United Kingdom

    A report carried out by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has revealed that troublingly, more than half of all teenage girls in Pakistan believe that domestic violence is justified for at least one reason. Refusing sex was just one of the reasons girls aged between 15 and 19 believed a husband would be justified in beating his wife, while more than 30 per cent of girls of the same age had already experienced physical or sexual violence in Pakistan. The report, entitled ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health of Young People in Asia and the Pacific’, also included data from Cambodia, India, Bangladesh and Nepal which revealed similar attitudes about violence against women among teenage boys, the Express Tribune reported. Between 25 and 51 per cent said that wife beating wa...

    A man has been jailed for seven years after travelling to Syria to fight with Isis - but returning because he thought it was "too cold". Mohammed Uddin, of Wilmington Gardens, Barking, Essex, was sentenced after pleading guilty to a charge of preparing acts of terrorism at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday. The court heard how the 29-year-old - who called himself "Supaman" - returned because he didn't like the cold water, the "bland food" and was "doing absolutely jack (nothing)". A South East Counter Terrorism Unit (Sectu) spokesman said that Uddin had travelled to Syria on November 4 2014, with the intention of joining Isis, otherwise known as Daesh, and engaging in combat. He then crossed the border back into Turkey on December 12 2014, but was detained by authorities in ...

    Britain could be hit by a -10C winter blast bringing more than three inches of snow this week. A sharp twist in the jet stream is about to open the floodgate to bitter Arctic winds bringing freezing fog and widespread frosts. Sleet and snow is forecast as far south as Wales and the Midlands by the weekend with wintry showers possible across the country. The chilly outlook comes as Britain reels in the aftermath of devastating Storm Imogen which struck on Monday. Thousands of homes are still without power as torrential rain and winds of up to 100mph lashed swathes of the country. Colossal 14-metre waves battered coastal regions sparking a raft of flood warnings and alerts while transport networks were thrown into chaos. Although winds have died down, Britain faces a new twi...

    The 28-year-old Sunderland winger continues to deny two charges of sexual activity with a girl aged under 16. The footballer, who has earned 12 caps for England, appeared in the dock at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday wearing a black suit and white shirt and was flanked by a female prison officer. The defendant, from Castle Eden, County Durham, had his case moved from Durham. Born in Sunderland, he began his career at Middlesbrough before moving to Manchester City and then to Sunderland for £10 million in 2012.

    The 40-mile journey between Sheffield and Manchester can easily take two hours by car, and the fastest train takes 48 minutes. Travellers in the north of England will not be offered a “Noyster card”, a contactless plastic smartcard based on London’s electronic ticketing system, after officials decided the technology was outdated. Nor will a new east-west rail link be called “Crossrail for the north” after northern leaders took umbrage at the idea of a new line being named after one in the capital. Instead, the priority for the new chief executive and chair of Transport for the North (TfN) is to improve east-west rail links in the region – including a possible new tunnel under the Pennines. Speaking to the Guardian, David Brown, chief executive of TfN, said he wanted to per...

    Britain was lashed by hurricane-force winds that reached nearly 100mph as Storm Imogen battered southern parts of the country and left commuters braced for havoc on the transport networks. Gales and heavy rain have forced road closures and delays to rail services, with airports warning flights may be disrupted. Almost 300 Environment Agency flood warnings are in place across the UK amid heavy downpours, with 59 warnings calling for "immediate action", particularly in the south west and Wales where parts are expected to see up to more than 1.5ins (40mm) of rain during Monday. Rail services in Wales, the south west and in southern areas are being disrupted due to strong winds, with speed restrictions and cancellations, the Severn Bridge was closed eastbound and restricted we...

    The daughter in-law of the British hate preacher Abu Hamza cannot be automatically deported from Britain even though she has a criminal record, the European Court of Justice has ruled. The Moroccan woman is the daughter in-law of the cleric who was jailed for life in America last year after being found guilty of 11 charges of terrorism and kidnapping. A Conservative MP revealed the identity of the woman in the House of Commons today, after a preliminary ruling found that deporting someone who is the sole carer for an EU national child was "in principle contrary to EU law". The woman has a British son and the court has ruled that European Union law means she cannot be deported unless she is deemed to pose a "serious" threat to society. The case intensifies pressure on David...

    A UN panel may have found that Julian Assange is subject to “arbitrary detention” and called for him to be allowed to walk free, but the WikiLeaks founder still remains exactly where he has been for the past 44 months – inside Ecuador’s London embassy and locked in a three-nation war of words. Britain and Sweden immediately rejected the UN report, which found that Assange had been “arbitrarily detained” since his arrest in 2010 and during his lengthy stay in the embassy, where he sought asylum in June 2012. The British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, described the findings as “ridiculous” and the Australian as a “fugitive from justice”. However, the panel’s findings, leaked on Thursday and published in full on Friday morning, were a welcome victory for Assange, and a mo...

    The parents of Jihadi Jack have revealed they were arrested after trying to send him money to buy GLASSES. Jack Letts is suspected of fighting for ISIS, an accusation he and his family strongly deny. Tonight, his parents revealed their son has severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - and that they were arrested when they tried to help their son. They appeared in their first TV interview with Channel 4, when they revealed their fear that Jack - believed to be in Syria- "won't get out alive". Jack left his Oxford home aged 20 and travelled to the ISIS stronghold. He is now called Ibrahim and is believed to be married with a son. His parents were arrested after trying to send him money for new glasses, as police told them they were supporting terrorism. Mum Sally said: "It's th...

    A couple who unwittingly helped the murderer of Becky Watts by hiding her remains in their garden shed have been jailed. Becky, 16, was suffocated by her stepbrother Nathan Matthews after he hatched a sexually-motivated kidnap plot with his girlfriend Shauna Hoare. The pair used a circular saw to dismember Becky's body in the bath of their home in Cotton Mill Lane, Bristol, before packaging her remains in cling film. Matthews promised his neighbour Karl Demetrius, 30, a share of £10,000 for help moving and hiding the packages, stored in suitcases and a box. Demetrius and his girlfriend Jaydene Parsons, 23, agreed to the deal and the items were moved into their garden shed - 80 metres (250ft) from Matthews' home. Police gained entry to the locked shed and discovered Becky's...