Obama's Gun Controls 'Will Fail', Says Gun Lobby

By Greg Milam, US correspondent

The organiser of America's first Gun Appreciation Day has told Sky News that any government attempt to limit access to firearms is destined to fail.

Gun owners across the United States were encouraged to rally at gun shops and shooting ranges to demonstrate their opposition to President Obama's calls for new gun controls.

In the wake of massacres, like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Mr Obama has proposed a ban on military-style assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines.

He has also said there must be universal background checks on anyone wanting to buy a gun.

A protester carries a gun as he joins Gun Appreciation Day

The gun lobby says those efforts represent an attack on the rights of law-abiding citizens and especially the right to bear arms, which is enshrined in the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.

The Gun Appreciation Day event was organised by Larry Ward, president of a group called Political Media and a man who has attracted controversy for outspoken comments in support of gun ownership.

He spoke to Sky News at a gun shop and shooting range in Warrenton in Virginia where the numbers of customers appeared to be the same as any regular Saturday.

He denied this was a sign his event has fallen flat. He said: "This is not a centralised effort. People are doing their own thing."

He added: "This sends a signal to Congress and the President that Americans are very serious about their right to keep and bear arms.

"There are 80 million gun owners in the United States who show every day that they can own a gun and not be violent.

"Law abiding citizens don't kill people, criminals do. The fact is these guns are here to defend us, here to protect us. We're responsible gun owners and there is not a reason in the world to limit our right, our civil and natural right, guaranteed to us by our constitution."

Americans staunchly defend their right to bear arms

The timing of the event has been criticised as being provocative, coming so close to the presidential inauguration and the annual Martin Luther King Day.

The veteran civil rights campaigner Reverend Jesse Jackson told Sky News that the sheer number of mass shootings in America over the last two years meant action now was essential.

But it is evident that efforts to change gun control laws face fierce opposition in Congress and on the streets.

Cradling his shotgun at the Virginia range, gun owner Dave Briggman told Sky News there would be "civil war" if government tried to take guns away from the public.

:: Five people were injured in accidental shootings at gun shows in North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio.

At the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh on Saturday, a 12-gauge shotgun discharged as its owner unzipped its case at a security entrance. Two bystanders were hit by shotgun pellets. A retired deputy sheriff's hand was struck.

In Indianapolis, a man was unloading his .45-caliber semi-automatic when he shot his hand while leaving the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show.

And in Medina, Ohio, a gun dealer was checking out a semi-automatic handgun he had bought when he accidentally pulled the trigger. Police say the gun's magazine had been removed, but one round remained in the chamber.

The bullet ricocheted off the floor and struck a friend's arm and leg.

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Bulgaria Gun Attack: Turkish Politician Escapes

A man jumped on stage and pointed a gas pistol at the leader of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish party before security guards wrestled him to the ground during a live televised conference.

Ahmed Dogan, the long-time leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) escaped unscathed - and it was not immediately clear why he had been targeted at the party congress in Sofia.

Television footage showed a man jumping out of the audience and interrupting a speech by the 58-year-old Mr Dogan, who has led the party for almost a quarter of a century.

Security guards were seen beating and kicking the man, who was also carrying two knives, after he pointed the non-lethal weapon at Mr Dogan's head.

The attacker was later escorted from the conference by security guards

"Ahmed Dogan is in good health. Everything is under control," MRF official Ceyhan Ibryamov told journalists.

Police said they had arrested a 25-year-old man from the Black Sea town of Burgas. They said the attacker was also carrying two knives.

The liberal MRF party represents ethnic Turks and other Muslims, who make up about 12% of Bulgaria's 7.3 million population.

Mr Dogan is seen as one of Balkan country's most influential political figures. The MRF was a junior partner in the previous
Socialist-led cabinet.

He tendered his resignation hours after the attack, saying: "This time my decision is categorical."

He was widely expected to step down from his position, even before the attack.

In 1996, former Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov was found shot dead near his home in Sofia - although attacks on politicians are actually rare.

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Batmobile Sold: Original Batman Car Auctioned

The Batmobile created by Hollywood car customiser George Barris for the 1960s Batman TV series has been sold for $4.2 (£2.6m).

George Barris celebrates his 'Holy Windfall' at the Arizona auction

The original 19ft black, bubble-topped car was auctioned in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Barris, from Los Angeles transformed a one-of-a-kind 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car into the sleek crime-fighting machine.

The car, which has remained in his personal collection, boasted lasers and a Batphone and could lay down smoke screens and oil slicks.

The iconic car was used by Adam West who starred as the Caped Crusader and by Burt Ward, his sidekick Robin known for exclamations beginning with "Holy".

Barris' publicist says his client is pleased with the auction result.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barris constructed the Batmobile in just 15 days in 1966 for $15,000 (£9,455) from a car bought for $1.

The car that helped Batman fight crime on TV in the 1960s

It reported that the winning bidder was Rick Champagne, a businessman and car collector from the Phoenix area who has been attending Barrett-Jackson auctions for 15 years.

Asked by The Hollywood Reporter where he planned to store the car, the new owner joked: "In the living room. I'm going to tear down a wall and put in my living room."

The Batmobile comes close to the highest price fetched for a movie car at auction.

In 2010, the Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger set the record when it went for $4.6m (£2.9m).

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Japan's Grandmother Poet Dies, Aged 101

Best-selling Japanese poet Toyo Shibata, who began writing at the age of 92 and whose first anthology sold almost 1.6 million copies, has died at the age of 101.

Her eldest son, Kenichi Shibata, said she died at a nursing home near her house in Utsunomiya north of Tokyo.

She had been in the home periodically since her health worsened last month.

"Her death came really peacefully and without pain," 67-year-old Mr Shibata said.

"She kept writing poems until she was about 100. She needed help when she walked in the past half-year, although she was full of vigour."

After the death of her husband, a chef, Mrs Shibata was encouraged by her son to write poems.

Her first anthology, Kujikenaide (Don't Lose Heart), was originally self-published in 2009 and won praise for its sense of humour and forward-looking attitude.

The volume was reissued in 2010 by the major Japanese publishing house Asaka Shinsha, with new artwork and additional verses to make a total of 42 poems.

It sold 1.58 million copies in a country where a poetry anthology is considered a success with 10,000 sales.

The book has also been printed in translation in South Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, company spokeswoman Asako Igarashi said. There are also plans to publish in China and Britain.

In 2011, Mrs Shibata's second anthology Hyakusai (100 Years Old) was published to celebrate her centenary on June 26 that year.

She also wrote a poem to encourage victims of the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster which left nearly 19,000 people dead and sparked a nuclear crisis in Japan's northeast.

Her poem in Kujikenaide can be roughly translated as follows:

Don't lose heart.

Oh, please don't sigh that you are unhappy.

The sunshine and the breeze will not favour anyone.

Dreams can be dreamed equally.

I have seen hard times but I am glad that I am alive.

Don't you ever lose heart, either.

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Hostage Crisis: Three Britons Confirmed Dead

Three Britons have been killed and another three are believed to have died in the Algerian hostage crisis, David Cameron has announced.

The Prime Minister said a British resident is also thought to have been killed in the four day stand-off in the desert which dramatically ended on Saturday.

Mr Cameron called the attack on the In Amenas gas plant "appalling" and warned there are "decades" of terrorist struggle ahead.

The death toll includes the Briton already known to have died on Wednesday in the initial raid staged by a band of Islamist militants.

Survivor Alan Wright, who is now back in the UK, told Sky News how he hid in an office and then managed to escape through a hole in a perimeter fence.

Freed British hostages Peter (left) and Alan (right). No surnames available

Mr Cameron said: "We now know that three British nationals have been killed, and a further three are believed to be dead. A further British resident is also believed to be dead.

"I know the whole country will want to join me in sending our sympathies and condolences to the families who have undergone an absolutely dreadful ordeal, and now face life without these very precious loved ones."

He described the attack as a "stark reminder" of the continuing terrorist threat and vowed to use Britain's chairmanship of the G8 to ensure that it was at the top of the international agenda.

"This is a global threat and it will require a global response. It will require a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months," he said.

"It requires a response that is patient and painstaking, that is tough but also intelligent, but above all has an absolutely iron resolve and that is what we will deliver over these coming years."

Algerian police escort freed Norwegian hostage Oddvar Birkedal

So far, in total, 23 hostages and 32 terrorists are known to have died with 107 foreign workers and 685 local employees released.

Algeria's chief government spokesman said on Sunday that he "strongly feared" the final hostage death toll would be higher.

According to Reuters, Algerian media are reporting that the bodies of 25 hostages have so far been found inside the plant.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said two Scots, or people with immediate family connections in Scotland, are believed to have been killed.

Carlos Estrada, a Colombian man who lived in London with his family and worked for BP, has been confirmed dead by President Juan Manuel Santos.

At least one American died before Saturday's assault, and Japanese engineering firm JGC Corp said 10 of its Japanese and seven of its foreign workers are still unaccounted for.

Despite the major loss of life, Mr Cameron refused to criticise Algeria's handling of the crisis.

"The responsibility for these deaths lies squarely with the terrorists who launched these vicious and cowardly attacks," he said.

"When you are dealing with a terrorist incident on this scale with up to 30 terrorists it is extremely difficult to respond and get this right in every respect."

An Algerian army truck in a street of In Amenas, near the gas plant

He added: "What we face is an extremist, Islamist, al Qaeda-linked terrorist group. Just as we had to deal with that in Pakistan and in Afghanistan so the world needs to come together to deal with this threat in north Africa.

"It is linked to al Qaeda, it wants to destroy our way of life, it believes in killing as many people as it can.

"We need to work with others to defeat the terrorists and to close down the ungoverned spaces where they thrive with all the means that we have."

Foreign Secretary William Hague said 22 British nationals had survived the crisis and were already back in the UK.

Britain's ambassador is currently in Algiers and will travel to the south of the country today to help any other Britons trying to leave.

He told Sky's Murnaghan show: "These are cold-blooded murderers and we must remember that. There is no political excuse that justifies behaving in this way."

He also defended Algeria's response, revealing that he had been told the terrorists had been planning to blow up the whole installation - causing even more deaths.

The drama started on Wednesday when a group of around 30 heavily-armed militants mounted a dawn raid on the plant which is close to the Libyan border.

They seized hostages from among the 700 Algerian and foreign workers at the site. Two members of staff, including one Briton, died in the initial assault.

Algerian special forces mounted an operation to take back the plant 24 hours later, without informing any other governments in advance.

The Algerians insisted later that they had to act due to fears that the militants were about to flee into the desert, taking hostages with them.

Algerian police guard the entrance of a hospital located near the gas plant

Fears for the hostages' safety grew amid reports of fierce fighting and multiple deaths.

By Friday, it was being claimed that around 100 foreigners - from a total of 132 - and 573 Algerians had been freed.

Provisional figures put the death toll at 12 hostages and 18 militants but it was clear one group of terrorists was still holding out.

On Saturday, Algerian troops launched a final assault on the site and brought the stand-off to a bloody conclusion.

The state news agency, APS, reported that the terrorists had executed seven of the remaining hostages before they themselves were killed.

Algerian security forces escort a bus carrying freed hostages

Troops later found an arsenal of six machine guns, 21 rifles, two shotguns, two 60mm mortars with shells, six 60mm missiles with launchers, two rocket-propelled grenades with eight rockets and 10 grenades in explosive belts.

The terrorists also booby-trapped the sprawling plant with explosives before the last shoot-out.

Algeria's interior ministry has strongly defended the rescue operation.

"To avoid a bloody turn of events in response to the extreme danger of the situation, the army's special forces launched an intervention with efficiency and professionalism to neutralise the terrorist groups that were first trying to flee with the hostages and then blow up the gas facilities," it said in a statement.

The kidnappers are part of the Masked Brigade - a terrorist splinter group led by the veteran jihadist, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, which broke away from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

They initially claimed the attack was in retaliation for the French military intervention in neighbouring Mali.

The gas plant is in the desert in In Amenas

It was subsequently reported that they were demanding the release of two terrorists held in the US, including 1993 World Trade Centre bombing mastermind Omar Abdel Rahman, in return for the release of two US captives.

Belmokhtar has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack and called on France to halt air strikes in Mali.

Mauritanian news website Sahara Media said Belmokhtar declared in a video: "We in al Qaeda announce this blessed operation."

The video was not shown and it is not immediately possible to verify the information.

Algeria has fought its own Islamist rebellion since the 1990s, elements of which later declared allegiance to al Qaeda and then set up new groups in the poorly patrolled wastes of the Sahara, where they flourished.

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Bogus 9/11 Coins: US Seller Settles Claims

A US company selling 9/11 commemorative coins that purportedly contained silver from Ground Zero has agreed to pay $750,000 (£473,000) to settle charges that it deceived consumers.

The National Collector's Mint was accused in a Federal Trade Commission complaint of failing to properly identify its coins and of charging customers for items they never ordered.

The company, based in Port Chester, New York, sells 9/11 coins and other memorabilia.

The coins featured images from the World Trade Centre and the USS New York, a ship partially forged from the steel salvaged from  the 9/11 attacks, according to reports.

In 2010, the US government created an official 9/11 medal, with proceeds going towards a museum being built at the World Trade Centre site.

A statement by the FTC said the National Collector's Mint had "agreed to pay $750,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers, charged them for items they never ordered, and failed to properly mark its imitation items with 'COPY'."

New York senator Charles Schumer and representative Jerrold Nadler complained the National Collector's Mint's coins could deprive the museum of funds.

Mr Schumer said the US would not tolerate a "despicable scam".

Sheldon Lustigman, a lawyer representing the company, described the complaint as "ridiculous".

"There was no confusion of any kind whatsoever," he told the New York Post. "We don't think anybody was at all mislead.

"It's the old story of the (US) Mint not liking competition - that's what it really amounts to."

He said the National Collector's Mint had put out its commemorative 10th anniversary 9/11 coin long before the US Mint issued its own version, and that the two coins look nothing alike.

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Kim Dotcom Launches New File Sharing Megasite

What Are Cyberlockers?

Updated: 12:48pm UK, Saturday 19 January 2013

Cyberlockers are also known as cloud storage or file storage services, which enable users to keep files, or back them up, on the Internet.

Users can access files from these virtual storage lockers, which operate on remote servers, from any computer with an internet connection, often more quickly than on personal computers.

Many of these sites offer limited free storage, and users can pay for more capacity through subscriptions.

:: What are they used for?

Like cloud storage services, users can use cyberlockers to store photos, documents, music and video files, which are often too large to save on personal computers.

Users can grant access to these files at their discretion, while many sites enable users to search for content.

Many cloud storage services are promoted as a business tool to enable several people to access shared files, while cyberlockers often refer to services for individual use. Both are interchangeable in their uses.

:: Why are they controversial?

The entertainment industry has been a vocal opponent of cyberlockers containing copyrighted films and music, arguing that it is illegal to distribute such material without their consent.

Site operators say they cannot be held responsible for any illegally obtained content as it is impossible for them to monitor the massive number of files stored on their servers.

They say they do not knowingly enable users to store and share illegal material.

Sites offer a "take-down" feature which enables copyright holders to order cyberlocker users? Or the locker operator?  to remove unpermissioned content. The understanding is that any delay or refusal to act may make the cyberlocker?? liable for such content.

:: What role does encryption play?

Encrypted files feature a code designed to stop the file being hacked. Some cyberlockers offer this feature to guarantee users privacy of their files.

Many in the technology and security industries see considerable merits to file encryption, as it would secure large files, including government documents, stored on offshore servers.

While protecting the privacy of files, encryption also enables users to conceal them. Mega, Kim Dotcom's cyberlocker to be launched on January 20 features a file encryption system which will enable users to encode their files before storing them on the Mega servers.

Once the file is encrypted and stored, they are accessible only using a decryption key which the fileholder alone will control.

As a result, Dotcom claims that the fileholder will be solely responsible for the content stored on Mega, and that the
site operator cannot be held liable for content as it will nothave access to any of the files stored in the cyberlocker.

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Ned Kelly's Bones Buried 132 Years After Death

The remains of Australia's most notorious outlaw, Ned Kelly, have been laid to rest 132 years after the bushranger's death by hanging.

Kelly's descendants buried his bones - minus his missing skull – during a private family service on Sunday at a small cemetery in Greta, Victoria, where his mother is also buried.

Edward (Ned) Kelly, a baptised Catholic, was denied a burial service after he was hanged at Melbourne Gaol in 1880.

His decapitated body was entombed in the dirt with no family members present.

Kelly led a gang of bank robbers in Victoria and was hanged on November 11, 1880 for the killing of three police officers.

The body armour worn by Australian outlaw Ned Kelly on display in 2008

The location of Kelly's remains was unknown until late 2011, when forensic scientists identified his bones after they were found in a mass grave at the now-closed Pentridge Prison site.

After a five-year process the remains were given back to Kelly's descendants, but his skull has been missing since it was stolen from a display case at the Old Melbourne Gaol in 1978.

"We've brought him home, back to his family and back to the area that he loved - and we've given him his final wish, so that makes us quite happy," Kelly's great-grand-niece, Joanne Griffiths, told Channel 9.

Sunday's service was a private event for descendants and family friends.

On Friday, around 300 people attended a public service in the Victorian country town of Wangaratta to bid farewell to the bushranger.

Ms Griffiths said that because family graves in the area had been "fiddled with over the years" extra precautions were being taken to ensure the grave site would be kept safe.

Kelly's legacy remains divisive in Australia.

Although he led a criminal gang and was convicted of murder, some believe his stand against authority reflected the struggles faced by many early European settlers in the country.

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Algeria: Freed Brit Hostage Describes Ordeal

A freed British hostage has told Sky News that he feared he had fallen into the hands of terrorists after fleeing the Algerian gas complex where he had been holed up for four days.

Alan Wright spent days hidden in a pitch-black room with colleagues at the In Amenas plant after hearing gunfire.

Eventually, the 30 or so workers in the building decided to cut through a perimeter fence and make a break for it.

But he said feared he had made the "biggest mistake" of his life when the troops who intercepted them in the desert split them into ex-pats and locals - and he assumed they had fallen into the hands of the terrorists.

"You just think 'that's it'. If you'd been captured there was pretty much no escape from them, and you know it's going to take a miracle to get you out."

The ordeal began on Wednesday morning, when he and colleagues locked themselves in their office after hearing gunshots.

He told Sky's James Matthew's that a terrorist attempted to entice the workers out of the room, with a friendly greeting.

"At around about 9.30am we heard … a very friendly national voice say 'good morning' in Arabic, and we're certain that was the terrorists coming in and trying to lull people into coming out friendly.

"That was the first moment that you thought 'we're in big trouble here'."

For the next nine hours they could hear sporadic gunfire, which stopped at about 11pm.

When the sound of loud gunfire resumed, he feared the worst.

"We just assumed we were surrounded, and (the terrorists) were waiting, just going round and gathering people up."

Along with three other workers, he decided to move to another room where they closed the blinds, leaving them in total darkness for three days.

Eventually, Algerian employees in another room convinced them that no-one was coming to get them, and they cut the fence and made their daring break for it.

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Obama: US President Sworn In For Second Term

US President Barack Obama has been sworn in during a small ceremony at the White House to mark the start of his second term.

Mr Obama took the oath on a family Bible in the Blue Room of the White House, first lady Michelle next to him.

On Monday, he will take the oath of office again and deliver his inaugural speech on the steps of the US Capitol before hundreds of thousands of people.

The pomp-laden ceremony is followed by a traditional parade and formal balls where the presidential couple will dance for the cameras.

But the mood is less festive than it was in January 2009, when the swearing in of the country's first black president drew a record 1.8 million people.

Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in earlier today

High unemployment, a bruising election campaign and partisan fights over fiscal policies have taken a toll.

Still, some 800,000 people are expected to flock to Washington for the event. The star-studded inauguration includes acts by Beyonce and Katy Perry.

Thousands of workers and volunteers are making final preparations for the ceremonies. Hotels and government buildings along the parade route were adorned with red, white and blue bunting.

Mr Obama with his family at his first inauguration four years ago

In his inaugural address, Mr Obama is expected to talk about the need for political compromise where possible, as well as detailing the priorities and goals of his second term.

The president's legacy will be tested by foreign crises, including the war in Syria and Iran's nuclear programme, as well as domestic issues, such as immigration and a weak economy.

Mr Obama is also seeking new restrictions on guns and ammunition.

He will face strong opposition by the Republican Party, as the country remains highly polarised.

Mr Obama and the first lady yesterday participated in a day of service, hoping to encourage Americans to follow suit with volunteering projects.

Mr Obama added the day of service projects to the inaugural schedule in 2009 and he is hoping the event becomes a tradition for future presidents.

The White House says the call to service is a way for Americans to honour the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the civil rights leader's march on Washington.

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