FA Boss: Summer World Cup In Qatar 'Impossible'

Fifa "probably made a mistake" in awarding the World Cup to Qatar for the summer of 2022, according to the FA's new chairman.

Greg Dyke has said staging the tournament in the Middle East country during some of the hottest weeks of the year, when temperatures can reach 50C (122F), would be "impossible".

But Qatar said in a statement that it was the right decision to award it the Finals, and it was ready to stage the event in either summer or winter.

Greg Dyke is set for a collision course with Richard Scudamore

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Dyke said he had serious concerns for the safety of football players and supporters if the event was not moved to the winter or taken away from Qatar completely.

He said: "I have a lot of sympathy with the Qataris. They bid for it and they got it. I think the Fifa executive probably made a mistake at that time - we have to live with that.

"The question now is, how do we solve this problem?"

It is the first time the FA has taken a formal position on the controversial issue. Mr Dyke believes a winter World Cup is more likely than Qatar losing the tournament completely.

His predecessor David Bernstein said in June that any plans to move the World Cup to the winter were "fundamentally flawed".

Sepp Blatter says there is still time to switch the tournament to winter

The FA's position could lead to some differences with the Premier League, whose chief executive Richard Scudamore strongly opposes any move to change the World Cup to the winter because it would disrupt domestic club competitions.

Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, has said there is still enough time to switch the tournament to the winter months, when temperatures are significantly cooler but can still reach 30C (86F).

Mr Dyke said: "I don't know how many people have been to Qatar in June. I have. The one thing I can tell you is you can't play a football tournament in Qatar in June.

"Even if all the stadia are air-conditioned - which seems a bit strange in terms of the green policy - it would be impossible for the fans just to go out there, wander around in that sort of heat.

"The FA's position will be you can't play it in summer in Qatar.

"Fifa therefore has two choices; you either move it in time or to another location.

"I suspect that either ends up in some sort of litigation, but then someone should have worked that out in 2010 when it was awarded."

The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee later released a statement saying: "It was the right decision to award the World Cup to the Middle East for the first time in 2022.

"Football is the most popular sport in the Middle East and the people of our region deserve the opportunity to have history made in their part of the world.

"We are committed to delivering on the promises we made in our successful bid.

"We are ready to host in summer or winter. We have always maintained that this issue requires the agreement of the international football community.

"A decision to alter the dates of the 2022 FIFA World Cup would not affect our infrastructure planning."

The final decision on the fate of Qatar's World Cup rests with Fifa, whose executive committee will discuss the matter at its next meeting, in early October.

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Chinese Human Trafficking Ring Bust In Europe

Spanish and French police have busted a human trafficking ring smuggling Chinese migrants into Europe and the US.

A total of 75 suspects, including two "main operatives" based in Barcelona, were arrested, the authorities said on Saturday.

Officers in Spain arrested 51 people and the other 24 were picked up in France, according to a police statement.

The string of arrests follows a two-year, joint investigation in the two countries.

Police said the traffickers charged 40-50,000 euros (£34-43,000) per person to provide "false identities and transport Chinese citizens to the United States and countries such as Spain, France, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Turkey".

Items including a handgun and fake passport paraphernalia were found

Spanish police seized 81 fake passports from Asian countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

They were found in two lodgings owned by the ring in Barcelona, whose airport was allegedly used as the gang's main European hub.

Some of the people trafficked ended up in the sex trade, Spain's Interior Ministry said.

The investigation into the trafficking ring, which police described as a "perfectly structured, hierarchical organisation", started in July 2011.

The "kingpin" remained in China and had independent cells working separately in different countries, according to the authorities.

A police officer holding cash discovered at the Barcelona property

The traffickers would accompany their clients to Spain, which served as a last stop or "trampoline" to the final destination - usually the UK or the US, they said.

Mainly from China and Malaysia, they were "thorough connoisseurs" of the European airports and cities along the route and had the "complete confidence" of the ringleaders.

They would return home as soon as they had completed each operation to make it harder to track them down.

Migrants were also given precise instructions on how to avoid detection at customs controls, for example by mixing in with a group of tourists.

Fake custom stamps were also taken from the safe house

The route from China was "changed constantly" according to how each trip unfolded to avoid discovery, the police statement said.

Once they arrived in Barcelona, they would be met by operatives and taken to safe houses before continuing their journeys.           

At the lodgings in the Spanish city, police found equipment for forging documents including portable computers, scanners, fake custom stamps and a magnifier.

A handgun, mobile phones and bundles of cash, both euros and yuan, were also seized in the operation.

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Schoolboy Harry Whitlam Hit By Tractor Dies

A schoolboy has died after being hit by a tractor at a farm visitor attraction.

Harry Whitlam, 11, died on Friday hours after the incident at Swithens Farm in the Rothwell area of Leeds.

The tractor driver, a 48-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and drink driving.

The farm is open to visitors, although a statement on its website said the collision was on the "working part of the farm".

Local reports suggested Harry suffered head injuries from the tractor's trailer as the vehicle was reversing.

It is thought Harry was hit by a reversing tractor trailer

The 11-year-old, who lived in the Wakefield area, was apparently a farm hand at the premises where his mother also worked.

Officers were called at 9.20am on Friday by the ambulance service who were already at the scene.

He was flown to Leeds General Infirmary but died on Friday night following complicated emergency surgery.

Joanna Baron, who was at the farm with her four-year-old son, told the Yorkshire Post: "I can't believe it. It's awful. We come here a lot and it's such a lovely place to be. It's shocking."

Detective Superintendent Scott Wood, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "We are continuing to investigate what has been a tragic incident with the Health and Safety Executive and are still appealing for witnesses."

The tractor driver has been bailed pending further inquiries.

Swithens Farm, which describes itself as a "friendly place with a focus on families, fun and fabulous fresh food", has remained open.

A statement posted on its website said: "There was a tragic accident on Friday 9 August and our thoughts are with Harry's family.

"We're still not sure of the full circumstances but the accident happened on the working part of the farm.

"The farm shop, cafe and petting farm are open to the general public and we are trying to run the business as normal."

:: Anyone who saw the collision should contact West Yorkshire Police Major Collision Enquiry Team on 01924 293047 or via 101.

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Sochi Olympics Boycott Call Rejected By PM

David Cameron has ruled out a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Russia, insisting attending is a better way to tackle anti-gay prejudice.

The Prime Minister spoke out following calls for the Games in 2014 to be moved because of Russia's anti-gay laws.

David Cameron said he had shared the "deep concern" about the abuse of gay people in the country.

But writing on Twitter, the Prime Minister said: "I believe we can better challenge prejudice as we attend, rather than boycotting the Winter Olympics."

Prime Minister David Cameron has ruled out a boycott of the Sochi games

A growing number of people, one of whom is the broadcaster Stephen Fry, have called for a boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympics because of Russia's stance on homosexuality.

Mr Putin signed a new bill into law in June banning "homosexual propaganda".

This makes it illegal to give anyone under 18 information about homosexuality.

Anyone deemed to be promoting gay rights or "non-traditional relationships" to young people could now be arrested and fined, or in the case of foreigners, detained and deported.

Critics say the law is intentionally vaguely-worded and part of a broader crackdown on gay rights.

The country's sports minister has said the law will apply to athletes and spectators at the Games.

Fry told Sky News that, despite his original request, he accepted that the Winter Olympics could not be moved but he had made the call because he wanted to draw attention to the plight of gay people in Russia.

He said he had met a lesbian couple with children who ran the risk of being arrested because they could be viewed as promoting homosexuality to their offspring.

He said a suitable compromise could be for podium place-winning athletes who opposed Russia's laws to make a gesture of crossing their arms across their sternums.

When asked whether it was right to compare Mr Putin to a Nazi, as some had been doing, Fry said if he was not actually a Nazi, he was a fascist, as he was attempting to wield absolute power.

Earlier, London 2012 Olympic Chief Lord Coe had also commented on the proposed boycott saying he disapproved. Coe was one of the UK team which went to the Moscow Olympics in 1980 when it was boycotted by the US.

He said: "(Boycotts) do not achieve what they set out to do. International sport is not an inhibitor of social change; it actually has a strong catalytic effect. It's an issue that needs to be addressed but its not an issue for a boycott."

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Oprah Winfrey 'Victim Of Racism' In Swiss Shop

Oprah Winfrey has said she recently became a victim of racism when a shop assistant in Switzerland refused to show her a £24,477 handbag saying it would be "too expensive" for her.

The US chat show host, who is one of the richest women in the world, was in Zurich for Tina Turner's wedding when she decided to go shopping alone.

Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight: "I was in Zurich the other day, in a store whose name I will not mention. I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfrey gear. I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals. But obviously The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich.

"I go into a store and I say to the woman, 'Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?' and she says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.'"

The bag was apparently in the shop window behind a security wall.

When Winfrey insisted again, the woman replied: "No, no you don't want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You will not be able to afford that."

Trudie Goetz arriving at Turner's wedding. Pic:Tinaturnerblog.com

The assistant then started to show the media owner smaller bags before she asked for a third time and was refused again.

"She said, 'Oh I don't want to hurt your feelings' and I said, 'Ok thank you so much you're probably right I can't afford it.'" said the 59-year-old.

Winfrey, who is the world's only African-American billionaire, then walked out of the shop calmly.

She said: "I could've had the whole blow-up thing and thrown down the black card but why do that but that clearly is you know … it (racism) still exists, of course it does."

Blick newspaper reported that Trudie Goetz, the owner of the boutique Trois Pommes, had apologised for the incident.

Ms Goetz, who is believed to have also attended Tina Turner's wedding, said there had been a "misunderstanding" caused by the assistant's failure to recognise Winfrey.

"We don't have any facial recognition here," Blick quoted Ms Goetz as saying.

Oprah had been asked on the US TV show whether anyone had ever called her the 'N- word'.

She said no one in their right mind would call her that to her face, but that racism showed itself in other ways.

"It shows up for me this way. Sometimes I'm in a boardroom or I'm in situations where I'm the only woman, I'm the only African American person within a 100-mile radius and I can see in the energy of the people there, they don't sense that I should be holding one of those seats.

"I can sense that. But I can never tell is it racism, is it sexism, because often it's both. I mean the sexism thing is huge. The higher the ladder you climb it gets huge, because men are used to running things."

Oprah has just been awarded America's highest civilian honour - the Presidential Medal of Freedom - which she will receive from President Barack Obama at the White House later in the year.

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Probe Into Government's 'Go Home' Poster Van

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is investigating the Home Office poster van campaign targeting illegal immigrants.

The ASA said it had received 60 complaints, which expressed concerns that the ads were "reminiscent of slogans used by racist groups to attack immigrants in the past".

The poster van carried the slogans: "In the UK illegally? Go home or face arrest." A second line on the advert claimed: "106 arrested in your area". It then encouraged illegal immigrants to text "home" to the number 78070.

The campaign attracted widespread criticism, including censure from the Business Secretary Vince Cable, who called it "stupid and offensive".

However, Downing Street insisted that it was working and that immigrants were volunteering to leave, although the Home Office did not provide figures.

The van travelled through Barnet, Hounslow, Barking and Dagenham, Ealing, Brent and Redbridge as part of a £10,000 pilot scheme, which ended at the end of last month.

Liberty's response to the Home Office 'Go Home' van

Responding to criticism, Downing Street pointed out that the scheme was cheaper than the £15,000 cost of forcibly removing illegal immigrants from the country.

They suggested the scheme could be rolled out across the country.

An ASA spokesman said: "I can confirm that the Advertising Standards Authority has launched a formal investigation into the Home Office 'Go Home' ad campaign following 60 complaints.

"Complainants have expressed concerns that the ad, in particular the phrase 'Go Home', is offensive and irresponsible because it is reminiscent of slogans used by racist groups to attack immigrants in the past and could incite or exacerbate racial hatred and tensions in multicultural communities.

A suspected illegal immigrant is arrested in Swansea in a crackdown

"Separately, some complainants have challenged whether the claim '106 arrests last week in your area' is misleading.

"They've also challenged whether it is misleading because it implies arrest is the automatic consequence of remaining in the UK without permission."

Chris Bryant MP, Labour's shadow immigration minister, said: "This is another embarrassing blow to a Government which continues to fail to deal with immigration.

"With more people absconding at the border and fewer illegal immigrants being returned, David Cameron and Theresa May can't even get the basics right, stumbling from one shambles to another.

"You've got to question the Government's competence. We need effective action on immigration not offensive stunts."

A Home Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that we are in contact with the Advertising Standards Authority over this investigation and will respond in due course."

The ASA's probe is in addition to another investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into a wave of immigration checks across the country.

The EHRC launched the probe after it was claimed that the spot checks - conducted at transport hubs up and down the country - were being carried out by border officials purely on the basis of ethnicity.

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Zanzibar Acid Attack Teens Back Home In UK

Two girls from London who had acid hurled in their faces on the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar have arrived back in Britain.

:: WARNING: This story contains a graphic image depicting acid burns

A medevac plane carrying Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup, both 18, landed at RAF Northolt at lunchtime and the pair were taken away in two ambulances.

They were then transferred to the specialist burns unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and reunited with their families.

An ambulance meets the plane carrying the teenagers

The teenagers were attacked by two men on a motorbike as they walked through the historic capital Stone Town on Wednesday night.

The acid was splashed over their faces, chests, backs and hands.

Their arrival back in Britain came as a Zanzibar police chief told Sky News that five people have been questioned over the acid attack.

Regional police commander Mkadam Khamis said two of the suspects are being detained for further interrogation while the other three have been released.

The horrific burns suffered by Katie Gee

Police on the island have also offered a reward of 10 million Tanzanian shillings (£4,000) for information leading to any arrests. 

Sky News Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lisa Holland said there were some suggestions that one of the people held was a local shopkeeper who had been in an altercation with one of the girls a few days before.

But she added that the motive remained unclear - with other reports of eyewitnesses saying the acid was not intended for the British teenagers but someone else walking down the road. 

The pair, who had been volunteering at an orphanage on the island, were taken to hospital in Dar es Salaam on the Tanzanian mainland, before being flown home.

The terrified girls were taken to hospital on the mainland

Miss Gee's mother Nicky Gee told Sky News her daughter had suffered burns to her "whole face and her whole body" in the "vicious attack".

A photograph released by the girls' families showed the injuries Miss Gee of them suffered in the attack.

The girl is shown wearing an open striped shirt and a silver necklace. What appear to be acid burns are clearly visible on her chin, neck and upper chest.

Miss Trup also reportedly received horrific burns and was said to be "inconsolable".

Katie Gee's mother, Nicky, told Sky News her daughter was badly burned

The young women, who are from north London and were planning to start university in the autumn, were enjoying the last week of a trip as volunteer teachers to the predominantly Muslim island when a corrosive substance was thrown at them.

The trip had been organised by i-to-i Travel, which is based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and runs gap year trips to parts of Africa, Asia, central and South America and Australia.

Trips to teach in Zanzibar, based in Stone Town, start at £669 for two weeks, according to its website.

In its latest statement, i-to-i Travel confirmed the girls had been repatriated to the UK and said: "We welcome the proactive investigations being carried out by local authorities in Zanzibar and continue to liaise with them.

One of the girls is escorted at the airport in Zanzibar

"We wish the girls a fast and full recovery and our thoughts are with them and their families at this difficult time."

The organisation added that it had advised all its customers still in Zanzibar "to remain vigilant" and anyone due to fly out there this weekend had been given the option to volunteer at a different project, but all had chosen to continue to travel to Tanzania.

The Foreign Office travel advice for Tanzania warns that although most visits to the country are trouble-free, "violent and armed crime is increasing".

The advice, available on its website, says: "Mugging, bag snatching (especially from passing cars) and robbery have increased throughout the country."

The family home of Kirstie Trup in north London

It adds: "In Zanzibar, incidents have taken place in Stone Town and on popular tourist beaches."

Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzania's president, is reported to have visited the women at the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam and promised that the men responsible for the "shameful" attack would be found.

Zanzibar is an archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean around 22 miles off the mainland.

The semi-autonomous region of Tanzania is predominantly Muslim and has been the scene of some religious violence in recent years.

Earlier this year two Christian leaders were killed and in November a cleric was treated in hospital after an acid attack. This is the first such assault on foreigners in the popular tourist destination.

A further announcement from the police in Zanzibar regarding the case is expected later today.

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Liverpool's Raheem Sterling Denies Assault

Liverpool footballer Raheem Sterling has denied allegations he assaulted his model girlfriend.

The 18-year-old winger is said to have attacked 19-year-old Shana Halliday.

Sterling entered a not guilty plea as he appeared at Liverpool Magistrates' Court.

He spent Thursday night in a police cell after being arrested at 10.30pm following an incident in Page Moss, Huyton, Liverpool.

Sterling was granted conditional bail and will stand trial at the same court on September 20.

Earlier, a Merseyside Police spokesman said: "Raheem Sterling, 18, of Woolton, was charged with Section 39 common assault."

Miss Halliday, from Liverpool, was crowned the winner of England's Top Model of the World beauty pageant earlier this year.

She went on to contest the pageant's world final in Egypt and reportedly works as a sales assistant for the Hollister clothing chain.

Sterling has played 39 games for Liverpool and has scored two goals.

He represented England at various youth levels before earning his first senior call up in September 2012 where he was an unused substitute in a World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine.

Two months later, on November 14, he made his senior debut, starting in a friendly away to Sweden.

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A&E Crisis: £500m Bailout Over Two Years

Struggling A&E departments in England are to be given a £500m Government bailout to help relieve pressure over the winter months.

The funding, announced by Prime Minister David Cameron, will be spread over the next two years to prepare the service for winter and will include £15m for the troubled 111 phone service.

The emergency care system has come under intense pressure, partly due to a rise in the number of people attending A&E.

Over one million more people attend the departments than three years ago.

David Cameron on a hospital visit in Salford on Thursday

Some experts have blamed issues in primary care, saying patients feel they have nowhere to turn once GP surgeries are closed.

Major problems with the new 111 service for non-urgent care are also thought to have impacted on A&E.

Last month, MPs on the Health Select Committee said plans to tackle problems were not robust enough.

The new funding is aimed at A&E departments identified as being under the most pressure and will be targeted at "pinch points" in local services.

Hospitals have already put forward proposals aimed at improving how the service works, including taking into account how other services feed into it.

One way of relieving pressure could be to minimise A&E attendances and hospital admissions from care homes by appointing hospital specialists in charge of joining up services for the elderly.

Consultants may also be called upon to review patients arriving by ambulance at A&E so that a senior level decision is taken on what care is needed at the earliest opportunity.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says the money will help units over winter

Mr Cameron said: "With over a million more people visiting A&E in the last three years, services and staff can find themselves under pressure during the busier winter period.

"While A&E departments are performing well this summer and at a level we would expect for this time of year, I want the NHS to take action now to prepare for the coming winter.

"The additional funding will go to hospitals where the pressure will be greatest, with a focus on practical measures that relieve pinch points in local services."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "This £500m will help A&E departments to prepare for winter and give patients confidence that they can quickly access safe and reliable emergency care."

A spokesman for the British Medical Association (BMA) said: "It is right that the Government is finally listening to the concerns of doctors and patients but, at a time when they are demanding cuts of £20bn across the NHS, this is nothing more than papering over the cracks.

"It is recognition that their austerity programme has hospitals facing ever increasing demands with diminishing resources."

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Mafia Boss Domenico Rancadore Held In London

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

A Mafia boss on the run for 19 years has been arrested in London, Italian police have confirmed.

Domenico Rancadore, 64, was one of Italy's most wanted criminals and had been sentenced to seven years in jail in his absence for Mafia association.

He was head of a crime family involved in extortion, racketeering and drug trafficking, Italian police said.

Italian detectives knew he was living in London and had failed to have him arrested in the past because the crime of Mafia association is not recognised by authorities in Britain.

However Sky sources said "circumstances changed" in recent weeks and police were able to move in.

Rancadore was arrested as he returned to the home in Uxbridge, west London, that he shares with his wife Anna Maria, 60, and children Giuseppe, 36, and Daniela, 33.

It is thought he initially attempted to escape but was quickly caught and overpowered by unarmed Scotland Yard officers.

Domenico Rancadore was living in a typical suburban London street

Rancadore, nicknamed "u profissuri" (the teacher) because he was a qualified PE teacher before turning to a life of crime, following in the footsteps of his father Giuseppe, who was also a top Mafia boss and given a life sentence.

He was running a travel agency with his wife and said by Italian police to be "living a golden life" in Britain, with a comfortable home as well as top of the range Jaguar and Mercedes cars.

Rancadore's wife - the daughter of the Italian consul - was born in London, as were his two children.

According to Italian media, Rancadore was living so openly in London he was even collecting his pension - considering himself untouchable because his conviction was not recognised.

He was said to be still running his criminal activities despite being more than 1,000 miles away from Palermo.

Italian police sources said he was using the alias "Marco Skinner" and had no official documents in his real name.

He went on the run in 1994 after being jailed by a court in Palermo, Sicily, where he ran the Caccamo and Trabia areas on the outskirts of the city in the 80s.

Mafia fugitive Gianfranco Techegne was arrested at a post office in 2012

He was said to have been involved in the so-called Mafia Wars 30 years ago but was never directly convicted of murder.

A police source in Rome told Sky News: "Rancadore is a senior Mafia figure and his arrest is highly significant. Obviously we would like to pass on our thanks to colleagues in London who carried out the arrest."

Palermo prosecutor Vittorio Teresi said the Italian authorities would be seeking to have Rancadore extradited.

He said: "We asked several times for him to be arrested through the European Arrest Warrant but the procedure was never carried out because the British authorities wanted clarification of his committed crimes."

Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano welcomed the arrest and said: "We have ensured that another on the run criminal has been consigned to the country's jail system."

During one investigation, a Mafia supergrass called Gaetano Lima reportedly told investigators: "Rancadore is dangerous, I can assure you of that. I know that because I brought him up."

It is not the first time a Mafia gangster has been arrested in London.

In 2006, Raffaele Caldarelli was held in Hackney where he was running a shoe shop and in 2012 cop killer Gianfranco Techegne was held outside St James's Park post office.

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Zanzibar Acid Attack: 'Get My Daughter Home'

The mother of one of the British teenagers injured in an acid attack on the island of Zanzibar has appealed for help to get her daughter home.

Nicky Gee told Sky News that she was desperately trying to get her daughter, Katie, safely back to the UK after two men on a motorcycle threw acid over her and her friend Kirstie Trup, both aged 18, in a late night assault.

She said that her daughter had suffered burns to her "whole face and her whole body" but that she was struggling with the Foreign Office and the insurance company  to get them flown home.

Katie Gee had been volunteering as a teacher

Mrs Gee said that she had spoken to her daughter on the phone following the attack, which was carried out as the two girls walked through the historic capital Stone Town on Wednesday night.

Describing it as a "vicious attack" on the girls, Mrs Gee said: "We are having a real problem trying to get them home at the moment."

But a Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are doing all we can to get the insurance company to organise the medivac.  

"It is completely their responsibility. We are doing what we can to expedite that. We don't have planes at the Foreign Office."

Kirstie Trup was also injured in the attack

"There is no commercial alternative so it has to be a medivac.  We have consular officials with the girls and we arranged transport for them between Zanzibar and Dar es Salam."

Miss Gee and Miss Trup, both from north London, had been on a four-week trip to the Indian Ocean island working as volunteers at an orphanage.

They were walking through the town towards the end of their stay when they were attacked.

The acid was splashed over their faces, chests, backs and hands and they were flown to hospital in Dar es Salaam on the mainland, where they have been treated for their injuries.

Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzania's president, is reported to have visited them at the Aga Khan Hospital and promised that the men responsible for the "shameful" attack would be found.

The attack came at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as people began to celebrate the Eid holiday.

The street in Stone Town where the attack took place

Mrs Gee made it clear, however, that both of the girls were aware of how to behave appropriately in a Muslim country and had been correctly dressed for Ramadan.

A close friend of the family told Sky News the girls had been having an amazing time and were both fully aware of the customs of a Muslim country.

But the Twitter page of Katie Gee illustrates the sensitivities of their trip. She tweeted on July 24: " A Muslim woman just hit me in the street for singing on Ramadan. Is that normal".

Deputy Police Commissioner Mkadam Khamis told Sky News the attack had "nothing to do with Ramadan".

He said it is believed the girls got caught in an incident between two motorcycles and they were not the intended targets.

The two teenagers were with the volunteering organisation i-to-i and had been due to return home from the island, a popular destination for gap-year travellers, to the UK on Sunday.

In a statement the organisation said: "The motive for the attack is as yet not known and we will await the report from the local authorities in Zanzibar before any comment can be made.

An update on Miss Gee's Twitter page

"The female clients had been volunteer teachers on Zanzibar and were in the final week of their trip.

"The safety of our customers is of paramount importance to us and our own investigation will be launched as soon as it is possible to do so."

The assault is the first against foreigners in the popular tourist destination, however, there have been a series of local attacks in the archipelago, mainly on grounds of religion.

A Muslim cleric was subjected to an acid attack in November. In February a Catholic priest was shot dead and in December another priest was shot and wounded.

Zanzibar is 22 miles off Tanzania

But police described the attack on the British teenagers as an "isolated incident" and refused to link it to rising religious tensions between Muslims and Christians.

The Zanzibar Minister for Information and Tourism, Ali Mbarouk, said: "We should cooperate with other government sectors to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and brought to justice.

"I beg our nationals in any way this is not something they should be doing because tourism is the strong pillar of our economy so if we do such acts we are killing our economy and our livelihoods in general so it is not an honourable thing to do it's a bad thing and it's supposed to be condemned by all citizens of Zanzibar."

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Teen Suicide: Ask.Fm Founders Defend Website

The founders of ask.fm, where teenager Hannah Smith was bullied before she took her own life, have defended the social networking website.

It comes as firms including Vodafone, Phones 4u, Specsavers, Laura Ashley, DialAFlight and Universelook as well as charities Mind and Save The Children pulled their advertising from the site amid "deep concerns over cyber bullying". 

Bosses Mark and Ilja Terebin of the Latvia-based website said they were committed to providing a "safe environment" for their users and wanted to reassure them and their parents.

They also said: "We do not condone bullying of any kind, or any form of unacceptable use of our site."

Hannah's father, Dave Smith, has called for the website's owners to be charged with manslaughter.

The 14-year-old girl from Lutterworth, Leicestershire, took her own life on Friday after repeated messages encouraging her to kill herself and criticising her appearance.

Dave Smith and Hannah's stepmother Deborah (Pic: Mirror)

Ask.fm allows users to post anonymous questions and messages but has been criticised for not doing enough after several other teenagers took their lives - apparently after receiving abuse on the site.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror in his first on-camera interview since Hannah's death, Mr Smith said: "The people that run it should get done for manslaughter or murder because you try contacting them and they don't care.

"These websites should be got rid of, if nothing else they need to be regulated and they need to stop people from doing this."

Ask.fm has expressed its "sincerest sympathies" to Hannah's family, called her death a "true tragedy" and said it was co-operating with Leicestershire Police's investigation.

In the latest statement, the founders said they also wanted to highlight a number of existing "safety" features available for its users.

They said these included an 'in-question' reporting function, in place since 2012, and similar to the in-Tweet function announced by Twitter this week.

Hannah Smith (L) and her best friend Georgia Clarke

This feature enables our users to report with just one click any question that they may find objectionable or offensive.

The bosses added they have a team of moderators working around the clock who manually check every photograph or video posted to the site, so anything of a sexual, pornographic or violent nature is removed.

"Our moderators also read and deal appropriately with every concern or report that is raised by a user; we remove content if we feel it infringes our terms of service."

They added: "Although it is possible to post anonymously to the site, we would like to reassure parents that in almost all cases it is possible for ask.fm to identify users - through IP technology."

Earlier, staff at ask.fm refused to tell Sky News about its system for reporting abuse.

Sky's Ian Woods approached an employee in Riga, Latvia and asked to see how the firm moderates its messages and how it tackles abuse.

But the worker said the correspondent should speak to an official from the company.

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 08457 90 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org.

:: BeatBullying.org is also available for advice and support.

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One Of UK's Most Wanted Captured In Restaurant

Armed police swooped on and arrested a wanted fugitive while he was dining at a restaurant in North Wales.

Police in Spain want to question Darren O'Flaherty over the murder of Dublin holidaymaker John O'Neill in the Costa del Sol in 2010.

And officers in the UK want to speak to him in relation to a 2006 knifepoint kidnap of a lorry driver in Yorkshire.

O'Flaherty, 39, from Merseyside, was arrested at around 7.15pm on Tuesday in a restaurant in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, by North Wales Police, in a joint operation with Merseyside Police.

Chief Inspector Jeff Moses, of North Wales Police, said: "This is a significant arrest following close working between ourselves and Merseyside Police.

"Due to the nature of the offences and the circumstances, it was necessary to utilise highly trained armed officers from North Wales Police to effect the arrest."

Mr O'Neill was in Coco's Bar, in the resort of Benalmadena, near Torremolinos, with friends for a wedding when he was killed in July 2010, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Witnesses said a man in the bar grew increasingly angry over having to wait to use the toilet and began kicking the cubicle door, which led to an argument.

It is understood Mr O'Neill intervened, acting as peacemaker. The man stormed out of the bar, only to return a short time later with a gun, which he used to shoot the plasterer - who had a three-year-old son and a nine-month-old daughter.

O'Flaherty was one of the suspects identified as part of Operation Captura - a campaign targeting British criminals thought to be hiding in Spain.

The operation was launched in October 2006 and, to date, 52 of the 65 people featured have been arrested.

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CPS Suspends Lawyer From Sex Abuse Cases

A prosecutor reported to have called a teenage sex attack victim "predatory" has been suspended from working on other cases involving sexual offences.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had already called the comment about the 13-year-old girl apparently made during a court case in London "inappropriate".

Following an outcry from children's charities and campaigners, it has now started looking at Mr Colover's overall involvement in sexual offence prosecutions.

The CPS, which has received several formal complaints, said he would not be instructed on any ongoing or future cases involving sexual offences while it investigates.

Neil Wilson, 41, was given an eight-month suspended sentence at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London on Monday after admitting sexual activity with a child.

Judge Nigel Peters also called the girl 'predatory' as he passed sentence

Mr Robert Colover reportedly told the court: "The girl is predatory in all her actions and she is sexually experienced."

Passing sentence, Judge Nigel Peters then said he had taken into account that the girl looked and behaved "a little bit older" than she was.

"The girl was predatory and was egging you on. That is no defence when dealing with children but I am prepared to impose a suspension," he said.

Wilson, now living in York, had watched the girl strip out of her school uniform at his home in Romford, Essex, before she performed a sex act on him.

Police also found images of child abuse and bestiality at his home.

He admitted two counts of making extreme pornographic images and one count of sexual activity with a child.

Judge Peters told him: "Allowing her to visit your home is something we have to clamp down on and in normal circumstances that would mean a significant term in prison."

The Office for Judicial Complaints has also received a number of complaints about his remarks and says they will be considered.

The Attorney General is already looking at the case and will decide if it should ask the Court of Appeal to consider whether the punishment was unduly lenient.

A petition started by the founder of EveryDay Victim Blaming, who is known only as Jo, calling for a review of the sentence has received 15,000 signatures. 

'Completely appalling': Caroline Criado-Perez

She wrote on the Change.org website: "I'm a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I could have been that 13-year-old girl who the judge and prosecutor described as 'predatory'.

"I have seen first-hand how this kind of victim-blaming prevents women from coming forward and protects men who commit these crimes."

Earlier, the CPS had admitted the language used by its prosecutor was "inappropriate".

A spokesman said: "The transgressor in this case was the defendant and he bears responsibility for his criminal acts."

David Cameron said the CPS was "absolutely right". "It isn't appropriate. We need a criminal justice system that stands up properly for victims," he said.

"The victims of crime should always be at the centre of our thinking and I am pleased the CPS has made that statement.

"I am also pleased that the Attorney General has said he is personally going to look into this case."

The NSPCC warned that the case was part of a wider pattern about how child sex abuse cases are treated in the courts.

Alan Wardle, head of corporate affairs, said: "It was quite clear in the case the predator was the man who was in the dock, not a 13-year-old child, and it is quite clear that a 13-year-old child cannot be complicit in her own abuse.

"Making sure that judges and barristers in all these cases are properly trained and understand the nature of child sexual abuse and how children are groomed in these sort of cases is important."

A spokesman for Barnardo's added: "It is plain wrong to imply in any way that the experiences of sexually exploited children are something they bring on themselves."

Victim Support's chief executive Javed Khan said: "Victims of sexual abuse should be praised for their bravery in coming forward, not censured and have their credibility called into question - least of all by the prosecution.

"It is traumatic enough for anyone who is brought to court to face their abuser, but particularly so when this is a young vulnerable person. It is completely unacceptable for victims to be blamed in any way for the abuse they have suffered."

Caroline Criado-Perez, who received rape threats following her calls for Jane Austen to be the face on the £10 bank note, called the judge's decision "completely appalling".

She told Sky News: "It's really worrying that we're in the 21st century and we're still suggesting victims can be complicit in their abuse which is basically what calling a 13-year-old child a sexually predator is.

"I don't think you can ever call a child a sexual predator because they are a child. They are below the age of consent. We have laws specifically because of this kind of thing so that you can't say a child is responsible for her abuse.

"This adds to the horror that has happened to her. She has been abused and now we are blaming her for it. It's just unconscionable."

The Attorney General said a decision on whether the case is referred to the Court of Appeal will be made within 28 days.

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'Bongo Bongo Land': MEP Apologises For Jibe

A UK Independence Party politician has issued a public apology after saying Britain should not send foreign aid to "bongo bongo land".

In a statement, MEP Godfrey Bloom said he regretted any offence or embarrassment caused by the remark.

He said: "At a public speech in the West Midlands in early July I used a term which I subsequently gather under certain circumstances could be interpreted as pejorative to individuals and possibly cause offence.

"Although quite clearly no such personal usage was intended, I understand from UKIP Party Chairman Steve Crowther and leader Nigel Farage that I must not use the terminology in the future, nor will I and sincerely regret any genuine offence which might have been caused or embarrassment to my colleagues.

"My aim, successful as it appears, was to demonstrate the immorality of sending £1bn per month abroad when we are desperately short of money here."

It comes just hours after the MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire told Sky News he did not regret the words he used and insisted he had sparked a vital debate about foreign aid.

He told Sky: "Out here in Hull and Yorkshire, where we tell it like it is, they don't feel it's racist at all.

"How can you get yourself into such a state about something which doesn't even exist? There is no such country so how can anyone be offended."

He added: "It would be disingenuous of me to regret having said it having got this debate going ... If I've achieved that, I think I have done my country some good."

Mr Bloom was filmed questioning the payments in a speech in July, as well as appearing to back the return of hanging.

"How we can possibly be giving a billion pounds a month, when we're in this sort of debt, to bongo bongo land is completely beyond me," he said in the video.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage asked Godfrey Bloom not to repeat the phrase

"To buy Ray-Ban sunglasses, apartments in Paris, Ferraris and all the rest of it that goes with most of the foreign aid. F-18s for Pakistan.

"We need a new squadron of F-18s. Who's got the squadrons? Pakistan, where we send the money."

Later in the speech, Mr Bloom railed against the European Court of Human Rights for ruling that full life sentences could not be handed down.

He said: "You can torture people to death, but you jolly well can't give them a full life sentence because that's against their human rights.

"We can't hang them because we're now a member of the European Union and it's embedded in the Treaty of Rome. It's a personal thing, but I'd hang the b******s myself."

He added: "I do hope they would ask me to throw the rope over the beam because I'd be delighted to do so."

Mr Bloom denied to The Guardian, who obtained the video, that his comments were racist and declared: "What's wrong with that? I'm not a wishy-washy Tory."

But he was later asked by UKIP not to repeat the words "bongo bongo" to avoid causing offence.

Party chairman Steve Crowther said: "We are asking Godfrey not to use this phrase again as it might be considered disparaging by members from other countries.

"However, foreign aid is an extremely important debate that needs wider discussion."

Quizzed before the party's statement about what he would do if he was asked to mind his language, Mr Bloom said: "I'd say 'Righto, sorry, sorry everybody'."

But he then repeated the controversial phrase, saying: "If I've offended anyone in bongo bongo land, I shall write to the ambassador at the Court of St James's and apologise to him personally."

He insisted he was right to argue that Britain should be keeping taxpayers' money at a time of austerity - and shrugged off the prospect his language could lose him votes.

"We live in a free country. I'm a libertarian. Please don't vote for me if you don't agree with me. I wouldn't expect you to," he told BBC's Radio 4 Today programme.

"But if you're fed up with £1bn a month going abroad with no audit trail when we're cutting our police and hospitals, vote for me."

He added: "I think I'm standing up for ordinary people at the pub, the cricket club, the rugby club."

Laura Pidcock, from campaign group Show Racism The Red Card, called the comments "highly offensive" and said the intention behind them was irrelevant.

"These crude stereotypes that see Britain as a civilised place and overseas as tribal is an extremely homogenising sentiment and I think it's incredibly damaging," she said.

Shadow international development secretary Rushanara Ali added: "These are an offensive and narrow-minded set of remarks.

"The British are among the most generous in the world and recognise that Britain's commitment to international development is both morally right and key to securing our future prosperity.

"If Nigel Farage is serious about getting rid of racism and intolerance in his party, he should take action against UKIP politicians who think it's acceptable to refer to developing countries as bongo bongo land."

Mr Bloom has previously had to defend his controversial views after suggesting that no "self-respecting small businessman" would employ a "woman of child-bearing age".

In April, a leaked email from the MEP also suggested he was concerned about excessive "political correctness" among new recruits to UKIP.

And he had complained that forging UKIP's policy platform was like "herding cats" and suggested the party could buy its policies "off the shelf" from think-tanks.

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Obama Cancels Putin Talks Amid Snowden Row

US President Barack Obama has cancelled plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next month amid heightened tensions.

The move appears to be retribution for Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

It also reflects growing US frustration with Russia on several other issues, including missile defence and human rights.

A top White House official said Mr Obama still plans to attend the G20 economic summit in St Petersburg, Russia, but has no plans to meet Mr Putin there one-on-one.

Instead of visiting the president in Moscow, the Mr Obama will add a stop in Sweden to his early September travel itinerary.

The Kremlin expressed its disappointment but said it remains ready to work with the United States on a variety of issues.

Mr Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters the move reflected the inability of the US to develop relations with Moscow on an "equal basis."

He said the invitation to Obama to visit Moscow next month still stands.

"This decision is clearly linked to the situation with former agent of U.S. special services (Edward) Snowden, which hasn't been created by us," Mr Ushakov said.

Snowden has been granted a year's asylum in Russia

White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Russia's decision to defy the US and grant Snowden temporary asylum only worsened an already troubled relationship.

"We'll still work with Russia on issues where we can find common ground, but it was the unanimous view of the president and his national security team that a summit did not make sense in the current environment," Mr Rhodes said.

Mr Obama, who is travelling in California, said in an interview on Tuesday that he was "disappointed" by Russia's move to grant Snowden asylum for one year. But he said the move also reflected the "underlying challenges" the US faces in dealing with Moscow.

"There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality," he told Jay Leno in an interview on NBC's The Tonight Show.

Snowden, 30, is wanted by the US on felony charges after leaking details of vast surveillance programmes.

He first fled from the US to Hong Kong, then made his way to Russia. He was stuck in the transit zone of a Moscow airport for more than a month before Russia granted him asylum.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel are still preparing for meetings in Washington on Friday with their Russian counterparts. Snowden's status is expected to be a main topic of conversation.

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Yemen Terror Alert: Embassy Staff Withdrawn

Britain and America have told citizens to leave Yemen "immediately" as the al Qaeda terror threat intensifies.

The UK and the US State Department have also instructed that their embassies should be evacuated and all non-emergency US government staff have been ordered to leave the country "due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks".

A statement from the UK Foreign Office said: "Due to increased security concerns, all staff in our Yemen embassy have been temporarily withdrawn, and the embassy will remain closed until staff are able to return.

The US embassy in Sana'a has been evacuated

"There is a very high threat of kidnap from armed tribes, criminals and terrorists. Be particularly vigilant during Ramadan, when tensions could be heightened."

Military planes have already been used to return a number of people to the US.

The developments in Yemen came as it was disclosed that an intercepted telephone call between al Qaeda leaders triggered the terror alert that led to the temporary closure of 19 US diplomatic posts across the Middle East and Africa.

During the conversation, al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahri instructed the head of the terror affiliate in Yemen, Nasser al Wuhayshi to carry out a major attack as early as last Sunday.

The plot is thought to have been one of the most serious against American and other Western interests since the September 11, 2001, attacks, according to US intelligence officials.

One American official, who had been briefed on the intelligence report, told the New York Times: "This was significant because it was the big guys talking, and talking about very specific timing for an attack or attacks."

Al Wuhayshi, head of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), is a significant player and was groomed for leadership in the terror organisation by Osama bin Laden.          

The drone strikes hit four al Qaeda suspects in Marib Province

It also emerged that a five-missile drone strike had killed four alleged al Qaeda members in Yemen's central Marib province. The hit targeted a vehicle, turning it into "a ball of fire", according to Yemeni officials.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media, they said they believed that one of the dead is Saleh Jouti and another Saleh al Tays al Waeli.

Waeli was on a list of 25 "most wanted" al Qaeda operatives included in a list released by the Yemen government on Monday.

The men are wanted in connection with an alleged plot to launch a major attack before Ramadan ends and the Eid al-Fitr feast begins, either on Thursday or Friday.

Tuesday's drone strike is the fourth of its kind since July 28. The raids have killed 17 suspects in one week.

Aqap is seen as the terror network's most capable franchise following the decimation of its core leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent years.

Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's leader, is unable to act out of Pakistan

The Yemen-based group has attempted a number of attacks on US soil, including a bid to bring down a passenger plane in 2009 by a man wearing explosives in his underwear and a failed plot to send bombs concealed in printers.

The US, in turn, has launched scores of drone strikes in Yemen, where the militant groups thrive in vast, lawless areas largely outside government control.

Several US allies, including Britain, France, Germany and Norway have also announced closures of some of their missions in the region.

An attack on September 11 last year killed the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans in Benghazi.

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told CNN at the weekend that the recent actions taken to close the embassies showed President Barack Obama's administration had learned lessons from Benghazi.

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Fort Hood Massacre: Court Martial Begins

The court martial of a US soldier charged with killing 13 at Fort Hood military base has begun, with the gunman facing his victims for the first time.

Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, has never denied carrying out the 2009 attack on his fellow soldiers.

He told the jury on Tuesday: "The evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter."

He is representing himself at a trial charging him with murder and attempted murder for the attack, which also wounded more than 30.

Hasan, a US-born Muslim of Palestinian descent, had wanted to argue that he carried out the shooting "in defence of others" - Muslim insurgents fighting US soldiers in Afghanistan - but the judge has refused to accept that argument.

The judge has also said the 42-year-old will not be permitted to make speeches about his beliefs.

Many of the wounded will take the witness stand, alongside others who were inside the post's Soldier Readiness Processing Centre when the shooting began.

Thirteen people died during the shooting at the Texas base in 2009

Hasan, who was shot in the back by officers responding to the attack, is now paralysed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair.

Before the trial, wounded soldier Alonzo Lunsford said: "That man strikes no fear in my heart.

"What he did to me was bad. But the biggest mistake that he made was I survived. So he will see me again."

Another soldier, mental health specialist Shawn Manning, is also expected to give evidence.

He said: "I have to keep my composure and not go after the guy.

"I'm not afraid of him, obviously. He's a paralysed guy in a wheelchair, but it's sickening that he's still living and breathing."

The government has said that Hasan sent more than a dozen emails starting in December 2008 to Anwar al Awlaki, a radical US-born Islamic cleric killed by a drone strike in Yemen in 2011.

If he is convicted and sentenced to death, it would likely take decades before he was executed. The military has not executed an active-duty soldier since 1961.

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Python Attack: 'Snake Kills Two Sleeping Boys'

Police in eastern Canada have launched a criminal investigation after a python apparently escaped from a pet shop and killed two children by asphyxiating them in their sleep.

The two boys - named locally as Noah Barthe, five, and his brother Connor, seven - were at a sleepover at their best friend's flat in the town of Campbellton when it is believed they were attacked by the snake.

It is understood the animal had escaped from the Reptile Ocean pet shop, which specialises in exotic pets and is run by family friend Jean-Claude Savoie, located on the ground floor of the building.

The boys were sleeping in the living room of the residence on Pleasant Street when they were reportedly attacked by the snake early on Monday morning. Police were called to the scene at 6.30am local time.

Corporal Alain Tremblay from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told Canadian news station CBC News that officers were in the first stage of a criminal investigation.

He said: "I can tell you it's a criminal investigation right now to determine if any criminal act is responsible for the death of the two boys."

Cpl Tremblay confirmed that the snake involved is an African rock python, as long as 4.5 metres and weighing about 45kg. The animals are non-venomous and would usually kill by constricting victims.

Police outside the exotic pet store in Campbellton (Pic: CBC News)

Police have suggested the python entered the upstairs apartment via the two-storey building's ventilation system.

The RCMP said in a statement: "The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a large exotic snake had escaped its enclosure at the store.

"(It) got into the ventilation system, then into the upstairs apartment. It's believed the two boys were strangled by the snake."

The boys' mother, Mandy Trecartin, lives close to the Reptile Ocean store. She is a good friend of the shop owner and regularly let her sons stay over there.

A former shop employee is reported to have called Ms Trecartin as soon as he heard about the tragedy to find out what happened.

Tim Thomas told Canada's National Post: "She told me straight up, it was her two children that died; I didn't know what to say, I was in shock."

Mr Savoie, who described the dead brothers as "like an extended family", told Global News that he found a "horrific scene" when he checked on the boys at about 6am.

An example of an African rock python (file pic)

"I thought they were sleeping and I've seen the hole in the ceiling, (and) everything has fallen. I turn the lights on and I've seen this horrific scene," Mr Savoie said.

He added: "The snake was gone but I found the snake ... it went through the ceiling and was sleeping in the living room.

"I have so many mixed emotions right now. I can't believe this is real."

The python, which he had owned for 10 years, has been recaptured.

The local community expressed shock at what had happened. One neighbour said: "We could not believe that something like this could happen, but it has happened."

But another Campbellton resident was less sympathetic. She said: "The fact that you have an apartment with animals like that below, the risk is always there."

Experts said attacks on humans by exotic snakes are extremely rare and, according to local officials, the reptile owner was fully licenced.

Connor Barthe (L) and Noah Barthe (Pic: Facebook / Mandy Trecartin)

Exotic snake seller Alexandre Tremblay suggested the snake must have been "way under-fed and badly housed".

"For a snake to be able to get out of that size it just has to be really hungry and not in good conditions. Because usually snakes are very easy-going ... it's rare that snakes get out," he told Sky News.

Lisa Janes, co-owner of Little Ray's Reptile Zoo, a zoo and education programme in Ontario, told CBC News that snakes do not usually see humans as food, pointing out that more people are killed by dogs than by snakes.

According to a report in the the Toronto Sun, snake expert Michel Leblanc is baffled over how the snake was able to kill both boys.

"It is rather odd ... because usually the snakes feed on rabbits, for example.

"Generally, it will only attack something he can swallow. It will not kill for nothing," he said.

Reptile Ocean's Facebook page was flooded with criticism when news of the deaths spread and has now been shut down, the National Post reported. An unknown administrator earlier replied to the angry comments saying it had been "a terrible accident without a meaning".

"There is nobody to blame. The snake broke out of its enclosure. The enclosure was locked. There was no negligence. This is a terrible accident," the message posted on Monday afternoon read.

An online petition calling for the shop, which reportedly has three employees, to be shut down had been started prior to the deaths. It has been open for almost 17 years.

Post-mortem examinations on the two boys' bodies are due to be carried out today.

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Two Die In Shooting On East Kilbride Farm

A father has been shot dead and his son seriously injured in a farm shooting in which a third man also died.

Emergency services were called to Meadowhead Farm near East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire, just after 8am.

Police have not identified the dead pair, but one of the men who died is 59-year-old Peter Thompson, according to Sky sources, who was found on the farm.

A 53-year-old man who also died has not yet been named. He had a firearms licence and was found nearby in a vehicle.

Mr Thompson's 36-year-old son, John, suffered a leg injury when he was shot. He left the scene to drive to the nearest pub to raise the alarm and was found by police on a road.

He is now reportedly being treated for serious injuries in hospital, but he is expected to live.

Police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident and no danger is posed to the public.

Meadowhead Farm is a licensed equestrian centre which offers riding lessons and treks.

A statement on the centre's Facebook page said the centre was closed.

Messages of condolence were posted on the site below the statement.

A floral tribute left at the scene read: "RIP Peter. A true gentleman. You will be sadly missed."

Sky's Jane Chilton, in South Lanarkshire, said there had been reports that Peter Thompson had been involved in a dispute over plans to expand his equestrian centre. "There were very strong objections to these plans and it all revolved around an access road," she said.

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Test Tube Burger Served Up For First Time

By Alex Watts, Sky News Online

The world's first test tube burger, costing a whopping £250,000 to produce, has been unveiled in London.

The 5oz patty - made from lab-grown "cultured beef" - was dished up by its creator, Professor Mark Post, before journalists in Hammersmith, in the west of the capital.

The scientist-turned-chef made the most expensive beefburger in history from 20,000 tiny strips of meat grown from cow stem cells over a three-month period.

The billionaire co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin, put £215,000 of his own money towards the research, saying he was doing it because it could be "transformative for the world".

The burger was cooked with oil and butter

Chef Richard McGeown fried the burger in sunflower oil and a knob of butter before it was sampled by Josh Schonwald, author of The Taste of Tomorrow, and food scientist Hanni Rutzler.

Ms Rutzler said it was "close to meat" but she was expecting the texture to be softer and it wasn't very juicy.

Mr Schonwald said the "absence is the fat ... it's a leanness to it but the bite feels like a conventional hamburger".

"This is kind of an unnatural experience in that I can't tell you over the past 20 years how many times I have had a burger without ketchup or onions or jalapenos or bacon."

Prof Post believes his artificial meat - known by the rather unappetising title "in-vitro meat" - could herald a food revolution and appear in supermarkets within the next 10 to 20 years.

Professor Post reckons commercial production could begin within 20 years

After trying his own creation for the first time, he said: "I think it's a very good start, it proved that we can do this, that we can make it and to provide a start to build upon - I am very pleased with it."

He said he was not worried about the verdict on the taste and added that in a couple of months they should be able to add fat into the product.

The burger could help save the planet by cutting the billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases currently released by livestock, and may also be deemed ethically acceptable by vegetarians because it would dramatically reduce the need to slaughter animals.

But its success or failure will ultimately depend on how much it resembles the taste, texture and price of real meat.

Synthetic beef (centre) with hamburger meat (left) and minced beef (right)

The demonstration was originally planned for October last year, with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal cooking the burger for a mystery guest.

There was pressure from journalists in the audience who wanted to try the burger but they were told there was not enough to go around.

Up until now, the only outsider known to have eaten the synthetic meat was a Russian reporter who snatched a piece of cultured pork and stuffed it in his mouth during a visit to Prof Post's lab - before it had been passed as safe to eat.

He was reportedly unimpressed by the pork, describing it as "chewy and tasteless".

Prof Post's team at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands conducted experiments which progressed from mouse meat to pork and finally beef - the most environmentally destructive meat.

Google's Sergey Brin bankrolled the "cultured beef" burger

"What we are going to attempt is important because I hope it will show cultured beef has the answers to major problems that the world faces," he said.

"Our burger is made from muscle cells taken from a cow. We haven't altered them in any way. For it to succeed it has to look, feel and hopefully taste like the real thing."

The ingredients don't sound like something a chef would boast about on a menu - half-millimetre thick strips of pinkish yellow lab-grown tissue, each the size of a rice grain.

But Prof Post is confident he can produce a burger that is almost indistinguishable from one made from prime beef.

He points out that livestock farming is becoming unsustainable, with demand for meat rocketing around the world.

The industry accounts for nearly 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions - even greater than transport - with 228 million tonnes of meat produced each year.

And the environmental problems are only likely to get worse, with the UN forecasting that world demand for meat will double by 2050, largely driven by an increased demand from a growing middle class in China and other developing nations.

The in-vitro burger is cultured from cattle stem cells

Added to this, around 70% of all farmland is devoted to meat production, and cattle consume around 10% of the world's freshwater supplies, making meat farming a very costly, planet-damaging business.

Experts say 1kg of meat requires up to 10kg of crops to produce, making it a highly inefficient method of turning plants into human food, whereas synthetic meat uses about 2kg of feed.

Research by Oxford University scientists in 2011 estimated that cultured meat needs 99% less land than livestock, between 82% and 96% less water, and produces between 78% and 95% less greenhouse gas.

The burger launched today has cost  £250,000 to produce, but the Dutch team are hoping to dramatically slash the cost by industrialising the laborious process.

The Food Standards Agency said that before going on sale, synthetic meat would need regulatory approval, with manufacturers needing to prove that all necessary safety tests had been carried out.

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France: Father Of Missing Family Found Hanged

A man whose wife and daughter are missing has been found hanged after leaving a suicide note protesting his innocence.

Francisco Benitez was found dead at his workplace in Perpignan, southern France, on Monday morning.

His daughter Allison, 19, and wife Marie-Josee Benitez, 53, have not been seen since July 14, when the two of them left home after an argument with Mr Benitez - which he told police about.

Allison and Marie Benitez have been missing since mid-July. Pic: Facebook

Officers found a letter next to Mr Benitez 's body at the barracks of the French Foreign Legion where he worked as a recruitment officer in Perpignan, proclaiming his innocence.

According to local media reports, he was wearing his military uniform. He also left information on who to contact and said that he wanted to be cremated in the note.

Mr Benitez's suicide came just a day after he gave an emotional interview to Paris Match, saying his daughter was "his life" and she would "never leave like that without giving news, it is impossible".

Police search the barracks where Mr Benitez was found hanging

Sobbing throughout he told the magazine, they were "a family like any other, with ups and downs".

He also responded to "violent attacks" on the internet connecting him to the disappearances. "The hardest thing is to read what people comment without knowing our private lives," he said.

Mr Benitez and his wife were in the process of separating when she and her daughter disappeared in mid-July, but it had been agreed that the two women would move in together and the father would pay the rent.

A police officer outside the French Foreign Legion building in Perpignan

Mother and daughter have not been in touch with any relatives nor used their credit cards or bank accounts since going missing. Their mobile phones cut off on trying to contact them and they have not posted anything on their social media accounts.

All this has prompted concern from investigators and a criminal case has been opened.

Allison had reportedly been preparing for months for the local 'Miss Roussillon' beauty contest, to be held on 11 August, but did not attend a meeting about it on July 15, French media network Europe 1 reported.

Police are continuing to search for the pair and a family computer has apparently been seized as part of the investigation.

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Tia Sharp: Man Jailed For Lying To Police

A neighbour of the grandmother of murdered schoolgirl Tia Sharp has been jailed for wasting police time.

Natalie Sharp, Tia's mother, weeps after Meehan was found guilty

Bus driver Paul Meehan, 40, gave a false statement that he had seen the 12-year-old walk past his home on August 3 last year.

Meehan, who lived next to Christine Bicknell and her killer boyfriend Stuart Hazell, told officers he was "100% sure" he saw her outside his New Addington home, but Tia was already dead.

Meehan was convicted at Croydon Magistrates' Court of "causing wasteful employment of the police by making a false report".

Hazell was jailed in May for a minimum of 38 years for killing Tia. The court heard there was no suggestion Meehan was in league with Hazell.

Meehan remained impassive as the verdict was delivered. As the hearing adjourned, he sat down and buried his head in his hands.

The last confirmed sighting of Tia was on Thursday, August 2, at 4.30pm. She was murdered some time that night going into the following morning.

Stuart Hazell is behind bars for Tia's murder

With her family frantic with worry by the following Monday, Meehan told officers he had seen Tia walk past him the previous Friday while he was in his garden.

He gave a "vivid" description of what she was wearing, the court heard, which delayed police from interviewing Hazell earlier.

But police had spoken to Meehan about the case three times before he finally said he saw her.

His explanation was that he had "confabulated" seeing her - his brain mistakenly filled in the blanks in good faith.

Jocelyn Ledward, prosecuting, said Meehan had "deliberately lied" - possibly to put himself in an important position in the investigation.

Before jailing him for five months, District Judge Karen Hammond said Meehan was unreliable.

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Parking Row Death: Holmes Named As Victim

A 64-year-old man who was killed in a row over a disabled parking space in a supermarket car park has been named.

Brian Holmes died in hospital a day after the assault in the Asda car park in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire at 3pm on Saturday.

His family said in a statement that he had only this week been given the all clear following cancer treatment.

He was described as a "family man who adored his grandchildren and family".

The dispute took place at the Asda car park in Biggleswade

The statement said: "The family are devastated by the loss of Brian in such shocking circumstances. A wife has lost her husband, best friend and carer all in one go.

"Brian and his wife were only just starting to make plans for the future that they only dared to dream of."

A 65-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the fracas and was released on police bail on Sunday night until August 19.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Redfearn, who is leading the investigation, said: "The men were waiting in the disabled parking area at the time and got into a disagreement about parking.

"We know they became involved in a disagreement which resulted in one man punching the other, knocking him to the ground.

"It would seem an argument over nothing has led to tragic and devastating consequences for both men and their families."

Detective Inspector Liz Mead said: "I would like to hear from anybody who was in the car park at ASDA on Saturday afternoon and may have seen the altercation taking place close to the disabled parking area.

"A number of people have already come forward but it is imperative that we speak with as many people as possible and collect all of the facts into what happened. Even the smallest pieces of information could assist us with our inquiries."

More follows...

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