Mikaeel Kular's Mother Jailed For His Killing

Mother Admits Beating Mikaeel Kular To Death

Updated: 2:10pm UK, Friday 25 July 2014

Mikaeel Kular's mother has pleaded guilty to killing her three-year-old son, who she subjected to repeated assaults.

Rosdeep Adekoya had been accused of murder but admitted a reduced charge of culpable homicide at the High Court in Edinburgh.

She confessed to wrapping Mikaeel's body in a duvet cover, putting it in a suitcase and driving to Dunvegan Avenue in Kirkcaldy, where she hid the case under a bush in woodland behind a house.

Mikaeel's disappearance from his Edinburgh home in January sparked a huge search involving police officers, firefighters, mountain rescue teams and the coastguard, as well as members of the public.

His body was eventually found 25 miles away in woodland in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

Adekoya had called 999 to report her son missing to police, telling officers he got out of bed and climbed on a stool to unlock the front door of his home.

But in court she admitted to beating her son to death, repeatedly punching him and causing his body to hit against a hard object or inflicting blunt injuries on his head and body between January 12 and 15.

She also pleaded guilty to attempting to defeat the ends of justice by pretending to police he had gone missing.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice told the court: "The basis for the plea tendered being accepted is that the Crown accepts that the accused had no intention to kill Mikaeel and that the assault perpetrated upon him, although severe, fell short of the wicked recklessness required for murder."

Explaining the charge of culpable homicide, Sky's James Matthews, at the High Court in Edinburgh, said: "Basically she beat up her son causing his death but she didn't mean to kill him, and that's been accepted by the prosecution authorities."

He said after killing Mikaeel, Adekoya had done the school-run taking her four other children to school before continuing on to dump his body behind a property where her sister was staying.

"Her concocted story unravelled under questioning by police, and it was when they spotted inconsistencies in her story that she broke down and told them where Mikaeel's body was," Matthews added.

Adekoya's internet history showed searches including "I find it hard to love my son", "I love all of my children except one", "Why am I so aggressive with my son" and "Get rid of bruises".

The court heard Mikaeel died on the night of Tuesday, January 14, from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday.

His mother "lost her temper" when he was repeatedly sick following a trip to a Nando's restaurant at the city's Fountain Park.

Mikaeel had more than 40 separate injuries to his body, including bruises to his back, chin and cheek, trauma to the brain, haemorrhage in the spinal cord and injuries to his arms.

Mr Prentice said: "If medical assistance had been called for, death might not have resulted."

Sentence was deferred until August 25 at the High Court in Edinburgh.

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First Briton With Ebola Virus Begins Treatment

A Briton who contracted the deadly ebola virus in Sierra Leone is being treated at a specialist hospital after being evacuated to the UK.

Volunteer nurse William Pooley tested positive after treating patients suffering from the disease at Kenema Government Hospital (KGH) in the south-east of the country.

It is the first confirmed case of a Briton contracting ebola during the outbreak. There is no cure and outbreaks have a fatality rate as high as 90%.

Mr Pooley, understood to be 29 and from Eyke in Suffolk, was transported to the UK on a specially-equipped C-17 Royal Air Force jet, which landed at RAF Northolt in west London on Sunday evening.

He was then taken to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, which has the UK's only high level isolation unit.

His bed will be surrounded by a tent with its own controlled ventilation system and the only people allowed inside are specially-trained medical staff.

Dr Robert Garry, from Tulane University in New Orleans, has worked at KGH for around a decade on a virus research project.

He said he was told by a university colleague that the test results for William were received on Saturday.

"They worked as hard as they could, as fast as humanly possible to make these arrangements," he said.

The nurse is taken off the plane and into a waiting ambulance

"Of course they were wanting to make sure that he got the best care possible.

"It was kind of a remarkable turnaround, barely over 24 hours (later) he was heading towards that plane."

Mr Pooley was working at a hospice in the capital, Freetown, but moved to Kenema when he found out other workers at the hospital had died from ebola.

In an interview with a blogger for freetownfashpack.com published earlier this month, he is reported to have said: "It's the easiest situation in the world to make a difference.

"I'm not particularly experienced or skilled, but I can do the job and I am actually helping."

William was treating ebola patients in Sierra Leone

He also described his first impressions of the country - including confrontations with armed guards and sampling the hospitality of wealthy locals made rich from the controversial diamond mining industry - in a local village newsletter.

Dr Garry praised William's decision to help. He said: "It's a very honourable thing. He saw the need.

"He read about our nurses who were unfortunately dying there and took it on himself to come over and volunteer and learned how to be as safe as he could.

"But when you work hard like that, when you put in so many hours, you're going to make a mistake and unfortunately that seems to have happened in this case.

The C17 plane lands at RAF Northolt on Sunday evening

"I just hope the best for him, that he can get the best treatment he can get."

The Department of Health said he was not "seriously unwell", while health chiefs have insisted that the risk to the public from ebola is "very low".

There have so far been 2,615 confirmed cases and 1,427 deaths in the outbreak in Africa.

Ebola is contracted through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids and there is currently no cure or vaccine.

Symptoms of the virus appear as a sudden onset of fever, headache, sore throat, intense weakness and muscle pain.

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Rain Threatens Bank Holiday Travel Disruption

Tips For Driving In Severe Weather

Updated: 1:35pm UK, Friday 14 February 2014

The Highways Agency has issued the following guidance on how to prepare for driving in severe weather conditions.

Driving In General Bad Conditions

:: Always adjust your dri­ving accord­ing to the con­di­tions and plan your jour­ney by check­ing the lat­est weather forecast.

:: Make sure that you can see clearly and that you can be seen.

:: Use at least dipped head­lights in poor vis­i­bil­ity - and don't just rely on day­time run­ning lights if you have them.

Driving In Rain And Floods

:: When the road is wet it can take twice as long to stop. Slow down and main­tain a safe dis­tance from the vehi­cle in front.

:: If your vehi­cle loses grip, or "aqua­planes", on sur­face water take your foot off the accel­er­a­tor to slow down.

:: Do not brake or steer sud­denly because you have less con­trol of the steer­ing and brakes.Try to avoid dri­ving through sur­face water as you might flood your engine.

:: If you have to drive through floods, drive slowly, use a low gear and try to keep the engine revving at a high rate.

:: Move for­ward con­tin­u­ously to avoid stalling the engine.

:: When dri­ving an auto­matic vehi­cle, engage and hold in a low gear.

:: Test your brakes after dri­ving through water; they may be ineffective.

Driving In Windy Weather

:: Take extra care on the roads and plan your jour­ney by check­ing the lat­est weather conditions.

:: Although high-sided vehi­cles are par­tic­u­larly affected by windy weather, strong winds can also blow other vehi­cles off course.

:: This can hap­pen on open stretches of road exposed to strong cross­winds, or when pass­ing bridges, high-sided vehi­cles or gaps in trees.

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Quarry Drowning Linked To Ice Bucket Challenge

The death of a teenager at a disused quarry in Fife is being linked to the "ice bucket challenge", Sky News understands.

Cameron Lancaster, 18, disappeared under water at Prestonhill Quarry  in Inverkeithing, Fife, on Sunday.

Emergency services were called and searched the water. His body was found at about 9pm.

Sky News understands that his death is linked to the "ice bucket challenge" in which people film themselves having ice water tipped over them for charity.

A series of celebrities and public figures have taken part in the stunt over the past month.

The family of the teenager, from Burntisland, Fife, paid tribute to his "thoughtful generosity of spirit".

In a statement they said: "Cameron died in a tragic accident. His death is such a great loss.

"During his short life, he touched so many people with his friendliness, kindness and thoughtful generosity of spirit.

"He will be hugely missed by his family and friends.

"The family are finding it hard to come to terms with this sudden loss and would ask for privacy at this sad time."

A police spokesman said: "Inquiries are under way to establish the fullcircumstances of what happened and Police Scotland's thoughts are with the family at this very difficult time."

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Bank Holiday Weather Alert Over Rain And Wind

A weather alert has been issued as heavy rain and wind threaten travel problems for millions of Britons returning home from a weekend break.

The Met Office has issued a sweeping yellow weather alert for Bank Holiday Monday, predicting significant surface water on roads and gusts of up to 40mph (64kph). 

Meanwhile, overnight temperatures will plummet to freezing point in some areas, with the first frost of the summer arriving in the north this morning.

Tomorrow's weather warning relates to parts of Wales, as well as London, the South East, East and South West of England, although most of the UK will see some rain.

Winds of up to 40mph are expected in some areas

Temperatures will struggle to get above 17C (62.6F) - well below average for August.

Scotland, where it is not a bank holiday, will enjoy the best of the weather tomorrow.

The Met Office said: "Heavy rain is expected to affect many southern areas of Britain at times during Bank Holiday Monday, with strong winds a possible additional factor close to southern coasts.

"The public should be aware that there may be some impacts to holiday traffic and other outdoor activities.

The first frost of the summer is expected to arrive in the north on Sunday

"A complex area of low pressure looks like bringing an unpleasant day's weather to much of the south on Monday.

"Rainfall amounts look like exceeding 20mm quite widely, while a few places might see around 40mm, so there will be a lot of surface water and spray on roads.

"The spray will probably be made worse by strong winds across some southern areas; gusts to around 40mph may occur at some coastal locations although this will depend on the exact track of the low pressure."

More than five million people in the UK are planning an overnight holiday trip this weekend, VisitEngland said.

Around one million people are expected to be drawn to Notting Hill Carnival, one of Europe's biggest street carnival events, today and tomorrow.

Despite a cold start, Sunday's weather will be largely fine across the UK with spells of sunshine and highs of 18C (64.4F).

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Independent Scotland 'Would Have To Join Euro'

Alex Salmond's "only realistic plan B" for the currency of an independent Scotland is the euro, according to shadow chancellor Ed Balls.

Mr Balls reiterated his warning that the Scottish National Party's preference for keeping the pound in a formal currency union with the rest of the UK is "off the table".

The Labour MP, who was against UK entry to the euro when he worked for Gordon Brown, has previously ruled out a currency union if his party wins the next election.

The current Conservative chancellor, George Osborne, and Scottish Liberal Democrat Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander have also dismissed the prospect.

Keeping the pound without a currency union would accelerate "the movement of financial services out of Scotland", Mr Balls told the Observer newspaper.

Meanwhile, new currency would be "very expensive, very risky" and people would "pay a big price in terms of higher interest rates for mortgages", Mr Balls claimed.

Ed Balls ruled out a formal currency union in the newspaper interview

He said: "I fear that an independent Scotland would end up finding that joining the euro would be the least worst of all the bad options.

"It's not what I would choose for Scotland. And I am not surprised at all that Alex Salmond doesn't want to admit it now, but joining the euro would likely be his only realistic plan B."

Mr Balls added: "Given the size of the UK relative to Scotland, given that Scotland would be leaving the UK, the size of the Scottish financial sector and given the risk, therefore, to UK taxpayers, a sterling currency area would be off the table."

Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling will stage another debate on Monday

He urged Mr Salmond "to tell people what plan B is" at his next debate with Better Together leader Alistair Darling, which will be shown on Sky News on Monday.

A spokesman for Mr Salmond told The Observer: "An independent Scotland will keep the pound because it's our currency too, and pensions and public services will be more sustainable after a yes vote because Scotland's economy is stronger than the UK's."

A Better Together spokesman said: "Alex Salmond wants us to vote for independence on the basis of his blind faith and guesswork alone.

"We should say no thanks to taking on so much risk."

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House Lifted 1.5m To Avoid More Flood Misery

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

A family from Berkshire who were devastated by floods in February have jacked their entire house up by 1.5 metres to avoid future floods.

The Ivry family home in Wraysbury on the River Thames was devastated by water during the winter floods and they've spent six months in temporary housing.

During that time Yaron Ivry has taken extreme measures to prevent a repeat of the ordeal, spending £70,000 to lift the entire structure off the ground.

 "It was a lot of stress but it's all over and it's worth it - the project is now a success," Mr Ivry said.

"We are safe from the worst floods in 100 years so we're very happy."

It took three months to prepare the house, installing a steel girder framework near the base of the house before cutting through the brick and woodwork.

A specialist company, more commonly used to lift large bridges, was employed to carry out the rare lift which they say was very challenging.

A total of 28 jacks have been used to lift the house

Sean Davies, of Hydra-Capsule, said: "We're used to doing structures that are much larger and heavier, but this lift is very technical.

"We installed 28 jacks to lift the house when just one would have been able to lift the building.

"We over-designed it deliberately because of the delicate house that's obviously so precious to the owners."

Wraysbury was one of the worst hit areas in the floods

The family is just one of hundreds still rebuilding after the floods of last winter which were caused by the heaviest rainfall in almost 250 years.

Around 1,000 homes were badly damaged in Somerset and along the Thames Valley.

Craig Woodhouse, from the Environment Agency, says these sorts of private flood prevention projects are key to reducing risk.

He said: "We're very keen that people take ownership of their own flood risk and the first way is to assess whether or not they are at risk on the Environment Agency website.

The Ivry family's home before it was raised off the ground

"Then you can start thinking about how you can protect your property if a community level scheme is not in the offing."

The Ivry family hope to move in next month and are planning a house warming for the New Year when they predict things will be back to normal.

:: Watch a Sky News special report on flood proofing Britain at 10.30am, 2.30pm, 4.30pm, and 8.30pm.

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British Ebola Patient 'May Be Flown To UK'

Nigeria Confirms First 'Secondary' Ebola Cases

Updated: 8:47am UK, Sunday 24 August 2014

Ebola fears in Nigeria have heightened after two more people tested positive, despite having no contact with the man who brought the virus into the country.

The infected people are the spouses of a man and woman who had contact with Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who died in July after flying into Abuja and infecting 11 others.

It comes as blood tests confirmed an Irish engineer who died on Thursday did not have ebola.

Dessie Quinn, 43, had been working in Sierra Leone, one of the countries struggling with the current outbreak.

Nigerian officials now have more than 200 potential ebola cases under "surveillance" after the discovery of the secondary infections.

"They were quarantined two days ago," said Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu.

"But the other ones that were quarantined along with them have been released.

"Those on treatment (in isolation) currently are four - two primary contacts, two secondary contacts. Presently altogether we have 213 on surveillance."

Patrick Sawyer, 40, died from ebola after becoming sick during a flight to Nigeria from the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

Two doctors, two nurses, and a man who picked him up from Abuja airport also died.

The World Health Organisation said earlier this week it was hopeful over the situation in Nigeria because all the cases there had come from a single chain of transmission.

The country now has 14 confirmed cases, including five deaths.

Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have suffered the worst from the outbreak, accounting for most of the 1,350 fatalities.

Liberian capital Monrovia, in particular, has seen chaotic scenes in recent days as ebola cases increase.

The local crematorium is struggling to burn the infected bodies and is having to send some back to the hospital, according to the Red Cross.

Troops have also fired tear gas to enforce a quarantine zone and prevent looting in the city's huge West Point slum.

A teenage boy, Shakie Kamara, has died after being shot by security forces earlier this week, Information Minister Lewis Brown said on Friday.

Senegal has become the latest country to lock down its border with an ebola-affected neighbour, closing its land border with Guinea.

Decisions to bar widespread use of an experimental ebola drug have caused controversy.

Two Americans, Kent Brantly, 33, and Nancy Writebol, 60, recovered after taking ZMapp, but there are no plans to send it to the heart of the outbreak.

Specialists believe the pair, who were treated in Atlanta, now pose "no public health threat" and will probably be immune to the disease.

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'Asbos For Extremists' To Tackle UK Jihadists

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Home Secretary Theresa May is planning to bring in new laws to tackle the threat of British jihadists - including "anti-social behaviour orders" for extremists.

Mrs May will announce a three-point plan to counter British Muslim extremists, warning that the security threat to the UK will continue for decades.

The measures would target the activities of radical preachers, such as Anjem Choudary, whose extreme rhetoric currently does not constitute a crime.

Full details are yet to emerge, but the new power will be designed to restrict extremists' behaviour and language.

As with an Asbo, it could result in a criminal conviction carrying a jail term if breached.

Mrs May has unveiled her crackdown in an article in the Daily Telegraph.

Theresa May's warning echoes recent comments from David Cameron

She discloses that she will make it illegal to join extremist groups that preach violent views, but are not directly involved in terrorism.

Currently, the threshold for banning membership of organisations, such as the Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIL), requires the Home Secretary to prove that the group is directly involved in terrorist acts.

The new power could target Islamist political organisations and other Muslim groups that tacitly support extremism.

In addition, state-funded organisations such as councils and schools will be given a new legal obligation to combat extremists.

Mrs May uses the Telegraph article to echo a warning about extremism made by the Prime Minister in a newspaper report last weekend.

The Home Secretary writes: "We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a deadly extremist ideology.

Cardiff students Khan (L) and Muthana (C) appeared in an IS video

"We will be engaged in this struggle for many years, probably decades. We must give ourselves all the legal powers we need to prevail.

"I am looking again at the case for new banning orders for extremist groups that fall short of the legal threshold for terrorist proscription, as well as for new civil powers to target extremists who seek to radicalise others."

The measures proposed by Mrs May are similar to recommendations for legislation made by the Government's Extremism Task Force last December.

Those recommendations were surprisingly omitted from the Queen's Speech this year.

But there is no suggestion yet that the Home Secretary plans to introduce emergency legislation when MPs return to the Commons on September 1.

David Cameron said during his brief return to Downing Street from his holiday after the murder of journalist James Foley that there would be "no knee-jerk reaction".

Radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary

The problem of radicalisation was highlighted in June when two Cardiff students - Reyaad Khan, 20, Nasser Muthana, also 20, - were identified in a propaganda video for IS posted on YouTube.

The two men along with Muthana's younger brother Aseel, 17, were lured to join extremists fighting in Syria and Iraq.

And a jihadi fighter in Syria told Sky News in July that he was training British teenagers as young as 16 to fight in the war.

Yvette Cooper, Labour's shadow home secretary, said: "More action is needed to respond to the serious problem of people travelling to fight with ISIL.

"The Home Secretary's confirmation that she is continuing to look at the recommendations of the Prime Minister's Taskforce, announced last December, is welcome.

"Though there remains no detail on things like civil powers to tackle extremists or extremist groups for people to consider.

"However I remain concerned that the Government is not addressing the gaps in the Prevent programme - especially the lack of support for community led approaches to preventing radicalisation.

"And the Home Secretary also needs to respond to the concerns raised by the current and previous Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation about the decision to weaken control orders, where they have advised that stronger measures should be put in place."

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Mackay: 'No Excuse' For Offensive Texts

Former Cardiff manager Malky Mackay has apologised for sending a string of racist, sexist and homophobic text messages.

Mackay said there was "no excuse" for the texts, sent while he was boss of the Welsh club.

He said: "Out of 10,000 text messages in and out of someone's phone, I sent three, and that being the case, looking at them, they are completely unacceptable, inappropriate, and for that and any offence I've caused, I sincerely apologise.

"That's something that I did, and for that, there is no excuse."

Mackay was accused of sharing the texts with Iain Moody (L)

Mackay and Cardiff's ex-head of recruitment Iain Moody had been accused of sharing the offensive texts, which were included as part of a dossier of allegations sent to the Football Association by the club.

Both men were sacked by Cardiff last season, long before details of the messages emerged.

Cardiff said LMA chief Richard Bevan should stand down over its statement

The emergence of the dossier appeared put an end to Mackay's hopes of landing the Crystal Palace manager's job, while Moody has resigned as the London club's sporting director over the affair.

The former Celtic and Watford player said he would co-operate with an FA inquiry into the allegations and insisted the texts did not represent his true views.

He said: "I've been in a multicultural football environment for 20 years and I love British football.

"I am no racist and I am no sexist, I'm no homophobe and I'm no anti-Semitic."

Earlier, the League Managers Association (LMA) was forced to backtrack after it was widely criticised for dismissing the messages as "friendly banter".

The initial LMA statement said Mackay had been under pressure when the messages were sent and that he was "letting off steam to a friend during some friendly text message banter".

Cardiff chairman Vincent Tan sacked Mackay and Moody last season

In a new statement on Friday, the association said: it said: "The LMA apologises for some of its wording, in its release yesterday, which was inappropriate and has been perceived to trivialise matters of a racist, sexist or homophobic nature.

"That was certainly not our intention. It is beyond argument that any comments that are discriminatory, even used in private, are totally unacceptable.

"The LMA remains absolutely aware of our responsibility to the game and to promote and uphold the highest standards of behaviour."

Despite the apology, Cardiff have demanded LMA boss Richard Bevan stand down, describing his position as "untenable".

Young footballers told Sky News of their shock at Mackay's behaviour.

Temisan Pop said: "I aspire to be a footballer... It hurts that someone in that position is saying these things. It kind of means, what hope do I have?"

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