followed a tense but peaceful march on Saturday by around 1,000 loyalists.

There was a heavy police presence, including officers in riot gear with dogs stationed within the historic civic building itself and on surrounding side streets.

But as the flag-waving crowds dispersed, ugly scenes flared again.

Loyalist violence on Friday night saw 18 people arrested and nine police officers injured.

More than 30 petrol bombs, along with fireworks, ball bearings and masonry were hurled at officers during a sustained attack in the east of the city. Up to 300 people were involved in the disturbances.

None of the police injuries are life threatening, however one female officer required medical treatment at the scene by an ambulance.

The disturbances occurred after protesters headed home

The PSNI said it would be seeking further arrests in the coming days in relation to the disorder and have appealed for witnesses.

On Thursday 10 police officers were injured during a demonstration in east Belfast.

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson said violence against the police was a "disgrace" and those behind days of unrest were playing into the hands of dissident republicans.

Street protests have been going on for more than a month now against the decision to reduce the number of days the Union flag is flown from City Hall. There have also been death threats to politicians.

Mr Robinson said: "The violence and destruction visited on the PSNI is a disgrace, criminally wrong and cannot be justified.

"Those responsible are doing a grave disservice to the cause they claim to espouse and are playing into the hands of those dissident groups who would seek to exploit every opportunity to further their  terror aims."

Sky's Ireland Correspondent David Blevins said: "There is the potential for the violence to intensify, and the gunshots from with the loyalist area is a very worrying development.

"The clashes between police and loyalists came after the officers were accused of brutality after the march."

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Gerard Depardieu Receives Russian Passport

The French actor Gerard Depardieu has received his passport after being granted Russian citizenship, saying he was leaving France to avoid proposed tax increases.

"There was a short meeting and Depardieu was handed his passport," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

But the Russian leader did not personally hand over the document when the two met at Putin's residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Russians reportedly reacted with amusement to news of their new citizen

The actor is opposing proposed tax increases for French citizens earning more than €1m (£818,000).

President Putin surprised many at his end-of-year news conference in December by saying he was ready to offer the 64-year-old a Russian passport to resolve the row.

The Cyrano de Bergerac and Green Card star has become a frequent face on the Moscow celebrity circuit and is well known after appearing in a number of advertising campaigns.

He worked in the country in 2011 on a film about the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin.

But French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has called Depardieu unpatriotic at a time when the French are being asked to pay higher taxes to reduce a large national debt.

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David Cameron Defends Child Benefit Cuts

David Cameron has defended controversial cuts to child benefit payments that come into effect at midnight, insisting the reforms were "fundamentally fair".

The Prime Minister insisted the move - which will see families with one earner on more than £50,000 lose some or all of the payment while households with two parents with salaries just under the trigger keep theirs - was the "right approach".

"I'm not saying those people are rich but I think it is right that they make a contribution," he told BBC 1's Andrew Marr Show.

"This will raise £2bn a year. If we don't raise that £2bn from that group of people, the better off 15% in the country, we would have to find someone else to take it from."

He added: "I think people see it as fundamentally fair that if there is someone in the household earning over £60,000 you don't get child benefit."

The Prime Minister: Cuts are 'fundamentally fair'

It is "full steam ahead" for the coalition, Mr Cameron said as he insisted the Government had a packed agenda.

And he told Marr that he had no intention of stepping aside.

He said: "I want to fight the next election as the leader of the Conservative Party, I want to win a Conservative majority and I want to serve."

Mr Marr interrupted: "And stay as Prime Minister for five years?"

Mr Cameron replied: "That's exactly what I have said."

On Monday, Mr Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will publish a mid-term review of progress the Coalition government has made since 2010 and set out its top priorities for the rest of their term.

Mr Cameron said: "What you are going to see tomorrow is a coalition Government with a full tank of gas, it's full steam ahead.

"We have travelled a long way down the road we need to travel but there is a lot more we need to do.

"Far from running out of ideas, we have got a packed agenda, which concerns things like how do we build roads in Britain to make sure our economy keeps moving, how do we pay for the care for the elderly, how do we have a pension system that encourages saving - big things that our going to equip our country for the next decade."

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Syrian President Assad Gives Live TV Address

Syria's president has blamed Islamic extremists and "outside forces" for orchestrating the conflict in his country in a rare public address to the nation.

The embattled leader, who appeared before cheering crowds at an opera house in the capital Damascus, struck a defiant tone and was frequently interrupted by supporters chanting: "With our soul with our blood we sacrifice ourselves for you O Bashar."

With insurgents fighting their way closer to the seat of his power, President Bashar al Assad spoke about the latest developments and "suffering" in Syria.

He said the conflict was not between the state and opposition, but the "nation and its enemies".

"We are now in a state of war in every sense of the word," he said.

"This war targets Syria using a handful of Syrians and many foreigners. Thus, this is a war to defend the nation."

An opposition fighter during an air strike in Taftanaz, near Idlib

"We meet today and suffering is overwhelming Syrian land. There is no place for joy while security and stability are absent on the streets of our country.

"The nation is for all, and we must all protect it," he said to rapturous applause inside a packed House of Arts and Culture.

"There are those who seek to partition Syria and weaken it. But Syria is stronger ... and will remain sovereign ... and this is what upsets the West."

Mr Assad called for a "full national mobilisation" to fight against the rebels, whom he branded al Qaeda "terrorists" and "murderous criminals".

While outlining proposals for what he described as a peace plan including a new constitution and amnesty, there was no suggestion of him relinquishing his power.

He asserted the government and army would continue military operations against opposition groups.

Mr Assad said change must come through constitutional means and appealed for dialogue once the fighting had ended.

"Regional and international countries must stop funding the armed men to allow those displaced to return to their homes ... right after that our military operations will cease," he said.

"We will not have dialogue with a puppet made by the West."

A protest against the Assad regime in Kafranbel, near Idlib, on Friday

They were his first public comments since he dismissed suggestions that he might go into exile to end the civil war, telling Russian television in November that he would "live and die" in Syria.

According to Sky sources, the internet in Damascus was shut down during his address - at the end of which Mr Assad needed to be ushered away by security officials when he appeared to be mobbed by jubilant supporters.

The hour-long live broadcast came as fighting between Syrian rebels and government forces continued to rage across the country.

Mr Assad's appeals for a reconciliation are likely to be rejected by opposition forces and rebels, who insist he must step down.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague dismissed the calls "empty promises".

Responding to the address, he tweeted: "#AssadSpeech beyond hypocritical. Deaths, violence and oppression engulfing #Syria are his own making, empty promises of reform fool no one."

The European Union called on Mr Assad to step down, while the opposition coalition in Syria rejected the address.

Sky's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay said: "Whatever the support he had inside Damascus there, it's not reflected nationally.

"There are a huge number of people now who obviously want him to leave. As he said, they are in a midst of a very nasty war, and there is nothing to indicate, especially after this speech, that's going to change at all."

The 21-month uprising against Assad has become a civil war that the United Nations says has killed 60,000 people.

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Australia Bushfires Rage Across Tasmania

Australia's prime minister has promised help to dozens of people who have been made homeless by a series of bushfires sweeping the south of the country.

Hundreds of residents have been forced to leave their homes in the island state of Tasmania, with fires breaking out across the region amid blistering temperatures and high winds.

Around 80 buildings have been destroyed in and around the small town of Dunalley, east of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, including the town's school, police station and bakery.

Officials are investigating reports that one person has been killed in the blaze, but there have been no confirmed deaths or injuries from the fire.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said: "For those who have lost their homes - a devastating experience, and we will be working with them, as will the state government to support people through.

"There are media reports that a life has been lost - I'm not in a position to confirm that, but bushfires are very dangerous things," she added.

The heatwave sent the temperature in Hobart soaring to a record high of nearly 42C on Friday.

Conditions had eased across much of the region on Saturday, but fire officials warned that the danger from some of the fires remained high.

"We reached catastrophic fire danger ratings at times," Tasmania fire service chief officer Mike Brown said.

Bushfires are common seasonal hazard during the Australian summer.

In February 2009, hundreds of fires across the state of Victoria killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.

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Burnham: High-Sugar Cereals Should Be Banned

High-sugar breakfast cereals should be banned to stop children getting fat, according to the shadow health secretary Andy Burnham.

The Labour frontbencher said regulation should be introduced to cap the levels of salt, fat and sugar in food.

Mr Burnham has started garnering public and expert opinion on the subject as part of a consultation on tackling obesity.

"If we fail to act we are storing up huge problems for the country and the NHS in the long term," he said.

He is floating the idea of a 30% cap on sugar in cereals, arguing that many children's breakfast cereals are over one-third sugar by weight.

"I don't think any parent would be comfortable with their child eating something that is 40% sugar," he told The Daily Telegraph.

Last week, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development figures revealed 26.6% of British girls were obese and 22.7% of boys - double that of youngsters in France.

The coalition says voluntary deals with industry through the Responsibility Deal has cut salt, fat and sugar content in our food.

But Mr Burnham says the current voluntary approach is not working and new drastic measures are required to combat childhood obesity.

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