FA Boss: Summer World Cup In Qatar 'Impossible'

Fifa Boss: Move 2022 World Cup

Updated: 7:21am UK, Saturday 10 August 2013

Fifa's president says the organisation still has enough time to switch the 2022 World Cup to the winter to avoid Qatar's intense summer heat.

Sepp Blatter said he would discuss the plans with his executive committee in October.

The move would cause major disruption to various domestic leagues around the world.

But Mr Blatter insisted: "We still have enough time.

"The executive committee will certainly follow my proposal. Then we will have dealt with the topic for good."

Summer temperatures can reach 50C (122F) in Qatar, and there are currently plans for games to be played in air-conditioned stadiums.

But there is pressure for the tournament to be moved to the winter, when temperatures reach a high of 24C (75F).

Mr Blatter said: "The Fifa World Cup must be a festival of the people. But for it to be such a festival, you can't play football in the summer.

"You can cool down the stadiums, but you can't cool down the whole country - and you can't simply cool down the ambience of a World Cup. The players must be able to play in the best conditions to play a good World Cup."

Hassan al Thawadi, the head of Qatar's organising committee, said the country was open to the move "if it's the wish of the football community".

Mr Blatter said medical information about the effects of the heat on players led to his change of heart.

"There has been a fresh medical investigation into what it would be like to play football there in the summer and we have to take into account the health, not of the spectators, but of the players," he explained.

Qatar defeated bids from South Korea, Japan, Australia and the US for the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

Speaking to Sky Germany, Mr Blatter also said Brazil might have been the wrong choice to host the 2014 World Cup if the tournament is affected by the wave of protests seen at the Confederations Cup last month.

Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets expressing their anger over the costs to stage the World Cup and demanding better public services.

"If this happens again we have to question whether we made the wrong decision awarding the hosting rights," Mr Blatter added.

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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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Belfast: 56 Police Hurt In 'Mindless Anarchy'

Police have confirmed the number of officers injured during rioting in Belfast was 56.

Four officers needed hospital treatment with one being kept in after the violence overnight on Friday.

Northern Ireland's chief constable described the loyalist rioters who wrecked parts of central Belfast as indulging in mindless anarchy.

Matt Baggott said protesters attacked police with missiles, including scaffolding poles and paving stones ripped up from a main shopping district.

He warned that the "prisons would be bulging" once the police had identified and arrested those responsible.

Cars burn after the riots in Belfast city centre

The violence erupted in the Royal Avenue area, a usually busy commercial street close to City Hall, as more than a thousand loyalist demonstrators gathered to protest at a republican rally to mark the 42nd anniversary of the introduction of internment without trial in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The republican parade was rerouted but some sectarian clashes still occurred as the march passed close to the loyalist protesters.

Northern Ireland's Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton had earlier said the violence had been started by "crowds intent on creating disorder."

Water cannon is used to disperse protesters during rioting in Belfast

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers described the violence and attacks on police as "shameful".

She told Sky News: "I blame the people who came out on the streets and carried out this disgraceful violence. The UK government stands fairly and squarely behind Matt Baggott and his officers in Northern Ireland.

"If people on the streets think this is defending a cause then they are completely mistaken. This is not the way to support Britishness.

A loyalist is arrested by riot police in the centre of Belfast

"They are not going to achieve anything from this other than a criminal record."

After a number of years of relative calm following the IRA ceasefire in the 1990s, Northern Ireland has seen increasing outbreaks of violence and sectarian protest. 

Last month parts of Belfast were consumed by more rioting, predominantly loyalist, when Orangemen were banned from parading past the nationalist Ardoyne area.

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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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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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Vietnam: 'Jungle Men' Found Hiding From War

A father and son have been found living in the jungle more than 40 years after they fled US bombing during the Vietnam War.

Ho Van Thanh left his home village with his baby son Ho Van Lang in 1971 after a mine blast killed his wife and two of his children.

The pair apparently survived by foraging for fruit, lived in a timber treehouse and wore loin cloths made from tree bark.

The authorities were alerted after locals searching for firewood spotted the men deep in the forest in Quang Ngai province's Tay Tra district.

A team was set up to look for the pair - now aged 82 and 41 - and found them after a five hour search.

82-year-old Ho Van Thanh was too weak to walk. Pic: Sax Rohmer Ltd

When found, Ho Van Thanh was too weak to walk and had to be taken out of the jungle on a stretcher.

The father could speak a little of the region's Cor language but the son only knew a few words.

The pair have been checked by doctors and a decision must now be made on how to reintegrate them to society.

Ho Van Thanh is believed to have lived a normal life in the hamlet of Tra Kem, but fled into the jungle after the explosion that decimated his family.

The two men were checked out by doctors. Pic: Sax Rohmer Ltd

The men are thought to have grown their own food and even cultivated tobacco during their time in the wilderness.

Another son, Ho Van Tri, told Vietnamese newspaper VnExpress that he found them hiding out around two decades ago but could not convince them to return home with him.

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era conflict that claimed millions of military and civilian lives and left surviving soldiers and victims traumatised.

The US dropped millions of tonnes of bombs on Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia during the war, which ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces.

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Zanzibar Acid Attack Teens Back 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 will now be transferred to a specialist burns unit 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.

The horrific burns suffered by Katie Gee

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

Police on the island have also offered a reward of 10 million Tanzanian shillings 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.

The terrified girls were taken to hospital on the mainland

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.

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".

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

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

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.

One of the girls is escorted at the airport in Zanzibar

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

In a statement, i-to-i Travel said the pair were released from a hospital in the country's capital, Dar es Salaam, where they had been flown for medical treatment after the "acid attack".

"All our efforts remain focused on ensuring they are supported whilst assisting them and their relatives with the arrangements for their return home," it said.

The family home of Kirstie Trup in north London

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."

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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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 to Sky News.

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 two 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.

The suburban street in Uxbridge where Domenico Rancadore was arrested

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.

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.

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.

"We had information that he was in London and we shared this with the police there and it led to his arrest.

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

"I understand that he did put up resistance initially and tried to escape but he was quickly overpowered and arrested.

"We had tried once before to have him arrested but we faced a problem in that the crime he was convicted of - Mafia association - is not recognised by authorities in Britain.

"He was held thanks to good police work in Italy, with the information being passed to London. He will appear in court and hopefully be extradited as quickly as possible."

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.

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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Teen Suicide: Site Refuses To Answer Questions

Staff at ask.fm - the Latvian-based website where a teenager was bullied before she killed herself - have refused to tell Sky News about how it reports abuse.

It comes as the father of victim Hannah Smith called for the website's owners to be charged with manslaughter.

And companies advertising on ask.fm, including Specsavers, Save The Children and Laura Ashley, have pulled their adverts from the website amid "deep concerns". 

The 14-year-old girl from Lutterworth, Leicestershire, took her own life on Friday after being abused on the social network site.

Dave Smith has accused the website owners of not caring that "teenagers are dying and killing themselves".

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."

"If David Cameron was sitting here now I would want to know why he hasn't done something about this six, 12 - two years ago. Modern technology has gone on but the laws have stuck the same."

Hannah Smith (L) and her best friend Georgia Clarke

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.

Hannah committed suicide after repeated messages encouraging her to kill herself and criticising her appearance.

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

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

Mr Smith and Hannah's stepmother Deborah said people needed to think more about the effect of their online posts as it emerged their elder daughter Jo has also been the target of abuse on the site.

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

"How could you?", Mrs Smith said. "People need to stop and think. You can't just sit behind a keyboard and type something and think that doesn't matter. There's a complete lack of emotional intelligence."

Mr Smith added: "There's something not right with the world today that people can tell someone to die so many times that they actually do it."

The Prime Minister David Cameron has promised the Government would look at any action it can take to stop future tragedies like Hannah's death, which he called "an absolutely appalling case".

He also said: "The people that operate these websites have to step up to the plate and show some responsibility."

Ask.fm has called her death a "true tragedy" and said it is cooperating with Leicestershire Police's investigation.

In a statement the site said it actively "encourages users and their parents to report any incidences of bullying", either by using the in-site reporting button, or via the website's contact page.

"All reports are read by our team of moderators to ensure that genuine concerns are heard and acted upon immediately - and we always remove content reported to us that violates our Terms of Service," the statement added.

:: 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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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 a motorcyclist threw acid over her and a friend 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.

She said: "We are having a real problem trying to get them home at the moment."

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

Kirstie Trup was also injured in the attack

They were walking through the town towards the end of their stay when they were attacked by two men on a motorcycle who threw acid at them.

The substance splashed their faces, chests, backs and hands and they were flown to hospital in Dar es Salaam, where they have been treated for their injuries.

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

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.

The street in Stone Town where the attack took place

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of an incident and are providing consular assistance."

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.

"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."

Deputy Police Commissioner Mkadam Khamis said: "Police in Zanzibar have launched a manhunt, and we ask for public assistance in identifying the attackers."

He added: "The motive for the attack on the volunteers, aged 18 years, has not been established."

Saleh Mohammed Jidawi, a senior health ministry official, said that the women's wounds were "not life threatening".

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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Obama Cancels Putin Meeting Over 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 the National Security Agency leaker 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 says Mr Obama still attends to plan the G20 economic summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, but has no plans to meet with Mr Putin there one-on-one.

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

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.

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Ariel Castro's Dungeon Home Is Torn Down

One of Ariel Castro's kidnap victims said she hoped the demolition of the home in which she was held captive for more than a decade would act as a symbol of hope.

Michelle Knight, 32, watched as the house on Seymour Avenue in East Cleveland, in which she was held against her will and repeatedly raped by the 53-year-old was razed to the ground.

Miss Knight, along with two other women who were kidnapped by Castro, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, endured years of cruelty and brutality behind the suburban facade.

Michelle Knight addressed the crowd of onlookers

They were kept behind locked doors and chained by their ankles.

The property is being torn down as part of a plea deal that spared Castro a possible death sentence and allowed him to be jailed for life, plus 1,000 years, instead.

Speaking at the scene, Miss Knight, who last week made a powerful and moving statement to the court sentencing Castro, said she did not want to be defined by the horrors that had gone on at the house.

She said: "Nobody was there for me when I was missing, and I want the people out there to know, including the mothers, that they can have strength, they can have hope, and their child will come back.

A crowd of onlookers cheered and clapped as the demolition began

"They will ... just have the love in God and you'll see they'll come back."

Prosecutors said Castro cried when he signed over the house deeds and mentioned his "many happy memories" there with the women.

As the house was being demolished, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty told the crowd: "This was one evil guy."

Giving her statement in court last week, Miss Knight told Castro: "You took 11 years of my life away and I have got it back. I spent 11 years in hell. Now you're hell is just beginning. I will overcome all this has happened, but you will face hell for eternity."

The three women, who were snatched aged 20, 16 and 14, escaped from the house on May 6 when Miss Berry and her six-year-old daughter managed to break free after removing part of the front door and calling to a neighbour for help.

The demolition was expected to be completed swiftly and the building materials would be shredded to prevent rubble being sold online as so-called "murderabilia", although no one was killed at the home.

Google Earth has already blurred out a satellite image of the house, before the demolition even began.

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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 Attorney General is now 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 already received 15,000 signatures. 

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'.

'Completely appalling': Caroline Criado-Perez

"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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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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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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Japan Unveils Largest Warship Since WWII

Japan has unveiled its biggest warship since World War II, a huge flat-top helicopter carrier.

The ship is the largest surface combatant of the Japanese navy

The ship has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.

The Izumo, which has a flight deck that is nearly 250 metres (820ft feet) long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters.

Japanese officials say it will be used in national defence - particularly in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions.

The ship can carry up to 14 helicopters

It will also be used to bolster the nation's ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to large-scale natural disasters, like the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Although the Izumo has been in the works since 2009, its unveiling comes as Japan and China are locked in a dispute over several small islands located between southern Japan and Taiwan.

For months, ships from both countries have been conducting patrols around the isles, called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyutai in China.

A sailor looks on with a smile at the launch of the warship

The tensions over the islands, along with China's heavy spending on defence and military modernisation, have heightened calls in Japan for improved naval and air forces.

China recently began operating an aircraft carrier that it refurbished after buying it from Russia and is reportedly planning to build another one itself.

Japan, China and Taiwan all claim the islands.

The warship seen before the launching ceremony in Yokohama, south of Tokyo

Some experts believe the new Japanese helicopter carrier could be used to launch fighter jets or other aircraft that have the ability to take off vertically.

That would be a departure for Japan, which has one of the best-equipped and best-trained naval forces in the Pacific, but which has not sought to build aircraft carriers of its own because of constitutional restrictions that limit its military forces to a defensive role.

Japan says it has no plans to use the ship in that manner.

The Izumo does not have catapults for launching fighters, nor does it have a "ski-jump" ramp on its flight deck for launching fixed-wing aircraft that have a short take-off capability.

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Two Die In Shooting On East Kilbride Farm

Two men have died and another person has been injured in a shooting at a farm.

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

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 reads: "All lessons and treks cancelled until further notice.

"Also no liveries permitted on to the yard until further notice."

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

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Gibraltar Row: Spain Accused Of Sabre-Rattling

Gibraltar's chief minister has accused Spain of "sabre-rattling like North Korea" after it threatened to impose sanctions on the Rock.

Fabian Picardo said Spanish foreign minister Jose Garcia-Margallo was being belligerent by threatening to charge workers almost £90 a day to cross the border.

Prime Minister David Cameron has also now weighed in, with Downing Street saying he is "seriously concerned" by the escalating row.

A spokesman said: "The Spanish have not raised the prospect of introducing border fees with us. We are seeking an explanation from them regarding reports that they might target Gibraltar with further measures."

Mr Garcia-Margallo had suggested a levy on workers travelling from Gibraltar could be used to help Spanish fishermen who have lost out because of damage to fishing grounds allegedly caused by Gibraltarian authorities.

But Mr Picardo told Sky News: "The 10,000 Spanish workers that come into Gibraltar every day, they would be on the hook for 100 euros - 50 in and 50 out - when they might earn less than that each day.

"I think this is quite a silly remark for the Spanish foreign minister to have made. He is sabre-rattling a la North Korea. It almost makes you feel like you are listening to the politics of Franco in the 1950s and 60s."

In a separate interview, he said that the border costs would violate European Union freedom of movement rules.

Fabian Picardo (left) and Jose Garcia-Margallo

He also warned "hell will freeze over" before the Gibraltarian authorities remove an artificial reef Madrid claims is harming the interests of Spanish fishermen.

And he branded the possibility of Spain closing its airspace to flights from the Rock dangerous and the "politics of madness".

The Foreign Office has already voiced concerns over Mr Garcia-Margallo's comments and said Britain would not compromise its sovereignty over Gibraltar.

A spokesman made clear that the UK expects Madrid to live up to the commitments it made in the 2006 Cordoba Agreement.

These include deals on issues like border crossings and access for flights, as well as establishing a tripartite forum for regular dialogue between Britain, Spain and Gibraltar.

Spain's main opposition party, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) accused Mr Garcia-Margallo of "dynamiting" dialogue on issues affecting workers, fishermen and traders.

Its spokesman for EU affairs Juan Moscoso del Prado said: "You cannot threaten 50 euro fees when there are more than 10,000 people who go there every day to work. Workers should not be taken hostage by this conflict."

The dispute over the status of Gibraltar escalated recently following a number of alleged Spanish incursions into the territory's waters.

Spain claims sovereignty over the Rock, which stands on the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula, but has been a British Overseas Territory since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

However, the UK Government has made clear that it will not negotiate over sovereignty as long as Gibraltar's people want to remain British.

Foreign Secretary William Hague last month phoned Mr Garcia-Margallo to complain about Spain ramping up border checks, which forced drivers to wait for up to seven hours in searing heat.

On Sunday, the Foreign Office summoned the Spanish ambassador, to demand assurances that there would be no repeat of the excessive checks.

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Twitter Campaign MP Sent Knife Threat Picture

A female MP previously threatened with rape on Twitter has now been sent an image of a masked man brandishing a knife.

A message accompanying the image sent to Labour's Stella Creasy read: "I'm gonna be the first thing u see when you wake up ...".

Ms Creasy, who is leading a campaign against the "trolling" of high-profile women retweeted the threat as an example of the kind of abuse being posted online and replied "carry on and 4 U will be the police".

The post - which appears to show the abuser dressed as serial killer Michael Myers from the Halloween horror movies - has been passed to the police and the user suspended from Twitter, which has vowed to make reporting abuse easier.

The picture emerged as television classicist Mary Beard revealed she had contacted police after receiving a message about a bomb outside her home.

The Cambridge University professor, who has faced a series of insults from users, called for a distinction to be made between mere abuse and proper threats.

Stella Creasy (2nd right) at the launch of the Jane Austen £10 note

"I've had lots of abuse, but only recently have I had these things actually threatening violence, rape and death," she told BBC Breakfast.

"I think we've got to be quite careful about drawing a distinction between those things because abuse is very nasty, it's sexist, it's misogynist but I think in some ways you can cope with that by naming and shaming.

"I think you have to be absolutely clear that these threats that have been coming to me and to other women ... these are criminal threats. They are threats of violence and death and all you can do is take them to the police.

"There is no two ways about it, threatening to kill someone is a crime and that's what I and other people have done and I hope other women who get these threats will do the same."

Ms Creasy is leading a "Take Back Twitter" campaign after becoming a target last week because of her support for Caroline Criado-Perez, who received rape threats following her calls for Jane Austen to be the face on the £10 bank note.

Professor Mary Beard received a bomb threat

Two arrests have been made in relation to rape threats against the two women.

Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman, Independent columnist Grace Dent and Europe editor of Time magazine Catherine Mayer separately received tweets saying they would be the targets of bomb attacks.

The same message was also sent to a number of other women, including Sara Lang, a social media manager at US campaign group AARP.

Police later said they were now investigating eight claims of harassment, malicious communication or bomb threats.

Twitter UK general manager Tony Wang posted a series of tweets on Sunday saying abuse was "simply not acceptable".

His messages came after the website clarified its rules on abusive behaviour and put extra staff in place to handle reports of abuse.

Ms Creasy, talking to Sky News at the weekend, called on Twitter to work with the police to identify particular accounts and users under attack and act more quickly to protect them.

She said: "There's been a lot of talk, a lot of concern, that somehow, if you started to deal with abuse on Twitter you'd shut Twitter down. I simply don't believe that.

"I trust in the wisdom of people who use Twitter, but what I want to do is make sure it's free from fear."

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Venice Beach Video: Car Crash On Boardwalk

A woman on honeymoon was killed when a driver ploughed his car into tourists on California's famous Venice Beach.

Alice Gruppioni, 32, whose wedding was on July 20, was hit by a man who drove on to the boardwalk "bent on evil" and apparently aiming at pedestrians.

Ms Gruppioni, from Bologna in Italy, died in hospital. Her father Valerio Gruppioni was former president of Bologna football team and runs Sira group, which makes radiators.

Eleven other people were injured in the incident on Saturday night. One is said to be critical in hospital, two are in a serious condition and the eight others were treated for more minor injuries.

Police patrol Venice Beach after the attack

One witness, Daniel Regidor, 50, told the Los Angeles Times: "A car ploughed through the boardwalk. (There were) people screaming, running.

"I was half a mile from the scene, but you could see just this mass of people trying to get out of the way. Just a lot of people screaming. It was horrible.

"I saw somebody flying up in the air. When I came upon the scene, there were a bunch of people on the ground, bloodied."

Louisa Hodge, 35, who witnessed the crash, said: "There were people kind of stumbling around, blood dripping down their legs looking confused not knowing what had happened, people screaming.

"It was blocks and blocks of people just strewn across the sidewalk."

Flowers for Ms Gruppioni were laid at the scene

The 38-year-old driver, Nathan Campbell, has been charged with murder.

Los Angeles Police Department Commander Andy Smith said: "There is no indication that he knew anybody he hit. It looks like this guy wanted to run over a bunch of people. One guy bent on doing evil."

Campbell is being held on a $1m (£655,000) bond .

CCTV footage showed a man parking his black vehicle alongside the seaside boardwalk and watching the scene for several minutes before getting back into the car and speeding into the crowd.

He fled the scene, but later turned himself in at Santa Monica police station.

Venice Beach boardwalk, a 1.5-mile stretch that runs along the sand, is home to galleries, restaurants and tattoo shops.

It can draw as many as 150,000 people on summer weekends and is popular with joggers and inline skaters.

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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, 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 for "animal welfare reasons".

The burger was cooked with oil and butter

Few details of the slice of culinary and scientific history were released ahead of the tasting.

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."

Professor Post reckons commercial production could begin within 20 years

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

"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.

The in-vitro burger is cultured from cattle stem cells

"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.

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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