Men Arrested After Falling From Lorry On M6

Three men have been arrested on the M6 after a witness described seeing them fall from underneath a lorry.

They were found walking along the hard shoulder near junction 8 of the northbound carriageway, close to Walsall, just before 9.15am.

Police believe the men - two 33-year-olds and a 27-year-old - are from Africa and may have hidden on the lorry travelling from Calais.

Sergeant Ian Williams, from the Central Motorway Police Group, said: "It appears that these men may have risked their lives trying to get into the country and a passing motorist reported seeing them fall from underneath a lorry and then making their way to the central reservation."

The men are in custody at a local police station and the case is being handed to the UK Border Force.

Earlier this month the mayor of Calais threatened to shut the port after 100 migrants tried to storm their way onto a ferry to Britain.

Ramps to the ferries had to be raised to prevent the men boarding the ships.

British truckers who use the port say they are subject to regular attacks from migrants desperate to make their way to the UK.

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Apple iOS 8 Available Ahead Of iPhone Release

Critics 'Blown Away' By Apple Watch Launch

Updated: 9:51pm UK, Tuesday 09 September 2014

Most of the post-launch reaction focused on the launch of the Apple Watch, a new product category for the California company.

TechCrunch writer John Biggs said: "First, as a watch lover, I'm blown away.

"Apple has gone above and beyond the job in terms of materials and design and, more important, the interface. Here's everything we know about the new Apple Watch."

Mashable listed "11 things the Apple Watch looks like" - including "your dad's favourite belt", a slap bracelet, a Casio data bank and a yoga mat.

Rob Hodges from mobile site Mobiles.co.uk said: "Taking the mobile industry by storm, wearable tech will be a future focus for all major smartphone manufacturers and Apple is clearly staking their claim with the Apple Watch.

"With the iPhone 6 offering Touch ID, NFC payments and an improved Wi-Fi chip, this could be the next revolutionary area for the company."

Cnet wrote: "Several mobile companies have already released or announced their own smart watches.

"However, those devices have struggled to catch on with mainstream consumers. Part of the reason for that is a killer app for the category has failed to emerge. It also hasn't helped that the world has been waiting to see what Apple would bring to market."

Actor Stephen Fry, who was at the launch, wrote on Twitter: "Complete standing ovation for the Apple watch - looks utterly stunning - I'm worse than drooling."

Meanwhile Stuff.TV focused on the two new iPhone models, saying: "If Apple can pull of NFC payments (as nobody has managed yet) health and fitness tracking (as nobody has managed yet) and seamless integration of its phones, tablets, laptops and computers then the iPhone 6 will be a formidable device to compete with."

On the Sky News Facebook page, opinion was split.

Nathan Mass said: "Apple offers devices with an unbeatable premium build quality and for that reason alone, I will always be an apple fan."

But Zara Le Brocq said: "Stick to my trusty Samsung. Now Apple fans can stop with the 'android phones are stupidly big' comments."

Bethwell Dube added: "iPhone has gone backwards."

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Thai Police Question Brothers Over Beach Murders

Two British brothers are being questioned over the murders of two backpackers on a beach in Thailand as tests revealed more about how the victims died.

Chris Ware and his brother James, from Jersey, have been asked to stay in Thailand as experts wait for the results of DNA tests on Thursday.

The brothers were questioned as police continued to hold six Burmese suspects in connection with the deaths.

Thai Police Colonel Kissana said there was "strong evidence" possibly linking the Burmese to the murders, including blood stains on clothes.

Chris Ware being interviewed by Thai police

"We also have two British suspects but they have not been detained," said Mr Kissana.

"We cannot rule them out. They were close friends and knew all about the victims."

The developments came as forensic experts revealed David Miller died from drowning and a blow to the head. Hannah Witheridge died from head wounds. 

Police investigate the killings on the beach

Pornchai Sutheerakune, head of the Thai Institute of Forensic Medicine, said Mr Miller also had wounds on his hand, indicating a struggle had taken place.

Sky's Jonathan Samuels, on Koh Tao, where the murders happened, said Chris Ware has been spoken to by police after he booked into a hotel at Bangkok airport.

It is the second time he has been questioned. He was initially quizzed in the hours after the murders by officers concerned about an injury to his arm.

Koh Tao is one of Thailand's most popular backpacker islands

Police were satisfied with Mr Ware's explanation and he was told he was free to go, but officers later caught up with him in Bangkok to speak to him again. 

Samuels said James Ware had also spoken to police.

The semi-naked bodies of Mr Miller, 24, and 23-year-old Miss Witheridge were discovered on a beach early on Monday.

Police say there had been a beach party in the hours before the murders

Police said the pair sustained horrific injuries, with both suffering deep wounds to the head and face.

A bloodstained garden hoe, believed to be the murder weapon, was found near to the bodies.

Samuels said it was understood Chris Ware was a friend of Mr Miller's.

Police say they are keen to trace an Asian man captured on grainy CCTV footage shortly after the murders.

The man of Asian appearance caught on CCTV

It shows what appears to be a topless man who officers say was acting suspiciously as he left a beach party near the murder scene.

He is captured running past the security camera at 3.44am and is seen again an hour later walking down the same street.

In another image, Mr Miller, from Jersey, and Ms Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, are seen walking hand-in-hand after leaving a bar at around 1am.

It was taken hours before their bodies were discovered semi-naked on Sairee beach.

Tributes to Hannah have been posted online

Sky's Tom Parmenter, on Jersey, says police there are assisting the mother of Chris and James Ware.

He said officers are working to ensure Barbara Ware is kept up to date with investigation, but she did not want to comment at this stage.

Parmenter said someone claiming to be a friend of the Ware brothers had written about them on a Thai travel message board.

Police outside the Ware family home on Jersey

"I grew up with Chris and Dave and know them both very well, and I'm totally shocked to what has happened," the post read.

"He (Chris) has known Dave since 4 years old at primary school in Jersey, they are like brothers."

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Young People Divided On Scottish Independence

Sky News' infamous travelling office sofa has toured the length and breadth of Scotland in the run-up to this week's Scottish referendum.

At a stop-off in Gretna Green, young people had a chance to have their say.

Sky News brought together students from either side of the border to hear their opinions on the independence debate.

The encounter showed it is not just geography that divides them - they are also split when it comes to their views.

Thursday's decision is a big one for young people in Scotland, as it marks the first time 16 and 17-year-olds have been able to vote.

Four in five under-18s (81%) have registered to cast their vote in the Scottish referendum and the issue of independence is a prominent topic on Sky's Stand Up Be Counted website - a new platform for young people aged 16-25 to have their say on subjects that matter to them.

On the sofa, students from Grange School in Cheshire and Grange Academy in East Ayrshire shared their views.

One said: "I think the referendum's only come about because of the current economic situation and I worry that when the situation improves, Scotland (would) regret moving away from the UK."

"I think there would be a general distaste between (England and Scotland) if we did go to independence," said another.

A third student added: "It's easier to say all the things that could go right than to say all the things that can be better if we did stay together because, if it could be so much better, why aren't they now?"

Highlighting the importance of the 16 and 17-year-old vote in her Stand Up Be Counted post, user FLHashemi9 said: "This is the minority which has the potential to determine the outcome of the Scottish referendum."

User MMT39, who describes himself as "very much on the Yes campaign", added: "There's been a lot of talk of voter apathy ... I think Scotland's pretty much thrown that myth right into the fire and smashed it to bits.

"People will vote as long as there's something worth fighting and worth voting for."

Young people can have their say on the Scottish referendum or any other topics by uploading blog posts or short videos to the Stand Up Be Counted website.

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Dave Lee Travis A 'Perfect Gentleman'

Dave Lee Travis is not the "sleazy, predatory opportunist" his trial has accused him of being, according to his defence barrister.

Instead, Stephen Vullo QC told jurors, the ex-Top Of The Pops frontman is "the perfect gentleman", something he said was proved by the testimony of character witnesses in the case.

Mr Vullo said in his closing speech: "Somebody with a propensity throughout his whole life to act in a sleazy, predatory way would struggle, wouldn't they, to bring the type of character evidence that he has called before you."

He reminded them that all three of the former Radio 1 DJ's personal assistants, who worked for him at different times during a 20-year period, had wanted to give evidence in his support.

"They described him as warm, friendly, tactile," Mr Vullo said.

But none of the three women, who worked from him between the 1970s and early 2000s, said they had ever felt he acted inappropriately towards them or anyone else, he added.

He reminded the jury, sitting at Southwark Crown Court, of the evidence from Dee Dee White, who regularly appeared with Travis on Top Of The Tops. This was during the "height of his popularity", Mr Vullo said, when the BBC show drew in millions of viewers.

Dave Lee Travis with his wife Marianne outside court

"It's very difficult to be as much of a celebrity as he was at that time," he added.

Mr Vullo said that Ms Wilde, who appeared on the music show as part of the all-girl dance troupe Pan's People, said she always found Travis to be the "perfect gentleman" who never did anything to alarm her or her fellow dancers.

The troupe clearly had a good "radar" for sleazy men, Mr Vullo said, because they had found Jimmy Savile to be a nasty sexual predator.

Mr Vullo also told jurors Travis had sold his house to hire investigators to help in his defence case and was now living on "dwindling resources".

The defendant, who is being tried under his real name David Griffin, faces a retrial on two counts - one of indecent assault of a woman between November 1 1990 and January 31 1991, and another of sexual assault on a different woman between June 1 2008 and November 30 2008 - on which a jury was unable to reach verdicts at a trial earlier this year.

Travis, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, has also pleaded not guilty to an additional count of indecent assault alleged to have taken place on January 17 1995.

The charges relate to three women, and the court has heard allegations relating to two more women.

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Sky Poll: Scots Unclear Over No Vote Powers

PM May Regret 'Double Or Quits' Scot Gamble

Updated: 7:06am UK, Wednesday 17 September 2014

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

If David Cameron has any regrets on the eve of the final day of campaigning in the Scottish referendum, one might centre on the terms he negotiated for this historic vote.

After all, polls suggest that the largest group of Scots did not want to choose "Yes" or "No". Instead, they would have been happy with a third option, so-called "Devo-Max".

But the Prime Minister, not keen on handing over more devolution, decided to play double or quits.

He made the contest a straight choice - presumably confident that it would result in the outcome that he wanted.

Now there is a chance that his gamble may not pay off.

What no one expected months ago, when the No campaign had a 22-point lead, was a race that would be described in its final days as being on a knife-edge.

But that is what Mr Cameron is now faced with.

And it explains why he, along with Labour leader Ed Miliband, and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, have put a big new offer on the table for Scottish voters.

An offer that devolves more powers to the country, and is being received by many of its newspapers as the "Devo-Max" the Prime Minister originally rejected.

The Daily Record, for example, says the choice is now between a "No" vote that means Scotland and the UK are changed forever, or a "Yes" vote that ends Britain.

Offering that new choice leaves Mr Cameron facing a potential backlash in England among MPs who feel his promise gives their constituents an unfair deal.

He did it because the stakes are high, with the Prime Minister's job under threat if he loses this vote.

That is why on Monday, instead of bowing to calls to recall Parliament to discuss the murder of a British hostage in the Middle East, he travelled to Aberdeen to love-bomb Scotland.

Mr Cameron said he would be "heartbroken" if the UK was divided, telling Scots he knew they did not like him but he would not be around forever.

But if the stakes are high for the Conservative leader, they are arguably higher for his Labour counterpart, who faces losing dozens of MPs and the hope of future majorities.

That is why Ed Miliband will be north of the border from now until after the vote.

As for Mr Clegg, an independent Scotland would lose him one fifth of his Parliamentary party.

Yet their challenge remains a steep one - a Yes campaign that has energy and momentum, and which has already persuaded a large proportion of Scots to change their mind.

Alex Salmond enters these final 24 hours with his life-long dream of independence in touching distance.

And remember, no one expected it to be this close.

If he just misses out, he will still be able to argue that his campaign pushed the opposition into placing on offer on the table with many more powers for the Scottish people.

With one day to go, Mr Salmond is, arguably, facing a win-win situation.

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Ryan Gosling And Eva Mendes Have Baby Girl

Actors Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling have become parents for the first time, but kept the birth secret for almost a week.

The couple gave birth to the baby girl on Friday September 12, according to US media.

The couple had also kept the news of Mendes's pregnancy to themselves for a long time, with the first reports emerging in July when she was already seven months pregnant.

Mendes, 40, has not been seen on the red carpet since February and had brushed off pregnancy rumours earlier this year.

At the time she said: "It's so ridiculous.

"It all started because I didn't want to go through the scanners at the airport. You know those X-ray scanners which are really creepy? They basically see you naked, right?

"And, not only that, but there's a radiation aspect to it so I always opt out."

Mendes, who made her name in the 2001 blockbuster Training Day, has been dating The Notebook star Gosling, 33, for three years.

Both played parents in the film The Place Beyond The Pines last year.

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Fireball Was Russian Spy Satellite, Experts Say

Military experts believe a mystery object spotted streaking across the sky over the US was a Russian spy satellite.

More than three dozen witnesses reported seeing a bright object that broke apart into three "rocks" with glowing red and orange streaks as it moved northward over the Rocky Mountains on September 2.

Russia has denied claims that the fireball spotted at 10.30pm was a piece of the Cosmos 2495 satellite, which was designed to shoot reconnaissance photos and send them back to Earth in capsules. 

But Mike Hankey from the American Meteor Society said a meteor would have burned up too quickly to be seen over such a large area, while fragments from the unidentified object were big enough to show up as a weather event on radar east of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Charles Vick, an aerospace analyst with military information website Globalsecurity.org agreed that the object was probably a piece of the Russian satellite, which was launched in May.

The mystery fireball was spotted blazing across the Rockies

Globalsecurity.org's director John Pike said Russia continues to spy on similar targets to those it focused on during the Cold War.

"Deployed hardware, airplanes, ships, tanks, factories, new intelligence facilities, all that stuff," he said.

"They're looking for the same things that our spy satellites are looking for."

The US Strategic Command, responsible for American nuclear war fighting forces, confirmed that Cosmos 2495 re-entered the atmosphere and was removed from the US satellite catalogue on September 3. 

Russia's defence ministry denied the claims and said its military satellites had been operating normally.

A spokesman said: "One can only guess about the condition representatives of the so-called American Meteor Society were in when they identified a luminescent phenomenon high up in the sky as a Russian military satellite." 

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Wearing A 'No' T-Shirt In Scotland's 'Yes City'

How Facebook Shaped The Referendum

Updated: 8:27am UK, Tuesday 16 September 2014

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

It's Facebook 'wot might win it.

Sure, the August poll surge in support for independence was down, in part, to traditional campaigning. Meetings and megaphones have thrust the Yes campaign "in yer face" over years leading up to Thursday.

But why, according to the opinion polls, did it all seem to come together in the space of a few weeks? Why, suddenly, the knife-edge?

In the word of a senior Yes strategist: Facebook.

I chatted to him as the Alex Salmond Labour Heartland tour rolled up at its latest venue, playing to the target market through the TV cameras. It was a big, well-attended, photo-call - the staple diet of the political campaign.

As the strategist stood back from the madding crowd, he told me that the magic formula didn't lie in the blood and snotters of a mass media scrum, but in the quiet exploitation of social media. Facebook, in particular.

The challenge for supporters of Scottish independence, historically, has been in turning it from a fringe notion into something people allow themselves to contemplate. Check their election success at the Scottish Parliament to see the considerable style with which that's been accomplished.

Scots have taken the hop and a step. Why, now, might they be shaping to take the jump? 

The Yes strategist pinned it on Facebook.

"Ask yourself," he said, to paraphrase him, "if a parent wants to check on their youngster who's on a night out, what do they do?  They don't phone them, because they probably won't answer.

"They might text ... but, invariably, they'll Facebook them. And when they do, dozens or hundreds of their friends will see it. It's a chat network that plugs people into the other people they value. There are no better opinion-formers for someone than the friends and family they like and trust.

"So, as a campaigning tool, it's been very effective. We encourage Yes supporters to spread the word to their Facebook friends and, over time, you build a network around people that builds a political case.

"Facebook is more effective than Twitter. You put something on Twitter and you reach people within the political bubble. With Facebook, you tap into a far bigger community."

So why the spike in support for Yes after polls that had No with a consistent and strong lead over the course of a two and a half year campaign?

"People just didn't turn their mind to the referendum until it actually came round. It's been in the far distance for most of the campaign but, now that people realise they're getting to decision time, large numbers are now weighing up the arguments ... and they're deciding having had their views on independence softened by Facebook friends."

There were more than 10 million referendum-related interactions on Facebook in the five weeks to September 8 - 85% of which was from Scotland.

He said he reckoned the Yes campaign had been four or five times more active than their opponents on Facebook and pointed out a Facebook chat with Scotland's pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond attracted around 5,000 questions.

Data suggests the Yes campaign is slightly in the lead with 2.05 interactions in Scotland compared to 1.96 million for the no campaign.

The strategist said the campaigning beauty of social media was that it eliminated the need to rely on mainstream media coverage, that the likes of Facebook cut out the middle man and enabled them to reach out to the voter directly.

Just how many the campaign has touched and what effect it has had, we'll find out soon enough.

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Brown Urges Scottish 'Patriots' To Vote 'No'

Gordon Brown has issued a final rallying cry for the No campaign, urging voters to tell nationalists to keep their hands off Scotland because "it belongs to all of us".

In what political commentators were calling the "speech of his life", Mr Brown set out a "patriotic vision" for the future as both sides attempted to sway undecided voters with just a day to go before going to the polls.

At a rally in Glasgow, Mr Brown said the No campaign was "proud of our Scottish identity, proud of our distinctive Scottish institutions, proud of our Scottish parliament, which we, not the Scottish National Party, created".

"Our patriotic vision is up against a nationalist vision that only has one aim in mind - to break up every single constitutional and political link with our friends and neighbours," he said.

Both sides have been out in force with the race effectively neck-and-neck as it moved into its final hours.

Three polls have put the No campaign ahead at 52% with the Yes campaign coming in on 48%. But there are a huge number of undecided voters and with turn-out expected to be as high as 90% - swaying the "don't knows" is key.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is expected to make his final case for independence in a speech in Perth this evening.

Both teams have had supporters out campaigning overnight.

The campaigns reach the endgame

There have been allegations of intimidation on the final day of campaigning, with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg saying he had heard of "some pretty nasty incidents and some pretty extraordinary things said".

Alistair Darling, who has led the No campaign, said some of the "nastiness going on in this campaign, is to suggest that somehow you can only be Scottish if you support Alex Salmond".

David Cameron said he has been "disturbed" by some of the claims of intimidation.

Ed Miliband was jostled in Edinburgh

On Tuesday, Ed Miliband had to cut short a visit to a shopping centre in Edinburgh after he was jostled by Yes campaign supporters. He had been expected to attend the Glasgow rally but it was confirmed on Wednesday morning he would not.

But Mr Salmond has rejected claims of campaign intimidation. Sky's Adam Boulton said: "Alex Salmond said to me last night that there were some nutters on all sides although he condemned what had gone on.

"I think most impartial observers would say on the Yes side it has been very boisterous and very loud, that some people have seen that sort of behaviour as intimidating and I certainly think there are quite a lot of shy No voters out there who don't want to say publicly how they will vote."

Alex Salmond with Adam Boulton

Speaking on his LBC radio show, Mr Clegg said: "Scotland will need to rediscover its sense of community and togetherness and solidarity where people who are divided in their opinions on this referendum need to work together, live together, live side by side together after tomorrow.

"It's very important that things are not said and done now which will make that... community-wide need to... live and work together harder later."

The police have said it has been a peaceful campaign, however, there are fears that with a number of pubs due to stay open during the night on Thursday, there could be some outbreaks.

In other developments:

:: A poll for Sky News shows that 61% of Scots are unclear about what the new powers the three main party leaders have promised actually are

:: There is growing anger among English MPs over the powers being given away to Scotland and calls for an English parliament

:: Mr Cameron says he will not resign if there is a Yes vote - a verdict on his performance will come at the General Election

:: Millions of pounds have been moved to Scotland amid fears of a run on the banks in the event of a Yes vote

:: Bill Clinton has urged the country to vote to stay in the UK

:: After the apparently prophetic cloud which looked like the UK with no Scotland a piece of battered chicken has emerged from a KFC bucket in the same shape

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