Trunki Loses Design Case Against Kiddee Rival

Spot the difference: Kiddee Case (left) and Trunki designs

The company behind Trunki suitcases has lost a Supreme Court battle with a rival over the design of children's ride-on luggage.

Magmatic took PMS International, which sells Kiddee Case products, back to court on appeal last year, arguing Kiddee Cases that were decorated as animals or insects infringed its patents and they should be blocked from UK sale.

In a reserved judgment, five Supreme Court justices ruled in favour of PMS - a decision Trunki's founder said would bring a "wave of uncertainty for designers across Britain" as courts in other EU nations had taken a more robust approach to protection.

Rob Law told Sky News: "We created an original product in Trunki and protected it by computer generated registered design – a process used to protect a third of designs across Europe.

"In my honest opinion, the Trunki was wilfully ripped off.

"We stood up to this behaviour, held it to account and took our case all the way to the highest court in the land – only for the judges to rule that we are not protected against the copy.

"They’re effectively sending knights into battle without armour."

The judgment ends a three-year court battle in which the two rivals could not even agree where PMS was based - in Hong Kong or Essex as PMS insisted.

The firm denied its products were a rip-off of Trunki - insisting it had come up with the idea of children's cases for the discount market.

Kiddee Case founder Paul Beverley said the ruling was a "victory for fair competition".

He said: "It upholds the right of consumers to be able to choose competitively-priced products.

"We try always to work within the law and successive courts have agreed that there is no way our popular Kiddee Case can be mistaken for any other product.

"In reality we are operating in very different markets from our rivals and we have never been competing for the same customer base."

Raped Teen Dies After Being Set On Fire

A 16-year-old girl who was raped and set on fire on the roof of her home earlier this week has died.

The teenager died in hospital in the Indian capital where she was being treated for severe burns over 95% of her body sustained in Monday's attack.

A 19-year-old man has been arrested and charged with several offences, including rape, murder, assault of a minor and causing grievous injury.

Constable Yadram Singh, of the Bisrakh police station, said the man had burns on his hands.

The police report describes how the girl's parents found her after hearing her screaming from their rooftop terrace before dawn.

The suspect lived near the girl in Tigri village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The girl's family told local media that he had been stalking and harassing her for around a year despite several warnings.

The attack is the latest in a string of horrific sexual crimes in India.

Mumbai police on Monday reportedly said they were looking into a case where the body of a four-year-old girl was found. There were allegations she had been raped before she was killed.

Last week, three boys reportedly kidnapped and raped a teenage girl around New Delhi, but she managed to escape.

The fatal gang rape of a young woman travelling on a bus in New Delhi in 2012 led to a public outcry about the high levels of violence against women in India.

It also led to reform of rape laws in the country, including speeding up of trials and increased penalties for offenders.

But high numbers of assault still persist despite the stronger laws.

Matrix Director Comes Out As Transgender Woman

The co-director of The Matrix, Lilly Wachowski, formerly known as Andy, has come out as transgender - four years after her sister Lana Wachowski also transitioned to a woman.

Lilly Wachowski wrote a piece in Chicago's Windy City Times entitled "Sex change shocker - Wachowski brothers now sisters!!!"

The 48-year-old said she decided to make her gender reassignment public after a journalist attempted to coerce her into doing an interview about her transition.

"I knew at some point I would have to come out publicly," Lilly Wachowski wrote.

"You know, when you're living as an out transgender person it's … kind of difficult to hide.

"I just wanted - needed some time to get my head right, to feel comfortable.

"But apparently I don't get to decide this."

Her sister Lana, 50, formerly known as Larry, came out publicly as a transgender woman in 2012.

In her statement, Lilly Wachowski touched on the struggles faced by the transgender community, and said that while progress has been made, "we continue to be demonised and vilified in the media where attack ads portray us as potential predators to keep us from even using the goddamn bathroom".

"So yeah, I'm transgender. And yeah, I've transitioned," she said, adding that she is out to her wife, family and friends.

The Wachowskis, who are notoriously private about their lives and rarely give interviews, have carved a reputation with The Matrix franchise starring Keanu Reeves, V For Vendetta and, most recently, Netflix's sci-fi series Sense8.

Lilly Wachowski's transition comes amid a growing spotlight on the transgender community.

Reality TV star and Olympic gold medallist Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, has so far been the most high-profile personality to come out as a transgender woman, and has been an advocate for LGBT rights.

Amazon's Golden Globe-winning series Transparent, which follows the gender transition of a family patriarch, has also helped shed light on the community and just last month, Mya Taylor became the first transgender actress to win an Independent Spirit Award for her role in the film Tangerine.

Terror Threat To Europe 'Highest For 10 Years'

The head of Europol has told Sky News there is a growing threat of a spectacular terror attack in Europe and the UK would face significant security challenges if it left the European Union.

Rob Wainwright, who is British and a former MI5 officer, has been the director of the agency responsible for the co-ordination of the European Union's law enforcement since 2009.

Speaking from the organisation's headquarters in The Netherlands, Mr Wainwright was frank about the challenges following last November's Paris attacks.

"I think it is likely that we will have another attack. We are working of course around the clock to prevent that from happening but this is a very, very serious threat.

"It's certainly the highest terrorist threat we have faced for over 10 years and we need to up our game as a collective counter terrorist community to make sure we can protect our citizens from this."

The Paris attacks exposed failings in Europe's ability to coordinate and share intelligence on known terror suspects.

The attack mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaoud, was able to pass freely through Europe to Syria and back without being apprehended despite being the subject of an international arrest warrant.

One of the attackers, Saleh Abdeslam, was stopped by police hours after the attacks driving into Belgium. They failed to arrest him and he remains on the run.

Police in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek

"Since Paris I can tell you that at Europol we have seen a significant increase in the amount of intelligence that's now been shared... a determined response by the community to prevent another Paris-style attack," Mr Wainwright said.

The unprecedented migrant and refugee crisis has exposed Europe to massive challenges on two separate fronts: people trafficking and terrorism.

"Some 1.8 million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe last year putting huge pressures on our external border and driving in particular, fuelling, a serious increase in people smuggling which has become the fastest growing criminal sector now in Europe.

"There are security dimensions attached to this migration crisis and at the same time the highest terrorist threat for 10 years so the twin effects of that mean that we are in very uncertain times in Europe at the moment..."

The attackers in Paris were Europeans, radicalised in Europe but trained in Syria. The number of people who pose a threat to us all is huge according to shared European intelligence.

"At least 5,000 we think - that have been radicalised by ISIS, very often online and have acquired conflict experience in Syria and Iraq. Many of them have since returned," Mr Wainwright said.

Against this backdrop, Mr Wainwright was happy to voice his views on the impact a 'leave' vote would have on the UK's security.

"One can expect that the arrangements [in the event of the UK leaving the EU] will be not as optimal and therefore it will be difficult for the UK to replace what it currently relies on in the EU with arrangements that would be as effective and as cost efficient as well," he said.

Europol says 2,500 operational cases were brought to its attention by British law enforcement agencies in 2015. Up to 40% of all Europol casework has what Mr Wainwright calls a 'British dimension'.

In that context, he argues that the UK's membership with the EU enhances cooperation and improves security in the UK and across the continent.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is campaigning for the UK to leave the EU, has suggested EU bureaucracy hampered the UK's ability to fight crime and terrorism.

Mogadishu car bombing kills police officers

A suicide car bombing has hit a police station in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, killing at least three police officers, local sources said.

Armed group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack early on Wednesday and confirmed to Al Jazeera that a car bomb was used.

At least two people were also wounded in the explosion, witnesses said.

The blast hit a tea stand in front of the police station where new recruits are trained in the Abdi Aziz district of Mogadishu.

The police station is near the popular Lido beach, which was the scene of another al-Shahab attack in January, in which up to 20 people were killed.

In the January attack, suicide bombers stormed the Beach View Hotel, after which several al-Shabab fighters opened fire at the hotel.

'Fifth Beatle' Sir George Martin Dies Aged 90

The Beatles' record producer Sir George Martin has died at the age of 90, according to Ringo Starr.

Confirming the news on Twitter, Starr wrote: "God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family ... Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx."

Sir George had been nicknamed "the fifth Beatle" for his work with the Liverpudlian band.

Sean Ono Lennon, son of John and Yoko, posted an Instagram picture of Sir George with the caption: "R.I.P. George Martin. I'm so gutted I don't have many words. Thinking of Judy and Giles and family. Love Always, Sean."

Another northern music icon, Liam Gallagher, has also expressed his condolences on Twitter, simply writing: "Sir George Martin RIP LG x".

His long and successful career began in 1950 after he concluded his studies at the Guildhall School of Music, and worked as a professional oboist.

Sir George became head of the Parlophone music label in 1955, and went on to sign The Beatles in 1962, enjoying 17 chart-topping hits with the band.

He recalled meeting the quartet for the first time and realising their potential.

"I liked them as people apart from anything else, and I was convinced that we had the makings of a hit group," he said.

But he was not convinced they had songwriting ability.

As composers, they didn't rate. They hadn't shown me that they could write anything at all," he told Melody Maker.

"Love Me Do I thought was pretty poor, but it was the best we could do."

After the group broke up, he started his own music publishing company and set about working with other artists.

Sir George worked with the likes of Jeff Beck, Bob Dylan, Sting and Sir Elton John and recorded two of Sir Paul McCartney's solo albums, Tug Of War and Pipes Of Peace.

He co-produced Sir Elton's Candle In The Wind, which was released to mark the death of Princess Diana in 1997, and the song sold 37 million copies.

The Queen awarded him with a CBE in 1988, and Sir George received a knighthood in the 1996 birthday honours.

According to his official website, he remains the world's most successful record producer - racking up 30 number ones across the UK and US singles charts.

Trump Sweeps Mississippi And Michigan

Donald Trump has extended his lead in the Republican nomination race after sweeping primaries in Mississippi and Michigan.

The real estate mogul comfortably beat Texas Senator Ted Cruz into second place in Mississippi and enjoyed a similarly healthy lead in Michigan over Ohio Governor John Kasich.

Speaking at a rally in Jupiter, Florida, he said: "Ted Cruz is interesting because he's always saying 'I'm the only one that can beat Donald Trump'.

"I've heard it so many times. And I said 'but he never beats me'. Ted is going to have a hard time when it comes to some states."

Hillary Clinton comfortably won Mississippi

Mr Cruz did hit back with a win in Idaho on Tuesday night, but Florida Senator Marco Rubio performed badly and was not projected to win any delegates in Mississippi or Michigan.

The victories mean Mr Trump has won 14 states in the nomination race, despite coming under intense criticism from Mr Cruz and Mr Rubio and other Republican officials who fear he will damage the party's chances in the presidential election.

His win in Michigan - which held the most delegates on the night - could set Mr Trump up for a decisive day of voting on 15 March in the delegate-rich states of Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina.

Republican contests in Florida and Ohio award the winner with all the state's delegates, meaning that if Mr Trump wins both states he could knock Mr Rubio and Mr Kasich out of the race.

Voters were also choosing their candidates in Hawaii.

On the Democrat side, front runner Hillary Clinton comfortably won Mississippi as her appeal with black voters continued following a big win in Louisiana over the weekend.

The former Secretary of State will pick up at least 21 of the 36 delegates up for grabs in the southern state as she builds on the lead she has established over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

But Mr Sanders triumphed in Michigan - the night's biggest prize - with a narrow victory, despite polls giving Mrs Clinton a strong lead before the contest.

Heading into Tuesday night, Mr Trump lead the Republican field with 384 delegates. Mr Cruz was in second with 300, Mr Rubio has 151 and Mr Kasich trails with 37.

Nominees need 1,237 delegates to secure the Republican party nomination.

Among Democrats, Mrs Clinton had 1,134 delegates compared to Mr Sanders' 502, including super-delegates. Nominees need 2,383 delegates to win.

The nomination contest will continue on Saturday, with Republicans voting in the District of Columbia caucus.