Belfast Flag Violence: Rioting In City Centre

Belfast has been hit by another night of rioting as hundreds of loyalists took to the streets to protest over flags.

Eight police officers were injured, with two needing hospital treatment, and five people were arrested following clashes across the city.

Trouble flared at Shaftesbury Square - a popular party spot near Queen's University - after a man tried to drive a black van through a loyalist road block of about 200 people.

Eye witnesses said police officers were pelted with stones, bricks, bottles and other missiles. Two cars were also set on fire.

Police vans cut off part of Belfast's Sandy Row area

Two PSNI water cannons were deployed to the area but were not used against the rioters.

There were also reports of minor sporadic disorder in other parts of the city.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr said: "This behaviour is simply not acceptable. These people are only wrecking their own communities and putting innocent people's lives at risk.

"Twenty-one officers have been injured so far this week dealing with this disorder. That's 21 officers who have been pulled away from their roles of protecting the community. This is unacceptable.

"This mob violence and intimidation cannot be allowed to continue and I am urgently appealing to politicians and those with community influence in these areas to do what they can to put a stop to this behaviour now before someone is seriously injured or killed."

A burned out car in Belfast city centre after rioters dispersed

Loyalists opposed to a restriction on the number of days the Union flag can be flown over Belfast City Hall have held protests across Northern Ireland every night since the decision was taken, despite appeals from the First Minister for the pickets to be suspended.

Last night, demonstrations were also held in the greater Belfast area, Bangor, Co Down, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh and Dungannon, Co Tyrone.

Police said there were no reports of violence outside Belfast. On Friday night, police clashed with loyalists in Ian Paisley's home town of Ballymena, Co Antrim.

Hillary Clinton appealed for the violence to stop

There are plans for a major protest in Belfast city centre later today. Traders are worried it could affect business on what should be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

During her visit to Northern Ireland US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appealed for the violence to stop.

Much of the anger has been directed towards the non sectarian Alliance Party, whose councillors in Belfast voted to limit the number of days the Union flag could be flown over the city hall from 365 to 17.

A death threat against the party's only MP, Naomi Long, marked a significant escalation in the seriousness of the sectarian tension.

On Wednesday, a constituency office in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim was destroyed in an arson attack. An attempt to burn down Bangor premises occupied by the Alliance Party's Employment Minister Stephen Farry was thwarted.

Belfast city councillor Laura McNamee was also advised to leave her home while two others living in Bangor had their house vandalised.

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Drink-Driving: Crashed Car Shown To Clubbers

A dad whose daughter was killed in a drink-drive crash hopes that parking her wrecked car outside nightclubs will stop others getting behind the wheel while over the limit.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, lost his eldest daughter in the crash near Fleet, Hampshire, last November.

The 23-year-old was four times over the drink-drive limit when her Vauxhall Corsa collided with a van on her way home from a night out. She died instantly.

Her father has now agreed to let police display her car in town centres in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight in the hope it will encourage others not to drink and drive.

"I wanted to tell my story, her story, because I wanted people to see what devastation they can cause by making that choice," he said.

"It's a split second decision which can have far-reaching consequences.

"To anyone else who would consider getting behind the wheel after having alcohol, I plead with you as a father, as the husband of a devastated mother, as the parent of two grieving children and on behalf of the many people who knew and loved my daughter, please don't.

"You can't imagine the pain you could leave behind, either for your family or for someone else's."

The Smashed campaign will target drivers aged between 20 and 24, who accounted for nearly a quarter of drive-drink arrests last Christmas.

Interviews with some of the emergency service personnel who attended the crash, including paramedic Kate McDougall and firefighter Craig Gregory, have been released on YouTube as part of the campaign.

Sergeant Jay Hewes, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "We don't ever want to tell another parent, partner or child, that someone they love is gone, but chances are that before the year is out, we will have to.

"If one person, regardless of their age, sits up and takes notice, this young person will have left a legacy her parents can take some comfort from and those who knew her can be proud of."

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Syria: Rebel Prisoners On Their Religious War

Interviewing people who, under different circumstances, might kill you, is a strange experience.

To the soundtrack of multiple rocket launchers and small arms fire, I met six men who the Syrian authorities told us were jihadist rebel fighters captured by the army.

We were in a Ministry of Interior prison near Damascus in an area now close to the front lines.

The men, four Syrian, an Iraqi, and a Turk, said they had indeed been in the jihadist movement fighting President Assad's forces, but now renounced the armed struggle even though they continued to espouse Salafist ideology. All are awaiting court appearances.

Jamil Us Turk, Ahmed al Rabido, Hamid Hassan al Attar, Bahar al Bashah, Ali Hussein and Mahmoud al Ahab said they were happy to be interviewed and had not been badly treated.

At one point I asked the guards to leave, spoke with the men alone and checked them for obvious signs of mistreatment, which were not apparent. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both accuse the Syrian regime of routinely torturing prisoners.

As far as I could ascertain, the men were who they said they were. The Turkish man spoke Turkish, the Iraqi had an Iraqi accent, they displayed religious knowledge of the sort taught to those with a Salafist mindset.

The captured fighters are from Turkey, Iraq and Syria

Most of the rebel militias are not radical jihadists, but in the last few months there appears to have been a sharp increase in the number of foreign fighters coming to Syria.

The Syrian authorities are keen to promote the view that they are fighting an al Qaeda type force which partially explains why, after much pushing, we were allowed rare access into the jail.

Mahmoud al Ahab, who described himself as a Palestinian Syrian, told me he was in the al Nusra Front which he said was an al Qaeda group. He had sworn an oath of allegiance to al Nursa but now felt this was a mistake.

Ahmed al Rabido, a 48-year-old Syrian, said he was a religious leader, a Mufti, in the Free Syrian Army.

"I joined because I wanted to demolish the secular state... I don't believe in this anymore because the country is being ruined," he said.

Bahar al Basah, 35, another Palestinian Syrian, told me he was influenced by the writings of Abu Qatada, the radical cleric currently under house arrest in the UK.

The men only became animated when I showed a little knowledge of Salafist ideology and brought up the works of Islamists such as the Egyptian Sayyid Qutb.

Sky's Tim Marshall interviewed the men awaiting trial

This led to a question about the future of Syria's minorities such as the Christians. Ahmed, Basah, and Hamid Hassan all agreed - Christians could only live there if they either converted, or paid the 'Jizyah' - a special tax levied on non-Muslims in previous centuries in the Middle East. If not said Bahar, they could be killed.

When asked why, the answer was, to them, quite simple - because the Prophet Mohammed said so. I was then invited to become a Muslim.

The conversation verged on the surreal. There we were talking in a quite friendly manner, with the occasional joke, about killing people because they wouldn't pay the Jizyah, which critics regard as effectively obtaining money through menaces.

The interview ended with Ahmed volunteering that eventually Muslims must reclaim Andalucia in Spain for the Islamic Caliphate.

His logic, that it was justified because Spain used to be under Islam, was somewhat undermined when he went on to say that Islam should move on to bring the UK under its control and indeed, eventually, the whole world.

Rebel fighters want an end to President Assad's regime

This was a rare first-hand glimpse into the jihadi mindset.

The men are not representative of the FSA, indeed many militia units are deeply suspicious of the jihadists' aims.

However, it appears that a lot of the best weapons are reaching the jihadist groups, and they are using these to gain influence and territory. 

Even if the rebels overthrow the government, they won't just have a problem dealing with militia from the minority groups, they will have problems with each other.

As the men left to go back to their cells, we shook hands.

Two of them were still trying to convert me, asking me, with a smile, to say the Shahada 'La ilaha il Allah' - there is no God but Allah.

Men like this scare Syria's Christians, Allawites, Shia, Druze, and Kurds, indeed they frighten many of the countries Sunnis, but the war here is now so steeped in blood that compromise seems almost impossible to achieve, and there are now people on both sides who reject compromise out of hand.

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First Picture Of Kate Hospital Hoax Nurse

Station No Stranger To Controversy

Updated: 9:10pm UK, Friday 07 December 2012

The Australian radio station behind the hoax call to the hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge has a history of controversies.

Sydney-based 2Day FM was given a five-year licence condition to provide increased protection for children after a 14-year-old girl was strapped to a lie detector test on air and pressured to discuss her sex life.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority warned the station after the show in 2009, in which the girl revealed live on air that she was raped at the age of 12.

Despite her protests that she was "scared" and believed the questions were not "fair", the hosts of the Kyle & Jackie-O radio show encouraged both the girl and her mother to discuss whether she was sexually active.

The girl responded: "I've already told you the story of this and don't look at me and smile because it's not funny. Oh, okay. I got raped when I was 12 years old."

The host then replied: "Right. And is that, is that the only experience you've had?"

In a submission to the Australian regulator in 2009, the Law Society of New South Wales Young Lawyers (LSNSWYL) said: "Overall, we believe that the child was exploited and treated cruelly by 2Day FM.

"The broadcast made the exploitation all the more humiliating and public."

In another controversy, the radio station said it had raised 150,000 Australian dollars (about £98,000) for a family who believed they were being given the money to help care for their disabled child.

But when they tried to claim the cash, they were instead given the names of those who had pledged money and were not able to collect more than 50,000 dollars (about £33,000), according to LSNSWYL.

LSNSWYL highlighted a series of "Heartless Hotline" shows which involved exploiting disadvantaged individuals who were offered a prize which could be taken away from them by listeners.

It said the stunts "demonstrated a pattern of behaviour that involves the exploitation of the disadvantaged for the entertainment of others".

In one instance, a mother of five children, four of them disabled, was offered tickets to take her family to the Sydney Royal Easter Show - but only if no other "heartless" listener claimed the tickets within 30 seconds.

In another incident, presenter Kyle Sandilands was suspended for suggesting actress Magda Szubanski, who had recently undergone a high-profile weight loss regime, could lose more weight at a concentration camp. Ms Szubanski's family is originally from Poland.

After the royal prank call earlier this week, 2Day FM said: "2Day FM sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the inquiry to Kate's hospital.

"The radio segment was done with the best intentions and we wish Kate and her family all the best."

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Snow Alert: Cold Weather 'Beast' To Hit UK

Britain is facing a weather front dubbed the "Beast from the East" next week - with heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures.

Temperatures could plummet as low as -6C around London as icy winds blow in over the eastern coast.

Forecasters are also predicting "lots of snow" from Monday - that could "obliterate" East Anglia and spread to southeastern areas.

By Tuesday and Wednesday there could be significant accumulation of snow along much of the eastern side of Britain.

Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said snow which settled in the east tended to stay for longer.

"People should prepare for the cold weather and allow more time to get to work," Jo said.

"The snow could cause considerable disruption because of the accumulation in populated areas," she added.

Overnight frosts will continue throughout next week, with increasingly wintry showers turning from sleet into snow.

There were early reports of snowfall in Luton this morning.

Snow is continuing to fall on higher ground across Scotland, but will struggle to settle after sleet showers.

Weather warnings have been issued for Scotland and north-east England as ice is likely to form on untreated surfaces following rainfall.

Overnight the wind will ease and skies will clear, and temperatures will be close to freezing in most places.

A cold and frosty start is expected for the weekend, with plenty of sunshine in the south.

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Max Clifford: 'Nothing To Hide' Over Sex Claims

Max Clifford has said he will try to continue to lead a normal life after being arrested over allegations of sexual offences he called "totally untrue".

The publicist was released on bail on Thursday after being detained at his Surrey home by officers from Operation Yewtree, the investigation set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal.

Clifford, 69, was held on suspicion of historic sex offences and taken to Belgravia police station in central London for questioning.

Speaking to reporters as he left his house today, Clifford said the allegations "are totally without any foundation and are totally untrue".

He said he had "absolutely nothing to hide" over the claims he believed dated from 1977 and a few years afterwards.

He went on: "I'll be working as I normally do - so trying to make things as normal as I possibly can in the circumstances."

Clifford said it had been "a horrible experience but you have to face up to these things".

He continued: "The police have got to look into it (the allegations). That's what they have to do and obviously I have to answer their questions and hopefully show clearly and conclusively to them and everybody else that there's absolutely no truth in it at all."

Clifford also addressed the media outside a police station

Speaking outside the police station on Thursday night, he said: "Anyone who really knew me all those years ago and those who have known me since will have no doubt that I would never act in the way that I have today been accused."

Officers said he was bailed to appear at a later date but refused to give any further details.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said on Thursday: "The individual (held today) falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'others'. We are not prepared to discuss further."

Police working on Operation Yewtree have said they were looking at three categories of offences; those allegedly committed by Savile alone, those allegedly committed by Savile and others, and alleged offences by others.

Clifford is the fifth suspect to be arrested - and the sixth person to be questioned - in connection with the Yewtree operation, which has already cost around £2m and involves a team of 30 officers.

Among those arrested have been former pop star Gary Glitter, comedian Freddie Starr, DJ Dave Lee Travis and a man in his 70s, reported to be former television producer Wilfred De'Ath.

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Japan Earthquake: Tsunami Wave Hits City

A one-metre high tsunami wave has struck the city of Ishinomaki in northeastern Japan after a strong earthquake off the coast.

Buildings shook as far away as Tokyo following the tremor which took place in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 23 miles, with the epicentre 285 miles from the capital.

Japan's NHK television urged people in coastal areas likely to be affected to head to safety.

"If you are in the tsunami warning area, hurry and escape," the broadcaster warned.

"Escape to a high area as fast as you can. If there is no high area, move to a tall building, or escape as far away from the coast as possible. Do not stop. Do not go back."

The earthquake was felt in the capital Tokyo, where buildings shook

Ishinomaki resident Chikako Iwai said: "I was in the centre of the city the very moment the earthquake struck.

"I immediately jumped into the car and started running away towards the mountains. I'm still hiding inside the car. I'm planning to stay here for the next couple of hours."

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, the US Geological Survey said.

The tsunami it triggered hit Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, which was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

That quake led to fuel-rod meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing radiation leakage, contamination of food and water and mass evacuations in the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

The latest earthquake disrupted public transport in Japan

Workers at the site were moved to safe positions at the plant shortly after Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator, said there were no irregularities at its nuclear plants after the latest quake.

Trains in Miyagi prefecture were halted and Sendai airport, which was flooded by the tsunami last year, closed its runway.

There were no reports of deaths or serious damage, although five people were reportedly slightly injured.

All tsunami warnings for the area have now been lifted.

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Tia Sharp's Grandma Faces 'No Further Action'

The Metropolitan Police say the grandmother of murdered schoolgirl Tia Sharp faces no further action in relation to the 12-year-old's death.

More follows...

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Rescue Dogs Taught How To Drive A Car

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Three rescue dogs in New Zealand have been taught how to drive a car.

Monty, Porter and Ginny have learned the skills to prove how intelligent dogs can be, in an attempt to encourage more potential owners to come forward.

The drive for publicity by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals saw the four-legged friends spend weeks getting to grips with four wheels.

The dogs, a giant schnauzer, a whippet cross and a beardie cross can change gear, steer and brake.

The animals can start a car, accelerate and steer

They sit in a driving position on their haunches responding to instructions called out from the dog behaviour experts.

Animal trainer Mark Vette and his team began training the animals using a mock vehicle before introducing them to a real car - a Mini especially adapted for paws.

He said: "We chain behaviours together ... in this case we've got 10 behaviours we're putting together. Then you put them into a sequence. It's a lot to do, and for the dog to actually start to get an idea of what actually is happening takes quite a long time.

"So we'll start the car, get into position, brake on, gear in place, back onto the steering wheel, accelerator, take off and hoon (=drive fast) along the straight and then stop," said Mr Vette.

However, the animal trainer says things did not always go smoothly when the dogs got into the real car.

"A couple of days ago the car was going too fast, the trainer nearly got run over," he said.

Now the animals can start a car, accelerate and steer they are scheduled to show off their skills on live TV in New Zealand next week.

For the final test the dogs will also have to brake as they are driving along a narrow lane.

Trainers are hoping they won't become too distracted driving past any lamp posts.

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Pregnant Kate: Duchess Is Out Of Hospital

The Duchess of Cambridge has been discharged from hospital after a stay of three days for treatment for severe morning sickness.

Kate, who is less than 12 weeks pregnant, left King Edward VII Hospital with Prince William and was taken to Kensington Palace to rest.

A pale, but relaxed looking Duchess, wrapped up against the cold in a coat and scarf, emerged from the building carrying a bouquet of yellow flowers.

She gave a brief smile to the waiting press before being driven away with the Duke of Cambridge by her side.

Kate was receiving treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum - a rare condition which causes severe vomiting during pregnancy and can cause dehydration, weight loss and a build-up of toxins in the blood or urine called ketosis.

She was admitted to the central London private hospital on Monday after developing the condition.

William and Kate leaving the hospital earlier

Her discharge comes the day after it emerged two Australian radio DJs managed to trick hospital staff treating the Duchess into revealing detailed information about her condition.

Sydney's 2Day FM presenters, Mel Craig and Michael Christian, impersonated the Queen and the Prince of Wales to dupe staff.

They, and the radio station, have since apologised for the prank call.

However, Christian has been promoting their stunt on Twitter telling followers in a tweet: "Still haven't heard the #RoyalPrank that has the world talking? Listen to it here..."

The hospital has said it "deplores" the stunt and is reviewing procedures.

In a brief statement, St James's Palace said: "Their Royal Highnesses would like to thank the staff at the hospital for the care and treatment the Duchess has received."

Kate's sister Pippa and her brother James spent an hour visiting her at the hospital on Wednesday, while the Duchess' parents Carole and Michael Middleton are thought to have visited their daughter on Tuesday.

There has been no announcement about when the baby is due, who will be third in line to the British throne after William and his father Charles.

The new royal will be the first great grand child of a serving monarch, in direct succession, in almost 120 years.

There has been speculation that Kate could be carrying twins, as the acute sickness she is suffering from is more common in such pregnancies.

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