PM Tries To Rally Tory Troops Amid Tax Furore

David Cameron will try and rally the Conservative troops later ahead of next month's local elections, amid division in the party over Europe and the continued fallout from the Panama Papers row about his father's business affairs.

The Prime Minister will aim to shift the focus onto his party's record in office after a torrid few weeks, which has also included the resignation of Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith.

Mr Cameron has been accused of "misleading the public" after admitting he made money from shares in an investment fund operated by his late father Ian.

:: Sky Poll: Majority Trust PM Less After Tax Row

Downing Street had initially said Mr Cameron's financial affairs were a "private matter", before backtracking.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on the PM to make a statement in Parliament setting out his financial affairs.

Seeking to regain the initiative after days of negative headlines, Mr Cameron will defend his Government's record and warn that Labour would waste money, raise taxes and impose new red tape if they gain control of town halls on 5 May.

In a speech at the Conservative spring forum in London, the PM will say: "One year into our second term, and no one can deny: We are doing big things.

"Our mission: One Nation. Our method: knocking down every barrier to opportunity in our country. Our plan: giving everyone the chance to own a home; taking on the vested interest and bringing excellence to every school; sweeping new powers for local people; a seven-day NHS; creating jobs; raising wages; taking on extremism, ending segregation.

"A Conservative Government could be proud of achieving any one of those things in one term. We are doing them all."

Ahead of the event launching the English local election campaign, Mr Cameron described the vote as a choice between "the competence of a strong Conservative council who will keep local taxes down with quality local services versus the disarray of the rest".

The message for the contests, which include the London mayoral election, was "don't let Labour do to your council what they did to our country", he said.

"Local councils now have more control over their finances, more freedoms to decide where development should and shouldn't go, and more powers to boost jobs and support local firms. But such new powers bring with them new responsibilities.

"Across north and south, across town and country, Conservatives in local government will deliver more for less.

"Labour and the other parties will just waste your money, squander these freedoms, impose new red tape and hike your taxes."

The Conservatives are predicted to make modest gains in the local elections.

But the polls and bookmakers suggest that Zac Goldsmith will fail in his bid to replace Boris Johnson as London Mayor, with Labour's Sadiq Khan projected at this stage to take control of City Hal

This Is the Happiest Country in the World

What makes a nation’s people happy? According to a new report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), it’s factors like GDP per capita, freedom from corruption and “having someone to count on in times of trouble.”

By those criteria, SDSN says Denmark is the happiest country in the world, Reuters reports. Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland round out the top five; the U.S. ranks at #13.

On the opposite end of the list, the most unhappy country in the world is Burundi, followed by Syria, Togo, Afghanistan and Benin.

“There is a very strong message for my country, the United States, which is very rich, has gotten a lot richer over the last 50 years, but has gotten no happier,” said head of the SDSN Jeffrey Sachs. “For a society that just chases money, we are chasing the wrong things. Our social fabric is deteriorating, social trust is deteriorating, faith in government is deteriorating.”

What will Djibouti's election mean for stability?

It is a country with fewer than a million people and very limited natural resources - yet Djibouti is courted by world powers. That is because of its strategic location at the entrance to the Red Sea and south of Suez.

Relatively stable, it has drawn the attention of military planners in Japan, China, France and the US, who have all set up military bases there.  

Voters in the tiny east African nation cast their ballots on Friday to pick a president.

Yet, not everyone has been enthusiastic about the vote, with some opposition parties boycotting it.

Incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh has been in power for 17 years but the opposition accuses him of not doing enough to deal with the country's high unemployment. 

According to the World Bank, 20 percent of the population lives in poverty. 

After claims of repression and unfair constitutional change, the election is not without controversy.

What will the vote mean for stability? And what are the global implications from a strategically important part of the world? 

North Korea 'tests long-range missile engine'

North Korea says it has successfully tested an engine designed for an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The new type of engine would "guarantee" the ability to launch a nuclear strike on the US mainland, the KCNA news agency said.

The test was conducted at the country's long-range missile launch site near its west coast.

It is the latest in a series of tests and launches carried out by the isolated nation.

Can South Korea defend itself?

Leader Kim Jong-un supervised the test, state media reported, during which "the engine spewed out huge flames with a deafening boom".

The country would now be able to "keep any cesspool of evils in the earth including the US mainland within our striking range," Mr Kim was quoted as saying.

North Korea should "refrain from actions and rhetoric that further destabilise the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and international obligations," said US State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

Analysis: Steve Evans, BBC, Seoul

Step-by-step, North Korea is completing the tasks needed to have a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the United States.

In recent weeks, it has said it's made the heat-resistant materials necessary. It broadcast pictures of Kim Jong-un looking on approvingly at what it claimed was a small nuclear warhead. Now, it says it has the necessary rocket engine.

It's impossible to verify the claims, though on Tuesday the South Korean government accepted that North Korea had made crucial advances.

Next month, there's a grand political congress in Pyongyang, to which Kim Jong-un is building up with fearsome rhetoric. He has threatened a fifth nuclear test. It would not be a surprise if that happened.

In March, North Korea said it had developed nuclear warheads small enough to fit on ballistic missiles.

However, experts cast doubt on the claims.

March also saw North Korea threaten "indiscriminate" nuclear strikes on the US and South Korea as they held big joint military drills, which the north sees as a rehearsal for an eventual invasion.

Meanwhile, the US has imposed new sanctions on North Korea following a nuclear test in January and a satellite launch in February, which was widely seen as a test of banned missile technology.

The US has also held talks with South Korea aimed at deploying a US missile defence system to the Korean peninsula, a move strongly opposed by North Korea, Russia and China.

Beijing says the Thaad anti-missile system compromises its security and would undermine its nuclear deterrent.

North Korea's rocket launches

• February 2016: Launch of rocket reportedly carrying satellite
• May 2015: North Korea announces it has successfully tested a submarine-launched missile for the first time, but scepticism is then poured on the claim
• Dec 2012: North Korea launches three-stage rocket, says it successfully put a satellite into orbit; US defence officials confirm object in orbit
• Apr 2012: Three-stage rocket explodes just after take-off, falls into sea
• Apr 2009: Three-stage rocket launched; North Korea says it was a success, US says it failed and fell into the sea
• Jul 2006: North Korea test-fires a long-range Taepodong-2 missile; US said it failed shortly after take-off

Pope Issues New Guidance On Sex And Marriage

Pope Francis says Catholics should use their conscience - not strict rules - when deciding on their attitude to sex and marriage.

But in new Church guidelines on family life, the Pontiff's approach to homosexuality remains the same.

In a 256-page document called The Joy of Love, the Pope strongly reiterates the Church's opposition to the legal recognition of gay relationships.

Elsewhere, Francis makes clear he wants nothing short of a revolution in the way priests deal with followers.

He says the church must no longer sit in judgement and "throw stones" against those who fail to live up to the ideals of marriage and family life.

Archbishop Discovers Identity Of Real Father

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said it was a "complete surprise" to find out that his real father is Sir Winston Churchill's last private secretary.

The Most Rev Justin Welby, who thought his father was Gavin Welby, recently discovered his biological father is in fact the late Sir Anthony Montague Browne.

The Archbishop said his experience is "typical" of many people, adding: "To find that one's father is other than imagined is not unusual."

In a statement, Mr Welby said: "This revelation has, of course, been a surprise, but in my life and in our marriage Caroline and I have had far worse.

"I know that I find who I am in Jesus Christ, not in genetics, and my identity in him never changes.

"Even more importantly my role as Archbishop makes me constantly aware of the real and genuine pain and suffering of many around the world, which should be the main focus of our prayers."

Mr Welby said his mother Jane Williams and Gavin Welby were both alcoholics, adding his mother had been in recovery since 1968, and had not touched alcohol for almost 50 years.

Gavin Welby died "as a result of the alcohol and smoking" in 1977 when Mr Welby was 21.

"As a result of my parents' addictions my early life was messy, although I had the blessing and gift of a wonderful education, and was cared for deeply by my grandmother, my mother once she was in recovery, and my father (Gavin Welby) as far as he was able," Mr Welby said.

He added: "My own experience is typical of many people. To find that one's father is other than imagined is not unusual.

"To be the child of families with great difficulties in relationships, with substance abuse or other matters, is far too normal."

Lady Williams said the news had come as an "almost unbelievable shock" as her son was born almost nine months to the day after she married Gavin Welby in the US in 1955.

She said her then-husband was putting pressure on her to leave her job as personal secretary to the Prime Minister and run away with him.

"At the age of 25, as I was, the pressure became too great and in the end I found myself unable to resist," Lady Williams said in a statement posted on her website.

She added: "One feature of this pressure is that I was already drinking heavily at times. 

"Although my recollection of events is patchy, I now recognise that during the days leading up to my very sudden marriage, and fuelled by a large amount of alcohol on both sides, I went to bed with Anthony Montague Browne.

"It appears that the precautions taken at the time didn’t work and my wonderful son was conceived as a result of this liaison."

Lady Williams said she saw Sir Anthony occasionally after her marriage to Gavin Welby broke up in 1958, but that he gave no hints he might have thought he was the Archbishop's father.

Sir Anthony died in 2013.

Paul Walker's Daughter Wins $10.1m Settlement

The teenage daughter of Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker has been awarded a $10.1m (£7.15m) settlement from the estate of the man who was behind the wheel of the Porsche in which both men died.

Walker was a passenger in the Porsche Carrera GT driven by his friend Roger Rodas when the vehicle, travelling between 80-93mph, crashed into trees and burst into flames in Santa Clarita, northwest of Los Angeles, in November 2013.

Meadow Walker's attorney, Jeff Milam, said in a statement that the settlement would go into a trust for the 17-year-old.

"The amount paid by the estate of Roger Rodas into a trust for Meadow Walker only covers a fraction of what her father would have earned as an international movie star had his life not tragically been cut short," Mr Milam said.

Roger Rodas (L) and his widow, Kristine Rodas

According to Mr Milam's statement, Mr Rodas was only partially responsible for the crash.

Lawyers for Mr Rodas' estate could not immediately be reached for comment.

The settlement was reached in November 2014 but remained undisclosed until now.

Mr Milam said his client was continuing her lawsuit against Porsche AG and that she "intends to hold the company responsible for producing a vehicle that was defective and caused Paul Walker's death".

Meadow, the actor's only child and sole heir, filed the complaint against the German carmaker last September, accusing it of skimping on safety features that could have prevented the crash or at least kept him alive.

Porsche has maintained that the actor was responsible for his own death.

After a four-month investigation, Los Angeles officials said the crash was caused by excessive speed, not mechanical failure.

Mr Milam said Walker survived the impact of the crash, but "burned to death because of Porsche's defective design".

A federal judge presiding over a similar lawsuit filed by Mr Rodas' estate against Porsche ruled in favour of the car company on Monday, saying: "The plaintiff has provided no competent evidence that Rodas' death occurred as a result of any wrongdoing on the part of defendant."

Walker's death at age 40 led to a lull in production of the seventh episode of the Fast & Furious franchise - the action series about illegal street racing that propelled his career.

The 2015 film grossed over $1.5bn (£1bn) worldwide, making it among the highest-earning films of all time.