Israeli Jailed For Burning Palestinian Alive

The ringleader of a Jewish gang which kidnapped and burnt alive a Palestinian teenager has been sentenced to life in prison.

Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, was convicted over the murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir.

He was also given 20 years for other crimes and ordered to pay 150,000 shekels (£27,000) to the victim's family.

Before the sentence was read out, Ben-David told the court he was "sorry" for what happened.

"I am sorry for the family. This is not me. I wasn't in control," he said.

Yosef Haim Ben-David said he felt sorry for Khdeir's family

In 2014, Mohammed Abu Khdeir was forced into a car and driven to a forest where he was beaten with a tyre iron and set on fire.

Three defendants, including two minors, confessed to the abduction, bludgeoning and burning of the 16-year-old.

But the court delayed the verdict against Ben-David, pending a psychological report after his lawyer claimed he was unfit for trial.

The state prosecutor said the damage he caused Israel and the family of the Palestinian victim was "irreparable".

The teenager's death was described as revenge for the murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank by Hamas militants.

The killing - and the murders of the three Israeli youths days earlier - triggered a chain of events that led to the 50-day Gaza war.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir's cousin stands in front of a banner of the victim

Sixteen-year-olds Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach disappeared on 12 June, 2014.

Israel launched a concerted military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after their bodies were discovered near the village of Halhul, on 1 July, 2014.

Rocket attacks and airstrikes between Israel and Gaza continued for weeks.

Israeli Jailed For Burning Palestinian Alive

The ringleader of a Jewish gang which kidnapped and burnt alive a Palestinian teenager has been sentenced to life in prison.

Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, was convicted over the murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir.

He was also given 20 years for other crimes and ordered to pay 150,000 shekels (£27,000) to the victim's family.

Before the sentence was read out, Ben-David told the court he was "sorry" for what happened.

"I am sorry for the family. This is not me. I wasn't in control," he said.

Yosef Haim Ben-David said he felt sorry for Khdeir's family

In 2014, Mohammed Abu Khdeir was forced into a car and driven to a forest where he was beaten with a tyre iron and set on fire.

Three defendants, including two minors, confessed to the abduction, bludgeoning and burning of the 16-year-old.

But the court delayed the verdict against Ben-David, pending a psychological report after his lawyer claimed he was unfit for trial.

The state prosecutor said the damage he caused Israel and the family of the Palestinian victim was "irreparable".

The teenager's death was described as revenge for the murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank by Hamas militants.

The killing - and the murders of the three Israeli youths days earlier - triggered a chain of events that led to the 50-day Gaza war.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir's cousin stands in front of a banner of the victim

Sixteen-year-olds Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach disappeared on 12 June, 2014.

Israel launched a concerted military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after their bodies were discovered near the village of Halhul, on 1 July, 2014.

Rocket attacks and airstrikes between Israel and Gaza continued for weeks.

Jury Awards $55m In Latest J&J Cancer Lawsuit

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $55m (£37.7m) in the latest legal fight over claims that its talc-based powder causes cancer.

A St Louis jury handed down the verdict after deliberating for eight hours on Monday.

It comes after a jury awarded $72m in February to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to decades of using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder.

In the latest lawsuit, Gloria Ristesund blamed her ovarian cancer on years of talcum powder use.

Her attorney, Jim Onder, said Johnson & Johnson knew about the "dangers associated with talcum powder for over 30 years".

"Instead of giving a warning, what they did was target the groups most at risk for developing ovarian cancer," he said.

Johnson & Johnson said it will appeal the latest ruling.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the firm said the verdict "goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the world that continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc".

"For over 100 years, Johnson & Johnson has provided consumers with a safe choice for cosmetic powder products and we will continue to work hard to exceed consumer expectations and evolving product preferences," Carol Goodrich said.

The company is facing some 1,200 similar lawsuits.

The suits allege that the health products firm actively covered up studies that suggested a link between ovarian cancer and their baby powder in order to boost sales.

In 2011, Johnson & Johnson vowed to remove "chemicals of concern" from its baby products, the AP news agency reported. It said its adult products would be reformulated by 2016.

Hong Kong: Passenger 'loses $260,000 in mid-air theft'

A man has lost HK$2m ($257,730; £175,530) in cash and valuables from his hand luggage, during a flight into Hong Kong, police said.

Hong Kong police said a male 39-year-old foreigner alerted airline staff early on Monday, who then called the authorities.

Police said the man had lost two watches and foreign currency.

I Local media said the man was a Turkish wlove atch merchant flying qq in economy class from Dubai.

A spokesperson for Emirates, the airline the man took to Hong Kong, told the BBC: "Emirates is working closely with the police department and providing information to assist with their investigation." Emirates said it would not be providing further comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

There have been increasing reports of mid-air thefts around the world, some of which are said to involve organised gangs.

London Set To Outshine Ibiza This Weekend

The average temperature in Britain in early May is around 16C so the prediction is for a hefty seven degrees above average.

It will also be an improvement on the recent Bank Holiday, which saw heavy rain in many parts of the country.

Sky News weather producer Nazaneen Ghaffar said: "So far this spring we've had snow and it has been feeling rather cool.

"The recent cool snap wasn't totally unexpected as spring is a transition season from winter to summer, but provisional figures from the Met Office for April (up until 27 April) have indicated the mean temperature to be 0.7°C below the average.

"This has been mainly due to the position of the jet stream which has been mostly to the south, allowing for spells of rain to spread in off the Atlantic.

"But we've also had winds from a northerly direction so, as the rain came in contact with the cold air, it readily turned to snow in a lot of places.

"The jet stream is finally moving north this week and high pressure will build from the south, therefore we'll start to drag in a milder southerly airflow from the continents.

"So it looks like becoming warmer over the next few days. In fact, we are likely to see the highest temperature of the year so far towards the weekend when temperatures could get up to the mid-twenties.

"The best of the sunshine and warmth is likely to be across the south of the UK but, even over these areas, there will be the risk of some thunderstorms into the weekend, as a low-pressure system is expected to spread up from Biscay towards the south-west of the UK."

Brawl Erupts As Turkish MPs Debate Law Change

Members of the Turkish parliament have traded blows over plans to strip parliamentarians of their legal immunity.

Footage of the brawl, filmed by a deputy of the Republican People's Party (CHP), shows MPs throwing punches and bottles at each other.

Some parliamentarians jumped off tables to launch themselves into the melee.

The meeting of the constitutional commission of the Turkish National Assembly descended into chaos amid debate over potential changes to legal immunity rules for MPs.

Turkish legislators are currently immune from prosecution while in office, although police can file 'dossiers' against an MP which could lead to prosecution once the person leaves parliament.

The pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) believes the plan to change the rule is aimed at stifling dissent against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The country's president, Tayyip Erdogan - who founded the AKP - has previously called for the prosecution of several People's Democratic Party MPs, accusing them of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Dozens of MPs crammed into the committee room to debate the proposed legal changes before the fight broke out.

According to local media reports, several parliamentarians were injured in the brawl.

'Bank Of Mum And Dad' To Fund 25% Of Mortgages

The 'Bank of Mum and Dad' will pump £5bn into mortgages to help their kids this year, according to a report which blames weak wage growth versus soaring house prices.

Legal & General (L&G) said parental aid would help finance 25% of UK mortgage transactions - making mums and dads a "top ten" lender.

The financial services firm estimated they would provide deposits for more than 300,000 mortgages, purchasing homes worth £77bn.

But the report warned that relying on parental support might soon be unsustainable as parents could be giving away more than they can afford.

A separate study by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) also identified risks to pensions and savings from the housing market.

The FT reported it said that rising house prices were diverting investment in retirement, with purchasers using a mortgage receiving about 15% less pension income than those who do not, on average.

L&G pointed to the disparity between wage growth and house prices - with the latest official figures showing average annual pay rises of around 2% currently at a time of house price increases of 7.6%.

Its report said parental contributions already made up more than 50% of the wealth of the average household in London when property was excluded.

It described that scenario as a "tipping point" - adding: "Families clearly cannot continue to use all of their net wealth to help their offspring onto the housing ladder without putting their own financial stability at risk".

Nigel Wilson, the company's chief executive, said: "The generosity being displayed by UK families doesn't make up for intergenerational unfairness - younger people today don't have the advantages the baby-boomers had, including cheap housing that delivered windfall gains".

He added: "We have a supply-side problem in housing - we are simply not building enough houses. We need to build more, especially as the Bank of Mum and Dad could soon start to experience a funding crisis of its own".