DJ Accused Of Raping Girl With Jimmy Savile

By Frazer Maude, Sky Reporter, Manchester Crown Court

A former DJ brought a young girl to Jimmy Savile to be raped - then raped her himself straight afterwards, a court has been told.

Ray Teret is accused of over 30 historical sexual offences against victims as young as 12, dating from 1962 to 1996.

As his trial got under way, jurors were told that Savile's name will crop up and that one of the charges involves the late broadcaster.

Tim Evans, prosecuting, told Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court that Teret - who worked at pirate station Radio Caroline and Piccadilly Radio - had a "deal of celebrity" in the 1960s and '70s, especially in the Manchester area.

Teret is on trial along with two other men - William Harper and Alan Ledger.

Mr Evans said: "The Crown's case in a nutshell is that he used the celebrity that he had to abuse young girls in various ways and that the other two defendants - Mr Ledger and Mr Harper - friends and associates of Teret - also became involved on occasions."

He said Teret's victims were abused after having "the spotlight of fame" shone upon them.

The 72-year-old from Altrincham knew Savile from when the pair were working together in Manchester.

One of Teret's alleged victims told police she was 15 when he took her to a flat in the city in the early 1960s.

William Harper is also on trial over the attempted rape of a girl

She told officers she "couldn't believe it" when she saw Jimmy Savile there and "couldn't wait to tell her friends she had met him."

The court heard that she was given a glass of Lucozade and sat next to Savile, but that seconds later he was raping her.

When Savile finished, she claims Teret pushed her back down on the bed and raped her himself.

Jurors heard that Teret told the girl she should "thank us" for what they had done, before giving her some money to catch a bus home.

The alleged victim told police she threw the money away when she left the flat, vomited and went home.

"All the way home I felt it was my fault," she said in her statement.

"I've kept it in for 51 years and always felt it was my fault."

Urging jurors not to allow the involvement of Savile to influence them, Mr Evans told them: "Nobody can have failed to come across all the publicity about Savile's conduct, whether at the BBC, prisons, hospitals or elsewhere with young girls and boys and other vulnerable victims. "

"This is the trial of these three men. In no sense are these men to be treated as guilty or contaminated because of the spectre of Savile."

Alan Ledger, 62, faces charges of indecent assault, indecency with a child and serious sexual assault. William Harper, 65 and himself a former DJ, is charged with the attempted rape of a girl under the age of 16.

The three men deny all the charges against them. The trial is due to last eight weeks.

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

S Korea Ferry Captain: I Should Have Done More

The captain of the South Korean ferry that sunk - killing more than 300 people - has admitted to his murder trial that he should have done more to get passengers to safety.

Testifying for the first time in court, Lee Joon-Seok said his decision-making process was paralysed by shock as the boat started sinking, but insisted he had never intended to sacrifice others' lives to save himself.

Most of those who died were children when the 6,825-tonne Sewol capsized and sank on 16 April.

The captain and crew faced heavy criticism for abandoning the ferry while hundreds were still trapped inside, and for ordering passengers to remain where they were when the ship began listing.

"I was stunned by the accident and I lost my ability to make decisions," Lee told the court in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

"I failed to take the necessary measures for passengers to leave the ship.

"(But) I swear I never thought passengers should be left to die in order for me to make it to safety first."                 

The disaster sparked a huge rescue operation

The bespectacled Lee, dressed in a khaki prison uniform, appeared tense and stammered during his testimony.

The 69-year-old and three senior crew members are accused of "homicide through wilful negligence" - a charge that can carry the death penalty.

1/13

1. Gallery: Relatives Mourn Ferry Victims

   Members of the public and relatives of the victims of the South Korean ferry disaster have gathered at an official memorial altar set up in Hwarang Garden in Ansan.

2. Of the 476 people on board the ferry, 325 were students from the same high school in Ansan. Only 75 of them were rescued.

3. Meanwhile, the country's president apologised to the people of South Korea for her government's "insufficiency" in handling the tragedy. Click through for more images...

Eleven other crew are being tried on lesser violations of maritime law.

The findings of a five-month investigation by state prosecutors concluded that a deadly combination of cargo overloading, illegal redesign and poor helmsmanship had caused the disaster.

Under questioning by prosecutors in court, Lee said he knew that crew member Cho Jun-Ki, who was steering the ship after working on the Sewol for only six months, did not have the required skill and experience.

When asked if he should have taken the helm as the ship entered a channel notorious for its strong underwater currents, Lee replied: "Yes, I guess so."

Overloaded and top-heavy following an illegal refit, the ship made a sharp turn in the channel, causing it to list sharply to one side.

1/13

1. Gallery: Images: Recovery & Grief

   Divers with the South Korean Navy search for missing passengers at the site of the sunken ferry off the coast of Jindo Island.

2. Rescuers have struggled to gain access to the ferry because of strong currents, at times ripping off divers' facemasks.

3. Relatives sit on a wall as they wait for news about missing loved ones in Jindo harbour.

4. Hundreds of people are involved in the search operation, but poor visibility has hampered attempts to get into the vessel.

5. A relative sits with others inside a gymnasium used as a gathering point for family members of missing passengers aboard the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol.

6. Members of South Korean rescue team carry the body of a passenger retrieved from the capsized ferry.

7. South Korea has spent heavily on salvage and rescue equipment.

8. Relatives of missing passengers from the sunken ferry scuffle with police as they try to go to the presidential house for more information.

9. Relatives of missing passengers from the sunken ferry grieve as more bodies are recovered from the water.

10. The bodies of victims recovered from the Sewol are carried to waiting ambulances at Jindo harbour.

11. Rescue workers carry the body of another victim of the sunken ferry off the coast of Jindo Island after divers broke windows to get access to the ship.

12. Firemen salute the bodies of victims recovered from the Sewol after being carried to waiting ambulances.

13. An ambulance transporting the bodies of victims recovered from the Sewol drives past policemen at a harbour in Jindo.

This caused the cargo to shift and the ferry was unable to right itself, eventually capsizing and sinking.

Asked where he was when the Sewol ran into trouble, Lee said he was in his cabin "smoking and changing clothes".

He denied allegations by some crew members that he had been playing games on his mobile phone.

"No, I wasn't playing a game. I wouldn't know how to. I was just holding the smartphone," he said.

Lee claims the ferry's owners are to blame as it was their decision to habitually overload the ferry.

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kobani's Fall Will Be A Failure For US Coalition

What appears to be the imminent fall of the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani would not just be a disaster for the Kurds.

It risks strategic failure for the American-led coalition fighting Islamic State before its campaign has begun in earnest.

Also known by its Arabic name, Ain al Arab, the city sits on Turkey's border. Its civilian population has fled - 160,000 across the frontier.

Some 2,000 Kurdish fighters with the YPG, the armed wing of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), are battling street to street while Islamic State hammers at them with tanks and heavy artillery.

A month-long campaign to sack the city by Islamic State has been largely unaffected by US-led airstrikes - this frontline has been mostly ignored.

IS have raised their black flag in areas around the city

The coalition has focused its efforts around Raqqa, the IS 'capital', and on hitting artisanal oil refineries which generate an estimated $2m (£1.2m) a day in revenues. Fair enough.

But to have focused on these areas to the south of where the Kurds have been fighting an existential battle is baffling.

Video: IS Footage Shows Kobani Onslaught

Rebel groups in Syria are already angry at the airstrikes which have not attacked the Damascus regime which has continued to rain barrel bombs onto civilians.

The al Qaeda-linked al Nusra Front and other Islamist groups have been singled out for attacks by the US and others alongside Islamic State - even though all of these groups have previously been locked in combat with the extremist militants.

Syria's Kurds, alongside their brethren in Iraq, offer the best operational hope for the ground troops that the coalition so badly need to prosecute its war against Islamic State.

But they have been left largely unsupported in and around Kobani.

If the city falls, as it's expected to by none other than Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then, inevitably, the Kurds will feel betrayed and join the growing ranks of Syrian rebels who see the airstrikes as doing little but reinforcing the military strength of the Assad regime.

Video: New Strikes Target IS At Border

Mr Erdogan went on to say that there had to be co-ordination with ground troops and that there was no prospect of a victory over Islamic State if those troops could not be mustered.

An odd statement, really, when one notes that Turkey is directly threatened by Islamic State and has the second largest standing army in NATO with more than enough firepower not only to defend Kobani but to knock the militants back severely.

On top of that, Turkey is currently ruled by an Islamic political party and therefore has more street credibility with Syria's rebels than any Western power.

Of course, Ankara is fearful that in helping the PKK it might reinforce its power and reignite the Kurd fight for autonomy inside Turkey.

It would be ludicrous to expect Turkey to go it alone anywhere in Syria where it has been tightly focused on ridding the region of Bashar al Assad and his Damascus regime.

1/20

1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

But therein lies an opportunity for the coalition.

Three years ago Turkey called for a no-fly zone in Syria to prevent Assad's regime from bombing its civilians and rebels.

It would make sense for the international coalition to heed this call.

Russia, still Damascus' ally, would object but probably less noisily now that Islamic State is the target of actual airstrikes.

Imposing a no-fly zone would allow Syria's moderate rebels to take on Assad, and Islamic State, and perhaps do away with the growing sense that the American coalition has a pro-Damascus agenda.

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM Urges Moazzam Begg To Pass On IS Details

David Cameron has urged ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg to pass on intelligence about IS militants behind hostage kidnaps.

Mr Begg has previously claimed he offered to help the Government secure the release of British aid worker Alan Henning, but says he was prevented from issuing a direct appeal.

He also claimed he knew those who held the 47-year-old, who was murdered by IS militants last week, and and helped to secure the release of hostages from extremists in Syria in the past.

Aid worker Alan Henning was murdered by Islamic State militants last week

The Prime Minister told BBC's North West Tonight: "We are very happy to work with anybody.

"My understanding is that Moazzam Begg did make some appeals, sadly, as we know, those appeals fell on deaf ears.

Video: Moazzam Begg Walks Free From Prison

"These people in Syria are absolutely brutal and really will stoop to any depths and do the most dreadful and ghastly things, and that is what's happened."

He defended the Government's handling of the hostage situation and added that if Mr Begg had information to provide about the identity of IS militants, "he should provide it".

Last week, Mr Begg walked free from Belmarsh prison after a string of terror charges against him linked to the civil war in Syria were dropped.

Mr Henning's brother Reg has also urged Mr Begg to help save the lives of other IS hostages, including British photojournalist John Cantlie and US aid worker Peter Kassig, who was threatened at the end of the video showing Alan Henning's murder.

More follows...

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kobani 'About To Fall' To Islamic State

Turkish President Recep Erdogan says Syrian border town Kobani is 'about to fall' to Islamic State militants and that a ground operation is needed to defeat the group.

Fresh airstrikes targeted fighters who have been bombarding the town with machine-gun fire and shells on Tuesday.

Plumes of smoke billowed into the air over Kobani after US, Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates jets launched five attacks against targets south of the city.

In a statement, US Central Command said four armed vehicles, anti-aircraft artillery, a tank and a militant unit were hit during the strikes.

Kobani is just over a mile from Turkey

Airstrikes also took place near Rabiyah, west of al Hasakah and near Deir Ezzor, where a production facility for homemade bombs was destroyed.

Mr Erdogan, in a televised speech in the city of Gaziantep, said airstrikes were not enough to save Kobani.

Video: New Strikes Target IS At Border

He said: "The terror will not be over... unless we co-operate for a ground operation.

"I am telling the West - dropping bombs from the air will not provide a solution. Months have passed but no results have been achieved. Kobani is about to fall."

"We are following the attacks on Kobani and other towns where our Kurdish brothers live with great concern. Turkey is on guard and well-equipped for any threats directed against itself."

IS fighters raised their black flag over two buildings in the key border town after a day of heavy fighting on Monday.

The militants were reported to have moved into the southwest of Kobani overnight, taking several buildings to gain attacking positions on two sides of the town.

1/20

1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

Fierce fighting raged in the area over the weekend as local Kurdish fighters struggled to hold out against rocket and mortar attacks - despite support from another three US strikes.

But Jenan Moussa, a reporter just 500m over the border in Turkey, told Sky News that the fighting was much quieter compared with Monday when bullets were "flying over our heads".

"I can still hear shooting and shelling but nothing compared to yesterday," she said.

"I heard and I saw three airstrikes. One on the western side and two on the eastern."

Turkey has put a line of tanks close to the border in a show of force should IS cross the line into its territory.

Video: Firework Attacks In Istanbul Unrest

At least 400 people - fighters from both sides, and civilians - have been killed during three weeks of fighting around the town, according to British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said it had documented the deaths from sources on the ground but added the real figure could be double.

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the Kurds were angry that they had not been getting enough air support.

"If (Kobani) falls then symbolically and strategically it will send a message to the Kurds that the coalition is not going to come to their aid."

IS began its advance on Kobani on 16 September, prompting weeks of street battles and forcing around 160,000 people to flee into Turkey.

Video: Turkey Turns Water Cannon On Kurds

The group - who last week murdered British hostage Alan Henning - controls large areas of Syria and Iraq and wants more territory for its 'caliphate'.

Violent clashes were reported overnight in Istanbul and other Turkish cities as hundreds of demonstrators angered at the IS advance clashed with police.

Protesters set up barricades, threw stones, fireworks and petrol bombs at police in some Istanbul neighbourhoods, said the country's Dogan news agency.

Police also reportedly used tear gas and water cannon on protesters in the Kurdish-dominated cities of Diyarbakir, Batman, Van, Sirnak, Sanliurfa and Hakkari.

Tensions in Turkey - a member of the NATO alliance - are rising after its parliament last week authorised military action if necessary.

Video: Desperate Help Needed In Kobani

The order allows incursions into Syria and Iraq to counter the threat "from all terrorist groups" and also means NATO powers could use the country as a base for airstrikes.

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ebola Outbreak: 56 Being Monitored In Spain

A Madrid nurse who became the first person to contract ebola outside of Africa is being treated with antibodies from survivors of the illness, hospital officials have revealed.

Four people, also including her husband, have been placed in quarantine at the hospital over fears they may also have the deadly virus.

The nurse was part of a medical team at the city's La Paz-Carlos III hospital that treated two Spanish missionaries who died shortly after returning from Africa with the disease.

A second nurse who also helped treat an infected priest is among the four being monitored by health workers, as is a man who arrived on a flight from Nigeria displaying symptoms.

Spain's health authorities said they had been in touch with a total of 22 people who are thought to have been in contact with the 40-year-old nurse, whose name has not been released.

Video: Spanish Nurse Contracts Ebola

They are also monitoring around 30 other members of the health care team that treated one of the missionaries.

Officials added that although the nurse began a holiday after one of the missionaries she had been caring for died on 25 September, she did not leave Madrid during this time.

She began feeling ill on 30 September and was diagnosed with ebola on Monday, but is in a stable condition.

EU countries have demanded an explanation from Spain's health minister as to how the nurse caught the disease, despite all the precautions taken

Video: Body Retrieval Worker Mark Korvoyan

A spokesman said a letter sent to the health minister sought "to obtain some clarification" from Spanish authorities, adding: "The priority remains to find out what actually happened."

Spain's health minister, Ana Mato, said an emergency protocol is in place and that authorities are working to establish the source of the contagion at the Madrid hospital.

"We are working to guarantee the safety of all citizens," she said.

In the US, President Barack Obama says airport screening measures are being stepped up in the country to help identify people who might have the deadly virus.

Video: Spanish Nurse Contracts Ebola Virus

More than 3,400 people have died in the latest ebola outbreak, which has swept through West African countries Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the British Army said more than 100 British Army medics were being sent to Sierra Leone to help tackle the ebola crisis within the next few weeks.

Personnel from the 22 Field Hospital have been undergoing an extensive training exercise in full protective suits, with simulated casualties in make-up.

They will staff a field hospital set up specifically to treat medics who have caught the disease, not members of the general public.

1/11

1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.

9. A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

An Army spokeswoman said: "They are going through all their procedures and getting atuned to wearing their personal protective equipment, working in quite hot temperatures."

Experts say quarantine systems in developed countries including the UK, US and Spain mean the disease is very unlikely to spread to the same extent seen in poor African countries.

Travel firms also appear to have suffered amid the outbreak, with shares in airline group IAG, owner of British Airways and Iberia, down 6.5%.

Carnival Cruises are down 5.6%, Easyjet have fallen by 4.7% and Tui Travel by 3.2%.

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dog Set On Fire: Man Jailed For 'Vile' Attack

A man has been jailed for setting fire to a family's pet dog in a savage attack that left the three-year-old border collie so badly burned her ribs and other joints were visible.

Cody had to be put down two weeks after the attack in August 2012.

Andrew Richard Stewart, from Aghalee in County Antrim, was given a 20-month sentence at Belfast Crown Court after admitting the crime.

He will serve 10 months in custody with the remaining 10 on licence.

The 23-year-old has also been banned from keeping animals for 30 years.

Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland said: "This was a particularly appalling act on Stewart's part. Cody was a much-loved pet.

"Stewart savagely attacked her (Cody) in the most evil and vile fashion.

"It is beyond comprehension that any human being could act in such a manner towards a defenceless creature, which was posing no threat to him."

His friend Jamie Downey, 23, from Craigavon, County Armagh, was also jailed after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

"He did nothing to alleviate the suffering of Cody knowing that she had been injured in a most grievous fashion, and then through some misguided loyalty to Stewart agreed with him to concoct what were false stories to divert police attention away from both defendants," the judge said.

Judge McFarland said he had taken into account the distress caused to the dog's owners, Natalie and Martin Agnew and their two young sons, one of whom was only six at the time.

"The parents and two young boys had a much loved pet, which was so cruelly taken from them," he said.

Stewart changed his plea to guilty minutes before Mrs Agnew and her son Jake were due to give evidence on the second day of the trial last month.

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hong Kong Protesters Try To Inspire Youth

Hong Kong's student protesters are trying to encourage young people around the world to get involved with social and political issues.

Pro-democracy demonstrations have brought parts of the territory to a standstill for more than a week, with many students skipping school to camp out on the streets.

The number of protesters is starting to dwindle, but the so-called "umbrella revolution" has seen previously apathetic teenagers get engaged with politics.

The protesters are calling for greater democracy

"Our friends who used to be very academically oriented have put down their textbooks and boycotted their classes," said Kelvin, a demonstrator in Hong Kong's Victoria City.

"Teenagers who used to be politically insensitive are stepping on to the streets and raising their voices as loud as they can."

Video: "We are fighting for our future"

Tens of thousands of protesters have been calling for Chief Executive CY Leung to resign and for China to allow the Hong Kong people the right to vote for a leader of their choice in 2017 elections.

They have faced tear gas and police baton charges and used social media to co-ordinate themselves and communicate.

The demonstrators are also reaching out to young people in other countries.

Video: "Why we're protesting"

Kay, another university student, told Sky's Stand Up Be Counted campaign: "We are fighting for our future. I hope you can support us and all Hong Kong students."

And Kelvin wants to see more youth political awareness.

"Whatever situation you are in, whatever position you are at, you can contribute more and make a change to society," he said.

Video: Hong Kong Protests: Chat App Is Key

"Try your best to get involved with political issues, because it is a mark of honour and pride to be part of progress in our community.

"We know that the road to justice and democracy is tough, but with our courage and zeal, we as teenagers can make a difference."

:: Click here to visit Stand Up Be Counted, a place where 16 to 25-year-olds can speak out and debate issues that matter

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

Terror Suspect Tasered During Police Raids

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences in a series of raids, during which one suspect was tasered.

The men - all aged 20 or 21 - were detained by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command at addresses across London as part of an investigation into Islamist terror activities.

The 21-year-old who was tasered during his arrest did not require medical treatment, Scotland Yard said. 

"SO15 officers were assisted in the execution of warrants at one of the addresses by officers from the Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19). No shots were fired," police said in a statement.

"A number of residential addresses and vehicles are being searched by specialist officers in west and central London as part of the investigation. The searches are ongoing.

"These arrests and searches are part of an ongoing investigation into Islamist-related terrorism."

All four suspects have been taken to police stations in central London and remain in custody.

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bianchi Family Says F1 Driver Still Critical

Formula One driver Jules Bianchi remains in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a brain injury in a crash during the Japanese Grand Prix, his family has said.

The 25-year-old French driver sustained the traumatic injury when his Marussia car left the track and hit a recovery vehicle that was removing another car following a crash.

The statement read: "Jules remains in the intensive care unit of the Mie General Medical Center in Yokkaichi.

Bianchi was taken to hospital in an ambulance

"He has suffered a diffuse axonal injury and is in a critical but stable condition.

"The medical professionals at the hospital are providing the very best treatment and care and we are grateful for everything they have done for Jules since his accident."

Bianchi's parents Philippe and Christine arrived at the hospital - around 10 miles from the Suzuka circuit where he was injured - on Monday.

The driver was taken to hospital in an ambulance, rather than a medical helicopter, because poor weather caused by Typhoon Phanfone prevented it from flying.

Adrian Sutil had crashed on the same corner the previous lap and it was his car that Bianchi collided with.

The safety car was then sent out and the race was ended early as the rain began to get heavier.

23.22 | 0 komentar | Read More