Men Charged With Abusing Rochdale Teens

Ten men have been charged as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rochdale.

The suspects were arrested after police launched an operation in May 2012 targeting older men accused of sexually exploiting teenage girls in the town and other areas of Greater Manchester.

Nine of the men are Asian. They are accused of serious sex offences against seven victims, at least one of whom was 13 at the time of the offences alleged to have taken place between 2005 and 2013.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett of Greater Manchester Police said: "Operation Doublet is an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rochdale and across other areas of Greater Manchester.

"The majority of the offences were committed between 2003 and 2013 and focus on reports that teenage girls were sexually exploited by older men.

"So far, 65 people have been arrested as part of Operation Doublet and the investigation continues.

"This is an extremely complex and challenging investigation which started in May 2012. The investigation will continue over the coming months and further arrests are anticipated."

Police in Greater Manchester recently faced criticism over their handling of child abuse cases.

A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) accused the force of significant delays in the investigation of child protection cases and of adopting an inconsistent approach to child sexual exploitation policing.

The men have been bailed to appear at either Bury or Tameside Magistrates' Court later this week.

The suspects are:

Shayfur Rahman, 31, Prestwich, charged with one count of rape.

Kutab Miah, 34, Rochdale, charged with three counts of sexual activity and one count of rape.

Rehan Ali, 26, Manchester, charged with one count of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child when the offender was over 18 and three counts of sexual activity with a child when the offender was between 15 and 17.

Iklaq Choudhry Hussain, 37, Rochdale, charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of rape.

David Law, 45, Derbyshire, charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit rape.

Mahfus Rahman, 28, of HMP Garth, charged with three counts of rape and three counts of sexual activity with a child.

Ashfaq Yousaf, 28, of HMP Forest Bank, charged with one count of aiding and abetting rape against one victim. He has also been charged with one count of rape against a further victim.

Afraz Ahmed, 32, Rochdale, charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit rape and one count of rape against one victim. He also faces two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, relating to offences against to girls. He has also been charged with one count of rape against a further victim.

Mohammed Davood, 37, Burnley, charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against one victim. He has also been charged with three counts of rape, one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of sexual assault against a further victim.

Mohammed Miah, 39, of HMP Moorland, charged with three counts of sexual activity and one count of rape against one victim. He has also been charged with one count of rape against a further victim.

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Iraqi Forces Launch Operation To Recapture Tikrit

Iraqi security forces have launched a major military operation to take back the town of Tikrit from Islamic State militants.

Some 30,000 troops and militia, supported by aircraft, attacked jihadist positions around the city.

The hometown of Saddam Hussein, it fell under the control of the group last summer along with Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul.

Backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition, Iraqi troops recently seized the nearby refinery town of Baiji.

US military officials have said an operation to retake Mosul could begin in April or May and involve up to 25,000 Iraqi troops, but would only take place if Tikrit has been recaptured because of its strategic location on the road to Mosul.

Video: Iraqi Forces Begin Tikrit Assault

Al-Iraqiya television said forces were attacking Tikrit from different directions and were being supported by artillery and air strikes from Iraqi fighters.

Ahead of the operation, Prime Minister Haider al Abadi called on Sunni tribal fighters to abandon IS, and offering what he described as "the last chance" to get an official pardon.

He said: "I call upon those who have been misled or committed a mistake to lay down arms and join their people and security forces in order to liberate their cities."

Mr al Abadi also called for "utmost care in protecting civilian lives and property".

According to Iraqi and Iranian media, Qassem Soleimani - commander of the Quds Force covert operations unit in Iran's Revolutionary Guard - was in Salahuddin province to help coordinate the operation.

Hadi al Ameri, commander of the government-controlled volunteer group Popular Mobilisation, called for residents in Tikrit to leave their homes so government forces could "wrap up the battle of the revenge for Speicher".

Speicher is a military base near Tikrit from where hundreds of mostly Shia recruits were kidnapped and executed in June last year at the start of the IS offensive north of Baghdad.

Iraqi forces have tried and failed several times to recapture Tikrit, which is around 100 miles north of Baghdad.

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Fresh Claims Of Racism Against Chelsea Fans

An investigation has been launched after reports of racist and abusive behaviour by Chelsea fans on a train to Manchester.

British Transport Police said it was called to meet the train, which was travelling from London on Sunday night, as it entered Stoke station.

Officers are examining mobile phone footage of the alleged incident, which was obtained from a witness on the train.

Four men were asked to leave the train and four others left of their own accord. 

Chelsea had earlier won the Capital One Cup after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Wembley Stadium.

It follows an alleged racist incident involving Chelsea supporters on the Paris Metro last month before the club's Champions League match against Paris St-Germain.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: "Shortly after 10.30pm on Sunday, 1 March, officers were called to meet a Euston-to-Manchester Piccadilly train at Stoke, following reports of racist and abusive behaviour by a number of passengers, said to be football fans.

"Colleagues from Staffordshire Police also attended. Officers asked four men to leave the train at Stoke. We have spoken to two witnesses, and investigations continue.

"Rail passengers and staff have the right to travel and work in peace. Abusive behaviour on trains and at stations is unacceptable, and we will not hesitate to investigate any such incidents."

Chelsea suspended five supporters following an internal investigation into the Paris Metro incident. Footage showed a man being blocked from boarding a train by fans travelling to the Parc des Princes on 17 February.

The fans could be heard chanting "we're racist, we're racist and that's the way we like it".

Another group of fans returning from Paris were heard shouting racist chants at London's St Pancras station.

A Chelsea spokesman said: "We are aware of the reports but it is not clear at this time if this incident involves Chelsea supporters.

"If it did then we will assist the British Transport Police with their inquiries."

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Video: Police Shoot Homeless Man On Skid Row

By Sky News US Team

Los Angeles police officers have shot dead a homeless man on the city's Skid Row in a confrontation caught on camera.

The video shows LA Police Department officers wrestling with the man as he takes swings at them.

Two of the officers break away to subdue and handcuff a woman who picked up one of their dropped batons.

The struggle becomes increasingly blurry and distant, but shouting can be heard, including the word, "gun". Once on the ground, the man continues struggling, at which point several shots are fired.

LAPD Commander Andrew Smith said the officers, one of whom is a sergeant, shot the man as they struggled on the ground for control of one of the police officer's weapons, after a stun gun had proved ineffective.

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1. Gallery: Nov 25 - Protests Turn Ugly In Missouri

   A man watches a burning building after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

Lesley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, reacts to hearing the grand jury decision over the death of the 18-year-old unarmed black teenager, shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri

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Emwazi 'Best Employee We Had', Says Ex-Boss

The former boss of the Briton identified in reports as the sadistic Islamic State killer "Jihadi John" has said he was "the best employee we ever had".

Mohammed Emwazi was "very good with people" and was "calm and decent", according to the head of an IT firm in Kuwait, which hired the then 21-year-old as a salesman.

He also expressed shock the person he had known was behind the reign of terror in the IS videos.

Emwazi, 26, is believed to have murdered at least five Western hostages, including Britons Alan Henning and David Haines.

His ex-boss told The Guardian newspaper: "He was the best employee we ever had.

Video: Split Over Radical Preachers

"He was very good with people. Calm and decent. He came to our door and gave us his CV."

The executive added: "How could someone as calm and quiet as him become like the man who we saw on the news? It's just not logical that he could be this guy.

"Maybe he fell into the wrong hands when he went back."

Emwazi left the company suddenly in April 2010 after returning to London.

Further details about the killer came as emails emerged suggesting Emwazi considered suicide when he was a student, after suspecting MI5 was closing in on him.

He told a journalist in 2010 that he felt like a "dead man walking".

Emwazi had also contacted a campaign group after he was questioned by counter-terrorism officers while attempting to fly from Heathrow to his native Kuwait in 2010.

In emails to the CAGE organisation, he claimed the security services were "stopping him from living his new life" abroad, where he had secured a job and was getting married.

Video: Jihadi John Classmate Interview

When Emwazi was first unmasked as "Jihadi John", representatives from CAGE described him as "extremely kind and gentle" and "the most humble young person we ever knew".

Meanwhile, divisions have opened up between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats over whether radical preachers should be banned from university campuses.

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps revealed on Sky News there is a "difference of opinion" within the coalition.

It comes after a former student at the London university where Emwazi studied said the campus was a toxic environment of radical Islam.

The University of Westminster, where Emwazi studied from 2006 and 2009 and earned a computer programming degree, has vehemently denied the claim.

In an interview on Sky's Murnaghan programme, Mr Shapps said: "Vince Cable doesn't want to do what the Conservatives want to do, which is to make sure that on campus we do not have radical preachers saying things which incite violence which ultimately can lead to the radicalisation of young people."

The department headed by the Lib Dem Business Secretary is responsible for higher education.

Mr Shapps said: "We have seen these three girls go off to Syria. We have seen Jihadi John. We don't think that sort of preaching should happen in our universities.

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1. Gallery: Jihadi John's University Academic Record

   Mohammed Emwazi, aka Jihadi John, studied a computing course at university. Sky News has exclusively obtained his student record

His file shows mostly middling academic grades for his course modules. He graduated with a lower second (2.2) degree

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Inside Glasgow Pub Destroyed By Helicopter

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

The scene inside the Clutha bar captures a moment in time - a desperate, tragic moment in Glasgow's history.

The pub lies almost untouched since the moments after a Police Scotland helicopter crashed through the roof. 

Everywhere there is evidence of a busy, noisy, Friday night.

Cobwebs hang between the beer taps of the section of the bar that remains standing. An unfinished pint of Tennent's sits at the end of the bar, the lager blackened by dust.

Two five pence pieces - a customer's change - lie uncollected beside it. A bottle of Southern Comfort is wedged between shelves behind the bar - preventing shelves above it from falling down.

Cobwebs, dust and debris cover the bar area

On the floor of the stage lies a sheet of paper with the set list of the band Esperanza, who were playing to a packed audience when the disaster happened. 

On the ground nearby is a flyer for the following week's music: "The Party - Live at the Clutha Bar, Friday 6 December."  It's the gig that's on hold, indefinitely.

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1. Gallery: Inside The Clutha Bar

   Sky News takes a look inside the Glasgow pub that was damaged after a Police Scotland helicopter crash-landed on the roof

The rubble-covered bar of the Clutha

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Licence Fee Needs Updating, BBC Boss Argues

BBC boss Tony Hall has warned the corporation is at "a crossroads" and that the licence fee should be updated.

In a speech, the director general argued that adapting the levy for the internet age is "vital".

Mr Hall highlighted a recent report by MPs which called for changes to the licence fee to include its catch-up iPlayer service and also suggested an alternative to the current system.

The preferred option of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is for a universal household levy, regardless of whether people watched television or not.

Mr Hall told his audience at New Broadcasting House in central London: "We've always said that the licence fee should be updated to reflect changing times.

Video: Jail Threat Diminishes For Dodgers

"I welcome the committee's endorsement of our proposal to make people pay the licence fee even if they only watch catch-up television.

"The committee has suggested another route to modernising the licence fee - a universal household levy.

"Both proposals have the same goal in mind: adapting the licence fee for the internet age.

"This is vital. Because I believe we need and we will need what the licence fee - in whatever form - makes happen more than ever."

In their report, members of the select committee said the licence fee, which is not currently required to watch iPlayer, must be changed to cover "catch-up television as soon as possible".

Video: Apology For Botched BBC IT Project

It went on: "The German model of a broadcasting levy on all households is our preferred alternative to the TV licence".

Opponents of the licence fee have likened to a poll tax because every household with a television set has to pay it, even if they rarely or never use BBC services.

Mr Hall said that "people increasingly prefer the licence fee to other models of funding" and warned that scaling back the BBC too far will leave a nation dominated by "global gatekeepers and American taste-makers".

"The BBC has never been afraid of debates about its future. What we do is undeniably good for Britain and the British public. And will become even more so in the internet age."

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Toronto Police Find Mystery Tunnellers

Police digging into the mystery of a tunnel found near a Toronto sports centre have said the builders posed no threat to the city but have refused to reveal its purpose.

The 10-metre-long tunnel was discovered by a conservation officer in a secluded forest near York University on 14 January.

It contained plywood wall supports, a gas generator, moisture-resistant light bulbs, a sump pump to remove groundwater and food and drink containers.

Police also found rosary beads with a Remembrance Day poppy nailed to a wall.

The tunnel lay 10 feet below the ground, was over six feet high and three feet wide, and police believe it was dug entirely by hand using a pulley system.

Describing it as "warm and comfortable inside", Deputy Police Chief Mark Saunders said he believed the tunnel was only for use in winter.

"This was built with a considerable amount of sophistication," he said.

"The individuals responsible for building it clearly had some expertise in structural integrity."

The tunnel was just metres from the fence of a complex due to host the Canadian Open tennis tournament and various parts of the Pan-American Games in the summer, prompting police fears that the tunnel diggers could have terrorism on their minds.

But now police have identified the two men who built the tunnel and are satisfied there is no threat to the public or criminal intent involved.

In a statement, police did not identify the men or give any clues to why they had built the tunnel, apart from describing the motive as "personal reasons".

Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said: "Our concern was whether there was any criminal intent or threat to the people or the city. There was not.

"The investigation is concluded."

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Vincent Tabak Possessed Indecent Child Images

The man who murdered Bristol landscape architect Joanna Yeates in 2010 has admitted possessing indecent images of children.

Dutch engineer Vincent Tabak, who was caught after a four-week investigation following the disappearance of his 25-year-old neighbour, was appearing at Bristol Crown Court.

The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to four charges relating to the possession of 145 images, the majority of which were classed at the lowest category in terms of seriousness.

They were kept on his Dell laptop between January 2009 and 2011, according to prosecutors.

Tabak strangled Miss Yeates, whose boyfriend was away for the weekend, for sexual thrills on December 17 2010.

He dumped her partially-clothed body on a snowy verge in Failand, near Bristol, where it was discovered by walkers on Christmas morning.

It later emerged that Tabak carried out the killing after becoming obsessed with violent sex and pornography, with explicit videos of blonde women being throttled found on his laptop.

Detectives combing Tabak's home during the murder investigation also discovered the images of children stored on his laptop.

More follows...

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