Diplomat Denies Sturgeon Backed Cameron

Kenya University Massacre: Five Arrested

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 April 2015 | 16.08

Five people have been arrested in connection with the massacre of 148 people at Kenya's Garissa University, as the al Shabaab terror group threatened more bloodshed.

The arrests, confirmed by the Kenyan interior ministry, come after a reward of £148,370 was offered for the capture of alleged mastermind, former teacher Mohammed Mohamud.

At least 148 people were killed and 79 hurt as Somalia's al Shabaab extremists targeted Christians, some praying at a lecture hall.

The hall was one of the first sites the gunmen targeted.

That suggested the masked attackers, who were strapped with bombs and armed with AK-47s, planned their operation extensively, said students.

They claimed many victims were forced to phone their parents and urge them to call for Kenyan troops to leave Somalia - before they were shot.

Others appeared to have been killed by knives in the attack in eastern Kenya, near the Somali border.

But some students were freed, apparently because they were Muslim.

The 12-hour siege ended with four gunmen killed and one suspect arrested.

The militant group has struck Kenya several times in recent years including at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013 where 67 people were killed.

Al Shabaab said the attack was in retaliation for Kenya sending troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight the militants and stabilise the Mogadishu government.

They warned of "another bloodbath" in a "long and gruesome war", saying in an emailed statement: "Not only are you condoning your government's oppressive policies by failing to speak out against them, but are reinforcing their policies by electing them.

"You will, therefore, pay the price with your blood."

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Family Had Concerns Over 'Syria-Bound' Brit

There were reportedly concerns about the behaviour of a British man in the months before he was arrested for allegedly trying to cross illegally into Syria.

Waheed Ahmed, 21, was among nine members of the same family who were detained in Turkey on Wednesday and are set to be deported later today.

British police have been searching the home of his father Shakil Ahmed, who is a Labour councillor in Rochdale.

Mohammed Shafiq, who is a friend of Shakil Ahmed, said of Waheed: "There were concerns in the last six months to a year about a change in his behaviour.

"And a change in his attitude towards various different issues."

He also told Sky News: "That was causing concern for people in the community and his family."

Waheed Ahmed was with his aunt, two cousins and the wife of one of his cousins when they were stopped by authorities in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border. They had also taken four children with them.

The 21-year-old will be sent back to the UK along with Zareeda Bi, 47, Maboob Yasin, 22, Habib Yasin, 24, and Samia Bi, 22, and the youngsters aged one, three, eight and 11.

Most of the group flew from Manchester on 27 March and Waheed Ahmed joined them three days later on a flight from Birmingham.

Shakil Ahmed, who represents the Kingsway ward on Rochdale Borough Council, said the group were on holiday but he had thought his son was on a work placement in Birmingham.

"My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don't understand what he's doing there.

"If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised, I would have reported him to the authorities.

"I just want to speak to my son and get him home as soon as possible so I can find out what's going on."

Usman Nawaz, who went to the same school as Waheed Ahmed in Rochdale, said mosques and his school in Rochdale were not to blame for Waheed's actions.

The 25-year-old, a former member of the Young Muslims' Advisory Group and mentor to young Muslims through Rochdale's Youth Council, said: "For some it's an adventure but for some they think that they are doing something noble.

"The ideology which is peddled, this very hardcore understanding of the faith, one which is state sponsored by Saudi Arabia, that has to be challenged and it's quite difficult to challenge it in a coherent manner when the Saudi ideology has the backing of petrodollars."

A friend of Waheed Ahmed believes he could have travelled for humanitarian reasons.

Bassat Yussu said: "We used to talk about Palestine and Syria and what was going on around there and sometimes he used to collect charity money."

Neighbour Mohammed Sharif said he "never had suspicion about the family" and remembered Waheed as a "nice quiet young lad" who would "speak to you with respect".

Officers are trying to establish their reason for travelling to the Syrian border.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett said: "What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a war zone.

"Such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever."

The group is understood to have been kept in a police station in Turkey on Thursday night and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was unable to confirm when they were expected back in the UK.

The Metropolitan Police believe around 600 Britons have travelled to Syria and Iraq since the conflict began, while around half are thought to have returned to the UK.

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Diplomat Denies Sturgeon Backed Cameron

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A senior French official says claims that SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she would rather see David Cameron than Ed Miliband as PM after the election are incorrect.

A Daily Telegraph report claims a leaked UK government memorandum - likely from the Foreign Office - sets out an account of a meeting between Ms Sturgeon and the French ambassador to the UK Sylvie Bermann.

The memo was written by a British civil servant after a conversation with France's consul general in Edinburgh, Pierre-Alain Coffinier, who was present.

But speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Mr Coffinier said that no preference for Prime Minister was discussed at the meeting in February.

"At no stage did anyone comment on their preference regarding the elections," he said.

"I didn't say that. I did not. I don't know (how it ended up in the memo)."

Sky's James Matthews asked: "Did you tell a civil servant that Miss Sturgeon had expressed a preference for David Cameron?"

He replied: "No. No."

The memo reportedly said: "Discussion appears to have focused mainly on the political situation, with the (First Minister) stating that she wouldn't want a formal coalition with Labour; that the SNP would almost certainly have a large number of seats ... that she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM."

It added that Ms Sturgeon said the Labour leader was not "prime minister material".

But in a direct tweet to the journalists who wrote the story Ms Sturgeon wrote: "Your story is categorically, 100%, untrue ... which I'd have told you if you'd asked me at any point today."

:: For full coverage of General Election 2015 click here

A spokeswoman for the First Minister added: "It must be a belated April Fool.

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Gallery: Latest Polls In Race For No 10

On April 1, a Sun/YouGov poll gave Labour a very narrow lead over the Tories, with UKIP on 12% and the Liberal Democrats on 7%.

The following day, the same source put the Conservatives in the lead, and boosted UKIP and the Lib Dems by a point each.

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The TV debate on Thursday was a chance for voters to hear from the party leaders, with polling showing approval for UKIP's Nigel Farage and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon at similar levels to Ed Miliband and David Cameron.

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The following day, YouGov/The Sun still had the Tories in the lead, with Labour close behind.

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But a Mirror poll had the situation reversed, with Labour in a narrow lead over David Cameron's party - and UKIP on 18%.

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"As Nicola has said on numerous occasions, she wants to see the back of a Tory government which is decisively rejected by the people of Scotland and unlike Labour, the SNP is the only party that has promised to lock David Cameron out of Downing Street."

Mr Miliband said: "I think these are damning revelations.

"What it shows is that while in public the SNP are saying they don't want to see a Conservative government in private they're actually saying they do want a Conservative government.

"It shows that the answer at this General Election is that if you want the Conservatives out the only answer is to vote Labour for a Labour government."

Ms Sturgeon's performance in the televised debate has focused attention on her party's potentially pivotal role in forming the next UK government.

Tories described the prospect of a Labour government propped up by the votes of the Scottish nationalists as a "lethal cocktail".

The party said such an alliance would destabilise the country and undermine the economic recovery.

She was branded "the most dangerous woman in Britain" by the Daily Mail. Polls suggest the anti-austerity SNP could snatch dozens of Labour seats north of the border.

Meanwhile, campaigning continues into Easter with Labour unveiling a plan to build 125,000 homes by creating a £5bn housebuilding fund.

The Tories, meanwhile, are unveiling a pledge to force pornography websites to use effective age-verification tools to keep out under-18s.

Ms Sturgeon is due to join the annual Scrap Trident group march in Glasgow, only a short distance from the Faslane home of nuclear-armed submarines.

The latest Survation/Mirror poll puts Mr Miliband ahead of Mr Cameron, with 33% and 31% of the vote respectively.

UKIP polled at 18%, the Liberal Democrats 9%, the SNP 5% and Greens 3%.

These results are markedly different from a YouGov/The Sun poll which was published on Thursday night.

It suggested that the Conservative Party had hit a three-year high - with 37% of those questioned stating they would vote Tory if the General Election was tomorrow.

Labour was on 35%, the Lib Dems on 7%, UKIP on 12% and the Greens on 5%.

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Written By Unknown on Jumat, 03 April 2015 | 16.08

After two hours of debating on the NHS, immigration and the economy, no clear winner emerged from the televised showdown between seven of Britain's party leaders.

The first poll for YouGov gave the win to the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon, with UKIP leader Nigel Farage second.

A ComRes poll for ITV had Ed Miliband, David Cameron and Mr Farage level-pegging on 21% and an ICM/Guardian poll had the Labour leader in top spot with a 1% lead over Mr Cameron. Survation put both leaders on 25%.

The high-stakes debate was the only chance for the two men who could become prime minister on 7 May to challenge each other face to face before the election.

But the inconclusive result and the strong performance by the outsiders pointed to another coalition for Britain.

Mr Farage emerged as the "Marmite figure" of the contest with the highest number of people thinking he performed both best and worst.

His remark that 60% of the 7,000 people diagnosed with HIV were "not British nationals" and that they were taking a toll on the NHS drew the most comments on Twitter.

They also drew angry responses from Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood and Ms Sturgeon.

Ms Wood told the UKIP leader: "This kind of scaremongering rhetoric is dangerous. It divides communities and it creates stigma to people who are ill. I think you should be ashamed of yourself."

And Ms Sturgeon added: "When someone is diagnosed with a dreadful illness, my instinct is to view them as a human being - not consider what country they come from."

Ms Sturgeon's success is likely to be claimed as a body blow for Mr Miliband in Scotland where Labour is predicted to be virtually wiped out by her nationalist party.

She challenged Mr Miliband on a number of points, taking him to task for signing up to the £30bn of austerity cuts proposed by the coalition.

Ms Wood stuck the knife in by telling Mr Miliband that the biggest threat the NHS faced in Wales was cuts and Labour.

However, Ms Sturgeon said she supported Mr Miliband's plan to increase the top rate of tax - although she would not agree on continued investment in Britain's nuclear deterrent.

The SNP leader teamed up with Ms Wood on a number of occasions. Both demanded if there was a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union it should be held separately in each of the four countries.

There were a number of significant clashes, not least between Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron who exchanged angry words on coalition differences over the past five years, with Mr Clegg savaging the Prime Minister on education cuts.

The Tory leader accused his Lib Dem counterpart of taking a "pick and mix" attitude to the coalition and told him: "We sat in the Cabinet Room together, we took decisions together."

But, ultimately, both of them appealed to voters in their closing arguments to let them "finish the job".

Another heated encounter saw Mr Clegg demanding an apology from Mr Miliband for "crashing the economy" after the Labour leader criticised his U-turn on tuition fees.

Mr Clegg said: "This is the man who was part of the government who said no boom and bust in the economy and crashed our economy, jeopardising the future generations and life chances of millions of people.

"I have prioritised, taken responsibility for the mistakes I made. Why doesn't Ed Miliband apologise for crashing the economy? You got it wrong on banking regulation."

There was little deviation from the script from any party, the only unexpected intervention was a heckler who asked how many homeless people on the streets were once in the Armed Forces. She was eventually removed from the audience.

There was tough talk on immigration from all three main parties, with Mr Miliband promising no immigrants would get benefits before two years, and Mr Cameron promising four. Mr Farage said as long as Britain was a member of the EU immigration could not be controlled.

The UKIP leader attempted to set himself apart from the other leaders consistently describing them as "all the same" and in his closing speech told voters they didn't understand "ordinary people" and his party was the only one to offer "plain spoken patriotism".

However, as the debates closed it was the smaller parties that promised to offer an alternative - and the coalition parties offered to "finish the job".

In the end Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband finished the debate much as they started: "it's a choice between the two of us".

And the polls simply proved that, come 7 May, it will indeed be the closest of close contests.

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The Debate: Seven Leaders, Seven Key Moments

After seven party leaders vied for attention from undecided voters in the studio audience and at home, Sky News looks at seven key clashes between the politicians.

Nigel Farage vs Leanne Wood: Health Tourism

Many leaders spoke out against the privatisation of the NHS during their opening statements. But Nigel Farage decided to grasp another nettle: health tourism.

In the free-flowing debate, he claimed that 7,000 people are diagnosed as HIV positive every year - but 60% of them are not British nationals.

"You can come into Britain, from anywhere in the world, get diagnosed with HIV and get the retro-viral drugs which cost up to £25,000 per year, per patient. We need to put the National Health Service there for British people and families," the UKIP leader said.

Leanne Wood, from Plaid Cymru, was the first to reply to Mr Farage's point – and battled through his interruptions to secure the first round of applause of the evening.

"This kind of scaremongering rhetoric is dangerous. It divides communities and creates a stigma to people who are ill. I think you should be ashamed of yourself," she replied.

Nick Clegg vs Ed Miliband: The Economic Crash

Another barbed exchange was between Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband, after the Labour leader took the Deputy Prime Minister to task over his U-turn on tuition fees back in 2010.

"It was a broken promise, you betrayed the young people of our country," he said.

Mr Clegg described his rival's stance as "pious", shooting back: "This is the man who was part of a government that said 'no boom and bust in the economy' and crashed our economy - jeopardising the future generations and life chances of millions of people.

"I've apologised, I've taken responsibility for the mistakes I've made. Why don't you, in the front of the British people, say 'I'm sorry for crashing the British economy?'"

Mr Miliband ducked the question - but brought David Cameron into the row, replying: "The banks were under-regulated, but there was a global financial crisis. David, as leader of the opposition, you were saying banks were over-regulated, so I'm not going to take any lectures from you on the global financial crisis."

Both received applause.

Leanne Wood: "I Agree With Nicola"

One of the biggest buzz-phrases which emerged during the last general election in 2010 was "I agree with Nick", as Gordon Brown extended a friendly hand towards the Liberal Democrats - kingmakers during the first hung parliament in decades.

Five years on, and Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru had slightly adapted the phrase to "I agree with Nicola", as she aligned her party with the SNP on several major issues.

Nicola Sturgeon vs Cameron, Miliband and Clegg: The EU

The SNP leader certainly made things interesting when she launched a challenge to three parties at once - asking them to make a pledge to the four countries that comprise the United Kingdom ahead of any in-out referendum on the EU.

She said: "Nigel Farage wants to take the UK out of Europe - and David Cameron is taking us dangerously close to the exit door.

"They spent a lot of time talking about the UK family of nations during the Scottish referendum, but will they give a commitment that if there is an in-out referendum, no one part of that family of nations will be taken out of Europe against its will?

"Will the vote be counted separately in each of the four nations so none of us can be dragged out?"

David Cameron vs The Heckler: Homeless Veterans

The Prime Minister was praising the "brave and professional" armed services around the world when he was interrupted by a heckler from the audience.

Victoria Prosser made an intervention and shouted about how many homeless veterans were on the streets after completing their service.

Mr Cameron replied: "The lady makes an important point. There are people coming out of the armed services who have difficulties, and we should put money into armed forces charities helping homeless people."

After the debates, Ms Prosser explained: "He is using their name to garner votes because it might be a vote winner."

Nick Clegg vs Nigel Farage: Foreigners

During the segment on immigration, UKIP's leader claimed that, at 300,000, net migration now is 10 times higher than it was during World War II.

Mr Clegg decided to take Mr Farage to task, saying: "I'm married to a foreigner, you're married to a foreigner. Let's be open-hearted and generous-spirited."

Earlier, Nicola Sturgeon had said: "There isn't anything Nigel Farage won't blame on foreigners."

David Cameron vs Ed Miliband: Jobs

Towards the end of the debate, Ed Miliband returned to one of his pet subjects: zero-hours contracts, and claimed the Conservatives' "trickle down" economic experiment had failed.

Mr Cameron simply said: "Never mind zero-hours; with Ed there'd be zero jobs."

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Video Of Massacre At Kenya University Campus

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Video has emerged of the massacre at a university campus in north-eastern Kenya in which 147 people were killed by Islamist extremists.

It shows students running for their lives and hiding behind bushes as bullets whistle through the air.

Four masked al Shabaab gunmen rampaged through Garissa University College at dawn on Thursday in the group's deadliest attack in the country.

They were eventually killed by security forces 13 hours later after a lengthy gun battle.

The attackers, who were strapped with bombs and armed with AK-47s, singled out non-Muslim students and gunned them down without mercy, survivors said.

They took dozens of hostages in a dormitory as they battled troops and police before they were hit by gunfire and exploded, according to Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery.

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Gallery: Terror Attack At Kenyan University

A siege by militants at a university in eastern Kenya has ended after four gunmen were killed. At least 147 people have been killed, with 79 confirmed as wounded

Somalia's al Shabaab terror group has claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack, which began when many students were sleeping

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The militants, who have links to al Qaeda, have in the past vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia

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The militants shot dead dozens before setting Muslims free and holding Christians and others hostage at Garissa University

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Survivors said the masked attackers singled out non-Muslim students and gunned them down

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He said most of the victims were students, but two security guards, one policeman and one soldier were also killed.

At least 79 people were wounded on the campus, which lies 145km (90 miles) from the Somali border. Some were flown to the capital Nairobi for treatment.

One suspected extremist was arrested as he tried to flee, Mr Nkaissery told a news conference.

One survivor, Collins Wetangula, told The Associated Press he was about to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from a nearby dormitory, one of six on the campus.

"All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots. Nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are," he said.

He added: "The gunmen were saying, 'Sisi ni al-Shabab'" - Swahili for "We are al Shabaab."

He said he heard the attackers arrive at his dormitory, open the doors and ask if those inside were Muslims or Christians.

"If you were a Christian, you were shot on the spot," he said. "With each blast of the gun, I thought I was going to die."

He said fortunately soldiers then arrived and took him and around 20 others to safety.

Another student, Augustine Alanga, said the attack began at about 5.30am as morning prayers were under way at the university mosque, where worshippers were left alone.

At least five heavily-armed gunmen opened fire outside his dormitory, sparking panic, he told AP. He said some students remained indoors but scores of others fled with the attackers firing at them.

Police say the massacre may have been masterminded by Mohammed Mohamud and are offering a large reward for information leading to his capture.

Also known by the names Dulyadin and Gamadhere, he was a teacher at an Islamic religious school, or madrassa, and claimed responsibility for a bus attack in Makka, Kenya, in November that killed 28 people.

A spokesman for Somalia-based al Shabaab said the college attackers were members of their al Qaeda-linked group.

Al Shabaab has been blamed for a series of attacks in Kenya, including the siege at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013 that killed 67 people, as well as other violence in the north.

The group has vowed to retaliate against the government for sending troops to Somalia in 2011 to tackle militants staging cross-border raids.

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Written By Unknown on Kamis, 02 April 2015 | 16.08

The leaders of Britain's seven main political parties will do battle in a high-stakes TV showdown tonight, marking the only time David Cameron and Ed Miliband will debate each other in the General Election campaign.

The two-hour event sees the Prime Minister, the Labour leader and Nick Clegg joined by the leaders of UKIP, the Greens, the SNP and Plaid Cymru for a live debate before a 200-strong studio audience in Salford.

The event is the first and only debate featuring all the leaders to be held before voters go to the polls on 7 May and has the potential to shape the course of the remaining five weeks of campaigning.

:: For full coverage of the General Election 2015 click here

During the debate - which is hosted by ITV - the leaders will give an uninterrupted one-minute answer to each question posed by the audience.

There will then be up to 18 minutes of debate for each question. ITV said "four substantial election questions" will be addressed in all.

Leaders will not be given advance notice of the questions, which have been selected by an "experienced editorial panel".

Sky News will broadcast the debate live from 8pm until 10pm, with coverage also available online and via Sky News apps.

Greens leader Natalie Bennett will make the first opening statement, while Mr Cameron is scheduled to speak last.

Campaigning is expected to be largely placed on hold today as the party leaders make their final preparations for the event.

Key issues in the first three days of the campaign have included the battle between the Conservatives and Labour over economic policies and support for business.

Labour has been campaigning heavily on the use of zero-hours contracts, saying it will outlaw "exploitative" contracts if it wins power.

The Liberal Democrats have sought to highlight mental illness as a major issue.

Speaking at Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire on Wednesday, Mr Clegg insisted he would not be losing any sleep ahead of tonight's event.

"I have been in politics long enough now to know that you shouldn't over-think these things or over-rehearse them," he said.

"I will try and answer the questions as best as I can and make sure that the Liberal Democrat voice is heard loud and clear in the cacophony of other political voices that will be represented on that stage."

Mr Cameron is also apparently relaxed about the debate, according to his wife Samantha who spoke as she made a solo appearance on the campaign trail in the Rochester and Strood constituency.

Asked how her husband was feeling, Mrs Cameron said: "He doesn't seem too nervous, but I have to say I'm very glad it's him and not me."

The three-way debates in 2010 saw a boost in the polls for Mr Clegg, although this year's debate is more likely to present an opportunity for one of the smaller party leaders such as Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP or Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood.

While campaigning at a factory in Huddersfield on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said the debate was a good opportunity to speak directly to Britons.

"The way I'm going to prepare for this debate is by coming to talk to good people here and keep campaigning," he said.

"The thing I value about the debate is the chance to talk directly to the British people, as I am doing today, about the things that matter to me and how I want to change the country," he added.

UKIP's campaign chief Patrick O'Flynn said Nigel Farage is preparing "rigorously" for the event.

"Obviously this will be the only chance he gets to be on the same stage as David Cameron and that's David Cameron's doing, not Nigel Farage's, so that again means that there will be key arguments to put there," Mr O'Flynn said.

Ms Sturgeon described the debate as "historic" and added: "Tonight's debate will hear a real progressive alternative to Westminster cuts.

"The SNP will be a positive and constructive voice, willing and ready to join forces with others in a progressive alliance to end austerity and to protect vital public services like the NHS."

In a video posted on Twitter by the Green Party, Ms Bennett said she was "really looking forward to the debate".

She added: "Finally, the debate about the debates has finished and we can now start talking about the issues."

Ms Wood, who believes her party could hold the balance of power after the election, wrote a message on her Facebook page this morning which said: "Big day for Plaid Cymru today. A big thanks to all for your kind messages."

:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

What's At Stake For The Seven Party Leaders?

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Tonight's TV debate is the big one, in terms of the number of party leaders taking part.

Seven leaders, including an initially-reluctant David Cameron, will clash for two hours in a debate chaired by ITV's Julie Etchingham, formerly of Sky News.

After Mr Cameron and Ed Miliband endured bruising interrogations by Jeremy Paxman in the Sky News/Channel 4 showdown, this time it's different: a real debate between the seven.

Still to come is a debate involving the leaders of the five smaller parties and then a Question Time-style event with Mr Cameron, Mr Miliband and Nick Clegg.

:: For full coverage of the General Election 2015 click here

But tonight is the only opportunity for the PM, Leader of the Opposition and DPM to challenge each other in debate, and perhaps also to be embarrassed by the leaders of the smaller parties.

So what do the seven stand to gain or lose?

:: David Cameron (Conservative)

Gain: The PM surely can't be as ill-prepared and exposed as he was by Jeremy Paxman's blistering opening questions on food banks and zero-hours contracts.

He is likely to be better-briefed on the sort of questions that could leave him open to the charge that he's out of touch with ordinary voters.

Lose: After notoriously shouting "Calm down, dear!" across the despatch box at Labour's Angela Eagle in PMQs, he needs to be careful how he deals with his three female opponents, particularly the formidable Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP.

Any "Bullingdon Club" or "Flashman" temper would be disastrous on TV.

:: Ed Miliband (Labour)

Gain: He needs to build on his "Hell yes!" toughness that began to emerge towards the end of his Paxman clash.

At the same time, if he can appear more statesmanlike and more measured than the leaders of the smaller parties he may convince the many doubters among voters that he could be PM material after all.

Lose: If he's poor on the economy he'll be in big trouble.

He will be attacked as a spendthrift socialist by Cameron and Clegg, but denounced for backing Tory cuts by Sturgeon and the Greens' Natalie Bennett.

A member of the audience is bound to ask about his brother again. He was wobbly on that, too, first time.

:: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats)

Gain: This is his big chance, after being shut out of the Paxman interviews.

He has a chance to claim the credit for coalition successes like raising income tax thresholds.

He can also sound moderate on the economy by attacking Tory cuts and Labour spending.

He will have allies in the debate, too, for his pro-EU stance.

Lose: The same pro-EU stance will leave him vulnerable to attacks from UKIP's Nigel Farage, who roughed him up in last year's Euro-election debates.

He also risks looking like an also-ran by being lumped together with the leaders of the minor parties.

He will be accused of betrayal over his tuition fees U-turn too.

:: Nigel Farage (United Kingdom Independence Party)

Gain: A great opportunity to display his man-of-the-people common touch and kick lumps out of the established parties and portray them as "the Westminster elite".

His humour and flamboyant style should come over well in a TV debate and if he's on form he could make his opponents look wooden and aloof from voters.

Lose: At the same time, his style alienates some voters, who regard him as "the pub bore" who's anti-everything and wants Britain to return to life as it was in the 1950s.

He's vulnerable, too, on accusations against some Kippers of expense-fiddling, racism and homophobia.

Needs to be careful debating against women opponents.

:: Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party)

Gain: Scotland's new First Minister has the potential to be the star of the show and inflict more misery on Labour.

She's more serious and business-like than the flamboyant Alex Salmond.

She will attack the two big parties on austerity and Trident and David Cameron would be foolish to under-estimate her.

Lose: If the SNP has a weakness, it's that it can be guilty of complacency, though that was a fault of Salmond rather than Sturgeon.

Mr Miliband will want to use the debate to fight back against the SNP.

Critics also claim that on the economy, oil prices and the future of sterling the SNP's sums don't add up.

:: Natalie Bennett (Green Party)

Gain: For the Greens, this is the sort of publicity the party could only have dreamed of, Mr Cameron - in his determination to damage Mr Miliband and Labour - insisted on them being invited to the party.

It's a great chance to spell out the Green Party's policies and pinch votes off the Lib Dems as well.

Lose: Ms Bennett will need to be better briefed than when she self-destructed in a radio interview with LBC's Nick Ferrari, blaming a cold.

She will be attacked by her opponents over the Greens' record in local government, particularly in Brighton.

And many viewers may wonder why she's leader and not Caroline Lucas.

:: Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru)

Gain: Just being included is already a gain for Plaid. Both they and the SNP currently have fewer MPs than the Democratic Unionist Party, who weren't invited.

It's great publicity for a party that doesn't get much media attention UK-wide and has had nothing like the success of the SNP in Scotland.

Lose: Short of a Bennett-style disaster, Plaid really has nothing to lose.

They're there at the table with the big boys and girls, sharing a platform with a PM, a DPM and a Leader of the Opposition and a First Minister whose poll ratings and popularity are to die for.

:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.

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Hostages Taken By Masked Gunmen At University

An "unknown number of student hostages" have been taken by masked gunmen who stormed a university in northeastern Kenya, the Red Cross has said.

Four people have been killed, including two security guards, amid heavy gunfire and explosions in a campus being at Garissa University.

At least 29 others have been wounded, four of whom are critical.

The Red Cross claims hostages have been taken, though "50 students have been safely freed".

A policeman at the scene confirmed there were "many" hostages as "the college was in session".

Kenya Police Chief Joseph Boinet said: "Gunmen forced their way into Garissa University by shooting at the guards manning the main gate at around 5.30am.

"The gunmen shot indiscriminately while inside the university compound.

"Police... engaged the gunmen in a fierce shootout; however, the attackers retreated and gained entry into one of the hostels."

The area has been sealed off and the army called in to try and "flush out" the attackers.

Students reported seeing up to four masked attackers.

The gunmen exchanged fire with security services for several hours, according to the Red Cross.

Kenya's northern and eastern regions, which border Somalia, have been most affected by attacks blamed on al Shabaab Islamists from Somalia.

The militants have vowed to take retribution against Kenya for sending its troops to Somalia.

No group has claimed responsibility for the raid yet.

More follows...

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labour To Cut Rates For Small Businesses

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 31 Maret 2015 | 16.08

Labour will pledge to reverse the Government's final cut in corporation tax to pay for a reduction in rates for small businesses.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls will also promise smaller firms they will be the first to benefit from future tax cuts if Labour takes power in the General Election.

Mr Balls is expected to say today that reversing the corporation tax cut would allow Labour to slash business rates on 1.5 million small business premises.

:: For full coverage of the General Election 2015 click here

Labour argues that 17 small firms would benefit from the cut for every large business helped by the reduction in corporation tax.

The party argues the coalition spent £7bn over the last parliament cutting the main rate of corporation tax to the benefit of larger firms, while revenues from business rates rose by £3bn.

Mr Balls will visit a small business later today where he is expected to say: "Unleashing the potential of smaller businesses to grow, create more good jobs and raise living standards is a vital part of Labour's better plan.

"This is part of our plan to deliver a simpler and fairer tax system for small businesses. This is the right priority when money is tight.

"And it will mean that the tax burden on small businesses will be lower with Labour than under the Tories."

The announcement comes a day after the launch of Ed Miliband's business manifesto was overshadowed by a row over Labour's use of business leaders' quotes in an advert for the party's stance on the EU.

Mr Miliband faced a backlash over the advertisement in the Financial Times, published as Mr Miliband warned voters that leaving the European Union was a "clear and present danger" to British business.

The Conservatives have argued that abandoning the cut in corporation tax would jeopardise economic security.

Treasury Minister David Gauke said: "This would be the first time corporation tax has risen in over 40 years and Labour's plans could cost 96,400 jobs - it would put people's economic security at risk.

"The Conservative Party is helping businesses small and large as part of our long-term economic plan - we don't divide them up for the sake of making a political point."

Labour's pledge comes as Prime Minister Cameron is promising a Conservative government will help business create two million new jobs over the course of the next parliament.

The Liberal Democrats will also promise an additional £3.5bn over the next parliament, with the aim of "revolutionising" adult and child mental health care.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alps Crash Victims May Never All Be Found

The relatives of the Germanwings victims may have to wait months for their loved ones to be identified, with no guarantees they will all be found, Germany's Bild newspaper has reported.

The head of the Criminal Research Institute at France's National Gendarmerie said it would take forensic teams between two and four months to complete the DNA identification process, according to Bild.

Even then, "we cannot promise that we will be able to identify all of the victims," Colonel Francois Daoust said.

The violence with which the plane crashed into the mountainside in the French Alps last week has severely hampered the identification of the remains of the 150 people on board.

Recovery teams scouring the crash site have said not a single body has been found intact.

Some 78 different DNA profiles have been isolated so far from around 400 body parts, although none have been directly linked to the victims.

Family members have been asked to provide forensic teams with DNA samples to help in the identification.

Investigators are currently working on the theory that the 27-year-old co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately crashed the plane.

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Gallery: The Victims Of The Germanwings Crash

American Emily Selke, a recent graduate, was on the plane with her mother Yvonne. Raymond Selke has described his wife and daughter as 'amazing people'. Pic: Facebook

Iranian sports journalist Hussein Javadi was on his way to Austria to cover a football match. A friend said he was 'a kind, loving, caring man'. Pic: Maysam Bizær/Hossein Javadi

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16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM Says Britain Needs To Take Cuts 'Medicine'

By Niall Paterson, Sky News Correspondent

The Conservative leader has refused to say where welfare cuts will fall but insisted that British families still needed to take "the medicine" to help put the country back on track.

In a round of interviews setting out a pledge to create two million extra jobs over the course of the next parliament, David Cameron admitted there were more cuts to be made but would not say where they would fall.

The Conservatives have said they will find £12bn of welfare cuts over the next parliament if they are returned to power on 7 May but have indicated they will not tell voters of the details before the vote.

:: For full coverage of the General Election 2015 click here

Tackled on where the cuts would fall on Sky News Mr Cameron said: "The medicine is that we need to - for two more years - do what we have done for the last five, which is find £1 out of every £100 the Government spends and save it.

"So the choice at this election, if you simplify it, really is: do you want to find that £1saving out of every £100, which families and businesses up and down the country have had to do or do you want to scrap that plan and put up taxes and borrow more."

Mr Cameron said that they had managed to find £20bn of welfare savings in the last five years.

Answering claims he would go down as the "biggest Scrooge prime minister", Mr Cameron said he didn't come into office to make cuts but when he came to power Britain had a budget deficit forecast to be bigger than that of Greece and he had to do the job.

He also dismissed criticism over using his outgoing address at Number 10, at which he officially announces the General Election, to attack his opponent Ed Miliband.

He was the first prime minister to use the platform to speak against the opposition leader but when asked if it was "not cricket", Mr Cameron told Sky's Eamonn Holmes: "In cricket there are two opposing teams".

And after reports of meetings between Tory MPs and UKIP members he denied he had been in "secret talks" over a coalition and intended to spend the next 37 days working for a majority.

He also said that his wife, Samantha, had not been behind his decision to announce he would only serve two terms as Prime Minister.

Mr Cameron believes the Tories can match the job creation of the past five years, during which the Coalition created an average of 1,000 new jobs every day. Although he got his figures mixed up during the interview on Sky News and claimed it had been 10,000 a day.

As the second day of campaigning gets under way, the Prime Minister said: "We are the jobs party - and over the next month, we will be fighting for every man and woman who wants to work and earn a wage."

The pledge comes exactly a year after Chancellor George Osborne set a goal of full employment for Britain.

Mr Cameron argues an additional two million jobs is a feasible target thanks to government assistance for business, competitive tax rates, a parliament-long campaign against red tape, plus investment in infrastructure.

He said Labour's plan to reverse corporation tax cuts - as a way of paying for a reduction in rates for small businesses - was a "crazy thing to do when the economy is growing".

The Prime Minister's first outing of the election campaign proper was to address a rally of supporters at a school in Chippenham - a marginal constituency they need to take if they are to stand any chance of winning a majority.

Speaking at the event, Mr Cameron admitted he is not the "perfect" Prime Minister - but insisted he has a record to be "proud" of.

"I don't claim that I have got every call right or that I am the perfect Prime Minister," he said.

"But I know this. I had a job to do in 2010 and it was about sorting out our economy, getting the deficit down and getting people back to work."

On the first day of Labour's campaign, Mr Miliband tried to win over business with the launch of the party's first "mini manifesto".

Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats today sought to distinguish themselves from the Conservatives, and other parties, by focusing on mental health with a pledge of extra funding.

The party promised an additional £3.5bn over the next parliament, with the aim of "revolutionising" adult and child mental health care.

Announcing the pledge, Mr Clegg said: "Equality for people with mental health issues is a liberal mission.

"In government again, we will continue to put mental health front and centre of the political debate.

"That's why I am so immensely proud that we are the first party to put equality for people with mental health problems on the front page of our full General Election manifesto.

"Only the Liberal Democrats can keep Britain on track and provide both a stronger economy and a fairer society with strong public services."

:: Watch the seven-way leaders' debate live and in full from 8pm on Thursday on Sky News, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132, Freesat channel 202, and on the Sky News website.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Not Just Theatre: Queen To Dissolve Parliament

Written By Unknown on Senin, 30 Maret 2015 | 16.08

The Queen will today dissolve Parliament for a twelfth prime minister under her reign.

Winston Churchill was in power when Elizabeth II took to the throne at the age of 25 in February 1952.

Tradition has it that the prime minister asks the monarch to dissolve Parliament but David Cameron's royal visit is more a formality and a piece of theatre than a constitutional necessity.

Under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011, today's date has already been set for the dissolution of Parliament and the date of the next General Election is set as Thursday, 7 May.

However there is a bit more substance to it than a PR stunt for the PM.

The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act was introduced to ensure the survival of the coalition, however it mirrors the constitutional settlement that existed before.

Previously, had a prime minister served a full term, a monarch was authorised to end Parliament without the prime minister's permission. But even with the new act the prime minister is still required to seek the Queen's permission.

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Gallery: Then And Now: How They've Changed

How do the strains of leading your party, and working out how to spend the public finances begin to show? It would seem some wear those stresses well - and others less so. So how have the politicians fared? Ed Miliband in 2010 and then 2015.

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16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

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