Beheading Suspect's Mum Makes Video Apology

The mother of a man suspected of beheading a colleague at a food-processing plant in Oklahoma has apologised in a video posted on Facebook.

The suspect, Alton Nolen, 30, is due to be charged later on Monday with first-degree murder, as well as assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

He may also face federal charges.

"Our hearts bleed right now because what they're saying Alton has done," Nolen's mother said in the short video statement, sitting next to her daughter Megan.

"That's not my son."

Alton Nolen was fired from Vaughan Foods Pic: Facebook

Nolen went on an apparently random knife rampage after being fired.

He allegedly decapitated Colleen Hufford, 54, and was stabbing Traci Johnson, 43, when warehouse boss Mark Vaughan shot him.

"I want to apologise to both families, because this is not Alton."

However, Ms Nolen said that there are "two sides to every story, and we're only hearing one".

"I'm praying that justice will prevail, the whole story will come out - the whole story," she added.

The scene outside the factory after the attack

In the video, Megan Nolen said the family was "in shock" and that her brother has always been a "loving person".

The video is dimly lit and neither woman states her name.

But local newspaper The Oklahoman confirmed their identities on Sunday with another sister of the suspect, Paige Nolen.

Nolen had tried to convert workers to Islam, colleagues told investigators, though it is not clear if his beliefs had any link to the attack.

The suspect's Facebook page, where he used the name Jah'Keem Yisrael, is filled with bizarre rants in capital letters.

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Osborne: 'Raise The Ambition Of The Nation'

UKIP Defections: PM Did Too Little, Too Late

Updated: 10:09pm UK, Saturday 27 September 2014

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

During the 2010 election, I travelled to Rochester and Strood in Kent, where I met the Tory candidate Mark Reckless.

One thing that struck me as I watched him take to the doorsteps, was the number of constituents raising the issue of immigration.

One awkward incident involved an elderly man ranting about why he supported the far-right National Front. Mr Reckless backed off, embarrassed.

He certainly didn't share those extreme views. But it was clear then that he was a politician who was worried about immigration and angry about Europe.

I remember another conversation with Mr Reckless last year in the Commons.

Tory backbenchers were nervous about immigration, he told me. They felt David Cameron hadn't done enough, and the looming prospect of transitional controls lifted on Bulgarians and Romanians was of particular concern. 

Things could get tetchy in January 2015, he said.

Mr Cameron knew about these misgivings among his MPs and tried to act on them.

Late last year he unveiled a toughening up in the rhetoric on immigration – bringing in new rules to crack down on the access that new EU migrants would get to benefits. Then came the pledge of an EU referendum.

The hope was to appease the concerns of people like Mr Reckless, and you might have thought it was working.

After all, following the defection to UKIP of Douglas Carswell many asked the MP if he would be next. He insisted not.

When I texted Tracey Crouch, a neighbouring MP in Kent, about his decision to leave the Tories, she replied: "Nothing I can say right now would be becoming of a lady. I'm so angry. He looked me in the eye and promised he wasn't going to defect."

Others pointed out that he was openly supportive of the Conservatives as recently as yesterday.

Then he tweeted: "Good to lead coach for Team2015 campaigning in Birmingham Northfield on Sunday + will be followed by our Clacton action next Thursday."

That is why Tory sources say they are "surprised". Other MPs told me they felt "let down", "frustrated" and "fed up".

"Another battle when we should be fighting Labour," said one.

Others argued that although he had behaved irresponsibly, giving a leg-up to Ed Miliband, that a number of backbenchers were angry with the party's position on Europe.

They believe that Mr Cameron hasn't done enough to prove he can loosen Britain's ties to the EU. They want to see the issue addressed at his conference speech this week.

The problem for men like Mr Reckless is they don't share the Prime Minister's views on Europe.

Mr Cameron wants to reform the UK's relationship with the continent and then – ideally – campaign for us to stay IN.

And that is the sticking point with Mr Reckless.

The former Tory MP was clear today that he believes in an independent Britain, and wants to follow the Scotland Yes campaign with what he said was a positive, patriotic message for voters.

He wants OUT – and UKIP is the only party that is fully with him.

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Dave Lee Travis' Sentence To Be Reviewed

DJ Dave Lee Travis' three-month suspended sentence for indecent assault has been referred to the Attorney General's Office.

Four members of the public have complained about the sentence and the Office will now look at claims the term was "unduly lenient".

The former Radio 1 star walked free from court despite being found guilty of groping a young researcher behind the scenes at The Mrs Merton Show in 1995.

Last Friday, Travis was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years, by judge Anthony Leonard QC at London's Southwark Crown Court.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said: "The case has been referred to us under the unduly lenient sentence scheme."

Travis pictured with his wife Marianne

A decision on whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeal will be made by October 24.

Jurors had been told that Travis cornered the woman, who is now a TV personality, in the corridor of a BBC television studio where she was smoking.

And he commented on her "poor little lungs" before squeezing her breasts for 10 to 15 seconds.

Travis, who became a household name in the 1970s, was found not guilty on a second indecent assault charge.

And the jury was discharged after it was unable to agree a verdict on a count of sexual assault.

He faced a retrial after jurors failed to reach verdicts on those two charges earlier this year.

He was cleared of 12 counts of indecent assault at his original trial in February.

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Stand Up Be Counted: Questions PM Must Answer

Having attended my first party conference last week in Manchester, I'm now looking forward to the Conservative gathering in Birmingham - it will be interesting to see the differences and similarities between the two events and the parties.

With Parliament being recalled, I expect that foreign policy and defence will be talked about by all those who attend.

But as a young person I will be wanting to see if the Tories have plans to support lowering the voting age to 16, which has been a popular issue on the Stand Up Be Counted website.

Another important issue for me is how the Tories plan to create more careers, not just jobs, for young people.

The unemployment rate for young people is a concern for all parties.

Labour have outlined that they would approach the problem by creating more apprenticeship and put an end to zero-hour contracts.

I would like to see the Conservatives support the end of zero-hour contracts and explain their plan to lower the jobless rate.

If the UK economy is to get back to being the strongest in the world, there needs to be careers for young people to progress in.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has told us of his plans to restore the 50p top rate of income tax and bring back the 10p tax band for the lowest paid.

I expect the Tories will say nothing of these policies but talk of plans to promote business.

I also imagine they will try to pick holes in Labour's plans and tell us that more spending cuts are needed over the next five years.

As for David Cameron, I think that after Ed Miliband's speech he will look to deliver a smooth, crisp speech to show voters that he is the leader they need and want.

Having gone to the party conferences with a open mind, I'm not sure how I will feel by the end - but I'll wait and see if I was right or wrong on the issues discussed.

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Choose Slogans: Osborne's Trainspotting Speech

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

George Osborne invited voters to choose a number of things during his conference speech, Anushka Asthana takes a look.

It was all a bit Trainspotting when the Chancellor rounded off with a list of things to choose, including the Tories and David Cameron. Here's what you can choose from Mr Osborne's Speech.

:: Choose the Future

Did Mr Osborne get his inspiration from Mark Renton?

The Chancellor sought to present Labour as the party of a past mired in economic incompetence, high risk in the banking sector and ruin. He even named the downturn that started in 2007 as "Labour's Great Recession" - one for the history books.

It's a pretty smart move: they made it bad, we are making it better, it's not yet, but the future will be great… unless you vote Labour back in. Basically the "long-term plan is working".

To sum-up he chose the phrase "choose the future" - on the end of a big list of things for voters to choose from, which totally made him sound like Renton from Trainspotting, you know, the one played by Ewan McGregor, who says: "Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family..."

:: Choose Pensions

One for the older voter

Abolish the 55% "death tax" for pension pots. One for the elderly voter, who is demographically the most likely to switch to UKIP and does not want to leave their hard-earned pension savings to the tax man. However, don't forget it will also please those in their 30s and 40s, especially middle income earners who are feeling the pinch, hoping the inheritance might get them out of a hole and looking to the future for their children.

:: Choose Work

White Dee: Life is about to get tougher on Benefits Street

A two-year freeze on working age benefits. This is one that will chime with "working hard Britain" and those low to middle income earners who are struggling with the rising cost of living. Mr Osborne's words "families out of work should not get more than the average family in work" will chime with a number of voters whose wages have failed to keep pace with inflation.

It will present a £3bn saving but the Chancellor has warned there are £9bn more of welfare cuts on their way and the sobriquet "the nasty party" is never far away.

:: Choose Together

'Really we are all in this together'

"We're all in this together." This phrase has been parked for a bit but he's brought it back. There's a new slant on it, mind. This time the "togetherness" of us is what has helped us turn corners make a recovery and get Britain back on track. As a nation "together" we fought back and dragged ourselves off the floor, etc.

The "together" was all Ed Miliband could talk about last week, but if the swing to UKIP tells politicians anything it's that voters are not feeling the "together".

Nigel Farage is on to something when he talks about voters disillusioned with a ruling political elite for whom hardship does not mean defaulting on the mortgage payment, losing your job/family/mental health.

:: Choose to Mention The Deficit

Hush. Not another word about the deficit

It was an open goal. Not to score would have been a shocker. In fairness, he did it well. "Ed Miliband made a pitch for office that was so forgettable he forgot it himself." Ho, ho. It was the only humour in an otherwise patrician speech.

The Tories are putting the economy at the centre of their election battle, that much is clear. Mr Miliband has offered it on a plate by entirely omitting the deficit from his speech.

:: Choose the NHS

It's my NHS, no it's my NHS

"The real party of the NHS is in this hall today." Both Labour and the Conservatives appear to have adopted a "core voter strategy" - ie they are preaching to the converted. Labour is reinforcing its standing as the "party of the NHS", while the Conservatives are continuing to paint themselves as the party of business and the guardians of the economy.

So far so obvious but actually Mr Osborne made a valiant attempt to take the NHS on his own terms. His argument: no recovery, no robust economy; no money for the health service.

Labour would ruin the economy, therefore the NHS - and should not be trusted with either. A pretty robust comeback to Labour's claims last week.

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Odd Texts From Missing Estate Agent's Phone

Hundreds of people have joined the police search for a missing estate agent, whose husband says he received unusual texts from her phone after she vanished while meeting a potential client.

Beverly Carter, 49, told her husband she was going to meet a would-be cash buyer on Thursday afternoon at a repossessed property in the town of Scott, Arkansas.

Carl Carter says he went looking for his wife after she failed to return that evening.

He told local media he found her car, a brown Cadillac, with her purse and wallet inside, but no sign of her.

Investigators discovered no trace of a crime at the vacant property.

Carl and Beverly Carter. Pic: Facebook

But Mr Carter said he received three text messages in a row from her phone at about 1am on Friday.

The first read simply: "Yes."

The next said: "My phone's low. The battery's down, and I'll call you whenever I get signal."

The final message read: "Oh, I'm out drinking with some friends."

Mr Carter said the texts did not sound as though they had been written by his wife.

Residents scour fields for any clues. Pic: Facebook

"Beverly's not a drinker," he told local media.

Mrs Carter, who works for Crye-Leike Realtors, was last seen wearing a black sleeveless shirt and red shorts.

Missing-person leaflets describe her as 5ft 2in and weighing about 145lb.

In the UK, the case of missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh remains unsolved to this day nearly three decades later.

She vanished in London in 1986 after going to meet a client who described himself as Mr Kipper.

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British Man Raped At Oktoberfest Beer Festival

A British man has been raped at the Oktoberfest beer festival in the German city of Munich.

The 24-year-old was attacked by two men on Saturday at around 9.30pm local time.

He was urinating in a bush when he was approached by a man who "made it clear that he wanted to have sex with him", Munich police said.

The Briton refused, and it was then that his head was jerked back and he was brought to the ground.

Police said that one of the men held the 24-year-old and he was subsequently raped.

The men then escaped.

The festival attracts millions of visitors every year

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said: "We aware of an incident involving a British national and we are providing consular assistance."

The festival attracts millions of visitors from around the world every year.

Munich police say crime is down during the first week of the event compared to last year.

During that first week, an American soldier was shot twice in the leg by police after drunkenly rampaging through a hospital with a fire extinguisher, Abendzeitung, a German newspaper reported.

The 28-year-old had been taken there after suffering a head wound at the festival, according to NBC News.

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Man Jailed For Abusive Tweets To MP Creasy

A man who sent abusive Twitter messages to Labour MP Stella Creasy, has been jailed for 18 weeks.

District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe found internet 'troll' Peter Nunn guilty of sending indecent, obscene or menacing messages.

The City of London Magistrates' Court had earlier heard that Nunn, 33, from Bristol, retweeted "menacing" posts threatening to rape the Walthamstow MP and branding her a witch.

The abuse started after she supported a successful campaign to put the image of Jane Austen on the £10 note.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan said the messages had had a "substantial" effect on Ms Creasy, who felt "increasing concern that individuals were seeking not only to cause her distress".

"But also to cause her real harm which led her to fear for her own safety", Ms Morgan added.

Stella Creasy 'felt people were seeking to cause her real harm'

She said Ms Creasy had felt the need to install a panic button in her home and the incident had altered the way she interacts with people and made her more cautious.

Nunn had claimed he sent the messages to exercise his right to freedom of speech and to "satirise" the issue of online trolling.

During mitigation, his defence lawyer, Helen Jones, told the court he felt great remorse for the stress and anxiety he had caused.

But Judge Roscoe said she had not seen this during his trial when she had found him "evasive".

The judge said she had taken the defendant's good character and no previous convictions into account along with the impact a custodial sentence would have on his long-term partner and their three-year-old daughter.

"However, it has to be an immediate sentence. There is no reason to suspend it," she said.

"I'm not convinced that that would give the message that this is entirely unacceptable."

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Insider Trading Charges For Ex-Morrisons Exec

The City watchdog has charged a former senior executive at supermarket group Morrisons over alleged insider dealing.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Paul Gerard Coyle was charged with over two offences, contrary to Section 52(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1993.

The FCA said the alleged offences related to Ocado share trades between February and March 2013.

Mr Coyle was first arrested late last year, as part of an investigation by the watchdog.

He was suspended by the supermarket chain in January.

Shares in Morrisons dropped 2.4% shortly after the announcement was made, while those in Ocado dropped by 2%.

Morrisons began using Ocado for its debut home delivery service in January.

It announced in the previous May a deal with Ocado for deliveries over a 25-year period.

Part of the deal included a £170m purchase of its distribution centre in Dordon, Warwickshire.

In a statement, Morrisons said the FCA's insider dealing investigation "did not concern Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc nor any other Morrisons' employee". 

"Morrisons is satisfied with its governance and procedures concerning the handling of market sensitive data in this case and found that the company's procedures had been properly followed," it said. "These accusations, if proven, would be the result of an individual acting alone."    

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Hong Kong: China Warns UK Not To 'Interfere'

Thousands of democracy protesters have defied tear gas and police baton charges to remain on the streets of Hong Kong amid rising international tensions.

Some demonstrators wore masks and resorted to umbrellas or plastic capes to protect themselves - prompting the phrase "umbrella revolution" to trend on social media.

The UK Foreign Office said it was "concerned" by the heavy response to the protests in its former colony - but China warned the international community not to "interfere".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said: "Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong. Hong Kong is purely our internal affair.

"We are resolutely opposed to any foreign country using any method to interfere in China's internal affairs."

Protesters remained defiant on Monday night Some wore plastic and goggles, fearing more tear gas

The Hong Kong government said it had pulled out riot police on Monday as the protests began to calm.

A spokesman called on the activists to leave the protest areas peacefully - but many remain camped on a normally busy highway near the government headquarters.

Hong Kong's chief executive should resign, say demonstrators

Organisers estimate as many as 80,000 people have taken to the streets since Friday.

Police fired 87 rounds of tear gas on Sunday after being charged by "violent protesters", and said 41 people had been injured, 12 of them police officers.

Demonstrator Rick Chan said: "I came last night and saw police fire many rounds of tear gas at the crowd, who were mostly young students and even included some old people."

Protesters flee the tear gas on Sunday night Police lined up against the demonstrators

Photo-sharing site Instagram has also reportedly been blocked in China, suggesting authorities could be worried about inspiring similar protests on the mainland.

Many photos of the demo have been hashtagged "Occupy Central".

The phrase was blocked on Sunday on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

A movement to occupy central Hong Kong, in protest at Chinese interference, was originally planned for National Day on Wednesday, but began early on the back of separate student protests.

Thousands remained on the streets on Monday

Last month, the Communist Party ruled that while Hong Kongers could choose their next leader or chief executive in 2017, they must select from candidates picked by Beijing who must declare their "love" for China and its Communist system.

Under the agreement of the 1997 handover from Britain to China, Hong Kong was allowed to have an independent legal and political framework.

Unlike mainland China, protests are allowed - but the current demonstrations are one of the biggest political challenges to Beijing since the Tiananmen Square crackdown 25 years ago.

"The British government is concerned about the situation in Hong Kong and is monitoring events carefully," said a UK Foreign Office spokesman.

Phones were raised aloft outside the Hong Kong government complex Protesters have been blocking the main street to the financial district

"It is Britain's longstanding position, as a co-signatory of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, that Hong Kong's prosperity and security are underpinned by its fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to demonstrate."

Occupy Central co-organiser Dr Chan Kin-man urged "fearless" protesters to remain on the streets until their calls were heeded.

In a statement, the group called on Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying, to resign, saying his "non-response to the people's demands has driven Hong Kong into a crisis of disorder".

The protests have affected Hong Kong's commercial hub, forcing bus routes to be cancelled or diverted and banks to close.

Clashes also broke out in Taiwan when dozens of students gathered in the lobby of the Hong Kong Trade Office in Taipei in support of the democracy protests.

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