Neo-Nazi Gang Member On Trial Over Murders

The surviving member of a neo-Nazi cell blamed for a series of racist murders in Germany has gone on trial.

Thirty-eight-year-old Beate Zschaepe appeared in court in Munich charged with complicity in the murder of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007.

Scuffles took place outside the court between police and protesters angry over the length of time it took for the neo-Nazi cell to be uncovered by police.

Zschaepe is also accused of involvement in at least two bombings in immigrant areas of Cologne and 15 bank robberies carried out by her accomplices Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boenhardt.

Uwe Mundlos (L) and Uwe Boenhardt

Both men died in an apparent murder-suicide in November 2011.

She faces life imprisonment if she is convicted.

Four other men are also on trial, accused of assisting her National Socialist Underground (NSU) group, which had gone undetected for more than a decade.

Zschaepe handed herself in to police in November 2011

The chance discovery of the gang has forced Germany to acknowledge it has a more militant and dangerous neo-Nazi fringe than previously thought - and it also exposed serious intelligence failings.

The existence of the gang only came to light with the deaths of Mundlos and Boenhardt following a botched bank robbery.

In their charred caravan in Eisenach, police found the gun that was used to murder all 10 victims.

Officers also found a DVD presenting the NSU and claiming responsibility for the killings.

In it, the bodies of the murder victims are pictured while a cartoon Pink Panther tots up the number of dead.

Beate Zschaepe in court

After her companions' deaths, Zschaepe is believed to have set fire to a flat she shared with them in Zwickau and gone on the run. She handed herself in to the police four days later.

Prosecutors say the gang chose people running small businesses or shops as easy targets in an attempt to terrify migrants and hound them out of Germany.

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Controversial 3D-Printed Gun Fires Test Shots

The world's first 3D-printed handgun has been successfully fired in Texas, according to its creator Defense Distributed.

All 16 parts of the controversial gun, called the Liberator, are made from a tough, heat-resistant plastic used in products such as musical instruments, kitchen appliances and vehicle bumper bars.

Fifteen of those are made with a 3D printer while one is a non-functional metal part which can be picked up by metal detectors, making it legal under US law.

The weapon is designed to fire standard handgun rounds and even features an interchangeable barrel so that it can handle different calibre rounds.

The blueprint files are expected to be available online today for download.

Defense Distributed, a not-for-profit group based in Texas, was founded by 25-year-old University of Texas law study Cody Wilson, who took eight months to create the gun.

Mr Wilson, who test fired the gun himself, said the goal with the Liberator is to highlight how technology can render laws and governments all but irrelevant.

He told Forbes: "I recognise that this tool might be used to harm people. That's what it is - it's a gun.

"But I don't think that's a reason to not put it out there. I think that liberty in the end is a better interest."

His efforts to publish the printable blueprints online have sparked outrage in the US.

A Forbes article said: "Once the file is online, anyone will be able to download and print the gun in the privacy of their garage, legally or not, with no serial number, background check, or other regulatory hurdles."

New York congressman Steve Israel has already called for national legislation to ban 3D-printed guns.

In a statement last week he said: "Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser.

"When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction.

"Now that this technology is proven, we need to act now to extend the ban on plastic firearms."

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Cicada Invasion! East Coast Braces For Swarms

Colossal numbers of cicadas - quietly growing underground since 1996 - are about to emerge along much of the US East Coast to begin an orgy of passionate singing and mating.

Billions of so-called 17-year periodical cicadas, with their distinctive black bodies, buggy red eyes, and orange-veined wings will begin to settle along a roughly 900-mile stretch from northern Georgia to upstate New York.

The good news is they do not sting or bite, and are not harmful to crops.

But the eerie, cacophonous mating music they produce has simultaneously amazed and infuriated people for centuries.

Cicadas on a wall during a previous invasion in Virginia

In central Connecticut, particularly dense concentrations of so-called Brood II cicadas, named Magicicada septendecim, should arrive in late May or June this year as soon as the soil temperature exceeds 18C (64F).

Chris Maier, entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, said the first scientific recording of Brood II specimens was in 1843.

The precisely-timed arrival of the 1.5-inch (38-mm) plant-sucking, flying adults takes place after a lengthy period of development underground as juveniles.

After maturing, males begin what cicadas may be best known for: their conspicuous acoustic signals, or "songs," to sexually attract females.

"When there's a lot of them together, it's like this hovering noise. It sounds exactly like flying saucers from a 1950s movie," said Chris Simon from Connecticut University.

When they suddenly emerge, the cicadas will be visible "on the sides of the trees, on the sides of the house, on the shrubbery - even on the car tires," said Mr Simon.

Magicicada population densities - from tens of thousands of cicadas per acre to 1.5 million per acre - are much higher than they are with other cicada species.

One theory behind their bizarre but sustainable life cycle is that their emergence produces such overwhelming numbers at once that predators, such as birds, spiders, snakes, and even dogs, cannot eat them all.

To create their unique choruses, male cicadas use ribbed tymbal membranes on their abdomens to produce sounds, while females click or snap their wings.

Fortunately for East Coast residents the clamour will be all over by July.

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Grey Hair Treatment Discovered By Scientists

A cure for grey hair which means millions will be able to throw away messy dyes may not be too far off, researchers have said.

Scientists found people who are going grey develop "massive oxidative stress" via an accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair follicle, which causes hair to bleach itself from the inside out.

According to the FASEB Journal, the team, which includes experts from Bradford University's School of Life Sciences, discovered the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be remedied with a treatment.

They described it as "a topical, UVB-activated compound called PC-KUS (a modified pseudocatalase)", the report said.

The treatment can also be used for people with the skin condition vitiligo, which causes a loss of pigmentation. In 1993 Michael Jackson claimed to have developed vitiligo.

Study author Professor Karin Schallreuter, a specialist in vitiligo, said: "To date, it is beyond any doubt that the sudden loss of the inherited skin and localised hair colour can affect those individuals in many fundamental ways.

"The improvement of quality of life after total and even partial successful repigmentation has been documented."

The research team made their discovery after studying an international group of 2,411 patients.

FASEB Journal editor-in-chief Gerald Weissman said: "For generations, numerous remedies have been concocted to hide grey hair but now, for the first time, an actual treatment that gets to the root of the problem has been developed.

"While this is exciting news, what's even more exciting is that this also works for vitiligo.

"This condition, while technically cosmetic, can have serious socio-emotional effects on people.

"Developing an effective treatment for this condition has the potential to radically improve many people's lives."

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New Gonorrhoea Strain 'Worse Than Aids'

A new antibiotic-resistant form of gonorrhoea could be 'worse than Aids', according to some US doctors.

Gonorrhoea HO41 was first detected in a female sex worker in Japan two years ago and "the potential for disaster is great", warns William Smith from the US National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD).

"It's an emergency situation," Mr Smith told CNBC. "As time moves on, it's getting more hazardous."

HO41 has not yet killed anyone, or spread outside of Japan - but action is needed in advance, said Mr Smith.

"That's what's kind of scary about this. We are at lows in terms of infections, but this strain is a very tricky bug and we don't have anything medically to fight it right now."

The new strain of gonorrhoea resists existing drugs and the NCSD has asked the US government for an extra $53m (£34m) in funding to prepare.

It claims it is a case of "if, not when" a drug-resistant form of the disease arrives in the US, and that if action is not taken now it could potentially cost around $780m (£501m) to treat.

"This might be a lot worse than Aids in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly," Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, told CNBC.

"Getting gonorrhoea from this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days," he claimed.

Gonorrhoea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility.

The disease used to be referred to as "the clap" and is normally passed through unprotected sex, but if treated early is unlikely to lead to long-term problems.

However, medical experts in the UK share the concerns of their American counterparts.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, England's Chief Medical Officer, recently advised the Government to add the threat of drug-resistant gonorrhoea to the civil emergencies risk register.

"We have seen a worrying rise in cases of drug resistant gonorrhoea over the last decade," said Professor Davies.

"Antimicrobial resistance to common drugs will increasingly threaten our ability to tackle infections and the Health Protection Agency's work is vital to addressing this threat."

Cases of the sexually transmitted infection in the UK rose by 25% in 2011, with 21,000 new diagnoses.

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Footie Fans Told To Stop Dressing Like Taliban

A top Brazilian football club have asked their players and fans to end a campaign which has seen them dress up as Taliban fighters.

Fluminese's star striker Fred is among the players who joined in the craze by wrapping his face with a club scarf and posting a link online along with hashtags including #talibãtricolor.

The campaign was launched after Rio-based Fluminese lost 2-1 to Ecuador's Emelec in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores, the South American club championship.

Fans, who traditionally refer to their heroes as a "team of warriors", took to Twitter to motivate their side and encourage players and fans to "Be A Taliban Warrior".

Fluminense's management have now urged an end to the campaign, which has seen many imitations of the scarf pose posted online, labelling it a "call for violence".

A club statement said: "The intentions of those who began this movement and have joined it clash with the Taliban's image, who are terrorists and not healthy warriors.

"That is why Fluminense Football Club denounces this campaign."

The team's home fixture against Emelec is due to take place in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

Brazil's football authorities are keen to draw attention away from the "Taliban" campaign as the country prepares to host the World Cup in 2014.

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Speedboat: Pair Died In 'Favourite Place'

The brother of a 51-year-old man who was killed along with his daughter in a speedboat accident near Padstow has paid tribute to him.

Nick Milligan and his daughter died after they and four other members of their family were thrown from their boat into the Camel Estuary.

Speaking at a news conference in Bodmin, Max Milligan said: "Nick, or Nico as he was known to us, was an extremely loving father and husband, son and brother who doted on his family.

"As children and teenagers we spent many summers and New Year's Eves at New Polzeath here in Cornwall and a few years ago he built his dream home above Daymer Bay.

Nick Milligan, 51, was killed alongside his eight-year-old daughter

"That he and my delightful niece died in their favourite place at the end of a gloriously sunny Bank Holiday weekend provides us with a tiny glimmer of light.

"I'd like to thank the Devon and Cornwall Police and all the staff at Derriford Hospital who have been incredible over the last few days."

Mr Milligan was a senior executive at BSkyB. He was managing director of Sky Media.

His 39-year-old wife and four-year-old son were airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth with "potentially life changing injuries". His two other daughters, aged 10 and 12, suffered minor injuries in the accident.

Two men came to the family's rescue and managed to stop the speedboat

Video has emerged of the speedboat, which was a rigid inflatable owned by the family, circling out of control in the water.

Waterskiing instructor Charlie Toogood has been hailed a hero after he jumped on to the speedboat from another vessel to switch off the engine.

A second man, Will Jones, was also named as someone who came to their rescue.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the family, from London, was on holiday in Cornwall over the Bank Holiday weekend when the accident happened.

Detective Superintendent Jim Colwell said whether the kill cord on the boat operated correctly would form part of the investigation into the accident.

The accident took place in the Camel Estuary near Padstow

He said police had 25 staff working on the investigation and called for witnesses to come forward.

And he paid tribute to local people who went to the family's aid and holidaymakers who gave up their boats to help the rescue.

He said: "Without the brave and heroic efforts of local people and holidaymakers in the minutes immediately after this incident in assisting the family whilst they were in the water, if people hadn't come to their assistance in the manner they did I'm confident this incident would have been far worse in terms of the death toll."

Matt Pavitt, of the North Cornwall Coastguard, added: "Without the intervention of the one person who did manage to get on board the vessel, we could have been dealing with a far more serious situation."

A joint investigation has been launched by police and coastguard. Inquests will take place in due course.

South Western Ambulance Service earlier said it was thought the speedboat hit some kayakers near the popular holiday resort, however this was subsequently ruled out by the MCA.

Ambulance service spokesman John Oliver said the injured suffered leg injuries of various degrees of severity.

RNLI lifeboats from both Padstow and nearby Rock were launched as part of the rescue operation, and search and rescue helicopters from two naval bases were also ordered to attend the scene.

A BSkyB spokesperson said: "Everyone at Sky is deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic accident involving the Milligan family.

"Nick has been a great friend and colleague for many years and his loss will be felt across our company and the industry.

"Our very deepest sympathies are with his family at this time."

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Stuart Hall: BBC Launches Separate Inquiry

The BBC has announced a freestanding inquiry into the conduct of disgraced former presenter Stuart Hall on its premises.

The corporation said in a statement: "In light of a potential conflict of interest with Dame Janet Smith there will be a freestanding investigation covering Stuart Hall's conduct at the BBC which will feed into her review.

"This work will be led by a different individual appointed by the BBC."

Hall is facing jail after pleading guilty last month to a string of offences against girls aged as young as nine.

The 83-year-old, who was a regular football match summariser on Radio 5 Live but has now been dropped by the BBC, was described as an "opportunistic predator" by prosecutors.

Hall admitted touching and kissing 13 young victims during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Many were daughters of friends.

The former It's A Knockout Presenter had previously denied any wrongdoing, telling reporters the claims against him were "cruel".

But last month he entered guilty pleas at Preston Crown Court, details of which only emerged last week when reporting restrictions were lifted.

He was told he must sign the sex offenders' register and was granted bail on condition that he lives at his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and has no unsupervised contact with children.

Hall will be sentenced on June 17.

On Sunday, BBC trust chairman Lord Patten had said there would not be a separate inquiry into how the disgraced star was able to abuse his victims at the corporation.

He told the Andrew Marr Show that Dame Janet Smith's review into Jimmy Savile's conduct would also look at how Hall had the opportunity to abuse victims.

Lord Patten said: "I think to set up a new inquiry, when there is already one which is extremely well-resourced operating, would probably delay arriving at the truth."

But now the corporation has said there will be a freestanding probe into Hall's conduct.

Lord Patten also confirmed on Sunday the BBC was likely to face compensation claims from Hall's victims.

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Pakistan Election: Bomb Kills 14, Injures 56

A bomb attack at an election rally in Pakistan has killed 14 people and injured 56.

The device exploded in Kurram, part of the Taliban-infested tribal belt on the Afghan border.

It was targeted at the right-wing Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), a religious party in the outgoing government coalition.

The death toll could rise further because several of the injured are in a critical condition, according to local officials.

Since April, more than 70 people have been killed in similar attacks as the Taliban tries to disrupt the campaign process.

Some candidates have been unable to appear in public and canvass for votes.

However, previous attacks have targeted moderate political parties, rather than religious groups.

The JUI has previously acted as a mediator between the authorities and the insurgents.

The bomb is understood to have been planted inside the building being used by the JUI for a rally promoting two national assembly candidates.

Officials say one candidate, Munir Orakzai, escaped unhurt while the other, Ain u Din Shakir, was slightly injured.

The general election on May 11 will be Pakistan's first democratic transition of power after a civilian government has completed a full term in office.

Calls for more security have failed to stop a wave of attacks, with the Pakistani Taliban condemning the elections as 'un-Islamic' and threatening the main parties.

Elections have been postponed in three constituencies, including Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi and the southern city of Hyderabad, where candidates have been murdered.

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Chilli Foils Robbery At Sydney Takeaway

A quick-thinking worker at a takeaway food store in Sydney has foiled an attempted robbery by throwing a bucket of chilli at a would-be thief.

Tyrone Holmwood, 24, ordered some food in the shop but then allegedly argued with staff over payment and walked behind the counter in a bid to open the cash register, said New South Wales police.

Holmwood apparently struck Joanna Tarnoski, 27, across the chest as she tried to stop him from getting to the money before she threw the chilli in his face. He was left with minor burns.

"I didn't think twice, I just wanted to protect myself. I threw all the chilli on his face here and then he got crazy because of that," Ms Tarnoski said.

"It appears that she's just fought back with whatever was close at hand," Inspector Ralph Deans told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"As you can imagine with a face full of chilli, he's received some burns to his face, and he was quite red-faced at the time police arrived to arrest him."

Holmwood has been charged with assault with intent to rob.

Outside the court, his father praised the employee for defending herself.

"Good on them. I would have poured hot fat over his head. You know, any right person can protect themselves if they're getting robbed. He's lucky he only got chilli over his head," he said.

Staff at the Ole takeaway shop told local media the chilli sauce is a secret recipe and a speciality at their store.

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