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Monday, 17 March 2014

Westboro Baptist Church Founder 'Near Death'

The founder of the highly controvercial Westboro Baptist Church, Rev Fred Phelps, is said to be "on the edge of death".

The 84-year-old's estranged son reported that his father, once a pastor of the church notorious for its homophobic and racist views, was in hospice care and near death.

In a Facebook post Nate Phelps said his father "is now on the edge of death at Midland Hospice house in Topeka, Kansas."

He said he had also learned that Phelps Sr. was ex-communicated from his own church in August of 2013.

"I’m not sure how I feel about this. Terribly ironic that his devotion to his god ends this way. Destroyed by the monster he made."

A second estranged Phelps son, Mark, told Kansas newspaper The Topeka Capital-Journal the news was accurate.

Meanwhile church spokesman Steve Drain confirmed that Rev Phelps was being looked after in a care facility.

Mr Drain said: "I can tell you that Fred Phelps is having some health problems."

He did not elaborate on what those problems were.

Supreme Court Hears First Amendment Case On Protests At Military Funerals

The Church won the right to stage high-profile protestsin 2011

Phelps Sr, once an award-winning civil rights attorney, founded the church in Kansas in 1955.

It has shot to notoriety in recent years after its members staged numerous protests at the funerals of dead US soldiers.

Images of its members carrying placards reading "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Thank God for 9/11" earned the church significant attention around world, as did its claim that the deaths were God's punishment for immorality and tolerance of homosexuality and abortion.

Anger over the behaviour of Westboro members, largely made up of Phelps' extended family, inspired a federal law and laws in numerous states limiting picketing at funerals.

But, in a landmark free speech ruling in 2011, the US Supreme Court found that the church had the right to stage protests.

It ruled it could not be sued for monetary damages for upsetting grieving families.

The story of the Westboro Baptist Church has inspired numerous documentaries, including British journalist Louis Theroux's The Most Hated Family In America.

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Gas Pipes Under Scrutiny After New York Blast

New York emergency crews say investigations into the cause of a gas explosion that brought down two apartment buildings can get under way following significant progress clearing rubble from the site.

Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said investigators hoped to reach the gas pipes in the underground area of the collapsed buildings on Sunday.

Investigators have been waiting to access the buildings' basements to inspect possible ignition sources that might have caused the blast.

On Saturday New York City Fire Department spokesman Michael Parrella said mild weather had helped crews make "significant headway" clearing the debris from the site.

He said the "majority" of rubble had now been removed.

New York City firefighters dig through rubble of a building explosion and collapse in the Harlem section of New York

The buildings housed 15 apartments, a ground-floor church and a piano shop

Eight people were killed and dozens injured on Wednesday when the gas explosion levelled two five-story apartment buildings in East Harlem.

They fell just minutes after a resident in the area called 911 to report the smell of gas.

Witnesses said the impact of the collapse could be felt up to a mile away.

The bodies of all eight victims, five women and three men, have now been recovered.

Six of the victims have so far been identified.

Harlem explosion victims Carmen Tanco and Griselde Comacho

Carmen Tanco (L) and Griselde Comacho died in the blast

They include Griselde Camacho, a 45-year-old school security officer, and 67-year-old Carmen Tanco, a dental hygienist.

Mexican officials in Puebla named two other victims as Rosaura Barrios Vazquez, 43, and 22-year-old Rosaura Hernandez Barrios.

There are not thought to have been any other fatalities.

During a tour of the site New York Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged support for around 50 families displaced by the blast.

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Mafia Fugitive Rancadore Wins Extradition Battle

A 65-year-old London man accused of being a top Mafia gangster has won his battle against extradition to Italy.

Domenico Rancadore had been living in Uxbridge, west London, for 20 years when he was arrested for allegedly fleeing justice in Italy.

Known as "The Professor", he was convicted in 1999 of Mafia association and extortion in Trabia, near Palermo, Sicily, and sentenced to seven years in prison.

However, senior district judge Howard Riddle has now discharged Mr Rancadore at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Mr Riddle told the court he had originally intended to extradite Mr Rancadore.

Domenico Rancadore's home in Uxbridge

But he changed his mind following a ruling in a similar case involving the Court of Florence and Hayle Abdi Badre.

Mr Riddle said: "The judgment of the administrative court is binding on me.

"The higher court accepted that a similar assurance given in that case was in good faith, but was not sufficient."

He added: "I cannot distinguish this case from Badre.

"While it is true that I heard more up-to-date evidence than was available to the court in that case, my intended decision, as expressed above, was based squarely on my acceptance of an assurance that has recently, and in similar circumstances, been rejected by a higher court."

Mr Rancadore's wife Anne Skinner (left) and daughter Daniela

In the case of Badre, the High Court written judgement said: "...the assurance in this case is insufficient to persuade me that, if the Appellant were returned to Italy, he would not face the risk of being exposed to prison conditions that would breach his Article 3 rights".

Mr Riddle said he was satisfied the European Arrest Warrant against Mr Rancadore was valid and that extradition was "compatible with the defendant's Convention rights, including prison conditions".

He also said he believed he was satisfied Mr Rancadore's wife and daughter had known he was a fugitive "for some time".

Outside court, Mr Rancadore's solicitor, Karen Todner, said: "We're all delighted and relieved.

"He's got a serious heart condition so being in prison is very difficult for him."

Mr Rancadore was expected to be bailed pending an appeal.

At an earlier hearing, the former travel agent - who had been using the name Marc Skinner - told the court he had come to England for the sake of his two children as he feared for their life in Italy.

He said: "I changed my name, I changed my life, I didn't want to go back to Italy."

His wife, Anne Skinner, told the court she had seen a deterioration in her husband's health since his arrest.

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Osborne To Build For Britain In His Budget

By Anushka Asthana and Darren McCaffrey, Sky Political Team

George Osborne has announced that a "garden city" will be built in Britain for the first time in decades, based in Ebbsfleet, Kent, with 15,000 homes to start with.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's Budget, the Chancellor also pledged to extend the first phase of the help-to-buy scheme for new build homes until 2020.

Ebbsfleet in Kent chosen as new garden city with 15,000 homes

The Government has chosen Ebbsfleet in Kent as a new garden city

Policies to drive up housing supply will be one plank of the financial statement, which Mr Osborne will use to warn that the tough times are not over.

He is expected to announce measures aimed at small business, families, and investors, including:

:: An increase in the tax-free element of the personal allowance to £10,500

:: A freeze in the carbon tax

:: Action to support British companies that export their goods

:: Tax relief for business investments of up to £250,000

:: An additional crackdown on tax avoidance

:: Investment in road and rail, including speeding up the HS2 project

:: A tax cut on bingo halls

Mr Osborne will also take the opportunity to talk once again about policies coming into place in April. These include a transferable tax allowance for married couples of up to £200 a year, a drop in corporation tax to 21% and the chance for UK employers to cut their national insurance payments by £2,000 a year.

Details of a planned £1,200 childcare tax break will be unveiled

The decision to freeze fuel duty this September, which was made last year, will also be reconfirmed.

And there could be support for families with childcare as the details of an expected £1,200 per-child tax-break scheme are published following a Government consultation.

But the Chancellor is unlikely to give in to pressure from Conservative grandees on the 40p tax rate. Former chancellors Lord Lamont and Lord Lawson have argued that the 4.4 million people now falling into the band, which kicks in at £41,450, is too high.

Although the threshold will rise by 1% this year, it is less than inflation.

Tory backbenchers and some business groups are also pushing for the rate to be used to deliver a middle class tax cut.

But Mr Osborne has argued that the tax allowance changes will benefit the middle classes.

Moreover, it has been reported that he is happy for more people to face the higher tax rate.

According to the Mail On Sunday, he told MPs: "It means they feel they are a success and joining the aspirational classes. That means they are more likely to think like Conservatives and vote Conservatives."

He said the polling backed his arguments, but the newspaper quoted an MP saying the comment was met with a "stunned silence".

Ed Balls says Mr Osborne's housing measures 'fall short'

A Treasury source said the overall tone of the Budget would be cautious with warnings of further austerity ahead. Mr Osborne will argue that his macroeconomic policies are working, but there must be no wavering from the plan.

The next step is building a "resilient economy".

"Britain has to up its ambition, Britain has to up its game, Britain has to earn its way in the world," he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.

"Yes, the economy is recovering, but that is not enough. We have got to finish the job."

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News the measures on housing fell short.

"We've asked him to invest in affordable housing, there's nothing on the table yet from him there," he said.

"At the moment we're calling on him to reduce the limit on help to buy from 600,000 - we've not had any action on that yet.

"And this is a promise to get a new town moving eventually, but it's not on the scale we need, or as fast as we need to deal with that cost of living crisis.

"I hope that when it comes to the budget on Wednesday, George Osborne's going to be giving a lot more than he's promised so far."

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FA Expected To Block Hull City Name Change

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

The FA is expected to tell Hull City's owners that they are not allowed to change the club's name to Hull Tigers.

Sky News understands the FA Membership Committee will recommend that the FA Council reject an application by the club's owner Assem Allam to change the name, which has been used since the club was founded in 1904.

Mr Allam wants to change the name to Hull Tigers to increase the club's commercial appeal to potential sponsors, and has described the word City as "common" and "lousy".

He has threatened to walk away from the club, which he bought and helped save from financial collapse in 2010, if his application is rejected.

The final decision will be made by the FA Council at a meeting next month, but the committee's recommendation makes it highly unlikely that Mr Allam will get his way.

It is understood that the decision to recommend the application be rejected was unanimous, and was made following a detailed report from a small working party that consulted stakeholders across the game.

The Premier League, the Football League and supporters groups including Hull fans opposed to the move were asked for their views.

Allam Threatens To Quit Over Name-Change

Owner Assem Allam has threatened to walk away from the club

Sky News understands that none of those consulted believed the club had made a persuasive case for change.

Speaking to Sky Sports News in January, Mr Allam said he would walk away "in 24 hours" if the supporters rejected his plans.

"No one on earth is allowed to question my business decisions, I won't allow it," he said.

"I'm here to save the club and manage the club for the benefit of the community - it will never, ever be the other way around - take it from me. But the community can say 'go away' and I will go within 24 hours."

In a letter to the Hull Daily Mail last week Mr Allam's son Ehab Allam re-stated the case for change, pointing out his family had invested £74m in the club.

"We have nothing left to give, and this is the reason why the club has to become financially self-sustainable," he wrote.

"Currently there are six teams in the Premier League with 'City' in their name, and with the exception of Manchester City, all of those clubs are in a similar league position to us, and playing to similar-sized crowds.

"We need something that makes us stand out from the pool of teams we find ourselves in when it comes to attracting potential international sponsors, who are simply hoping to use the Premier League, and its global audience, to advertise."

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Five UK Families 'Richer Than 12.6m Britons'

The five richest families in the UK are wealthier than the poorest fifth of the country combined, according to new figures.

Research by the charity Oxfam found the wealthiest households have more money than 12.6 million of the least well-off put together.

The wealthiest family in Britain is the Grovesnors, headed by the Duke of Westminster, with a fortune of £7.9bn mostly from the 190 acres of real estate it owns in London's Belgravia, according to the Forbes rich list.

Also on the list are brothers David and Simon Reuben, whose £6.9bn fortunes comes from metals and property, and the Hinduja brothers with trucking and banking businesses worth £6bn.

Indian industrialist brothers Ashok Hinduja (L) and Prakash Hinduja

The Hinduja brothers are worth £6bn from trucking and banking

The Cadogan family, who are worth £4bn from owning property and land in Chelsea and Knightsbridge in London and Cadogan Estates, and Newcastle United FC owner and Sports Direct clothing chain boss Mike Ashley, whose fortune is valued at £3.3bn, complete the top five.

In its Tale Of Two Britains report, Oxfam found the gap between rich and poor has grown significantly over the last two decades.

It said the richest 0.1% of the population have seen incomes grow nearly four times faster than the poorest 90% of the country.

Watch live coverage of the 2014 Budget on Sky News

The wealthy elite have an extra £24,000 in their pockets every year - enough to buy a small yacht or a sports car and almost as much as the average UK salary of £26,500.

Ben Phillips, director of campaigns and policy at Oxfam, said: "Britain is becoming a deeply divided nation, with a wealthy elite who are seeing their incomes spiral up, whilst millions of families are struggling to make ends meet.

"It's deeply worrying that these extreme levels of wealth inequality exist in Britain today, where just a handful of people have more money than millions struggling to survive on the breadline."

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is valued at £3.3bn

Ahead of this week's Budget, Oxfam has called on the Chancellor to raise revenues from those most able to afford it.

It wants to see a renewed clamp down on tax dodgers, as well as a long-term strategy to raise the minimum wage - which will rise from £6.31 to £6.50 in October - to a so-called 'living wage'.

"Increasing inequality is a sign of economic failure rather than success," Mr Phillips said.

"It's time for our leaders to stand up and be counted on this issue."

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Kate And William Celebrate St Patrick's Day

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have kept up a 113-year-old royal tradition and handed out sprigs of shamrock to the Irish Guards for St Patrick's Day.

Prince William, who is the colonel of the Aldershot-based regiment, stood by as the duchess gifted the symbolic Irish plant to officers, guardsmen and even regimental mascot Domhnall the wolfhound.

In keeping with the day, Kate wore an emerald green coat from Hobbs and matching hat by Gina Foster, along with a gold Cartier Irish Guards brooch - a Royal Family heirloom also worn by the Queen Mother.

The shamrock tradition dates back to 1901 - the year after the Irish Guards were formed - when Queen Alexandra, wife to King Edward VII, gave sprigs to the regiment for St Patrick's Day.

Around 300 guardsmen started proceedings this morning with a parade around Aldershot led by Domhnall before filing up to the Mons Barracks to receive the royal couple.

This year, for the first time, the Irish Guards were joined by reserve soldiers from the London Regiment as part of Army 2020, the Ministry of Defence's drive to boost reserves in the Army.

The 1st Battalion Irish Guards were formed in 1900 on the orders of Queen Victoria who wanted to recognise the many courageous acts of Irish soldiers in the Second Boer War.

Today only around 10% are actually Irish, with most soldiers coming from England and some from Commonwealth countries.

However, celebrating St Patrick's Day is still seen as a part of the pride and privilege of the regiment which consists of around 530 guardsmen around the world.

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