British Troops Going Back To Iraq For IS Fight

Britain is sending troops back to Iraq to help local forces in the battle against Islamic State militants, the Defence Secretary has confirmed.

Michael Fallon said the UK was "stepping up" its military presence in the country, with its forces to offer further training to Iraqi soldiers and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

It comes after a "small specialist" team was sent to instruct Peshmerga in the northern city of Irbil last month.

Mr Fallon, who visited British army trainers teaching Peshmerga fighters how to use heavy machine guns given by Britain, insisted that no combat troops will be deployed to Iraq.

He said the latest move would see UK troops teaching Kurds infantry skills such as sharp-shooting and first aid, while more equipment will be provided.

The UK will also send advisory personnel to Iraqi headquarters.

There have been growing calls to provide more assistance to new Iraqi prime minister Haider al Abadi as his country's forces struggle to reclaim territory from IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in the north and west.

Britain took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein

Mr Fallon held talks in Baghdad with the PM and Iraqi security advisers, before flying north to Irbil to met the President of the Kurdistan regional government Masoud Barzani and prime minister Nechirvan Barzani.

"The need is now," he said.

Video: How Is Islamic State Funded?

"It's a very immediate challenge from ISIL. As they start to push ISIL back out of the villages and towns that ISIL have gone into they are going to need this kind of assistance with roadside bombs, particularly to counter the terror tactics that Isil have been using.

"So, we are looking very urgently now how we can get more training help to them in the next few weeks."

Asked about concerns of mission creep, he said: "This is a very limited mission.

"The Prime Minister's made it very, very clear we are not going to recommit combat troops to Iraq. We've been there, we've done that.

"What we are going to do is to help the new government of Iraq and its own army take the fight to Isil through the aircraft we have deployed in the sky, through intelligence gathering, and through specialist training."

British troops took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq that overthrew Saddam Hussein, and later took responsibility for Basra and the south of the country.

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Funeral For 'All Round Legend' Jack Bruce

Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker have said goodbye to their former Cream bandmate Jack Bruce at a funeral full of music.

The stars were among mourners, who also included Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera and Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, who paid tribute to Bruce who died from liver disease 11 days ago.

The service for the Scottish-born bass player and singer was held at Golders Green Crematorium in north London.

Bruce, 71, was most famous for his role in the 1960s supergroup Cream, along with Baker and Clapton, who created enduring tracks such as White Room, Sunshine Of Your Love, I Feel Free and Badge.

The trio reformed for a series of shows in 2005, which included dates at the Royal Albert Hall.

The guests sang Morning Has Broken, the Beatles hit Strawberry Fields Forever and Bruce's track Theme For An Imaginary Western to honour the man who was described in the order of service as a "beloved husband, father, granddad and all round legend".

His friend and Cream lyricist Pete Brown shared reminiscences during the funeral, which also included contributions from Bruce's son Malcolm, daughters Natasha and Kyla, a poem written by another son Corin and a tribute from his wife Margrit.

One of the late musician's bass guitars was displayed prominently, flanked by floral displays shaped like the bass clef motif, which was also pictured on the front of the order of service.

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EU Migrants Pay In More Than They Take - Study

EU migrants contribute more to the UK in taxes than they receive in benefits and services, according to new research.

But the study showed those arriving from outside Europe over a 17-year period took more from the public purse than they put back in.

The findings come as David Cameron moves to tighten the UK's immigration controls by limited EU migration in the face of the growing popularity of UKIP.

The Prime Minister is aware of the need to calm Tory jitters ahead of this month's crunch by-election in Rochester and Strood, where the party is desperate to prevent a second seat falling to UKIP.

The University College London (UCL) report revealed European immigrants made a positive financial contribution of £4.4bn to the UK between 1995 and 2011.

Video: Immigration: Study Out Of Date

However, immigrants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) made a negative contribution of £118bn.

Over the same period, UK-born workers made a negative contribution of £591bn.

The figures improved for more recent arrivals with EU migrants between 2001-11 making a positive contribution of £20bn, and those from outside Europe £5bn.

Professor Christian Dustmann, director of UCL's Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (Cream) and co-author of the study, said: "A key concern in the public debate on migration is whether immigrants contribute their fair share to the tax and welfare systems.

"Our new analysis draws a positive picture of the overall fiscal contribution made by recent immigrant cohorts, particularly of immigrants arriving from the EU."

He added: "European immigrants, particularly, both from the new accession countries and the rest of the European Union, make the most substantial contributions.

"This is mainly down to their higher average labour market participation compared with natives and their lower receipt of welfare benefits."

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire told Sky News the focus of the report was too narrow and not up-to-date. 

Video: Report: Migrants Boost UK Economy

He said: "In respect of the time period that it talks to, it ends in 2011 whereas we have seen the pressure from EU migration - net migration, those who are coming versus those who are going out - over the course of the last 18 months it has more than doubled during that period.

"It also does not take into account pressure on schools, roads, housing services, those things that really matter to people in their communities."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the report showed the balance on immigration was wrong and there needed to be proper border controls but that Britain must remain an "open economy".

He told ITV's Lorraine programme: "If we were simply to turn our back on the world, which is what UKIP and the Conservative Party and others want, as a country we would be poorer."

UKIP Migration spokesman MEP Steven Woolfe, said: "What this study doesn't do is to show what wealth our own people could have generated if they weren't subjected to wage-reducing, employment-displacing mass immigration from the EU. Nor does it truly take into account the opportunity costs to the UK of substituting large sections of Britain's workforce with migrant labour."

Responding to the report, chairman of the MigrationWatch UK think tank Sir Andrew Green said: "This report confirms that immigration as a whole has cost up to £150bn in the last 17 years.

"As for recent European migrants, even on their own figures - which we dispute - their contribution to the exchequer amounts to less than £1 a week per head of our population."

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Philadelphia Abduction: Suspect Uses Cash Card

A cash card belonging to a woman abducted from a Philadelphia street has been used at a cashpoint 75 miles (120km) away in Maryland.

Police released grainy CCTV images of a man using the card nine hours after 22-year-old Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was kidnapped the night before.

The suspect is described as a black male wearing a hoody

The pictures show a black male in a hoody withdrawing money from a Harford County cash machine near a sliproad for the city of Aberdeen.

"Fresh lead that we're working on right now is that Carlesha's ATM card was used at a standalone bank in Aberdeen, Maryland," said Dennis Wilson, Chief Inspector of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Video: Woman's Abduction Caught On CCTV

Detectives are trying to digitally enhance the video in the hope the suspect can be recognised.

In a tearful appeal at a news conference, Ms Freeland-Gaither's grandmother pleaded for her safe return.

"We love her. And we just want her to be returned to us safely. Safely. That's all we want," she said.

To her daughter, Keisha Gaither said, "All you got to do is just get out. I got you. Just come home. Just come home.

"I love you.... The whole entire family... Your whole world loves Carlesha," she added.

Ms Freeland-Gaither's abduction on Sunday night was caught on a security camera.

The video shows the nurse as she is approached by a man who drags her down the street and bundles her into a car after a fierce struggle. Police do not believe she knew her assailant.

Police spokesman, Lieutenant John Stanford, said: "Based on how this young lady is fighting, it looks like she's fighting for her life."

Her glasses and mobile phone were found lying on the street nearby.

The FBI has put up a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her abductor.

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Children's Mental Health Services A 'Disgrace'

Vulnerable young people are being put at risk because of "serious and deeply ingrained problems" in children's mental health services, MPs have warned.

The Health Select Committee report said there are "major problems" accessing inpatient mental health services, with families facing "battles" to have their children treated.

During the inquiry, MPs heard evidence from children who spent months on a waiting list for treatment, while some services admitted they were so overwhelmed that they treated a child only once they had seriously self-harmed.

Children as young as 12 were being held in police cells overnight because of a lack of out-of-hours services, while others were being admitted to mental health wards on the other side of the country, the report found.

Services in some parts of the country have reported up to a 25% increase in the amount of children and young people looking for help.

Dr Sarah Wollaston MP said cyber-bullying and sexting needs to be addressed

Dr Sarah Wollaston, chair of the committee, said the growing threat of sexting, cyber-bullying and graphic online content to children's mental health needs to be addressed.

She said: "Not only do we have a shortage of prevalence data but we have an issue around the data about the provision of services.

"It is a disgrace that we don't have provision data on children's mental health services.

"What we do have is information from all the people we've heard from that there has been an increase in referrals and new issues have arisen around the impact on children's mental health with new technology and the challenges around the online environment that children face, like cyberbullying and sexting."

The report said: "There are serious and deeply ingrained problems with the commissioning and provision of children's and adolescents' mental health services.

"These run through the whole system from prevention and early intervention through to inpatient services for the most vulnerable young people."

NHS England has said that 6% of the mental health budget is spent on children, despite half of all adult mental health problems starting before the age of 14.

The report called on the Government to invest in services, particularly early intervention measures.

Peter Liver, director of ChildLine, said: "These findings do not come as a surprise to us here at ChildLine. We have held over 34,000 counselling sessions with young people this year who have told us they have suicidal thoughts.

"Children are telling us they feel unable to ask for help from anyone else and we need to ensure they know they are not alone."

Norman Lamb, care and support minister, said a task force had been launched to improve services and a new waiting time standard would be introduced.

He said: "I strongly welcome this report, which will support our work and the work of the task force to make sure children and young people's services get the priority they deserve."

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Jailed Pastor's Daughter Held In China

By Sky News Beijing Team

The daughter of a jailed Chinese Christian pastor has been detained by authorities in what her husband claims is an attempt to silence her ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Zhang Shanshan is the daughter of Pastor Zhang Shaojie, the leader of Nanle County Church in China's Henan Province, who was arrested in November last year along with 23 of his parishioners.

Pastor Zhang was sentenced to 12 years in jail for "gathering crowds to disturb public order" and "fraud", after a secret detention spanning seven months.

His case has pitted a Christian community against the local government in a dispute over freedom to worship and the right to own land.

Sky News has learned that Ms Zhang was taken away by unknown men at around 11am on Wednesday while she was grocery shopping in her hometown.

Her husband, Hah CheeChuan, a Malaysian national, called her repeatedly when she failed to return home but there was no answer.

Ms Zhang eventually called back, and managed to shout the name of the hotel in which she was being held.

Minutes later Mr Hah received a text message from his wife saying: "Nanle Hotel, help me!"

A series of text messages between husband and wife then revealed that two other women were also being held in the same hotel.

One of them was Ms Zhang's aunt and the other was church leader Fan Ruizhen. It is believed the local government wanted to demolish their church before Ms Fan could be released.

Nanle County Church in Henan Province

Ms Zhang's husband told Sky News that he believed his wife was detained because the local government feared she would try to publicise her father's "unjust" arrest while world leaders were in China for the APEC summit.

He said: "They tried to cover up the ugly things in the country, and they don't want the outside world to know what is going on in China.

Video: Jailed Chinese Pastor's Family Flee

"So I think that's why they've arrested them, and put them somewhere else."

US President Barack Obama, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among world leaders scheduled to attend the meeting.

The US government is aware of Pastor Zhang's case.

In July, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: "I want to express deep concern by the United States by reports that Zhang Shaojie was convicted 4 July and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in retaliation for his peaceful advocacy on behalf of his church community.

"We call on Chinese authorities to release Pastor Zhang and we urge China to cease harassment of his family members and congregants."

Video: China's Christian Challenge

The hostility and danger faced by some Chinese Christians was witnessed by Sky News in December last year.

A Sky News crew was attacked by a group of local people believed to have been hired by the government as they investigated Pastor Zhang's arrest. Sky News was removed by force from the town and told not to return.

The team secured a secret meeting with Pastor Zhang's other daughter Zhang Huixin, who was in hiding with her baby daughter. She described the violent arrest of her father.

Earlier this year Zhang Huixin - also known as Yunyun - and her husband escaped from China with their baby daughter, and sought shelter in the US state of Texas.

Despite the constitutional rights to religious freedom, China's Christians are among a number of religious groups persecuted by the authorities.

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Flood Defences At Risk With Funding Squeeze

A lack of cash for flood defences is increasing the risk of serious problems in many areas if winter storms hit, a spending watchdog has warned.

The National Audit Office (NAO) says half of the country's flood defences - more than 1,300 schemes - are only being maintained to a "minimal level".

But the Government insists there has been a real-term increase in flood defence funding.

Somerset was particularly hard-hit by the winter floods

Whitehall made an extra £270m available following the winter storms last year, which saw widespread flooding during the wettest winter on record, including an additional £35m in each of the next two years for maintaining defences.

The NAO report said the additional money restored funding for maintaining defences to 2010-11 levels in cash terms.

Video: Feb 21: UK Flooding View From Above

But in real terms - adjusted for inflation - the report found it represented a 6% drop in spending for maintenance since the Tory-led coalition took office.

Without the extra cash from the Government following the winter floods, total funding for flood protection has fallen by 10% since 2010.

While the Environment Agency has improved efficiency, the increased risk of extreme weather events as a result of climate change means current budgets will be under pressure, the NAO said.

The winter storms flooded 7,700 homes and 3,200 commercial properties, as well as cutting off power to hundreds of thousands more households and flooding 49,000 hectares of agricultural land, with areas such as the Somerset Levels particularly badly hit.

Video: Flood-Hit Family Put Home On Stilts

Responding to the report, chairwoman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee Margaret Hodge, said: "I am deeply concerned that current levels of spending are not enough to maintain flood protection, with five million homes at risk of flooding and people's livelihoods in jeopardy.

"It is alarming that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has cut spending on flood protection by 10% between 2011-12 and 2014-15 and it had to react with an emergency bailout of £270m following the winter floods in 2013."

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: "The agency, as it recognises, will need to make difficult decisions about whether to continue maintaining assets in some areas or let them lapse, increasing in future both the risk of floods and the potential need for more expensive ad-hoc emergency solutions."

But Floods Minister Dan Rogerson said: "The NAO has drawn conclusions on funding based on inappropriate comparisons.

Video: Feb 11: Hammond Cornered On Floods

"We have invested £3.2bn in flood management and defences over the course of this parliament which is a real term increase and half a billion more than in the previous parliament.

"Not only are we spending more than ever before, but we are also ensuring that our investment strategy will deliver long-term value for money."

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Apple's Gold Smartwatch Could Cost Up To $5,000

Rumours have been swirling that Apple's gold smartwatch could cost as much as $5,000 (£3,150), according to senior company sources quoted by a French website.

The Cupertino firm is due to launch the new product line in spring next year, but details over how much each device will cost have been sparse.

Now iGen.fr - which covers Apple developments - says the high-end model with gold plating will set customers back up to $5,000.

However the stainless steel models will be easier on the wallet, according the site, costing $500 (£315).

Chief executive Tim Cook at the watch launch in September

The site is trusted by many Apple watchers as it correctly predicted the introduction of two iPhone 6 models earlier this year.

The watch was unveiled by Apple chief executive Tim Cook in September.

The company says it works as a health and fitness device with many of the same features as a smartphone - but crucially needs an accompanying iPhone to work.

According to many technology sources, Apple is unhappy with the battery life and is working on extending it before it is released.

One report said the battery will last a day on a single charge, while many rival devices last a week.

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Car Rams Pedestrians As Jerusalem Clashes Erupt

A driver has rammed his car into a crowd of pedestrians in East Jerusalem before getting out and attacking people with a metal bar - killing one and injuring 13.

The man was shot dead at the scene by police, who described the incident as a "hit-and-run terror attack".

"A commercial vehicle hit and ran over pedestrians at a light rail station," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

She indicated that the incident took place on the border between west and annexed East Jerusalem.

Emergency services spokesman Zaki Heller said the car had driven down the light rail tracks then ploughed into people waiting on the platform.

Video: Jerusalem Pedestrians Run Down

Police named the attacker as 38-year-old Palestinian Ibrahim al-Akri, who they said had recently been released from prison after serving time for security offences.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility by any Palestinian organisation but Hamas, the group which runs Gaza, praised the attack and called for more violence.

Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said: "We praise this heroic operation."

"We call for more such ... operations."

Video: Aftermath Of Jerusalem Car Attack

A similar attack took place in the same area on October 23.

It came as Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters at the city's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after hardline Jewish nationalists announced plans to visit the site despite weeks of soaring tensions.

Jordan announced it was recalling its ambassador to Israel in protest at the Jewish state's "violations" in Jerusalem and its holy sites.

Jordan's state news agency said the decision was taken "in protest at the increasing and unprecedented Israeli escalation in the Noble Sanctuary, and the repeated Israeli violations of Jerusalem".

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1. Gallery: Jerusalem: Fresh Clashes As Car Rams Crowd

   Israeli firefighters prepare to tow the vehicle of a Palestinian man at the scene of what police said appeared to be a deliberate attack on pedestrians in East Jerusalem

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man looks into the vehicle near the scene of the attack

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Juncker: 'I Don't Have A Problem' With Cameron

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has launched a fresh attack on David Cameron as the two continue to clash over the EU's £1.7bn demand.

Mr Juncker has said he doesn't "have a problem" with Mr Cameron but went on to accuse the Prime Minister of "having a problem" with other European leaders.

It comes after he said Mr Cameron and his Italian counterpart had mislead their citizens over budget talks with Brussels

Mr Juncker claimed what the Prime Minister said publicly about the EU demand for £1.7bn contradicted what was said to other leaders behind closed doors at last month's summit.

Mr Cameron has refused to pay the bill, making clear he believed the call for extra cash and ensuing row undermined support for British membership of the EU.

Video: Oct 27: EU Demand 'Not Acceptable'

The increase would add almost a fifth to the UK's annual contribution of £8.6bn.

Brussels responded by warning the UK would face "late payment fines" if it failed to hand over the cash - which reflects changes in the relative national income of different EU states - by the 1 December deadline.

However, on Wednesday, EU officials told Reuters EU finance ministers would be willing to allow Britain to pay the bill in interest-free instalments.

Referring to the October meeting, Mr Juncker told a European Parliament hearing: "I don't like the way that certain prime ministers behaved after the summit.

"I took notes and when I compared what they had said inside the room with what they said outside, they did not tally up."

In another news conference on Wednesday he compounded matters saying: "I don't have a problem with Mr Cameron, Mr Cameron has a problem with the other prime ministers," 

His comments are set to further sour relations with Mr Cameron, who bitterly opposed Mr Juncker's appointment as commission boss.

France is the biggest gainer from the recalculation of national contributions to EU budgets, and is due to receive one billion euro (£800m), while EU partners including the Netherlands, Italy, and even bailed-out Greece and Ireland face surcharges.

Video: EU Demand: Should UK Pay More?

Mr Juncker also took a sideswipe at the Italian leader Matteo Renzi, who vowed at the summit to make public the cost of European Union "palaces" in a row over Italy's budget projections, earning a sharp rebuke from then-Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

"I said to Matteo Renzi that I was not the leader of some gang of bureaucrats," Mr Juncker said.

"I am the president of the European Commission, a political institution, and I want prime ministers to respect these institutions."

He also suggested Rome was lucky to scrape through an initial review by Brussels of its 2015 budget despite running an excessive deficit.

He said: "If Barroso only listened to bureaucrats, Italy's budget would have been treated differently."

Mr Renzi took to Twitter to hit back at Mr Juncker, demanding respect from Brussels for his country.

He said: "I'm not going to go to Brussels to have what needs to be done explained to me, and I told Barroso and Juncker that."

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