Student's Family Lose Deportation Battle

By Joe Tidy, Sky News Reporter

A mother who has campaigned to stop the removal of her 19-year-old daughter from the country has been told she too has to leave Britain.

Student Yashika Bageerathi was due to be flown back to Maritius on Tuesday afternoon without her mother, sister and brother.

She was given a last-minute reprieve after a high-profile campaign from London school friends and teachers which apparently led British Airways to not accept her on a flight from Gatwick Airport.

However, celebrations were cancelled on Tuesday night as Yashika's mother's solicitors received a letter from the Home Office stating that her application for asylum had also been rejected and she would have to leave the country with her two other children.

Yashika's school principal, Lynne Dawes, has been a figurehead in the campaign since her pupil was taken into an immigration detention centre. She was with Mrs Bageerathi when she received the letter.

Yashika's mother has been told she must leave the UK

"I thought she was going to faint," she said. "We've been confused about why they made a U-turn on their decision to remove Yashika and now this. We will be appealing."

Yashika came to the UK from Mauritius in 2011 on a tourist visa to escape domestic violence.

Since applying for asylum, her application has been treated separately from her mother, brother and sister as she is considered an adult.

On Sunday, a protest march to the Home Office was staged by dozens of school friends, teachers and neighbours.

An online petition by the students calling on Immigration Minister James Brokenshire and Home Secretary Theresa May to stop the deportation and allow the student to complete her A-levels collected nearly 23,000 signatures.

Yashika came to the UK in 2011

Model Cara Delevingne also made a plea on Twitter for Mrs May not to send the aspiring maths teacher back.

On Monday, barristers took an injunction to the High Court asking for her to be allowed to at least finish her A-Levels and be with her family, but the case was rejected.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need it and we consider every application on its individual merits.

"We do not routinely comment on individual cases."

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Teachers' Strike Disrupts 10,000 Schools

By David Crabtree, Midlands Correspondent

Thousands of state schools will be closed or partially closed today by a one-day strike involving members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT).

More than 10,000 schools are being disrupted across England and Wales as the NUT launches its first national strike in almost three years.

The walkout is the latest in a series of strikes in an ongoing row over pensions, performance-related pay and workloads.

Deputy General Secretary Kevin Courtney told Sky News: "The reason that we are on strike today, which we very much regret, is that (Secretary of State for Education) Michael Gove simply won't listen.

"We think Michael Gove's policies are exhausting and demoralising teachers, and children deserve enthusiastic and energetic teachers."

Last year the NUT staged stoppages with the NASUWT union, which is not taking part in the latest action. The NASUWT has been encouraged by ongoing talks over the disputed issues.

However Mr Courtney said neither Mr Gove nor Minister of State for Schools David Laws had personally attended negotiations so far.

In a later interview with Sky News Mr Laws dismissed claims the Government was not listening to teachers' concerns as "ridiculous."

He said he had no heard no previous complaints from the NUT over the way talks were structured, saying they were "detailed and serious."

He added that all seven major teaching and head teaching unions in the country are engaged in the talks, including the NUT, and "all of them are positive."

He said: "Six of those unions are not talking industrial action today."

Marching teachers in Brighton in October

Ahead of Wednesday's planned strike action a Department for Education statement said: "Parents will struggle to understand why the NUT is pressing ahead with strikes over the Government's measures to let heads pay good teachers more.

"They called for talks to avoid industrial action, we agreed to their request, and talks have been taking place weekly.

"Despite this constructive engagement with their concerns, the NUT is taking action that will disrupt parents' lives, hold back children's education and damage the reputation of the profession."

The Government maintains less than a quarter of teachers voted for strike action. But NUT officials say the Government's own figures back up their argument.

Coventry physics teacher and NUT official Chris Denson said: "Since this Government has come to power we have seen a continual deterioration of teachers' working conditions.

"You see the Department For Education's own survey shows that working time has gone up massively in secondary and primary schools.

"But also since this Government has come to power a teacher's take-home pay has come down by 17%. Our pensions, we have to pay more to get less at the end and have to work until 69. So there are a huge number of issues."

A recent survey suggested primary school teachers work nearly 60 hours a week, with secondary school teachers chalking up 56 hours.

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Energy Firm SSE To Freeze Household Bills

'Big Six' energy firm SSE is to freeeze household bills until January 2016, it has been confirmed.

The announcement comes amid the ongoing controversy over energy bill price hikes for consumers and businesses.

SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: "We're setting out a positive agenda for customers, including our price freeze to 2016.

"We're making sure our own house is in order for the future by streamlining and simplifying our business.

"And we're making clear we wish to work with people to find more ways of taking costs out of energy bills."

In conjunction with the tariff freezing, SSE announced a swathe of measures to keep its overheads down.

It said "further operational efficiencies" will see it reduce costs by £100m in the coming two years, including a staff reduction of 500.

SSE said it would also legally separate its retail and wholesale segments by March next year.

The big energy providers have come under sustained fire over profits, with critics saying although retail earnings may be modest the firms' wholesale and distributions margins are too high.

The company also said it would limit the size of its deepwater Project Beatrice wind farm, located 12 miles off Scotland's Moray Firth, north-east of Inverness.

Further cost savings are expected to come from reducing the amount of capital and investment expenditure in the coming years.

It said although investment outlay would be around £1.6bn in 2014/15, this figure would drop by nearly 20% for the following three years.

SSE said it expects to report a full-year annual pre-tax profit of around 9% when it releases its results on May 21.

It expects operating profit to be 10% higher from its network distribution sector and 20% higher from its wholesale division, primarily due to greater gas production.

However, as householders become more aware of reducing energy consumption, SSE expects to see a retail profit reduction of about 25%.

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Shereka Marsh: Teen Charged With Murder

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder over the shooting of teenager Shereka Marsh at a party in east London.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is due to appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Shereka died at a house in Eastway in Hackney on Saturday afternoon after being shot once in the neck.

Shereka (third right) at her school in east London. Pic: Hackney Gazette

Detectives found a gun inside the house.

Two 16-years-olds who had been arrested in connection to the shooting have been released without charge, police said.

Mourners - including members of Shereka's family - visited the scene throughout Sunday to lay flowers and tributes have also been posted on social media.

Chinelle Jennings, 15, a friend and schoolmate of Shereka, visited the scene of the shooting on Sunday, saying: "She was a nice, bubbly girl and she loved to party, loved shopping.

"She was just like the kind of girl that you would have to fall in love with."

Friends and locals left flowers at the scene of the shooting

"She liked PE. Her favourite subject was history. She was good at sports. She wanted to study business."

The teenager added: "She lived with her mum, her dad was in Jamaica. They just had each other, just them two and they lived together. She cherished her mum.

"Her mum was very protective."

Chinelle Jennings said Shereka was "a nice, bubbly girl"

Another of Shereka's friends, Drew Percival, said: "She had a good mindset, she was very funny. She was more of the business type. She liked her clothes, it was all designer. She was very sociable, a lot of friends.

"She was good at sports. She was always that person who was making everyone laugh."

Shereka had last week been pictured in the local press for helping to host the Jamaican High Commissioner when she visited The Urswick School.

Shereka was one of four pupils at the school who led the visitors on a tour, the Hackney Gazette said.

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Radical Islam Website Readers May Be Prosecuted

The Metropolitan Police has warned people who seek out and read radical Islamist publications online they could face prosecution.

The caution comes after an online radical al Qaeda-linked magazine, Inspire, incited its readers to attack public events in the West.

The Met also issued a formal advisory to other police forces following the publication of the spring 2014 issue of the title.

A spokesman for the force said: "The MPS Counter Terrorism Command is aware of the websites and appropriate steps have been put in place, including providing security advice where relevant.

"The public is reminded that viewing downloading or disseminating extremist material within the UK may constitute an offence under Section 1 and 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

"As part of our continued work, we regularly work with, and support, industry, the organisers of sporting events and companies overseeing crowded places with a variety of briefings and advice."

Inspire is an English language online magazine which bears the emblem of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), based in Yemen.

However, editorial and technological flaws have raised doubts about the publication's authenticity.

Inspire began publishing in 2010, and its first issue included a now infamous article titled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom" that instructed would-be violent jihadists to use materials commonly found in a household kitchen, such as a pressure cooker.

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev reportedly admitted to investigators that he and his brother Tamerlan learned how to build the bombs used in the marathon attack in April last year by reading the magazine.

The latest issue of the magazine urges jihadists to target heavily populated events such as political rallies and sporting events, both in the US and abroad - including in the UK, France and other "crusading" countries.

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NHS Staff Who Refuse Flu Jab 'Irresponsible'

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Patients are being put at risk because so many doctors and nurses refuse to have the flu vaccine, Sky News has been told.

The Department of Health says hospitals should vaccinate 75% of staff to protect patients.

But just 40 of more than 150 hospitals across England met the target, according to official figures.

And at King's College Hospital in London just 30% came forward for the vaccine.

Dr Ben Marshall, consultant chest physician at Southampton General Hospital, said staff who refuse the vaccine are "irresponsible".

"The impact of us being off sick with influenza during a particularly busy time of year, namely winter, is having a huge impact on safe patient care," he said.

The Government has set a 75% target for hospitals to vaccinate staff

"We also need to protect our patients because we may unwittingly carry active influenza at a low grade level and pass on the infection to patients."

Even staff treating highly vulnerable patients refused to have the vaccine in extraordinary numbers.

At Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital vaccination rates were only 40% and at the Royal Marsden cancer hospital - where patients have severely impaired immune systems - they reached just 49%.

The national average was 54%.

Once the virus is on the wards it can spread quickly.

Just last month at the Leicester Royal Infirmary six children in the high dependency unit developed swine flu. Three had to be isolated.

The source could have been a visitor, but the figures reveal just half the staff have been vaccinated.

Birmingham Children's Hospital used boxer Holyfield in its campaign

Failure to hit the 75% government target could prove costly to hospitals.

The Department of Health told Sky News that only in "exceptional circumstances" would they be considered for a share of a £250m windfall to help with A&E pressure next winter.

It added: "Uptake is currently at its highest level ever. However, it is clear there is more to do."

Some hospitals have managed to engage staff.

Birmingham Children's Hospital convinced 86% of staff to have the jab in a campaign that was fronted by boxer Evander Holyfield.

Nurse Ruth Wall, who leads the hospital's flu fighting team, took to the wards to vaccinate staff while they worked.

She said: "We are all here to look after the children. None of us want them to have the flu."

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Hackney Shooting: Three Held After Girl Killed

Three teenage boys have been arrested after a girl, believed to be around 15, was shot dead in east London.

Scotland Yard murder detectives are investigating after the victim was shot inside a building on Eastway, near the Olympic Park in Hackney.

Police were called shortly before 4pm and attended the scene with London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene near Victoria Park, which would have been packed with families at the time of the shooting. 

The shooting happened on the outskirts of London's Olympic Park

Officers believe they know the identity of the victim and are informing family while they await formal identification.

A post-mortem examination will be held in due course.

Three males, all aged under 18, were arrested near the scene.

They were taken to an east London police station, where they remain in custody.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Girls Lured Into UK Gangs 'In Desperation'

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs And Education Editor

Thousands of girls are being subjected to sexual exploitation, weapons and drug running at the hands of male-run gangs, a new report warns.

A brutal gang culture is increasingly seeing girls and young women passed around different male gang members for sex, with rape used as a weapon in conflicts between rival gangs, and initiation ceremonies in which both girls and boys suffer sexual abuse, the report adds.

Edward Boyd, deputy policy director of the Centre for Social Justice, which co-wrote the report together with the charity XLP, said: "We are often unsighted about the desperate plight of girls embroiled in gangs.

"They live in a parallel world where rape is used as a weapon and carrying drugs and guns is seen as normal."

The report's authors say that despite previous reports on the vulnerability of girls in gangs, the Government lacks a coherent, long-term vision for dealing with the issue.

The report cites estimates that 12,500 girls and young women could be involved in gangs, but says too little is known about how gang life affects girls' education, families, friends and communities and their own offending.

Former gang members speak to Sky News about their experiences

One 16-year-old gang member, who is being helped to rebuild her life, told Sky News she was let down by adults when she first became involved in gang activity.

"At that time I had no mother, no one to depend on. At that time my mother was a drug addict, I was on my own," said Charlene (not her real name).

"The people that came into my life, they would come into my life and just leave again.

"The main reason I wanted to associate with people around me was that I wanted to be protected. But I was wrong. To this day I'm having trouble with police because of it."

"With the school that I was in, they didn't really help," Charlene added.

"If I went to school and something was bothering me, they didn't even help me with that.

"They would be quick to move me out of the school because of the reputation of the school, they didn't want to ruin it. So they wouldn't help, they would just send you to an alternative school."

The report also claims headteachers have turned a blind eye to gang activity to protect their school's reputation.

But one former gang member said problems in the home and widespread family breakdown was a root cause of the problem.

An estimated 12,500 girls and young women could be involved in gangs

Mona, who now works with charity St Giles Trust to help gang members change their lives, said her own experience of involvement and sexual exploitation in a gang as a teenager was also linked to problems in her home life.

"I had two different types of initiation (into the gang)," said Mona.

"There's one where I had to fight the girls that were gang members, to prove my worth to them. And then there was being passed around by the boys, and that happened to me.

"I wanted to be accepted, and they fed on that acceptance. I had issues at home with my schooling, with my behaviour, I'd run away from home, I was out by myself, hooking up with a load of older people, and they abused me."

Today's report comes after several previous attempts to reveal the extent of girls' involvement in gangs since the issue first came to prominence a decade ago.

But some warn that social pressure and the increasing sexualisation of young women has changed the nature and severity of the problem.

The sexualisation of women adds to the problem, according to Isha Nembhard

"When I was in school we was more boisterous. It was a girl gang. There was no boys in our gang," said Isha Nembhard, 25, a former gang member who now works with Foundation 4 Life which helps girls currently involved in gangs.

"We had male affiliation, but they was in their own group. What we went out and done, it was for ourselves ... Girl rap was more tomboyish. Nowadays girl rap is more sexualised. People like Nicki Minaj and Rihanna sexualise themselves a lot more.

"That makes a girl in a gang weak because they look at these girls only as a sex object."

Former gang members describe exposure to sex on social media, the desire for material wealth, and the lack of parental or community support as a counter-influence as key factors in driving young girls into relationships with male gang members.

The report's authors said that without more research into the extent of the problem, girls would continue to suffer from abuse and lasting damage to their futures.

"The biggest issue with girls in gangs is that we simply don't know the full extent of the problem," said Patrick Regan, chief executive officer of XLP.

"The data we have is merely the tip of the iceberg and at XLP there is no doubt that we see increasing numbers of girls dragged into this appalling world of exploitation, criminality and hopelessness."

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Dewani Extradition Date Set By South Africa

South African authorities have set the date for Shrien Dewani to be extradited to face trial over the murder of his new wife.

Dewani will be extradited from the UK on April 7 and is due to appear in court the following day, South Africa's Department of Justice spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga disclosed on Sunday morning.

It comes after Dewani lost his latest legal battle to block his extradition, exhausting his appeal rights - three High Court judges rejected all of his current grounds of appeal against removal from Britain.

Dewani is detained under the Mental Health Act

The 33-year-old is accused of arranging the murder of his new wife, Anni, in November 2010 during their honeymoon in Cape Town.

Authorities in South Africa say Dewani paid for others to hijack their taxi, throw him out and shoot the 28-year-old before abandoning the vehicle. Dewani, who is compulsorily detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act, denies any involvement in his wife's death.

The couple dancing at their wedding

Speaking after Dewani's latest court battle to remain in the UK on the grounds of his mental illness, Anni's father Vinod Hindocha said: "We are quite happy with the decision and we hope to get the answers that we have been seeking for the past three and a half years.

"I really don't know what happened to my daughter. We need answers. We hope to get justice."

So far three men have been convicted over Mrs Dewani's death.

It has been three-and-a-half years since Anni Dewani was murdered

South African Xolile Mngeni was convicted of premeditated murder for shooting her.

Prosecutors claimed that he was a hitman hired to carry out the killing.

Taxi driver Zola Tongo was jailed for 18 years after he admitted his part in the killing, and another accomplice, Mziwamadoda Qwabe, also pleaded guilty to murder and was given a 25-year prison sentence.

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Veiled Acid Attacker Sentenced To 12 Years

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky News Reporter

A woman who threw acid in the face of her friend, leaving her scarred for life, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Mary Konye, 22, cried as the sentence was handed down at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Her victim Naomi Oni has had skin grafts to cover the severe burns and has been left with scars on her face, legs, chest, stomach and arms.

The 22-year-old Victoria's Secret shop assistant was almost blinded in one eye, lost an eyelid, her eyelashes and hair following the attack on December 30, 2012, in Dagenham, East London.

Mary Konye dressed in a veil to carry out an attack on her friend.

In a statement read out in court, Naomi Oni said she felt "violated" by the attack, which left her feeling like killing herself.

Before the attack, she told the court, she was a "confident" young woman with a job she enjoyed.

"All this changed that day I was struck with acid and my life was turned upside down," she said.

She described every day now as "a battle to get by".

"I'm going to have these scars as a reminder forever ... my injuries are due to the carefully planned acts of an evil, wicked person," Ms Oni added.

Konye disguised herself in a Muslim veil and followed Naomi Oni home from work before attacking her.

No clear motive has ever been discovered but it is believed the pair fell out in April 2011 after Ms Oni allegedly accused Konye of texting her boyfriend and called her an "ugly monster".

On sentencing Konye, Judge David Radford said Konye had shown no remorse for the "deliberate and wicked act".

Naomi Oni had to receive months of treatment for her injuries.

Judge Radford said: "This careful, premeditated criminality was planned against a person who reasonably believed you were a true friend.

"Her friendship had been so wilfully betrayed by you," he said, adding the attack had "ruined" Ms Oni's life.

Following the assault Konye pretended to offer her former friend support, texting her in hospital.

Although it is thought Konye could have planned the attack for two years, she later suggested Ms Oni had devised the whole thing to get "fame and fortune".

The attack is believed to have been a copycat version of the one suffered by model and TV presenter Katie Piper, who was badly scarred and left blind in one eye in an assault arranged by her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, in 2008.

Previously, Ms Oni had told the court that Konye knew the impact the attack had on her after they watched a TV documentary about it.

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