Made In Britain: China Boosts Iconic Brands

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent in Shanghai

As Britain's economy shows meagre growth, a increasing number of iconic 'Made in Britain' brands are focussing their attention on China.

In an interview with Sky News, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce said the Chinese market was key.

"The Chinese are in love with Rolls-Royce," Torsten Muller-Otvos said as he showed off the company's latest model, the Wraith, to the Asian market at the Shanghai Motor Show this week.

"It is definitely good for Britain because 90% of our cars produced in Britain are exported and 10% roughly stay in the home market.

"That is basically very good for business and for the economy in Britain."

The new Jaguar F-Type, revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show this week

Rolls-Royce is now owned by Germany's BMW but the brand itself is still iconically British. The company produced 3,575 vehicles in 2012 from its factory in Chichester, West Sussex.

It wouldn't reveal how many of those came to China but, along with the Middle East, China is a vital market.

"When you look at the long-term forecast for so-called ultra-high-net-worth individuals, this is forecast to grow 3-5% year by year," Mr Muller-Otvos said.

These ultra-high-net-worth individuals are people like Chen Anzhi, a businessman from Shanghai. He owns three Rolls-Royces and agreed to take Sky News for a spin in one.

Sky News is given a ride in Mr Chen's Rolls Royce

"British to me means very high quality of workmanship; attention to detail. I appreciate that," Mr Chen said at the wheel of his bright green convertible Roller.

"Look at my suit!" he said, taking both hands off the steering wheel of his vastly expensive car.

"I think I am wearing Dunhill today. Dunhill's also British I think?

"I bought three of these Rolls-Royces. Presently I have two: a white one, this green one and I had a burgundy one but I gave it away."

Mr Chen represents one of a growing number of people in China with an eye-watering amount of money and a love affair for luxury and all things British.

"I love British cars, British furniture, I love to go to London," he said.

"I enjoy the very luxury lifestyle, yes. Chinese and British - good friends!"

The Aston Martin stand at the Shanghai Auto Show

We pass Shanghai's flagship stores, including British ones like Burberry. The reflection of our more than ostentatious car is visible in the windows of the shiny shop windows.

"Fourteen years ago you rarely see BMW and Mercedes," Mr Chen said.

"Now you see Rolls-Royce and you think 'wow'! What happened here to the economy? It's booming."

Jaguar Land Rover is another 'Made in Britain' brand - albeit now Indian owned - which is increasingly popular in China.

The Chinese market is now the company's largest globally, allowing it to invest in new jobs in the UK and set up a new joint-venture project in China.

At this week's Auto Show in Shanghai, the new Jaguar F-Type and the new Range Rover Sport were both unveiled to the Asian market.

Range Rovers, often in garish colours with added body-kits, are a regular sight on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai.

Back in Mr Chen's bright green Rolls Royce, I ask him the awkward question. How much did it cost him?

"I knew that question was coming," he laughs!

"It's close to $1.8m. The price is crazy, I know, but after you drive this car, the enjoyment and pleasure, you just forget about the price."

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Tattoo Is Key To Sex Assault Arrest In Mexico

An American fugitive suspected of abducting and sexually assaulting a 10-year-old Los Angeles girl has been tracked down to a small Mexican village.

Tobias Summers, 30, was brought back to the US to face 37 charges, including numerous sexual assaults, after hiding out for nearly a month.

He had checked into a rehabilitation clinic in Las Missiones on the coast between Tijuana and Ensenada.

Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck credited a $25k FBI reward, that was highly publicised south of the border, for a phone tip that led to the arrest on Wednesday.

"Anybody in this city who thinks they can commit that kind of crime and remain free after doing so ... we'll hunt you, we'll find you, you cannot hide," Chief Beck said.

Summers checked into the facility under a false name, but police identified him from a Superman logo tattooed on his chest.

"He was pretty scared," said Alfredo Arenas from the Baja California police. "We had him in custody very fast."

Tobias Summers was named on the FBI's list of most wanted fugitives

The victim's parents discovered she was missing from her bedroom in her Northridge home in the early morning hours of March 27.

She was found about 12 hours later wandering near a Starbucks several miles away.

The FBI said the girl had been taken to several locations and raped by Summers.

Authorities soon arrested Daniel Martinez, 29, as a suspected accomplice and later revealed that Summers was spotted in a video recording as he crossed the border into Mexico at Tecate, east of San Diego.

He has been charged with kidnapping, burglary and nearly three dozen counts of sexual assault.

Summers has a criminal record dating to 2002 that includes arrests for robbery, battery and car theft.

He was also allegedly active in a San Fernando Valley white supremacist gang.

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'Thumb-Friendly' Keyboard Made For Touchscreens

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

A new 'thumb-friendly' keyboard has been developed to enable faster typing on touchscreen devices.

Researchers claim a new layout of keys allows people to thumb-type 34% faster than using the traditional Qwerty keyboard.

The most commonly-used words can be written using both thumbs at the same time. 

The Qwerty keyboard on a touchscreen device is comparatively slow because frequently used words like  'on', 'see', 'you', 'read', 'dear', and 'based' have to be typed with a single thumb because of the keyboard layout.

The new system, called KALQ, has been developed by the University of St Andrews in conjunction with the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany and Montana Tech in the US.

Dr Antti Oulasvirta, senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute, told Sky News: "The key to optimising a keyboard for two thumbs is to minimise long typing sequences that only involve a single thumb.

"It is also important to place frequently used letter keys centrally, close to each other.

"Experienced typists move their thumbs simultaneously: while one thumb is selecting a particular key, the other thumb is approaching its next target.

"From these insights we derived a predictive behavioural model we could use to optimise the keyboard."

KALQ will be available as a free app for Android-based smartphones.

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Boston Victim Vows To Return To Dancing Job

A professional ballroom dancer who lost her left foot in the Boston bombing has vowed that she will dance again - and run the marathon next year.

Adrianne Haslet is just one of the many injured in the April 15 atrocity who have pledged that it will not define their lives.

"I absolutely want to dance again and I also want to run the marathon next year," said the 32-year-old.

"I will crawl across the finish line, literally crawl, if it means I finish it."

She may find herself back in the limelight even sooner as she is set to appear on the US TV programme Dancing With The Stars.

Adrianne Haslet is being treated at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

The details of her appearance are yet to be revealed but Adrianne told the Boston Herald that she would be honoured to be a guest, and especially pleased by the prospect of meeting show pro Derek Hough.

"OHMUGOD!!!!!!!!!", she messaged a friend. "I loooove Derek!!!!!!!!!"

The Boston woman, an Arthur Murray Dance Studio employee, thought she was going to die when she looked down and saw how her body had been mutilated.

She has had one surgery to amputate her left foot, and another in which doctors amputated more of the same leg below her knee.

In the hours before terror struck Boylston Street, Ms Haslet was basking in the joy of having her husband home again.

Two weeks earlier, the Air Force captain had returned from a four-month deployment in Afghanistan.

On Patriots' Day morning, they were walking near the marathon's finish line when the second explosion left her tangled in a heap on the ground and she saw something was wrong with her foot.

"I remember thinking, 'That's so gross,' and being terrified that this is the moment I was going to die," she said.

She crawled toward a restaurant door, before someone dragged her towards a staircase.

Her husband, although also injured, took off his belt to make a tourniquet for her.

Then others arrived to help and soon she was in a triage area where someone wrote a number on her forehead.

"I just prayed that I had a number that was high enough to get help," she said.

"I just kept screaming out, 'I'm a ballroom dancer! I'm a ballroom dancer! Just save my foot."

The next day, she woke up at Boston Medical Centre and saw her mother.

"I told my mom 'My foot feels like it's asleep.' And she said, 'Adrianne, you don't have a foot anymore.'"

She is hoping to get a prosthetic device in the next two months to begin her long journey back to the dance floor and marathon course.

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Putin Says Nyet, I'm Not A New Stalin

President Vladimir Putin has denied the existence of any elements of Stalinism under his rule, but warned Russians there needed to be "order and discipline" in the nation.

"I do not see any elements of Stalinism here," Mr Putin said in his annual question-and-answer session with Russians, amid growing criticism from activists over a crackdown on civil society freedoms.

"Stalinism is linked to the cult of personality, mass violations of the law, repressions and camps."

But he added: "This does not mean that we should not have order and discipline."

Mr Putin insisted that present-day Russia could not be compared with the Stalin era, saying that now there are no political prisoners.

Stalin is still admired by ultra-nationalists in Russia

"People are punished for breaking laws or breaching the rights of other people," he said, citing Pussy Riot punk band, two of whose members have been jailed for two years in remote prison camps for an anti-Putin performance in a church.

Millions of Soviet citizens were sent to prison camps or executed under Stalin's rule, while millions also died in horrific famines blamed on his brutal agricultural polices.

"There is nothing like this in Russia and, I hope, never will be again," said Mr Putin.

However rights groups in Putin-controlled Russia have accused him of using Stalinist repression techniques including the jailing of opponents and impeding the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with repressive laws.

At around the same time Mr Putin was speaking a poll-monitoring NGO, Golos, was given a £6,460 fine for refusing to register as a "foreign agent".

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny in court on April 24

The US recently announced sanctions under the so-called Magnitsky Law, named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in 2008 for tax evasion after accusing Russian police officials of stealing millions in tax rebates.

Asked about the ongoing trial of Kremlin critic and anti-corruption whistleblower Alexei Navalny, seen by the opposition as politically motivated, Mr Putin said that those who expose sleaze must expect scrutiny of their own record.

"People who fight corruption themselves must be squeaky clean. There should not be a situation where those who shout, 'Stop, thief!' are allowed to steal themselves."

"But that does not mean those who have differing views should be dragged into jail," he added.

Navalny, a prominent protest leader and lawyer, has attributed the embezzlement charges against him to Mr Putin's orders, as he faces a decade in prison.

Winston Churchill, FD Roosevelt and Stalin at the Yalta conference

He has openly declared his desire to stand for president himself and regularly slams Putin's "gang of thieves."

Mr Putin insisted that the trial, which went into its first full day on Wednesday in the regional city of Kirov, would be fair.

"I'm sure the trial will be objective," Mr Putin said, without naming Navalny directly in his comments - an apparent taboo for Russia's leadership.

Mr Putin initially did not answer a question on Navalny from the editor-in-chief of liberal radio station Moscow Echo, Alexei Venediktov, but was prodded for his response by the host of the show on state television.

Navalny's case has been compared to that of former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky - who is still being held near the town of Segezha in the Karelia region, bordering Finland.

Khordorkovsky's lawyers told Sky News he is held in a Soviet era prison built by gulag inmates, after being held in custody since 2003 and jailed in 2005.

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Israeli Jets Shoot Down 'Hizbollah' Drone

Israel says it has shot down an unmanned drone from Lebanon off its northern coast.

Military officials said the plane was intercepted off the coast in Israeli airspace near the city of Haifa.

Deputy defence minister Danny Danon confirmed the incident to Israeli army radio.

"We're talking about another attempt by Hezbollah to send an unmanned drone into Israeli territory," he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "I see this attempt to breach our borders as extremely grave - we will continue to do whatever we must to protect the security of Israel's citizens."

It is the second known instance in which the Lebanese militant group, a bitter enemy of Israel, is believed to have sent a drone into its airspace.

Hizbollah has repeatedly fired rockets into Israel from Gaza

Last October, the Israeli air force shot down an unmanned aircraft in a similar incident. Israel and Hizbollah fought a month-long war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate.

Mr Netanyahu recently warned that Hizbollah might try to take advantage of the instability in neighbouring Syria to obtain what he called "game-changing" weapons.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said the unmanned aircraft was detected flying over Lebanon and tracked as it approached Israeli airspace.

Lt Col Lerner said the military waited for the aircraft to enter Israeli airspace, confirmed it was "enemy," and an F-16 fighter shot it down.

The drone was flying at an altitude of about 6,000 feet and was downed roughly five miles off the coast.

Israel has become a world leader in drone technology

Israeli naval forces started a search operation to find its remains.

Unnamed military sources said they believed it had been manufactured in Iran.

Mr Netanyahu was informed of the unfolding incident as he was flying north for a cultural event with members of the country's Druze minority.

Officials said his helicopter landed briefly while the drone was intercepted before Mr Netanyahu continued on his way.

Drones have become an increasingly important tool for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) for the world's military forces.

Israel is one of the world's leaders in drone technology and the ISR kit fitted on the aircraft.

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Boston Suspects' Mother: US Took My Kids

The mother of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects has said she does not believe her sons carried out the attack and were framed by the authorities.

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva said she regretted moving to the United States and claimed "America took my kids away from me".

An emotional Mrs Tsarnaeva said she was told her she could not see her 19-year-old son Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is in hospital where US officials said he is being questioned by investigators.

She said: "They already told us that they are never going to show us Dzhokhar even if we come there, until he will be put into their jail we wouldn't be able to see him."

She said her sons were "nice boys" who "loved each other", and said they had been happy in America and had plenty of friends.

Mrs Tsarnaeva said the family had moved to the US because she thought "America was going to protect us".

Family photographs of brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev

She said Dzhokhar's lawyers had said that investigators had not started to question her son because he was not well enough.

She said she had been told he had a "really bad wound to his right neck" which meant he could not eat and was being fed by a tube.

Reports in the US have claimed the teenager suffered a self-inflicted throat injury during a shoot-out and subsequent stand-off with the police.

According to US officials, he said his brother Tamerlan, 26, who died in a gunfight with police, recruited him to take part in the attacks only recently.

Mrs Tsarnaeva being questioned by reporters in Dagestan

However, both Mrs Tsarnaeva and her husband Anzor Tsarnaev said there was no way their sons were responsible for the attack which killed three people, including an eight-year-old boy, and injured more than 180 others.

She said her sons were victims of a conspiracy and had been framed. She claimed she had seen a video of Tamerlan being arrested and was later shown pictures of him alive.

Mrs Tsarnaeva said she had spoken to her son after the bombings and before he was killed in the police shoot-out during which he told her "Don't worry mamma" and tried to reassure her he was safe.

Tamerlan during a boxing match in 2009

Mr Tsarnaev told reporters: "I am going to the United States. I want to say that I am going there to see my son, to bury the older one. I don't have any bad intentions. I don't plan to blow up anything."

Banging the table as he spoke, he said: "I am not angry at anyone. I want to go find out the truth."

Mrs Tsarnaeva said she was not sure whether she would accompany her husband. She was charged with shoplifting in the US last summer and is concerned she could be arrested.

They were speaking as it emerged that Tamerlan's name had been included on a database of suspected terrorists by the CIA in 2011, 18 months before the attacks.

He was investigated after Russia's FSB security service raised concerns that he had become a follower of Russian Islam.

Dzhokhar graduating from Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Boston

Mrs Tsarnaeva said she did not believe that Russia had raised concerns over her son with the US authorities.

The press conference came as Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his annual question-and-answer session during which he said the Boston bombings showed the need for closer cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

He said: "We always have said that we shouldn't limit ourselves to declarations about terrorism being a common threat and engage in closer cooperation.

"Now these two criminals have proven the correctness of our thesis."

Mr Putin also criticised the West for refusing to declare Chechen militants terrorists and offering them political assistance in the past.

He said: "I always felt indignation when our Western partners and Western media were referring to terrorists who conducted brutal and bloody crimes on the territory of Russia as rebels."

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Dhaka Factory: '40 Pulled Alive From Rubble'

Dozens of people have been found alive in one room of a collapsed factory block in Bangladesh, according to TV reports.

Loud cheers broke out among the crowd of thousands of people massing at the scene near the capital, Dhaka, when the news broke.

First reports put the number rescued at 40, but a spokesman later said it was 24.

The death toll has reached 250 after Wednesday's disaster at the factory which supplied several British store chains, including Primark.

The rescue came as it was reported that the owner of one of the garment factories which ignored an order to stop working had fled.

Around 3,000 people worked in the building and at least 1,000 are said to have been injured.

Army Brigadier General Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder said hundreds more people may still be trapped in the building.

Thousands waited below the building for news of loved-ones

Screams were heard coming through the cracks in the concrete, suggesting more survivors were awaiting help.

Throughout the day on Thursday a steady stream of bodies had been pulled out, forcing the recorded death toll to almost double.

Earlier it emerged that officers ordered the building to be evacuated the day before it collapsed, but clothing factories that worked there continued operating, ignoring police instructions.

The order was made after deep cracks became visible on Tuesday.

The managers of a bank that also had an office in the building evacuated their workers and suspended their operations.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association had also asked the factories to suspend work starting on Wednesday morning, just hours before the building fell.

"After we got the crack reports we asked them to suspend work until further examination, but they did not pay heed," said association president Atiqul Islam.

Survivors described hearing a loud crack just before the eight-storey building collapsed, with each level pancaking on top of those below.

Rescuers are having to cut through concrete and steel to reach victims

The building housed at least four factories producing clothes for leading Western retailers.

High street giant Primark confirmed one of its suppliers occupied the second floor of the building.

A Primark spokesman said: "The company is shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling incident at Savar, near Dhaka, and expresses its condolences to all of those involved."

Tens of thousands of people have gathered at the site, weeping and searching for family members.

Bangladesh's prime minister vowed the garment factory owner who fled would be tracked down and punished.

"Those who're involved, especially the owner who forced the workers to work there, will be punished," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told members of Bangladesh's parliament.

"Wherever he is, he will be found and brought to justice," she added.

Elsewhere in Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of workers walked out of their factories in solidarity with their dead colleagues.

Some workers' leaders attacked Western firms, whom they accused of turning "a blind eye" while using Bangladeshis as "money-making machines".

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Justin Bieber: 'Drugs And Stun Gun On Tour Bus'

Drugs and a stun gun have been found on board Justin Bieber's tour bus, according to Swedish police.

Police spokesman Varg Jyllander told Sky News an officer on crowd duty smelled marijuana from the vehicle.

It had been parked outside the Stockholm hotel where the pop star was staying just before his concert in the capital on Wednesday night.

Mr Jyllander said drugs police were alerted and followed the bus to the venue before searching the empty vehicle after around 10 passengers - including Bieber - had entered the arena.

He explained: "They found a small amount of drugs and a stun gun.

Bieber during a recent concert in Norway's capital, Oslo

"Now the drugs are (being) sent over to the forensics lab, and before we have the analysis results we won't (comment further). It was a short search for around half an hour.

"There is no suspect at the moment. The crew left and took the bus, but the investigation is still going on.

"It was a small stun gun and in this country you need a permit to carry one or have one - and they hadn't."

He said testing the drugs was "not a high priority" and it could be some days before the results are known. Mr Jyllander added that the singer and his entourage were free to leave the country.

Bieber is travelling around Europe on his Believe tour and is due in Finland for a concert on Friday.

The 19-year-old Canadian star's tour has been controversial.

He was criticised earlier this month after visiting the Anne Frank Museum and saying he hoped the young Holocaust victim would have been a "belieber" - one of his army of fans.

Last month, Bieber's pet Mally, a 17-week-old capuchin monkey, was seized in Germany after he failed to produce the correct paperwork.

He was also pictured walking bare-chested through customs in Poland and was reportedly asked to leave a top hotel in Paris.

The star also apologised for appearing on stage late during a run of shows in London - and was caught on camera "struggling" during another concert.

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Syria Chemical Weapons: US Accuses Regime

US intelligence services believe the Syrian regime may have used chemical weapons on a small scale, the White House has said.

More follows...

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