Coba Agains

'Evil' Cleric Abu Hamza Sentenced To Life

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 10 Januari 2015 | 18.54

By Sky News US Team

A New York judge has told radical preacher Abu Hamza he is "evil" as she sentenced him to life in prison for supporting terrorist organisations.

The 56-year-old was found guilty of 11 charges last May, including a plot to establish an al Qaeda training camp in the US state of Oregon.

He was also convicted of providing a satellite phone and advice to Yemeni militants who kidnapped Western tourists in 1998.

Judge Katherine Forrest told Hamza: "Evil comes in many forms but doesn't always show itself immediately in all its darkness...

"There is a side of you which this court believes is evil."

The judge said his actions were "barbaric, misguided and wrong".

Sky News' Hannah Thomas-Peter, who was at Friday's hearing, said Hamza addressed the Manhattan court shortly before learning his fate.

He said even a lenient sentence would "consume the rest of his life", and pleaded to be kept in a medical facility.

Hamza, who wore blue prison clothes, asked the court that his incarceration not be a "back door for a slow-motion crucifixion, not a back door for torture".

He also complained about his last two-and-a-half years in a Manhattan holding prison.

"I've been coerced to do things no disabled should be asked to do," he said.

"This is torture. When the cuts happen, when the pain happens, when the stress happens."

Hamza finished by pleading in the courtroom, just a few blocks from Ground Zero, that "the victims of all wars get together ... and investigate how the (Twin) Towers collapsed".

He said he wanted "victims of all this false intelligence to see their day in court".

Throughout the hearing, Hamza had access to a prosthetic with a pen attachment for making notes, which he seldom wore.

Manhattan prosecutor Preet Bharara issued a statement on the sentencing that made reference to the jihadist attacks in France.

"Abu Hamza's blood-soaked journey from cleric to convict, from imam to inmate, is now complete," he said.

Hamza's lawyers said their client's toenails were not cut for nine weeks, causing them grow painfully into his skin.

His legal team have argued he is too disabled to spend life in a high-security jail.

They say the court should consider Hamza's disabilities - including his amputated forearms, psoriasis, diabetes and high blood pressure.

UK Home Secretary Theresa May said on Friday: "His sentence reflects the severity of his crimes and I am pleased he will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs."

In the 1990s Hamza led London's Finsbury Park Mosque, which was reportedly attended by 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and shoe-bomber Richard Reid.

Hamza denied ever having met the pair.

He later spread violent messages at the mosque after the 9/11 attacks.

Hamza was jailed in Britain for seven years for soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred in 2006.

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Britain Braced For Second Storm - And Snow

The first widespread snowfall of the year is expected today as a second burst of extreme weather from across the Atlantic sweeps parts of the country, the Met Office has said.

More than 100,000 homes were left without power on Friday as hurricane-force winds bringing gusts of up to 113mph battered the north of Britain, bringing down power lines.

The worst affected areas were across the Highlands, islands, Aberdeenshire and the central belt of Scotland.

There was also major disruption to travel services. National Rail said trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central via Carstairs will divert and not call at Motherwell today.

While flooding near Kingussie in the Scottish Highlands has meant trains are not running between Perth and Inverness.

Ferries were cancelled, roads closed and the Forth Road Bridge was shut for a period after a van was blown onto its side.

A gust of 113mph was recorded at Stornoway, the strongest there since records began in 1970.

High winds caused severe problems on the A1 throughout Yorkshire and the North East as a number of lorries were blown over, blocking the carriageway.

The trans-Pennine A66 route has been closed to high-sided and vulnerable vehicles between Brough and Bowes.

The ferocious gales have been stirred up by an extra-powerful jet stream triggered by plunging temperatures in the US hitting warmer air in the south.

Gales are expected to return this weekend but are due to peak at around 80mph.

Forecasters said they will be accompanied by snow with yellow "be prepared" weather alerts in place for all of Scotland, the north and Midlands of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said: "There will be snow, mainly over hills, but also to lower levels for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

"Tonight there will be further wintry showers in the north and west, with snow over northern hills, reaching lower levels at times.

"Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England are most at risk from snow and ice."

The Met Office said between 2cm and 4cm of snow, and perhaps 8cm on the highest ground, is likely.

Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution said it has restored supplies to around 60,000 customers and is working to restore electricity to more than 32,000 customers.

It said its engineers were continuing to reconnect homes today, but staff were "facing a monumental task'' in getting to damaged lines in remote parts.

Scottish Power said around 20,000 customers have been reconnected after losing power, with work ongoing to reach a further 800 properties.

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PFA Boss Sorry For Ched Evans Comparison

The head of the Professional Footballers' Association has apologised for comparing convicted rapist Ched Evans' situation to the Hillsborough disaster.

The comments made by Gordon Taylor led to calls from Liverpool fans for the PFA chief executive to resign.

Mr Taylor was speaking in a radio interview after Oldham Athletic confirmed plans to sign Evans had collapsed.

"He (Evans) would not be the first person or persons to have been found guilty and maintained their innocence and then been proved right," Mr Taylor told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"If we are talking about things in football, we know what happened, what was alleged to have happened at Hillsborough.

"And it's now unravelling and we are finding it was very different to how it was portrayed at the time - indeed by the police at the time.

"He's in a very difficult situation because he's been put through a wringer and the minute you show any sympathy for Ched everybody will say 'Well, what about the other parties concerned?'

"And that's why I'm making the point that nobody's forgetting them."

Amid widespread criticism, Mr Taylor returned to the airwaves to apologise.

"The last thing I intended to do was to upset anybody connected to the Hillsborough case," he told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"I've long been a supporter of them (the Hillsborough families) so if that's the impression they got, it's a totally wrong one and I'm very sorry for that."

Social media users were quick to condemn Mr Taylor's initial comments.

Paul LFC Foreman posted on Twitter: "Expect nothing more than a P45 for #GordonTaylor in the morn from @PFA absolutely disgusting comments not even comparable #JFT96."

Liverpool-based singer Pete Wylie said: "@PFA @LFC should withdraw the players from all activity-including playing-until Gordon Taylor apologises AND resigns+takes Evans too #JFT96."

Oldham Athletic's deal to sign Evans collapsed after staff, sponsors and fans suffered "vile" threats, the football club said.

The League One outfit had come under increasing pressure to turn its back on Evans with tens of thousands of people signing an online petition.

The club's main sponsor ZenOffice also threatened to pull out if they signed him.

After the deal fell apart, the former Wales international issued an apology "for the effects that night in Rhyl has had on many people, not least the woman concerned".

However, he maintained he had consensual sex with the 19-year-old in a hotel room in 2011.

"Finally, it has been claimed that those using social media in an abusive and vindictive way towards this woman are supporters of mine," he added.

"I wish to make it clear that these people are not my supporters and I condemn their actions entirely and will continue to do so."

The victim has reportedly changed her identity and moved house a number of times after abuse on social media.

Evans has been unable to find a team since being released from prison in October having served half of a five-year sentence.

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Recovery Mission For Pair Missing In Sea

The search for two men missing at sea off the coast of Brighton has turned into a recovery mission.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has said there is now "no chance of finding them alive".

The pair were among four men believed to have been on a night out in the town who had gone into the water in the early hours of this morning.

Two managed to get back to shore and called the coastguard just after 1am, saying two of their companions were missing.

Volunteer lifeboat crews are expected to resume searches in waters close to the shoreline, although the helicopter crews have returned to base having "exhausted all possible options", the coastguard said.

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Gallery: Two Missing In Sea Off Brighton

The search for two men missing at sea off the coast of Brighton has turned into a recovery mission, with "no chance of finding them alive", the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said. Pic: Jason Reeve

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MI5: Al Qaeda Plotting New Massacre In Britain

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 09 Januari 2015 | 18.54

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Al Qaeda is plotting to massacre huge numbers of civilians in Britain and other western countries, the head of Mi5 has warned.

Andrew Parker, director general of the security service, told a select group mostly from the Royal United Services Institute at his London headquarters that while the so-called Islamic State is the newest threat to the West and that self-started lone wolf plots are hard to foil, al Qaeda still has ambitions for something more spectacular.

He said: "We know that terrorists based in Syria harbour... ambitions towards the UK - trying to direct attacks against our country, and exhorting extremists here to act independently."

But this was in addition to newly identified plans from al Qaeda to revisit their traditional style of operations.

He said: "…we still face more complex and ambitious plots that follow the now sadly well-established approach of al Qaeda and its imitators: attempts to cause large scale loss of life, often by attacking transport systems or iconic targets.

"We know, for example, that a group of core al Qaeda terrorists in Syria is planning mass casualty attacks against the West."

Al Qaeda experts are known to have moved from Pakistan to Syria, where they may be able to draw on British volunteers to conduct attacks in the UK. Their mission is entirely focussed on plots against the West.

They are known to be led by Muhsin al Fadhli, an expert bomb maker wanted by the FBI who has a $7m price on his head. He moved to Syria two years ago and was unsuccessfully targeted in a coalition air strike last year.

It is also known that British citizens are in the ranks of al Qaeda in Syria and could be used in a major atrocity back home.

The domestic spy chief spoke hours after the UK's COBRA committee ordered a boost to national security.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "Following the attacks we took the precautionary step yesterday of increasing security at the French-UK border.

"The UK threat level, which is set by the independent Joint Terrorism Advisory Centre, remains at severe; that means a terrorist attack is highly likely and the public should remain vigilant.

"This morning I chaired COBRA to consider Britain's response to the attacks and our own preparedness to a similar attack."

Extra police have already been deployed at British ports and stations serving the Eurostar.

Lone wolf plots aimed at the police and military have surged over the last year and these have combined with the Paris killings to cause unease among officers.

"It's a huge worry for us," said Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police.

"There is a particular increased threat to police officers at the moment and there have been a number of attacks foiled in differed parts of the country, but I can tell you that our officers are very concerned about it… they see what happened in France, and clearly we are an unarmed police force but it is the nature of that threat which is worrying but despite that our officers go out there and do their duty."

Such concerns from front line police reflect similar fears in the intelligence community. Put simply - the world is getting more dangerous.

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PFA Boss Compares Evans Plight To Hillsborough

The head of the Professional Footballers' Association has been criticised for comparing convicted rapist Ched Evans' situation to the Hillsborough disaster.

The comments made by Gordon Taylor led to calls from Liverpool fans for the PFA chief executive to resign.

Mr Taylor was speaking in a radio interview after Oldham Athletic confirmed plans to sign Evans had collapsed.

"He (Evans) would not be the first person or persons to have been found guilty and maintained their innocence and then been proved right," Mr Taylor told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"If we are talking about things in football, we know what happened, what was alleged to have happened at Hillsborough.

"And it's now unravelling and we are finding it was very different to how it was portrayed at the time - indeed by the police at the time.

"He's in a very difficult situation because he's been put through a wringer and the minute you show any sympathy for Ched everybody will say 'Well, what about the other parties concerned?'

"And that's why I'm making the point that nobody's forgetting them."

Social media users were quick to condemn the comments on Twitter.

Paul LFC Foreman posted: "Expect nothing more than a P45 for #GordonTaylor in the morn from @PFA absolutely disgusting comments not even comparable #JFT96."