India: Briton's Body Found Inside Plastic Bag

By Neville Lazurus, India Producer

The decomposed body of a 40-year-old British man has been found by the side of a road in India.

Roddick Andrew Reymond's body was discovered wrapped in a carpet inside a plastic bag in southern Delhi by passers-by.

It was found outside a mobile repair shop on Church Road in Jangpura, where local people noticed a large, blue bag emanating a foul smell.

Neveen, who lives in the neighbourhood, said: "Initially we thought it was a dead animal. We called the police and when they opened the bag they found a body of a man."

According to police, the body was dumped in the early hours of the morning when area guards were off duty.

The level of decomposition suggests the killing took place several days ago.

A passport recovered from Mr Reymond's pocket allowed him to be identified, although it was soiled and prevented police obtaining his address.

An investigator, who did not want to be identified, said the victim suffered multiple injuries inflicted by a blunt object struck around his head and face.

There were abrasions on his hands and legs, which were bound together, as well as burn marks on his face.

Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told Sky News the body had been transferred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for a post-mortem examination.

The local deputy police commissioner told Sky News an investigation had been launched.

Detectives are now trying to obtain the phone number Mr Reymond used while travelling in India.

Preliminary reports suggest he has been in the country on a tourist visa for the last two months and had travelled to Goa, Chennai and Mumbai.

The police are yet to determine where he was staying.

In a statement, the British High Commission in Delhi said: "We are aware of the death of the British national in Delhi and are providing consular assistance."

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Driver Dies After Posting Facebook Selfie

A driver has died in a head-on collision moments after posting a Facebook selfie and status update from behind the wheel, telling friends how happy she was.

Courtney Sanford added the post to her Facebook timeline at 8.33am as she drove to work.

Police were called to the accident just one minute later.

The 32-year-old's car crossed the central reservation and smashed into a recycling truck before bursting into flames.

The driver of the truck, which hit a tree, was not seriously hurt.

Police said Ms Sanford was travelling along Interstate 85 in North Carolina when the Facebook updates were posted and there was no evidence of drink or drugs.

The link to Facebook emerged after friends of the victim told officers a number of her online posts appeared at around the same time as the accident.

Police said Ms Sanford posted a series of pictures of herself as she drove along the road.

In an apparent reference to Pharrell Williams' latest hit, one update read: "The Happy song makes me so happy."

High Point police officer Lt Chris Weisner told WGHP TV the crash was a tragic example of what can happen when motorists "text and drive".

"In a matter of seconds a life was over, just so she could notify some friends she was happy," he said.

"It's really not worth it. As sad as it is, it's also a grim reminder for everyone ... you just have to pay attention while you're in the car."

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Sheffield Fire: Three Children Among Five Dead

Five people, including three young children, have died in a house fire in Sheffield despite heroic efforts to save the youngsters.

The children - a nine-week-old girl and two boys aged seven and nine - died alongside their aunt, Shabina Begum, 20, and grandmother, Anum Parvaiz, 54. 

The older boy was named as Adhyan Nazim and his younger brother Amaan Nazim. The baby has not yet been named.

Firefighters said the blaze was severe

Residents in the street were woken shortly after midnight by the sound of wailing and screaming.

Witnesses said that neighbours banged on doors of the home and smashed a window to raise the alarm. 

A neighbour told how they saw the grandmother run distraught from the blazing home, before going back inside to try and rescue the others. 

It is understood the children's father, taxi driver Nazim Parvaiz, was out working when the fire broke out but their mother, Razia Nazim, survived the blaze.

Police are investigating the cause of the blaze

They are said to be devastated and are being comforted by relatives.

Scenes of crime officers have erected a tent outside the three-storey terraced home in Wake Road, Sharrow, and are searching for clues.

Ishfaq Hussain Kayan, the cousin of one of the women who died, said: "Words cannot describe how sad this is. It's a tragedy beyond description.

"They (the children) were full of life, quite bubbly, very energetic. They were looking forward to attending school."

Wake Road is about one mile from the centre of Sheffield

He said the children's mother "is in a state of shock".

"She's beyond consoling, really. I just hope and pray that they recover from this tragedy."

Mr Hussain Kayani said he believed Ms Nazim, the mother, was in the house when the fire broke out .

"She managed to escape. The grandmother of the children, she made attempts to rescue the children but obviously it wasn't to be," Mr Hussain Kayani  said.

"She came out then went back in, tried her level best. Frantic attempts were made to rescue the children."

Police have sealed off the road

He told Sky News: "The father had taken the boys for haircuts for school and the 20-year-old was getting ready to start university.

"Just in a matter of minutes the whole family has been destroyed. They were such a lovely family, such a prosperous family, such a joyous family, well-respected."

The five victims died after the blaze broke out shortly after midnight.

Phil Shillito, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue area manager, said 25 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze.

Ishfaq Hussain Kayan says the family were 'joyous and prosperous'

"They were faced with a very challenging fire, lots of flames coming out of the property, and they were aware family members were in the premise and they went in wearing breathing apparatus enabling them to breathe in the hot and smoky environment.

"Unfortunately they did find five casualties in the property."

Sky's North of England Correspondent Mike McCarthy said Wake Road had been sealed off while investigations continued.

"A 999 call was made at 12.15am and an operation involved an aerial ladder to reach an upper floor," McCarthy said.

"There's a white scenes of crime tent outside the house and there's a window open there. I can still smell the smoke from the fire." 

Four fire engines were called to the scene, as well as police and ambulance services.

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Banks To Be Tested On 35% House Price Slump

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Britain's biggest banks and building societies could be forced to raise billions of pounds of fresh capital unless they can demonstrate their ability to withstand a house price slump of roughly 35%.

Sky News has learnt that stress tests to be carried out by an arm of the Bank of England later this year will also assess their readiness to cope with a sudden spike in interest rates to more than 5%.

A series of commercial real estate losses will also be applied to the banks' balance sheets as part of the tests, insiders said.

Details of the stress tests, which have been drawn up by the Financial Policy Committee and the board of the PRA, will be disclosed to markets on Tuesday.

It is unclear whether the interest rate hike will be quantified as part of the tests, while the 35% figure is "in the ballpark" of the housing market scenario to be tested by the PRA, a source said.

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will unveil the UK tests of banks' resilience alongside a similar exercise being carried out by the European Banking Authority, which will include lenders from across the Continent.

The PRA is to announce the stress test of UK banks

The tests will come amid growing concerns about overheating in the housing market, particularly in London, where price rises have accelerated amid the improving economy.

Government ministers including Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, have warned that the Help to Buy scheme has contributed to the inflation of a housing bubble.

Banking sources have expressed concern about the PRA's methodology for conducting the tests, with some uncertainty about the timing and extent of the publication of the results.

In a statement last month, the FPC said the stress test "was not intended to be the FPC's expectation of what would happen, but a coherent tail risk event against which banks' resilience could be tested".

"A key part of the scenario would examine the resilience of the banks to a housing market shock and to a snap back in interest rates," it added.

The Government wants to avoid a 'too big to fail' scenario

Lenders including Nationwide and Santander UK, which have a substantial proportion of their business skewed towards the UK mortgage market, are said to be concerned about the possible outcome of the tests.

Banks such as HSBC, meanwhile, are also being tested for the impact of a severe slowdown in the Chinese economy.

The stress tests are designed to ensure that British banks have sufficient capital to withstand another economic slump, obviating the need for taxpayers to bail them out, as happened during the crash which began in 2007.

"The philosophy is that banks' bondholders and shareholders, rather than UK citizens, should pick up the tab," said a source familiar with the PRA's plans.

Banks would be given a substantial period of time to raise any capital that the PRA deems necessary as a consequence of the stress tests, insiders said.

The PRA declined to comment on Monday on the details of the stress tests ahead of Tuesday's announcement.

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More Tornado Warnings After Deadly US Strikes

At least 17 people have been killed and many more injured in the United States after a powerful storm system saw tornadoes rip through Arkansas and Oklahoma.

A dozen or more twisters tore through central and southern parts of the country, decimating buildings, overturning trucks and bringing down trees and power lines.

National Guard troops have been mobilised in the worst hit areas and rescue workers have been searching debris for victims, as forecasters warned more twisters were on their way.

A tornado in Arkansas killed 16 people on its 30-mile destructive path

Tornadoes also hit in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Louisiana, causing damage and injuries.

President Barack Obama, who is currently in the Philippines, sent his condolences to those affected and pledged any assistance necessary.

"Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes," he said.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said a large tornado which formed outside Little Rock killed 16 people as it carved a 30-mile path of destruction through the state.

It was the largest of several tornadoes created by a powerful storm system.

Another twister which hit the town of Quapaw, Oklahoma, left one person dead and at least six people injured.

A tornado obliterated homes in Mayflower, Arkansas

It then continued into Kansas, destroying up to 70 homes and injuring 25 people in the city of Baxter Springs. 

In Mayflower, Arkansas, one person was killed and 45 homes were destroyed as a tornado swept through.

City alderman Will Elder said: "It's extremely hazardous here right now. The power lines are down, roads are blocked and they (emergency services) will have to proceed with caution."

James Firestone, mayor of the Arkansas town of Vilonia said: "It's chaos right now."

He said the downtown area "seems like it's completely levelled", adding: "There are a few buildings partially standing, gas lines are spewing and fire lines are down. We've had some casualties."

Firefighters from nearby cities, as well as National Guard troops, were heading to the town to help, with the county sheriff's office reporting a "mass casualty situation".

The deadly twisters have devastated neighbourhoods

Representative Tim Griffin said: "Tonight, I walked around what was only hours earlier a thriving neighbourhood that is now gone.

"An entire neighbourhood of 50 or so homes has been destroyed.

"Many homes are completely gone except the foundation and there is more devastation like this in other parts of Arkansas."

Writing on Twitter, Arkansas governor Mike Beebe added: "It's been a truly awful night for many families, neighbourhoods and communities, but Arkansans always step up to help each other recover."

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Stephen Sutton: Dying Teen 'Coughs Up Tumour'

A terminally-ill teenager, whose cancer charity appeal has won worldwide support and admiration, has revealed his condition "dramatically improved" after he "coughed up a tumour".

Stephen Sutton disclosed details of what he described as "the most bizarre but fortunate twist in the tale yet" on his Facebook page, on which he has published a bucket list of things he wants to do before he dies.

From around mid-afternoon on Sunday he developed a slight cough and later wrote: "After a lying there for a bit longer the coughing increased and then suddenly the shortness of breath became incredibly severe.

"Amongst frantic hand pointing and panicking I felt like I was like suffocating.

"Then I forced out an oval red stained solid object through my mouth.

Donations to Stephen's JustGiving page have soared past £2.9m

"My breathing and airway straight away felt clearer, but I spent the next hour violently coughing and choking, but then eventually my breathing once again stabilised.

"Since then, my breathing has dramatically improved. I'm really stuck for the words of how to describe it.

"Throughout the night my throat was pretty sore but my O2 and other saturation levels are great. This morning I am relying on NO external oxygen to breath at all and I'm feeling bloody fantastic!!

"The doctors have discussed what's happened and the only plausible conclusion is that I've literally coughed up a tumour."

The 19-year-old has now raised more than £3m for the Teenage Cancer Trust, with more than 122,000 people - including celebrities Stephen Fry and Russell Brand - pledging their support.

Stephen has posted pictures of his bucket list on his Facebook page

A last-minute fundraising gig organised by comedian Jason Manford last night at his comedy club in Birmingham sold out in minutes.

Stephen, who was diagnosed with incurable colorectal cancer at the age of 15, has also released a 10-minute YouTube video called When Life Gives You Cancer, featuring interviews with his mum, his school teachers and his best friend.

As donations continue to flood in, JustGiving itself donated £50,000 to Stephen's appeal.

The website currently stands to make more than £148,000 from the 5% fee it charges charities for online donations.

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Max Clifford Found Guilty Of Sex Charges

PR guru Max Clifford has been found guilty of a string of sex attacks on teenage girls.

The 71-year-old became the first person to be convicted under the high profile Operation Yewtree sex crime investigation at Southwark Crown Court.

He was found guilty of eight indecent assaults, cleared of two and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on one other.

The guilty verdicts relate to four women, aged between 15 and 19 at the time of the offences, between 1978 and 1984.

The verdicts were taken in a hushed but packed courtroom, given by the forewoman of the jury on its eighth day of deliberations.

Clifford sat still in the dock as the jury forewoman returned the verdicts.

Max Clifford getting into his car after the verdicts

He could be seen breathing deeply as he listened through a hearing loop.

The publicist walked out of the courtroom with friends and supporters in complete silence, one of them patting him on the shoulder as he walked.

He walked outside to face the media, with his daughter Louise to his right, and said he had been "told not to say anything".

As he walked to his car, he was asked what it felt like to be the story, and Clifford replied it was "not the first time".

Clifford was released on bail until his sentencing on Friday, but Judge Anthony Leonard QC warned him this was no reflection on the sentence that will be passed.

He said: "You must realise that the fact I have given you bail is no indication of what the final sentence will be."

Clifford repeatedly denied the claims, calling his arrest and prosecution "a nightmare" and protesting his innocence.

Clifford has described the charges as a 'nightmare'

Jurors in the trial - six men and four women - had started an eighth day of deliberation this morning.

They were sent out on April 15 at the end of a six-week trial in which Clifford was accused of manipulating seven girls and women into performing sex acts between 1966 and 1984.

He was arrested by detectives from Operation Yewtree in December 2012, and charged in April the following year.

The court heard from a string of women who testified about Clifford's behaviour, romping naked in his New Bond Street office.

Prosecutors portrayed him as a well-practised manipulator, who promised to boost his victims' careers and get them to meet celebrities in exchange for sexual favours.

He offered to get them casting appointments, pretending to be Hollywood bigwigs including Steven Spielberg, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Michael Winner on the phone.

He even bizarrely bragged about having a tiny penis, telling one victim: "Is it the smallest you've ever seen?"

The trial heard from Clifford's daughter Louise who said he was 'her rock'

The exact size of his manhood became a matter of contention during the trial, and his defence team asked a doctor to measure his penis as part of the evidence.

Victims included a dancer who received a phone call while she was at a nightclub from someone pretending to represent producer Broccoli, and was told to find out whether Clifford was circumcised.

She then "froze" and realised she was "stuck", and feared she would be raped when Clifford took her into the toilet and assaulted her.

Another girl, a teenage model, said Clifford groped her when she went to his office for career advice in 1983, bragging that he could get her a part in a James Bond film.

He then masturbated while he was on the phone to his wife, and tried to put his penis in her mouth.

The court also heard from a woman who claimed Clifford had impressed her parents with celebrity tales and went on to abuse her from the age of 15.

She said she was driven to contemplate suicide when he falsely told her he had a photograph of her giving him oral sex, and in 2011 sent him a letter claiming he had made her life "a living hell".

For his part, Clifford branded his accusers as "fantasists and opportunists".

The investigation, Scotland Yard's inquiry into historic allegations of sexual offences, was prompted after claims were made against the late DJ Jimmy Savile.

DCI Michael Orchard, of the Metropolitan Police, thanked victims for coming forward, while Jenny Hopkins, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Monday's verdicts had given victims a "long, denied justice".

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The Once 'Untouchable' Clifford Now Faces Jail

By Tom Parmenter, Sky Correspondent

Celebrity publicist Max Clifford was found guilty of eight indecent assaults following a five-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.

A series of women accused the PR guru of either indecently assaulting them or forcing them to commit sex acts between 1966 and 1984.

In court, Mr Clifford accused them of being "liars and fantasists" who were looking for compensation.

But women who do not know each other and who live in different parts of the UK said strikingly similar things about his lewd behaviour.

The 71-year-old has had a long career representing some of the biggest names in showbiz including Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Muhammad Ali and Simon Cowell.

Prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC earlier told the jury: "He has been at the top of the media game for many years. He knows the strings to pull. He knows how to manipulate, lie and get what he wants."

Many of the women said Clifford seemed obsessed with his own penis and made prank phone calls using bogus identities to ask the women about his size.

The defence argued the varying descriptions they gave in court meant the allegations were bogus, but Rosina Cottage QC told the jury: "It is what he did with it that is important, not the size."

She described his former office on New Bond Street in central London as Clifford's own "sexual fiefdom" where he manipulated and bullied young women.

The PR man had already admitted to extra marital affairs, wild sex parties in the 1970s and sexual practical jokes, but Clifford's method of bullying young women into doing exactly what he wanted had remained hidden.

One of the women described in court how, in the 1990s, she tried to speak to one of the national newspapers about her allegations.

The voice at the other end of the line told her: "You will not get a paper to print a story on Max Clifford. He is untouchable."

Clifford was cleared of two further charges, while the jury was unable to reach a verdict on another.

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Teacher Stabbed To Death At Leeds School

School Pupils Caught With Weapons

Updated: 12:07am UK, Wednesday 23 April 2014

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Editor

Almost 1,000 pupils were caught with weapons including guns, axes and a meat cleaver in schools in the last three years, a Sky News investigation has found.

New figures show 981 children have had weapons confiscated on school premises since 2011.

They include at least 80 primary school children, the youngest of whom was an eight-year-old caught with a knife.

Some 36 pupils were found with an assortment of guns, including two hand guns, seven air-powered weapons and 27 BB guns.

Of those found with weapons, 329 caught with items including an axe, a cut-throat razor and a stun gun were charged with a criminal offence.

One 18-year-old, who is taking part in a young offender's programme in London, said: "I carried a weapon ... but only because of the environment I was in.

"My generation is a bit wild ... so it's a normal thing to carry a weapon because you know everyone else is. It's making it fair, basically."

Campaigners warned the scale of the problem is likely to be much worse, as 21 of the UK's 52 police forces did not supply figures requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

Data from West Midlands Police, which alone recovered weapons from 538 people during the same period, was not included because it also accounts for colleges and universities.

The figures raise questions about whether schools and the Government have failed to tackle the problem.

Jayne Walmsley, whose son Luke was murdered at a Lincolnshire school in 2003 aged 14, said: "Something is happening to the society we live in.

"We need to think and educate these kids. It's got to stop. We've got to do something about it."

Patrick Regan, CEO of charity XLP, which was founded in response to a school stabbing, added: "There's a culture of fear that needs to be broken down."

The Government said it had given teachers powers to take action if they suspect a pupil has brought a weapon into school.

"Teachers can now search pupils without consent, confiscate prohibited items and use force to remove disruptive pupils from the classroom when necessary," a spokesman for the Department for Education said.

"We've also given heads the final say on expulsions by removing the right of appeal panels to put pupils back in the classroom."

However, Chris Douglas, a youth worker with St Giles Trust, which engages with young people caught up in crime, warned the use of weapons is a growing problem.

"We're not hearing about stabbings because they're becoming more common," he said.

Last year, a study by UCL and charity Kids Company found half the young people working with the organisation had seen someone shot or stabbed in their community in the past year.

In 2009, the then-Government announced new measures to curb the problem of weapons in schools after a spate of attacks against children.

There were plans to introduce airport-style metal detectors as part of a violent crime action plan.

But campaigners are concerned the issue has disappeared from public discourse, leaving children vulnerable.

"Sometimes it's a bit like banging your head on a brick wall," Mrs Walmsley said.

"Schools won't admit to the problem because all they want is more pupils for more money."

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Paul Simon And Wife Charged After 'Dispute'

Paul Simon and his wife Edie Brickell have been charged with disorderly conduct in Connecticut following a "family dispute".

Officers responded to the singers' New Canaan home after someone inside dialled 911 and hung up.

Upon arrival, officers found minor injuries and believed it was a case of domestic violence, police chief Leon Krolikowski said.

"There was aggressiveness on both sides," he said.

The singers were each given a misdemeanour summons and one of them agreed to leave and go to another location.

Chief Krolikowski said: "They're both victims and they have children involved and we're trying to be very cautious of that."

Police did not provide any additional details about the dispute.

The 72-year-old Simon and 47-year-old Brickell were due to appear in court on Monday.

Neither Simon's nor Brickell's agents have commented on the arrest.

Simon, a 12-time Grammy winner, married folk singer Brickell in 1992.

Brickell is perhaps best known for the song What I Am, recorded with her band the New Bohemians and released in 1988.

She collaborated last year with comedian Steve Martin, and the pair won a Grammy for best American Roots song in January.

Simon is a member of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame as half of the duo of Simon and Garfunkel and as a solo artist.

More follows...

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