Veiled Muslim Slams MPs For 'Public Hysteria

By Hind Hassan, Sky News Reporter

A woman who wears the niqab has accused UK politicians of whipping up public hysteria against the Islamic face veil.

Sahar al Faifi says comments such as those by Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, Liberal Democrat MP Jeremy Browne and Labour MP Jack Straw are irresponsible and make women who cover their face a target of anti-Muslim sentiment.

The 28-year-old said: "We are the victims in the street because of these politicians who made it so normal and so ok to be anti-Muslim."

When asked about the kind of abuse she had received, Ms al Faifi said: "They will call me funny stuff like ninja or even Batman, or say go back to your country. Sometimes it's physical and they'll try to take it off."

Ms al Faifi works as a molecular geneticist in Cardiff and is a community activist. She has worn the niqab for 14 years and doesn't fit the stereotype of a woman oppressed by her full veil.

She said: "Negative prejudices are promoted as facts among the wider British society ... and it's not true. Have you ever interacted or talked to a woman in niqab rather than talking on her behalf?"

While she gets on with her life, she can't understand why others view the niqab as a threat.

"It's an action that Muslim women believe in as an act of modesty to get closer to God. It's a religious symbol, it is not an oppressive symbol, it's not a barrier, it's an act of worship," she said.

"Most of the women here in Britain wear it out of their personal choice and deep beliefs, there's no one who can force them and if so there are certain laws and policies that prevents that."

According to Ms al Faifi, it's a fear of the unknown, rather than the face veil, that creates divisions.

"The niqab is different. I'm not trying to say I look like other people, but we are here in Britain. Multifaith and multiculture is part of civil society, yes I'm different but what's wrong with being different?"

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Manchester Is 'The Winner Of Immigration'

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent

Britain's cultural make-up can only benefit from immigration, according to academics who say history proves that migration is good for the country.

Language, the arts, fashion, architecture and food are just some of the areas that have been influenced by the scores of nationalities which have arrived in Britain in the last century, according to Dr James Hopkins from Manchester University.

In Manchester, where more than 200 languages are spoken, the cultural fabric of the city is changing constantly.

"We are the winners from immigration, there's no doubt about that," said Dr Hopkins.

"Immigration has built cities like Manchester and migrants have brought skills but much, much more.

"They have brought the foods they love and the types of clothes they wear and they have influenced what we all chose to do in our own lives."

Manchester's Chinatown

There is also evidence that the recent influx of migrants from eastern European nations like Poland and Slovakia is already changing musical tastes.

Matt Ward of Piccadilly Records said: "People are meeting new people all the time and to understand more about where they are from they are turning to the music of that country. This is bringing people together in the more amazing way."

But it is perhaps tastes in food, which have been shaped by traditions and ingredients commonly used overseas, that have changed the most.

The Barbakan Delicatessen

In the Barbakan Delicatessen, founded more than 40 years ago and now one of Britain's oldest delis, they sell 45 different types of bread and attract all types of nationalities.

Owner Stefan Najuch said: "The Poles aren't just eating polish food, the Italians aren't just eating in Italian restaurants - they're all eating across the board.

"This is all because of immigration, it's great and it's great for business."

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Oxfordshire: Fire At Immigration Detention Centre

Two men have been taken to hospital after a fire at an immigration detention centre in Oxfordshire, the Home Office says.

The cause of the blaze at the privately-run Campsfield House centre in Kidlington is not yet known.

A Home Office spokesman said around half the detainees were being moved to other centres because of damage to the building.

The spokesman added: "All the detainees have been accounted for and two male detainees are now in hospital.

"The cause of the fire is being investigated by police and the fire service." 

Campsfield can hold over 200 detainees

The blaze started at 9pm on Friday night in one of the three blocks that make up the centre and was brought under control by midnight.

Ten fire engines were sent to put it out.

Campsfield is a long-term centre where male detainees are kept pending the outcome of their immigration case and subsequent removal.

It is run by MITIE and has space for 216 beds.

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Third-Class Trains Plan 'Must Be Stopped'

Rail union bosses and the Labour Party have reacted angrily to a leaked document which says third-class travel may be poised to return.

The return of the three-tier system - last seen on UK railways in 1956 - has been proposed for the East Coast Main Line to London and Aberdeen in a draft prospectus for would-be private bidders interested in taking on the franchise from the Government.

The document gives bidders the option of establishing an "intermediate class between Standard and First", paving the way to three classes of travel on East Coast.

It has led to accusations that the Government is turning the clock back 60 years.

Shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh said: "David Cameron should tackle his Government's cost of living crisis and cap rail fare rises for struggling commuters, instead of obsessing about handing East Coast over to the private sector.

"East Coast is working well and will have returned £800m to the taxpayer by the end of this financial year.

"David Cameron says we're all in this together, but if that's true then why is he going back to the 1950s and reintroducing third class? East Coast passengers deserve better than this.

Mr Crow described the leaked document as 'political dynamite'

"This Government has learned nothing from the West Coast franchising fiasco, which saw over £50m of taxpayers' money wasted in compensation to train companies, through ministers' incompetence."

RMT general secretary Bob Crow described the leaked document as "political dynamite which blows the lid off the lengths to which the Government are prepared to go to bulldoze through re-privatisation".

"The fact that the public option is putting over a billion pounds back into the Treasury, while improving services and delivering more capacity, has been cynically airbrushed out of the final document in a disgraceful piece of political chicanery which must be called in for scrutiny to hold back this full-tilt dash for privatisation," he said.

"If the Government are allowed to get away with this, passengers can expect third-class services, shoddy performance and higher fares while the private companies get a gold-plated, 11-year franchise that will enable them to launder hundreds of millions of pounds into the pockets of their shareholders. It stinks and it must be stopped."

But a Transport Department spokesman accused the RMT of "ill-informed scaremongering".

"By choosing to release inaccurate information, they are misleading the public," he added.

"We have no intention of requiring a 'third class' service, reducing performance levels, or in any way devaluing this vital railway.

"As the independent Brown Review concluded, franchising works for passengers and taxpayers alike."

East Coast has been in the public sector since autumn 2009 but is due to return to private ownership in early 2015.

The union also claims the prospectus redacts sections highlighting the good punctuality and performance of the service under public ownership.

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Felix Dexter: Real McCoy Star Dies From Cancer

Real McCoy star Felix Dexter has died at the age of 52 following a battle with multiple myeloma - a type of bone marrow cancer.

He came to prominence in the flagship black comedy and was once named Time Out comedian of the year.

Felix Dexter enjoyed a long career in stand-up comedy

He went on to work in BBC comedies The Fast Show, Absolutely Fabulous and most recently Citizen Khan.

Fellow comedians, colleagues and friends paid tribute to him on Twitter - calling him "one of our British kings of comedy".

Comedian David Baddiel wrote: "Felix Dexter? Doesn't seem possible. Very funny, very gentle man: his death is a real loss to comedy."

Comedian Bill Bailey said: "Very said news about my old friend Felix Dexter. A brilliant comedian, a superb comic actor, a lovely man I feel privileged to have known."

Dexter, who was born in St Kitts and moved to the UK when he was seven, studied law before entering the stand-up circuit.

Later he featured in Have I Got News You and Grumpy Old Men, as well as Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge.

As an actor, he had parts in Casualty and the Bill and appeared in the West End alongside Christian Slater.

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Malala To Be Reunited With Friends From Attack

The Pakistani schoolgirl who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban will be reunited today with two friends injured in the same attack.

Malala Yousafzai, 16, was travelling on a school bus in October last year through Pakistan's Swat Valley when she was shot in the head by Taliban fighters.

The extremist group was unhappy with her views on education and women's rights.

She has since become a global icon and narrowly missed out on winning the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month.

Malala in hospital after the Taliban attack (pic, handout)

Malala will be joined by school friends Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan – who were also on the bus – when she speaks at Edinburgh University later today.

The 16-year-old is due to address the first public meeting of the Global Citizenship Commission, a body of leaders representing politics, religious institutions, law and philanthropy.

Her friends, Kainat and Shazia, are now studying in the UK and are in Edinburgh to promote their campaign for education in Pakistan.

Malala officially opens The Library of Birmingham

Malala is guest of honour at the meeting which is a joint initiative between former prime minister Gordon Brown, New York University and Carnegie UK Trust.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Brown, UN envoy for global education and MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, praised all three of the girls for their work.

"We all know of Malala's incredible courage, strength and determination, and I'm so pleased that she will be reunited with Shazia and Kainat, two young women equally determined that every girl and boy should enjoy the most basic of human rights: a secure, safe place at school," he said.

Malala presents the Queen with a copy of her book

The trio will later accompany Mr Brown at a topping-out ceremony for a new primary school in Burntisland, Fife.

Malala met the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on Friday during her visit to Buckingham Palace.

The teenager got a fit of the giggles after the Duke joked about why parents really sent their children to school.

"He said parents are tired of children, and that's why they send them to school, and I laughed," she said.

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Pyjamas 'Selfie' Led To Armed Robbers' Capture

A gang of armed robbers were caught when one of them posed for photos dressed in the same pair of cartoon sheep pyjama bottoms he had worn during one of the raids.

The men created a Blackberry Messenger group called Armed Robbers and took several pictures of themselves, including one showing one of them wearing a balaclava and posing with a handgun, a police spokesman said.

Terry Sullivan, 24, Thomas Balderston, 24, and Christopher Heath, 31, all of Ernest Road, Chatham, and Christopher Aldred, 23, of Kellaway Road, Chatham, were convicted at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.

Their desire to parade themselves as gangsters led to their arrest

They terrified staff in seven newsagents in Kent and Sussex by wearing balaclavas, brandishing knives, and in some instances a handgun, stealing money from the safe and taking cigarettes, scratch cards and stamps between April and June last year.

Police said they also attacked a house in Boston, Lincolnshire, with the intention of stealing from the owner but she fought them off and they fled the scene.

A Kent Police spokesman said: "Despite trying to avoid detection some of the men could not keep their actions to themselves, creating a Blackberry Messenger group named Armed Robbers and taking numerous 'selfies', one of which showed them posing with a handgun."

Thomas Balderston and Terry Sullivan

Detectives raided Sullivan's home and found images on his mobile phone of him posing in the same bright blue pyjama bottoms, covered with pictures of cartoon sheep, worn in one of the robberies.

Officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate arrested the men who were charged with possessing a firearm with the intention of committing an offence and conspiracy to rob.

Heath and Sullivan admitted their guilt at Maidstone Crown Court and Balderston and Aldred were found guilty following a trial.

Detective sergeant Andy Nicoll said: "The crimes carried out by these four men were violent and often terrified the victims.

Christopher Aldred and Christopher Heath

"The offenders were forceful, threatening and brazen and left the staff in those shops feeling that if they did not comply, then serious harm would come to them.

"Despite showing a level of forensic awareness some of the men became sloppy, taking selfies on their mobile phones.

"Whether this was narcissistic or not, it became their downfall and before long there was a wealth of unquestionable evidence stacking up against them.

"The men's desire to parade themselves as gangsters ultimately led them to jail."

The gang will be sentenced next month.

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Mobo: Music Stars Battle It Out For Awards

Music stars Jessie J, Rudimental and Rita Ora are in the running to win tonight at the 18th anniversary of the Mobo Awards.

The ceremony will feature performances by Naughty Boy, So Solid Crew and Tinie Tempah and will be hosted by BBC 1Xtra's Trevor Nelson and Sarah-Jane Crawford.

Jessie J, Jessie Ware, Laura Mvula and Rita Ora are all up for the Best Female title while Disclosure, Rudimental, Wiley, Wretch 32 and Naughty Boy will battle it out for the Best Male gong.

Jessie J is in the Best Female category

Laura Mvula shares the greatest number of nominations with Wiley and both will come head to head in the Best Album category.

Mvula has also been shortlisted for Best RnB/Soul act and Best Video while Wiley is also in the Best UK Hip Hop/Grime act and Best Song for Reloaded category.

AlunaGeorge will take to the stage with their song Attracting Flies, the track which has landed the electro pop duo on the Mobo short list for Best Video.

Rudimental are up for Best Male

There will also be a "hotly anticipated" performance of the Cloud 9 collaboration between Ms Dynamite and Shy FX which will be accompanied by a sea of carnival dancers, organisers have said.

Kanya King, Mobo Awards founder and CEO, said: "We're thrilled at this year's diverse line-up and the additional two, exciting and unique performances.

"Mobo is all about diversity and this is the perfect mix of long-standing and new UK talent paving the way forward for UK music."

The event takes place in Scotland's newest and largest indoor entertainment venue The Hydro.

This is the third time the Mobo Awards have taken place in Glasgow and the first time at the £125m venue, which opened with a series of Rod Stewart gigs less than a month ago.

The arena has a capacity of 13,000 and will welcome around 140 events a year including sports fixtures during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

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Boy Sought Over University Sex Attacks

Police have said a boy, who could be as young as 12, may be responsible for a string of sex attacks around a university campus.

Two of the assaults happened on the same day, within 15 minutes of each other, and a third happened around two weeks later.

Greater Manchester Police are linking the attacks which have taken place in the last month near The University of Manchester and have released an evofit of the youngster they are looking for.

Police on Saturday said the attacker's young age made the assaults "very worrying" and dismissed the idea that they may have been a prank.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Larkin said: "While we cannot be precise about the offender's age, we believe from the descriptions given to us by the women he assaulted that he was between 12 and 15-years-old, and it is obviously very unusual and very worrying that someone someone so young is committing such appalling attacks on women.

"What we can be certain about is that the women are traumatised as a result of what happened and are being offered support by specially trained officers.

"Whatever the young boy's motivation, this is not a practical joke or a prank.

"His actions are disturbing and he has caused the three women he assaulted a lot of upset. That is why it is so important we find whomever is responsible.

"We cannot allow these sexual assaults to escalate and we need to find him."

The first two attacks took place within 15 minutes of each other on Saturday September 21.

A 27-year-old was approached from behind and grabbed in Lloyd Street North at 6.15pm before she screamed and the offender ran off.

The next incident followed in Oxford Road, close to the old BBC building, when a 21-year-old woman was approached by a boy who made lewd comments.

She carried on walking on Moss Lane East and was sexually assaulted by her assailant who was described as a young Asian boy aged 12 who wore green jeans and glasses.

The third attack took place at the Manchester Science Park in Lloyd Street North at about 2.15pm on Saturday October 5.

A 32-year-old woman was approached by two young boys and sexually assaulted by one of them described as being Asian, 12 to 13 years old, of slim build, with a small frame who wore baggy trousers and carried a rucksack on his back.

She pushed the boy away but he approached her again and sexually assaulted her for a second time before running off towards Pencroft Way in company with the second child, also described as a young Asian boy.

Anyone with information should phone police on 0161 856 4223 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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Titanic Violin Sells For Record £900,000

The violin famously played by the Titanic's bandmaster as the liner sank beneath the waves has sold for a world record price of £900,000 at auction.

Wallace Hartley has become part of the doomed ship's legend after leading his fellow musicians in playing as the vessel went down, most famously the hymn Nearer My God To Thee.

Hartley and his seven fellow band members all died in the tragedy on April 14 1912, when the cruiser hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank, killing 1,500 people.

His violin, which had been a gift from his fiancee Maria Robinson, was apparently found in a case strapped to his body when it was recovered from the icy waters.

Its re-emergence in 2006, when it was reportedly discovered in an attic in Yorkshire, prompted heated debate over its authenticity.

An engraving from Wallace Hartley's fiance Maria Robinson on the violin

Titanic specialist auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son say nearly seven years of research and tests have proved it to be the genuine article.

Now the violin - accompanied by a leather luggage case initialed WHH - has been sold alongside a host of items from the ship at an auction in Devizes, Wiltshire.

Andrew Aldridge, a valuer with the auctioneer, said worldwide interest in the instrument meant it was likely to break the world record fee for a single piece of memorabilia from the Titanic.

The violin had a reserve price of between £200,000 and £300,000, but sold for triple that amount.

Mr Aldridge said: "It symbolises love, with a young man strapping it to his body because it was an engagement present from his fiancee. It also epitomises bravery. He knew there would be no lifeboats.

"It symbolises everything that's good about people, not just Wallace Hartley and his band, but all the men, women and children who lost their lives."

A photograph showing bodies being buried at sea could fetch £5,000

The previous record sale saw a 32ft plan of the Titanic used in the 1912 inquiry into the sinking of the ship fetch £220,000 two years ago.

The violin has been on exhibition at Titanic museums in the US and Northern Ireland.

Mr Aldridge also took the violin to Mr Hartley's hometown of Dewsbury, Yorkshire, this week ahead of its sale.

"I hope it stays in the UK and goes on exhibition," he said. "There have buyers in the UK but also in the US and Asia so it could go anywhere."

Among the other items on sale is a photograph showing victims being buried at sea.

The black and white image of bodies in sacks piled three high on deck is expected to fetch up to £5,000.

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