Spot-Fixing Claims: Footballer Among Six Held

Blackburn Rovers striker DJ Campbell has been arrested as part of a football spot-fixing investigation, his club has confirmed.

The 32-year-old is one of six people detained in an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), after it acted on information passed on by the Sun on Sunday newspaper.

In a statement, Blackburn Rovers FC said: "Following reports in today's national media, Blackburn Rovers can confirm that striker DJ Campbell has been arrested.

The claims were made in the Sun on Sunday

"The club will be making no further comment on what is now an ongoing legal matter."

The six in custody were arrested in connection with a second probe into football spot-fixing following claims that a player rigged a football league game for cash.

The Sun on Sunday reported that an undercover investigator met ex-Portsmouth defender Sam Sodje, who allegedly said he could arrange a yellow card booking in the Football League, in exchange for tens of thousands of pounds.

The former Premier League player and Nigerian international also allegedly told how he punched an opponent in the groin during a game earlier this year to get sent off in exchange for a £70,000 payout.

He further claimed he could rig Premier League games, and even said he was preparing to fix matches at next year's World Cup in Brazil.

Another player, Oldham Athletic's Cristian Montano, also allegedly told how he attempted to get booked during a match against Wolves, in return for cash.

Ex-Portsmouth defender Sam Sodje is filmed by an undercover reporter

The ex-West Ham player said: "From minute one I was hacking people down.

"People running past me and I would go clip.

"I run against one player and barged him."

Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey, said: "We treat any allegations of criminal activity in our competitions with the utmost seriousness.

"Given that there is an ongoing police investigation into this matter, we cannot comment further at this time.

"Although, we would encourage anyone with any evidence to report it to the police.

The National Crime Agency is investigating separate fixing claims

"We will be giving our full assistance to the police during their investigation."

The NCA said an active investigation is now under way.

A spokesman said: "The NCA can confirm that the Sun on Sunday has passed material from its own investigation to the National Crime Agency.

"An active NCA investigation is now under way and we are working closely with the Football Association and the Gambling Commission. Six people are in custody and are being questioned by NCA officers. We cannot comment further at this stage."

In a statement, Portsmouth Football Club said: "If these serious allegations are true, then we are extremely shocked and saddened by them, as match-fixing of any type goes to the heart of the integrity of the game.

"The player in question no longer plays for the club and we have not been contacted by the authorities, but of course we would cooperate fully with any inquiry."

The new probe comes after the NCA announced at the end of last month that it had launched a separate investigation into "a suspected international illegal betting syndicate".

Gambling on the matches is thought to have taken place on Asian-based betting services and so far investigators to do not believe British betting markets are involved.

That inquiry was launched after an undercover investigation by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, which recorded one alleged fixer offering to rig two games.

It is understood to involve clubs in the English Football Conference, the level below the Football League.

On Thursday, the NCA revealed that two footballers from Brighton-based Conference South team Whitehawk FC had been charged over match-fixing allegations.

Michael Boateng and Hakeem Adelakun, both 22 and from the Croydon area of south London, were charged with conspiracy to defraud contrary to common law.

The two men have been bailed to appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on December 11.

They are the third and fourth people charged to date in connection with the NCA investigation into the alleged international illegal betting syndicate.

Chann Sankaran, 33, from Hastings, East Sussex, and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, 43, from Singapore, were charged on November 28 with plotting to defraud bookmakers.

Both were remanded in custody to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on December 13.

Sky News sports presenter Charlie Thomas said the two NCA investigations were being carried out separately.

He added: "This is a situation that football has been fearing and had hoped it had nothing to do with football at all, but now it appears it is encroaching on the league as well as the non-league."

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Paul Walker: Memorial For Fast & Furious Star

The sound of high-performance cars filled the air as thousands paid tribute to Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker, who died in a car crash.

Thousands watched as a succession of cars arrived at the event

Fans, friends and car enthusiasts flocked to the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita for a memorial to Walker which had been planned through social media.

Long queues of tuned sports cars stretched for miles, while mourners left flowers, candles, stuffed animals and other tributes.

Fans on high-performance motorbikes were also among those present

The event concluded on Sunday evening with a cruise through the area where Walker and his friend Roger Rodas died on November 30, around 30 miles northwest of central Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County sheriff's department said on its Twitter feed that some illegally parked cars had to be towed.

Many left tributes at the site and signed a board in Walker's memory

Among those at the memorial was Edi Maya, a gardener who worked in Walker's neighbourhood and said he chatted with the actor from time to time.

"I work next to his house every week, twice a week. Seeing those candles there, it's heartbreaking," he told KABC-TV.

Some wore T-shirts bearing the star's image while others photographed cars

Walker, 40, was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in smashed into a lamp post and tree before bursting into flames.

Rodas, the actor's friend and financial adviser, who was driving, also died. Authorities say speed was a factor in the crash.

Queues of cars stretched for miles from the site of the crash

The limited-edition Porsche was previously owned by IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, who said it could be difficult to drive.

The two had bonded over a passion for fast cars. They co-owned an auto racing team named after Rodas' custom car shop, Always Evolving.

A plane flew past the memorial in the 40-year-old's honour

Rodas, 38, drove professionally for the team on the Pirelli World Challenge circuit this year.

Walker, the star of five of the six Fast & Furious movies, was the face of the franchise. He was making the seventh film in the series when he died.

Universal Pictures has shut down production while it decides how it might proceed without him.

A variety of tributes were left to the Fast & Furious actor

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Snow Storm Brings Misery To Much Of US

A powerful storm has dropped snow, freezing rain and sleet on the Mid-Atlantic and the East Coast, blanketing some NFL playing fields and forcing thousands of flights to be cancelled.

The storm coated parts of Texas in ice, and struck the East Coast with unexpected force.

It left travellers stranded, slowing traffic on roads and leading to a number of accidents, and caused some power outages.

Arctic air plunged temperatures in much of the country, with the record low of -42F (-41C) reported in Jordan, Montana, on Saturday.

The storm turned NFL playing fields in Pennsylvania into winter wonderlands.

In Texas, the storm caused power outages and scrapped flights

The snow fell so heavily in Philadelphia on Sunday that yard markers at Lincoln Financial Field - where the Eagles beat the Detroit Lions - were completely obscured.

"Twenty-seven years I've been a season-ticket holder, I've never seen snow at the game like this," Philadelphia fan Dave Hamilton said.

"It just kept coming down."

It was almost as bad in Pittsburgh, where the snow intensified after kick-off.

Highways that ground to a halt over the weekend might be treacherous today, and travel problems were expected to linger for commuters.

More than 1,000 flights scheduled for today have already been scrapped, many from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

On Sunday, more than 2,500 were cancelled with thousands more delayed, according to estimates from the website Flightaware.com.

The forecast for today remains up in the air for the northeast, depending on how quickly the system moves and temperatures rise, according to the National Weather Service.

Much of Dallas was covered in ice

A winter storm warning was in effect in the morning for Washington DC and Baltimore, where freezing rain could cause power outages.

Slippery conditions were reported overnight in the New York City area, where a crash involved about 20 vehicles. No injuries were reported.

So far, one person has died in North Texas after a pick-up truck went off an icy bridge while four people have died of hypothermia in the San Francisco Bay area of California.

Heavy snow in the Philadelphia area has led to a fatal crash that involved some 50 vehicles.

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Woolwich: 'I Am A Soldier And This Is A War'

One of the men accused of murdering off-duty soldier Lee Rigby has told the Old Bailey he is a "soldier" fighting a war.

Michael Adebolajo also spoke of his "love" for al Qaeda, telling the court he considers members of the terrorist group to be his "brothers".

Mr Adebolajo began giving evidence at the Old Bailey, dressed in black and surrounded by five security guards.

The soldier's relatives sat feet away as the defendant spoke to the court.

He and Michael Adebowale, 22, are accused of murdering Fusilier Rigby by running him down with a car and then hacking him to death with a meat cleaver and knives near Woolwich Barracks in south east London on May 22.

Asked directly for his defence to the charge of murder, Adebolajo told the jury: "I am a soldier. I am a soldier of Allah and I understand that some people might not recognise this because we do not wear fatigues and we don't go to the Brecon Beacons to train.

"But we are still soldiers."

He told his counsel David Gottlieb that he considered al Qaeda to be "Mujahideen".

He said: "I love them, they're my brothers. I have never met them. I consider them my brothers in Islam."

Mr Adebolajo said he had been raised as a Christian by his parents, but grew frustrated with family visits to church and converted to Islam in his first year at the University of Greenwich.

He said that he held former Prime Minister Tony Blair responsible for the death of one of his childhood friends who had become a soldier but was killed by an IED blast in Iraq.

The jury has previously seen video of police interviewing Mr Adebolajo

Mr Adebolajo told the court that he took the name Mujahid, meaning fighter, in 2002 or 2003.

He told the court that the 2003 invasion of Iraq - particularly the "shock and awe" bombing campaign launched by the US - had been a big influence on him.

He said: "Growing up I never did think of killing a man. This is not the type of thing that the average child thinks of and I was no different.

"When a soldier joins the Army he perhaps has in his head an understanding that he will kill a man at some stage. When I became a mujahid I was aware that perhaps I might end up killing a soldier."

Mr Adebolajo told the jury that he used to attend demonstrations organised by Anjem Choudary's al Muhajiroun "in the hope it might make a difference".

He said that at one demonstration he was arrested and sent to prison for 51 days for assaulting a police officer.

In 2010 he tried to travel to Somalia but was captured in Kenya and brought back to the UK.

He told the jury that before Fusilier Rigby was killed, he and Mr Adebowale prayed to Allah that they would attack a soldier and not a civilian.

Mr Adebolajo said he handed a letter to an eyewitness in Woolwich to make it clear that the events happened "for one reason and one reason only - that's foreign policy".

He said: "The life of this one soldier might save the lives of many, many people, not just from Muslim lands but from this country."

He said he asked people at the scene at Woolwich Barracks to film him to "make it clear to everybody why the soldier lost his life" and "how this can be avoided in the future".

Mr Adebolajo, 28, and his co-defendant Michael Adebowale, 22, deny murdering Fusilier Rigby, attempting to murder a police officer and conspiracy to murder.

The trial continues.

More follows...

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Poverty Report: Hard Work Is Not Paying Off

For the first time, there are more people in working families living below the poverty line (6.7 million) than in workless and retired families combined (6.3 million), a report has found.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that almost 13 million Britons are now living in poverty, having suffered a "sustained" and "unprecedented" fall in their living standards.

The social policy research charity found people remaining in poverty despite moving in and out of work, with some facing "very severe hardship".

At the same time the study finds that the support on offer to people who fall on hard times is "increasingly threadbare".

The report found that job insecurity is common for millions of people, with one in six of the workforce claiming Jobseekers' Allowance at some point in the last two years.

There have also been big shifts in terms of which groups are experiencing poverty: the largest group in poverty are working age adults without dependent children - 4.7 million people are in this situation, the highest on record. Pensioner poverty is at its lowest level for 30 years.

Not all of the findings are negative. There has been an improvement in the labour market with falling unemployment and underemployment, and, over the longer term, improvements in health and education outcomes.

Young adult unemployment has peaked at 21%, and unemployment among the whole population has begun to fall.

The number of people underemployed - ether unemployed, economically inactive and wanting work or working part time but wanting a full time job - fell by 100,000 over the last year.

One of the author's of the report, Dr Peter Kenway, told Sky News: "People are hard hit everywhere. It remains the case that young adults are on low incomes, but more than half of people who are low paid are above the age of 30.

"This is not a phenomenon of people who are at the start of their working lives. We've got people who are really hard-pressed and unable to progress."

Julia Unwin, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's chief executive, added: "This research shows millions of people are moving in and out of work but rarely out of poverty.

"Hard work is not working. We have a labour market that lacks pay and protection, with jobs offering precious little security and paltry wages that are insufficient to make ends meet."

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Football Spot-Fixing Claims: Three In Custody

Three people are in custody and being questioned by police in connection over football spot-fixing allegations.

The  National Crime Agency, which is working closely with the Football Association and the Gambling Commission, confirmed it had launched its investigation after being contacted by the Sun on Sunday.

As part of its investigation, the Sun on Sunday recorded footage that appears to show players allegedly arranging spot-fixing.

Ex-Portsmouth defender Sam Sodje allegedly claimed he could arrange a yellow card booking in the Football League, in exchange for tens of thousands of pounds.

The former Premier League player and Nigerian international also allegedly told how he punched an opponent in the groin during a game earlier this year to get sent off in exchange for a £70,000 payout.

The Sun on Sunday

And he claimed he could rig Premier League games, and even said he was preparing to fix matches at next year's World Cup in Brazil.

Another player, Cristian Montano, for Oldham Athletic appears to explain in the video how he attempted to get booked during a match against Wolves, in return for cash.

The ex-West Ham player said: "From minute one I was hacking people down.

"People running past me and I would go clip.

"I run against one player and barged him."

Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey, said: "We treat any allegations of criminal activity in our competitions with the utmost seriousness.

"Given that there is an ongoing police investigation into this matter, we cannot comment further at this time.

"Although, we would encourage anyone with any evidence to report it to the police.

"We will be giving our full assistance to the police during their investigation."

The NCA said an active investigation is now under way.

The National Crime Agency is investigating separate fixing claims

A spokesman said: "Three people are in custody and are being questioned by NCA officers. We cannot comment further at this stage."

In a statement, Portsmouth Football Club said: "If these serious allegations are true, then we are extremely shocked and saddened by them, as match-fixing of any type goes to the heart of the integrity of the game.

"The player in question no longer plays for the club and we have not been contacted by the authorities, but of course we would cooperate fully with any inquiry."

The new probe comes after the NCA announced at the end of last month that it had launched a separate investigation into "a suspected international illegal betting syndicate".

Gambling on the matches is thought to have taken place on Asian-based betting services and so far investigators to do not believe British betting markets are involved.

That inquiry was launched after an undercover investigation by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, which recorded one alleged fixer offering to rig two games.

It is understood to involve clubs in the English Football Conference, the level below the Football League.

On Thursday, the NCA revealed that two footballers from Brighton-based Conference South team Whitehawk FC had been charged over match-fixing allegations.

Michael Boateng and Hakeem Adelakun, both 22 and from the Croydon area of south London, were charged with conspiracy to defraud contrary to common law.

The two men have been bailed to appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on December 11.

They are the third and fourth people charged to date in connection with the NCA investigation into the alleged international illegal betting syndicate.

Chann Sankaran, 33, from Hastings, East Sussex, and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, 43, from Singapore, were charged on November 28 with plotting to defraud bookmakers.

Both were remanded in custody to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on December 13.

Sky News sports presenter Charlie Thomas said both NCA investigations were being carried out separately.

He added: "This is a situation that football has been fearing and had hoped it had nothing to do with football at all, but now it appears it is encroaching on the league as well as the non-league."

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Ice Storm: Temperatures Drop To -29C In US

Temperatures have plunged to -29C in parts of the US as a deadly cold snap continued to grip much of the country.

Montana and South Dakota saw -29C during the day on Saturday while much of the Midwest was hit by temperatures around -17C to -7C.

Wind chill readings could drop as low as -46C in northwestern Minnesota, weather officials said.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled from Dallas

So far, one person has died in North Texas after a pick-up truck went off of an icy bridge while four people have died of hypothermia in the San Francisco Bay area of California.

Half-a-dozen traffic-related deaths due to the weather were recorded in various states.

Icy conditions were expected to last through the weekend from Texas to Ohio to Tennessee, and Virginia officials warned residents of a major ice storm likely to take shape on Sunday, resulting in power outages and hazardous road conditions.

The harsh conditions caused a number of road deaths

Weather forecasters said the powerful weather system has Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic states in its icy sights next.

Treacherous sections of Interstate 35 north of Dallas were closed for hours at a time as tractor-trailers had trouble climbing hills, wrecks occurred and vehicles stalled, authorities said.

Some 400 departing flights from Dallas, Fort Worth International Airport were cancelled on Saturday morning, the airport said.    

The ice storm is now heading to the Eastern seaboard

About 3,330 passengers stayed overnight in the terminals.

"The weather, it's going to hold until probably after the weekend so I'm thinking I'm just going to hunker down," said Blaine Houserman, a stranded passenger.

More than 100,000 customers in the Dallas area were without power on Saturday, with about 7,000 in Oklahoma and thousands more in other states.

The weather forced the cancellation of countless events, including Sunday's Dallas Marathon, which was expected to draw 25,000 runners, and the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis, expected to include 20,000.

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Mandela: South Africa Urged To Unite As Tribute

By Emma Hurd, Sky News Correspondent

President Jacob Zuma has urged South Africans to unite as the "rainbow nation" and remember the values Nelson Mandela stood for, as the country marks a day of "prayer and reflection" to honour the late icon.

President Zuma was speaking at a service at the Bryanston Methodist Church in Johannesburg, where he was joined by Winnie Madikizela Mandela, the former statesman's second wife. 

Dressed in black, she was seated next to Mr Zuma and was clearly grief stricken in her first public appearance since Mr Mandela's death.

Addressing the congregation the South African President urged his country to remember that Nelson Mandela stood for freedom, reconciliation and unity. 

"He believed in caring and he cared for our nation. He believed in forgiving and he forgave those who kept him in jail for 27 years," Mr Zuma said.

Jacob Zuma has urged South Africans to celebrate the icon's life

South Africans have gathered in churches, synagogues and mosques across the country to join the tributes to the country's first black president ahead of a week of official celebrations and memorial services.

At the famous Regina Mundi Church in Soweto, Father Sebastian J. Rossouw described Mr Mandela as "moonlight," saying he offered a guiding light for South Africa.

Hundreds of people attended mass in the small church that still bears the scars of the conflict.

"Madiba did not doubt the light," Father Rossouw said. "He paved the way for a better future, but he cannot do it alone."

An impromptu shrine in Johannesburg

On Tuesday, a memorial service will be held at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, the place where Mr Mandela made his last public appearance at the World Cup final in 2010. 

At least 80,000 people are expected to attend, including President Barack Obama.

From Wednesday, crowds will line the streets in Pretoria as a funeral cortege carries the remains of the nation's first black President to lie in state at the Union Buildings, where people will be permitted to file past his body to pay their respects. 

The procession will be repeated for three days with the public urged to form a "guard of honour".

Mourners outside Mr Mandela's home in in Johannesburg

The focus will then switch to Nelson Mandela's ancestral home of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape, where the state funeral will be held on Sunday.

Mr Obama will again attend, along with hoards of other world leaders, joining the Mandela family in a public tribute before a private burial service.

Nelson Mandela left it to the South African people to decide how to celebrate his life and legacy.

He said once when asked how he wished to be remembered: "It would be very egotistical of me to say how I would like to be remembered. I'd leave that entirely to South Africans. I would just like a simple stone on which is written, 'Mandela'."

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Teenager Electrocuted In Christmas Accident

A teenager has died in a freak electrocution accident while apparently searching for Christmas decorations in the loft of her house.

Georgia Marshall, 13, from Barry, South Wales, is thought to have been killed when a metal ladder inadvertently touched a live wire.

The schoolgirl was holding the step ladder while her father Richard, 54, searched for the decorations, according to local media.

The teenager, one of seven children, was from a family of animal lovers and grew up surrounded by horses, dogs and guinea pigs.

Her mother, Glenda Marshall, paid tribute to Georgia on Facebook.

"My beautiful light became a shining star today. Love u forever and will miss you till the day I die. My amazing Georgia. Words cannot say how I feel XXX," Mrs Marshall wrote.

Georgia's mother posted a Facebook photo of her daughter riding a horse

She has also posted a photograph of Georgia taken last Christmas, with the message: "My Angel, Christmas 2012."

The accident happened on Saturday and Mrs Marshall thanked friends of the family who have been using the site to express their sympathies.

"This is so hard for us. I just wanted to thank everyone for all the support and offers of help this last couple of days," she wrote.

"Thank you to all the people who have taken and are going to take my guineas for me. This will help me out more than I can say.

"I won't ever get over this, but all your thoughts and help are so much appreciated by all of us here. THANK YOU."

Police are not treating the death of the teenager as suspicious.

A South Wales Police spokesman said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family at this tragic time for them."

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Mandela Premiere Audience Shocked By Death

Nelson Mandela: Obituary Of An Icon

Updated: 6:30am UK, Friday 06 December 2013

Nelson Mandela's long but ultimately successful struggle to liberate South Africa's oppressed black majority made him a figure of hope and inspiration for millions of people around the world.

Feisty young lawyer, determined founder of the ANC's youth movement, militant commander, prisoner, president - his role in the fight for freedom was constantly evolving throughout his life.

Alongside mentor Walter Sisulu and great friend Oliver Tambo, he brought focus to the anti-apartheid campaign where it was needed, but became an enemy of the state in the process.

In 1963, already behind bars and facing the death penalty during a sabotage trial, Mr Mandela gave his famous "speech from the dock".

The words - combative, but measured and full of hope - signalled the emergence of the statesman who would become an icon of the 20th century.

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He said: "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.

"It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

The apartheid government jailed Mr Mandela and his comrades for life in 1964 but they could not lock away the ideas he embodied and the righteousness of his cause.

To allies of South Africa's racist regime - including some in Britain - Mr Mandela remained for many years a "terrorist".

But for campaigners Mr Mandela's 27-year ordeal behind bars, often in a cramped cell on Robben Island or in solitary confinement, represented all that was wrong with apartheid.

Pressure to free "prisoner 46664" went hand-in-hand with diplomacy and sanctions as the world set its sights on ending the injustice of South Africa's racial rule.

The beaming smile and joyful raised fist as he walked free from Paarl's Victor-Verster Prison with his wife Winnie on February 11, 1990, proved beyond doubt to most South Africans that a dark chapter in the country's history was coming to a close.

As President from 1994, Mr Mandela sought to build his "Rainbow Nation" - feted by world leaders as he crossed the globe outlining his vision of a non-racial democracy.

His campaign to unite the nation - black and white - behind the victorious Springboks rugby team during the 1995 World Cup in South Africa made many believe that vision could really be achieved.

An often troubled and traumatic personal life - including the split from Winnie following her kidnapping and assault trial - was never allowed to eclipse the greater goal of guiding South Africa into a new era.

After retiring in 1999, Mr Mandela - fondly known by his tribal name "Madiba" - settled into the role of "Father of the Nation".

Passing on the presidency to Thabo Mbeki, he was happy taking a step back from the political frontline, but always there to reassure his people  - a symbol of hope until the end.

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 into the Madiba tribal clan, part of the Thembu people, in a small village in the eastern Cape of South Africa.

Born Rolihlahla Dalibhunga, he was given his English name by a teacher, Miss Mdingane, at his first school. It was customary for all children to be given English names.

His father, a counsellor to the Thembu royal family, died when Mr Mandela was a child, and he was placed in the care of the acting regent of the Thembu people, chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo.

He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944, first as an activist, then president of the ANC Youth League.

Mr Mandela married his first wife, Walter Sisulu's cousin Evelyn Mase, in 1944 and the couple went on to have four children during a 14-year marriage.

In 1952, he and friend Oliver Tambo opened South Africa's first black law firm, using their offices to take on many civil rights cases and mount challenges to the apartheid system.

Mr Mandela was first charged with high treason in 1956 following the adoption of the Freedom Charter in Soweto - a document with demands including multi-racial, democratic government and equal rights for blacks - but was cleared when the prosecution failed to prove he was using violence.

In 1958 he divorced Evelyn and married Winnie Madikizela, who later became prominent in the ANC and the campaign to free her husband.

He was convinced to take up arms against the government following the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre - when police shot dead 69 peaceful demonstrators who were protesting against the segregationist Pass Law, which limited the freedom of the black population.

The government followed the massacre by banning the ANC, cracking down on strikers and protesters and applying apartheid restrictions even more severely as a state of emergency was declared.

As commander-in-chief of the ANC's armed wing from 1961, Mr Mandela secretly left the country to raise money and undergo military training in Morocco, Algeria and Ethiopia.

He returned in July 1962, but was arrested at a road block after briefing the ANC leadership on his trip.

Mr Mandela stood trial for incitement and leaving the country without a passport and this time there was no chance of an acquittal as he was jailed for five years and sent to Robben Island Prison for the first time.

He was behind bars when a group of his comrades were arrested in 1963. They were charged with sabotage in what became known as the Rivonia Trial - named after the farm raided by police.

In June 1964 - following a lengthy trial condemned by the UN Security Council - Mr Mandela and seven other activists were sentenced to life in prison.

He remained imprisoned on the infamous Robben Island for 18 years before being transferred to Pollsmoor jail on the mainland in 1982.

In the space of 12 months between 1968 and 1969, his mother died and his eldest son was killed in a car crash, but he was not allowed to attend their funerals.

In 1980, Oliver Tambo, who was in exile in London, launched an international campaign to win Mr Mandela's release. International resolutions and rock concerts alike were harnessed to highlight the cause.

As the world community upped the pressure against South Africa, with the US approving tough economic sanctions in 1986, secret talks began between Mr Mandela and PW Botha's government.

In 1990, President FW de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC - paving the way for Mr Mandela's release on February 11.

The ANC and ruling National Party began talks about forming a new non-racial democracy for South Africa.

Relations between Mr Mandela and Mr de Klerk grew tense against a backdrop of violence between ANC supporters and Chief Buthelezi's Inkatha movement.

But the two leaders continued to meet and in December 1993 they were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Five months later, for the first time in South Africa's history, all races voted in democratic elections and Mr Mandela became president - having himself voted in an election for the first time in his life.

As president, Mr Mandela entrusted much day-to-day government business to his deputy Thabo Mbeki.

While his time in office was hailed as a triumph in terms of building the new South Africa, there was criticism for a failure to tackle the Aids epidemic and conditions in the country's slum townships.

Mr Mandela divorced Winnie in 1996 and married 52-year-old Graca Machel two years later, on his 80th birthday.

Mr Mandela stepped down as president after the ANC's landslide victory in the national elections in the summer of 1999, in favour of Mr Mbeki.

After his retirement he continued travelling the world, meeting leaders, attending conferences and raising money for good causes.

With thousands of requests every year, his problem was fitting everything in and not exhausting himself.

In June 2004, aged 85, Mr Mandela announced he would be retiring from public life as he wanted to enjoy more time with his family.

But he did make an exception to speak out about his son Makgatho's death from Aids in 2005 - challenging the taboo that surrounds the disease in Africa.

The 2010 World Cup closing ceremony in Johannesburg was the world's last glimpse of the iconic leader in a public role.

He may have been looking frail, wrapped up against the cold and not speaking, but the famous smile as he basked in South Africa's success underlined how far his country had come.

In recent years he battled bouts of ill health, with South Africans struggling to come to terms with the reality that he could not go on forever.

Mr Mandela had hospital treatment in early 2012 for abdominal pain and then endured another 18-day stay at the end of the year suffering from gallstones and a chest infection.

A picture taken on February 2 at his Johannesburg home - showing him holding great-grandson Zen Manaway on his lap - proved to be the last time Nelson Mandela's millions of admirers saw the world's most famous smile.

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