Melanie Hall Murder: Man, 44, Arrested

A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Melanie Hall who went missing 17 years ago.

The 44-year-old was held at his home in Bath last week as part of the investigation into the death of the 25-year-old clerical worker, whose body was found dumped by the side of the M5 near Bristol in 2009.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said the man had been released on bail until December 19.

Detectives also searched a property in which the man had previously lived.

Miss Hall's parents Steve and Pat had been informed and kept up to date of the developments.

Miss Hall, who worked at Royal United Hospital in Bath, disappeared after a night out at Cadillacs nightclub in Bath.

A worker clearing vegetation from the side of the motorway near Thornbury, Gloucestershire found her remains on October 5, 2009 and she was identified as the victim two days later.

The investigation team has taken about 250 statements and collected 1,200 pieces of evidence since Miss Hall went missing.

Last month, on the fourth anniversary of the discovery of her body, police said they had uncovered "significant and very interesting" information and that forensic experts were examining a white Volkswagen Golf which may be relevant to the murder.

Last month Miss Hall's father said: "This is very positive news. Gradually the pieces of the jigsaw are being put together to bring Melanie's killer or killers to justice.

"We always knew it would take a long time, but these new developments appear very encouraging."

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Big Six Energy Firms Face New Profits Storm

The big six energy companies made £23 more in average profit from each UK household on aggregate last year - a rise of 75% on 2011 - and profits are still rising, according to the industry's regulator.

Ofgem said the latest average profit for all suppliers from the average dual fuel customer hit £53 in 2012 but was measured at double that on November 21 this year at £105.

The regulator announced the figure after releasing its analysis of the companies' accounts for 2012, which found average profit margins of 20% for energy generation.

The revelation prompted the watchdog to suggest it may insist on greater clarity in future to ensure that the profits are a fair reflection of investment in future power generation.

It found that the average profit margin for supply to household customers was 4.3% - in line with the claims made by the industry - as energy use rose and bills went up.

EDF is involved in the planned new Hinkley Point nuclear power station

But it calculated the profit margin made in generating energy in 2012 at 20% - slightly lower on the previous two years - but still high in the context of rising household bills.

The study sought to explain the disparity between supply margin and that for generation by pointing out that the generation part of a business needed significant sums of money over the long term to invest in building new power stations.

Ofgem said it was now considering whether companies needed to provide additional profit measures in generation which took account of capital investment to help ensure greater transparency.

The big six - SSE, E.ON, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, npower and Centrica's residential arm British Gas - have faced a backlash from politicians and consumer groups since the latest round of bill increases - up to 11% in some cases - was announced.

npower's Pembroke power station replaced old gas capacity

Of the firms, only E.ON is yet to confirm its increase ahead of the coming winter.

Ofgem's report follows analysis of statements the companies have had to submit annually since 2009 as part of efforts to subject the firms to greater financial scrutiny.

The statements showed that across all six suppliers, overall profits for energy supply and generation fell from £3.9bn in 2011 to £3.7bn in 2012.

However, profits in supply to households and businesses increased from £1.25bn in 2011 to £1.6bn.

Energy companies have insisted their profits are fair, reflect wholesale costs and the country's need to invest in future supply.

Amid the criticism of the industry over the latest rises to bills, the firms highlighted the growing cost to households from so-called green levies.

The environmental and social charges could be placed under general taxation by the Government in the coming Autumn Statement.

The firms have pledged to cut the rises to bills to match any reduction to the charges confirmed by the Chancellor on December 5.

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Dentists Slit Daughter And Servant's Throats

A wealthy dentist couple have been found guilty of murdering their teenage daughter and servant by slitting their throats.

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar burst into tears when the verdict was read out in a packed courtroom - in a case which has gripped India.

"We are deeply disappointed, hurt and anguished for being convicted for a crime that we have not committed. We refuse to feel defeated and will continue to fight for justice," the Talwars said in a written statement.

The couple face life in prison and possibly the death penalty when Judge Shyam Lal hands down his sentence on Tuesday.

They had been charged with killing 14-year-old Aarushi and Nepalese employee Hemraj, 45, at their home in a New Delhi suburb in 2008.

The pair pictured being taken to court

Investigators alleged Aarushi was murdered in a fit of rage when her parents found her with the servant in an "objectionable" situation.

The trial heard the affluent couple slit their victims' throats "with clinical precision".

Lawyer Manoj Kumar Rai, who was inside the court to hear the verdict, told reporters: "They have been found guilty of murder. They have been found guilty of the destruction of evidence."

Rajesh Talwar was attacked outside court in 2011

The defendants insisted they were victims of police incompetence and a media witch-hunt.

Rajesh Talwar recently told the AFP news agency: "We loved Aarushi, we have no lives without her. This has been a never-ending nightmare."

He was attacked in 2011 just outside the court building during the trial by a man with a meat cleaver, leaving his cheek and hand deeply scarred.

The prosecution had conceded there was no forensic or material evidence against the couple, and based its case on the "last-seen theory" - claiming the victims were last seen with the accused.

When Aarushi was found on her bed with her throat slit one morning in May 2008, police initially blamed the missing domestic servant Hemraj.

A day later, they discovered his decomposing body on the roof - his throat was also cut and he had a head wound.

Officers then arrested Rajesh Talwar's Nepalese dental assistant along with two other local servants - Hemraj's friends - but they were all later released because of a lack of hard evidence.

The case was closed in 2010 by police, citing no substantial evidence, amid allegations of a botched probe with investigators failing to seal off the crime scene, allowing neighbours and relatives to walk over it.

The Talwars insisted they wanted the killers found and petitioned a court to re-open the case.

But they found themselves charged with murder, as media speculation about the successful couple intensified.

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Wayne Mills: Country Singer Shot Dead

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a country music singer in a Nashville bar - reportedly after an argument over the musician lighting up in a no-smoking area.

The bar owner, Chris Ferrell, shot Wayne Mills, 44, in the early hours of Saturday, Tennessee officers said. The Pit and Barrel bar had closed at that point.

Mr Mills was taken to hospital but he died there, police said.

Investigators are looking into Ferrell's claim that he opened fire in self-defence.

Ferrell, who has a valid handgun permit, said the two got into an argument because Mills was smoking a cigarette in an area designated as no-smoking.

No arrests have been made. 

Mr Mills toured with the Wayne Mills Band, which has played college towns for more than 15 years.

Mills died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Country music stars Jamey Johnson and Blake Shelton, as well as American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, all opened for the band in their early careers, according to the group's website.

Shelton has tweeted: "Extremely sad to hear about the death of my old friend Wayne Mills."

Pit and Barrel was to have been featured on Sunday on a programme called Bar Rescue on the channel Spike TV, but the cable network decided to pull the episode, running a rerun instead, according to spokeswoman Shana Tepper.

The series features struggling bars and clubs that are given makeovers by a nightclub expert.

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RBS To Probe Claims It Drove Firms To Collapse

The Royal Bank of Scotland has hired a law firm to investigate allegations the bank deliberately drove small businesses to collapse for its own gain.

The claims are contained in a dossier, compiled by government adviser Lawrence Tomlinson, which has now been passed to City regulators by Business Secretary Vince Cable, as Sky News revealed at the weekend.

The report suggests RBS - the largest lender in the UK to small firms - drove businesses to collapse so it could buy back their assets at rock-bottom prices.

Chancellor George Osborne has described the allegations as "shocking", but small business campaigners say anecdotal evidence suggests the practice was widespread.

A spokeswoman for RBS - 80% owned by the taxpayer - confirmed that it had now hired law firm Clifford Chance to look into the claims.

Mr Cable referred the claims to City watchdogs

Mr Tomlinson, who has been compiling the report independently for the past six months, focuses allegations on the turnaround division at RBS - its Global Restructuring Group (GRG).

The division handles loans classed as being risky and is understood to have the power to scrap loan deals, impose inflated interest rates and charge hefty penalties.

But the report alleges that firms not necessarily in immediate financial distress are "engineered" into GRG, sometimes through small technical breaches of loan terms, such as late filing of minor financial information.

They are then hit with exorbitant rates and fees, which in some cases cause them to collapse, allowing RBS to buy their property and assets on the cheap for the benefit of its West Register property arm, according to Mr Tomlinson.

His report claims that fees charged by GRG can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

One business that submitted evidence to Mr Tomlinson said that it forked out £256,000 in fees alone while in GRG.

Another said that RBS made them pay an immediate sum of £40,000 to continue borrowing terms with the group.

Mr Tomlinson said he was calling for "immediate action to stop this unscrupulous treatment of businesses".

He told Sky News: The main conclusion you could come to out of this is RBS was doing this for their own gain ... they just ended up with properties quite cheap and they'd made a lot of fees and extra interest while the business was on its way down."

In response, RBS said it was "already committed" to an inquiry on how it treats small firms, following recommendations by Sir Andrew Large whose separate report released on Monday highlighted a potential conflict of interest in the bank's business lending activities.

Sir Andrew, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, also found that RBS failed to understand even the basic needs of its small business customers.

An RBS spokesman responded to the Tomlinson report by saying that GRG's role was key to helping the bank face up to its commercial property "mistakes" made in the run-up to the financial crisis.

RBS is the largest lender in the UK to small firms

He said: "In the boom years leading up to the financial crisis, the over-heated property development market became a major threat to the UK economy.

"RBS did more than its fair share to fuel this and commercial property lending was one of the key drivers of our near collapse as valuations rapidly plummeted.

"GRG successfully turns around most of the businesses it works with, but in all cases is working with customers at a time of significant stress in their lives.

"Not all businesses that encounter serious financial trouble can be saved."

The report found a "disproportionately high" number of complaints against RBS, but also hinted at similar practices at other banks.

Fellow part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group was also accused of concentrating on short-term gain at the expense of its business customers but the bank was angered by its inclusion in the dossier - suggesting there was no basis for such a claim.

Its statement said: "The specific practices discussed in the report are attributed to another bank and are not a reflection of Lloyds Banking Group's approach."

The report said Santander UK was among a few banks that were praised by small business customers for their treatment."

However, the campaign group Bully-Banks - which lobbies on behalf of small and medium-sized firms - claimed the behaviour of the wider banking sector was damaging the UK's economic recovery.

Its director, Jeremy Roe, told Sky News: "All of the major high street banks have major issues with the way they have conducted themselves.

"It is the bank's attitude to this sector that is a major cause of concern."

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Monty Python Tickets Sell Out In 44 Seconds

Four new dates have been announced after tickets for the first Monty Python live show for 30 years sold out within 44 seconds.

The veteran comedy troupe - John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones - announced they were getting back together last week.

A spokesman for the Pythons said the July 1 event sold out in 43.5 seconds on Monday morning and tickets for four further shows had immediately gone on sale.

Tickets for the show appeared for resale on ticket listing websites within minutes for up to £3,000 each.

The concerts at the venue in Greenwich, southeast London, come more than 30 years after their last stage performance.

Speaking at last week's news conference, they said they would include some of their most famous routines, including the dead parrot sketch.

But Cleese ruled out a rerun of one of his best loved moments, the Ministry of Silly Walks, saying: "I have an artificial knee and an artificial hip ,so there's no chance of that".

Idle said fans could "expect a little comedy, a lot of pathos, some music and a tiny bit of ancient sex".

Their last major live show was at the Hollywood Bowl in 1982.

The Pythons amassed millions of fans for their comedy series and films, which also launched their own successful solo careers.

Monty Python's Flying Circus was made for TV between 1969 and 1974. The team went on to make films including Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975) and Monty Python's Life Of Brian (1979).

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Prince Harry: William 'Jealous' Of Polar Trek

By Paul Harrison, Royal Correspondent

Prince Harry has told Sky News his brother Prince William will be jealous he is in Antarctica, because it means getting away from "a screaming child".

In his first interview from Antarctica, the Apache helicopter pilot also told how proud he was to be alongside such "extraordinary" people walking to the South Pole.

And the 29-year-old also revealed his efforts to reassure his father Prince Charles, who expressed concern ahead of his son's departure to the planet's southernmost point.

The prince revealed that his brother - who has been concentrating on his responsibilities as a new father - was envious of the ambitious trek.

Harry said: "My brother, yeah, I think he's just quite jealous that I managed to get away from a screaming child."

He said the Queen and Prince Philip had taken the time to meet his Antarctic comrades - including Norwegian adventurer Inge Solheim - before the team set off.

He said: "What do my family think of this? I think the last time I said, 'I don't think most of them know about it'.

"Obviously, I took all the guys to Buckingham Palace to meet my grandmother and grandfather, which they absolutely loved, especially Inge Solheim who was very excited, which was fantastic.

"My father was a little concerned, but I obviously tried to keep him calm and explain the North Pole was the dangerous one because we're walking  on a frozen ocean whereas this time there are crevasses.

"But hopefully the guides will take us around that. Apart from frostbite you should be able to look after yourself as long as you just head south."

The South Pole Allied Challenge which hopes to raise money for injured service personnel, also aims to inspire those injured in battle, showing them what you can achieve post-injury.

Harry said: "Every single person who takes part in this challenge is extraordinary. The fact these guys have made it to this point is extraordinary and I count myself incredibly lucky to be part of it."

The fourth in line to the throne also spoke about his broken toe - calling the mishap "a massive fail" and how the other British team members rib him if he ever mentions it.

He said: "I obviously broke my toe hoping to get out of the trip, that was a massive fail on my part.

"Friends of mine said I really should have gone that step further and break a leg, but I chose not to.

"My toe is now 95%, so I'm fine and even if i mention my toe I see Duncan turn around laugh at me, mock me, so whatever setbacks I've had is irrelevant against these guys, it was always going to be."

The British, Commonwealth and US teams are due to head to the start of the race tomorrow and begin their 210-mile (337-km) race to the South Pole at the weekend.

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Belfast: Explosion At Victoria Square Centre

Police are blaming dissident republican terrorists for a 60kg (132lbs) car bomb that partially exploded outside a shopping centre in Belfast.

Masked men in boiler suits hijacked a car in the north of the city at 9.30pm on Sunday and ordered the driver to take the bomb to the Victoria Square centre, the PSNI said.

The device - made of homemade explosives packed into a beer keg - was left at a car park entrance and detonated at 11.15pm as army bomb disposal experts prepared to examine it.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes before the explosion near one of Belfast's main police stations and the city's court complex.

The security alert ended without any reports of injuries and the city centre has reopened, although Monday morning commuters faced traffic delays.

PSNI Chief Superintendent Alan McCrum told BBC Radio Ulster the bomb could have been "catastrophic" for the city.

The silver Renault Laguna car used in the attack, registration number CJZ 4697 car, was hijacked in Jamaica Street, in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast.

Victoria Street and Chichester Street were closed during the alert and people were evacuated from their homes and a nearby cinema, with dozens spending the night in the Ulster Hall concert venue.

PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said there would be an increased police presence in the city in response to the latest incident.

He said dissident republicans seemed to be involved in a "bizarre competition" driven by a philosophy that is "simply hatred".

Northern Ireland's Justice Minister David Ford said the bomb could have caused "untold death and injury".

He said: "Those responsible for this attack have shown a total disregard for life, including that of the driver they forced to carry the device.

"They also have a disregard for the people of Belfast."

The incident was the third security alert to hit Belfast on Sunday and Sky News Ireland Correspondent Vicki Hawthorne said it follows a surge in terrorist activity from dissident republicans opposed to the peace process.

She said: "Last week a female bus driver was also forced by hijackers to drive a bomb to a police station in Londonderry.  The driver abandoned the bomb before she got to the station and was praised for her heroism.

"Terrorists also targeted a former police officer when they planted an booby trap bomb under his car in east Belfast.  The former officer managed to raise the alarm before the device exploded.

"And last month several letter bombs were sent in the post to the Chief Constable and another senior officer as well as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers."

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Couple Arrested Over Slave Claim 'Named'

The couple suspected of holding three women in London for more than 30 years have been named as Aravindan and Chanda Balakrishnan.

A senior council source confirmed the pair were arrested last week by police amid allegations they held the women for decades and inflicted "physical and mental abuse".

The couple, aged 73 and 67, are believed to have been well-known to the police in the 1970s after setting up a communist squat, the Mao Zedong Memorial Centre, in Acre Lane, Brixton in 1976.

Balakrishnan, who was known as Comrade Bala, was a former member of the national executive committee of the Communist party of England (Marxist-Leninist) but documents show he was suspended from the party in 1974 for pursuing "conspiratorial and splittist activities".

Documents also show how in 1978 police raided the Mao Zedong Memorial Centre arresting 14 members of the organisation, including Aravindan Balakrishnan and wife Chanda, referred to as Comrade Chanda.

A source at Lambeth Council said the couple were believed to have been in the property for around 10 years after moving there from a council property, and concerns had previously been raised with police about the education of the youngest woman.

Scotland Yard would not comment on the claims, but previously said two of the victims met the male suspect through a "shared political ideology", living with him at an address that was effectively called a "collective".

The alleged victims - a 30-year-old Briton, a 57-year-old Irishwoman and a 69-year-old Malaysian - are now in the care of a specialist non-governmental organisation.

Speaking earlier, Metropolitan Police commander Steve Rodhouse said: "We believe that two of the victims met the male suspect in London through a shared political ideology, and that they lived together at an address that you could effectively call a 'collective'.

"The people involved, the nature of that collective and how it operated is all subject to our investigation and we are slowly and painstakingly piecing together more information. I will not give any further information about it.

"Somehow that collective came to an end and the women ended up continuing to live with the suspects.

"How this resulted in the women living in this way for over 30 years is what we are seeking to establish, but we believe emotional and physical abuse has been a feature of all the victims' lives."

The case came to light after the Irishwoman rang the Freedom Charity last month to say she had been held against her will.

Scotland Yard said that part of the agreement on October 25 when the women were removed from the address was that police would not take any action at that stage.

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Yale Gunman Alert: Students Told To Hide

Yale University has urged students to "shelter in place" following a report of a gunman on campus.

SWAT teams have been sighted at the university, according to college newspaper Yale Daily News.

Students have received a text message saying: "Confirmed report of person with gun on/near Old Campus. Shelter in place. This is not a test."

Police received an anonymous phone call from a phone booth at around 10am local time reporting a person on campus with a gun.

Streets close to the campus have been blockaded, according to reports.

More follows...

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