Nigeria: Militants Kidnap 100 Schoolgirls

At Least 75 Dead In Nigeria Bus Station Blast

Updated: 4:43pm UK, Tuesday 15 April 2014

An explosion has ripped through a busy commuter bus station on the outskirts of Nigeria's capital, killing dozens of people as they were travelling to work.

Police said 75 people had been confirmed dead so far, and 141 more were wounded. But the death toll is likely to go up.

Body parts and blood were strewn across the station, as rescue workers scrambled to contain the chaos that followed the attack. 

"I saw bodies taken away in open trucks," said witness Yakubu Mohammed.

"It is difficult to count them because the bodies were burnt and in pieces."

The private Channels television network showed thick black smoke rising above the bus station. 

The blast destroyed more than 30 vehicles and caused secondary explosions as their fuel tanks exploded and burned.

It hit the Nyanya Bus Park station about five miles (8km) south of Nigeria's capital, Abuja, at rush hour.

"I was waiting to get on a bus when I heard a deafening explosion then saw smoke," said Mimi Daniels, who works in Abuja.

"People were running around in panic".

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency in the northeast.

The terrorist network has been threatening to attack the capital.

Boko Haram - which means "Western education is forbidden"  - claimed a 2011 suicide bombing by two explosives-laden cars that drove into the lobby of the United Nations office building in Abuja.

The attack killed at least 21 people and wounded 60.

They have also staged attacks on schools, villages, markets, military bases and checkpoints as it has sought to force an Islamic state in Nigeria.

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Hillsborough: Liverpool Marks 25th Anniversary

The city of Liverpool has come to a standstill as thousands of people gathered to remember the 96 fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster 25 years ago.

Church bells tolled 96 times at 3.06pm, the exact time Liverpool FC's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest was abandoned.

The crush on the Leppings Lane terraces at the stadium in Sheffield in 1989 is Britain's worst ever sporting disaster.

Relatives of the victims joined players, staff and senior representatives of the club at Anfield for the annual memorial service. A crowd of around 24,000 was expected.

Manager Brendan Rodgers gave a reading, as did Roberto Martinez, manager of city neighbours Everton.

A minute's silence was held before Liverpool's match at the weekend

Thousands of scarves were laid out on the pitch in the shape of "96", donated from fans and clubs across the UK and beyond after an appeal from Liverpool.

Public transport was halted at 3.06pm across the city, when the Mersey Ferry blew its funnels and barriers at both Mersey Tunnels were lowered.

At Lime Street, the city's main railway station, a huge screen displayed a photo of each of those who died.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: "This year marks a pivotal moment in the history of the Hillsborough tragedy and the families' long fight for justice.

"Not only is it the 25th anniversary of the tragedy but we also have the start of fresh inquests into how the 96 lost their lives.

Hillsborough Stadium on April 15, 1989

"We will never forget those who died at Hillsborough, and this is a day for us to unite as a city and remember each one, and also their families and friends left behind.

"I urge everyone in Liverpool, and across the region, to observe the minute's silence, stand shoulder to shoulder and remember the 96 fans that went to a football match and never returned home."

The verdict of accidental death reached at the original inquest in 1991 was quashed at the High Court in 2012 after a long campaign by the families of the victims.

A new inquest was ordered and this will resume next week.

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Shots Fired At Ukraine Airport As Troops Move In

Ukraine Pro-Russia Protesters Want Self-Rule

Updated: 5:08pm UK, Tuesday 15 April 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor in Makiivka

Brimming with self-importance and decked out in skateboard armour they bustled up glaring through the gaps in their balaclava hats.

"You need security," they snapped.

It was difficult to guess whether this was an instruction or an offer.

But the pro-Russian militants of Makiivka, an industrial city in the centre of the eastern Ukrainian province of Donetsk, were on a charm offensive.

Politely and with puffed up chests they hastened us past ordinary civilians trying to get through the ordinary bureaucracy of the city hall, into the presence of Sergei Novakovski.

He didn't wear a mask but wore a splendid moustache instead.

"You can't film here. Not here," he commanded as we blundered into what appeared to be a semi-military operations room, crowded with thickset men in black and wrapped in cigarette smoke.

He pointed to a smaller chamber: "This is our medical clinic.

"People are going about their everyday business, we are just providing security against the gangsters in Kiev - they are Nazis, racists," he insisted.

Elsewhere in Ukraine's east, his comrades, who have taken over at least a dozen police and other government buildings in towns and cities across this industrial heartland, were reported to be digging in and building barricades.

They were reacting to the Kiev government warning that it had launched a "counter-terrorism" operation to chuck them out.

But here there were just a few tyres and wooden pallets tossed to each side of the building.

Curious onlookers came to watch the teenagers in masks and their older leadership, who had adopted a more conciliatory message than the hard line Russian separatists who provided much of the energy on the street, which led to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

"We are not separatists. We are Ukrainian. We want regional autonomy within the state of Ukraine," Mr Novakovski insisted.

"We don't want anything to do with the government in Kiev. They came to power illegally and are just being paid by the Europeans. We have nothing in common with them."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned he reserves the "right" to send troops into Ukraine if the Russian speaking population is threatened.

He has been accused by the US, UK and UN, of deliberately destabilising the region as a prelude to invasion or to foment greater pro-Russian federalism.

The eastern oblasts (provinces) have become fractious.

A sudden bout of blood-letting during an attempt to clear government buildings of pro-Russian militia, some of them heavily armed, could spark Russian intervention.

But Mr Novakovski and his followers in Makiivka know they must tread more carefully.

Donetsk maybe a hotbed of pro-Russian dissent.

It may have a population that is more than 50% Russian speaking - but less than 40% are ethnically actually Russian.

The Ukrainian has been replaced with the Russian colours above City Hall - but it flaps defiantly on many other buildings.

Any attempt to repeat a Crimean-style takeover operation would be met with resistance from a large minority or even a majority of local people.

Perhaps that's why Mr Novakovski shrugged.

"What's a flag anyway," he said.

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Dame Angela Lansbury's 'Proud Day' With Queen

Angela Lansbury's accomplishments as a stage and screen actress have been recognised by the Queen who has made her a Dame.

The star, who is performing in the West End aged 88, has spoken of her pride after receiving the honour at Windsor Castle.

Dame Angela, who was born in London but left for the US as a child during World War Two, said: "It is a very proud day for me to be recognised by the country of my birth, and to meet the Queen under these circumstances is a rare and lovely occasion."

She joins a select group of acting Dames, including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Penelope Keith.

The veteran actress is known to millions as crime writer and sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the TV series Murder, She Wrote and her career includes countless film roles including appearances in Bedknobs And Broomsticks, The Manchurian Candidate and alongside Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii.

Nicholas Parsons was honoured with a CBE

She has been nominated three times for an Academy Award and was presented with an honorary Oscar last year, but she said this honour was completely different.

"One (the Oscar) is for my work in motion pictures and this is for the overall accomplishments of my life as an actress," she said.

"It has afforded me the joy of working in America and also in England a great deal."

Dame Angela was joined by her son, his wife and her niece as she collected the award for her services to drama and charitable work and philanthropy.

Sculptor Antony Gormley was given a knighthood

She returned to her roots last month when she took to the stage at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End for a production of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit.

It is the first time in almost 40 years that she has been on the London stage, reprising the role which won her a Tony award on Broadway.

Veteran entertainer Nicholas Parsons was also honoured with a CBE for his lifelong work for children's charities, in addition to an OBE he already has for his broadcasting career.

The 90-year-old Just A Minute host said: "It is very nice to be honoured for all the things you do because you enjoy and love them."

He said the Queen had told him his hard work was "greatly admired".

Sculptor Antony Gormley received a knighthood from the Queen.

He said: "I think Britain has a relationship with sculpture as a kind of art that carries the collective imagination in a way that perhaps painting doesn't.

"I take the award in the name of sculpture because I think of it as being an art form that is of and for the public."

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Missing Plane: Mini-Sub Aborts Search Mission

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent, in Perth

The submarine being used to search for the wreckage of missing Malaysia flight MH370 has had to abort its first mission after reaching its top diving depth.

The multi-million dollar underwater drone, called Bluefin-21, was only designed to work at depths of around 3,500 metres and has a maximum operating depth of 4,500 metres, about the same level as the ocean floor. 

Each one of the submarine's missions will take 24 hours

A spokesman for the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said: "After completing around six hours of its mission, Bluefin-21 exceeded its operating depth limit of 4,500 metres and its built-in safety feature returned it to the surface.

"Bluefin 21 reached a depth of 4,500m in a charted area of 4,400m. This unexpected condition resulted in an automatic mission abort.

"The Bluefin 21 can scan to depths deeper than 4,500m. However, the sonar imaging becomes less effective as the scan depth increases. 

The area of ocean being searched on Tuesday

"There are small portions of the current search area where the actual depth may exceed the charted depth. This is not uncommon in deep ocean search operations.

"The six hours of data gathered by the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is currently being extracted and analysed."

It is a blow to the mission which is pinning all hope of finding the missing 777 jet on the success of the submersible.

Flight MH370 was carrying 239 people

If Bluefin-21 is unable to work at the correct depth it could hinder the search.

After taking two hours to reach the ocean floor it was meant to spend 16 hours searching for wreckage using sonar and a further four hours at the surface downloading the data.

Its early return to the monitoring vessel Ocean Shield will be a disappointment to search teams.

The Chief Coordinator of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, told Sky News it was likely the batteries in MH370's black box had expired and that the submersible was now a "very promising lead" in the search for the plane.

"We haven't had a single detection in six days so I guess it's time to go underwater," he added.

Nine military aircraft, two civil aircraft and 11 ships are involved in today's search for any sign of the Malaysia Airlines jet, which vanished more than five weeks ago during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 people.

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Coulson 'Knew Nothing' Of Milly Dowler Hacking

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

Former News of the World Editor Andy Coulson has denied he played any part in the hacking of the mobile phone messages of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

It was the revelation the Sunday tabloid had accessed the 13-year-old's voicemail messages, after her disappearance in 2002, which led to the closure of the newspaper.

The Old Bailey phone hacking trial has heard how Andy Coulson was the News of the World's deputy editor at that time of the teenager's disappearance, but had taken charge of the paper as then editor Rebekah Brooks was on holiday in Dubai.

Giving evidence for a second day in the witness box, Mr Coulson said he had never engaged in illegal hacking activity, nor known about attempts to tap into the Dowlers' messages.

Milly Dowler was abducted on her way home from school in 2002

The 46-year-old was asked by his legal counsel, Timothy Langdale, what his reaction might have been had he known that anyone at the newspaper had hacked into the schoolgirl's phone messages.

Mr Coulson said: "I would have been very concerned. My instinctive reaction would have been to think this was interference in a police investigation."

The witness said he was aware of the practice of phone hacking in "very vague terms. I think it was in the ether. It was something that was gossiped about maybe".

He was asked: "Were you ever party to or in agreement with phone hacking at the News of the World?"

Coulson said: "No I was not."

Rebekah Brooks was away on holiday when Milly Dowler went missing

In the spring of 2002, Coulson said he was not aware that to access someone else's voicemail messages was a crime.

But he said: "I would have thought it was intrusive, I would have thought that it was a breach of privacy, and I also would have thought that it was lazy journalism.

Coulson resigned from the News of the World in 2007 shortly after a hacking scandal involving the paper's former royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glen Mulcaire.

He went on to become David Cameron's Downing Street communications director, before having to resign from that job in the wake of the Milly Dowler hacking revelations.

He is charged with conspiring to hack phones with Rebekah Brooks and Stuart Kuttner and conspiring with Clive Goodman to commit misconduct in public office.

Seven defendants are on trial at the Old Bailey, all deny the charges against them.

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Nigel Farage: 'Expenses Claims Are Erroneous'

Nigel Farage has hit back over EU expenses claims saying as an MEP he can spend his taxpayer-funded allowances as he likes.

The UKIP leader is facing an investigation over how he uses £15,500 of yearly allowances he receives from the European Union, according to The Times newspaper.

The money was used to run his constituency office in Lyminster, West Sussex, according to UKIP records, however, he pays no rent as the property was gifted to him by party supporters.

Speaking to Sky News he said The Times' claims were "erroneous", adding that under EU rules he did not have to account for how he used the £60,000 of allowances he had received since 2009.

He said like all MEPs he was given a general allowance of £3,580 a month to spend "as I see fit" and he did not have to provide receipts.

Mr Farage accused the newspaper of "conflating" his EU allowances with the row over expenses claimed by MPs at Westminster, which he said was an entirely different matter.

He said: "I haven't bought a house or vintage wine."

Farage: 'I haven't bought vintage wine'

Mr Farage told Dermot Murnaghan: "They are not expenses. We don't actually claim for anything. I have not claimed for an office. I have not claimed this figure of £15,000.

"The Times, who are the pro-establishment newspaper have deliberately tried to conflate the expenses row at Westminster, where people have been using taxpayers' money to buy houses and make large capital gains with the way the system works in the EU.

"I'm not defending the system, I want it to end but I get given, as does every other British MEP, £3,850, every month to spend in the UK and in my constituency as I see fit."

Mr Farage said there was a list of "expenses" and he could spend the money on newspapers, on books, hotel rooms and restaurants.

He added: "We do not have to provide any receipts, any explanation for how that money is spent so what The Times has written is wholly erroneous."

The Times quoted former office manager David Samuel-Camps as saying it only cost £3,000 a year to run Mr Farage's office, rather than the £1,000 the UKIP leader claims.

However, Mr Farage pointed out Mr Samuel-Camps had written to the newspaper complaining that he had been misquoted and stating it cost £8,400 a year to run the office - closer to Mr Farage's figure.

When asked what the allowance had been spent on, Mr Farage claimed the annual electricity bill was £3,000 - the average bill for a family home is only £1,000 - and said this was because of the machines.

He also said the money was spent on burglar alarms, insurance and dealing with his increasingly heavy postbag.

In a robust response to the newspaper story on the UKIP website the party claimed the story was politically motivated because of its success in polls over the weekend.

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Oscar Pistorius Shot Reeva Dead 'On Purpose'

Oscar Pistorius sobbed as he read a Valentine's Card from Reeva Steenkamp - after claims he shot her despite her "blood-curdling" screams.

Ending five days of cross examination, prosecutor Gerrie Nel put it to Pistorius that he armed himself "with the sole purpose of shooting and killing" his girlfriend.

The accusation came before the Paralympian read out a Valentine's Card from Ms Steenkamp, due to be opened on the day of the killing.

Pistorius sobbed: "Roses are red, violets are blue. I think today is a good day to tell you that ... I love you."

The envelope was addressed to 'Ozzie' with "some hearts and a squiggle", while the card was signed 'Reeves' with a smiley face and three kisses.

Mr Nel again reduced Pistorius to tears as he asked him who was to blame for the bullets that "ripped through her body".

"Who should we blame for the fact that you shot her?," Mr Nel asked.

Pistorius replied: "I don't know my lady, I was scared. I believe there was a threat on my life."

Mr Nel continued: "Once again, we shouldn't blame you? Who should we blame?"

"I'm not sure," Pistorius replied.

The Valentine's Day card sent to Oscar Pistorius from Reeva

Mr Nel asked: "Should we blame Reeva? She never told you that she was going to the toilet - we should blame Reeva?"

Pistorius replied: "No, my lady."

Mr Nel pressed on: "Should we blame the government? You must be blaming someone?"

"I don't know. My lady, I believed that someone was coming to attack me," Pistorius replied.

Mr Nel ends five days of cross examination

Mr Nel then asked: "Who should we blame for the black talon rounds that ripped through her body?"

After a few seconds to compose himself, Pistorius said the ammunition was of the type required by his gun.

As he concluded cross examination Mr Nel referred to Reeva's "blood curdling screams", heard by neighbours.

He went on: "I'm putting to you that there were only two people in the house.

Oscar Pistorius arrives at the High Court today

"You killed Reeva. I'm putting it to you that your version is not only untruthful but is so improbable that it cannot reasonably be true.

"She was locked into the bathroom and you armed yourself with the sole purpose of shooting and killing her."

Pistorius said: "That's not true my lady." 

Mr Nel ended: "That's what you did. Afterwards, indeed, you were overcome by what you had done - only because it was your intention to kill her."

Pistorius sobbed as he looked at a photograph of injured Reeva Steenkamp

Pistorius said: "The opposite, my lady,"

Earlier, the athlete sobbed as he was asked to look at a photograph of Ms Steenkamp slumped on the toilet bowl.

He was asked why he didn't scream when he saw Ms Steenkamp, 27, injured in the toilet, as opposed to the moments before.

Pistorius replied: "The state of panic was not knowing - when I saw her there, it was sadness. I was broken.

"I was talking to her, I was saying 'baby please hold on'."

Mr Nel then accused Pistorius of calling security by mistake and telling them things "were ok" because he didn't want them in the apartment. 

Pistorius, 27, admits shooting his girlfriend - but says he believed that she was an intruder.

He denies premeditated murder and illegally possessing ammunition. He also denies two further counts related to shooting a gun in public on separate occasions prior to the killing.

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Hairdresser's Kim Jong-Un Poster Angers N Korea

Two men claiming to be North Korean officials have confronted a London hairdresser who filled his salon window with a poster of Kim Jong-Un, alongside the words: "Bad Hair Day?"

Police told Sky News they had also received a complaint from the North Korean embassy about the advertisement displayed at M&M Hair Academy in South Ealing, west London.

The salon is not being investigated over the poster, which showed the smiling dictator and his distinctive hairstyle and offered a month-long discount on gents' cuts.

However, the eye-catching display has now been removed because of "overwhelming" interest from passers-by and because it "covered up the window", blocking out light.

Hairdresser Karim Nabbach told Sky News his father Mo, who runs the salon, was confronted by the men, neither of whom showed official identification or sported hairstyles identical to the North Korean leader's.

"They didn't introduce themselves and demanded to speak to the manager," he said.

"They told him, 'We want your name'."

The North Korean leader sporting his distinctive hairstyle

Mr Nabbach said staff at the salon did not realise the North Korean embassy - which is run from an unassuming property in nearby Gunnersby Drive - is just 10 minutes' walk from their shop.

He said his father went to Ealing police station in case the visit led to any repercussions, but "nothing happened".

"It's been pretty hectic since we put up the poster," he said.

"It's become something of a tourist attraction - people have been coming down to the salon to take pictures.

"It was never meant to cause controversy ... it was just something to entertain our customers."

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said officers had "spoken to all parties involved" but added: "No offence has been disclosed."

Mr Kim's hairdo made the news last month after it was claimed all male university students in North Korea would be required to have identical haircuts.

It is thought they were previously able to choose from an official list of styles approved by Pyongyang.

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Ukraine Pro-Russia Protesters Want Self-Rule

Brimming with self-importance and decked out in skateboard armour they bustled up glaring through the gaps in their balaclava hats.

"You need security," they snapped.

It was difficult to guess whether this was an instruction or an offer.

But the pro-Russian militants of Makiivka, an industrial city in the centre of the eastern Ukrainian province of Donetsk, were on a charm offensive.

Politely and with puffed up chests they hastened us past ordinary civilians trying to get through the ordinary bureaucracy of the city hall, into the presence of Sergei Novakovski.

He didn't wear a mask but wore a splendid moustache instead.

"You can't film here. Not here," he commanded as we blundered into what appeared to be a semi-military operations room, crowded with thickset men in black and wrapped in cigarette smoke.

Protesters in other parts of east Ukraine have dug in and built barricades

He pointed to a smaller chamber: "This is our medical clinic.

"People are going about their everyday business, we are just providing security against the gangsters in Kiev - they are Nazis, racists," he insisted.

Elsewhere in Ukraine's east, his comrades, who have taken over at least a dozen police and other government buildings in towns and cities across this industrial heartland, were reported to be digging in and building barricades.

They were reacting to the Kiev government warning that it had launched a "counter-terrorism" operation to chuck them out.

But here there were just a few tyres and wooden pallets tossed to each side of the building.

Curious onlookers came to watch the teenagers in masks and their older leadership, who had adopted a more conciliatory message than the hard line Russian separatists who provided much of the energy on the street, which led to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

"We are not separatists. We are Ukrainian. We want regional autonomy within the state of Ukraine," Mr Novakovski insisted.

"We don't want anything to do with the government in Kiev. They came to power illegally and are just being paid by the Europeans. We have nothing in common with them."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned he reserves the "right" to send troops into Ukraine if the Russian speaking population is threatened.

He has been accused by the US, UK and UN, of deliberately destabilising the region as a prelude to invasion or to foment greater pro-Russian federalism.

The eastern oblasts (provinces) have become fractious.

A sudden bout of blood-letting during an attempt to clear government buildings of pro-Russian militia, some of them heavily armed, could spark Russian intervention.

But Mr Novakovski and his followers in Makiivka know they must tread more carefully.

Donetsk maybe a hotbed of pro-Russian dissent.

It may have a population that is more than 50% Russian speaking - but less than 40% are ethnically actually Russian.

The Ukrainian has been replaced with the Russian colours above City Hall - but it flaps defiantly on many other buildings.

Any attempt to repeat a Crimean-style takeover operation would be met with resistance from a large minority or even a majority of local people.

Perhaps that's why Mr Novakovski shrugged.

"What's a flag anyway," he said.

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