Body-In-Suitcase Murder: Woman Found In Hendon

A woman's body has been discovered inside a suitcase dumped in woodland in north London, police have said.

Detectives have launched a murder investigation after the grisly find near a sports ground at Thornfield Avenue, Hendon, on Sunday afternoon.

The suitcase was hidden among trees and the surrounding area has been cordoned off.

The woman, who has been described as a young adult, has yet to be identified.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said a post-mortem examination would be arranged.

More follows...

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Royal Baby: Charles Knows 'Absolutely Nothing'

The Prince of Wales has told Sky News he knows "absolutely nothing" about news on the birth of the newest member of the Royal Family.

Prince Charles was questioned as he arrived at the National Railway Museum in York by steam train at the start of a two-day visit to Yorkshire.

As he stepped off the Royal Carriage through clouds of steam to cheers from the crowd, Sky News asked him: "What news of the baby, sir?"

He replied: "Absolutely nothing at the moment..."

Excitement is building at a private hospital in London after the Duchess of Cambridge was taken there with William at her side.

Kensington Palace has confirmed she is in the early stages of labour, after being admitted early this morning.

Prince Charles spoke to other well-wishers who had turned out to welcome him.

Among them was Alex Dickinson and her sons, Thomas, seven, and Freddie, five, who had travelled from nearby Church Fenton.

Ms Dickinson wished him well with the birth of his first grandchild as her children gave him a picture of a giraffe for the baby.

"He said 'Thank you very much'," she said. "Freddie said he thought the baby was coming in six hours and Charles said 'Yes, it may well be'."

Thomas said: "He didn't say anything about if it was a boy or a girl."

Earlier, Prime Minister David Cameron sent his "best wishes" to the couple, saying: "It is an exciting occasion and the whole country is excited with them, so everyone's hoping for the best."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, wrote on Twitter: "My thoughts and prayers are with Kate and the whole family on this enormously special day."

Broadcaster Piers Morgan tweeted: "Keep Calm ... and Carry On. #Kate".

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Royal Baby: Hospital Frenzy Testing Patients

By Kat Higgins, Sky News Online, St Mary's Hospital

Keeping a busy hospital running normally when a Royal birth is happening was never going to be easy.

There are road closures, diversions and a 6ft-deep press pen running the length of the road outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London.

Calling it a crush is an understatement.

Mothers with pushchairs as well as patients on crutches and in wheelchairs have been battling against a sea of cameras, photographers' ladders and reporters from around the world.

Passers-by take photos of the media

While many passers-by are stopping to take photos to mark the historic occasion for themselves, some are not so keen to be part of the media frenzy.

One woman who was visiting her son, who has had a bone marrow transplant, told Sky News the crowds were "ridiculous".

"It's not fair, people in here are sick, it's pathetic that the police can't do more," she said.

Jake Pearson, 22, has been in the hospital for nine days and said it has been "very difficult" to get outside to make a phone call or have a cigarette.

He said: "People are not being as considerate as they should be considering there are patients in wheelchairs trying to move around."

The area has been swamped with journalists and Royal fans

Hospital staff have been trying their best to keep the onlookers moving and have opened extra entrances, but many have looked at a loss for what to do as more and more people arrive.

"We're trying as best we can," one security guard said as he diverted a woman pushing a double buggy away from the main entrance.

Mother-of-two Carly, 24, was trying to take her son to an appointment but said she was 20 minutes late after buses in Paddington were diverted.

"We had to have a police escort to the appointment in the end," she said.

Many have been counting down the days for this baby to arrive, but others will be glad the wait is almost over. 

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Royal Baby: Duchess Of Cambridge In Labour

Royal staff have been sending extra supplies to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge is in labour as the world awaits a new heir to the throne.

Kate, who is thought to be more than a week past her due date, was taken through a side entrance of St Mary's Hospital in London just before 6am.

The Duke of Cambridge travelled with her by car from Kensington Palace, where she went into labour naturally after spending the weekend there.

She plans to have a normal birth at the hospital's private Lindo wing and the couple's spokesman said: "Things are progressing as normal."

Crowds await the official announcement at Buckingham Palace

Sky News' Royal Correspondent Paul Harrison said it was believed a number of "bits and bobs" had been brought to the Duchess by staff via side entrances at around lunchtime.

It appears officials staged a "dummy run" in preparation for her arrival amid reports of police activity at the hospital last night.

Further officially confirmed details are likely to be thin on the ground until the Royal baby is born.

The arrival will be announced in traditional fashion, with a notice on an easel behind the iron railings of Buckingham Palace.

There is a robust police presence at the hospital

The brief bulletin, on headed Palace notepaper, confirms the sex of the baby but usually gives little else away other than that the baby has been "safely delivered" and perhaps the weight.

Well-wishers from around the globe have descended on the Palace on the off-chance of catching a glimpse.

Larissa Milare, 25, from Sao Paulo in Brazil, said she was keen to see the announcement for herself. "It would be so special," she said. "I don't want to miss this."

Royal fans have also gathered around the hospital, where there is a strong police presence.

Terry Hutt is among the royal fans outside the hospital. Pic: Kat Higgins

Among them is Terry Hutt, 78, from Cambridge, who has been sleeping at the scene for days and is wearing a Union flag suit and tie for the occasion.

The former soldier, who served with the Royal Ordnance Corps, said: "I have lost my voice with all the excitement.

"The health of the baby, and Kate, is the only important element."

Residents from Kate's home village of Bucklebury have spoken of their excitement, with bunting out and pubs that normally shut on a Monday preparing to open when the announcement is made.

The Duchess' former music teacher, Daniel Nicholls, said: "Once the baby is born, Bucklebury will take it in its stride that the future, future King or Queen of England will come from here."

Kate is being tended by a top medical team led by the Queen's former gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, who delivered the Countess of Wessex's two children.

Former midwife Clare Byam-Cook told Sky News: "They'll be monitoring her very carefully to check that the baby is doing well."

Kate's due date has never been announced, but it was widely believed to be July 13.

The world's press have been outside St Mary's, in Paddington, for days in anticipation of the birth.

Some 250 reporters and crew are packed into a relatively small stretch of the street opposite the hospital. Their patch shrunk even further earlier when "twitchy" police herded them from the road to the pavement.

Earlier, Prime Minister David Cameron sent his "best wishes" to the couple, saying: "It is an exciting occasion and the whole country is excited with them, so everyone's hoping for the best."

The 'Great Kate Wait', as it was dubbed by the press, is reaching an end

Others voicing their support included the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, who tweeted: "My thoughts and prayers are with Kate and the whole family on this enormously special day."

Celebrities including Joan Collins, Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole and ex-Spice Girl Melanie Brown are among those sharing the nation's excitement.

Prince Charles, who is on a two-day visit to Yorkshire, told Sky News at York's National Railway Museum earlier that he knew "absolutely nothing" about his first grandchild's impending arrival.

At York Minster, members of the public shouted "Congratulations" to Charles, who walked over to one woman, smiling, and said: "Do you know something I don't?"

The news that the Duchess was in labour at the Lindo wing - on what is set to be the hottest day of the year so far - was confirmed in a brief statement from Kensington Palace at 7.30am.

The '82 scene at St Mary's for William's birth, left, and a shot from today

The Duke and his younger brother Prince Harry were born in the same wing and the Prince and Princess of Wales famously posed on the building's steps in 1982 holding baby William.

Baby deliveries at the wing start at £5,000, while consultant fees and other charges can bring the cost of a two-night stay to more than £12,000. Its other current patients include the pregnant sister of adventurer Ben Fogle, Tamara.

William is known to want a daughter, while the Duchess is hoping for a son.

Betting on the name of their first-born, which will be third-in-line to the throne, has produced one favourite with a number of bookies - Alexandra. According to Oddschecker.com, George and James are the joint top contenders for a boy.

Kate is thought to be more than a week past her due date

Whatever name the couple go with, it is likely to set a trend for the next generation of infants.

Recent changes to the rules of succession mean that if it is a girl, she will not be leapfrogged to the throne by a younger brother.

The Queen will be informed of the birth in a phone call from William, according to the Queen's former press secretary Dickie Arbiter.

But he said the Royal Family will not visit because it demands an extra level of security. "The last thing they'll want is to disrupt the hospital," he said.

William is at his wife's side

The birth will be a historic first with three heirs in waiting while the sovereign is fit and well, Mr Arbiter added.

Prince William will be on paternity leave from his job as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot for two weeks. It is not known how long Kate intends to put her Royal duties on hold so she can devote her time to the baby.

They are becoming parents more than two years after they were married at Westminster Abbey in April 2011, with the celebrations watched by millions around the world.

Doctors say the Royal Family could have its newest member by midnight - the average length of labour for a first-time mother is 12 hours.

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Ohio Bodies Find Suspect 'Fascinated' By Killer

Police investigating the grim discovery in Ohio of three bodies wrapped in plastic bags say a 35-year-old suspect may have been fascinated with serial killer Anthony Sowell.

During police interviews, convicted sex offender Michael Madison led police to believe he may have been influenced by Sowell.

"He said some things that led us to believe that in some way, shape, or form, Sowell might be an influence," said East Cleveland mayor Gary Norton.

Suspect Michael Madison is arrested by police (Pic: NBC)

Sowell is currently in prison awaiting the death penalty for murdering 11 women before hiding their remains around his Cleveland home.

Identified in press reports as the Cleveland Strangler, he has appealed for his sentence to be commuted to life in prison on the basis he did not receive a fair trial.

Anthony Sowell murdered 11 women in Cleveland

Mr Norton said police were continuing their search, possibly for more bodies, at the property where the three bodies, all female, were found 150 metres apart.

Police said the first body was found on Friday in a garage and two other bodies were found on Saturday - one in a backyard and the other in the basement of a vacant house.

All three are believed to have been killed in the last six to 10 days.

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Great Barrier Reef Hit By Four US Jet Bombs

Two American fighter jets dropped four bombs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef after a training exercise went wrong, it has emerged.

US officials said the pilots of two AV-8B Harrier jets were forced to jettison the unarmed devices on Tuesday because both aircraft were running low on fuel and could not land with the bombs on board.

The pilots intended to drop the munitions on a designated bombing range on Townshend Island but aborted the mission when controllers reported the area was not clear of hazards.

Instead, they jettisoned two bombs from each aircraft on the World Heritage-listed marine park off the coast of Queensland state.

The pilots tried to minimise the damage by releasing the devices over deep water of more than 164 feet (50 meters) and away from coral reefs, officials said.

All four bombs were inert and so did not explode. It is unclear whether any environmental damage was caused.

The bombs were dropped from two AV-88 Harrier jets

An Australian Defence Force spokesman was quoted as saying the bombs posed "minimal risk or threat to the public, the marine environment or civilian shipping transiting the reef area".

The two jets were launched from aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard during a three-week joint military training exercise involving around 28,000 US and Australian personnel.

Graeme Dunstan, who is among the environmentalists and anti-war activists protesting against the joint exercise, claimed the US military could no longer be trusted to protect the environment.

"How can they protect the environment and bomb the reef at the same time? Get real," Mr Dunstan said from the Queensland coastal town of Yepoon near where the military exercise is taking place.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest network of coral structures rich in marine life that stretches more than 1,,800 miles (3,000 kms) along the Australian northeast coast.

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Tia Sharp's Father Backs Child Abuse Image Ban

The father of murdered schoolgirl Tia Sharp has said he backs a plan for websites to be told to block certain search terms and warn people when they try to view illegal content, as part of a crackdown on child abuse images.

Steven Carter told Sky News he believes Stuart Hazell was "fuelled" by images of abuse and violence he viewed before he killed the 12-year-old.

He said Tia's death may have been prevented if there was a governing body or more policing to stop the availability of indecent images online.

Mr Carter met the Prime Minister at Downing Street last week with the parents of April Jones to discuss the issue.

David Cameron is to use a major speech to tell companies they have a "moral duty" to protect youngsters.

The Prime Minister will call on websites including Google, Bing and Yahoo! to adopt a blacklist of words and phrases drawn up by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) within months.

He will also recommend splash screens that tell people they could lose "their job, their family, even access to their children" by viewing indecent images online.

Steven Carter has met the PM to talk about how to tackle abuse on the web

The pages could redirect people to the charity Stop It Now's website in an effort to help change people's behaviour.

"There are some searches which are so abhorrent and where there can be no doubt whatsoever about the sick and malevolent intent of the searcher that there should be no search results returned at all," Mr Cameron will say.

"I have a very clear message for Google, Bing, Yahoo! and the rest. You have a duty to act on this - and it is a moral duty.

"You are not separate from our society, you are part of our society, and you must play a responsible role in it.

"This is quite simply about obliterating this disgusting material from the net - and we will do whatever it takes."

The Prime Minister is expected to warn companies that "legislative options" could be used to force them to comply if they have not made progress on a blacklist before October.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr show that this further step "might take a bit of an argument but it's an argument on behalf of Britain's parents and children that I am prepared to have".

He said international collaboration would be needed to make companies aware of their responsibilities.

The PM meets the families of April Jones and Tia Sharp

Mr Cameron will also urge firms to hold hackathons - events which allow software experts to collaborate on projects - to produce results.

Pressure to prevent people accessing indecent images of children has increased following two high-profile murder trials.

Mark Bridger, who killed April Jones, was found to have accessed offensive images, including some of children.

Experts argued there was a clear link between their obsessions and their actions.

Labour Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the PM isn't going far enough to tackle online child abuse.

"David Cameron said he would make sure the police had the resources. But the truth is that Theresa May has cut by 10%  the resources for the Ceop - which has identified 50,000 cases of British residents accessing child abuse online but only around 2000 were pursued last year," she said.

"And the failure of the Government to develop workable proportionate communications data plans means Ceop often can't find out who is responsible for the IP addresses used for abusive child images.

"Companies do need to do much more - as Labour called for in our Parliamentary debate in June.  But Ministers need to demonstrate that there will be Government action too - including quickly moving to ban depiction of rape in extreme porn as other countries have done."

Last month, the four main UK internet service providers agreed to donate an extra £1m to the Internet Watch Foundation to help its work with Ceop.

In 2012, the Government abandoned proposals for an "opt-in" system that would have forced users to contact their internet service provider in order to gain access to adult content.

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Gazza: Paul Gascoigne Faces Assault Charges

Ex-England footballer Paul Gascoigne has been charged with two counts of common assault, British Transport Police said.

The former midfielder was also charged with one count of being drunk and disorderly following his arrest at Stevenage railway station earlier this month.

Baljit Ubhey, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Following a BTP investigation, a file was forwarded to us to consider whether any criminal charges could be brought against the 46-year-old man. 

"Having carefully reviewed all of the available evidence, Thames and Chiltern CPS authorised officers from BTP to charge the man with common assault and being drunk and disorderly. 

"The charges are in relation to an incident at Stevenage rail station on the evening of Thursday, 4 July." 

Gascoigne after England lost in the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup

Gascoigne was charged after answering bail.

He was released to reappear at North East Herts Magistrates Court on August 5.

Gascoigne played Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley and China's Gansu Tianma. He ended his career as player-coach for Boston United in League Two.

He won 57 caps for England.

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Costa Concordia: Five Guilty Of Manslaughter

Five people have been found guilty of manslaughter over the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster which left 32 people dead.

The court in Grosseto in Italy handed down the highest sentence to the crisis co-ordinator for the Italian cruise company Costa Crociere, Roberto Ferranini, who could serve two years and 10 months.

The ship's hotel director was sentenced to two years and six months while two bridge officers and a helmsman got sentences ranging from one year and eight months to one year and 11 months.

None are likely to go to jail though as the sentences of less than two years are suspended, and the longer sentences may be appealed or replaced with community service, judicial sources said.

On Thursday, Francesco Schettino - the captain of the Costa Concordia and the main defendant - asked the judge at his manslaughter trial to order tests on the cruise liner's wreckage to determine why electrical and other systems failed after the vessel struck a reef off the Italian island of Giglio.

Schettino talks to his lawyers in Grosseto

The outcome of his request will not be known until at least September.

His trial was adjourned until September 23 for a summer's break.

Schettino is also charged with causing the shipwreck in January 2012 and abandoning ship before all aboard had been evacuated.

His defence claims that no one died in the collision itself, but that the failure of a backup generator and supposedly water-tight compartments that were flooded created problems during the evacuation, when the deaths occurred.

If convicted, Schettino could receive up to 20 years in prison.

The cruise company Costa Crociere was given an administration fine of one million euros (£860,000) earlier this year, under a law in which companies whose employees commit crimes can be sanctioned. It has put the blame for the collision on Schettino.

Salvage experts are still attempting to work out how to right the ship, which remains stuck on a reef off Giglio, and float it away to the mainland for demolition.

The boat has become a macabre tourist attraction in the area.

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Beijing Airport Blast 'Caused By Wheelchair User'

A man has been hurt after apparently detonating a homemade bomb in an arrivals hall at Beijing International Airport.

Pictures posted on the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, Weibo, showed smoke in Terminal 3 after the blast at around 6.30pm local time.

Eyewitnesses have claimed that a man was sitting in a wheelchair in the arrivals hall, shouting and waving a small bag in the air before the explosion took place.

The Sina Weibo microblog of state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said a man detonated a package of black gunpowder used to make firecrackers just outside the international arrivals exit.

Photos taken in the minutes after the explosion showed a wheelchair lying on its side, medical workers attending to someone and people running through the terminal.

Police appear to tend to a casualty. Pic: @mild_luna

A man, who local media say is Ji Zhongxing who was born in 1979 and is from Shandong Province, was injured in the blast and has been taken to hospital.

No one else was hurt in the incident and airport operations are now back to normal.

"The explosion sound was loud," said a witness who gave only his family name, Chen. He said he was only 25m away from the explosion when it occurred.

Chen said there was only one explosion, and that the terminal was crowded with people. "Since there was no second explosion, many people took out their phones and gathered near the explosion spot to take photos," he said.

He said police responded to the explosion immediately.

Sky's China Correspondent Mark Stone, at the airport, said the man may have travelled to the capital to petition for a particular social cause.

"This is looking like a tragic story really. There are a lot of people in China who call themselves 'petitioners'.

Only the wheelchair user was injured in the blast

"Every now and again they go a little bit further and it's a very much more extreme form of petitioning and that I think, is what this appears to be."

Stone said most petitioners complain of local corruption, land grabs and beatings.

He added that a blog purporting to have been written by the man contains claims he was beaten and paralysed by Chinese police in 2005. This has not been verified.

Terminal 3, which opened in 2008 just ahead of the Beijing Olympics, is the airport's hub for international flights. United Airlines and American Airlines operate out of the terminal.

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