Written By Unknown on Senin, 05 Januari 2015 | 20.14
The Queen is to make a three-day state visit to Germany with the Duke of Edinburgh this summer, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The 88-year-old monarch and her 93-year-old husband will travel to the country in June at the invitation of Germany's president, Joachim Gauck, a human-rights campaigner and former East German dissident.
The royal couple last made a state visit to Germany in November 2004.
The trip will follow shortly after the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.
Prince Philip saw wartime service in the Royal Navy while the Queen joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) as a mechanic.
The June trip will be the fifth state visit by the royal couple to Germany.
In July 2000, during an official visit to Berlin, the Queen opened the new British embassy.
Buckingham Palace said in a short statement: "The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, will make a state visit to the Federal Republic of Germany from 24 to 26 June.
"Her Majesty and His Royal Highness are visiting at the invitation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck."
Mr Gauck and his partner, Daniela Schadt, were the guests of the Queen and Duke at a lunch at Buckingham Palace in November 2012.
News of the state visit comes just two days before German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits London for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron.
The Queen and Prince Philip have scaled back their overseas trips in recent years, allowing other members of the royal household to represent them, including Prince Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry.
Last year they attended the 70th anniversary commemorations of D-Day in France and also made a one-day trip to Rome.
Prior to that, the monarch had not left Britain since visiting Australia in October 2011.
Buckingham Palace says there is "no record" of the Queen ever meeting a woman who claims she was forced to have underage sex with Prince Andrew.
Sky News understands the Duke of York flew home on a private jet from a ski resort in Verbier, Switzerland, following the allegations, which were made in court papers in the US.
Buckingham Palace has in recent days issued two denials over the woman's claims.
It has "emphatically denied" the Duke had sexual contact with the woman, who has been named in reports as Virginia Roberts.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman insisted "any suggestion of impropriety with under-age minors" was "categorically untrue".
The woman's father, Sky Roberts, claimed in an interview with the Daily Mail that his daughter met the Queen during a visit to London.
However, a palace spokesman insisted: "There is nothing to suggest the claim is true. We have no record of such a meeting."
Sky Reporter Harriet Hadfield said it is likely Andrew will return to his home in Windsor, making a face-to-face meeting with the Queen unlikely as she is in Sandringham.
Scotland Yard has confirmed it has not received a complaint relating to the case, but added it would investigate if an allegation was made.
Jeffrey Epstein was jailed for 18 months in 2008
Two Sunday newspapers have published details of interviews with the woman, who reportedly named Prince Andrew in US court documents.
Her claim is part of a lawsuit in connection with American billionaire and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein - a former friend of the Duke.
Andrew was photographed with Epstein in New York two years after his release from prison in 2009, and has faced criticism over their friendship.
In an interview in 2011 he denied any sexual contact with any of the young women connected to the banker.
The woman claims that between 1999 and 2002 she "was forced to have sexual relations with this prince when she was a minor" in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein.
She is believed to have been 17 at the time - underage in US law.
The accusation is reportedly contained in a motion filed in a Florida court this week which is part of a lawsuit over how prosecutors handled Epstein's case.
The Duke is understood to be planning to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, later this month, despite the controversy.
An associate of Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, has branded the claims against her as "untrue" and "obvious lies" after she, too, was reportedly named in the court documents.
But the woman has hit back, saying in a statement: "These types of aggressive attacks on me are exactly the reason why sexual abuse victims typically remain silent and the reason why I did for a long time.
"That trend should change. I'm not going to be bullied back into silence."
One of Oldham Athletic's main sponsors says it will be "out of the door" if convicted rapist Ched Evans is signed.
Craig Verling, a director of Verlin Rainwater Solutions which sponsors a stand at Boundary Park, said: "The club know our stance and that is if they sign or allow Ched Evans to train we will be out of the door."
The player is believed to have held fresh talks with the side, who insisted in December they would not offer him a contract or a chance to train.
Thousands of people have signed a petition against convicted Mr Evans potentially joining the club.
The letter to Oldham chairman Simon Corney - which has attracted more than 20,000 signatures since Sunday - comes as the club prepares to stage a news conference today.
Video:What Do Fans Think?
Now a local newspaper reports that Mr Corney is now "wavering" as a result of the backlash, and the decision hangs in the balance.
Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) chief Gordon Taylor confirmed a League One team would make an announcement about signing the 26-year-old striker on Monday - but would not name them.
Evans was released from prison in October after serving two-and-a-half years of a five-year sentence for rape.
He still protests his innocence. Oldham have yet to comment.
Video:Justice Secretary On Evans' Future
Evans had an offer to train with former club Sheffield United retracted in November following a backlash.
Tranmere and Hartlepool have also rejected the opportunity to sign him.
The PFA has said it will support Evans continuing his football career.
News of Oldham's interest has prompted a lively debate on fan forums but Sky News Correspondent Becky Johnson said it is the sponsors "we really need to watch".
Video:The Legal Position
She said: "It will be very interesting to see what sponsors here in Oldham will make of this, as we understand it is the case that Ched Evans will be coming here, because of course in the end in football it does all come down to money."
Oldham have previously signed a player convicted of a criminal offence.
Lee Hughes, who served three years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving, played for the club after his release in 2007.
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a woman was found in the grounds of a primary school.
The victim, thought to be in her early 20s, was discovered by a police officer at Harlescott Junior School in Shrewsbury, shortly before midnight on Sunday after concerns were raised for her safety, said West Mercia Police.
Two men - one aged 32 and another 39 - and a 31-year-old woman are being questioned by detectives over the death.
Pupils had been set to return to lessons following the Christmas holidays, but the school in Featherbed Lane is to remain shut while investigations continue.
The battleground for the most unpredictable General Election in decades shifted to spending today as five senior ministers lined up to pull apart Labour's plans.
In an unprecedented move George Osborne, Theresa May, William Hague, Sajid Javid and Nicky Morgan joined together to present a document they claimed showed £20.7bn of unfunded Labour spending promises.
Mr Hague, the Leader of the House of Commons, said that using Treasury costings this amounted to £1,199 more borrowing and debt for every working household.
The Tory fight-back line-up
Between them they highlighted a number of unfunded Labour spending promises including:
:: Food waste in landfill ban = £500m
Video:Miliband Outlines Labour Plans
:: Cancellation of police spending cuts = £299m
:: Forcing teachers to have teacher status = £177m.
Labour was swift to dismiss the Tory spending figures pointing out that David Cameron had announced £7.2bn of unfunded tax cuts at the Conservative Party Conference.
Critics were also quick to point out the Tories had based their figures on a number of assumptions. Labour has pledged only to "make cycling safer" and yet this had been costed at £63m.
And questions were raised over whether it was right to use Government figures for party political gain.
It came after Ed Miliband attempted to take the fight to the Tories by rallying party activists to wage a "once in a generation fight" claiming he could "rebuild the country".
On day one of the General Election battle, as politicians returned to Westminster after the Christmas break, the Labour leader promised action on the deficit, the NHS and the return to 1930s levels of public spending.
However, Mr Osborne accused Mr Miliband of making £2.3bn of unfunded spending cuts in that speech alone with pledges on GP appointments, one-week cancer tests and apprenticeships.
Video:Winner Might Not Get Number 10 Keys
Mr Miliband urged party members at a rally in Salford to take to the doorsteps and hold four million conversations with voters, saying his party could match the Tories' spending power only by marching on the streets to speak directly to people.
He said it was time to determine who the country works for. "It is a choice between a Tory plan where only a few at the top can succeed and our public services are threatened - or a Labour plan that puts working people first, deals with the deficit and protects our NHS."
And he accused the Prime Minister of playing "risky and irresponsible games" with the European Union for political gain.
With 122 days to go until the vote, Sky News has launched a campaign looking at the 150 marginal seats which could be so influential in the outcome of the election.
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Gallery: In The Margins: The Monday Tour
Joey Jones takes a journey across the UK as part of Sky News' In The Margins campaign
Nick Clegg also kick started his party's own fight for a return to power in a coalition, burnishing Lib Dem credentials as the party that could anchor either the Tories or Labour from the worst of each party's cutting and borrowing excesses.
He was accused the Tories of attempting to sell swingeing public service spending cuts as "continuity" when they were "even deeper" because of £7bn of unfunded tax cuts.
He said: "That's not sticking to the plan. That is a new plan to shelter the very wealthy and impose unnecessary cuts to public services."
He also warned that Labour will "borrow and borrow" and the country could end up paying billions more each year in interest on the debt.
It comes as Britains' former top civil servant, Lord O'Donnell warned in an exclusive interview with Sky News that the face of Westminster could be very different after May and the Government could be a coalition of three parties.
Written By Unknown on Kamis, 01 Januari 2015 | 20.14
Three people have died in two house fires overnight, despite brave rescue attempts by neighbours and firefighters.
In the first fire, two pensioners were killed at a house in Deptford, south-east, London.
Around 20 firefighters went to the scene in Ashmead Road at 9.40pm last night.
The blaze engulfed the building from the ground floor to the roof and the bodies of a woman in her 80s and a man in his 60s were found inside.
Neighbours tried to rescue the pensioners from the house in Ashmead Road
London Fire Brigade station manager Lee Sparks, who was at the scene, said: "Neighbours alerted the brigade when they saw smoke coming from the house.
"Two members of the public entered the house in an attempt to rescue the occupants but were unable to reach them.
"These two people were treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service."
The Metropolitan Police is investigating the cause of the blaze.
A spokesman said officers believed they knew the identities of the dead, but were awaiting formal identification and confirmation that next of kin had been informed.
Meanwhile, just over four hours later, firefighters were called to a severe fire at a block of flats in Plymouth, which left one man dead and another missing.
The blaze broke out in a fourth floor apartment on Union Street just before 2am New Year's Day.
Three people were rescued from a flat on the fourth floor and more than 30 others were evacuated from the building.
Six fire crews tackled the blaze, the cause of which is not yet known.
The dead man, who was found in the flat, has not been identified.
David Cameron has delivered a stark New Year message to British voters - warning the country faces "chaos" if it changes economic course.
A Labour win in the General Election would send the country spiralling backwards and jeopardise the fragile economic recovery, the Prime Minister suggested.
In his video message, Mr Cameron said the UK's New Year's resolution should be to "stick to the plan" to ensure future prosperity.
He said: "With this new year comes new challenges.
"The global economy remains uncertain, and many countries continue to struggle.
"And against that backdrop, Britain has a choice: between the competence that has got us this far or the chaos of giving it up, going backwards and taking huge risks.
"So I say this should be our resolution: to stick to the plan, stay on course to prosperity, and keep doing the important, long-term work of securing a better future.
"2015 can promise to be a great year for our country - if we make the right choices together."
The Prime Minister said two million new private sector jobs had been created since 2010, 24 million workers had been given tax cuts, and tens of thousands people had become home-owners as a result of the Help To Buy scheme.
"None of this happened out of thin air," he added.
"It's because we put in place a long-term plan with some clear values at its heart.
"Ours must be a country where if you put in, you will get out. Where if you want to work, there are decent jobs.
"Where if you put the hours in, you keep more of your own money. Where if you're raising your children the best you can, you can expect they'll get a proper education.
"And where if you're willing to save, you can buy a home of your own. And of course when you retire, you will have dignity and security in old age.
By Lucy Cotter, Arts and Entertainment Correspondent
Governments around the world are not doing enough to tackle the environmental dangers that threaten us, Sir David Attenborough has told Sky News.
The broadcaster and naturalist said those who wield power and authority are in denial about issues like climate change, despite overwhelming evidence of the scale of the problem.
He said: "Wherever you look there are huge risks. The awful thing is that people in authority and power deny that, when the evidence is overwhelming and they deny it because it's easier to deny it - much easier to deny it's a problem and say we don't care.
"(In terms of climate change) we won't do enough and no-one can do enough because it's a very major serious problem facing humanity but at the same time it would be silly to minimise the size of the problem.
Sir David's new show Conquest Of The Skies features airborne creatures
"Never in the history of humanity in the last 10 million years have all human beings got together to face one danger that threatens us - never.
"It's a big ask but the penalty of not taking notice is huge."
The broadcaster's new Sky 3D show Conquest Of The Skies tells the story of nature's greatest airborne creatures, from the very first insects to the current kings of the sky.
The show airs on Sky 1 HD and Sky 3D
He said the biggest challenge during filming had been some of the conditions he worked in, particularly when he was hanging 300ft in the air in a cave in Borneo surrounded by a million bats.
He said "For the final sequence we're in a huge cave which is knee deep in bat droppings and cockroaches and you've got a million bats up there and it's not a great place to work - the stink is awful."
Asked if he still thought he had the best job in the world, Sir David said: "Think it, I know it, I mean - what a privilege, how are you so lucky, you can't see my toes but they're all crossed!"
Sir David also paid tribute to his brother Richard, who died in 2014
He also paid tribute to his brother Richard Attenborough, who died in 2014, saying he hoped he'll be remembered for his incredible body of work.
He said: "As a director of films that really meant something. The films he made about Gandhi and Cry Freedom - he believed in those causes very profoundly.
"And the rest of it he may have said was fun and he was very good at fun, but he was also a serious man and he really believed the cinema really should examine the important issues that face humanity."
:: David Attenborough's Conquest Of The Skies will be shown on New Year's Day at 7pm on Sky 1 HD and 8pm on Sky 3D.
Police are hunting a mother and her two-month-old baby girl who have been missing since Boxing Day.
Jennifer Winstanley Inglis, 30, and her baby daughter Millie Mae Winstanley were last seen at around 7pm on Boxing Day in Blackpool.
Ms Inglis and her daughter went to Blackpool from an address in West Yorkshire as she has friends and family in the seaside town.
The pair have not been seen for five days, Lancashire Police said.
PC Jason Wainwright, of Blackpool police, said: "We are growing more concerned about Jennifer and Millie Mae and I would appeal to anyone who sees them, or knows where they might be, to contact us.
"I would also appeal to Jennifer herself to get in touch if she sees this appeal to let us know that she and her daughter are safe."
Ms Inglis is described as white with shoulder-length dark brown/purple hair.
She was last seen wearing white trousers and Ugg boots. Millie Mae was wearing a white pram suit.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting log number 0962 of 29 December.
Millions of people around the UK have celebrated the arrival of 2015, including with spectacular fireworks displays in London and Edinburgh.
In the capital, hundreds of thousands of people lined the River Thames for an 11-minute display timed to the midnight bongs of Big Ben.
The show featured a commemoration of the WWI centenary, with bursts of red fireworks representing poppies and the world's highest ever New Year countdown beamed from the 87-storey Shard.
It was the first year for tickets to be introduced for the event on the South Bank, with numbers limited to 100,000.
Revellers enjoy New Year's celebrations in central London
They were first made available to the public in September, with a staggered release to ensure multiple opportunities to secure a place on the night.
The scheme was brought in following consultation with the Metropolitan Police, emergency services, and local authorities, to help manage crowd numbers which have been growing each year - with 500,000 flooding the streets last year.
Video:Edinburgh Fireworks
London mayor Boris Johnson said on Twitter: "London's dazzling fireworks were a wonderful way to welcome in the new year. Thanks to all who made it such a safe & fun event."
Emergency services braced themselves for a busy night, with London Ambulance Service expecting up to 600 calls an hour, operations director Jason Killens said on Twitter.
He said: "Over 100 emergency calls in the first 15 minutes since midnight - its getting busy this London NYE."
Scotland Yard said officers had made 54 arrests by around 2am, with the majority for alcohol-related offences, while Greater Manchester Police said nine people had been arrested at the city's main New Year event.
Video:Celebrating 2015 With A Bang
Up to 75,000 revellers packed into Edinburgh's streets for Hogmanay, one of Europe's biggest New Year's celebrations.
Lily Allen was the headline act at the Concert In The Gardens, with Soul II Soul and Twin Atlantic among acts performing on five live stages throughout the city.
Wilson Peery, 33, from Oregon, USA, travelled to Scotland especially to attend Edinburgh's street party.
He said: "I came here in 2008 and made a split second decision to come back this year with a group of friends. We all just decided to come.
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Gallery: New Year Celebrations Across UK
Fireworks explode around the London Eye on the South Bank as 2015 is ushered in
This year was the first time the fireworks show on the South Bank was ticketed, with 100,000 tickets sold
