India: Eighteen Dead In Mumbai Stampede

A stampede in India has left 18 people dead and nearly 50 injured.

The tragedy happened as a large crowd gathered in the city of Mumbai to pay their respects to Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, a Muslim spiritual leader who died of a heart attack on Friday.

When the gates to the 102-year-old's home in the wealthy Malabar Hill area were closed at the end of his funeral procession, chaos broke out.

The crowds surged forward and many people were crushed near the gates with no means of escaping.

Police chief Satyapal Singh said: "Organisers had closed the gates. The crowd was so huge that people started suffocating, some fainted and then people began running and falling on each other in a panic."

He said there was a lapse in crowd control due to police and organisers failing to anticipate the high turnout for the leader of the Dawoodi Bohra, a sect of Shiite Islam.

Thousands crowd around the vehicle carrying Syedna Mohammed Burhannudin

One man wearing traditional Bohra Muslim clothing told Reuters: "There were a lot of people pouring in, and there was not much attention given by the government and the police, who should have been here and who should have managed things."

TV footage showed thousands wearing white scarves and skullcaps on the streets of India's financial capital on Saturday for the procession.

Several of those who were injured were released from hospital after treatment, said a city official quoted by Reuters.

Such disasters are common in India, where hundreds have been killed in the last decade as a result of stampedes at religious festivals and public events.

They are rarer in large cities such as Mumbai, where there are greater numbers of police to monitor the crowds.

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Indian MP's Wife Dead After Tweet 'Affair' Row

The wife of a top Indian politician has been found dead after she allegedly sent a string of furious tweets, accusing a journalist of having an affair with her husband.

Sunanda Tharoor's body was discovered in the bedroom of a five-star hotel in Delhi.

It came after a series of messages were sent from her account to Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar, accusing her of "stalking" her husband Shashi Tharoor, the minister for human resource development.

One message claimed Ms Tarar was "obsessed" with him and had sent a number of Blackberry and email messages last year.

In a joint statement, Mr Tharoor and his wife said they were "happily married" and claimed the "unauthorised" tweets, which have not been deleted, were "not intended for publication".

Tweets allegedly sent by Sunanda Tharoor and a reply from Mehr Tarar

However, Mrs Tharoor allegedly spoke to two Indian newspapers, confirming she had written the messages.

"Our accounts have not been hacked and I have been sending out these tweets," she told the Economic Times, adding to the Indian Express that she stood by the messages.

According to police sources, her body was found hours later by hotel staff who knocked on the door of her room but got no response.

Officials for her husband said he was staying there with his wife while their home was being redecorated.

There were no visible injuries of a struggle and nothing to suggest poisoning, according to special commissioner Deepak Mishra.

Sunanda and Shashi Tharoor on their wedding day in August 2010

Sky's India producer Neville Lazarus, in Delhi, said: "Police have sealed the entire third floor of the hotel and have called in forensic experts to examine the scene.

"Photographs have been taken along with evidence including fingerprints from the rooms, bed and door handles.

"Officers have asked for CCTV footage and are also examining video from the hotel's control room."

Ms Tarar said she was "absolutely shocked" after learning of Ms Tharoor's death.

"This is too awful for words," she tweeted. "So tragic. I don't know what to say. Rest in peace, Sunanda."

There has been no comment from Mr Tharoor, the MP for Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala state and a former UN diplomat.

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Lightning Strike Damages Rio's Jesus Statue

The iconic statue of Jesus overlooking Rio de Janeiro has lost a thumb tip as a result of a lightning strike.

The famous statue overlooking Rio is hit by lightning

Christ the Redeemer, one of the city's most recognisable landmarks, was damaged in a huge storm on Thursday night.

Standing at 38 metres the statue - which sits atop Mount Corcovado - was named in a 2007 global poll as one of seven new wonders of the world.

The huge storm lit up the sky

Site caretaker Father Osmar Raposo said the giant concrete figure will undergo repair next month.

O Globo broadcast helicopter images of the statue showing part of Christ's right thumb missing.

Part of the statue's thumb is now missing

Brazil's national space institute INPE counted more than 40,000 lighting flashes during the three-hour storm which felled dozens of trees and flooded streets.

Winds gusting at 52mph forced one of Rio's airports to close and brought a halt to boat trips across the city's Guanabara Bay.

Aerial footage shows the minor damage

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One-Year Ban On Colorado Cannabis Tourism Ads

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

Tourism chiefs in Colorado have declared a one-year moratorium on advertising "cannabis tourism".

The Rocky Mountain state has become the first in the US to legalise the commercial production and sale of cannabis for recreational use.

A flood of tourists have poured into the state since the new law took effect and companies are springing up to offer a range of cannabis holidays.

One of them, Colorado Rocky Mountain High Tours, provides a stretched Hummer limousine for tours of the newly-licenced cannabis dispensaries. Others are lining up Valentine's Day specials.

But Rich Grant, spokesman for Visit Denver, says the city wants to see if cannabis tourism is sustainable before allowing the new companies to advertise.

A couple on one of the state's cannabis 'tours'

He told Sky News: "This is an unknown territory. No-one knows if people will come here as marijuana tourists and how much the industry will grow. You can't base a sound marketing decision on ten days of business."

One problem facing cannabis entrepreneurs is that Denver has only a handful of hotel rooms that allow smoking. Cannabis cannot be consumed in public.

But Debbie Grossett, who travelled a thousand miles to take the limo tour, said she hoped other states followed Colorado's example and legalised.

She said: "I go to buy cannabis here and no-one offers me harder drugs. If I go to buy cannabis where it is illegal, there are drug dealers who offer much harder drugs. This is a better way."

Legalisation has certainly brought a new breed of potential users into stores that previously were allowed to sell only to those with certified medical need.

Dena Singh visited a dispensary for the first time, she said, because of an upcoming surgery.

She told Sky News: "People like me, just regular every day mums probably will give it a try especially if shops turn into more mother-friendly kind of coffee shops. If it all opens up, I think people will give it a try.

"I have thought about it before and was always put off but I think a lot of people will now take action and do what they have always wanted to do."

Dispensary owners say they are seeing three times the number of customers who used to come through the door for medical reasons.

Washington state is due to follow Colorado's example in the next few weeks. Another 18 states, plus Washington DC, currently allow cannabis use for medical reasons.

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Mikaeel Kular Neighbours Shocked By News

By Kat Storr, Sky Producer, Edinburgh

The hundreds of people who joined the search for missing Mikaeel Kular are now coming to terms with the news they had all been dreading.

After the discovery of a body at a house in Fife, people in Drylaw, Edinburgh, have been leaving flowers, teddies and candles near the three-year-old's home.

Shazia Chaudhry, 33, lives on Ferry Gait Crescent and came to look at the tributes with her 20-month-old son Zohaib.

She said the news had hit her hard because the two boys looked so alike.

Mikaeel and his mother, who is being questioned over his disappearance

She cried as she read the notes to her son, who she told me had earlier looked out of the window and said: "Baby gone."

Student Erin Anderson, 17, wept as she described how she "felt sick" when she found out the news on Twitter.

Shona Smith, 41, came to the crescent with her son Cain, eight, who wanted to leave two of his teddy bears for Mikaeel because he was "only young".

Ms Smith said: "I think it's a hard lesson in life but one that kids needs to understand - these things do happen."

Hundreds of volunteers joined a search near the boy's home

But the Kulars' neighbours, who did not want to be named, said they had sent their three children to stay with relatives because they didn't want them to see everything going on.

Jackie Brownlee, 29, who lives opposite the Kulars' flat, told Sky News: "Everyone was hoping so much and now that hope's gone. We still can't believe it."

And that sentiment was reflected in the notes left with the tributes. One attached to a bunch of flowers just says: "Why??"

Some of the many flowers and toys that have been left for the youngster

Brothers Aron and Tanay Ortanoglu brought their two teddies and wrote a note to Mikaeel saying: "Sleep well with the angels. Hope you like the teddies for you to cuddle in heaven."

Their mother Donna Ortanoglu, 44, said the boys, aged six and nine, had not been out of her sight since news of Mikaeel's disappearance broke.

She said: "I didn't want them to hear stories at school, I wanted them to see the truth."

But it is that truth that this devastated community is going to take a long time to recover from.

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Syria: Birmingham Pair In Court On Terror Charges

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky News reporter

Two men from Birmingham have appeared in court charged with travelling to Syria for terrorism.

Yusuf Sawar and Mohammed Ahmed, of Handsworth, are accused of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts contrary to section 5(1) of the Terrorism Act 2006.

The two 21-year-olds are charged with planning and travelling to Syria in order to engage in acts of terrorism with a jihadist group.

They were arrested on Monday at Heathrow airport after arriving on a flight from Turkey.

The pair, both wearing dark tracksuits, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Saturday morning.

They spoke to confirm their names, addresses, dates of birth and that they understood the charges.

They have been remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on January 31.

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UKIP Councillor Blames Floods On Gay Marriage

By Vincent McAviney, Sky Political Producer

A UKIP councillor for Henley-on-Thames has claimed the recent floods are due to Prime Minister David Cameron ignoring his warnings on legalising same-sex marriage.

David Silvester, who defected to UKIP from the Conservatives in 2012 over the issue, made the comments to his local newspaper the Henley Standard.

"The scriptures make it abundantly clear that a Christian nation that abandons its faith and acts contrary to the Gospel (and in naked breach of a coronation oath) will be beset by natural disasters such as storms, disease, pestilence and war," he said.

"I wrote to David Cameron in April 2012 to warn him that disasters would accompany the passage of his same-sex marriage Bill.

"But he went ahead despite a 600,000-signature petition by concerned Christians and more than half of his own parliamentary party saying that he should not do so.

"Now, even as Cameron sheds crocodile tears on behalf of destitute flooded homeowners, playing at advocate against the very local councils he has made cash-strapped, it is his fault that large swathes of the nation have been afflicted by storms and floods.

"He has arrogantly acted against the Gospel that once made Britain 'great' and the lesson surely to be learned is that no man or men, however powerful, can mess with Almighty God with impunity and get away with it for everything a nation does is weighed on the scaled of divine approval or disapproval."

Somerset was among the areas affected by recent floods

The elected politician added: "Since the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, the nation has been beset by serious storms and floods.

"One recent one caused the worst flooding for 60 years. The Christmas floods were the worst for 127 years. Is this just global warming or is there something more serious at work?"

UKIP's official position is that it supports same-sex civil partnerships but opposes same-sex marriages.

However, a spokesperson for the party said: "If the media are expecting UKIP to either condemn or condone someone's personal religious views they will get absolutely no response.

"Whether Jain or Sikh or Buddhist or Sufi or Zoroastrian or Jewish or Muslim or Baptist or Hindu or Catholic or Ba'Hai or Animist or any other mainstream, or minor religion or movement, we are taught as a tolerant society to accept a diversity of ideologies.

"Freedom to individual thought and expression is a central tenet of any open minded and democratic country.

"It is quite evident that this is not the party's belief but the councillor's own, and he is more than entitled to express independent thought despite whether or not other people may deem it standard or correct.

"That is what makes the United Kingdom such a wonderful, proud, diverse and free country."

The first same-sex marriages will be held in March.

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Lord McAlpine: Ex-Thatcher Aide Dies Aged 71

Former Conservative Party deputy chairman Lord McAlpine has died at his home in Italy, aged 71.

His family said in a statement: "It is with great sadness that the family of Lord McAlpine announce his peaceful death last night at his home in Italy."

Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter: "My thoughts are with Lord McAlpine's family - he was a dedicated supporter of Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative party."

Lord McAlpine, who worked for his family's building firm after leaving school, was previously an aide to the late former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and a highly successful fundraiser for the party.

He was also, at various points in his life, a zoo-keeper, ornithologist, explorer and jewellery maker.

Lord McAlpine pictured with Margaret Thatcher in 1975

When Mrs Thatcher left office in 1990 the peer became disillusioned with the leadership of John Major and launched a number of harsh attacks on the new leader of his party.

In 2010, the former political adviser and businessman stood down from the House of Lords to keep his non-domiciliary tax status, but retained his title.

The peer, who had three daughters, spent his final years running a bed and breakfast near Puglia with his third wife Athena.

Lord McAlpine was wrongly implicated in a child abuse scandal in 2012, when allegations were contained in a BBC Newsnight investigation.

The claims led to the corporation's then-director general George Entwistle quitting his job less than two months into the role. Mr Entwistle said he had to take "ultimate responsibility" for the broadcast.

The BBC was forced into making an apology after abuse victim Steve Messham admitted that the man who abused him in the 1970s and 1980s was not Lord McAlpine.

Mr Messham told the BBC he had been abused by a senior Tory from the Thatcher era at a north Wales children's home when he was a teenager. This led to fierce online speculation as to the identity of the politician, and the peer was incorrectly accused of being a paedophile.

Solicitors for Lord McAlpine said they were ready to sue for defamation, arguing his reputation had been left in "tatters" as a result of the programme.

Lord McAlpine later received damages from a number of internet users, including the wife of the House of Commons speaker John Bercow, after libellous messages were posted on Twitter.

Ms Bercow agreed to pay £15,000 in damages for her "innocent face" tweet.

Comedian Alan Davies paid damages after he reposted a tweet which linked the peer's name to a television report about a "senior political figure who is a paedophile".

The BBC Trust investigated the broadcast and found that members of the team responsible failed to follow the corporation's editorial guidelines.

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Labour Politician Among Afghan Bomb Victims

One of the two Britons killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul was a Labour candidate in the forthcoming European Elections.

Party leader Ed Miliband confirmed Del Singh, who was standing for the South East region, had died and said he was "appalled and shocked by this barbarous act of terror".

Mr Singh had spent more than a decade carrying out "vital work" and "dedicated his life to working with people across the world who needed his support", he added.

The candidate was among 21 people killed in the attack at the city's Taverna du Liban restaurant on Friday, a spot popular with tourists and Westerners. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside and two gunmen entered and opened fire.

A total of thirteen foreigners died, including two US citizens and two Canadians. It is the deadliest attack on foreign nationals in the country since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001.

Special forces arrive at the scene of the attack

The other Briton killed has been named as ex-soldier Simon Chase, who was originally from Merseyside but living in Limavady in County Londonderry.

A former Cheshire Regiment soldier, Mr Chase had worked as a nightclub doorman before travelling to Kabul to work in the security industry. It is understood he lived with his fiancee Norma McDowell and two children.

Paying tribute, Gerry Mullan, Mayor of Limavady, said: "There is cloud that has descended upon the local community who are very shocked and saddened by his loss. He was a well-known and well-respected figure in the community."

The death toll includes five women, four of them foreign and one from Afghanistan. Three members of staff at the United Nations also died in the blast, as did Wabel Abdallah, the head of the International Monetary Fund in the country.

An Afghan official said the gunmen were shot dead by security forces when they arrived at the restaurant. Sporadic bouts of gunfire could be heard for around an hour after the explosion.

Atiqullah, an assistant chef who witnessed the attack, said: "There was blood everywhere, on tables, on chairs, apparently the attackers had shot people from a very close range."

The Taliban claimed responsibility. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack was launched in retaliation for an operation on Tuesday that killed seven children and one woman. He said the bombing had delivered a "heavy admonitory blow to the enemy which they shall never forget".

Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and said the US was doing enough to fight "terrorism".

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Mikaeel Kular: Mum Detained As Body Removed

Police have removed the body of a young boy from woodland as they continue to question the mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular.

The discovery was made near her former home in Kirkcaldy, Fife, and announced by police just after 1am.

A post-mortem examination is understood to be taking place in Edinburgh in the coming hours.

There were gasps from people outside Police Scotland's Edinburgh HQ as Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham announced the body had been found shortly before midnight.

Police said they had detained one person - understood to be Mikaeel's 33-year-old mother Rosdeep - in connection with his disappearance.

:: Live updates as the search for Mikaeel Kular is called off

ACC Graham said: "The investigation into the disappearance of Mikaeel Kular has been wide-ranging and fast moving.

Forensics officers have been examining an area of woodland

"As a result of enquiries the body of a young child was recovered in Fife just before midnight.

"We strongly believe this to be the body of Mikaeel.

"A person has been detained in connection with the recovery of the body and members of Mikaeel's family have been informed of the recovery."

The discovery is understood to have been made on land surrounding a house in Kirkcaldy, Fife, which is owned by Mikaeel's aunt Pandeep Kular.

The body was removed from the scene at around 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

There was shock when ACC Malcolm Graham announced a body had been found

Sky News Scotland Correspondent James Matthews said: "There is no suggestion that police want to speak to her (the aunt) about any of this at this stage."

A neighbour told Sky News that Rosdeep Kular visited the house alone, by car, last week.

The family lived there for a time before moving to Edinburgh and neighbours remember Mikaeel and his twin sister playing on the steps.

A memorial service organised on Facebook will take place at 7pm today at St Andrew's church in Muirhouse, Edinburgh.

Mikaeel was reported missing from his home in the Scottish capital on Thursday morning.

Hundreds of police officers from across the UK joined the search and lines of volunteers swept the local area, searching for clues about his disappearance.

Police were told that Mikaeel had not been seen since his mother put him to bed on Wednesday night.

The body was found around 30 miles from Mikaeel's family home in Edinburgh

On Friday evening ACC Graham revealed the boy had not attended nursery since before Christmas and said there were "grave concerns" for his safety.

Sky News Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt in Edinburgh said: "We know that according to the police, a person was detained last night.

"The police haven't named that person detained, but we understand from our sources that it's Mikaeel's mother Rosdeep, known as Rosie.

"Under Scottish law, she can be detained initially for 12 hours during questioning and then on the say so of a senior officer can be held for another 12 hours.

"At the end of that period police must decide whether to release her, charge her or formally arrest her." 

Police analyst Graham Wettone told Sky News: "(His mother) will be questioned as police try to establish what has taken place."

Neighbours have been leaving flowers and toys near the family home

Police Scotland officers have cordoned off the road and been carrying out searches in woodland around Pandeep Kular's Kirkcaldy house.

There was sadness and anger among families living near Rosdeep Kular's home in Ferry Gait, Edinburgh - some 30 miles away across the Firth of Forth - as they woke up to news of the grim discovery.

MSP Colin Keir, who joined the search for Mikaeel, was woken at 5am to be told the news.

He told Sky News: "It's just devastating and I think the community will take it personally.

"There was an unprecedented outpouring from the community in the hunt for Mikaeel.

"The community will be devastated, angry and looking for answers as to why this has happened."

Hundreds of people volunteered to help with the search for Mikaeel

Jackie Brownlee, 29, a mother-of-two who lives opposite the family home, said that local people will support each other as they try to come to terms with what has happened.

She said: "Everyone was hoping and now that hope's gone - we still can't believe it. But I think the community will come together because we have to."

Her son Darren, 11, added: "He was such a cute lad, always running around the street. I can't believe it's happened in my street - I'm really scared now." 

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "This is a tragic development in this harrowing story and the news that we have all been dreading.

"The hearts of everyone across Scotland and beyond have been touched by the events of recent days."

Police Scotland are also investigating an offensive Twitter comment relating to the case, which originated in the Greater Manchester area and was reported by an Edinburgh resident.

Denise Fergus, the mother of James Bulger, the two-year-old who was murdered in Liverpool in 1993, tweeted her condolences.

She said on Twitter: "My heart is aching for that poor boy Mikaeel Kular brings it all back so sad."

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