North Korea Missile Alert After Japan Blunder

A Japanese official mistakenly announced the launch of a North Korean missile instead of sending an alert about a strong earthquake.

An official at the western Osaka aviation bureau emailed 87 airport offices to say a North Korean missile had been launched, Japan's transport ministry said.

The official was trying to send a message to check on possible airport damage immediately after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near the southwestern city of Kobe, injuring dozens of people and destroying several homes.

But instead the official dispatched a pre-prepared alert ready to go in the event of a North Korean missile launch.

The incorrect message was retracted six minutes later but at least one domestic flight was delayed due to the mistake.

Japan is on full alert ahead of an expected mid-range missile launch by North Korea, with Patriot missiles stationed in its capital to protect the 30 million people who live there.

In addition to PAC-3 batteries, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles have been deployed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

On Wednesday officials in the Japanese city of Yokohama were left red-faced after mistakenly announcing the launch of a North Korean missile to 40,000 followers on Twitter.

Saturday night's earthquake was in the area where a magnitude 7.2 quake killed more than 6,400 people in 1995.

The Meteorological Agency warned there may be aftershocks for about a week.

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Mubarak Retrial: Judge Withdraws From Case

The retrial of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak has been plunged into chaos as the judge quits on the first day.

Judge Mustafa Hassan Abdullah said he had decided to refer the case to the Cairo appeals court as he felt "unease" in reviewing it.

Some families of the victims gathered outside court

As he filed out of the courtroom after a hearing that lasted just seconds, there was uproar with people shouting and waving their arms. Civil society lawyers attending the trial chanted: "The people want the execution of the president".

Mubarak is facing retrial on charges of complicity in the murder of more than 800 protesters killed in the uprising that unseated him in 2011.

A man calls for Mubarak to face a court in the Hague

Last year, Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment on the same charges, which include indictments related to corruption, but after a successful appeal against his conviction in January the ruling was overturned due to failings in the prosecution case.

He will now face those charges again, alongside his former interior minister Habib El Adly and four aides.

Earlier on Saturday, television footage showed Mubarak, dressed in white and wearing sunglasses, wheeled out of an ambulance on a stretcher and taken into the capital's Police Academy in a suburb of the capital for the hearing.

He had been flown in from a military hospital where he is being treated.

Inside the courtroom, he was seen sitting up, smiling and waving from inside a barred cage before the proceedings were adjourned.

More follows...

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Plane Plunges Into Water Near Bali Airport

A plane with more than 100 people onboard has overshot a runway on Bali and plunged into the sea.

According to the AFP news agency, an Indonesian official said around 130 passengers and crew survived the accident.

The aircraft, operated by local carrier Lion Air, came to rest in shallow water near the shoreline.

The jet plane appeared to have suffered a broken fuselage behind the wings.

Bright yellow inflatable life jackets littered the nearby water and rocky shore.

Lion Air began operating in 2000 with just one aircraft in its fleet.

It quickly expanded operations to more than 36 locations in Indonesia.

It also flies to foreign locations including Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam and uses a fleet Boeing 737 aircraft.

More follows...

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Baby P: Man Jailed Over Death Back In Prison

One of the three people jailed over the death of Baby Peter has been returned to prison two years after being released.

Jason Owen was sentenced to six years' jail for causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter Connelly, but he was released halfway through his term in 2011.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that Owen has since been returned to custody, following reports he breached conditions of his parole.

A spokesperson told Sky News: "Public protection is our priority. Offenders released on licence are subject to a strict set of conditions and controls.

"If they fail to comply with their licence conditions, they are liable to be returned to custody."

Peter - known as Baby P during the trial over his death - died in 2007 after sustaining more than 50 injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken back at his home in north London.

Owen, of Bromley, Kent, was jailed along with Peter's mother Tracey Connelly and her boyfriend Steven Barker over the abuse.

Tracey Connelly and Steven Barker were also jailed over Baby Peter's death

Connelly and Barker remain in prison for their role in the toddler's death.

Owen - who is Barker's brother but changed his name after Peter died - had been staying at the boy's home with his 15-year-old girlfriend.

Peter suffered fatal injuries despite being on the at-risk register of Haringey Council and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police and health professionals during the final eight months of his life.

A series of reviews have identified missed opportunities when officials could have saved him if they had acted properly on the warning signs.

Owen was originally given an indeterminate punishment to protect the public, with a minimum term of three years, at the Old Bailey in May 2009.

But the Court of Appeal later ruled Owen should have an exact prison term and he was sentenced to six years.

In May 2009, Baby Peter's mother was also given an indefinite sentence with a minimum term of five years after pleading guilty to causing or allowing her son's death.

Barker, who Peter called "Dad", was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for playing what a judge described as a "major role" in the toddler's death.

He was also jailed for life with a minimum term of 10 years for raping a two-year-old girl.

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North Korea: Missile Test Could Occur 'Any Time'

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent, In Seoul

US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in the South Korean capital Seoul as tension mounts over a possible missile test by North Korea.

The crisis on the Korean peninsula is bound to dominate talks between Mr Kerry and his South Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se.

Intelligence reports from the Japanese, South Koreans and Americans indicate that a North Korean missile test could take place at any time, though there has been silence from the leadership in Pyongyang.

The focus in the North Korean capital has been on a weekend of celebrations to mark a year in office for Kim Jong Un, which fell yesterday, and the anniversary of Mr Kim's grandfather, Kim Il Song, the founder of the nation.

"On the agenda for their talks would be the topics related to the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, how to cope with North Korea's threats and how to deter the North's provocations," foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said.

The level of rhetoric to emerge from North Korea is unprecedented.

A US agency believes that Kim Jong Un does have nuclear weapons

Over several weeks, the regime has declared itself to be in a "state of war" with the South, announced that a mothballed nuclear site is to be reopened and threatened to carry out nuclear attacks against the US.

Mr Kerry arrives in the region as confusion surfaced in Washington over the true status of North Korea's nuclear capability.

The broad consensus is that while Kim Jong Un does poses nuclear devices and has crossed the "nuclear threshold", he does not have the capability to launch a nuclear missile.

However, at a congressional hearing on Thursday night, it emerged that one US government agency believes that Kim Jong Un does have nuclear weapons which could be placed inside a ballistic missile and fired.

"[The] Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low," said Republican US Representative Doug Lamborn, quoting from a March 2013 DIA report which was inadvertently labelled "unclassified".

North Korea is celebrating a year in office for Kim Jong Un

The Pentagon was quick to issue a written clarification on the matter.

"In today's House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of Defence budget, a member of the committee read an unclassified passage in a classified report on North Korea's nuclear capabilities," Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

"While I cannot speak to all the details of a report that is classified in its entirety, it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed, or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced in the passage."

Washington added it was concerned about unexpected developments linked to the inexperience of 30-year-old Kim Jong Un.

One official said: "Kim Jong Un's youth and inexperience make him very vulnerable to miscalculation. Our greatest concern is a miscalculation and where that may lead.

Flower displays for the anniversary of Kim Il Sung's death feature missiles

"We have seen no indications of massive troop movements, or troops massing on the border, or massive exercises or anything like that that would back up any of the rhetoric that is going on."

North Korea has said that it does possess advanced nuclear devices.

President Barack Obama, speaking after White House talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said "nobody wants to see a conflict".

He added: "We both agree that now is the time for North Korea to end the kind of belligerent approach that they've been taking.

"It's important for North Korea, like every other country in the world, to observe basic rules and norms."

This whole crisis stems from Pyongyang's desire to pursue a nuclear programme which it says it needs to defend itself from "American aggression".

By manufacturing this crisis, Kim Jong Un is likely to be demonstrating strength domestically and thus bolstering his legitimacy.

Internationally, he is determined that his country is taken seriously as a nuclear power.

He would want an acceptance from the Americans that he is part of the 'nuclear club' as a pretext to any negotiations to end this crisis.

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North Korea: Defector Reveals Harrowing Escape

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

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Margaret Thatcher: No Argentines At Funeral

The guest list for Baroness Thatcher's funeral is expected to be released later, and it has already emerged Argentina's President is not invited.

Cristina Kirchner, who has repeatedly called for the Falkland Islands to be handed to Argentina, will not attend the ceremonial funeral next Wednesday.

Her absence will not be a great surprise given Argentina's fury at how Britain led by Lady Thatcher took back the Falklands in the 80s.

But it has been reported that Lady Thatcher's children Mark and Carol also vetoed the presence of any Argentine officials at the service.

Argentinian president Cristina Kirchner is not invited to the funeral

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are all confirmed guests, with dignitaries from around the world also expected.

Both former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan's wife Nancy, 91, are not going because of their health.

Mrs Reagan's spokesman said: "Mrs Reagan is heartbroken over Baroness Thatcher's death and would really like to be there in person to pay her respects.

"Unfortunately, she is no longer able to make that kind of a trip, so will not be attending the funeral."

However, FW de Klerk, the last president of apartheid South Africa, will be attending as a guest of the Thatcher family

Flowers left outside Margaret Thatcher's home in London

The service, held at St Paul's Cathedral, will involve more than 700 members of the armed forces in recognition of Lady Thatcher's success in the Falklands.

She is not being given a state funeral but the Queen's presence effectively elevates the event to that level, and the former leader is being given full military honours.

Preparations for the ceremony and huge security operation have been dubbed Operation True Blue and ministers and organisers are meeting daily to finalise the arrangements.

It has also emerged that Lady Thatcher's ashes will be buried next to her husband Denis' in the cemetery of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.

The former prime minister was a long-term supporter of the hospital, where the Chelsea Pensioners live, and an infirmary on the site is named after her.

Politics however will start to get back to business as usual now that a special session of Parliament where MPs and peers were able to pay tribute is over.

Lady Thatcher's ashes will be buried at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea

David Cameron is visiting the Midlands as he resumes his regional tours, where he will speak to Sky's Adam Boulton this lunchtime.

Claims have emerged that Speaker John Bercow and Mr Cameron's own chief whip Sir George Young were against recalling Parliament from the Easter break.

A further row appears to be brewing over arrangements for the funeral, with Mr Cameron pushing for PMQs to be cancelled and the Commons to sit later. 

Mr Bercow is said to have insisted the Government tables a motion to change the timetable, which could be pushed to a vote.

The Prime Minister led the tributes in the Commons on Wednesday, calling Lady Thatcher an "extraordinary leader and an extraordinary woman".

Choking up with emotion, he said: "She made the political weather, she made history, and - let this be her epitaph - she made our country great again."

Labour leader Ed Miliband hailed her as a "unique and towering figure" who had "defined the politics of a generation", while making clear his opposition to some of her work.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg appeared the most uncomfortable of the three men as he insisted it was possible to reject the tenets of Thatcherism and still respect her achievements.

The Labour benches were sparsely populated for the session, despite the party urging members to attend as a mark of respect, and there were some bitter contributions.

Former minister Michael Meacher said her "scorched earth" tactics had "polarised" the nation, while veteran David Winnick referred to the "immense pain and suffering" she caused to ordinary people.

Labour backbencher Glenda Jackson sparked howls of protest from Conservatives as she launched a full frontal assault on the "heinous" Thatcher record.

"The first Prime Minister of female gender, OK. But a woman? Not on my terms," she said.

In the Lords, speakers included Lord Tebbit who expressed sadness that he had not been able to stop her being ejected from Downing Street in 1990.

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Welfare Cuts 'Will Widen North-South Divide'

People living in northern England will be hardest hit by the Government's welfare reforms, which will take nearly £19bn out of the economy every year.

Researchers say adults in Blackpool will lose an average of £910 a year each - more than anywhere else in Britain - because of changes to Housing Benefit, Disability Living Allowance and Child Benefit, as well as Tax Credit and Council Tax Benefit.

Former industrial areas including Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Glasgow will also be disproportionately affected.

However, wealthier areas, such as Cambridge, parts of Surrey and the Cotswolds, are expected to see the smallest financial losses.

Cambridge will be among the places least affected, researchers say

Westminster, with its high cost of living, will be the worst-affected London borough, with the average adult losing £820 in annual benefits.

Professor Steve Fothergill, of Sheffield Hallam's Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, which led the study, said: "A key effect of the welfare reforms will be to widen the gaps in prosperity between the best and worst local economies across Britain.

"Our figures also show the coalition Government is presiding over national welfare reforms that will impact principally on individuals and communities outside its own political heartlands."

Professor Fothergill found that, on the whole, the more deprived the local authority, the greater the financial impact.

Former industrial towns such as Middlesbrough are likely to feel the pinch

Collectively, the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humberside stand to lose £5.2bn a year in benefit income.

However, a spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "Around nine out of 10 working households will be better off by, on average, almost £300 a year as a result of changes to the tax and welfare system this month.

"Raising the personal allowance to £10,000, we will have lifted 2.7 million people out of income tax since 2010.

"Our welfare reforms, including reassessing people on incapacity benefit, will help people back into work, which will benefit the economy more than simply abandoning them to claim benefits year after year.

"These changes are essential to keep the benefits bill sustainable, so that we can continue to support people when they need it most across the UK."

Changes to Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Disability Living Allowance have already been made.

A benefit cap of £500 per week for a family and £350 for a single person will be introduced on April 15, while Universal Credit, which replaces a number of means-tested benefits, will be rolled out from October.

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South Africa Rhinos Under Threat From Poaching

By Alex Crawford, At Kruger National Park, South Africa

Officials at South Africa's National Parks say they are "under siege" from rhino poachers and if the killings go on at the current rate the animal will be extinct within decades.

Despite a range of tactics like deploying the army, mounting helicopter patrols and even using drones in the past few months to try to pinpoint the poachers, the killing of rhinos for their horns is continuing at an alarming rate.

More than 200 rhinos were killed in South Africa in the first three months of this year.

The total for 2013 therefore looks set to top last year's figure, which was a record with more than 600 rhinos being slaughtered. And the 2012 figure was a dramatic increase on the previous year's record of 448.

The worst hit by far is the country's flagship Kruger National Park which shares a long 221-mile (356km) border with Mozambique, from where the vast majority of the poachers come.

Kruger saw more than 70 incursions last month by heavily-armed teams of poachers crossing from Mozambique.

Typically the teams are made up of between two and five hunters who find it very easy to slip across the border illegally.

About 20,000 white rhinos are believed to remain in the wild

They arrive carrying multiple weapons according to SANParks (South African National Parks) officials and can spend up to a week in the park, which is more than two million hectares - roughly the same size as Israel.

Ken Maggs, Chief of Staff of Operation Rhino at Kruger told Sky News: "This is a war we are fighting - against an enemy which has no rules."

He was talking whilst overseeing a training exercise which involved teams of armed rangers in camouflage gear using sniffer dogs to track down the poachers.

"We have very specific rules of engagement and we do not operate a shoot-to-kill policy. We are not allowed to just shoot at a poacher. We have to physically grab him and bring him in for arrest," he said.

The poachers are becoming more sophisticated and audacious - using silencers on their weapons to try to avoid detection and recruiting help from within the park to establish where the rhinos are.

The increase in rhino poaching has been driven by demand from the Far East for rhino horn which is believed to have healing and other properties - and is now more expensive than gold on the black market.

"We want to get the message across that rhino horn is just keratin, like our finger nails," Ranger Andrew Desmet said.

"It has no such qualities at all."

Rangers search the carcasses for bullets to use as evidence

We trekked more than two hours into the bush with one of the Kruger's investigation teams who had been alerted to more dead rhinos. The animals had lain undiscovered in the park for four days.

We saw the vultures first, circling overhead, and then as we approached, we noticed the odour.

"That is the smell of a dead rhino," one of the rangers said.

The two carcasses lay 300m apart. We came across the bones of the calf first, stripped bare by scavengers, its hide left like a folded mat.

It did not take the investigations team long to find the cartridge of a bullet hidden among the bones. It was swiftly bagged. It could be crucial in securing a conviction later. The cartridge will be sent to the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Veterinary Science which is building up a rhino DNA bank which could link the suspects to the dead animals.

Senior investigator Frik Rossouw moved onto the other carcass. This one was virtually intact - apart from a gaping hole where its horn had been.

Again, his colleagues used metal detectors in a circle around the dead animal, then over the animal itself. A beeping noise indicated metal inside the rhino's shoulder.

It took two of the investigations team, using knives to cut through the hide. They found what they were looking for: more evidence - this time a bullet which had remained lodged inside the animal.

"This animal didn't die instantly," Mr Rossouw said.

"The rangers who found them said there were marks indicating the rhino had probably been hit with her calf. She ran for her life before they caught up with her and fired again.

"These poachers just don't care. They want to get out of here as quickly as possible. They know if they get caught, they're in trouble."

The South African judiciary has handed out some tough penalties for rhino poaching recently.

Last year a Thai man was sentenced to a 40-year jail term for overseeing a racket which involved women posing as hunters so he could sell the rhino horn in powder form in the Far East.

SANParks is offering huge rewards, 100,000 South African rand (£7,300), for any information which could lead to the arrest of a poacher and one million rand if you can give police information which could bust a syndicate.

But so far, even the lure of a reward has not done enough to curb the poaching.

"When the sheer numbers keep going up daily, weekly, monthly, sometimes I am not so sure we are winning," special operations ranger Bruce Leslie said.

"It's a lot of pressure on us, our families, everybody involved in this war, but we have to do something and keep going because if we don't, if the world doesn't help, then the rhino will be gone forever."

Donations can be made to help protect rhinos at www.sanparks.org.

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North Korea: Japan Deploys Missile Defence

By Mark Stone, on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea

Japan has deployed missile-defence systems in key locations around Tokyo as North Korea warned foreigners in the South to take evacuation measures in case of war.

The Patriot missile batteries were set up in the defence ministry headquarters and in two suburbs of the Japanese capital, officials said.

Tokyo also reportedly has warships with missile interception systems on alert in the Sea of Japan.

North Korea's latest warning to foreigners in the South came after it told embassies in Pyongyang it could not guarantee their safety.

"We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war," the KCNA news agency reported, citing a spokesperson for the Korea Asia-Pacific PePPeace Committee.

North Korea has also suspended its operations at the Kaesong industrial complex, its last major economic link with the South, and recalled all 53,000 of its workers.

A Musudan missile, pictured in 2010

The work stoppage at a key source of hard cash for the North suggests Pyongyang is willing to hurt its own shaky economy in order to display its anger with South Korea and the US.

Amid rising tensions on the peninsula, the US and South Korea have also raised their defence postures.

North Korea is believed to have moved two missiles - possibly the medium-range Musudan - to its eastern coast on the  Sea of Japan, loading them on to mobile launchers.

The  Musudan missile has a range of about 3,000km (1,800 miles), meaning it is capable of reaching South Korea and Japan and perhaps also the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, is seen as unpredictable

There has been speculation that Pyongyang might schedule a missile launch to coincide with the birthday of the country's late founder Kim Il-Sung in mid-April.

But US and South Korean defence officials have said they have seen nothing to indicate that Pyongyang is preparing for a major military action, in which it would be heavily outgunned.

 Foreign Secretary William Hague, though, has said the threat posed by North Korea must be treated "very seriously" and the US has delayed the testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in an effort to defuse the situation.

North Korea is furious at UN sanctions imposed after Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test in February, and at joint military exercises between the US and South Korea.

Seoul and Washington say those exercises are routine but Pyongyang has unleashed a torrent of threats against the allies.

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Margaret Thatcher: Critics Party In Brixton

Police were called to Brixton in South London after people celebrating the death of Margaret Thatcher gathered in the streets.

Some revellers climbed onto the Ritzy cinema building and rearranged letters on its film listings board to spell out the words: "Margaret Thatchers (sic) dead LOL".

Britain's first and only female prime minister died on Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 87.

Other critics gathered in Windrush Square celebrated with cheers of "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, dead, dead, dead".

A banner celebrating Margaret Thatcher's death hangs from the Ritzy cinema

The area was the scene of fierce riots in 1981, two years into Lady Thatcher's first term in office.

Pictures of anti-Thatcher graffiti scrawled on walls in Brixton also appeared on Twitter, with one reading: "You snatched my milk! & our hope"

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said extra officers were brought in to control the crowds, who "caused low level disorder" and threw "a small number of missiles" at officers.

There were no reports of any arrests and the group dispersed in the early hours of the morning, acccording to police.

Some revellers sprayed champagne as they celebrated in Brixton

A spokesman for Ritzy said there was some damage to its building, adding that staff helped clear up the streets after the demonstration.

Meanwhile in Glasgow, up to 300 people gathered in George Square, 24 years after poll tax protests were held there.

Some anti-capitalist campaigners wore party hats and launched streamers into the air, while a bottle of champagne was sprayed.

Earlier, David Hopper, general secretary of Durham Miners' Association, said he was celebrating on his 70th birthday after learning of Baroness Thatcher's death.

"She was a heartless woman who tore the heart out of the mining communities of the North," he said.

George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bradford West, wrote on Twitter: "Thatcher described Nelson Mandela as a 'terrorist'. I was there. I saw her lips move. May she burn in the hellfires."

Parliament is being recalled on Wednesday for a special session to allow politicians to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher.

A full ceremonial funeral will take place at St Paul's Cathedral next week.

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Margaret Thatcher: Calls For A State Funeral

Thatcher In Her Own Words

Updated: 3:57pm UK, Monday 08 April 2013

Margaret Thatcher was renowned for her no-nonsense turn of phrase. Here are some of her memorable quotes.

:: "I wasn't lucky. I deserved it" - on receiving a school prize, aged nine

:: "There is no alternative" - about economic policing giving rise to her nickname "Tina"

:: "I am not hard, I'm frightfully soft. But I will not be hounded" - an interview in 1972

:: "It will be years - and not in my time - before a woman will lead the party or become Prime Minister" - speech in 1974

:: "Let our children grow tall, and some taller than others if they have it in them to do so" - speech in the US in 1975

:: "I've got a woman's ability to stick to a job and get on with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it" - in 1975

:: "I stand before you tonight in my green chiffon evening gown, my face softly made up, my fair hair gently waved. The Iron Lady of the Western World? Me? A cold war warrior? Well, yes - if that is how they wish to interpret my defence of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life" - after the Kremlin dubbed her the Iron Lady in 1976

:: "Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country" - election campaign in 1979

:: "Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope" - on becoming PM in 1979

:: "If a woman like Eva Peron with no ideals can get that far, think how far I can go with all the ideals that I have" - an interview in 1980

:: "To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say, you turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning" - Tory Party conference in 1980

:: "A crime is a crime is a crime" - news conference in Saudi Arabia, rejecting any view that there could be political reasons for IRA terrorism in 1981

:: "We knew what we had to do and we went about it and did it. Great Britain is great again" - after the Falklands conflict in 1982

:: "In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman" - speech in 1982

:: "The battle for women's rights has been largely won" - an interview in 1982

:: "I owe nothing to women's lib" - an interview in 1982

:: "Victorian values were the values when our country became great" - a TV interview in 1982

:: "I am painted as the greatest little dictator, which is ridiculous - you always take some consultations" - an interview in 1983

:: "This is a man I can do business with" - after her first meeting with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev

:: "This is a day I was not meant to see" - after the Brighton bomb that nearly killed her in 1984

:: "I think, historically, the term 'Thatcherism' will be seen as a compliment" - speech in 1985

:: "Why, Marks and Spencer of course. Doesn't everyone?" - when asked where she bought her underwear in 1986

:: "There is no such thing as Society. There are individual men and women, and there are families" -  an interview in 1987

:: "We are a grandmother" - on the birth of her grandson, Michael, in 1989

:: "I fight on. I fight to win" - after she was forced into a second ballot in the leadership battle in November 1990

:: "It's a funny old world" - After her decision to quit in November 1990, pointing out that she had never lost an election in her life yet had been forced to stand down

:: "The Mummy returns" - During the general election campaign in 2001 after passing a poster publicising the film of that name

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Disability Benefits: New System Rolled Out

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky Reporter

Major changes to disability benefits, which critics say will leave many worse off, are beginning to be rolled out today.

New claimants in parts of northern England will now receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in place of the old Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

The new system which includes face-to-face assessments and regular reviews will take at least two years to roll out across the rest of the country.

Steven Sumpter from Worcestershire, who suffers from ME and diabetes so finds walking painful, told Sky News he was worried about the future.

Previously, to get disability benefit he had to prove he was unable to walk 50m, but that will be changed to 20m.

He said he fears in the future he will lose half of the money he receives and the subsidised car he relies on.

"It means every single trip to the shops and the doctor will turn into maybe three hours of effort and that will leave me in bed, exhausted and in pain for days afterwards," he said.

The Government insists DLA was outdated and the changes mean those who really need support will now receive it.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has described the previous system as "ridiculous".

Iain Duncan Smith: Old system is "ridiculous"

"We've seen a rise in the run-up to PIP. And you know why? They know PIP has a health check. They want to get in early, get ahead of it. It's a case of 'get your claim in early'," he told the Daily Mail.

He added that rigorous new health checks for claimants were "common sense".

Some charities have already expressed concerns that it will mean 600,000 people miss out on support.

Chief Executive of Scope, Richard Hawkes admitted changes were needed but claimed the Government was motivated by cost cutting.

"The Government has already announced how much the Disability Living Allowance budget is going to be reduced, they've already announced how many people are going to lose DLA and they're introducing a test which is going to provide them with the results they want to reduce those costs. It's not right, it's not fair," he told Sky News.

PIP will initially be introduce for new claimants in northwest England, Cumbria, Cheshire, northeast England and Merseyside.

As the new scheme is being rolled out, welfare reform campaigners will present a petition calling for Mr Duncan Smith to live off £53 a week to his office.

Musician and part-time shop worker Dominic Aversano, who started the petition on campaigning website Change.org, said: "When I started this petition I never imagined the level of support it would get, and the amount of encouragement people would give me.

"It has sent a powerful message to this Government, showing the level of opposition to their vicious welfare cuts."

George Osborne has defended the changes

Mr Duncan Smith was challenged to live on £53 a week after a market trader on a radio show said that was all he had to live on despite working 50 to 70 hours a week.

Asked whether he could live on £53 a week, the former army officer who now earns around £1,600-a-week after tax replied: "If I had to I would."

As well as the Personal Independence Payments, other reforms including a below inflation 1% cap on working-age benefits and tax credit rises for three years, have already come into force.

Around 660,000 social housing tenants deemed to have a spare room will lose an average of £14-a-week in what critics have dubbed a "bedroom tax".

Trials of a £500-a-week cap on household benefits are also due to begin in four London boroughs.

Chancellor George Osborne insisted on Sunday that the public was behind his changes to the benefits system.

Mr Osborne also said he felt "angry" that too much money was being "spent in the wrong way in our welfare system".

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UN Warns North Korea Over Nuclear Test

World Waits For North Korea's Move

Updated: 8:21am UK, Monday 08 April 2013

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent, in South Korea

The latest propaganda offering from North Korean state television is as bizarre as the rest of them.

Angry soldiers unleash German Shepherd dogs to attack mannequins representing South Korea's Defence Minister.

In another clip, the minister's face is pinned to a target, which the soldiers fire repeatedly at.

"Kim Kwan-jin is such a b****** and a defective human being. He doesn't even deserve to be our target," one of them screams.

This sort of propaganda loops on television sets in the northern half of the Korean peninsula.

It is designed primarily for domestic consumption: all part of the North Korean regime's attempt to justify its existence and shore up its own legitimacy by creating an external threat that doesn't exist.

To the outside world, the video offerings of soldiers and their museum-worthy equipment forms the less convincing part of Kim Jong-Un's game to be taken seriously.

Yet the country's December rocket launch and February nuclear test proved beyond doubt that North Korea is over the nuclear threshold. That prompted the UN sanctions in March. Mr Kim responded with rhetorical threats, propelling this crisis to where it is now.

And so the world waits for Mr Kim's next move.

The coming seven days will probably be critical. Several dates seem to hold significance.

April 10 was the date Western diplomats were told their safety couldn't be guaranteed from. It was also the deadline given for South Korean workers in the joint industrial plant at Kaesong to leave.

April 15 is the anniversary of the birthday of Mr Kim's grandfather and the founder of the nation, Kim Il-Sung.

So what is North Korea planning? An all-out assault or attempted invasion of the South is entirely improbable. That would signal a massive American military response and the end of a regime whose overriding aim is survival not suicide.

Much more likely is another missile test. Intelligence agencies tracked the movement of two mid-to-long range missiles last week. They believe they are now at a launch pad in the far north-east of the country.

So here is the most likely scenario: Mr Kim fires off a missile with great fanfare between now and next Monday. It soars into the skies east of the Korean peninsula, and then drops into the sea.

That will prompt the world to condemn the launch and the UN will levy yet more sanctions on the country.

Crucially though with this scenario, neither side will lose much face. Mr Kim survives and proves to his army and his people that he is strong and can launch missiles as he pleases.

America and her allies can claim that they avoided war and contained an extremely volatile situation.

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Bali Court Upholds Briton's Death Penalty

A British grandmother sentenced to death in Bali for trafficking cocaine has lost her appeal.

Lindsay Sandiford, 56, was sentenced to capital punishment in January for taking almost 5kg (10.6lb) of cocaine onto the island.

She launched an appeal but on Monday the Bali High Court ruled the original punishments was "accurate and correct" and confirmed it.

Sandiford, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, has 14 days to appeal to the Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court also rejects her plea, she can seek a judicial review of the decision from the same court.

After that, only the president can grant her a reprieve.

Sandiford after her arrest at Bali airport

The sentence would see her shot by a firing squad.

Sandiford was arrested in May 2012 at Bali airport when customs officers found the drugs, worth £1.6m, in her luggage.

She said she had been forced to smuggle the drugs into Bali from Thailand by a criminal gang and that the safety of her children was at risk.

She has cooperated with the police and local authorities, which has led to other arrests.

January's death sentence came as a shock because prosecutors had recommended a 15-year jail term.

Sandiford's lawyer has said the punishment is out of proportion, given she has admitted her crime, expressed regret and helped police in the investigation.

But the court ruled she had damaged Indonesia's hard-line stance on drugs as well as Bali's reputation as a tourism destination.

Paul Beales (L), Rachell Dougall and Julian Ponder received jail sentences

Three other Britons arrested in connection with the case received lighter sentences.

Julian Ponder was sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of possessing cocaine in his luxury Bali villa.

Rachel Dougall was sentenced to 12 months for failing to report Sandiford's crime, and Paul Beales received four years for possession of hashish but was cleared of drug trafficking.

Indonesia enforces stiff penalties for drug trafficking, but death penalty sentences are commonly commuted to long jail sentences.

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Cameron: Welfare Reforms 'Put Fairness Back'

The Prime Minister has insisted that welfare reforms are "putting fairness back" into Britain as a poll suggests six out of 10 people think state handouts are too generous.

David Cameron has given a staunch defence of the controversial benefit shake-up in an article for The Sun newspaper.

As the welfare state overhaul continues to fuel an increasingly bitter political row, the Prime Minister said Government is on the side of "each and every hardworking person in our country".

He suggested it was "crazy" that claimants could have a bigger income on benefits than work and argued it is "fair that we all play by the same rules".

Mr Cameron pledged to "always help" the most vulnerable but insisted "those who can, should" as he warned that the system was causing "resentment" across the country.

He wrote: "We are putting fairness back at the heart of Britain. We are building a country for those who work hard and want to get on. And we are saying to each and every hardworking person in our country: we are on your side.

"This is a Government for hardworking people: and that's the way it will stay."

Over the last week widespread welfare and tax changes have come into force including a below inflation 1% cap on working-age benefits and tax credit rises for three years.

Around 660,000 social housing tenants deemed to have a spare room will lose an average £14 a week in what critics have dubbed a "bedroom tax" and trials are due to begin in four London boroughs of a £500-a-week cap on household benefits.

An opinion poll for The Sun found six out of 10 voters believe benefits are too generous and 79% back the Government's plan to cap a family's benefit at £26,000 a year.

Mr Cameron said the system had "lost its way" and had become a "lifestyle choice for some".

He wrote in The Sun: "It was designed to bring us together, but is causing resentment. I think the British people are about the most fair and generous people on the planet - but no-one wants to work hard every day and see their hard-earned taxes being used to fund things they themselves cannot afford or keep generations dependent on welfare.

"So this month we are making some big changes. They are changes that have a simple principle at their heart: we are restoring the fairness that should lie at the very heart of our tax and welfare systems."

Meanwhile there are suggestions that Labour is planning a significant shift in its approach to welfare.

Detailed work is under way on possible policy proposals that would mean benefit payments to those out of work or on low incomes would vary according to their past contributions, according to The Observer.

It quotes a Labour party source saying: "The problem at the moment is that you have a person aged 50 who has worked all his life and then becomes unemployed getting much the same as the person next door who has never worked. It is about linking what you take out to what you have put in."

In an article for the newspaper shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said: "There are lots of people right now who feel they pay an awful lot more in than they ever get back.

"That should change."

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India Houseboat Murder: 'Dutch Man Confesses'

By Alex Rossi, India Correspondent, in Kashmir

Police sources tell Sky News that a Dutch man they have been questioning over the murder of a British woman has now confessed.

Sarah Groves, 24, was found in a pool of blood inside the houseboat she had been living on for up to two months on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir.

Officers have named the suspect as Richard de Wit, 43, and said he claimed to have been under the influence of drugs.

He had been staying on a neighbouring boat. When he was arrested 60 miles away he was carrying only his passport and was not wearing shoes.

The victim was staying on a houseboat on picturesque Dal Lake

Local police said Miss Groves, from Guernsey, had been stabbed at least 25 times with what was described as a "mountain knife".

The door to her room had also been forced open.

Her body is being sent for medical examination to determine whether she was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Deputy General Inspector Ahafadul Mujtaba told Sky News: "He has told us he killed the girl - we don't know why. He also says he had taken drugs, cannabis.

Shoes sit outside the door of the houseboat where Sarah Groves was staying

"We have taken his blood samples and have sent them away for testing. We have also not ruled out a sexual motive but there was no direct evidence at the scene. We are awaiting medical results."

Under Indian law a confession to a police officer is not admissible in a court of law.

The police say de Wit will be held in custody for the next 14 days whilst they continue to gather evidence.

Friends have paid tributes to Miss Groves on Facebook. Underneath a photograph of her smiling, Charlene Carter said: "That beautiful smile I will never forget."

Donna Stacey said: "Waste of a beautiful life just goes to show the world we live in."

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North Korea: US Missile Test Delayed Amid Row

The US has delayed the testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile over the growing tensions with North Korea, according to a defence official.

A Pentagon source said the Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel decided to postpone the long-planned Minuteman 3 launch until next month because of concerns it would exacerbate the crisis.

North Korea's military warned this week it was authorised to attack the US using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons.

South Korean officials said the North has moved at least one missile with "considerable range" to its east coast - possibly the untested Musudan missile, believed to have a range of 1,800 miles.

The US has been carrying out joint military exercises in the area with South Korea involving warships and bombers.

Sky News Asia Correspondent Mark Stone says the postponement of the missile launch marks a change in approach by the US.

The US brought forward deployment of a Global Hawk spy plane to Japan

He said: "Two weeks ago the US military was issuing media releases announcing the deployment of B52 and B2 bombers to the region, as a show of strength and North Korea's response was to increase its own bellicose statements.

"China and Russia have collectively called on both North Korea and America to back down and in the past few days there have been signs that the Americans are altering their stance."

Mr Hagel's decision comes as China's Foreign Ministry expressed "grave concern" about escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula and asked for assurances about the safety of its diplomats.

And Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to up the pressure on Pyongyang when he said in a speech that no country "should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain".

North Korea held its most recent nuclear test in February and in December launched a long-range rocket that potentially could hit the continental US.

China's President said no country should throw "the whole world into chaos"

It has been angered by increasing sanctions and the exercises which are scheduled to continue to the end of the month.

This week, the US said two of its missile-defence ships were being moved closer to the Korean peninsula and a land-based system was being deployed to the Pacific territory of Guam later this month.

And deployment of an unmanned spy plane to northern Japan was brought forward to boost US surveillance after North Korean threats.

The Global Hawk will be stationed at the US airbase in Misawa, northern Japan, according to the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun.

The drone deployment was not supposed to have been public knowledge but was leaked by Japanese media.

Japan will further boost its defences by ordering its armed forces to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory, according to press reports.

The order may be issued by Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera in the coming days but would reportedly be kept secret so as not to alarm the public.

It comes after North Korea warned foreign diplomats they may not be safe in the country if war breaks out.

Pyongyang asked foreign embassies whether they were considering evacuating staff, saying the government could not guarantee their safety in the event of conflict from April 10.

The British Foreign Office dismissed the warning as "rhetoric".

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