Lockdown To Combat Ebola In Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone will impose a four-day countrywide lockdown as part of efforts to halt the spread of the deadly ebola virus.

Ben Kargbo, a presidential adviser on the country's ebola task force, said citizens will not be allowed to leave their homes between September 18 and 21.

This will allow health workers to identify cases in the early stages of the illness which has killed more than 2,000 people since March.

Mr Kargbo told the Reuters news agency: "The aggressive approach is necessary to deal with the spread of ebola once and for all."

According to United Nations figures, Sierra Leone has recorded 491 of the total suspected, probable and confirmed deaths.

Mr Kargbo said 21,000 people would be recruited to enforce the lockdown.

Thousands of police and soldiers have already been deployed to enforce the quarantining of towns in the country's worst-hit areas near the border with Guinea.

But an aid worker in the capital, Freetown, told Sky News a lockdown alone is not enough.

A poster in Ivory Coast warns of the risk of ebola

Augustine Allieu, from Plan International, said improving education, hygiene and facilities are also necessary.

He said: "It's not absolutely the best option, but it is definitely one of those that needs to support all of these things that I have mentioned in terms of containing the spread."

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has said a vaccine for health workers could be available by November, with testing of two candidate vaccines under way.

An American doctor who came down with the virus while working in a Liberian maternity ward is "sick but stable", officials said on Friday.

There is currently no cure or vaccine for the virus

Rick Sacra, 51, has arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center where he is being treated.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has set a goal of stopping the outbreak within six to nine months.

Mr Ban said the "next few weeks will be crucial" to step up international efforts and called on countries to contribute to a $600m (£367m) appeal for supplies to west Africa.

The UN has stepped up its campaign after the international medical group Medecins Sans Frontieres declared that the world was "losing the battle" to contain ebola.

Ebola is contracted through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids and there is currently no cure or vaccine.

Symptoms of the virus appear as a sudden onset of fever, headache, sore throat, intense weakness and muscle pain.

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Obama Bumps Stonehenge Off His 'Bucket List'

Even presidents can play tourist ... Barack Obama has ended a busy two-day Nato summit in Wales with an impromptu stroll through Stonehenge.

While other world leaders may have headed straight for the airport, the US President took a small detour for a spot of sightseeing.

"How cool is this?" he commented as he was taken on a guided tour through the ancient Wiltshire monument.

He told reporters it was always something he had wanted to see, and now he had "knocked it off the bucket list".

The ancient site got the thumbs up from the US President

"It's spectacular. It's spectacular. It's a special place," he said.

But it wasn't just the President who had a day to remember. 

A local family, who were walking through a nearby field of sheep, also aren't likely to forget his visit in a hurry.

Mr Obama made his way over to the excited family of five and proceeded to spend a few minutes chatting and posing for photos.

Smile! A stunned family poses with Mr Obama at Stonehenge Pic: @BeesRun

As she saw him approaching, mother Janice Raffle took to Twitter to say: "I can see president Obama! Any messages?"

She then posted a picture of the whole family with the President.

Mrs Raffle, who does charity runs to highlight the declining bee population, has since received a number of donations. 

Stonehenge, which was built in three phases between 3000 BC and 1600 BC, is a Unesco World Heritage site.

Archaeologists believe it was built as a temple, although to which gods, and exactly how it was used, is unclear.

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Ashya Set For Specialist Treatment In Prague

The lawyer for Ashya King's parents says the five-year-old boy may be taken from Malaga to Prague by Monday for specialist cancer treatment.

It comes after a British judge ruled the youngster could be transported to the Czech capital to have proton beam radiotherapy - a technique not available to him on the NHS.

Family lawyer Juan Isidro Fernandez Diaz said the brain tumour patient could fly there as early as tonight, Sunday, or Monday at the latest.

And the boy will stay at a children's hospital near the Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) which carries out the treatment, he added.

Sky sources say Ashya was unlikely to arrive in Prague before Monday evening.

Doctors there will not make any final decision about when to begin Ashya's treatment until after a meeting to review his case on Monday morning.

Ashya pictured with his parents in a Malaga hospital

The boy is currently being treated in a medical centre in Malaga after Brett and Naghmeh King removed him from a Southampton hospital over a week ago without doctors' consent.

Mr Diaz said the child was "in a perfect condition to travel" and was playing with his family and his toys.

He said the parents were "really happy" with the judge's decision and the British court has been "really nice with us".

The couple had been detained in Spain under a European arrest warrant issued by UK authorities before it was withdrawn following a public outcry and the pair were released.

The Kings want Ashya to have proton beam radiotherapy at the PTC and the judge Mr Justice Baker approved their request on Friday.

Centre spokeswoman Iva Ta'ounová said: "All necessary preparations are currently being made by the Prague proton centre to ensure that all is ready in anticipation of the arrival of Ashya King and his family from Malaga hospital, Spain.

The family's lawyer Juan Isidro Fernandez Diaz speaks to reporters

"This standard preparation procedure can take up to 10 days but in the case of Ashya King an expert panel of physicians have agreed to discuss the transportation details and additional treatment needed according to Ashya's current health condition on Monday 8th September at 8am.

"PTC has again requested information from Malaga Hospital, in order to be made up-to-date on Ashya's current health condition, so that it can be discussed with them directly on Monday.

"PTC is aware that the boy's parents wish desperately for him to transported to Prague, however first all administrative and legal requirements must be fulfilled."

A lawyer representing bosses at Southampton General Hospital told the judge that doctors aimed to provide chemotherapy but not proton beam.

Vikram Sachdeva said such treatment could not be provided in Britain.

The judge said he had been told specialists at the PTC had considered a treatment plan.

And he said he had seen evidence of the treatment planned, evidence of plans to fly Ashya to Prague and evidence that Mr and Mrs King could afford the cost of treatment and transport.

The judge said he would cease to have responsibility for Ashya once the youngster arrived at the Czech hospital.

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Three People Arrested Over New Forest Murder

Three people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a mother-of-five in the New Forest.

Pennie Davis, 47, was tending her two horses in a paddock off Hatchet Lane, near Beaulieu, when she was killed.

She suffered multiple stab wounds and her husband Pete found her body on Tuesday afternoon.

Police have said they have arrested one person on suspicion of murder, one for perverting the course of justice, and another for assisting an offender.

A forensic tent covers the spot where Mrs Davis' body was found

All remain in police custody, and Mrs Davis' family has been informed.

Police have continued to increase patrols in the area to offer reassurance to residents.

Officers hunting her killer believe the murder weapon was a bladed item, possibly a knife, and was probably discarded close to the scene.

Mrs Davis, from Blackfield, worked in a supermarket and was recently married.

Her husband, their children and her parents visited the paddock on Friday morning and left flowers with messages from each member of the family.

Mr Davis' message said: "Angel, all my love, always and forever Pete."

One of her daughters left a note saying: "Dearest mum, you were a goddess. I swear I'll make you proud.

"I like to think you're sitting there, watching on a cloud. You had so much more to give. You had so much more to do. But now I'll be your legacy. I'll do it all for you."

:: Anyone with information is asked to contact the Operation Biscotti investigation team in confidence on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Reports: Ukraine And Rebels Agree Ceasefire

The Ukrainian government has agreed a ceasefire with pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko confirmed on his Twitter account that a peace plan had been signed, while pro-Russian rebels also announced the news on the social media site.

They said the deal was due to come into force at 4pm UK time.

Talks have been taking place between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels in the Belarussian capital, Minsk. Representatives of Russia and the OSCE security watchdog are also at the discussions.

Separately, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said in a televised cabinet meeting in Kiev that the peace plan must include three key elements - a ceasefire, the withdrawal of "Russian forces and Russian bandits and terrorists" and the restoration of Ukraine's state border with Russia.

It came after Sky's Katie Stallard, who is on eastern city limits of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, reported continued fighting.

"We are hearing heavy shelling, which sounds like it's closer to the city now," she said.

"We can also see smoke rising to the north of the city and there are reports of further shelling to the north and to the west. It would seem that there is something of a push from at least two directions on to the city.

Meanwhile, Nato announced plans to create a 'Spearhead' rapid-response force to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine.

More follows...

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Beheading Suspect Under Guard In Hospital

A man suspected of beheading a grandmother after killing a pet cat is in hospital under police guard.

Officers are waiting to question the 25-year-old, who allegedly wandered through back gardens with a machete, screaming and shouting, before he was arrested.

Palmira Silva, 82, was found collapsed in a garden in Edmonton, north London on Thursday before being pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers are also investigating an attempted attack on two people at another house in the same road before Ms Silva was killed.

Tributes have been paid to the elderly woman of Italian descent who ran a nearby cafe.

A police tent was put up at the scene of the attack

Dilek Solma, 19, who works next door, said: "I'm so upset. She was a very smiley lady, always had a smile on her face, and loved the community."

Another shop worker Raj Thangavelselvaraj, 50, said: "She was a nice lady, she was a good lady to everyone. It's very sad."

Police carried out a dramatic evacuation operation to save neighbours and an armed team tasered the knifeman as he struggled with officers, leaving one with a broken wrist.

Restaurant worker Freda Odame, 30, said: "I heard shouting and banging and I opened my curtains and saw a guy holding a knife in a back garden a few doors along. He was screaming. I could see he seemed aggressive. He looked a bit frantic."

She added: "I was shaking and I just shut the curtains. I was worried he might see me. Then the police knocked on the door and said 'You've got to get out, you've got to get out'."

Ahmed Yusuf, 19, said: "At first there were two police cars, then all of a sudden there were 20. The police said to drop everything. I said 'What's going on?' and they said 'there's a guy jumping over gardens'."

Police forensic teams look for evidence

Another resident described seeing a man brandishing a machete and shouting about cats.

The witness, who did not want to be named, said he also saw a headless cat as he watched the drama from his window.

The man said: "There was a scream so I went to the windows and saw a guy with a machete with blood dripping from it. We saw a cat on the floor without a head. He was standing in the garden and walking up and down shouting about cats."

The knifeman then appeared in the witness's garden and began swiping at plants, he said.

He went on: "He started cutting roses. We were just trying to call the police."

Metropolitan Police commander Simon Letchford said police were trying to establish the attacker's motive, but there are no signs of a link to terrorism.

He said officers smashed house windows to get people out after the man had been "cornered" in a house.

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Ukraine: Nato To Form Rapid Response Force

Nato will create a 'Spearhead' rapid-response force to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine, it has been announced.

Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen revealed the plan on the second and final day of the Nato summit in Newport, Wales, where new sanctions against Moscow are also due to be unveiled.

"This decision sends a clear message: Nato protects all allies at all times," he said.

"And it sends a clear message to any potential aggressor: Should you even think of attacking one ally, you will be facing the whole alliance."

Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama, David Cameron and Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Amid reports of further fighting to the east of the port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, Mr Rasmussen said the Spearhead force would also establish a "command-and-control" presence in the east of allied territories.

"(Spearhead will be) a very high-readiness force able to deploy at very short notice," he said.

"This Spearhead will include several thousand land troops ready to deploy within a few days, with air, sea and special forces support."

Western leaders accuse Russia of sending thousands of troops into the east of Ukraine.

Nato leaders during the round-table discussion

Leaders at the summit continued talks on the crisis after watching a fly-past by British fighter jets and the Red Arrows aerobatic team.

But Sky News' Katie Stallard, who is on the eastern city limits of Mariupol, in eastern Ukraine, said "deep, loud explosions" continued to be heard.

"That show of strength from Nato over South Wales does nothing whatsoever to reassure people here, who are watching shells landing, now about five kilometres east of their city," she said.

"You have to understand how terrifying this is for people who are living in this city. I don't think they will have any faith whatsoever in any of the political sentiment that's being expressed by European leaders today.

"We are hearing heavy shelling, which sounds like it's closer to the city now."

Mr Rasmussen said alliance countries would contribute troops on a rotational basis to the high-readiness force.

There were no final decisions on where the forces would be based, but he said Poland, Romania and the Baltics have all indicated a willingness to host the facilities.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK was willing to contribute 3,500 personnel to the rapid response force.

He said its headquarters could be in Poland, with forward units in the easternmost Nato member countries and equipment stockpiled there in advance.

"We must be able to act more swiftly," he said.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama and Mr Cameron have continued to press their Nato counterparts to join a coalition of nations to combat militants from the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

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Hostage David Haines' Family Under Police Guard

The Croatian family of David Haines, the British hostage held by Islamic State, are receiving 24 hour police protection, Sky sources say.

Mr Haines, who has a wife and four-year-old daughter in Zagreb, was threatened with death in the recently released video of the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff.

The aid worker was taken from a refugee camp close to the Syrian border with Turkey in March 2013.

The 44-year-old has worked for aid agencies in some of the world's worst trouble spots, including Libya and South Sudan.

He also has a teenage daughter in Scotland from a previous marriage.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, announced the formation of a "core coalition" to tackle IS militants, who have seized control of much of northern Iraq and Syria. 

Speaking at the Nato summit in Newport, he urged the United Kingdom, France and Australia, as well as other nations, to provide the air power, intelligence, weapons and equipment to go after the group inside Iraq.

And Iraqi officials said an airstrike had killed a senior aide of IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. 

Steven Sotloff was the second US journalist beheaded in an IS video

Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday ruled out paying a ransom to the militants for Mr Haines' release, describing such payments as "utterly self-defeating".

He acknowledged it was a "desperately difficult situation" and said he was personally overseeing efforts to bring the aid worker home safely.

Mr Haines' Croatian wife earlier told The Daily Telegraph: "He's everything to us. He's our life. He's a fantastic man and father.

"Nobody can understand how we are feeling. My daughter keeps asking about him every day. She hasn't seen her father for a year and a half. She has gone through so much. She sees me crying all the time," Dragana Prodanovic Haines said at the family's home near Zagreb.

The ACTED charity which employs Mr Haines said it was "deeply shocked" by the images of the aid worker being threatened.

"The threats on David Haines' life are intolerable," it added.

Muslim religious leaders across Scotland are using Friday prayers to call for the release of all hostages held by IS.

A joint statement from the Muslim Council of Scotland, Islamic Society of Britain and Glasgow Central Mosque, said: "We send our heartfelt sympathies to the families of those who have been killed at the murderous hands of IS - regardless of where they are from or what their religion.

"The actions of IS are against the teachings of Islam and therefore supporting or joining such an organisation is unacceptable.

"We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by IS and pray for all of those killed, injured or harmed by extremism the world over."

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PM: UK Will Not Pay For British IS Hostage

Nato Plans 'Spearhead' Force To Face Russia

Updated: 12:53pm UK, Tuesday 02 September 2014

Nato is set to create a high-readiness force and stockpile military equipment in Eastern Europe as a bulwark against potential Russian aggression, the alliance's chief has said.

Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the proposed new force could be comprised of several thousand troops contributed to on a rotating basis by the 28 Nato countries.

Backed by air and naval assets, he said the unit would be a spearhead that could be deployed at very short notice to help Nato members defend themselves against any threat, including from Russia.

Nato leaders are to consider the plans at a summit this week in Wales that is likely to be dominated by how the US-led alliance should respond to the Russian-backed separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine is not a member of Nato, but its UK ambassador told Sky News he backed the move and appealed for Ukraine's allies to step up sanctions and provide military help now.

Andrii Kuzmenko said: "What is important for Ukraine is to provide the means for our defence ... including armaments."

The move could provoke Russia, whose foreign minister warned on Monday that Ukrainian forces must pull back from areas where they can harm civilians.

Sergei Lavrov spoke amid reports that Ukrainian forces had been ordered to pull back from Luhansk airport in the face of an onslaught from Russian tanks - the latest claim of direct Russian involvement in the fighting.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Valeriy Geletey said Russian units were moving into other towns in the region, including the largest city of the Donetsk region.

"The information that Russian troops are there has been confirmed," he said.

"We are fighting Russia and it is Russia which is deciding what will happen in Donbass," he told Ukraine's Inter channel, referring to the informal name of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

Mr Lavrov again denied that Russian troops were in Ukraine and said he hoped talks taking place in the Belarussian capital Minsk would focus on agreeing an immediate, unconditional ceasefire.

Speaking in the east Siberian city of Yakutsk on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Europe of ignoring the Ukrainian army "directly targeting its fire on residential areas".

He said he hoped "common sense will prevail" and that Russia and the West would not harm each other with further sanctions.

Speaking in the House of Commons, David Cameron said Russia appeared to be trying to force Ukraine "to give up its democratic choices at the barrel of a gun".

The PM said the presence of Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil was "completely unjustified and unacceptable".

A rights group that works to expose Russian army abuses claims up to 15,000 soldiers have been sent to Ukraine by Moscow in the last two months, and several hundred may have died in combat.

Valentina Melnikova, head of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, a prominent organisation representing the families of military servicemen, said that some 7,000-8,000 Russian troops are believed to be in Ukraine at present.

"Military commanders are conducting a secret special operation," said Ms Melnikova, who is a member of the defence ministry's public council.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian military spokesman said a rescue operation was continuing for two seamen missing in the Azov Sea after pro-Russian separatists attacked a Ukrainian navy vessel for the first time.

Eight other seamen survived the attack and were being treated for wounds and burns after the vessel was hit by artillery from the shore.

Separatists in the region claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the events of the past few days showed Russia had launched a "direct and open aggression" against Ukraine.

Leading American senators have called for the US to send weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against what they called a "Russian invasion".

Democrat Robert Mendez, who runs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN: "We should provide the Ukrainians with the type of defensive weapons that will impose a cost upon Putin for further aggression."

The call was echoed by former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who told CBS's Face The Nation that Mr Putin was "an old KGB colonel that wants to restore the Russian empire".

Earlier, the European Union gave Russia a week to scale back its intervention in Ukraine, warning of further sanctions.

China opposes additional sanctions against Russia and has urged world leaders to find a political solution to the crisis.

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Missing Teen Alice Gross' Bag Found By Police

CCTV footage of a 14-year-old girl who has been missing for a week has been released by police detectives.

Investigators have found a rucksack belonging to Alice Gross, who went missing on August 28.

The teenager left her home in Hanwell at around 1pm and was captured on CCTV an hour later on the Grand Union Canal towpath near Brentford Lock, walking towards the River Thames.

She was filmed again at 3.45pm heading back to her home.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Chalmers, from the Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "A week on since Alice was last seen by her family we are becoming increasing worried about her welfare and safety as each day passes.

"Her disappearance is out of character and this investigation continues to be a priority for us.

Alice was spotted on CCTV before she vanished

"Alice has been missing for a considerable period of time and her family are desperate to have her back home where she belongs."

People who may have seen Alice on the towpath between around 1.30pm and 5.30pm, or who saw her with a purple rucksack, are being asked to come forward.

She is white, 5ft 2in tall and of slim build, with shoulder length, light brown hair.

When she was last seen she was wearing dark blue jeans, a dark green lacy cardigan and denim blue Vans shoes. She may also have had tartan-framed glasses.

In the CCTV footage, she had taken the cardigan off which she was wearing over a dark grey t-shirt.

Alice's sister Nina, 19, has set up the Facebook page Find Alice Gross.

Anyone with information should call police on 020 8358 0100 or the charity Missing People on 116000.

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Woman Found In Field Had Multiple Stab Wounds

A woman whose body was found in a Hampshire field was stabbed multiple times, police have revealed.

Penelope Anne Davis, 47, from Blackfield, was discovered at 4.42pm on Tuesday by her husband. She was tending to her two horses in a field near Lyndhurst Road, near Beaulieu, when she was killed.

Mrs Davis, known as Pennie, had five children and worked in a local supermarket.

The body of Penelope Ann Davis, 47, was found on Tuesday

Detective Superintendent Paul Barton said: "We carried out an autopsy yesterday at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital. I can reveal that the cause of death was multiple stab wounds.

"This is therefore a murder inquiry."

A forensic tent in the field near Beaulieu

Mr Barton appealed for witnesses in the area between 2pm and 5pm to come forward. He added that no arrests had been made and there were no obvious suspects.

"This is a rural location, but it's extremely busy with local people using it as a shortcut," he said.

Searches are taking place at a farm where Mrs Davis kept horses

A white forensic tent remains in the field where Mrs Davis' body was found.

Police patrols have also been stepped up in the area and around 70 officers are involved in the investigation.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Hampshire Major Investigation Team on 101, via the force website quoting Operation Biscotti, or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Boxer Kell Brook Stabbed On Tenerife Holiday

British world champion boxer Kell Brook has been stabbed while on holiday with his pregnant wife in Tenerife, Sky sources understand.

It comes less than a month after the 28-year-old clinched his IBF welterweight with an unexpected defeat of American fighter Shawn Porter.

Brook was stabbed in the leg and suffered a cut arm during the attack, which could have implications for a fight with fellow British boxer Amir Khan that was rumoured to be in the pipeline.

It also remains unclear whether his plans for a first title defence in December will have to be postponed.

Mr Brook has been stabbed before, and was seriously injured back in 2007

He is said to be conscious and in a stable condition in hospital, while his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Reporting for Sky Sports News HQ, Fraser Dainton said: "As I'm sure you can imagine, this must have been extremely distressing and upsetting for everybody involved.

"He was looking forward to a nice, quiet, relaxing time over in Tenerife with his family, but obviously this has put a shadow on things at the moment.

"The details are fairly sketchy, but the good news is that it looks like the injuries, from what we're told, are not too serious."

This is not the first time that the boxer has been stabbed - in 2007, he sustained serious injuries after being knifed in his sides and buttocks following a party at a nightclub in Sheffield.

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Rotherham Abuse Was 'Dereliction Of Duty'

Rotherham Victim 'Verbally Abused By Police'

Updated: 8:43pm UK, Wednesday 27 August 2014

A victim of the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal has told Sky News she was verbally abused when she sought help from police.

She said the violence she suffered was ignored by authorities because her attacker was Asian and they were worried about causing racial unrest in the South Yorkshire town.

The woman gave a disturbing account of how she was treated by some police officers - claiming they called her a string of derogatory names.

One even said her attacker had every right to abuse her, she said.

Her grooming began when she turned 14 and was introduced to the man through friends in Rotherham.

She said he treated her well to start with and she fell in love with him, but after a few months he became violent.

"The more time we spent together the more he started to change," she said. "He became controlling, violent ... a relationship that was domestic violence."

She said she felt so scared at times she thought about killing herself.

"I had a fear of heights and he did a lot of things to try to scare me through that," she said.

"He once drove us to the edge of a cliff and said he was going to kill us both. He then dragged me out of the car and said he was going to throw me off."

She added: "He once tried to throw me over a balcony, luckily two people kind of stopped him from doing that.

"I had a child with me at the time, that were only a few months, in a pushchair, and he even kicked the pushchair over."

She said during her two years of abuse, the attacks went from once a week to two or three times a week.

His brothers were grooming other young girls, she said, but unlike many child victims in Rotherham she was sexually exploited by one man.

She was 16 when she went to police, but said her complaint was ignored.

Her abuser was even granted immunity from prosecution, she claimed.

"I explained to him (the police officer) what relationship we had and he said: 'Well, what do you expect? I think he's got every right to.'

"My Dad went absolutely mental and told him to get out of the house. The police officer then apologised, and we put a formal complaint into the police about him.

"But just his manner of how he dealt with it - he didn't seem to care about it, he was so unprofessional."

When asked why her abuse was ignored by social workers, police and council bosses, she said: "I think it was because of the fact he was Asian.

"I don't think they wanted to start communities colliding together, and starting confrontation between communities."

She said Rotherham Council chiefs should face action for ignoring the plight of the 1,400 child victims targeted in the town.

"The people that were involved back then ... I think they need hanging," she said.

"I don't know what legal stuff can be done, but I think they all need to be in a courtroom and tell people exactly what they knew.

"I think it should be some kind of criminal offence that 1,400 girls have been allowed to be abused by professionals."

South Yorkshire Police say they have no knowledge of allegations concerning derogatory remarks made against the victim.

A spokesman said the suggestion a deal was struck with her abuser has been fully investigated and no evidence was found to support the claim.

"This case forms a part of Operation Clover looking into a series of child sexual exploitation investigations in Rotherham," he added.

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Ebola Patient Flees Clinic In Search For Food

Video has emerged of Liberian ebola clinic workers dressed in contamination suits chasing an escaped patient through the streets after he left a treatment centre to visit a market.

There were chaotic scenes as crowds followed infected man, who was wearing a wristband to show he had tested positive for the disease, and some stallholders argued with him as he approached.

The patient escaped from Monrovia's Elwa hospital, which last month was so crowded with cases of the deadly disease that it had to turn people away.

One woman at the scene said: "The patients are hungry, they are starving. No food, no water.

"The government needs to do more. Let Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf [the President of Liberia] do more."

Crowds followed the escaped ebola patient at a distance

Onlookers cheered as health workers arrived in their protective outfits and try to convince the patient to give himself up.

The man, who shows no outward signs of the diarrhoea and bleeding that the virus causes, refuses to return with the health workers and they eventually grab him and carry him away to a waiting ambulance.

At least 1,552 people have been killed by the current ebola outbreak, with 3,062 patients infected overall, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.

The UN agency has warned that more than 20,000 people could be infected with ebola before the outbreak comes to an end.

The patient was eventually confronted by health workers

There has been widespread panic buying, a shortage of staple foods and severe prices in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since movement restrictions were imposed to stop the spread of the virus.

At one market stall in Liberia, a nation which has suffered 694 fatalities so far, the price of cassava skyrocketed by 150% in a matter of days.

And despite the UN's World Food Programme launching an emergency operation to get 65,000 tonnes of supplies sent to deprived areas, many patients in quarantined areas are starving.

The UN has launched an operation to feed people in deprived areas

To compound the problem, labour shortages are expected in all three West African countries, weeks before the main harvesting season for maize and rice begins.

The production of other crops such as rubber, palm oil and cocoa could also be seriously affected, sending thousands of vulnerable people further into poverty.

Vincent Martin of the FAO added: "Even prior to the ebola outbreak, households in some of the affected areas were spending up to 80% of their incomes on food.

"Now these latest price spikes are effectively putting food completely out of their reach."

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Beauty Queen Refuses To Return Tiara After Row

A Burmese beauty queen is refusing to return her $100,000 (£60,398) tiara after pageant organisers accused her of lying about whether she had breast implants.

May Myat Noe, 18, reportedly disappeared with the crown after Miss Asia Pacific World organisers arranged to give her plastic surgery.

Pageant organisers say one of the goals of the event is to turn contest winners into actresses, pop stars, and world-class models by changing their looks.

The teenager denies she accepted an offer of a breast enlargement

And pageant director David Kim said Ms Noe was provided with a breast enhancement free of charge after winning the contest; a claim she denies.

"We thought she should be more beautiful, so we sent her to the hospital to operate on her breasts," Kim said.

"It's our responsibility. If she has no good nose, then maybe, if she likes, we can operate on her nose. If it's breasts, then breasts."

Mr Kim added the teenager was stripped of her title and "dethroned" because she was dishonest and unappreciative – and that she absconded with her bejewelled crown.

"She thinks as long as she keeps this crown she's the winner," Mr Kim said. "She's not."

Miss Noe has demanded an apology "to rectify the damage they have done to the integrity of my country".

"I will return the crown only when they apologise to Myanmar, for the dignity of our country," she said.

"I was put under duress to undergo head-to-toe cosmetic surgery which I refused...I didn't have breast implants, but I don't want to go into details, to preserve my dignity."

She said she flew back to Myanmar before realising organisers had decided to remove her title.

It was reported that Ms Noe's mother wanted to control her career

It has also been claimed there was disagreement over who was supposed to manage Ms Noe's career, with both her mother and event organisers wanting control.

Fifty years of self-imposed isolation kept Myanmar contestants off the international beauty contest stage until 2012.

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Calls Grow For Ashya To Be Reunited With Family

Prime Minister David Cameron has joined mounting calls for Ashya King to be reunited with his jailed parents as Portsmouth City Council calls for a halt to extradition proceedings against them.

Brett King and his wife Naghemeh, from Portsmouth, remain in police custody in Madrid while a Spanish court considers whether to grant a British extradition request.

Ashya, who has a brain tumour, is under police guard at the Materno-Infantil hospital in Malaga, about 330 miles south of the capital.

He has not seen his parents since they were arrested on Saturday after taking him out of Southampton General Hospital to seek specialist cancer treatment abroad.

A court in Madrid has called the parents for a hearing tomorrow morning to hear whether they will be released ahead of a judge's decision on their extradition.

Ashya's parents arrived at court on Monday

Separately, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service is reviewing the case to decide whether prosecution is required.

A High Court judgement is also expected on the wardship of Ashya who was made a ward of court on Friday

In an interview with LBC, Prime Minister David Cameron joined a chorus of voices calling for the King family to be allowed access to Ashya.

"Watching the pictures of him brought back memories of my desperate ill young boy Ivan and I remember him endlessly sitting on my lap and having to feed him through a tube and having to deal with all of the difficulties of having a desperately ill child," Mr Cameron said.

"But the government mustn't tell the police how to act or what to do, nor can we interfere in processes in other countries.

Ashya petition founder Ethan Dallas and family friend Sanjay Ganatra

"I just hope there is a rapid outbreak of common sense so the family can be reunited with this young boy and the best treatment can be given to him either in the UK or elsewhere."

Earlier Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told Sky News it was a "heartbreaking" situation.

"I've got a five-year-old son and the idea of leaving him in a hospital with no contact with parents and siblings fills me, as I imagine it fills all parents, with horror," he said.

"I would like to see the family reunited and then hopefully people can calmly make a decision about what should happen next.

Meanwhile Portsmouth City Council Leader, Donna Jones, issued a statement calling for an end to the extradition proceedings.

Ashya's brother Naveed said the family had all the right medical equipment

"Like others who have been watching this upsetting case unfolding in the media, I have been moved by the plight of the King family and am most concerned about Ashya. I believe what he needs now is to be with his family," she said.

"That's why I am urging the CPS to urgently review the case involving Ashya King's parents and remove any extradition proceedings, so the family can be reunited with their five-year-old son."

A petition calling for the family to be reunited has also been handed in to Downing Street.

It has emerged that Ashya's parents are planning legal action against Southampton General Hospital.

However the hospital claims it had discussed options for alternative proton beam therapy with the family at a facility in Prague.

Brett King defended the family's decision in a video posted online

"We were willing to support the family's transfer to Prague for proton beam radiotherapy, although we did not recommend it," a spokesperson for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said.

Over the weekend a spokesman for the hospital said that "our priority has always been Ashya's welfare".

British police officers are understood to be in Spain to question Ashya's parents.

Hampshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Chris Shead said he was aware the police's approach had led to a "significant amount of debate" but he would rather be criticised for "being proactive" than "potentially having to explain why a child has lost his life".

Simon Hayes, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: "Hampshire Constabulary's role, as in many other cases, was to safeguard the interests of a very vulnerable sick young child and find Ashya."

Ashya's grandmother Patricia King has accused the authorities of treating the couple "like murderers".

Patricia King earlier said her son was selling his holiday home in Spain to pay for proton beam therapy, which costs an average of £100,000 per person.

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Muslim Leaders Issue Fatwa Against IS Britons

Muslim leaders have reportedly issued a fatwa condemning Britons who fight for extremists in Iraq and Syria.

The fatwa, which The Sunday Times newspaper said had been issued by imams, is the strongest denunciation yet by the Muslim community of UK citizens who join militants of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, formerly known as ISIL and ISIS.

It comes as former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown accused Conservative ministers of "kneejerk" responses to the terrorism threat from extremists - and the US carried out airstrikes against IS fighters near Amerli in northern Iraq.

Air drops were also made to civilians in the area, including two by British Hercules aircraft, as the Iraqi army evacuated people from the besieged town as Iraqi and Kurdish forces closed in on IS fighters.

A number of Britons are known to have joined Islamic State militants

The UK Government has raised the terror threat to Britain from "substantial" to "severe", although Home Secretary Theresa May said there was no evidence to suggest an attack was "imminent".

Issued by a learned Muslim scholar, a fatwa is an edict that may concern any aspect of Islamic life.

Technically it cannot be revoked and dies only with the person it is imposed on.

The Sunday Times reported six senior Islamic scholars have endorsed the fatwa, describing Britons allied to Islamic State cells as "heretics".

According to the newspaper, the fatwa says Muslims have a "moral obligation" to help those in war-torn Syria and Iraq, but that they should do so "without betraying their own societies".

Lord Ashdown said the terror threat should be countered 'without panic'

The term fatwa rose to prominence in the West in 1989 after the author Salman Rushdie was forced into hiding after having a "death fatwa" issued against him.

It was imposed by Ayatollah Khomeni, then Supreme Leader of Iran, who said Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses, had "insulted" Islam.

Meanwhile, Lord Ashdown has argued in an article for The Observer that the current terror threat to the UK is one "one we have faced before and one we know how to deal with - effectively, without panic and without a whole new range of executive powers which could endanger our liberties".

"Indeed, when it comes to facing threats, it was surely far more difficult to cope with IRA terrorists slipping across the Irish Sea than it is to stop jihadis returning from Iraq," he wrote.

He said Prime Minister David Cameron had initially seemed to be keen to avoid a rushed response.

But he argued Tory ministers had recently "indulged in a spasm of kneejerking which would have made even St Vitus feel concerned".

"And Labour, frightened as always when it comes to liberty and security, capitulates to the demand."

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Iraq: RAF Drops Aid As Amerli Siege 'Broken'

Iraqi forces and Shia militiamen have reportedly broken the two-month Islamic State (IS) siege of the northern town of Amerli.

The development came as it emerged that RAF planes have helped to drop vital humanitarian aid to residents in the town.

Iraqi army spokesman Lieutenant General Qassim al Moussawi said forces have "reached" the Shia Turkmen town, but gave no further details.

Turkmen lawmaker Fawzi Akram al Tarzi said the forces, which also included Kurdish peshmerga fighters, entered the town from two directions.

They were now distributing aid to residents, he said.

Mayor of Amerli, Adel al Bayati said: "Security forces and militia fighters are inside Amerli now after breaking the siege and that will definitely relieve the suffering of residents."

Resident Amir Ismael told the Reuters news agency: "I can see the tanks of the Iraqi army patrolling Amerli's street now.

Women and children are evacuated in a military helicopter by Iraqi forces

"I'm very happy we got rid of the Islamic State terrorists who were threatening to slaughter us."

Around 15,000 Shia Turkmens have been stranded in the farming community, where residents faced major shortages of food and water.

They were also in danger because of their Shia faith, which jihadists consider heresy, and their resistance to the militants, which has drawn harsh retribution elsewhere.

The UN envoy to Iraq warned the people there faced a "possible massacre" by IS fighters after they encircled the town.

Fighting is continuing to the north of Amerli, which is 105 miles (170km) north of Baghdad.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told Sky News two Hercules aircraft participated in a "big" aid drop on Saturday.

Troops reportedly entered the town from two directions

"The RAF dropped 14 tonnes of food and water there for a Shia population there that's been completely besieged," Mr Fallon told the Murnaghan programme.

Aircraft from the US, France and Australia also took part and the US conducted three airstrikes against the militants near the town.

Mr Fallon added the UK has not been asked to participate in military action.

Speaking on the Murnaghan programme, Mr Fallon said the UK will "look at any further action the Iraqi government thinks will help".

But he ruled out deploying combat troops.

"We have been involved in ferrying supplies of arms as well as non-lethal equipment from eastern European countries - the Peshmerga, the Kurdish forces, tend to use eastern European equipment and ammunition," he said.

"We have been involved in transporting supplies and we will continue to look favourably on any requests to do that."

He said the UK was "helping in any way we can at the moment".

"We are helping with humanitarian aid, we are helping with surveillance, we are helping with counter-terrorism, we are supporting the (Prime Minister designate Haider al) Abadi government, we are helping internationally."

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: "The UK's humanitarian response has been swift and effective.

"When people depend on our support and protection to survive, we will continue to take action."

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Ashya's Parents Wanted Proton Beam Treatment

The parents of Ashya King have said they removed him from a Southampton hospital because they were unable to get a specialist treatment on the NHS.

In a YouTube video, Brett King said they were hoping to get to the Czech Republic to seek proton beam radiotherapy for their five-year-old son.

The treatment is currently only available to treat eye conditions on the NHS in the UK, but is already being used by European countries and in the US for a range of cancers in adults and children.

It differs from X-ray methods by focusing proton beams more precisely at cancer cells, with doses aimed directly at the tumour, and spares the healthy tissue and organs behind it.

Ashya's parents were arrested on Saturday near Marbella, Spain

Speaking in the video, Mr King said: "It zones in on the area, whereby normal radiation passes through his head and comes out the other side and destroys everything in his head.

"We pleaded with them (in Southampton) for proton beam treatment. They looked at me straight in the face and said with his cancer - which is called medulloblastoma - it would have no benefit whatsoever."

Ros Barnes, whose son Alex went to the US after he was unable to get beam therapy in the UK for his brain tumour, said she would do the same thing as Ashya's family.

She told Sky News: "We were told the same thing, that Alex's tumour wasn't suitable for proton therapy by the NHS here in this country.

His family want him to receive proton beam treatment in the Czech Republic

"The alternative here was radiotherapy, and he was only four years old at the time it would have caused extreme brain damage and probably wouldn't have worked either. So yes, I would have done the same as this family.

"They wanted us to have the operation here and for him to have radiotherapy, but he would have been blind, brain damaged and in a wheelchair, if he survived, and his prognosis was terrible."

David Langton-Gilks died in 2012 aged 16 from the same medulloblastoma after receiving treatment at the same Southampton General Hospital.

His mother Sacha said more research was desperately needed into the disease.

Ashya is now in a children's hospital

She said: "I did not want to hear what they had to say, often, and I wanted to run away. You could hear the planes going over the hospital from the airport behind you could see the ferries leaving from the children's cancer ward.

"And it's like - 'get us out of here, this just can't be right for children, surely there's a better way?'

"Unfortunately, the only better way is research... we've got to get better treatments for these children because what's available now is limited, it has horrendous side effects and I'm so sorry for the Kings."

Professor Justin Stebbing, consultant oncologist at Imperial College in London, told Sky News trials on proton beam treatment had yet to be completed.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Decisions on treatment for individual patients are made by doctors who are best placed to know what their patient needs.

"We are investing £250m in new proton beam therapy facilities, in Manchester and in London, and more people are being funded to go overseas until facilities are available in the UK."

A spokesperson for NHS England added the NHS supported 99 children to travel abroad last year for proton beam therapy. The treatment costs an average £100,000 per patient, it added.

The only current proton beam facility is in Clatterbridge Centre for Cancer NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool.

Ashya's parents are facing extradition to the UK after they were arrested in Malaga at 9pm UK time on Saturday.

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Ashya's Parents Face Extradition To The UK

The parents of Ashya King, who was taken out of hospital against medical advice, face being extradited to the UK after being arrested in Spain.

Police say officers in the Malaga area pulled over the family's car at 9pm UK time on Saturday and found the five-year-old and his parents inside after a tip-off from a staff member at the hotel in which they were staying.

The boy from Portsmouth, who underwent "extensive surgery" during an operation on his brain tumour seven days ago at Southampton General Hospital, was taken to a hospital in the local area.

Sky sources in Spain said he was in a stable condition, adding there was no prospect of him being transferred to another hospital.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Shead, of Hampshire Constabulary, said his parents, Brett King, 51, and Naghemeh King, 45, were in custody after being arrested on a European arrest warrant.

An international search was launched after Ashya was taken on Thursday

In response to criticism about the force's actions, he said: "Faced with the situation that we were, we had medical experts telling us Ashya was in grave danger... if he didn't get the care that he needed there was a potential threat to his life.

"So I make no apologies for being as proactive in this investigation as we have been.

"There are no winners in this situation. I've said all along that this must be a terribly distressing time for Ashya's family."

He said it was too soon to say when Ashya would come back to the UK, but said Southampton General Hospital was liaising with doctors taking care of him in Spain.

Mr Shead said a team of Hampshire police officers would be arriving in Spain later to continue the investigation, with proceedings to extradite Mr and Mrs King to the UK expected to start on Monday.

French media had picked up the story after Ashya was taken from hospital

The arrests came as footage emerged on video-sharing website YouTube in which Ashya's father, a Jehovah's Witness, insisted they had taken him from hospital to seek a cancer treatment not available on the NHS.

"We were much disturbed today to find that his face is all over the internet and newspapers and we've been labelled as kidnappers, putting his life at risk, neglect," he said.

"As you can see, there's nothing wrong with him. He's very happy actually, since we took him out of hospital."

He said he had spoken to specialists after Ashya's surgery and had requested proton beam treatment, which was not available on the NHS.

Ashya is now being cared for in a Spanish hospital

"We pleaded with them for proton beam treatment. They looked at me straight in the face and said with his cancer - which is called medulloblastoma - it would have no benefit whatsoever," he said.

"I went straight back to my room and looked it up and the American sites and French sites and Switzerland sites where they have proton beam said the opposite, it would be very beneficial for him."

A spokesman for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said it had offered the family access to a second opinion, as well as assistance with organising treatment abroad.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: "Where doctors recommend it, the NHS does fund Proton Beam Therapy including supporting 99 children last year to travel abroad for treatment."

In a Facebook message, Naveed King said a fundraising campaign for his brother Ashya had been launched and asked those wishing to contribute to send their donations to a PayPal account at naveedgamer@gmail.com.

Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions on religious grounds but are open to other medical procedures.

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