Metallica Favourite To Headline Glastonbury

A hint by Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis that the headline act will be a top band has sparked a frenzy of speculation.

Mr Eavis, who launched the world famous festival on his farm in 1971, told the Bristol Post on Tuesday the headline act would be "one of the biggest-selling bands in the world at the moment".

He also said the band would be making their first appearance at Worthy Farm.

His comments sent the rumour mill into overdrive on fan sites and social media over who it could be, with Metallica the clear favourite.

The band played live at the Apollo Theatre

Holy Moly said a source had told them Metallica was the band.

Gigwise also said it was most likely to be the rock band, but added it could also be Daft Punk.

The announcement ruled out Oasis, who had earlier been identified as the headliner for Saturday on the main Pyramid Stage.

They have also appeared several times at the Grammy Awards

It also ruled out solo acts Prince and David Bowie, and Fleetwood Mac, who do not have huge current sales.

Whoever it is will join the already confirmed Arcade Fire and Kasabian who will take the top slots on Friday and Sunday.

Fans reacted with enthusiasm to the possibility one of the biggest and loudest bands in the world would play the world's top music festival.

The band has sold more than 50 million albums, according to Soundscan

Jpee, on the glastowatch forum, said: "Metallica deffo deserve the spot if they get it. They are a huge band and the back catalog is stupendous."

Jonny deep added: "I'd love to see Metallica."

There was one possibility that could leave thousands of Metallica fans with tickets devastated, however, as a large number of posters were also speculating the band might be One Direction. 

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Ukraine On Full Combat Alert Over 'Invasion'

Ukraine's military is "on full combat alert" over a possible invasion by Russian troops massed on the border, Kiev's acting leader has said.

Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov told a ministerial meeting: "Our armed forces are on full combat alert. The threat of Russia starting a war against mainland Ukraine is real."

Ukraine's government later announced the country's armed forces would hold military exercises in central Kiev on Wednesday night.

Russia has denied it has any plans to invade eastern Ukraine after its annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March.

Ukraine's acting president Oleksander Turchinov at the cabinet meeting

Kiev, however, has accused Moscow of orchestrating an armed uprising in the industrial east by Russian-speaking separatists, who have seized government buildings in a number of towns and cities.

Ukraine's army and police appear to be making little progress in a high-profile operation to prevent the rebels expanding their grip over towns in the east.

It came as the International Monetary Fund said Russia was already in recession, while citing the effect of the ongoing crisis on investment in the country.

IMF economist Antonio Spilimbergo was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "If we define recession as negative growth in two quarters in a row, then Russia from that point of view is experiencing recession."

The IMF has lowered its 2014 growth forecast for Russia to 0.2% from the 1.3% figure it issued on April 8, Mr Spilimbergo added.

Russia deployed around 40,000 troops to its shared border with Ukraine in March. Moscow initially claimed they were sent for exercises but later said they were ready to respond to Kiev's military offensive against pro-Kremlin rebels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists he has a "right" to send his forces into Ukraine, but has not yet done so.

Kiev and the US say Russian special forces are already active in the insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Mr  Turchynov told the cabinet meeting: "Our number one task is to prevent terrorism spreading from the Donetsk and Lugansk regions to other Ukrainian regions".

He underlined moves announced a day earlier to set up armed civilian "territorial volunteer militia" units to help beleaguered police and troops in the east.

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Iraq Votes In First Election Since US Withdrawal

Polls have opened in Iraq amid heightened security as the country holds its first national election since US forces withdrew in 2011.

Voters have a choice of 9,012 candidates but the election is being seen as a referendum on incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki who is seeking re-election for a third term.

As residents in the northern Iraqi town of Dibs cast their votes, a bomb exploded near a polling station, killed two women.

Elsewhere, a polling station had to be evacuated after militants seized the building and set off explosives.

Mr Maliki has called on Iraqis "to send a slap to the face of terrorism"

As Mr Maliki cast his vote at a hotel next to the heavily fortified Green Zone he urged Iraqis to defy the threat of terrorist attacks.

"I call upon the Iraqi people to head in large numbers to the ballot boxes to send a message of deterrence and a slap to the face of terrorism," he said.

He has portrayed himself as defender against the Sunni, al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who have been vocal about their desire for him to be replaced.

"Is ISIL and al Qaeda capable of reaching the target for (which) they were established... bringing down Baghdad and the other provinces and destroying the holy shrines? I say no," said Mr Maliki.

"Our victory is confirmed but we are still talking about how big this victory will be," he added.

Voters have a choice of 9,012 candidates

Iraq's Sunni leaders have painted him as an authoritarian ruler intent on destroying their community.

Political analysts say that although Maliki's State of Law alliance is expected to win the most seats, no party is likely to win a majority, which could mean it could take up to a year to form a new government.

Polling is taking place amid a vehicle curfew in force on the streets of Baghdad following suicide attacks on Monday which killed around 50 people across the country.

Some bombers had disguised themselves in police and army uniforms before launching the attacks.

Iraqi forces have been locked in a four-month battle for Ramadi and Fallujah in the country's western province of Anbar.

The war has displaced an estimated 420,000 people and officials say elections can only be held in 70% of the country's Anbar province, not counting Fallujah.

Polls close at 6pm local time.

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Brunei Pushes Ahead With Strict Sharia Code

The Sultan of Brunei is pushing ahead with tough sharia punishments - including death by stoning, the severing of limbs and flogging - despite rare opposition from many of his subjects.

The absolute ruler of the oil-rich kingdom said: "With faith and gratitude to Allah the almighty, I declare that tomorrow, Thursday May 1, 2014, will see the enforcement of sharia law phase one, to be followed by the other phases." 

The initial phase introduces fines or jail terms for offences ranging from indecent behaviour, failure to attend Friday prayers, and pregnancies outside marriage.

But the measures will later be extended to include the more harsh punishments for offences such as sodomy and adultery.

The plans, initially announced earlier this year, have brought condemnation from some in the tiny sultanate.

The sultan salutes the during celebrations for Brunei's national day

Many users of Brunei's active social media - the only avenue available for public criticism of authorities - denounced the penal code as barbaric and out of step with the moderate Bruneian national character.

An unexplained postponement of an expected April 22 start date brought questions as to whether or not the Muslim monarch was hesitating.

But 67-year-old Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world's wealthiest men, insisted he was going ahead after dismissing "theories" that the penal code is unjust.

"Theory states that Allah's law is cruel and unfair but Allah himself has said that his law is indeed fair," the sultan said as he delivered the decree in traditional Malay dress.

The sultan's son and Brunaian Muslims say prayers for those on flight MH370

Muslim ethnic Malays, who make up about 70%, are broadly supportive of the move by their revered father-figure.

But some Malays and non-Muslim citizens - about 15% of Bruneians are non-Muslim ethnic Chinese - are unhappy about the change.

The monarch is one of the richest people in the world with his wealth estimated three years ago by Forbes magazine at around £11bn ($20bn).

He reportedly has a vast collection of luxury vehicles and huge, gold-bedecked palaces.

The sultan himself was at the centre of controversy over a sensational family feud involving his younger brother Jefri Bolkiah over the latter's alleged embezzlement of £9bn during his tenure as finance minister in the 1990s.

Court battles and exposes revealed extraordinary details of Jefri's un-Islamic jet-set lifestyle, including allegations of a high-priced harem of Western lovers and a luxury yacht he owned called Tits.

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MH370 Debris Discovery Claims Dismissed

Claims that wreckage from the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 may have been found in the Bay of Bengal have been dismissed by Australian authorities.

Marine exploration company GeoResonance reportedly said it had detected elements on the ocean floor consistent with material from a Boeing 777 aircraft.

"We identified chemical elements and materials that make up a Boeing 777," company representative Pavel Kursa told Australia's Channel Seven.

"These are aluminium, titanium, copper, steel alloys and other materials."

Australian PM Tony Abbott has conceded the aircraft may never be found

But his colleague David Pope downplayed the find. He told the broadcaster: "We're not trying to say that it definitely is MH370, however it is a lead we feel should be followed up."

Malaysia's acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed the new information would be analysed but Australian authorities who are at the forefront of the search dismissed any link.

"The location of MH370 suggested by the GeoResonance report (in the Bay of Bengal) is not in the Australian search and rescue zone," a spokesman for Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.

The search for the missing plane is concentrated in an area of some 21,600 square miles (56,000 sq km) of the Indian Ocean.

Marine experts have deployed an unmanned deep-sea submarine to scour the sea bed in an effort to locate the black box recorders from the missing aircraft.

But Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has conceded that after 56 days of searching it is possible that no trace of the missing aircraft may ever be found.

"Of course it's possible, but that would be a terrible outcome because it would leave families with a baffling uncertainty forever," he said.

"The aircraft plainly cannot disappear - it must be somewhere," he added.

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India: Burning Man Hugs Politician On TV Show

An Indian politician has suffered horrific burns after he was grabbed by a man who set himself on fire during a TV election debate.

Kamruzzama Fauji was taking part in the show in Sultanpur, in Uttar Pradesh state, when an audience member doused himself in petrol.

Crowds of people ran from the set as the man, named by police as Durgesh Kumar Singh, set himself alight before embracing Mr Fauji.

Local photographer Pankaj Kumar Gupta, whose pictures show the two men engulfed in flames, said the debate was coming to an end when the man suddenly appeared.

"People were just too shocked to know what was happening," he added.

Onlookers grabbed buckets of water to try to extinguish the flames

Mr Singh, whose motive is unknown, suffered burns to 95% of his body and is unlikely to survive, according to doctors.

Mr Fauji, the local leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, sustained 75% burns and is in a critical condition in hospital.

Two other politicians were treated for minor injuries they suffered while trying to save the pair.

The debate was being recorded for India's state-owned Doordarshan channel.

A spokesman for the station, which is understood to have stopped filming and packed up its equipment within minutes, described the incident as "sad and shocking".

He said the debate was part of a "roadshow" held by the station, with politicians taking questions from local voters.

Parliamentary elections are being held across India until May 12, with results expected four days later.

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Scorpions Drummer Jailed For 'Insulting Islam'

The drummer with German rock band Scorpions has been sentenced to a month in jail in Dubai after being arrested for "insulting" Islam and offensive behaviour.

James Kottak was arrested at Dubai International on April 3 as he was travelling to Bahrain, where he was due to perform at the Formula One Grand Prix race, according to Gulf News.

He has been in prison ever since.

Kottak on stage in Texas in 2012

Based on time served, the US citizen is due to be released within the next two days.

According to Gulf News, ground staff at the airport testified that Kottak, who was drunk at the time, refused to travel with a group of Pakistani and Afghani passengers.

He "started swearing", criticising "non-educated Muslims", and flashed his middle finger at Pakistani passengers, The National newspaper reported.

The papers said Kottak had admitted having drunk alcohol but denied other charges.

Kottak's defence lawyer, Hamid Al Khazraji, called on the United Arab Emirates - of which Dubai is part - to amend its alcohol laws so that travellers are not arrested after drinking on a flight.

The heavy metal and hard rock band was formed in 1965, but Rudolf Schencker is the only one of the five current members to have been part of the original line-up.

They are reported to have sold up to 100 million records worldwide.

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IMF: Ukraine Crisis Sparks Russia 'Recession'

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Russia is already in recession as a result of the effects of the crisis in Ukraine.

An economist working for the organisation, Antonio Spilimbergo, made the comment while confirming a huge downgrade in the IMF's growth forecast for 2014 from 1.3% to just 0.2%.

It had predicted the higher growth figure for Russia just three weeks ago.

The move was a response to heightened concerns over the effects of a flight in capital from Russia - expected by the IMF to top $100bn in 2014 alone.

A tightening of sanctions against Russian individuals and firms close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, imposed by the West in response to his annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, was also cited as a core reason for the downgrade.

The tensions surrounding the crisis in Ukraine have pushed relations between Russia and the West to their lowest since the end of the Cold War, sparking a wider flight from risk on world markets.

As the IMF amended its forecasts, Ukraine's acting leader warned his country's forces were on full combat alert in case of a Russia invasion.

Mr Spilimbergo was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "If we define recession as negative growth in two quarters in a row, then Russia from that point of view is experiencing recession.

"This all has a very negative effect on the investment climate. We expect that the fall in investments that already took place in 2013 will increase further this year."

Russia's economy contracted by about 0.5% in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter.

Standard and Poor's ratings agency on Friday downgraded Russia's ability to repay debt to BBB-, one notch above junk status, and retained its negative outlook.

Mr Spilimbergo, who acts as the IMF's mission chief to Moscow, agreed there were "considerable downside risks" and said the decision by Russia's central bank to raise interest rates last week would reduce inflation but would not be enough.

He argued the depreciation in the rouble over the past few months would put pressure on inflation and forecast consumer prices would rise more than 6% during the course of 2014.

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Minnesota Homeowner Guilty of Teen Murders

A US homeowner who shot and killed two teenagers, calling them "vermin" after they broke into his house in Minnesota, has been convicted of their murders.

Byron Smith shot unarmed cousins Haile Kifer, 18, and Nick Brady, 17, a total of nine times as they crept into his Little Falls home on Thanksgiving Day in 2012.

The 65-year-old said it was self-defence and that he had been in fear of his life after previous burglaries in the area.

But prosecutors said Smith had plotted to kill the intruders, waiting with loaded guns in his basement and even parking his vehicle elsewhere to make the property appear unoccupied.

Smith said he lived in fear of being burgled

On Tuesday, a jury found Smith guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.

The trial heard Smith had set up an audio-recording device and surveillance cameras to capture the intruders in the act.

In the recording that was played in court, Smith could be heard shooting Brady and saying: "You're dead." He then opened fire on a screaming Kifer.

As the audio continued to run, Smith was then heard saying: "I see them as vermin."

The killings prompted debate in the state about how much deadly force a householder may reasonably use.

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Syria's Assad Finds Chemical Weapons Loophole

President Bashar Assad appears to have found a loophole in an international deal designed to stop him gassing his own people.

In September last year, an alleged sarin gas attack in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta led to an agreement with the international community that was meant to see him hand over his stockpile of chemical weapons - 1,300 tons of weapons including sarin and mustard gas.

America talked of red lines and it felt like the international community was inches away from air strikes on Damascus.

The deal averted all that, with Russia persuading President Assad to co-operate to get himself off the hook.

Predictably the deadline for the deal has been missed, but officials say more than 90% of weapons have been destroyed or shipped. 

President Assad stands accused of using chemical weapons to kill

But all that comes amid new claims of chemical attacks inside Syria, with the regime accused of gassing its own people not with sarin or mustard gas but chlorine and ammonia.

The problem for weapons inspectors is that there is nothing illegal about chlorine. In fact, you will find tons of it everywhere.

And it is impossible to give up. It is an industrial chemical and was not on the banned list given to Damascus.

The offence occurs when it is used as a toxic chemical to kill or injure, which is what President Assad stands accused of - again.

Using it as a weapon is a breach of the Chemicals Weapon Convention, of which President Assad is a signatory.

Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, says the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons must carry out a promised investigation urgently. It all feels like deja vu.

The Syrian government has promised to provide security for the OPCW inspectors due to arrive soon but chlorine is non-persistent, meaning it does not stay around for very long - which could make proving the allegations very difficult.

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