Twilight Shooting Plot Foiled In Missouri

A man has been accused of plotting a shooting inside a cinema during a screening of the new Twilight film after his mother contacted police.

Blaec Lammers, 23, has been charged with first-degree assault, making a terrorist threat and armed criminal action.

His mother alerted police after fearing her son had purchased weapons similar to those used in a cinema shooting earlier this year in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

Bolivar Police Chief Steve Hamilton said: "Thankfully we had a responsible family member or we might have had a different outcome."

He said Lammers had been under a doctor's care for mental illness, while court documents said the suspect was "off of his medication".

Lammers' mother contacted authorities on Thursday, saying she worried that with this weekend's opening of the final film in the vampire series, her son "may have intentions of shooting people at the movie," police said.

She said she thought the weapons - two assault rifles and hundreds of bullets - resembled those used by the gunman who opened fire inside the Aurora cinema in July.

James Holmes, 24, is accused of killing 12 people in that attack.

Lammers told authorities he bought tickets for a screening of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 in Bolivar on Sunday and planned to shoot people inside the cinema.

He also planned to "just start shooting people at random" at a Walmart store less than a mile away, police said.

Lammers also stated he wanted to stab a Walmart employee to death and followed an employee around in a store before officers intervened in 2009, according to police.

He said he had purchased weapons and if he ran out of bullets, he would "just break the glass where the ammunition is being stored and get some more and keep shooting until police arrived".

Police said Lammers bought one firearm on Monday and another on Tuesday. He then went to the town of Aldrich to practise shooting because he "had never shot a gun before and wanted to make sure he knew how they shot and how they functioned".

Mr Hamilton said it appeared the suspect obtained the firearms legally but that police were continuing to investigate "to determine how in fact he was able to obtain a permit".

Ashley Miller, who lives in a nearby town, said she has known Lammers for about a year and described him as "one of the sweetest guys I had ever met" but "very emotional," noting he would periodically stop talking to her.

Lammers is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.

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Young Drivers 'Face Passenger Restrictions'

By Richard Suchet, Sky News Reporter

Young drivers could be banned from carrying passengers who are not members of their own family in a bid to cut the number of deaths on the roads.

More than 1,500 17 to 24-year-olds in the UK were killed or seriously injured while driving a car last year, according to the Department for Transport.

They accounted for 25% of all car deaths and injuries in 2011.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin told the Daily Telegraph he would consider measures put forward by the Association of British Insurers which could cut the number of accidents involving young motorists.

"There is a suggestion as to whether you should look at a restriction whether anyone could carry passengers for six or nine months when they have first passed their test," he said.

"There are suggestions about them only perhaps being allowed to take a family member to drive a car when you are learning, you have to have a qualified driver in the car. So these are all sorts of areas that I think we can look at."

Kelly's sister, Abi (left), and mother, Della

Kelly Phillips, 17, from Surrey, died in 2005 when the car she was a passenger in hit a tree at 80mph.

She had been sitting in a car listening to music with a 17-year-old boy who did not yet have his licence.

The decision to go for a drive on the public road cost them both their lives.

Kelly's mother, Della Phillips, told Sky News: "I try to hide behind this facade of strength. But inside I'm crying all the time, I'm missing her all the time.

"It's like a craving, you're not seeing the memories you expected to see when you have a child."

Ms Phillips is calling for an alternative approach to the measures being considered by the Government.

The Drive IQ campaign

She is backing a free education campaign called Drive IQ - an online education programme that puts pre-drivers and novices through potentially hazardous road scenarios. 

Some 350 schools and 30,000 young people already use the programme but it could be rolled out to thousands more.

She said: "When it comes to young people being safer in cars, lack of knowledge can kill. I know that only too well.

"We want every mum and dad out there to ensure their child and their child's school/college uses Drive IQ straightaway as it addresses attitude and behaviour.

"We have to tackle this issue right now." 

:: Road Safety Week runs from November 19 to November 25. For more information visit www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk.

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Comet Closing Down Sales As 41 Stores To Shut

The stricken retail chain Comet will close 41 stores by the end of the month unless a buyer can be found, administrators have confirmed.

Redundancies were "inevitable" although administrators Deloitte said they would look to place staff from closing stores into other nearby outlets.

Up to 500 jobs could be under threat at 27 of the stores, where closing down sales have begun. A further 14 such sales will begin early next week.

Chris Farrington, joint administrator, said: "We are very grateful to the company's employees for their professionalism, loyalty and support at this difficult time and all employees will of course continue to be paid for all the work they do while the company is in administration."

Deloitte had already announced 330 redundancies at the company but there have been no job losses among shop staff as yet and all the chain's 236 stores remain open at present.

The bulk of the staff cuts have been made in Comet's head office in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, as well as its site in Hull and call centre in Clevedon, Somerset.

The collapse of Comet marks one of the biggest high street casualties since the demise of Woolworths in 2008 and came a month after the failure of JJB Sports.

The group was hit by weak high street trading conditions, competition from online rivals and being unable to secure the trade credit insurance needed to safeguard suppliers.

In particular, it was knocked by the lack of first-time home buyers, who have been key customers for Comet, according to Deloitte.

The high street electricals market in the UK has come under huge pressure as cash-strapped shoppers put off purchases of big-ticket items such as TVs and large appliances and online rivals take a bigger slice of the sector.

Comet's administration comes just months after it was taken over by investment firm OpCapita, which bought the chain for a nominal £2 in February.

Angry staff at the chain have called for ministers to investigate the retailer's collapse and the way its former private equity owners ran the company.

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Egypt School Bus Crash Leaves Dozens Dead

Fifty people have been killed after a train collided with a bus in a city south of the Egyptian capital Cairo.

A senior security official in Assiut, near the crash site, said 48 of the dead were children, aged between four and eight.

One woman and a man, who was the bus driver, also died, he added.

The state news agency said another 15 people were injured. A medical source said as many as 28 were injured, 27 of them children.

"They told us the barriers were open when the bus crossed the tracks and the train collided with it," doctor Mohamed Samir said, citing witness accounts.

Distraught locals search through the wreckage at the crash site

He said the bodies of many of those killed were severely mutilated, indicating the force of the crash, which took place in the city of Manfalut, near Assiut, some 190 miles south of the capital.

President Mohamed Mursi ordered his ministers to offer support to the families of those killed.

Transport Minister Mohamed Rashad has offered his resignation, as has the head of the railways authority, which President Mursi was considering, state media reported.

The governor of Assiut, Yahya Keshk, has ordered an inquiry.

Egypt's roads and railways have a poor safety record.

Egyptians have complained that successive governments have failed to enforce basic safety standards, leading to a string of deadly accidents.

Earlier this month, at least three Egyptians were killed and more than 30 injured in a train crash in Fayoum, another city south of Cairo.

In July, 15 people were injured in Giza, close to the capital, when a train derailed.

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Children Rescued From Bristol House Fire

Neighbours have rescued a three-year-old boy caught in a "roaring inferno" after a house caught fire.

The boy was handed out through the front window of the home to a neighbour who came out after hearing screams of "fire".

Flames engulfed the ground and first floor of the terraced property on Lodge Hill in Cossham, Bristol, shortly before 7am.

Nine people were inside the home, six of whom were helped by neighbours to escape the blaze, while a woman and two girls were rescued from the roof by fire crews.

At least two generations of one family are believed to have lived in the property, along with several dogs, one of which died in the fire.

Lionel Fear, who lives three doors up from the house, said: "I came downstairs to see the mother with three children on the lower roof and me and the neighbours put a ladder up, clambered up the ladder and brought as many of them down as we could until the fire brigade arrived.

"There was a three-year-old who was handed out through the front to a neighbour. I think he's very lucky to get out alive to be honest.

"It was a roaring inferno. At one stage, when I was up the ladder, something popped or a window blew.

"I was just carrying a baby down and it obviously scared the baby as some shards and shrapnel came out and landed on him."

The boy was taken to a specialist burns department. A baby, three other children, two teenagers and two adults were also taken to the hospital as a precaution.

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Abortion: India Puts Diplomatic Pressure On Irish

Thousands of people have marched in the capital of Ireland to protest the death of an Indian woman who was allegedly refused an abortion.

Sky's Vicki Hawthorne, reporting from Dublin, said an estimated 10,000 people had gathered for a vigil and protest over the country's abortion laws.

The Indian government has also demanded a "transparent" probe into the death of Savita Halappanavar, after Irish doctors apparently rejected her requests for a termination even though she was miscarrying.

Deputy head of government Eamon Gilmore agreed to meet the Indian ambassador, Debashish Chakravarti, on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a minute's silence was held at Merrion Square followed by chants from the crowd of "never again".

India is demanding a transparent probe into the death

Sinead Ahern from Choice Ireland told the assembled people: "We hope the people who loved Savita know how sorry we are for what happened to her."

Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid earlier said: "I'm confident that the Irish government, with whom we are in constant touch will properly investigate this case and will strive for a system so such incidents do not happen again."

On Friday, ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said the concern over Mrs Halappanavar's death was growing in India.

About 100 opposition protesters held a demonstration outside the Irish embassy on Friday - accusing authorities of committing "medical murder".

Mrs Halappanavar was allegedly refused an abortion

 MrMrs Halappanavar's family said the 31-year-old dentist repeatedly asked staff at University Hospital in Galway to terminate her pregnancy but doctors kept telling her "this is a Catholic country".

Abortion is illegal in Roman Catholic-dominated Ireland unless it occurs during medical intervention to save the life of the mother. There is no agreed method for determining such circumstances.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny described her death as a "tragedy", while two separate investigations have been announced.

Indian communist party leader Brinda Karat said Mrs Halappanavar's condition should have been treated as a "medical emergency" as she joined calls for a tough line with Ireland over the incident.

"The fact that they didn't is a crime and the Irish authorities are responsible for committing a crime of a loss of a human life and I think the Indian government must step in here," she told reporters.

Smriti Irani, president of the women's wing of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata party, was among the protesters outside the embassy and she was allowed in as part of a four-person delegation to meet the ambassador.

"The Irish ambassador assured us that there could be a possibility of inviting international experts to be part of the investigation and we told him that Savita's husband should also be part of it," Ms Irani said.

She added that the ambassador had acknowledged the "intense pressure" from around the world following the death.

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Electoral Commission To Probe Police Vote

Low Turnout For Police Commissioner Polls

Updated: 7:33pm UK, Friday 16 November 2012

Dire turnouts have threatened to undermine the first ever police and crime commissioner elections, with as few as 10% of voters casting their ballots in some areas.

The Electoral Reform Society branded the elections a "comedy of errors" after a record low turnout left at least one polling station - in the Newport area - completely unused.

It said it could end up being the lowest voter turnout ever in peacetime history.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the elections for the new commissioners had descended in to a shambles, with many voters taking to Twitter to describe the low turnout at their polling stations.

A UKIP MEP, John Bufton, even called for Home Secretary Theresa May to resign for presiding over a "shamefully low turnout".

In Wiltshire, the first force area to declare, the overall turnout was 15.8% as Tory candidate Angus Macpherson, a magistrate, won after a second round of voting ahead of Labour's Clare Moody.

But in one part of Wiltshire, Devizes, only 10.41% of voters took part.

Polling stations elsewhere across the country appeared to be equally as quiet as many people opted not to vote for the first generation of PCCs, despite about £75m being spent on the campaign.

Newport City Council confirmed to Sky News that no voters attended one of its polling stations, despite it being open for 15 hours from 7am to 10pm on Thursday.

Elsewhere, turnout was 11.42% in Wigan, 12% in Rochdale, 12.59% in Oldham and 12.49% in Manchester. For Greater Manchester as a whole it was 13.46%.

In Essex, just 12.81%% of voters took to the polls.

Even in Humberside, where Lord Prescott's name on the ballot paper raised the profile of the election, turnout was only 19.48%.

Sky's election analyst Michael Thrasher said the low turnout was "hardly surprising" given the elections were held in dark and chilly November "for an office that no-one has heard of" across unfamiliar police authority areas.

He said the numbers raised questions over the legitimacy of the office and those elected.

Mr Thrasher, a professor of politics at Plymouth University, added that it could end up costing as much as £13 per vote that was cast.

"When you work out how much it's going to cost per vote it becomes quite ridiculous," he said.

But policing minister Damian Green defended the turnout, saying it would improve in years to come.

He told Sky News: "I think it's likely with something new coming on that people will take time to get used to it.

"But I'm absolutely sure they will get used to it in the future and the measure of the success will be the difference they make to policing over the next few years."

Prime Minister David Cameron insisted police commissioners would have a mandate despite the low turnout.

He added: "Remember, these police and crime commissioners are replacing organisations that weren't directly elected at all."

Elections for the new office have been held in 41 police areas outside London.

The newly-elected police and crime commissioner will have the power to control budgets, set policing priorities, and hire and fire chief constables.

The Electoral Reform Society had predicted a turnout of 18.5% before the polls began, which would be below the previous record low in a national poll in peacetime - 23% in the 1999 European elections.

The society's chief executive, Katie Ghose, said: "This election has been a comedy of errors from start to finish.

"The Home Office has operated under the assumption that 'if you build it they will come'. Democracy just doesn't work that way.

"There have been avoidable errors at every step, and those responsible should be held to account."

One of the biggest problems has been that people are not prepared to put a cross beside the name of someone they know little, if anything, about.

Glenda Adcock from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk said she always votes, but not this time.

"I know nothing about the candidates or anything really so I'm not bothering," she said,

And while Bernard Jennings had decided he would take part, he agreed the information had been poor.

"I think they could have done a lot more to help people out so you have a better understanding of what everyone stands for," he said.

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Israel Readies Forces For Gaza Border Assault

By David Bowden, Senior News Correspondent, in southern Israel

Israel is massing troops and military equipment close to the border with Gaza after hundreds of airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave failed to stop militants launching scores of rockets into the South and central areas of the country.

The government has given the go-ahead for 75,000 reservists to be put on stand by for call-up for any ground incursion into Gaza.

Israel knows that the eyes of the world are on it and that a ground war brings not only military dangers, but international and diplomatic ones too.

But the politicians are all too aware that with an election now just two months away they have to be seen to be doing something to clampdown on the missile strikes coming out of Gaza and forcing Israeli citizens to have to run to their shelters.

"We are under attack," Israeli Defence Ministry spokesman Josh Hantsman said.

"Three million Israeli citizens are now within the range of the Hamas fire, we have a responsibility and a duty to make sure the other side knows we are serious. We will consider all the options."

For now the option appears to be a show of strength and a hope that Hamas will back down and stop targeting Israel before a ground war becomes inevitable.

That means more airstrikes and more attempts to degrade Hamas's ability to hit back from Gaza.

In the mean time the diplomatic pressure carries on apace with the Tunisian foreign minister visiting political leaders in Gaza, 24 hours after the Egyptian Prime Minister did the same thing.

US President Barack Obama has been in touch with both the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and President Morsi of Egypt - whose Muslim Brotherhood is sympathetic to Hamas - to try and mediate.

As yet there has been no breakthrough, so the very public military build-up from Israel carries on as do the airstrikes which the Israeli government hopes will mean the soldiers and their kit can be stood down as quickly as they were called up.

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Explosion In Tel Aviv After Gaza Pounded

Sirens are sounding in Tel Aviv following an explosion, a day after a rocket crashed into the sea off the Israeli city.

The sirens sent people running for cover as TV images showed the Iron Dome anti-missile system firing on an incoming rocket, hitting it in mid-air according to the Israeli military.

The Israeli ambulance service said there were no casualties.

The armed wing of Hamas said it had fired a long-range Fajr-5 rocket at the city.

Damage to an apartment block in Ashdod caused by a rocket fired from Gaza

Earlier on Saturday, four rockets hit the southern city of Ashdod. 

Israel's military said on Twitter: "4 rockets fired from #Gaza struck Ashdod: 1 on a house, 1 on a car, 1 near a kindergarten & 1 in an open area." 

No-one was killed in the attack.

Before Saturday's rocket attacks, Israel carried out nearly 200 airstrikes on Gaza City overnight

The strikes hit targets in the territory including the Hamas Prime Minister's office, a police compound and a vast network of smuggling tunnels.

Israeli aircraft kept pounding their original targets in the airstrikes

Israeli aircraft also kept pounding their original targets, the militants' weapons storage facilities and underground rocket launching sites.

Rocket fire by Palestinian militants into Israel resumed after dawn following a relative lull overnight. 

Medics told news agency AFP that eight people died in central and southern Gaza and 30 were injured in the latest strikes.

The latest deaths raised the overall death toll in Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to 38, as both sides continued to hurl missiles at each other. 

Tunisia's Foreign Minister (L) meets with a senior Hamas member in Rafah

Three Israelis have been killed in the recent violence. Four soldiers were also hurt in rocket fire along the southern flank of Israel's border with Gaza, the army said on Saturday.

Israel stepped up its air assault in retaliation to an unprecedented rocket strike aimed at Jerusalem.

Israel's military also called up 75,000 reservists, raising speculation of a ground invasion.

Despite the violence, Tunisia's foreign minister Rafik Abdessalem arrived in the coastal enclave early Saturday in a show of Arab solidarity, heading to a hospital to visit the wounded.

A house near Ashdod in Israel damaged by a rocket fired from Gaza

Mr Abdessalem called on the world to help stop Israel's "blatant aggression", and said the Arab League should act as it gathers for talks in Cairo.

Since the start of its operation, Israel's army says militants have fired more than 640 rockets over the border, 410 of which hit Israel, and 230 of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Israeli leaders have threatened to widen Operation Pillar of Defence if the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip does not halt.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said options included the possible assassination of Hamas' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and other top leaders.

"Every time that Hamas fires there will be a more and more severe response," he told Israel's Channel 2 TV.

US President Barack Obama has reiterated his country's support for Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks from militants in the Gaza Strip.

In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Obama also expressed his regret over the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives, the White House said.

The fighting in Gaza escalated on Wednesday when Israel killed Hamas's military chief in an airstrike.

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Hadleigh Fuel Tankers Fire 'Is Suspicious'

A fire at an industrial estate involving three fuel tankers is being treated as suspicious, police have said.

Ten fire vehicles attended the "major incident" at Lady Lane Industrial Estate in Hadleigh, Suffolk, at about 6.45pm on Friday.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze before midnight and no injuries were reported.

The tankers contained a total of 35,750 litres of kerosene, gas oil and diesel, said police.

The tankers contained 35,750 litres of fuel

In a statement, Suffolk Constabulary said: "This morning, Saturday 17 November, fire and crime scene investigators have been at the scene to try to determine the cause of the blaze.

"These inquiries are continuing but the fire is being treated as suspicious."

Residents in the area were warned to stay indoors and keep their doors and windows closed as a 300-metre cordon was set up around the blaze and the A1071 was closed to traffic until later in the night.

A council spokesman said: "Suffolk fire and rescue has extinguished the fire at the Lady Lane Industrial Estate.

"Firefighters worked throughout the evening to prevent the fire spreading from three mobile fuel tankers to other parts of the industrial estate."

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