Flood Warnings As River Levels Set To Rise

Homeowners in southern England have been warned to prepare for further flooding today after heavy rainfall caused the River Thames to burst its banks.

The Environment Agency (EA) has warned people living along the lower reaches of the Thames to be aware of the risk of rising water levels.

Further flooding is expected over the weekend in Oxfordshire, West Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey as recent rainfall flows downstream.

There are also risks of flooding along the River Parret in Somerset and the River Severn in the Midlands.

Rainfall in England and Wales over recent weeks. Pic: Environment Agency

Residents in Dorset, south Wiltshire, Hampshire and West Sussex have also been warned of likely flooding caused by high groundwater levels.

The EA has issued 94 flood warnings - meaning immediate action is required due to expected flooding - and 151 flood alerts across England.

The agency estimates that some 570 properties have been flooded since the New Year, while a further 239,000 properties have been protected by flood defences.

"Communities along the River Thames, particularly below Oxford, into Berkshire and through Surrey need to remain vigilant for further flooding," said the agency's head of incident management, John Curtin.

Flooding seen in the village of Muchelney, in Somerset

"River levels on the Thames are high and will continue to rise for the next few days and we urge people keep up to date with the latest flood warnings and take action.

"With so much standing water around, we would also remind people to stay out of flood water and not attempt to walk or drive through it."

The Thames burst its banks on Friday, forcing homeowners to carry out clean-up operations and protect their homes from damage.

Parts of the river, stretching from Buscot in Oxfordshire to Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, were under flood warnings as heavy rain over recent days caused river levels to rise.

Flood warnings along the River Thames (Pic: Environment Agency)

Residents were warned on Thursday to expect flooding, with many moving belongings to prevent damage.

Many homes close to the banks are underwater, with flood waters causing damage to ground floors and gardens.

Affected areas included Marlow and Cookham in Buckinghamshire, as well as Shiplake and Wargrave in Berkshire and parts of south Oxford.

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Shangri-La: Ancient Homes Destroyed By Fire

A 1,300-year-old Tibetan village has been partially destroyed by fire, according to state media.

The fire began at around 1.30am in Dukezong, in Shangri-La, in China's southwest Yunnan province, and destroyed more than 100 traditional wooden houses, Xinhua news agency said.

More than 1,000 firefighters were called in to battle the blaze

More than 1,000 firefighters were called in to battle the giant blaze, which at times had flames more than 10 metres high.

Local authorities said strong winds hampered efforts to control the fire, which was still spreading by mid-morning on Saturday.

Villagers were evacuated as the fire broke out and no casualties have been reported.

Strong winds hampered efforts to control the fire

The cause of the fire is still unknown but the cost of damage is expected to reach 100 million yuan (£10m), according to the Chinese news portal Zhongguo Xinwen Wang.

Dukezong, which means "town of the Moon", was founded around 1,300 years ago, and is known for its well-preserved ancient streets and traditional culture.

The fire is estimated to have caused £10m of damage

Earlier this week another high-profile site of Tibetan culture, the Buddhist Serthar institute in the nearby province of Sichuan, also went up in flames with ten buildings destroyed.

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Duggan Vigil: Police Fear Disorder In Tottenham

Protesters plan to "provoke disorder" at a vigil for Mark Duggan in London, police have warned.

Scotland Yard said it had extra officers on standby and would be ready to "intervene immediately" if trouble broke out.

Relatives and supporters of the 29-year-old will gather outside Tottenham police station from 2pm and have appealed for those taking part to remain peaceful.

The event has been arranged in protest at the "perverse" inquest finding that Mr Duggan was lawfully killed by police, despite jurors also finding that he was unarmed when he was fatally shot.

His killing by armed police sparked riots across the country in August 2011.

Mark Duggan's killing sparked riots across Britain

The statement issued by the Metropolitan Police said: "Today is a busy day in the capital and we have a policing operation in place across London.

"This includes having additional officers on standby that could respond to any incident that occurs.

"Part of this operation includes assessing all available information and intelligence, and we are aware of a limited amount of information that indicates a small number of people are expressing their desire to use this vigil as an opportunity.

"This information includes the intention of protest groups to attend and of people looking to provoke disorder. We will be ready to intervene immediately if required."

"The family has expressed that they wish this vigil to be held in a dignified and peaceful manner.

"The MPS has met with the organiser to ensure that we can appropriately facilitate their plans."

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Ariel Sharon Dead: Israel's Ex-PM Dies

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has died following a long illness.

The 85-year-old's son was quoted as saying he had died, eight years since a stroke at the height of his powers left him in a coma.

Gilad Sharon said: "He has gone. He went when he decided to go."

Gilad Sharon announces his father's death

Sheba Medical Centre, where he was being treated, said he died at around 2pm (midday UK time).

Mr Sharon's condition suddenly deteriorated on January 1 when he suffered serious kidney problems after surgery.

Sharon's 2000 visit to a disputed Jerusalem site caused the second Intifada

Nicknamed 'The Bulldozer', the veteran soldier fought in all of Israel's major wars before beginning a turbulent political career in 1973.

Long considered a pariah for his personal but "indirect" responsibility for the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel's Lebanese Phalangist allies in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, he was elected premier in 2001.

Ministers in Israel's right-wing government and the political opposition mourned a leader who left big footprints on the region through military invasion, Jewish settlement building on captured land and a unilateral decision to pull Israeli troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a statement: "The nation of Israel has today lost a dear man, a great leader and a bold warrior."

There was no immediate comment on the death from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, with whom Mr Sharon's Likud party successor, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been holding US-sponsored peace talks.

Mr Sharon was accused over the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre

But in Gaza, Hamas welcomed Mr Sharon's death.

"We have become more confident in victory with the departure of this tyrant," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zurhi said.

"Our people today feel extreme happiness at the death and departure of this criminal whose hands were smeared with the blood of our people and the blood of our leaders here and in exile."

More follows...

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Northern Lights Aurora Borealis In The UK

Scientists say the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, came as low as the M4 corridor last night - and there will be an even better chance to see them tonight.

The natural light display, which usually takes place in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, may have been seen in the early hours by stargazers in southern Britain.

The northern lights appear as shimmering green waves of light when atoms in the Earth's high-altitude atmosphere collide with energetic charged particles from the sun.

The impact was weaker than expected on Thursday night, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a much stronger display later.

According to reports on Spaceweather.com, NOAA forecasters estimate an 85% chance of activity.

Joe Kunches, of The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Colorado, told Sky News: "The geomagnetic storm that drives the aurora structure south is beginning right now.

"We're not sure how strong the storm will be but if it follows predictions there's a good chance of seeing it in southern Britain."

The SWPC predicted that the displays measured on what is called the KP Index could rise from a reading of one, which makes it visible in northern Scandinavia, to a reading of seven, visible in southern Wales and parts of southern England.

An eruption from the sun two days ago caused a cloud of electrically charged gas to move towards Earth, fuelling the rare event.

The phenomenon triggers a geomagnetic storm, increasing the chances of viewing the aurora.

However, Professor Jim Wild, a space scientist at Lancaster University, said the orientation of the magnetic field, which pushes the aurora south is not in the best position at present, although this could change.

He predicts that it is more likely that Scotland will witness the lights. Stargazers saw the aurora from northern Scotland earlier this week.

A key factor in viewing the lights again this evening will be how clear the skies are.

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Cockroach Burrows Into Sleeping Man's Ear

A man in Australia had to be rushed to hospital in terrible pain after a large cockroach crawled into his ear as he slept, and an attempt to suck it out with a vacuum cleaner failed.

Medical treatment initially only caused the inch-long insect to burrow further into the head of Hendrik Helmer.

The unwelcome invader was eventually extracted by a doctor with forceps, but only after Mr Helmer had endured the unpleasant sensation of it being in the "throes of death-twitching".

His ordeal began in the early hours of Wednesday morning when he was woken by a sharp pain in his right ear, according to Australian TV.

He said: "I was hoping it was not a poisonous spider ... I was hoping it didn't bite me."

As the pain got worse, Mr Helmer said he tried to suck the insect out with a vacuum cleaner before squirting water in his ear.

"Whatever was in my ear didn't like it at all," he told the broadcaster.

With the pain now excruciating, his flatmate rushed him to hospital where a doctor put oil down the ear canal.

Friends of Mr Helmer, from Darwin, are now going to bed with headphones on

But this only forced the two centimetre cockroach to crawl in deeper.

Mr Helmer, from Darwin, said: "Near the 10 minute mark ... somewhere about there, he started to stop burrowing but he was still in the throes of death twitching."

The doctor then pulled the insect out of his ear.

"She (the doctor) said, 'You know how I said a little cockroach, that may have been an underestimate'," he said.

"They said they had never pulled an insect this large out of someone's ear."

Mr Helmer said he would not be taking any added precautions when sleeping, although friends of his said they were so concerned over his experience that they had begun going to bed with headphones on.

Cockroaches are among the hardiest insects on the planet.

They are capable of surviving for long periods on little food and can even tolerate high doses of radiation.

They will eat almost anything, and some species can produce over 20,000 young in their lifetime.

Famous for their hissing, cockroaches can reach nine centimetres in length, although most species are much smaller.

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Costa Concordia May Be Towed To Middlesbrough

The team leading the Costa Concordia salvage operation has revealed they will begin removing the stricken cruise liner from near the Italian island of Giglio in June - before it is demolished later this year.

Exactly where the wreck will be towed to and destroyed has not yet been decided, but some 12 ports are in contention including ABLE Middlesbrough Port on the River Tees, among others in Italy, Norway, Turkey, France and the Netherlands.

The job of dismantling and recycling the vessel has been put out to tender which is being overseen by London Offshore Consultants.

It is hoped the salvage team will have made a decision on the ship's final destination by early March.

Italian environment minister Andrea Orlando and experts disclosed the details of the next phase of the mammoth operation at a news conference in Rome - three days before the second anniversary of the tragedy..

A technique known as parbuckling was used to right the ship

The 114,000-ton ship was hauled upright from its partially submerged position in September last year in a complicated 19-hour operation.

More than 1,000 concrete stacks and six underwater platforms are being used to keep the vessel stable.

It is expected to be towed away from the Mediterranean holiday island by the summer and eventually broken up for scrap.

Franco Porcellacchia, who is in charge of removing the wreck, said: "We will start fitting in the systems and equipment that are needed to enable us to remove the ship from mid-April. It is a very complicated operation.

"If there are no unexpected events the whole operation will be completed by the end of June, probably by the middle of June.

"Then we will have to make the wreck float again, and this will take about seven to 10 days, so our reasonable goal is to refloat the wreck by the end of June."

Costa Concordia raised from the depths

Michael Thamm, chief executive officer of Costa Cruises, said: "We are very confident that we can remove this ship within the month of June. This is not very far away - and then a great job will be done."

He said the company would maintain ownership of the vessel "until the very last moment", until the wreck is demolished later this year.

The full cost of the completed salvage operation was expected to reach around €600m (£497m), he added.

Cabin owners of the safes recovered from the wreck are to be contacted soon and their contents returned to them.

The seven-day Mediterranean cruise turned to tragedy just hours after the vessel, packed with more than 4,000 passengers and crew had left the port of Civitavecchia on January 13, 2012.

The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is on trial for alleged manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship during a confused and delayed evacuation.

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Plebgate Police Officer Admits Misconduct

A police officer involved in the Plebgate scandal has pleaded guilty in court to misconduct in public office.

PC Keith Wallis has admitted sending an email in which he lied when he said he had witnessed an incident between the former Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell, and a police officer at the gates of Downing Street in 2012.

During the incident, Mr Mitchell was alleged to have called the officer a "****ing pleb" after they became embroiled in an argument when the PC refused to let him cycle through the main gates.

Details of the row appeared in the national newspapers and Mr Mitchell was forced to resign.

The Tory MP has always maintained that he never used the word "pleb" - the word judged to have caused the political damage - but admitted swearing during the altercation with PC Toby Rowland.

Mr Mitchell with his bike at the gates of Downing Street

Following the incident Wallis, a member of the Metropolitan Police Diplomatic Protection Group, sent an email to the deputy chief whip, John Randall, who was his MP, saying he had been sightseeing in the capital when he saw the row.

Wallis sent the email from a private address but it was quickly established that he was a serving officer and that he was not present at the gates of Downing Street during the incident.

At the Old Bailey today, Wallis, 53, of West Drayton, pleaded guilty to misconduct and the court heard that he would offer his resignation from the police force. He will be sentenced on February 6.

Andrew Mitchell at a press conference in November

Mr Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield, said: "I am pleased that justice has been done in a criminal court today.

"It is very sad and worrying for all of us that a serving police officer should have behaved in this way. There remain many questions unanswered, in particular why Pc Wallis wrote this email and who else was involved in this process."

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "It is completely unacceptable for a serving police officer to falsify an account of any incident.

"Andrew Mitchell has consistently denied the version of events presented in the email and I welcome the fact that the officer concerned has now pleaded guilty."

The case and the subsequent police investigation into the incident have been acknowledged by the Metropolitan force to have significantly damaged the public trust in it.

Mr Mitchell's resignation letter to David Cameron

The guilty plea comes as the Met is facing a fierce backlash over the case of Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by officers on the streets of Tottenham and whose killing sparked the London riots in 2011.

An inquest jury this week concluded Mr Duggan was lawfully shot but there remain significant questions over the police handling of the case and claims regarding collusion over the evidence of officers.

Speaking after the guilty plea, Met Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said: "This investigation has been a ruthless search for the truth as at the heart of this are extremely damaging allegations that officers have lied and falsified statements against a Cabinet Minister.

"The evidence against PC Wallis was such that he has entered a guilty plea. To lie about witnessing something and provide a false account falls way below the standards that I and PC Wallis's colleague expect of police officers. His actions have also negatively impacted upon public trust and confidence in the integrity of police officers.

"I would also like to apologise to Mr Mitchell that an MPS officer clearly lied about seeing him behaving in a certain manner. I will be writing to him offering to meet and apologise in person.

"I expect my officers to serve the public without fear or favour, where officers break the law they must expect to be held to account and answer for what they have done."

The investigation into the Plebgate incident has cost the public more than £300,000 and involved 1,100 statements being taken and 439 exhibits seized.

Mr Mitchell has always claimed he was "stitched up" and that he was a victim of police revenge for Government-led cuts.

In November, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it had no evidence to suggest that PC Rowland was involved in any wrong-doing and there is nothing to suggest he knew about the Wallis email.

Last month the officer announced he was suing Mr Mitchell for libel over comments made in the fall-out of the Downing Street incident.

Mr Mitchell announced in March that he was suing The Sun for libel over the original story.

There are 11 officers facing disciplinary proceedings in relation to the Plebgate story and risk losing their jobs.

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Niagara Falls Freeze As Polar Vortex Moves North

Tourists who braved record low temperatures to visit Niagara Falls have been treated to a spectacular sight.

Water turned to ice as it plunged over the 34-metre-high American Falls - one of three waterfalls which form the popular tourist attraction on the border between the United States and Canada.

Icy chunks tumbled over the crest of the falls and long icicles were left dangling above the frozen Niagara River below.

The unusual sight came as a polar vortex that gripped the US for four days, plunging temperatures to -37C (-35F) and leaving at least 21 people dead, finally began to ease its grip.

The crippling cold, which affected more than half the US population as it spread from the Midwest to the East and South, has been pushed northwards, leaving warmer weather and calmer winds in its wake.

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Brazil: Girl Dies After Bus Fire Attack

By Karine Mayer, Senior News Editor in Rio de Janeiro

Inmates of Brazil's most notorious jail are being blamed by police after a six-year-old girl was killed by a gang who torched a packed bus.

Ana Clara Santos Souza died three days after suffering 95% burns when armed men set fire to the vehicle while passengers were still on board.

Hundreds of people attended her funeral, demanding an end to a wave of gang-led terror that has swept the region since December.

Authorities in the northeastern city of Sao Luis believe the attack was ordered by gang leaders in revenge for a crackdown on violence in Pedrinhas prison.

CCTV footage shows a man board the bus and pull a handgun from his trousers.

As he orders people out of the vehicle, other armed gang members appear in the road and train their weapons on the terrified passengers.

The bus suddenly bursts into flames with people still on board, although at least one passenger manages to jump off.

But Ana appears to fall in the footwell of the bus before scrambling off engulfed in flames, which she desperately tries to put out.

Riot police have been deployed to control violence in the Pedrinhas jail

Her family said the gang had ignored her mother's pleas for mercy.

A relative told Brazil's O Globo newspaper: "Her mother asked the criminals not to harm the children, but they showed no mercy and set fire to the girl."

Four other people - including Ana's mother and older sister - were injured as four buses were set alight and a police station targeted in a drive-by shooting in the city on January 3.

The Maranhao state government says the attacks were ordered by criminals at the notorious Pedrinhas jail, where at least 62 inmates died last year.

Officials said in a statement: "The attacks are in reaction to recent measures to curb jail violence."

Brazil, which has the world's fourth-largest prison population, has been shocked by footage of the beheading of three Pedrinhas prisoners - apparently filmed on a mobile phone by other inmates.

The gruesome film is narrated by the killers, who gleefully display their victim's heads like trophies as they stand over pools of blood.

In October Maranhao asked for government help after several outbreaks of violence between rival gangs and military police were deployed after the beheadings in December.

Eight suspects have been arrested over the violence in Sao Luis and extra troops have been deployed across the city, state security secretary Aluisio Mendes said.

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Duggan: PM Calls For Calm As Vigil Announced

David Cameron has appealed for a calm response to the inquest verdict that Mark Duggan was lawfully killed by a police marksman despite being unarmed.

The Prime Minister said he hoped people would respect the "proper judicial process" and welcomed the stance taken by Mr Duggan's aunt Carole, who said she wanted "no more violence".

Mr Cameron spoke as Mr Duggan's family confirmed plans for a vigil to be held outside Tottenham Police Station on Saturday at 2pm.

Pastor Nims Obunge - who presided over Mark Duggan's funeral - said the family want the event to be about "peace and respect".

Earlier one of the Metropolitan Police's most senior officers told Sky News the force could have shown "better transparency" in its response to the shooting.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley was responding to allegations that officers may have colluded when they put together their notes of the incident.

He told Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt: "We've already made some changes and I think there's more we can do.

An aerial shot shows the taxi in which Mr Duggan was travelling

"Every officer has to give their own account of what they recollect, so while they're witnesses, they're sitting down, they're making statements and they put hundreds of pages of evidence into the IPCC - it has to be their own accounts.

"Clearly, the way that was done, there's ways we could have better transparency, more clear supervision and we've put some changes in place."

Mr Duggan, whose death sparked protests that led to riots and looting across the country, was shot and killed when police stopped the taxi in which he was travelling in Tottenham, north London, in August 2011.

Following a four-month inquest, on Wednesday the jury found that although the 29-year-old had a gun in the cab, he probably threw it onto a nearby grass verge as soon as the car came to a stop.

Assistant Commissioner Rowley, who was heckled outside the Royal Courts of Justice by Mark Duggan supporters, said he had not had any response to an offer to meet Mr Duggan's family.

He told Sky: "They're angry at the verdicts, I can understand they might not want to meet me. I'd rather express our sympathy and have a conversation in private."

Tottenham MP David Lammy told Sky News there was "dismay and anger" in the community at the inquest verdicts, but that people were also "looking forward" and are planning a peaceful vigil for the weekend.

Assistant commissioner Mark Rowley was heckled as he spoke outside court

Firearms officers will trial the use of body-worn video cameras to improve public confidence in the wake of the Mr Duggan's killing, it has emerged.

Senior officers want to use the camera technology from April, to avoid the dispute and uncertainty which has dogged the Duggan investigation.

Assistant Commissioner Rowley said earlier: "There are great benefits to having these incidents on video. Look at the Lee Rigby case - everyone knows what happened.

"We don't need all these different opinions and conjecture - it's much easier to get to the facts."

The cameras are already used by some US police forces.

During his weekly LBC phone-in, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said there were "questions that need to be asked" about the handling of complaints about the police.

He said: "I was struck when I went there (Tottenham) that locals said about how when the IPCC gets involved the details aren't allowed to be publicised at the time when people need to talk to each other." 

Wednesday's verdict sparked angry scenes outside the Royal Courts of Justice, which Mr Duggan's family called "perverse", claiming he had been "executed" by the police.

Mr Duggan's aunt Carole Duggan said: "The majority of the people in this country know that Mark was executed. We are going to fight until we have no breath left in our body for Mark and his children."

Their solicitor Marcia Willis-Stewart said: "On August 4, 2011 an unarmed man was shot down in Tottenham. Today we have had what we can only call a perverse judgement.

"The jury found that he had no gun in his hand and yet he was gunned down. For us that's an unlawful killing."

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the shooting had led to a "significant reduction in trust" between the capital's black communities and the police.

He said: "I know that we have much work to do with black Londoners to build trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police.

"My officers do not set out to run an operation that results in someone dying. They are brave people who risk their own lives to keep the public safe."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said it was looking at new evidence that had emerged from the inquest, and the Duggan family are now considering whether to try to get the inquest conclusion judicially reviewed.

Mr Duggan was being followed by officers who believed he planned to pick up a gun from another man, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, and then move on to Broadwater Farm, also in Tottenham.

Hutchinson-Foster has since been found guilty of supplying a gun to Mr Duggan.

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Slave Case Family's Home Hit By 'Vigilantes'

The home of a family who treated a vulnerable man like a slave and subjected him to daily beatings has been targeted in an apparent vigilante attack.

Windows have been smashed at the bungalow in Sheffield where the Rooke family treated Craig Kinsella like a "punchbag", during a six-week campaign of violence.

The property in the Grenoside area of the city has been boarded up and a police van was parked outside, guarding the area.

David Rooke, 44, his wife Donna, 40, and son Jamie, 19, were all jailed on at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday by a judge who heard that Mr Kinsella, 34, was subjected to frequent attacks.

David Rooke, 44, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail

The court was told that the family beat him with a range of weapons, including a pickaxe handle and crowbar, while forcing him to work 17-hour days without pay, and making him sleep in a garage with a bucket for a toilet.

Mr Kinsella,  , , who has learning difficulties, resorted to feeding himself with scraps he found in bins.

Judge Peter Kelson QC said it was "almost unbelievable" and "absolutely staggering" that this kind of thing was happening in modern society.

Donna Rooke was jailed for four months for battery

He jailed David Rooke for six-and-a-half years for false imprisonment and causing actual bodily harm.

Donna Rooke was jailed for four months for battery, and Jamie Rooke was jailed for four years for causing actual bodily harm and affray.

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman confirmed that officers were called to reports of windows being smashed at the property in Halifax Road at 8.45pm on Tuesday.

Jamie Rooke was jailed for four years for causing ABH and affray

She said the incident was being investigated as a case of criminal damage.

Police found Mr Kinsella in a shocking physical state after responding to reports of a man being abused outside the Rooke house on July 6 last year.

He had a broken right arm, a fractured rib, extreme bruising to his back and around his kidney, a fractured chin and cuts, as well as lumps and bruises on his head and legs.

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Schumacher Ski Accident Off 'Well-Marked' Slope

Prosecutors investigating Michael Schumacher's ski accident said examination of his helmet camera showed he had left a properly marked out trail at the time of his fall.

Albertville prosecutor Patrick Quincy said the two-minute film from the helmet camera was very clear and showed the former  Formula 1 driver lost his balance in the French resort of Meribel and struck his head on a rock.

The fall left him in a critical condition and he has been in a medically induced coma since December 29.

Investigators said they had established the signage on the slopes was in accordance with regulations, but the area where Schumacher was hurt was "virgin territory" so was not marked and could be dangerous.

"There are French standards setting rules on safety, signalling, demarcation ... The checks we have made show these standards had been respected," Mr Quincy said.

However, he said the investigation would take time to establish whether the area where he was skiing could be classed as an "official piste" in French law.

Investigators have visited the scene of the accident in Meribel

The video will now be examined by a police expert in mountaineering.

Problems with the rented skis Schumacher was wearing have also been ruled out.

Mr Quincy said Schumacher was "obviously a very good skier" but had not been able to slow himself down in the rocky area of the slope where he fell.

Describing the sequence of events after the former F1 driver went off-piste, he said: "At one point his skis touch a rock, he loses balance and falls forward and his head hits a rock which is 3.5 metres below.

"The rock he hit is eight metres from the edge of the piste and Mr Schumacher on the ground, inanimate, is nine metres from the edge of the piste. That's the information we have with regard to the inquiry."

Early viewings of the helmet camera footage appear to confirm this sequence of events.

Prosecutors said Mr Schumacher's wife Corinna had been 'very co-operative'

The inquiry has not yet been able to confirm reports that Schumacher - who was on a family holiday - was going to the aid of a relative when he fell or the speed at which he was travelling, Mr Quincy said. 

Police chief Stephane Bozon said Schumacher's speed increased when he entered the steeper off-piste section and he had tried to slow down but had difficulty because of the nature of the slope.

Mr Quincy said investigators have also spoken to emergency services and doctors and visited the scene of the accident.

The Albertville prosecutor's office carries out around 50 investigations into serious skiing and climbing accidents every year, he added.

On Monday, a source said he had made a "slight improvement" but remained in a stable but critical condition.

There was initially speculation that Schumacher was travelling up to 100kph (60mph) when he crashed, after it was revealed his helmet had split on impact.

But subsequent reports suggested he was travelling at a "leisurely pace" of up to 20kph (12mph).

Schumacher, known affectionately as 'Schumi' by fans, is the most successful F1 driver in history, racking up a record 91 race wins.

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Polar Vortex Fallout To Sweep Into UK

More heavy rain and wind is on on the way at the end of the week as the fallout from the the blast of freezing polar air battering the US hits the UK.

A weather system forming part of the record-breaking polar vortex that has affected half of America is heading across the Atlantic, warming as it comes.

The Met Office had already extended its severe weather alert until Thursday morning, warning of more floods as saturated ground and swollen rivers in the south of England and Wales may not cope with more rain.

But further heavy falls will be swept in when the US weather system reaches the UK on Friday.

People with a canoe near flood barriers in Oxford

Sky's US Correspondent Dominic Waghorn said the worst of the big freeze in America should now be over, with temperatures set to rise.

"That's good news for Americans but not necessarily for the rest of us," he said.

"Meteorologists warn that when a polar vortex breaks up it scatters its forces literally to the four winds, meaning that the extreme weather experienced here this week could be flung as far afield as Europe."

The Met Office has its lowest warning in place, forecasting "periods of heavy rain" in the south west of England and Wales on Wednesday into Thursday.

Environment Agency workers check river defence barriers

Between 30-40mm of rain is expected to fall in the wettest spots.

A Met Office spokesman said: "The public should be aware of the potential for further flooding, especially in the areas which have been affected recently.

"Given current sensitive hydrological conditions, there is a risk of further surface water flooding in Wales, and both river and surface water flooding in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset."

There are no longer any severe flood warnings in force from the Environment Agency, but there are 114 flood warnings in place across the country.

An Environment Agency map showing the alerts and warnings

A further 195 low-level flood alerts are also in force.

Paul Mustow, flood risk manager at the EA, said: "The risk of flooding continues this week, with communities in the South West and South East urged to stay safe and sign up to free flood warnings."

Seven people have died and more than 1,700 homes and businesses have been flooded in England since the beginning of the Christmas period, with around 550 properties flooded since the new year.

Some 140 properties have been flooded in Wales.

Flood defences protected 220,000 properties over the Christmas period and another 800,000 were protected during the coastal flooding in early December.

High winds over Christmas also left 250,000 homes without power, with some families waiting days for electricity to be restored.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said on Tuesday the Government was working closely with local councils, the insurance industry and others to ensure that people could quickly get the help they need.

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Qatar World Cup 'Will Not Be Held In Summer'

By Paul Kelso, Sport Correspondent

The 2022 World Cup will not be played in Qatar during June and July, Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke has said.

Speaking to French radio, Valcke ruled out holding the controversial tournament in the heat of the Gulf state's summer, when temperatures can reach 50C, saying a date between November and January 2023 would be more appropriate.

"The dates for the World Cup will not be June to July," Valcke, the second most powerful man in international football's governing body, told Radio France.

"To be honest, I think it will be held between November 15 and January 15 at the latest.

The Lusail Stadium will host the tournament's opening match and final

"If you play between November 15 and the end of December that's the time when the weather conditions are best, when you can play in temperatures equivalent to a warm spring season in Europe, averaging 25 degrees.

"That would be perfect for playing football."

Valcke's comments appear to pre-judge a consultation he is leading on the instruction of the Fifa executive committee.

Last October, Fifa President Sepp Blatter said he would consult all those affected by a dramatic change to football's traditional calendar before making a definitive decision.

Fans in Doha, Qatar, celebrate winning the right to host the World Cup

Valcke has been speaking to football authorities around the world including the Premier League in order to find a solution to a problem of Fifa's own making.

The Premier League would prefer the tournament not to be moved but will find a November tournament easier to accommodate than one played in January, when the domestic calendar is busier.

Fifa's top inspector, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, said in October that a summer tournament in Qatar would be "impossible" - even with the cooling technology proposed by organisers.

Qatar surprised many when it secured the tournament in a 2010 Fifa vote

FA chairman Greg Dyke also told Sky News that the temperatures "would be impossible for the fans".

Fifa shocked many in the football world when it awarded the World Cup to the Arab state following a vote in December 2010, where it beat the likes of the US and South Korea.

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Footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger Says He Is Gay

Former Aston Villa, West Ham and Germany footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger has announced that he is gay.

The 31-year-old, who also played for Everton and VfB Stuttgart, is the most prominent player to admit to being homosexual and the first to have appeared in the English Premier League.

He said he was speaking out in a bid to break the taboo of homosexuality in sport.

The midfielder played more than 50 times for his country

The midfielder, who ended his playing career in September due to persistent injuries, told Germany's Die Zeit newspaper that now was "a good time" for him to reveal his true sexuality.

"I'm coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards," he said.

Hitzlsperger said he had only realised "in the past few years" that he would "prefer to live together with another man", saying the issue is otherwise taboo inside the dressing room.

"I've never been ashamed of the way I am," he said.

He conceded it had not always been easy to live with some of the comments dished out on the subject.

"Just picture 20 men sat around a table together drinking - you've just got to let the majority be, just as long as the jokes are halfway funny and the talk about homosexuality doesn't get too insulting," he said.

"In England, Germany or Italy, homosexuality is not taken seriously as an issue, at least not in the dressing room."

Former Leeds and United States winger Robbie Rogers announced he was gay last year.

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Polar Vortex: 187 Million Hit By Big Freeze

More than half the US population is under a wind chill warning as a blast of freezing Arctic air sweeps south and east across the country, bringing the coldest temperatures for decades.

The whirlpool of dense air known as the "polar vortex" has caused a number of deaths, closed schools and businesses, cancelled thousands of flights and left highly-populated cities facing colder temperatures than Siberia.

Around 187 million people could eventually feel the effects of the freezing temperatures - and Americans have been warned their skin could freeze within minutes if they go outside.

The US East Coast is preparing for the cold front moving in from the Midwest on Tuesday and areas as far south as Brownsville, Texas and central Florida are facing record low temperatures.

Temperatures were 11 to 22C (20 to 40F) below average in parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska and broke records in Chicago, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the National Weather Service.

A satellite image shows the polar vortex sweeping across the US. Pic: Nasa

The US saw colder temperatures than Almaty, Kazakhstan, where it was -22C (8F), Mongolia at -23C (-8F) and Irkutsk, in Siberia, at -33C (-27F).

The National Weather Service has issued life-threatening wind chill warnings for temperatures as low as -51C (-60F) in western and central Dakota and officials in Indiana - hit by high winds and more than a foot (30cm) of snow - urged residents to stay indoors.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard asked schools and businesses to stay closed for another day and said: "The cold is the real killer here.

A tractor is used to clear snow from Woodward Avenue in central Detroit

"You could be dead in 10 minutes without the proper clothes."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, announcing that parts of the New York State Thruway in Western New York would be closed due to extreme winter weather conditions.

The weather has caused chaos for US business and industry, threatening to disrupt oil drilling and fracking and hit livestock and grain shipments across the farm belt, even in the Deep South.

Some 4,392 flights were cancelled and 3,577 delayed on Monday, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks airline activity.

Many airlines could not allow their ground crews to remain outdoors for more than 15 minutes at a time.

Birds gather on the partially frozen River Charles in Boston

There were hundreds of cancellations by airlines including United, Southwest and American at airports across the Midwest and Northeast as supplies of fuel and de-icer froze.

The weather has been blamed for a number of deaths across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

They included a 48-year-old Chicago man who had a heart attack while shovelling snow on Sunday and an elderly woman who was found outside her Indianapolis home early Monday.

Some states are beginning to turn their focus to recovery, with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Indiana Governor Mike Pence issuing disaster declarations, paving the way to request federal aid.

There were, however, some signs of things returning to normal in the affected areas.

A commuter wraps up warm in Chicago

JetBlue Airways, which stopped all scheduled flights to and from New York and Boston on Monday, plans to resume some flights on Tuesday morning.

Southwest Airlines operations in Chicago resumed on Monday night, even if it was, as a spokesman for the Texas-based airline called it, "a trickle".

The Minnesota Zoo announced it would reopen to the public on Tuesday and state lawmakers in Indiana plan to open their 2014 legislative session after a day's postponement.

Warmer temperatures - at least near or above freezing - are in store for the Midwest later in the week.

Indianapolis should reach -3C (27F) on Wednesday, and other parts of the central US could climb above freezing later in the week.

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Obese Pregnant Women 'Putting Strain On NHS'

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

NHS chiefs have ordered the first official survey of older and fatter women giving birth following new evidence that maternity units are under increasing pressure from complex pregnancies.

Figures obtained by Sky News show there has been a boom in pregnant women who are obese or over the age of 40.

Some units reported that the number of obese mums had more than doubled in just two years.

And NHS England revealed it will for the first time monitor the data to ensure women are receiving appropriate care.

Dr Catherine Calderwood, NHS clinical director for maternity, said: "Knowing this data is one of the most important things to improve the outcomes for these women and their babies.

"So we are investing in that with a new audit for the first time."

Sky News sent a Freedom of Information request to all maternity units in England.

Dr Catherine Calderwood, NHS clinical director for maternity

Of the 104 that replied, 67 were able to supply data on obesity between 2010/11 and 2012/13.

On average there was a 12.5% rise in women with a body mass index (BMI) over 30.

But Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust reported a rise of 192% and Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said obesity had risen 177%.

Our survey also shows an upward trend in the number of older mums, with an average 7.5% rise in the number of women aged over 40 over the two years.

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Trust has been at the forefront of one of the biggest baby booms in the country.

Our statistics show that the number of obese mums rose by 59% in two years. Women aged over 40 rose by 33%.

Nicky Griffin, maternity ward manager at the hospital, said obese women need additional care.

"It is a consideration you need to make for their safety when they are in labour," she said.

"There is a risk of deep vein thrombosis, clotting in the leg.

"We have to give medication to prevent that because bigger ladies can be less mobile."

Obese women are also more at risk of diabetes, dangerously high blood pressure and having a premature delivery. Older mums face similar risks.

:: All this week Sky News will have live coverage examining the crisis in the NHS. Watch 'A Matter Of Life And Death' on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Floods: Concerns Budget Cuts May Hit Response

Budget cuts at the Environment Department may affect its ability to deal with emergencies such as the current flooding, MPs have warned.

Some £500m has been cut from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) budget since 2010 and the department is facing further cuts of more than £300m over the next two years.

The damaged promenade in Aberystwyth

Parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee says the department's ability to deal with crises such as flooding and the horse-meat scandal must be protected.

The Government has pledged to increase spending on new flood defence schemes to £370m in 2015/2016, with the money ring-fenced.

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Flooded homes in the village of Muchelney in Somerset

However, the Environment Agency, a government body funded by Defra and with a key role in dealing with flooding, is to lose more than 1,500 jobs in the next year.

Committee chairwoman Anne McIntosh said: "Ministers must clarify how further budget cuts over £300m over the next coming two years will impact on the funding provided to these agencies and the ability of the department to respond to emergencies."

She added: "Recent flooding events over the Christmas and New Year period reinforce the committee's concerns about cuts to the Defra budget and how these will be realised."

The Government denies its flood defences will be affected. Environment Minister George Eustice told Sky News: "Within the spending envelope we have been given we have prioritised flood defence spending - £2.3bn in the last spending period and have secured another £2.3bn in the latest budget round to 2021.

Severe weather and flood warnings and alerts are in place across the UK

"While there have been hundreds of properties that have been flooded - and that's a tragedy for those involved and I know it's the worst possible thing that can happen to people over Christmas - there have been hundreds of thousands of homes protected by all the infrastructure and investment we have made in flood defences."

The budget warning comes as the country faces another day of stormy weather and remains at risk of more flooding as heavy rain - combined with hail and thunder - and tidal surges continue to batter the southern and south-eastern coast.

A succession of storms means the rain is falling on already heavily saturated ground and swollen rivers, giving rise to difficult road conditions for motorists and causing delays and cancellations to train services.

A car drives through a flooded road in Burton, Dorset

Flooding in the Somerset Levels has left villages cut off, roads and buildings have been damaged, and waves of up to 27ft have been recorded at Land's End, the most southern tip of the UK.

A flood siren warning of extreme danger to people and property was sounded in Dorset.

The Environment Agency raised the alarm after the sea breached Chesil Beach in Portland, Dorset, on Monday night, following a severe flood warning in the area.

Dorset Police told families to move to an upstairs room facing away from the sea with flood kits.

Anne McIntosh has warned the Government about cuts

Jackie Blakespear, a landlady at The Cove House Inn, described the evacuation and of how 50ft waves crashed over flood defences against the 350-year-old building which she refused to leave.

She told Sky News: "It was a fantastic sight to be fair - scary and exciting all at once. It was very, very scary at some points when the sea actually did come over and hit the pub."

Dorset Police have urged residents to be prepared for flooding and to listen out for the siren which will be sounded again in the event of the sea breaching the beach for the second day running.

A further two severe flood warnings - the highest level of warning - have also been issued by the Environment Agency for nearby Preston Beach and the Lower Stour in Dorset.

Britain has been battered by wind and rain for days

More than 100 flood warnings urging people to be prepared for flooding remain in place across the country, including in Dorset, Oxfordshire, south Wiltshire, Hampshire and along the river Thames, while around 200 low-level alerts have been issued.

Sky News weather presenter Isobel Lang said: "The showers today will be very heavy with hail, thunder and lightning and bring locally torrential downpours especially across western and southern parts worsening the flooding situation.

"However, in terms of high seas and winds the conditions are not as dramatic as yesterday with southwesterly gusts likely to be nearer 50 to 60mph and with less of a tidal surge too."

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Prince William Begins Cambridge Uni Course

By Paul Harrison, Royal Correspondent

Prince William has been welcomed by University of Cambridge officials before he has to knuckle down to 10 weeks of seminars, lectures and meetings.

Wearing a navy blue suit, the Duke of Cambridge travelled on the 9.44am train from King's Cross station in London to begin his studies at a bespoke course that will see academics from across the university tutor the 31-year-old in agricultural management.

The intensive course, organised by the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, will see the Duke take the 46-minute commute each day, curtailing royal duties while he undertakes his studies.

The decision to return to university comes at the heart of what Kensington Palace calls a "transitional" year for the Duke.

Designed to help equip Prince William with agricultural know-how ahead of one day inheriting the vast Duchy of Cornwall estate, the course will run until mid-March and will be funded privately by the Royal Family.

During his time there, the Duke will have access to university facilities and he will take a private residence in the town in case seminars begin early or finish late.

Princes William and Charles checking cattle in Gloucestershire

But some students at Cambridge have accused the Prince of securing a free pass to the university, which for undergraduate courses requires two A grades and an A* at A-Level.

Prince William's ABC grades at Eton were branded as "mediocre" by some students and graduates.

In one of its articles, university newspaper The Tab wrote: "The Tab must point out that normally students need A*AA at A-level to gain entry to Cambridge University, whilst the Prince only achieved a mediocre ABC."

But others have rallied behind the Prince, welcoming his short attachment to the world's third-oldest surviving university saying: "Has Oxford educated the next two monarchs of our great nation? Hell no."

The University of Cambridge is steeped in royal tradition.

Prince William follows in his father's footsteps, who graduated with a degree in Archaeology and Anthropology in 1970 and the Duke of Edinburgh was chancellor of the university from 1976 to 2011.

George VI was also a Cambridge graduate.

William will not be assessed during the course, nor will he be required to sit exams.

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NHS 'Needs £1bn' For Longer GP Opening Hours

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

More than 20,000 extra GPs, nurses and other NHS staff are needed if the Prime Minister wants his plan for longer surgery opening hours to work, the head of the Royal College of GPs has warned.

In her first major TV interview since taking up the post, Dr Maureen Baker told Sky News that GPs needed an extra £1bn of taxpayers' money to recruit sufficient staff to keep practices open seven days a week.

Without the extra money, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable as GPs and hospitals struggle to cope with the extra demand from patients over the winter months, she said.

"If we were to move to seven days a week we would need 10,000 more GPs.

"We probably need the same number of practice nurses and a proportionate number of support staff.

"We don't think seven days a week is realistic."

Dr Baker took over as head of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in November, a month after the Prime Minister declared his intention to get GPs to work more hours.

According to the British Medical Association (BMA), there are just over 40,000 GPs currently working in the UK.

The RCGP wants that figure to rise by a quarter.

In a dire assessment of the current state of GP practices, Dr Baker said family doctors feel "besieged" as they struggle to deal with the influx of patients, particularly in the winter months.

"It is constant demand with very little let-up," she said.

"We know our colleagues are working 11 to 12-hour days, and that is really difficult to do day after day when it is a job you need to be on top form for.

"They are feeling pressurised and besieged and looking for a bit of respite."

She said GPs need more resources, adding: "The consequence (of not having extra resources) will be the winter pressure effect that comes up every year gets longer and longer.

"My fear is the whole of the NHS becomes unsustainable due to the failure to properly invest in general practice."

She also criticised the Government's £500m handout to hospitals to help them cope this winter.

David Cameron wants longer opening hours for GP surgeries

"It wasn't the best use of money. It was a short-term fix, finger-in-the-dyke stuff," she said.

"There is nothing about the use of that money that will stop the same pressures emerging again and again."

In October, the Prime Minister said he would like GP surgeries to open from 8am until 8pm and at weekends to fit in with the lifestyles of working people.

He told Sky News: "Sometimes people using accident and emergency really just need to see a GP.

"But for hard-working people it is often too difficult because you are at work, you can't get an appointment at the time that fits."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "GPs do a vital job which is why we increased their overall budget last year as part of our protection of NHS funding.

"We have made £50m available to help innovative GPs to extend their services and stay open longer - either on their own or by working with other local practices.

"We have also asked Health Education England to see how we can get 50% of medical students to become GPs."

Some GP surgeries are testing out new ways of working to improve waiting times for appointments.

Under a system devised by the organisation Patient Access, GPs call back patients within an hour of them ringing the surgery.

Within a week of introducing the system GPs at the Phoenix Surgery in Swindon were dealing with 60% of patients over the phone.

The rest were given same-day appointments for a face-to-face consultation.

Dr Peter Swinyard said: "I can deal with two or three patients in the time it used to take me to deal with one.

"I was terrified. You have been working in a certain pattern for 29 years and now you're doing something different.

"But we are providing a better service, a service that patients have a right to expect."

:: All this week Sky News will have live coverage examining the crisis in the NHS. Watch 'A Matter Of Life And Death' on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

We also want to hear your experiences of the NHS - the good and the bad - tweet us using the hashtag #NHSlifeanddeath

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Dennis Rodman: I Love My Friend Kim Jong-Un

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent in Beijing

US basketball star Dennis Rodman has told Sky News he "loves" the North Korean leader and claims that "when the time comes" he will discuss human rights with Kim Jong-Un.

Mr Rodman was speaking at Beijing airport as he departed for his latest trip to the secretive country.

He is travelling to Pyongyang with a group of 11 American basketball players for a match marking Mr Kim's birthday on Wednesday.

He said: "The only thing we are doing right now, as you can see right now, is all the NBA players here to play a game right now.

"And that's the one thing we're trying to do right now."

It is almost universally accepted that North Korea has the worst human rights record in the world.

As many as 200,000 political prisoners are locked up in labour camps around the country. Escapees have said that torture is routine.

Kim Jong-Un recently had his uncle (L) executed

Asked whether he would bring up the subject of labour camps, Mr Rodman said it was not his job.

Given that he is the only American with such unprecedented access to Mr Kim, Sky News put it to him that it was his responsibility to raise the issue.

"That's not my job," he said. "The only thing I am doing right now, I am only doing one thing: this game is for his birthday. It's for his birthday.

"And I hope that if this opens doors and we can actually talk about certain things, then we can do certain things, but I am not going to sit there and go in and say 'hey guy, you're doing the wrong thing'.

"That's not the right thing to do. He's my friend first. He's my friend. I don't give a ****. I tell the world: he's my ******* friend, I love him."

Under the North Korean regime's "three generations of punishment" system, individuals found guilty of a crime are sent to the labour camps with their entire family.

The subsequent two generations of that family are then born in the camp and live their lives locked up inside.

Mr Rodman was asked if he was aware of the 200,000 or so political prisoners in North Korea.

He replied: "Are you aware that lots of people in America is locked up like that too?"

Mr Rodman's unlikely friendship with Mr Kim dates back to February last year when he accompanied the US documentary maker Vice to North Korea with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.

The Paddy Power promotional image for the event

Sky News understands that Mr Rodman initially believed he was going to meet the South Korean pop star Psy.

He even tweeted that he might bump into the star behind the hit song Gangnam Style.

For reasons which are yet to become clear, Mr Rodman and Mr Kim became friends.

Sky News has obtained a previously unpublished photograph of Mr Rodman riding one of Mr Kim's horses in August, thought to have been taken at the North Korean leader's ranch outside Pyongyang.

Mr Kim does not speak English and Mr Rodman does not speak Korean.

Their conversations are conducted through North Korean interpreters.

This latest trip was due to be sponsored by the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

However, on Christmas Eve, the bookmaker claimed it had pulled its participation.

"Given changed circumstances, Paddy Power has decided to withdraw its association with the Dennis Rodman basketball initiative in North Korea," the company said in a statement.

However, Sky News understands that the bookmaker will continue to provide funding for the trip in order to honour its contractual obligations.

North Korean analysts are split over whether engagement with North Korea by an unusual and eccentric American is an unpalatable publicity stunt or an opportunity for future dialogue.

Dr Daniel Pinkston, North East Asia deputy project director at International Crisis Group, was supportive of the relationship when the Paddy Power event was announced.

"The last few years have been difficult for North Korea watchers seeking new policy prescriptions for dealing with Pyongyang," Dr Pinkston said in a statement on Paddy Power's website in September.

"Thanks to the support of Paddy Power, Rodman's visit had opened a window of opportunity to bring change to North Korea."

In December, Shin Dong-Hyuk, the only person born in a North Korean prison camp known to have escaped to the West, wrote an open letter to Mr Rodman calling on him to engage with Mr Kim.

"I am writing to you, Mr Rodman, because, more than anything else, I want Kim Jong-Un to hear the cries of his people," he wrote.

"Maybe you could use your friendship and your time together to help him understand that he has the power to close the camps and rebuild the country's economy so everyone can afford to eat."

As Mr Rodman left Beijing airport on this latest trip, he left that possibility open.

"When the time comes when I do that I am going to sit down and talk to all the people around the world, when the time comes, I am going to tell you everything that happens.

"But right now I want these guys to go over there and put on a good show for his birthday.

"We will talk about political stuff and anything about refugee camps."

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Storms: UK Braced For More Flooding And Chaos

A violent storm brewing in the Atlantic has brought more flooding and travel chaos as Britain returned to work after the Christmas holidays.

Forecasters warned gusts of up to 70mph will hit western coasts, while officials around the country urged people to remain vigilant and to stay away from high-risk areas with high waves crashing on to land.

Wave heights in the Atlantic at midday on Monday Pic: magicseaweed.com

As winds whipped up rough seas in the Atlantic, there were fears of further coastal flooding with 10-metre-high waves potentially striking southwest England, Wales and western Scotland.

Aberystwyth seafront - including 600 rooms of the university's student halls of residence facing the beach - was evacuated and rescue centres set up amid a high tide as strong winds battered the coastline.

A rock fall in Porthcothan Bay, Cornwall

Sky's Mike McCarthy, at the scene, said: "It does look as though the worst predictions are being realised. We have seen waves bringing rocks and stones forward over the fencing."

Student Millie Farmer, 19, said 12ft waves had crashed on to the promenade, ripping up paving slabs and leaving debris scattered on the front.

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Harry Martin went missing in the storms

The severe weather has already taken its toll on the transport network and there was more disruption for commuters with roads closed and trains delayed or cancelled in areas.

First Great Western warned passengers there was a risk to services in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset.

Southern Railway services between Horsham and Dorking in Surrey will be out of action until early February after a landslip in Ockley.

And with hail providing an additional hazard, driving conditions are expected to be difficult too with the RAC expecting Monday to be one of the busiest days of the year for breakdowns, with 11,000 call-outs expected.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning - meaning "be aware" - for heavy rain, along with hail and thunder, in southern and western parts of Scotland, across Northern Ireland, north Wales, northwest and northeast England and the South.

The village of Bury surrounded by flood water from the River Arun

Up to 40mm of rain could fall in higher ground.

With the ground saturated already following recent storms, the Environment Agency (EA) has issued one severe flood warning - near Bournemouth, Dorset - and more than 320 flood warnings and alerts covering every region in England and Wales.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has 32 flood warnings and alerts in place.

This is the latest storm front to hit Britain

Environment Secretary was in Maidenhead to inspect the town's flood defences and reiterated the Government's commitment to expand schemes to protect homes and businesses.

He said: "It is absolutely awful being flooded and I really do offer my real sympathies to those that have been flooded. It is really shocking for young families and terribly disruptive for businesses.

"I can reassure those people we are determined to carry on long-term flood schemes. We will be spending £2.3bn in the course of this parliament. We have an even more ambitious programme going up to 2020, and over time, we will protect over 165,000 properties during this period and a further 300,000 up to 2020."

Waves crash around Portreath Pier on the north coast of Cornwall

The EA has urged communities in Dorset and Oxfordshire to prepare for "significant flooding" in the lower reaches of the Thames, Dorset Stour and Frome rivers. Those in south Wiltshire and Hampshire have also been urged to prepare for more flood waters.

There has been more flooding on the Somerset Levels and rivers in the South East, including the Severn, remain "very high" after recent rainfall.

The EA said some more than 300 properties have been flooded so far, miles of coastline battered and roads and fields across the country left under water.

The flooded River Wey in Guildford

Residents in Wales are bracing themselves for more flooding and damage after the worst storms in 15 years battered the coastline on Friday.

Sky News weather producer Jo Robinson said: "As the UK returns to work after the Christmas and New Year holidays, some travel disruption is likely on Britain's roads and railways.

"Also, there's likely to be more flooding, with coastal areas at greatest risk as winds gust up to 70mph in the West.

The scene where the man on his mobility scooter fell into the river

"The storm system out in the Atlantic has whipped up the sea creating a large swell which is heading towards us early on Monday morning, so that combined with strong winds could cause flooding at high tide.

"The spring tides are past their peak now, but the high-tide waters are still likely to cause concern."

The weather conditions that brought misery over the festive period continued to prove treacherous at the weekend - with a 47-year-old man becoming the third person to die in the storms.

Tewkesbury is underwater due to floods again

The unnamed victim died when his mobility scooter fell into the swollen River Thames at Osney Lock, Oxford, at 6.30pm on Saturday.

A search is continuing for missing 18-year-old student Harry Martin, who was last seen leaving his home in Newton Ferrers, near Plymouth, on Thursday afternoon to take photos of the storms.

A 27-year-old man from Surrey was found on Porthleven Sands beach in Cornwall after he was swept out to sea on New Year's Eve night and a woman died after being rescued from the sea in Croyde Bay, north Devon.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson inspects flood defences in Maidenhead

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