Large Shark Kills Swimmer Off New Zealand

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A man has been killed in a rare great white shark attack off the coast of New Zealand.

Police and lifesavers recovered the man's body on Wednesday afternoon at Muriwai, a popular surfing beach near the city of Auckland, on New Zealand's North Island.

Witness Stef McCallum, 18, said about 200 people were on the beach at the time. 

She saw a police officer go out in a surf lifesaving boat and fire "about 20" shots into the water at the shark.

"Everybody was evacuated from the water. Word of mouth, 'shark', and everybody left the water," she said.

Another witness Pio Mose claimed he saw three sharks.

He told The New Zealand Herald he saw the swimmer struggle against one "huge" shark. He told the man to swim to the rocks, but it was too late.

"All of a sudden there was blood everywhere," Mr Mose said. "... I was shaking, scared, panicked."

Police in a helicopter directed inflatable boats to the scene

Another witness told television station 3 News NZ that he spotted the lone swimmer while he was fishing at the beach.

The distressed man signalled for help when he was attacked, before he was pulled underwater. At this point, the witness said, three or four other sharks appeared in the area.

Police Inspector Shawn Rutene said in a statement that the swimmer, was about 200 meters (650 feet) offshore when the shark attacked.

He said police went out in inflatable surf-lifesaving boats and shot at the shark, which they estimate was 12 to 14 feet long.

As many as 200 people were on the beach at the time of the attack

"It rolled over and disappeared," Insp Rutene said, without saying whether police are certain that they killed the creature.

The authorities in the area have closed the beach.

A St John ambulance spokeswoman told the AFP news agency the victim was 47 years old. Inspector Matt Sillars said his body has been recovered.

"We're not sure at this stage whether or not the deceased died prior to the shark arriving on the scene, or whether the shark was a contributing factor towards the death," he said.

It is understood the man was a local and his family gathered at the scene.

The beach is popular with surfers and several of those on the beach at the time gathered in the local club's hut afterwards to find out more information about what had happened.

Earlier this week, surfer Bourne Nobel Buiski had posted on Facebook that there had been a "massive" shark spotted near surfers on Monday at Piha, 14 kilometres south of Muriwai.

He said that a local man ran out of the water "white faced and terrified".

"He was saying that a great white, a massive great white had just swum right beside him," Mr Buiski said. No one believed him, he said. "As they are so rare here. There were about 60 people there, and no one came in."

Fatal shark attacks are relatively rare in New Zealand with just over a dozen deaths since record-keeping began in the 1830s.

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Coronation Street's Michael Le Vell In Court

By Mike McCarthy, North Of England Correspondent

The Coronation Street actor Michael Le Vell has appeared in court for the first time to face six charges of raping a child.

Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster in the ITV soap opera, is accused of 19 child sex offences.

The actor sat glum-faced in the dock as charges of raping a child were put to him.

During the eight-minute hearing, Le Vell - whose real name is Michael Turner - spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth.

Le Vell looked shaken as he arrived for the hearing

Four members of his family sat towards the back of the court.

The alleged offences relate to one complainant and all took place between 2001 and 2010, the court heard.

District Judge Khalid Qureshi asked Le Vell's solicitor, Richard Gowthorpe, if there was any indication of plea, to which he replied: "No indication of plea today other than the fact that the charges are contested, and will be fully contested in the Crown Court."

Le Vell was bailed on the condition he surrenders his passport, does not contact named witnesses or have unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 14.

Asked if he understood the conditions, Le Vell nodded.

Le Vell is one of television's most famous faces

As he left the court, he said to waiting photographers:  "You must have enough pictures of me by now."

When the charges were announced earlier this year, the 48-year-old father-of-two said he intends to fight them "vigorously".

"I would like to make it quite clear that following the serious allegations that have been brought against me on Thursday 14th February 2013, I am innocent of these charges and intend to fight them vigorously," he said.

"I will now put all my efforts into clearing my name and proving my innocence."

ITV dropped the actor from any further episodes of the show after the charges became public.

Minders clear the path for Le Vell outside the Manchester court

An ITV spokesman said: "Given the serious nature of these charges, Michael Le Vell will not be appearing in Coronation Street pending the outcome of legal proceedings. It would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time."

Le Vell, who split from his wife Janette Beverley last year, is one of television's most famous faces after playing car mechanic Kevin Webster for the past 30 years in the TV show.

Originally from Manchester, he began his acting career in the Oldham Theatre Workshop after taking an interest in amateur dramatics while at school.

He first joined the soap in 1983 and quickly endeared himself to fans who have followed the trials and tribulations of Kevin, from Brian Tilsley's apprentice mechanic through to his stormy marriage to Sally, played by Sally Dynevor, and fathering two teenage girls as well as a love child from his affair with Molly Dobbs.

Le Vell is due to appear at Manchester Crown Court on March 20.

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Pope Speaks Of 'Difficult Times' In Farewell

The Pope has given an emotional last general audience before stepping down as Pontiff, during which he spoke of "difficult moments".

Benedict XVI told the 150,000-strong crowd in St Peter's Square in Rome that he had been aware of the "gravity" of his decision to step down but it was for the good of the Church.

The Pope stunned the Catholic Church when he announced on February 11 he no longer had the mental or physical strength to carry on in the role.

He will officially stand aside on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years.

As he arrived in the square, Benedict greeted pilgrims in St Peter's Square and waved to tens of thousands of people who gathered to bid him farewell.

He was driven around in an open-sided vehicle, surrounded by bodyguards. At one point he stopped to kiss a baby handed up to him by his secretary.

The crowd fell silent as he started to speak.

The Pope began by saying he will keep the faithful in his prayers and he has "great trust" in the future of the church.

Many in the audience chanted "Benedetto"

"To love the church means also to have the courage to take difficult, painful decisions, always keeping the good of the church in mind, not oneself," Benedict said to thundering applause.

He recalled that when he was elected pope on April 19, 2005, he questioned if God truly wanted it. "It's a great burden that you've placed on my shoulders,'" he recalled telling God.

He said his Papacy had faced joy, but also had undergone "difficult moments". He said that during his time as leader of the 1.2 billion Catholics around the world, he had negotiated "turbulent seas".

Drawing on a Biblical analogy, he said: "The Lord gave us days of sun and of light breeze, days in which the fishing was good. There were also moments when there were stormy waters and headwinds.

"But I always knew that God was in that boat and I always knew that the boat of the Church is not mine, is not ours, but is his and he will not let it sink," he added.

Pope Benedict XVI said he was aware of the "gravity and novelty" of his decision to resign and would "accompany" the Church in prayer even after his resignation the following day.

"I took this step in full awareness of its gravity and novelty but with profound serenity of spirit," he said.

Pope Benedict told the crowd he was not "coming down from the Cross", but would remain in the service of the Church through prayer.

He asked the faithful to pray for the cardinals as they faced a weighty task choosing his successor and for whoever they chose.

After he had finished speaking, the crowd gave a rousing round of applause that lasted nearly a minute.

He went on to say a few extra words in other languages, one of which was English.

Tens of thousands of people, some toting banners saying "Thank you!" had earlier began filling St Peter's Square in preparation for his appearance.

Cardinals await the final public appearance of the Pope

Spontaneous chants of "Benedetto" erupted every so often and the mood - even hours before Benedict was to arrive - was one of excitement.

Many of the cardinals who will choose the next Pope were among those listening.

Once he completes his resignation, the Pope will leave the Vatican and fly by helicopter to the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, until renovations have been completed on a monastery inside the Vatican walls.

The Pope will live out the rest of his days in the new monastery in prayer and meditation.

At precisely 8pm (Rome time) the villa gates at Castel Gandolfo will close and the Swiss Guard will withdraw - a symbol that Pope Benedict XVI's papacy is over.

Benedict will then be known as Emeritus Pope and wear a simple white cassock and brown shoes rather than his trademark red loafers.

Following his general audience, the Pope was due to meet a select group of heads of state and make final preparations for his departure.

On Thursday morning, he will bid farewell to his cardinals who will begin a series of meetings to determine his successor.

A total of 115 "cardinal electors" are scheduled to take part after one said he was too sick and British cardinal Keith O'Brien said he would not be taking part after allegations of inappropriate behaviour regarding four priests emerged at the weekend.

The date for the conclave - when eligible cardinals vote in secret in the Sistine Chapel - has yet to be announced, but must take place within 15 to 20 days of the Pope's last day.

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Egypt Balloon Crash: Luxor Grounds Flights

An investigation is under way in Egypt after 19 people - including two Britons and a UK resident - died in a hot air balloon crash.

Amateur footage shows smoke billowing from the balloon before it falls 1,000 feet to the ground during a sunrise flight near the ancient city of Luxor.

Luxor Governor Ezzat Saad imposed an immediate ban on all hot air balloon flights in the province as Prime Minister Hisham Qandil ordered the investigation.

Four investigating teams have been established to probe the causes of the crash.

According to one of the investigation teams, the balloon company, Sky Cruise, had passed a routine inspection by the Civil Aviation Ministry earlier this month.

An initial probe has ruled out any criminal activity as a cause of the accident, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

Michael Rennie survived but his wife, Yvonne, died

British nationals Yvonne Rennie and Joe Bampton, and Mr Bampton's partner, Hungarian-born UK resident Suzanna Gyetvai, were named as being among those killed.

Mrs Rennie's husband Michael, 49, is in hospital after he survived by leaping from the balloon before it exploded.

Witnesses said they heard a loud blast before seeing plumes of smoke as the balloon caught fire. People were seen jumping out from "about the height of a seven-storey building".

Speaking from Cairo, Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay described the flight's final moments.

He said as the balloon approached its landing point, it came within three metres (10 feet) of the ground.

At that point a fire broke out on-board, engulfing the balloon's pilot in flames. The pilot leapt from the basket.

"At this stage it's likely that Mr Rennie also was out of the basket, because his injuries are obviously not that bad, so he can't have fallen that far," Ramsay said.

"As the fire got going, the balloon started to heat up and to inflate, and (it) started to rise fairly rapidly. It eventually got to about a thousand feet. As it was rising, people were jumping off. It was moving very quickly. Those people died on impact.

"If you didn't get off in those early seconds, there was no chance that you would survive this because of the explosions that happened."

Victims Joe Bampton and his girlfriend Suzanna Gyetvai

A spokeswoman at Luxor international hospital said Mr Rennie was in a stable condition.

Mr Bampton, 40, and Ms Gyetvai, 34, were from Clapham, south London.

Mr and Mrs Rennie, from Perth, Scotland, were described as "very nice people" who only spent the weekends together due to work commitments.

Neighbour Linda Kettles said: "They were very, very nice people who kept themselves to themselves.

"They've gone on holiday to enjoy themselves. They only get the weekends together and any break together is good for them.

"They were really looking forward to getting away. I'm totally devastated by the news. I really feel for their families."

The other tourists on board, including holidaymakers from France, Hong Kong and Japan, were all thought to have died in the explosion.

The only other survivor of the crash was the pilot, an Egyptian man, who is in hospital with burns to 60% of his body.

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Tom Maynard: Dead Cricketer Was On Drugs

By Jason Farrell, Sky News Correspondent

A promising young cricketer had cocaine and ecstasy in his system and was nearly four-times over the drink drive limit on the night he died, an inquest has heard.

Tom Maynard stepped on a live rail and was electrocuted before he was struck by a London Underground train in June last year.

An hour earlier, the 23-year-old was stopped by police near Wimbledon Park station.

Forensic pathologist Simon Poole tested a hair sample from Mr Maynard to find it contained ecstasy and cocaine.

Toxicologist Fiona Perry confirmed the presence of drugs and high levels of alcohol, which she said would cause "significant impairment in coordination and judgement".

Tributes to Mr Maynard were left outside the Oval

Earlier, Tom's father Matthew Maynard, a former England international, described his son as a "consummate professional" who "did not suffer from depression".

Tom Maynard's girlfriend, Carly Baker, a model, was also in court. The inquest heard he was heading to see her after drinking with friends in Wandsworth.

In a statement issued through the Professional Cricketers' Association, the Maynard family said: "The results of the inquest do not define our son. The fact that so very many people thought the world of him is what defines him as a person.

"The only people who would judge Tom on the findings of the inquest are people who didn't know him.

"He made choices that night that tragically cost him his life but his devastated family and friends will love and miss him unconditionally, always.

"He was a very special person and his death leaves a huge hole in all our lives."

Tom Maynard's black Mercedes C250 is taken away

The inquest heard that police officers stopped a vehicle after it was seen being "driven erratically" in Wimbledon at around 4.15am on June 18.

Mr Maynard got out of his black Mercedes C250 and made off on foot. The officers searched the area but were unable to find him.

At 5.10am, he was found half a mile away on a London Underground line.

The court heard he was hit by a train but appeared to already be unconscious on the track. Dr Poole said his injuries included "burns consistent with contact to a live train rail".

The driver of the train told the inquest that Mr Maynard lay "perfectly still", adding that "at no time did he move or flinch" as he attempted to brake.

Born in Cardiff, Mr Maynard came through the ranks at Glamorgan Cricket Club before moving to Surrey and was considered a rising star in the game.

He had played a Twenty20 game for Surrey against Kent just 14 hours before he died, scoring seven runs.

The previous month he had made his highest first-class score of 143 against Worcestershire and may well have got his first England call-up later in the year.

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Three Britons Dead In Egypt Balloon Explosion

A third British tourist has died of injuries sustained when a hot air balloon exploded near the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor.

Tour operator Thomas Cook earlier confirmed that two Britons were among the dead, adding that two other British nationals had been taken to hospital suffering critical injuries.

One of the injured Britons has since died in hospital, taking the total death toll from the accident to 19 people.

"What happened in Luxor this morning is a terrible tragedy and the thoughts of everyone in Thomas Cook are with our guests, their family and friends," said Thomas Cook UK & Continental Europe CEO Peter Fankhauser.

"We have a very experienced team in (the) resort ... and we're providing our full support to the family and friends of the deceased at this difficult time."

The site at Luxor 40 minutes before the crash (Pic: @chrismichel)

Officials said the balloon, which was carrying 21 people and flying at 1,000ft, caught fire and exploded during a trip at sunrise.

It plunged into sugar cane fields as it travelled over Qurna, in Luxor's West Bank.

France's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that two French nationals also died in the crash.

Japanese citizens, as well as nine tourists from Hong Kong, are believed to be among other casualties.

One Briton and the balloon's pilot are now believed to be the only people to survive the crash.

Luxor Governor Ezzat Saad has imposed an immediate ban on all hot air balloon flights in the province as Prime Minister Hesham Qandeel ordered an investigation into the accident.

Witness Christopher Michel was travelling in one of several balloons in the air above Luxor early on Tuesday morning.

He told Sky News: "I was in one of about eight balloons that were flying that morning. We were approaching landing ... coming down in a remote field just outside of Luxor.

"We heard a loud explosion behind us, and I looked back and saw lots of smoke. It wasn't immediately clear that it was a balloon. We were surrounded by the balloons that had been flying with us.

"Then we could see the reaction of the pilot on the balloon and he said that this hasn't happened in a long time."

Ballooning in Luxor is very popular with tourists visiting its temples

Hot air ballooning is popular with tourists who go to Luxor to visit its ancient temples and the tombs of the Valley of the Kings.

But the activity is not without its dangers. In April 2009, 16 people were hurt - including two British women - when a balloon crashed during a tour of Luxor.

The balloon was believed to have hit a mobile phone transmission tower near the banks of the Nile.

Following the 2009 crash, early morning hot air balloon flights over the Valley of the Kings were suspended for six months while safety measures were tightened up.

During the break, all 42 pilots from the eight companies who operate flights had extra training.

A notice on the Foreign Office website warns tourists: "There were three serious hot air balloon accidents in Luxor in 2009. You should consider the operator's safety arrangements carefully."

Egypt's tourism industry has suffered a sharp downturn in visitor numbers since the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, with two years of political instability scaring off foreign tourists.

Thomas Cook UK has opened a hotline for families who have relatives in Egypt: 0800 107 5638.

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Police Allowed 'Rapist' To Go Free And Kill

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

A maverick Scotland Yard rape squad allowed a rape suspect to go unquestioned and free to later kill his two children, it has emerged.

A woman who alleged Jean Say, 62, had raped her was persuaded to retract her complaint by untrained officers under pressure to hit crime targets, said the Independent Police Complaints Commission watchdog.

Say later slashed the throats of his two children, aged 10 and eight, when they went to stay with him for a weekend two years ago.

He was jailed at the Old Bailey for a minimum of 30 years.

The IPCC report has condemned the squad, a specialist Sapphire unit investigating rape and serious sexual crimes in Southwark, South London.

The rape allegation against Say was dismissed by a detective sergeant in the Sapphire unit who said the circumstances did not constitute rape because the woman "consented".

The IPCC said: "The findings of our investigation into the rape ... were also deeply disturbing. The victim was failed by the people from whom she sought help."

It added: "There is no doubt from the evidence that the woman made an allegation of rape at Walworth police station which should have been believed and thoroughly investigated."

Deputy chairwoman of the IPCC Deborah Glass said: "There's no doubt this was an incredibly serious, shocking incident. We know with all the cases that we've dealt with that the consequences of not dealing with allegations of rape can be extremely serious. This is yet another tragic illustration of that."

It has also emerged that three senior officers recommended by the IPCC for gross misconduct disciplinary hearings around failures in another case escaped serious sanctions. Two were promoted.

The IPCC has investigated the Met's sexual crime squads nine times in recent years, five probes involved the Southwark squad. Nineteen officers have been disciplined, three dismissed and one was jailed.

Ms Glass added: "Given the number of cases where the (Metropolitan Police Service's) response to victims has failed, either through individual officers' criminality or neglect or more systematic problems of training, priorities and resources, the response that 'lessons have been learned' begins to ring hollow."

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Blackpool Primary School Teachers Suspended

A head and five teachers have been suspended as an investigation is launched into "pupil wellbeing" at their Blackpool school.

The suspensions at Revoe Community Primary School came after a member of council staff raised concerns following a routine visit.

Blackpool Council confirmed the allegations are not of a sexual nature.

Parents of children at the school were told the "professional judgement" of the six employees had been questioned when "isolating them during challenging behaviour".

Cllr Sarah Riding, cabinet member for education and schools, said temporary staff had been hired and parents were being kept up to date.

She said: "Before half term we were made aware of an issue at Revoe Primary School that raised concerns to us about the professional judgement made by a number of staff in relation to pupil wellbeing.

"These concerns have led to the suspension of six members of staff while a full investigation is carried out.  It would not be appropriate to comment further on the nature of the investigation until it has been concluded.

"Although we have no reason to suspect any child has come to harm this is a serious situation that needed immediate action to be taken.

"In the meantime temporary staff have been recruited and there will be no disruption to children's learning. All parents will receive a letter explaining the current arrangements in place."

The school, on Grasmere Road, teaches children aged between two and 11 years old. It has more than 400 pupils and employs about 70 people, including teachers and support staff.

More follows...

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Dog Tortured And Burned To Death In Sheffield

Police are appealing for help from the public after a dog was tortured and killed in Sheffield.

The body of the badly beaten Staffordshire bull terrier was found on a path off Manor Laith Road in the Skye Edge area of the city.

Officers believe after being severely beaten, the light-coloured male dog was tied to a tree and set on fire sometime between February 18 and 24.  

Police said they believe the dog "suffered terribly" before it died.   

The body of the dog was found on a path off Manor Laith Road in Skye Edge

Now officers are trying to trace the dog's owners as well as the perpetrators.

"Police would like to speak to anyone that may have seen this dog in the area at this time, or who may have lost a dog that fits this description," a spokesman said.

:: Anyone with any information should contact South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 488 of 24 February 2013. Alternatively, people can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.  

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Vet's Killer Jailed For At Least 37 Years

By Mike McCarthy, North Of England Correspondent

A man who murdered a vet in North Wales before cutting up and disposing of her body had a long-standing fantasy to imprison, rape and kill a woman, a court has heard.

Production manager Clive Sharp, 47, was jailed for a minimum of 37 years at Mold Crown Court after admitting murder.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Griffith Williams told Sharp: "This is a horrific, cold hearted murder, carried out to gratify your perverted sexual desires."

The court had been told that Sharp had bought a Halloween mask, bleach, a hacksaw, bin bags and heavy duty tape before going to the home of Catherine Gowing, 37, in Flintshire.

Emma Gowing talks to the media after sentencing

Sharp initially denied murdering Miss Gowing but his DNA was found on her mattress and parts of her body subsequently found in police searches.

The court heard that the evidence suggested that the victim had been tied up and raped before being murdered.

A length of fabric was found tied to the leg of her bed. It matched material found at the factory where Sharp worked.

Miss Gowing's sister Emma said outside court: "In life she measured herself against the following quote by Albert Pine - 'What we do for ourselves dies with us, what we do for others and the world remains and is immortal'.

"She was a beautiful light, she shone very brightly, she enriched the lives of all she encountered, all God's creatures.

"Her light is gone from our mortal world. She now shines elsewhere."

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Pierce told reporters: "He (Sharp) now faces life imprisonment and I doubt a tear will be shed if he is never released from prison."

The judge Mr. Justice Griffith Williams described the crime as "carefully pre-meditated and planned."

He told Sharp: "You are in my view a very serious danger to women."

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