Stephen Lee Banned From Snooker For 12 Years

Snooker star Stephen Lee has been handed a 12-year ban for match-fixing, it has been has confirmed.

The former world number five was found guilty of seven match-fixing charges by an independent tribunal last week.

The case related to seven matches in 2008 and 2009 - three in the Malta Cup in 2008, two at the UK Championship in the same year, one at the 2009 China Open and one at the 2009 World Championship.

Tribunal chairman Adam Lewis QC also ordered that 38-year-old Lee pay costs of £40,000.

A statement from the World Professional Billards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) said: "The suspension is to be calculated from 12 October 2012, when the interim suspension was imposed. Therefore Stephen Lee will not be able to participate in snooker before 12 October 2024."

WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said: "We take no pride in having to deal with such serious issues. However, this demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that snooker is free from corruption.

"It is an important part of our anti-corruption approach that players found to be involved in fixing matches or any aspect of a match are severely dealt with.

"We work closely with partners globally and the message we are sending is that if you get involved in match-fixing you will be found out and removed from the sport."

Lee has not played in a tournament since last year

The WPBSA had been seeking a lifetime ban but the organisation's disciplinary head Nigel Mawer insisted a 12-year suspension was effectively the same thing.

Mawer said: "In effect it is a life ban because I think it is highly unlikely that Stephen Lee will be able to come back to the sport at this level.

"We don't take great pleasure out of that - this is a case of a fantastic snooker player who has thrown it all away through making the wrong decisions."

Mawer added that he believed snooker was overwhelmingly a clean sport.

He said: "I am independent and outside the organisation and have a law enforcement background, and all the intelligence on irregular betting comes to me.

"Hand on heart I believe it is a very, very clean sport - I have only had to investigate four incidents in 7,000 matches and two of those have led to suspensions, which puts it in context."

In his written findings, tribunal chairman Lewis pointed out that life-time bans were not part of the disciplinary rules at the time of the offences but that he had the discretion to impose one of that length.

The findings state: "These breaches occurred when Mr Lee was in a financially perilous state not entirely of his own making and was finding it difficult to obtain entry to enough tournaments.

"As a weak man in a vulnerable position he succumbed to temptation. I consider it unlikely that he was the prime mover or instigator of the activity. It seems to me likely that advantage was taken of him."

Lee's agent Adam Quigley has confirmed he will lodge an appeal.

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Hamzah Khan: 'He Died In My Arms', Mum Says

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The mother of four-year-old Hamzah Khan, whose mummified body was found in her bedroom almost two years after he died, told police he died in her arms, a court has heard.

Amanda Hutton, 43, is on trial accused of Hamzah's manslaughter after his remains were discovered in her Bradford home in 2011.

In her police interviews read out to the jury, she said Hamzah had been a difficult child who shouted and screamed and would only eat bananas and milk.

Hutton said her son lost a large amount of weight in December 2009 and lay in a travel cot "really silent and still and peaceful".

She claimed Hamzah told her in "the kind of gabble" that he spoke: "Oh, I love you mum, are you alright mum?"

Hutton told officers she went to a Morrisons supermarket chemist for something to build up his strength when her eldest son Tariq rang her, saying: "Mum, you need to come back, Hamzah's eyes are rolling into the back of his head."

She said she picked him up when she returned home, adding that when he died in her arms, she did not know what to do next.

The moment Hamzah's body was discovered was described to the jury by the police officer who found it.

DC Richard Dove, of the child protection unit at West Yorkshire Police, was searching Hutton's bedroom after the alarm was raised about her lifestyle and the filthy house she was living in.

DC Dove said as he stood in the bedroom looking at a travel cot, he could sense there was something wrong.

"There was clothing and shoes and bedding piled up in the cot so I started taking them off," he explained.

In the dock, Hutton buried her head in her hands as DC Dove was asked: "What did you find?"

DC Dove replied: "The body of a small child, Asian in origin."

Hutton denies manslaughter and the trial continues.

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Spitting Pair Are First Ever To Be Prosecuted

People spitting in the street can now be prosecuted for littering after a council won a landmark legal case.

Waltham Forest Council in London has become the first to successfully prosecute people for spitting in public.

Khasheem Kiah Thomas, 18, and Zilvinus Vitkas were fined and ordered to pay £300 each in total, including costs.

The council has been campaigning against spitting and issuing fixed penalty notices and £80 fines as part of its "Don't Mess with Waltham Forest" campaign.

Launched in July, it targets "enviro-crime" including spitting, litter, urination, dog mess, cigarette butts and takeaway litter.

The prosecutions against Thomas and Vitkas were the first to put it to the test but magistrates endorsed the council's approach.

Thomas, from Hackney, east London, was handed a fixed penalty notice in Leyton, east London, on February 20.

Vitkas, from Ilford in Essex, was caught seven days later in Walthamstow, north-east London.

Both men failed to appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on Friday and were found guilty in their absence.

Councillor Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, said he was "absolutely thrilled" at the courts' support.

"Spitting in public is a foul habit and simply not acceptable on the streets of Waltham Forest in this day and age," he said.

We made a decision to use the powers we have at our disposal to crack down on this most unsavoury behaviour."

"We've been issuing £80 fines to people since February, but this is the first time a case has reached the courts.

"The magistrates didn't hesitate to concur with us that spitting could be classified as litter."

The Council has the power to act against spitting under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Section 87 states that it is an offence to "throw down, drops or otherwise deposits" litter and then leave it.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Local Government minister Brandon Lewis have both expressed their support for action against spitting.

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April Jones Donations To Go To African Child

Donations made at the funeral of April Jones will be used to sponsor a girl the same age as her in Africa, church officials have said.

The quiet and closely-knit Welsh market town of Machynlleth will join April's devastated family in paying their last respects to the murdered five-year-old on Thursday at midday. 

It is now almost 12 months since the youngster was snatched and killed by 47-year-old paedophile Mark Bridger - who is serving a whole life tariff for the crime.

The Rev Kathleen Rogers, who is officiating the ceremony, said donations made at the service will be be used to sponsor a child in Uganda, via the charity World Vision.

Rev Rogers said: "A five-year-old girl in a village in Uganda will be sponsored by the parish until she finishes her education," she said.

April's parents, Paul and Coral Jones made the sponsorship decision

"Other donations will be an extra gift for the girl, her family and her village to use as they need. The parish will receive regular updates and photographs about the girl as she grows up.

"In an attempt to see some good out of this tragedy, we have decided to sponsor a little girl from a village in Uganda in memory of April.

"April's parents have kindly asked that donations from her funeral be donated to this sponsorship and we are very grateful to them."

Hundreds of mourners are expected and will wear pink, April's favourite colour, or a bright item of clothing. Balloons will be released at the end of the service.

Mark Bridger is serving a whole life tariff for April's murder

Ms Rogers said she hoped it would help April's family and the local community heal.

"A funeral plays a significant part in the grieving process and the funeral of little April will be even more important for her family as the probability of such a service was very remote until the inquest two weeks ago," she added.

"Our prayer is that it will be a starting point for them as they travel the long and painful journey of healing. It will also, I think, give the community permission to bring some sort of normality back to our town."

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US Teen Found Guilty Over School Shooting Plot

An Oklahoma teenager has been convicted of threatening to kill students and teachers at his US school.

Sammie Eaglebear Chavez, who authorities say tried to recruit classmates for a mass shooting and bomb attack at Bartlesville High School, was found guilty of planning to cause bodily harm.

The jury at Washington County district court recommended a 30-month prison term and a $5,000 (£3,112) fine.

The 19-year-old was found not guilty of conspiring to perform an act of violence.

He was arrested in December, hours before gunman Adam Lanza opened fire at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 children and six adults before taking his own life.

Chavez, who pleaded not guilty, claimed in his own defence that he was joking when he told classmates about how a shooting and bomb attack could be carried out at his school.

"It was a joke in the sense that it wasn't meant seriously," Chavez told jurors, the Tulsa World newspaper reported.

Police and prosecutors said Chavez intended to lure students into the school's auditorium, chain the doors shut and shoot them.

Bartlesville High School in Oklahoma

He also planned to place bombs by the auditorium doors and detonate them as police officers approached, according to court documents.

Bartlesville police officer Jacob Moran testified that after arresting Chavez he found notes in the teenager's pockets saying that "those who deserve to die will be killed" and that those who survive "will be forced to witness it", according to the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise.

Chavez said he had no intention to shoot or bomb the school but admitted he was "angry at the world" and that writing the notes was a way for him "to release feelings of anger".

Prosecutors said Chavez tried to obtain a map of the school campus and had used a school computer to get information about a platform to support a .22-calibre rifle.

A student informed school officials about the plot who called police. No one was injured.

Chavez's mother had said her son sent her a text message two days before his arrest saying he wanted to "shoot up" the high school because he thought some students were talking about him behind his back. But she also said she did not think her son would have carried out the attack.

"Deep down, I don't think my son would have done this," Jessie Chavez said shortly after her son was arrested. "That's not my son. My son laughs and makes jokes. He's always pulling pranks."

She also said her son showed symptoms of possible mental illness and had been seeing a therapist, but the court ordered him to stand trial following a mental competency exam.

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Kenya: UK And US Helping Probe Of Mall

Experts from countries including the UK, the US and Israel are helping Kenyan authorities as the forensic investigation into the Nairobi mall massacre begins.

The death toll, currently at 67, is expected to rise as bodies are retrieved from beneath the rubble of three collapsed floors.

Specialists from Canada and Germany are also helping gather evidence and reconstruct what happened when al Shabaab militants stormed the shopping centre on Saturday.

Six Britons - including an eight-year-old girl - are among the dead, and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has warned there may be further British victims.

A funeral is held for victims Selima Merali and her daughter Nuriana Merali

Rumours that a remaining gunman could still be hiding out in the Westgate shopping centre appear to have faded.

Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said that a "forensic audit" - including fingerprinting, DNA testing and ballistic examination - was expected to last at least seven days.

Work to establish the identities of the terrorists is still under way - including whether one of them was a British woman.

Kenyan troops stormed the shopping complex

Al Shabaab has denied a female was involved.

The group also claimed on Wednesday that security forces had carried out "a demolition" of the building during the raid, burying 137 hostages in rubble.

A government spokesman denied the claim and said the group was well known for making "wild allegations".

It has been speculated that the attack group was made up of several different nationalities.

However, US Attorney General Eric Holder has said there is so far no verification that any Americans were involved.

Interrogations of the 10 suspects held by Kenyan authorities are also continuing. Five attackers were killed during the siege.

People queue to donate blood to help victims of the attack

Sky News' Stuart Ramsay, in Nairobi, said at least five of those being held are understood to have been part of the initial attack group which sprayed bullets and escaped the mall.

Others in custody are said to be part of the "support group".

He also described how some of the attackers tried to escape by taking advantage of the chaos and mixing in with those being evacuated.

Ramsay said: "Multiple witnesses have said they saw gunmen put down weapons, change clothes and leave with … people being guided out.

"We know of one gentlemen who went to the police and said 'that man was involved in the shooting' - but he was ushered on."

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Miliband Urges Cameron To Commit To TV Debate

Ed Miliband has given television debates in the run-up to the next general election his full backing and challenged David Cameron to sign up.

The Labour leader told Sky News there was no reason why the format should not be the same as in 2010 when the debates played a crucial part in the campaign.

The next election is less than two years away but there is still no confirmation that the clashes between party leaders will be repeated.

Mr Miliband piled pressure on Mr Cameron by unequivocally supporting the approach as he was interviewed by Adam Boulton at the end of Labour's party conference.

Riding high after his keynote speech on Wednesday, he declared: "You have my commitment that I will do the same as we did last time. I think we need those TV debates.

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown in 2010

"We have got big debates to have about energy and other issues. I say bring on those TV debates in the general election campaign. I am looking forward to them. I hope the Prime Minister will be there.

"We had a format last time - it was good for our democracy ... I don't see why our starting point should not be the same as last time - let's have those debates."

The three debates in 2010 between Mr Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown were staged by Sky, the BBC and ITV and helped raise Mr Clegg's profile significantly.

They were credited with turning the election race on its head and Mr Cameron faced criticism for allowing the Lib Dem leader to be involved.

The last series of debates boosted Nick Clegg's profile among voters

Ultimately, the surge in Lib Dem support waned and did not translate into votes but Mr Clegg still ended up as kingmaker because there was a hung parliament.

The Lib Dem leader told Sky last week that he believed the debates were an "important addition" and should be repeated.

"I'm ready to have TV debates whenever they are organised. I think they were a good innovation last time," he said.

Also in his interview on Sky, Mr Miliband dismissed claims about his energy price freeze causing blackouts as "scare stories".

"The real thing that shapes investment decisions in energy is the long-term framework," the former Energy Secretary insisted.

And he denied that his conference speech, which included a string of left-wing policies, was designed to appeal to Labour's core vote.

"This is a strategy to reach out to people right across this country who are suffering from the cost-of-living crisis," he said.

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Syria: Rebel Groups Split Away From Coalition

Several Syrian rebel groups including a powerful al Qaeda-linked faction have broken away from the Western-backed opposition coalition - as UN inspectors return to continue their probe into chemical weapons attacks.

In a joint statement, 13 rebel groups led by the Nusra Front criticised the Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition, saying it no longer represents their interests.

The statement reflects the lack of unity in the exiled political opposition and the rebel groups fighting President Bashar al Assad's regime.

The rebel groups' statement called on all those trying to topple Assad's government to unite under a "clear Islamic framework" - an apparent reference to the al Qaeda faction's aspirations to create an Islamic state in Syria.

It said the rebels do "not recognise" any future government formed outside Syria, insisting that forces fighting on the ground should be represented by "those who suffered and took part in the sacrifices."

But the rebels themselves are also deeply divided, with many groups blaming jihadis and al Qaeda militants in their ranks for the West's reluctance to intervene militarily in Syria or give them the advanced weapons they need.

There is also growing concern that the dominant role the extremists are playing is discrediting the rebellion.

Meanwhile, a team of UN chemical weapons inspectors arrived in Damascus on Wednesday to continue investigating what officials have described as "pending credible allegations" of the use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war.

UN weapons inspectors arrive in Damascus

The visit of the six-member team, led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, follows a report by the inspectors published after their previous trip in September, which said nerve agent sarin was used in an August 21 attack near the capital, Damascus.

The US and its allies say Mr Assad's regime was behind the attack, which Washington said killed 1,400 people.

Damascus blames the rebels for the attack. Russia, a close ally of Mr Assad, said the UN report did not provide enough evidence to blame the Syrian government.

The United States and Russia brokered an agreement for Syria to give up its chemical weapons but UN diplomats say they are at odds on details of a Security Council resolution spelling out how it should be done and the possible consequences if Syria fails to comply.

Meanwhile, three boats carrying more than 700 asylum-seekers - some of whom were Syrian refugees - landed in Italy on Wednesday, the Coastguard said.

The new arrivals reflected a sharp increase in boats landing with people fleeing conflict-torn parts of the Mediterranean region and the Horn of Africa.

Two of the boats arrived on the island of Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost point and a major gateway for undocumented migration into the European Union.

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Leicester House Fire Deaths: Seven More Arrests

Police have arrested seven people in connection with a house fire which killed four members of the same family in Leicester.

The men - aged 16, 18, 20, 21, 24 and two 19-year-olds - were held after police executed warrants at several properties on Wednesday.

They remain in custody as police enquiries continue.

Shehnila Taufiq, in her 40s, her 19-year-old daughter Zainab and sons Bilal, 17, and Jamal, 15, died as fire ripped through their home in the Wood Hill area of the city on September 13.

Their father, Muhammad Taufiq al Sattar, was working in Ireland at the time of the fire and spoke of his grief, saying he would "deeply miss" his "beautiful" wife, daughter and two teenage sons.

An 18-year-old man has been charged with four counts of murder and is due to appear at Leicester Crown Court later this year.

Detective Superintendent Kate Meynell, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: "We appreciate that a number of residents may have been concerned with the police presence this morning, and we would like to thank the local community for their understanding and patience as officers carried out these warrants.

"This morning's activity was part of the ongoing investigation into the four deaths in Wood Hill earlier this month.

"We would also like to encourage anyone with information regarding the fire who has not already spoken to the police to contact us."

:: Anyone with any information should contact Leicestershire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Osborne Takes Legal Action Over EU Bonus Cap

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

George Osborne is to take legal action against Brussels over the European Union's proposed move to cap the bonuses of thousands of British-based bankers.

Sky News has learnt that Treasury officials have been considering the move for several months.

A decision to formally challenge Brussels in the courts over measures to restrict bank bonuses echoes a similar legal action launched by the Treasury in April over the EU's proposed financial transactions tax (FTT).

The details of the Treasury's complaint are unclear, although banking industry sources said they had been told that a legal challenge had been lodged by the Government with the European Court of Justice.

The move is politically risky for the Chancellor, who is likely to be portrayed by Opposition politicans as a defender of high pay for wealthy bankers at a time when Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, is positioning himself as a defender of ordinary consumers.

Mr Osborne is expected to say that the proposed cap – which would impose a ceiling on bonuses of twice the base salary of a bank employee – risks undermining the City's status as a global financial centre and the objective of creating stronger and safer banks.

He may find himself insulated from the most trenchant political attacks by virtue of the fact that his position is endorsed by independent regulators.

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), an arm of the Bank of England, is also opposed to the cap, arguing that it risks increasing instability in the banking system by driving up fixed costs.

About two-thirds of those affected by the cap are said to work in the UK

British-based lenders have argued against the cap, saying that they will have little choice but to inflate basic pay if they are to compete with rivals unaffected by the new restrictions.

Andrew Bailey, the PRA's chief executive, echoed their opposition at a Treasury Select Committee hearing earlier this year.

He said that the cap would "reduce the discipline in the system but it won't reduce overall remuneration" and warned that it "will institute an unhelpful culture of banks spending their time finding ways to get around the rules".

Without a legal challenge, UK regulators have little scope to overturn or ignore the cap despite the fact that regulators and many Westminster-based politicians agree that it will be potentially counter-productive.

"There will certainly be an expression of the sentiment that the cap is likely to result in an increase in fixed costs which could expose banks to some risk when profitability is low or negative, as there would be less scope to adjust pay," said a source familiar with the PRA's thinking.

Douglas Flint, the widely-respected chairman of HSBC, has paved the way for Europe's biggest lender to increase salaries in time for the introduction of the new ceiling.

The source said the text of the consultation paper had not yet been finalised, but denied that the PRA would allow a wider array of payments, such as pension contributions, to count towards executives' base salaries when calculating the multiple allowed for bonuses.

Some senior bankers say the regulator has appeared to be receptive towards that idea during recent discussions.

The British Bankers' Association has predicted that 35,000 bank employees around the world will be affected by the cap, approximately two-thirds of whom are based in the UK.

A Treasury spokesman declined to comment.

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