Scotland Currency Deal Ruled Out By Government

The Government has denied claims there could be a currency union between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK.

An unnamed minister had reportedly told The Guardian that a deal on sharing the pound could be made with Scotland if the UK's nuclear submarine fleet was able to remain at Faslane.

But Chancellor George Osborne insisted that if Scotland opted for independence it meant "walking out of the UK pound".

The UK is keen to keep its nuclear submarines in Faslane

The newspaper said the minister told them: "Of course there would be a currency union.

"There would be a highly complex set of negotiations after a yes vote with many moving pieces.

"The UK wants to keep Trident nuclear weapons at Faslane and the Scottish government wants a currency union - you can see the outlines of a deal.

George Osborne has denied there will be a currency union

"Saying no to a currency union is obviously a vital part of the no campaign. But everything would change in the negotiations if there were a yes vote."

The Scottish Government's White Paper on independence, published in November 2013, states a shared currency is in the "economic interests" of Scotland and the rest of the UK.

However, in a joint statement with Liberal Democrat Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, Mr Osborne said: "There will not be a currency union in the event of independence. The only way to keep the UK pound is to stay in the UK.

"A currency union will not work because it would not be in Scotland's interests and would not be in the UK's interests."

Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said: "An anonymous, off the record quote does not change the stark reality on the currency.

"The UK Government has listened to the views of the Governor of the Bank of England and the independent advice of the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury that a currency would be damaging for all the United Kingdom.

"That's why a currency union simply will not happen."

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland Deputy First Minister, said the claims were a significant development in the referendum campaign.

She told Sky News: "The fact of the matter is a currency union makes sense, it makes sense for an independent Scotland but it would also make overwhelming sense for the rest of the UK as well.

"Trident will not be a bargaining chip for the Scottish government, we want to see nuclear weapons removed from Scotland as quickly as it's safely possible to do so."

A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper last week suggested 45% of Scots did not believe Chancellor George Osborne's pledge to rule out a formal currency union.

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First Gay Weddings: PM Hails 'Equal Marriage'

Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed the first gay weddings in England and Wales as sending a "powerful message" about equality in the UK.

The law changed at midnight, with a number of gay couples vying to claim the title of being among the first to be married as ceremonies took place across England and Wales.

Despite facing opposition from some in the Conservative Party about his backing for the change, Mr Cameron said the reform was necessary because "when people's love is divided by law, it is that law that needs to change".

Writing in Pink News, he said: "This weekend is an important moment for our country" because "we will at last have equal marriage in our country".

"The introduction of same-sex civil marriage says something about the sort of country we are," he added.

"It says we are a country that will continue to honour its proud traditions of respect, tolerance and equal worth. It also sends a powerful message to young people growing up who are uncertain about their sexuality.

The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act was passed in July

"It clearly says 'you are equal' whether straight or gay. That is so important in trying to create an environment where people are no longer bullied because of their sexuality - and where they can realise their potential, whether as a great mathematician like Alan Turing, a star of stage and screen like Sir Ian McKellen or a wonderful journalist and presenter like Clare Balding."

Among the first couples set to take advantage of the legalisation were actor Andrew Wale, 49, and guesthouse owner Neil Allard, 48, who wed at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton just after midnight.

Following the ceremony in which the couple wore matching suits, Mr Wale told Sky News: "It's a wonderful feeling, it was much more emotional than I thought it was going to be and I'm just kind of happy and buzzing."

Mr Allard added: "It's exciting, it's a new step forward and it's all about love."

Andrew Wale (L) and Neil Allard said their vows in Brighton

Peter McGraith and David Cabreza, who have been together for 17 years, tied the knot at Islington Town Hall, north London, just moments after midnight struck.

Ahead of their ceremony, Mr McGraith said: "We are thrilled to be getting married. It is a mark of significant social progress in the UK that the legal distinction between gay and straight relationships has been removed.

"Very few countries afford their gay and lesbian citizens equal marriage rights and we believe that this change in law will bring hope and strength to gay men and lesbians in Nigeria, Uganda, Russia, India and elsewhere, who lack basic equality and are being criminalised for their sexual orientation."

After watching the ceremony, campaigner Peter Tatchell told Sky News there was still more to be done.

"We need to keep up the battle to insure that all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in this country and around the world have equal human rights," he said.

Mr McGraith (L) and Mr Cabreza were wed just moments after midnight

Broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and her civil partner Debbie Toksvig renewed their vows at a public event at the Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank in London.

Same-sex couples wishing to marry had initially thought they would have to wait until the summer after the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act was passed last July.

However, they were allowed to register their intention to marry from March 13, with March 29 the first day they could get hitched.

Unlike civil partnerships, same-sex marriages will give the same legal recognition as marriage across a range of areas including pensions, inheritance, child maintenance and immigration rights.

While the change will not be enforced upon religious organisations, they will be able to opt in.

Andrea Williams from Christian Concern told Sky News the reforms had gone too far.

"We have moved all the goal posts, suddenly we don't actually know what things mean, marriage once clearly meant something; a man and a woman in an exclusive promise, in a union that is life long, for the good of children," she said.

However, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said that the Church of England would drop its opposition now the new law has come into force.

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Missing Plane: Man At Centre Of MH370 Storm

Learning Lessons From Missing Flight MH370

Updated: 9:23am UK, Saturday 29 March 2014

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

The small consolation that should come with every airline crash is that the knowledge gained from the tragedy should help prevent it happening again.

But if that were true, we might already know more about what happened to flight MH370.

After the Air France accident of 2009, in which 228 people died when their flight from Brazil plunged into the Atlantic, 120 representatives of the international aviation industry got together to recommend ways to make it easier to find aircraft which crash into the sea. 

None has been implemented.

They suggested that the flight data recorders - the black boxes - should have larger batteries so they would carry on transmitting a beacon for 90 rather than 30 days. 

But bigger batteries mean extra weight and extra cost for the airlines to install them.

They also suggested the recorders should be designed to break away and float to the surface, rather than sink to the sea floor along with the rest of the fuselage.

And that the frequency of the transmission should be altered to boost how far away it can be heard, beyond its current 2,000 metre maximum.

Salvage expert David Mearns, from Blue Water Recoveries, told Sky News: "If you reduce that frequency, the lower the frequency, the greater the range. 

"You go from 37.5khz , to say, 8.8khz as recommended, I think that would increase the range to over 10,000 metres.

"So that's a five times increase in your detectable range and that would help the teams out there now looking for these black boxes."

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

"It's a very big industry. It's an international industry," said Mr Mears.

"It takes a lot of time for these things to work themselves through the regulations; how they would operate, how the pilots would be trained to use them; they have to be implemented on the aircraft, so it takes years for these things to be done."

In an age when we can all track most passenger aircraft on our smartphones and computers, how can a plane still go missing? 

Most, but not all, areas of the world are now covered by the Acars ADS-B system, allowing them to be constantly tracked. Although smaller, older aircraft are not equipped.

There are new regulations being introduced around the world compelling airlines to fit them in all passenger aircraft. 

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

Mikael Robertsson, the founder of Flightradar24.com, told Sky: "Maybe authorities in these countries don't want to rush or I guess it costs quite a lot of money for airlines to upgrade their equipment on board."

In any case, it appears the system on MH370 was switched off. 

One current 777 pilot told Sky he could not think of a good reason why he would do such a thing. 

And with so many flights criss-crossing vast expanses of water, knowing the plane's last position is crucial to a swift recovery. 

Mr Robertsson said: "I think this is something that should be discussed: How much pilots should be able to turn off, and how easy it should be to turn some systems off?"

The backgrounds of the pilots have been scrutinised to assess the likelihood of criminal or suicidal behaviour. 

Professor Robert Bor is a clinical psychologist who has studied those who fly, and was specifically asked to review an incident involving an American Jet Blue pilot who had a psychotic episode while flying from New York to Las Vegas.

Captain Clayton Osbon left the cockpit and screamed at passengers before being subdued by some of those on board. 

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

Prof Bor and others concluded there were no warning signs beforehand which could have prevented the incident.     

"Every year an airline pilot will have at least two formal medical checks which address not just their physical health but their mental health. Every time they are doing the job they are scrutinised by people."

Pilot suicide is not unheard of, and is considered the most likely explanation for the crash of an Indonesian SilkAir flight in 1997. 

The pilot was heavily in debt - 104 passengers and crew were killed.

Airlines may also be studying how Malaysia Airlines has handled the disaster from a public relations perspective. 

The families of the passengers have gone from grieving to protesting, angry at being kept waiting for news, furious about misinformation, and the final indignity - some of them were told the plane had crashed by text message. 

Crisis management expert Raine Marcus told Sky News: "The communications with the families didn't inspire trust from the beginning.

"If you don't build up trust and goodwill right from the beginning, that has a direct impact afterwards on communications with the families and also directly on your business."

In the months and years ahead, as details emerge of what happened to MH370, there will undoubtedly be calls for lessons to be learned.

And in the meantime millions of us will continue to fly, hoping that our flight will not be one of the very rare ones, which does not have a safe landing.

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Los Angeles Rattled By Second Quake In A Month

California has been hit by another earthquake, the second this month and the biggest to hit the state in six years.

The 5.1-magnitude quake caused rockslides, cut power to some 2,000 people, burst water mains and toppled furniture, but no injuries were reported.

Disneyland shut down rides as a precaution and a baseball game between the LA Dodgers and the Angels was briefly interrupted.

The earthquake followed a similar one in California earlier this month which measured 4.4.

The quake tipped goods off shelves in shops in La Habra

Hannah Hirzel, 17, who lives four miles from the quake's epicentre in La Habra, said: "I was home alone and I ran out of the house ... I was sitting where my bookshelf fell, but I ran too quick."

Shop worker June Soekmto said: "Suddenly we got a blackout and buildings were shaking like crazy. I just screamed to everybody 'get out of the store'."

A rockfall in Carbon Canyon, about six miles from the epicentre, caused a car to skid and overturn, though the driver escaped without serious injury. 

Robert Graves a seismologist with the US Geological Survey said a number of aftershocks had also been recorded.

Police responded to calls of property damage but no injuries were reported

"It was a magnitude 5.1, that's the main shock, very close to La Harbra and relatively shallow depth," he said.

"We've had a very energetic aftershock sequence, up to about 20, and two of those aftershocks had been greater than magnitude three."

California lies on the San Andreas Fault, the boundary between two shifting land masses responsible for devastating earthquakes that have caused the deaths of thousands of people.

"Tonight's earthquake is the second in two weeks, and reminds us to be prepared," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement.

Seismologists say a huge earthquake causing widespread devastation, referred to as 'The Big One', is 99% certain to hit the state sometime in the next 30 years.

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India: Shock Dowry Deaths Increase Revealed

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Producer

A woman dies every hour in India due to the demands placed upon her family as a result of the dowry system, according to figures from the country's National Crime Records Bureau.

This is an age old custom where the wife's family has to hand over endless amounts in cash and gifts at the wedding and beyond to secure her wellbeing.

It is illegal and the punishments are severe, but the number of cases is on the rise in a country that continues to grapple with the issue of violence against women.

Most of the victims of the dowry system die in the most painful way - burnt by their husband's family.

Neha, a 29-year-old mother-of-two, was treated in the intensive burns unit of a hospital in Delhi after suffering deep burns over almost half of her body.

She said her in-laws threw gasoline on her and set her alight. Doctors said it will take another six months before the bandages can be removed from her body.

Neha told Sky News: "The demands of dowry started right from the time I got married. My father gave whatever he could but their demands were endless and so was the violence and harassment.

Seema Mishra with her daughter

"It got worse when my daughter was born. I never thought they would do this to me; they would beat me up and throw me out of the house in the middle of the night. But I never thought they would try to kill me by burning me."

The case is being investigated and four people are in police custody. Neha is now looked after by her parents at their home on the outskirts of Delhi.

Her father Virender Yadav said he did everything possible to make sure his daughter was safe, but never imagined the situation would get this bad. He wants the severest punishment for all those involved in the attack. 

Seema Mishra said she saved herself from unbearable misery when she left her husband's home with her eight-year-old daughter.

She said the demands made were beyond her father's means. This resulted in physical violence and harassment which caused her to lose her first child. Unable to cope, and in fear for her daughter's life, she left.

Laws aimed at protecting women were passed after the Delhi bus gang rape

Her case has been in court for five years now, and Seema's family have poured their savings into fighting it.

She told Sky News: "There is no justice in sight. There is no future for us, if have no hope for any support from anyone."

Since 2001 an estimated 100,000 women have been killed due to dowries. But the worrying factor has been the increasing numbers of such deaths and dowry cases registered by the NCRB.

Kamla Bhasin, a women's rights activist for more than four decades, told Sky News she was shocked by the rising numbers and believes there is a direct correlation with India's economic progress.

"It's really linked to greed of money and its linked to patriarchy. Traditional patriarchy is bad enough. This combination of capitalist patriarchy is lethal," she said.

The system has far-reaching effects on Indian society. It is the primary reason for female foeticide and infanticide. Activists estimate 500,000 female foetuses are aborted illegally every year.

Kamla Bhasin sees a correlation with India's economic progress

For many families it is the boy who brings in the riches while a girl continuously depletes it.

Mrs Bhasin said: "Female foeticide takes place in the progressive states like Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, resulting in a distorted sex ratio.

"It's not the uneducated or tribals that practise this but the affluent societies in large cities and towns of the country. And all this for the want of money."

The horrific Delhi bus gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in December 2012 led to unprecedented protests across the country.

Under pressure from the public, the government passed tough laws aimed at protecting women. Fast track courts were established to try cases of violence against women and punishments were increased.

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Missing Plane Hunt: Multiple Objects Spotted

Learning Lessons From Missing Flight MH370

Updated: 9:23am UK, Saturday 29 March 2014

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

The small consolation that should come with every airline crash is that the knowledge gained from the tragedy should help prevent it happening again.

But if that were true, we might already know more about what happened to flight MH370.

After the Air France accident of 2009, in which 228 people died when their flight from Brazil plunged into the Atlantic, 120 representatives of the international aviation industry got together to recommend ways to make it easier to find aircraft which crash into the sea. 

None has been implemented.

They suggested that the flight data recorders - the black boxes - should have larger batteries so they would carry on transmitting a beacon for 90 rather than 30 days. 

But bigger batteries mean extra weight and extra cost for the airlines to install them.

They also suggested the recorders should be designed to break away and float to the surface, rather than sink to the sea floor along with the rest of the fuselage.

And that the frequency of the transmission should be altered to boost how far away it can be heard, beyond its current 2,000 metre maximum.

Salvage expert David Mearns, from Blue Water Recoveries, told Sky News: "If you reduce that frequency, the lower the frequency, the greater the range. 

"You go from 37.5khz , to say, 8.8khz as recommended, I think that would increase the range to over 10,000 metres.

"So that's a five times increase in your detectable range and that would help the teams out there now looking for these black boxes."

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

"It's a very big industry. It's an international industry," said Mr Mears.

"It takes a lot of time for these things to work themselves through the regulations; how they would operate, how the pilots would be trained to use them; they have to be implemented on the aircraft, so it takes years for these things to be done."

In an age when we can all track most passenger aircraft on our smartphones and computers, how can a plane still go missing? 

Most, but not all, areas of the world are now covered by the Acars ADS-B system, allowing them to be constantly tracked. Although smaller, older aircraft are not equipped.

There are new regulations being introduced around the world compelling airlines to fit them in all passenger aircraft. 

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

Mikael Robertsson, the founder of Flightradar24.com, told Sky: "Maybe authorities in these countries don't want to rush or I guess it costs quite a lot of money for airlines to upgrade their equipment on board."

In any case, it appears the system on MH370 was switched off. 

One current 777 pilot told Sky he could not think of a good reason why he would do such a thing. 

And with so many flights criss-crossing vast expanses of water, knowing the plane's last position is crucial to a swift recovery. 

Mr Robertsson said: "I think this is something that should be discussed: How much pilots should be able to turn off, and how easy it should be to turn some systems off?"

The backgrounds of the pilots have been scrutinised to assess the likelihood of criminal or suicidal behaviour. 

Professor Robert Bor is a clinical psychologist who has studied those who fly, and was specifically asked to review an incident involving an American Jet Blue pilot who had a psychotic episode while flying from New York to Las Vegas.

Captain Clayton Osbon left the cockpit and screamed at passengers before being subdued by some of those on board. 

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

Prof Bor and others concluded there were no warning signs beforehand which could have prevented the incident.     

"Every year an airline pilot will have at least two formal medical checks which address not just their physical health but their mental health. Every time they are doing the job they are scrutinised by people."

Pilot suicide is not unheard of, and is considered the most likely explanation for the crash of an Indonesian SilkAir flight in 1997. 

The pilot was heavily in debt - 104 passengers and crew were killed.

Airlines may also be studying how Malaysia Airlines has handled the disaster from a public relations perspective. 

The families of the passengers have gone from grieving to protesting, angry at being kept waiting for news, furious about misinformation, and the final indignity - some of them were told the plane had crashed by text message. 

Crisis management expert Raine Marcus told Sky News: "The communications with the families didn't inspire trust from the beginning.

"If you don't build up trust and goodwill right from the beginning, that has a direct impact afterwards on communications with the families and also directly on your business."

In the months and years ahead, as details emerge of what happened to MH370, there will undoubtedly be calls for lessons to be learned.

And in the meantime millions of us will continue to fly, hoping that our flight will not be one of the very rare ones, which does not have a safe landing.

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United Boss Moyes Faces Plane Banner Protest

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

Supporter discontent over Manchester United's slide into mediocrity took to the skies over Old Trafford before the lunchtime kick-off against Aston Villa.

Fans demanding manager David Moyes be sacked following United's disappointing season paid £840 for a plane carrying a banner reading: "Wrong One - Moyes Out".

The message was a response to a banner inside Old Trafford on the Stretford End that reads "The Chosen One", a reference to the fact Sir Alex Ferguson personally selected Moyes as his successor.

The banner has been mocked by rival fans as United struggle post-Ferguson

Jeers could be heard inside the stadium as the "Moyes Out" banner flew overheard shortly before kick-off.

United won the match 4-1.

Asked about the banner before the match, Moyes said: "You just have to remain focused on the game - and that's what we have done.

"It is going to happen but I think, for the people who have spent money on the plane, it would have been better served by putting it into Darren Fletcher's colitis charity instead."

Sir Alex Ferguson picked David Moyes as his successor at Old Trafford

Moyes is struggling to gain the confidence of fans after a season that has set records for relative failure.

United are already guaranteed their lowest points total in the Premier League era, with automatic qualification for the Champions League looking highly unlikely.

They went out of the FA Cup in the third round for only the second time in 27 years and lost in the semi-final of the League Cup.

They are still in the Champions League, with a quarter-final against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Moyes signs autographs for fans ahead of the match

The manner and result of that tie may yet settle Moyes' fate.

The club's American owners, the Glazer family, will give him every chance to show he is up to the job.

But with every limp performance their confidence in him, and willingness to let him spend £200m on rebuilding the squad, can only be dented.

The response of supporters to the aerial duel overhead on Saturday will be watched closely by the owners.

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Essex: Two People Feared Dead In Plane Crash

Two people are feared dead after a light aircraft crashed into a field in a rural area between Writtle and Ongar in Essex.

A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: "A plane came down in a field near the A414 in Essex, causing a fire which the fire brigade was able to put out.

"We suspect there will be fatalities because it is a light aircraft believed to have been carrying two people aboard."

Officers were in the process of locating and informing next of kin.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service said the plane was "completely alight" when firefighters arrived at the scene. Crews used foam to extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters from nearby Chelmsford, Colchester and Maldon are believed to have attended the scene.

A team from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been sent to the scene.

More follows...

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Man Charged Over Holdall Bomb In Belfast

Police in Northern Ireland have charged a 22-year-old man with possession of explosives with intent to endanger life.

The suspect was arrested in the Shaw's Road area of West Belfast at around 11pm on Thursday.

Officers seized a holdall containing an improvised explosive device (IED).

Area Commander for West Belfast, Chief Inspector Anthony McNally, said "We know only too well the death and destruction such devices can cause.

"And there is no doubt that the intention of those behind this device was an attempt to kill police officers who serve this community on a daily basis.

A man was held in the Shaw's Road area of Belfast

"Their intended actions can only be described as ruthless and mindless and show total disregard for the people in this community. This discovery has undoubtedly saved lives or serious injury.

"I commend all of the officers involved in this investigation and I would encourage the community to continue to work with us to keep everyone safe."

During a follow-up search in the Lenadoon Avenue area, police discovered a pipe bomb device and a quantity of ammunition.

The 22-year-old is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Monday.

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Weather: UK Will Be Warmer Than Corfu

Britain will be warmer than Ibiza, Corfu and Cyprus next week as temperatures reach 21C, forecasters say.

Parts of Britain, including London, will hit 20C tomorrow and 21C on Monday, making it hotter than much of the Mediterranean. 

It means plenty of time in the sun as the clocks go forward an hour for the start of British Summer Time (BST) overnight tonight.

Much of the UK will enjoy warm weather tomorrow and for the week ahead as hot air from the continent spreads north.

Sky's weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "South-easterly winds will continue to draw in warm air from the near continent over the next few days.

"Temperatures will widely reach 14 to 18C across the UK and Ireland, with 21C possible across south-east England.

"There'll be plenty of hazy sunshine, but there'll be an increasing risk of heavy, sometimes thundery, showers next week. Wales, western England, Northern Ireland and the Republic look most at risk of those.

"Not everywhere will get the fine, warm weather. Eastern Scotland and north-east England will be murky and cool, typically from Lincolnshire northwards.

"Onshore winds over a cool North Sea will bring sea fog and damp conditions inland at times.

"Temperatures will be much lower along the coast and in the fog, peaking at just 7 or 8C."

The weather is being driven by hot air currently over the Low Countries. Belgium and the Netherlands are forecast to have temperatures in the mid-20s Celsius on Monday.

Temperatures in London are forecast to be 21C on Monday, hotter than Corfu (18C), Ibiza (18C) and Nicosia in Cyprus (19C)

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