New Zealand Shark Attack: Wife Told By Text

The wife of a man killed by a great white shark at a New Zealand beach was told about the deadly attack by text message as she sat having coffee nearby, it has emerged.

Meg Strange was chatting with a friend at a cafe near Muriwai Beach in west Auckland when the pair heard there had been an attack, The New Zealand Herald has reported.

Mrs Strange tried to contact her husband Adam, who she believed was on the beach, after finishing an ocean swim.

When she got no answer, her friend sent a text message to Muriwai Lifeguard Service chairman Tim Jago.

"I got the text, 'I hear there's been a shark attack'," Mr Jago told the Herald.

"I said, 'Yes, I'm on the beach now.' And she said, 'I'm having a cup of coffee with Meg. She can't contact Adam.'

Adam Strange, a father-of-one, was a TV commercial director

"And I had to send a text back saying, 'It was Adam.' That's how quickly it happened."

Mrs Strange returned to Muriwai Beach on Thursday for a memorial for her husband, a father-of-one.

The prolonged attack by the 12-foot shark has shocked witnesses.

"He wasn't letting go. Normally two boats out there, guns being fired and being whacked over the snout with a paddle a couple of times would be enough,"  Mr Jago told The Herald.

Nigel Bradbury was at the beach with his daughter when he filmed the event on his phone.

''I was going to have a swim but we decided to have a picnic instead, and then we saw the inflatable (rescue boat) racing along the beach along with the quad bike towards Maori Bay,'' he told The New Zealand Herald.

Mr Bradbury said a police car parked next to him and within three minutes the police officer was in the rescue boat shooting at the shark to release Mr Strange's body.

''You could see it clearly, even though it was a fair way offshore. The water spraying up when he fired the gun - rapid fire and then you could hear the sound,'' he said.

Earlier, Mr Jago said Mr Strange was "a good water man" and was well known to the lifeguards who tried to save him.

Lifeguards had been traumatised, and were being offered support and counselling, he said.

Mr Strange was a TV commercial director and had worked around the world on several projects.

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Berlin's New Airport Can't Switch Lights Off

Berlin's troubled new airport has been plagued with delays and now has a fresh technical hang-up - no-one can turn the lights off.

While the German capital has experienced one of the bleakest winters on record, there is no lack of light in Schonefeld where the new airport is being built.

The terminal lights burn around the clock because the workers on site have no means to switch them off, officials have confessed.

"It has to do with the fact that we haven't progressed far enough with our lighting system that we can control it," Horst Amann, the airport's technical director, told Spiegel Online.

Planned to replace Tegel and Schonefeld airports in 2011, Berlin Brandenburg Airport - also to be known as Willy Brandt Airport - has been under construction since September 2005.

But a catalogue of technical glitches, design errors and concerns about safety equipment has delayed its opening to the point where officials dare not give a date for its completion for fear of another deadline being broken.

"I will only name a date when I can take responsibility for it," added Mr Amann.

The cost of the project has also risen from around 2bn euros (£1.7bn) to 4.3bn euros (£3.7bn) - almost double the initial estimate.

The latest glitch has attracted widespread scorn in the German media.

When it eventually opens, the airport is expected to handle up to 27 million passengers a year.

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China Parades Convicts On TV Before Execution

Four gang members from south-east Asian countries have been executed in China for the murder of 13 sailors on the Mekong river, after being paraded first on live state television.

Naw Kham, a Myanmar drug gang leader, and three of his accomplices faced lethal injection with a mixture of defiance and fear in the broadcast on CCTV which showed them being taken from prison to the execution site.

The four, along with two other accused, admitted at their trial last year pre-meditated murder, drug trafficking, kidnapping and hijacking in connection with a raid on two Chinese riverboats in October 2011, state news agency Xinhua said.

Naw Kham was described as "the boss of the largest armed drug trafficking gang" on the river which flows through China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. He was nicknamed "the Godfather".

The incident sparked outrage in China, where photographs of the gagged and blindfolded victims circulated online, and the progress of the case has been given prominent coverage by state media.

Naw Kham was said to be the boss of a huge armed drug trafficking gang

In the broadcast, Naw Kham, 43, smiled slightly before grimacing as a restraining rope was tied around him in the prison in Kunming, in the southern province of Yunnan.

He then emerged into bright sunlight and a bank of television cameras, before being put into a van and driven away.

His fellow inmates, named by state media as Hsang Kham, 61, from Thailand, Yi Lai, 55, stateless, and Zha Xika, 28, from Laos, followed. The two older men looked grim-faced, while the younger convict's features crumpled.

CCTV cut to interviews with police officials outside the prison before returning to a studio discussion on the case. "He's eaten well, he's slept well, he's looking better than when he was arrested," said one of the panel.

Before the conclusion of the programme, which ran for almost two hours, a statement on the Yunnan provincial security bureau's website said all four had been executed.

Interviewed by CCTV earlier this week, Naw Kham said: "I miss my mother. Good people will turn bad in the Golden Triangle, you can't resist the temptation.

"I hope my children will not follow my example. I wish them a good future and hope they will study hard."

Shown a picture of the families of the dead, he said: "I have sent money to the relatives of the victims. Their pains are just like mine, I have children, I want to be with them when I get old.

"I want to live, I don't want to die."

Recent reports in Chinese state media said that officials considered killing him with a drone strike in Burma during the hunt but instead decided to capture him alive. In the event he was arrested in Laos and flown to China.

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Retired Pope Spends First Night In Front Of TV

By Nick Pisa, Sky Correspondent

Former Pope Benedict XVI spent his first night in retirement watching TV after dinner and having a stroll around his summer residence, the Vatican has revealed.

Archbishop Georg Ganswein, his private secretary, disclosed the details of the 85-year-old ex-leader of the Roman Catholic Church's new life in a telephone call with Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.

Monsignor Ganswein added that the Pope Emeritus, as he is now known, had also "slept well" after watching TV news bulletins of his final day in office.

The day had ended with a poignant helicopter ride from Rome to his residence 20 miles south of the Italian capital at Castelgandolfo, where he will remain for several weeks before moving into a specially prepared apartment at a convent within the Vatican.

Father Lombardi said: "In our conversation I was told he (Benedict XVI) was doing very well. He was relaxed, serene and peaceful.

"He was very appreciative of the reports which covered his last few intense moments. He had dinner and then went for a walk inside the palace at Castelgandolfo - in the Hall of the Swiss and then afterwards he prayed and went to bed.

"When he woke he celebrated Mass at 7am and had breakfast as well as reading all the messages he had received. He will then spend the afternoon in the gardens of Castelgandolfo in prayer."

Father Lombardi also revealed how the Pope Emeritus had brought with him several books to read on theology as well as music to listen to - and he also hopes to return to one of his favourite pastimes playing the piano in the evening.

Among the books that Benedict had taken with him was one called The Esthetic Theology of von Balthasar.  Hans Urs von Balthasar was a Swiss theologian who died in 1988 and whose funeral was attended by the former pope when he was still plain Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and he has described him as "perhaps the most cultured man of our time".

His new home at Castelgandolfo is a villa overlooking the crater lake Albano and he will be sleeping in a single bed no more than 75cm wide without a canopy - unlike the one he was used to in his eight years at the Apostolic Palace in his Vatican apartments.

There were reports in the Italian media that his new home meant that he would be at last able to smoke in peace - there have long been rumours that Benedict enjoyed a crafty cigarette but officials have always refused to confirm this, though Father Lombardi did dismiss a suggestion he was wearing "medical equipment", saying: "He is an elderly person but in good health. Recently we have seen him older, tired and every now and then with a stick but that's only to lean on."

Vatican officials also released rarely seen footage of the moment that Camerlengo or Vatican chamberlain Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sealed up the former Pope's personal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, now that there is no Pope and it is a "sede vacante" (empty seat).

The ceremony takes place every time a Pope dies and is a throwback to centuries goneby where the Roman hordes would rampage through the palace on the death of a pontiff looting and pillaging, The rooms will now remain closed until a new pope is elected at next month's conclave.

In the video Cardinal Bertone is seen carrying a staff known as a ferula to show his authority and he could be seen applying white tape to the doors of the lift which Benedict used to take him from the second floor of the apartments to the third floor where he would appear at a window to give his traditional Sunday Angelus or sermon.

Red ribbon was also placed on the doors leading to the apartments and these were closed with a wax seal in a ceremony that took place at 8pm just as Benedict formally retired and which also started with prayers.

A similar sealing up ceremony also took place at the apostolic apartments in San Giovanni in Laterano which is the Pope's official church in Rome as his other title is also Bishop of Rome.

Meanwhile, letters have been sent out to the 206 cardinals who make up the College of Cardinals inviting them to formal talks which will begin in Rome on Monday - the main thing they will decide upon is the start date of the next Conclave at which the new pope will be elected.

However only those cardinals aged under 80 are eligible to vote and with recent resignations and illness it is thought the final number entering into the Sistine Chapel for the secret meeting will be 115 and the eyes of the world will be on the chimney watching for the white smoke which signifies the election of a new pope.

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Horsemeat: Four New Products Test Positive

Tests on four beef products sold by Birds Eye, Taco Bell and catering supplier Brakes have been found to contain horsemeat.

Checks revealed contamination of Birds Eye Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese and Beef Lasagne, Taco Bell's ground beef and Brakes' spicy minced beef skewer, the Food Standards Agency said.

Ten tests on the four products returned results of more than 1% horsemeat, the FSA said, and all four have been withdrawn from sale.

US-owned Tex-Mex restaurant chain Taco Bell said that it was "disappointed" to have discovered the horsemeat in tests it carried out on beef supplied to its UK restaurants by a sole European supplier.

"We immediately withdrew ground beef from sale in our restaurants, discontinued purchase of that meat, and contacted the Food Standards Agency with this information," it said in a statement.

"We would like to apologise to all of our customers, and we can reassure you that we are working hard to ensure that every precaution is being undertaken to guarantee that we are only supplied with products that meet the high standards we demand."

Overall, the Food Standards Agency has received 5,430 test results

Birds Eye had already withdrawn the spaghetti bolognese, lasagne and a third ready meal, a shepherd's pie, from sale in Britain and the Republic of Ireland as a precaution after tests found 2% of horse DNA in a chilli con carne dish it sold in Belgium.

They are made by the same Belgian manufacturer, Frigilunch NV.

"No other Birds Eye products have tested positive for horse DNA, nor do they share the same supply chains as Frigilunch NV," the company said in a statement.

"Going forward we are introducing a new ongoing DNA testing programme that will ensure no minced beef meat product can leave our facilities without first having been cleared by DNA testing."

Brakes, which is based in Ashford, Kent, is the supplier for the House of Commons Catering Service and last month it withdrew its steak and kidney pie, beef and onion pie, steak and kidney suet pudding, and beef Italian meatballs as a precaution.

It also supplies pubs among 19,000 customers who buy around 48,000 cases of products containing beef every week.

It too said it was introducing new tests after the discovery, alongside 259 negative tests.

"Our tests also confirmed one positive equine DNA finding at between 1% and 10% on a Brakes spicy minced beef skewer and one positive test reported by a customer of our subsidiary division Creative Foods, on a lasagne manufactured exclusively for them," it said.

"Brakes have also segregated a frozen burger as a precaution after equine DNA at 1% was reported to the Food Standards Agency.

"Brakes and Creative Foods are very disappointed to have been let down by our respective suppliers and have sincerely apologised to our customers.

The latest findings come in the third round of checks on products

"As any responsible company, we have a duty of care to all our customers and the consumers they serve to guarantee the integrity of the products we purchase."

The discoveries were made in the third round of tests carried out since January.

A total of 19 products have now been confirmed to contain over 1% of horse DNA.

No tests to date on samples containing horse DNA have found the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or bute, to be present.

Across the industry, a first wave of tests found horse meat in products including Aldi's special frozen beef lasagne and special frozen spaghetti bolognese, Co-op frozen quarter-pounder burgers, Findus beef lasagne, Rangeland's catering burger products, and Tesco Value frozen burgers and Value spaghetti bolognese.

A second wave of tests revealed contamination of Asda's chilled beef bolognese sauce, beef burgers, minced beef and halal minced beef sold by Sodexo, which supplies food to schools, care homes and the armed forces, and a Whitbread Group lasagne and beef burger.

Earlier, the British Retail Consortium said test results for horsemeat in all minced beef lines used by the UK's largest supermarkets had revealed no new cases of contamination.

Some 95% of products sold by retailers have now been checked, it said, with the latest round of checks since February 22 including 361 tests on 103 products.

A total of 1,889 tests have been carried out by the trade organisation's members since January 20, with 0.3% of them finding contamination.

Meanwhile in Germany, authorities say they have found a carcinogenic substance in animal feed delivered to more than 3,500 farms - but stressed that any risk to humans was unlikely.

Aflatoxin B1 is a chemical produced by fungus that can grow on hay or grains and appear in the milk of animals that eat the mildewed feed.

The state agriculture ministry in Lower Saxony said the contamination originated from a shipment of corn from Serbia.

It said it did not believe there was any danger to consumers and there was no indication legal limits on aflatoxins in milk had been exceeded.

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Pound Falls As Triple Dip Fears Fuelled

Sterling has fallen to a two-and-a-half-year low against the dollar after manufacturing figures for February revealed a fall in output.

The closely watched Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index showed a slump in activity to 47.9 - well below the 50 level which separates growth from contraction.

It was the first time since last November the sector's activity shrunk, and followed 50.2 in January.

The value of the pound slipped following the data, and fell below $1.50 on Friday afternoon - its lowest since the middle of 2010. 

Sterling has only been beneath the $1.50 mark for four of the 200 years since the US Declaration of Independence.

The last time it was at this level was briefly during the 2010 election and coalition-building process, and before that the 2008/09 recession.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the manufacturing data increased the chance that Britain will slip back into recession. 

"The return to contraction of the manufacturing sector is a big surprise and represents a major set-back to hopes that the UK economy can return to growth in the first quarter and may avoid a triple-dip recession," he said.

"The data so far this year point to manufacturing output falling by as much as 0.5%, meaning a strong rebound is needed in March to prevent the sector from acting as a drag on the economy as a whole in the first quarter."

The struggling sector contributed to the UK's worse-than-expected 0.3% decline in output in the fourth quarter of last year, and a negative reading for the first quarter of 2013 would see the UK enter a triple-dip recession.

Nawaz Ali, a market analyst with Western Union, said the manufacturing data could increase pressure on the Bank of England (BoE) to launch a new round of asset purchasing - or quantitative easing - as early as next week.

"The data is a major setback for sterling and the size of the manufacturing decline indicates that there is still a chance the British economy may suffer an unprecedented triple-dip recession," he said.

"The data also adds to growing concerns that not only could the BoE re-start monetary printing in March, the central bank's new flexible inflation strategy puts it in a position to launch a prolonged period of asset purchases, similar to what the US have done and what the Bank of Japan is planning to do."

More quantitative easing is likely to hit sterling further because it increases its supply and drives the currency's exchange value lower.

So far this year, sterling - which was also hit by Moody's downgrade of the UK's credit rating - has lost 7.5% against the dollar.

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Philpott Trial Hears Secret Police Recordings

By David Crabtree, Midlands Correspondent

A man accused of starting a house fire which killed his six children is alleged to have whispered to his wife: "I didn't mean to do it. On my life."

Mick Philpott, 56, his wife Mairead, 31, and a third defendant Paul Mosley each deny six counts of manslaughter after the blaze in Derby last May.

In the days after the fire, covert recordings were made of the Philpotts' conversations in a police vehicle and a hotel bedroom. 

In the van on May 31, Mick is heard asking his wife: "Are we sticking to the story?"

Mairead replies: "Hmmm." Mick whispers: "Good."

He then asks her: "Do you know something? Have they got any evidence on you? They've got nothing on me, nothing."

During another conversation he said to his wife: "I love you so much. Look at me. We will walk free and prove our innocence, right?

Paul Mosley is also on trial

"And then we will sort them out, promise you."

Mairead replied: "Yeah, like I said, we can't even bury the kids."

The Philpotts' defence team disputes the contents of some of the recordings and called Martin Barry, a forensics speech analyst, who said he had listened to the disputed recording "several thousand times".

The prosecution alleges Mick can be heard to say: "You definitely sticking with the story? I didn't mean to do it, on my life."

Mr Barry agreed the comments "definitely sticking with the story" and "on my life" could be heard, but disputed the words "you" and "I didn't mean to do it".

The expert told the court the comments were "unclear" and "obscured" by the noise of the van.

The prosecution claims the children's deaths were a result of a "plan" devised to frame Mick's ex-mistress Lisa Willis that went wrong.

The judge at Nottingham Crown Court also decided to allow the release of a 999 call made on the night of the fire.

The Philpotts can be heard sobbing and pleading for help and telling the operator that the children were trapped in an upstairs bedroom.

Jade, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, all perished in the blaze on Victory Road in Allenton.

Their brother Duwayne, 13, was taken to Derby Royal Hospital, but died three days later after being transferred to a Birmingham hospital.

The trial continues.

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Sinkhole Swallows Up Man At Florida Home

A man in Florida has been swallowed up by a sinkhole measuring 30 metres (100 feet) across which opened up under his bedroom.

Jeff Bush was trapped under rubble after the home in Brandon, east of Tampa Bay, began to collapse into the 15m deep hole on Thursday night.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials told reporters the 36-year-old missing man was now presumed to have died. 

"It's not confirmed, but I think it's safe to presume," spokeswoman Jessica Damico told reporters.

There were five adults and one child inside the house at the time.

The victim's brother, Jerry Bush, tried unsuccessfully to pull him from the sinkhole after hearing a loud crash at around 11pm and screams for help.

The sinkhole is not visible outside the house. Pic: WTVT

"I know in my heart, he's dead," he told CNN.

"I heard a loud crash like a car coming through the house and I heard my brother screaming," he explained.

"All I seen was this big hole, real big hole and all I seen was his mattress."

He jumped into the hole and started digging.

"I couldn't find him. I thought I could hear him holler for me to help him," he said.

The brother then had to be rescued by a sheriff's deputy.

"I went into the bedroom and I saw the sinkhole in the entire bedroom," Deputy Douglas Duvall said.

"I saw the family member inside the hole who was trying to get the victim out. I reached out and was able to grab his hand and pull him out of the hole."

The sinkhole started opening up as the man lay in bed at the house

Engineers determined the sinkhole extends for 15 metres in both directions from the central point in the bedroom.

But it is not visible above ground except from inside the house.

Overnight the home became too unstable to continue rescue efforts. People living in neighbouring homes were also evacuated.

Authorities said they used equipment that can detect sounds as faint as a mouse running over a floor in an attempt to find the missing man, but nothing was detected.

Sinkholes are common in seaside Florida, where underlying limestone and dolomite can be worn away by water and chemicals, leading to a collapse.

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'Cannibal Cop' Case: Two Men Arrested In UK

Two men have been arrested in Kent as part of an investigation linked to a US case involving a policeman accused of plotting to kidnap, kill and eat dozens of women.

Gilberto Valle's trial in New York has been told of a stream of internet correspondence between the former NYPD officer and a Briton who used "MeatMarketMan" as an email address and "Moody Blues" as on online name.

The pair are believed to have met through an extreme sexual fetish website.

Prosecutors in New York allege Valle's cyber co-conspirator Moody Blues told the officer he had killed and eaten at least two women.

A string of graphic exchanges between Valle, 28, and Moody Blues were read out to the court by FBI agent Corey Walsh on Wednesday.

In one, Moody Blues insisted he and Valle would need a secluded place to cook a woman alive.

"I have a place on the mountains," Valle wrote. "Nobody's around for three quarters of a mile."

In another, Valle suggested a woman would be easy prey because she lived alone.

"I can knock her out, wait until dark and kidnap her right out of her house," he wrote, according to prosecutors.

Mr Walsh said Moody Blues suggested eating his victim alive, but Valle responded: "I'm not really into raw meat."

When asked Friday whether there had been any arrests related to the Valle prosecution in the States, Kent Police said they had briefly detained two men from Canterbury, the cathedral city situated southeast of London.

Kent police identified the men only as a 57-year-old and a 30-year-old, saying that they had been arrested on February 21 on suspicion of conspiracy, child grooming and possession of child abuse images.

Police said the men have since been released on bail, without charge.

The statement added: "Kent Police has been in contact with US law enforcement agencies in relation to this investigation."

Valle has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and improper use of a federal database system. If convicted, he could face a life sentence.

His defence lawyers say the more outlandish examples of online exchanges between Valle and friends he met on extreme sexual fetish websites were merely engaging in fantasies.

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South Africa Cops Charged Over Van Man Murder

Eight South African police officers have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a video showed a man being handcuffed to a moving van.

South Africa's police watchdog arrested the men over the death of a Mozambican taxi driver who died in custody after being dragged by the police vehicle.

Earlier, police in Pretoria held a press conference to placate a nation outraged by the footage showing Mido Macia being dragged through the streets.

He was later found dead in a police cell with serious head and internal injuries.

National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Riah Phiyega, said the eight officers had been suspended and disarmed.

The station commander in Daveytown, a township east of Johannesburg, had also been removed from his post, she said.

"Any one death is one too many," Ms Phiyega said. "We believe in the principle of police being policed."

The Daily Sun, a South African newspaper, posted footage of the dragging incident, which occurred on Tuesday.

It was apparently filmed by several people on mobile phones.

Witnesses said Mr Macia, 27, drew the attention of police when he parked in a way that blocked traffic, and then got into an row with officers.

"We are going to film this," several onlookers shouted in Zulu as the police subdued Mr Macia.

One bystander can be heard shouting: "What has this guy done?"

President Jacob Zuma condemned the killing of Mr Macia.

Some commentators drew comparisons with the 1977 death of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who also suffered head injuries in police custody.

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Pistorius: Reeva's 'Last Text' Home Revealed

Reeva Steenkamp sent a text to her flatmate on the night she was shot dead, saying she would not be driving home because it was "too late".

Gina Myers, who shared a home with Miss Steenkamp in Johannesburg, told Sky News' Alex Crawford that the text was the last message she received from her friend.

Miss Myers said she had met Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his 29-year-old girlfriend at his luxury home in Pretoria, a few times and did not know him well but had liked him.

She said Miss Steenkamp had been happy with the gold medal winning Paralympian and would not have been with him otherwise.

She told Sky News: "It was like any other relationship. There was nothing that flashed a warning sign. She was happy. She was very happy.

"Reeva was not the kind of person to complain about stuff but she would never have been with anyone if she wasn't happy ... Her motto this year was 'to be happy and never settle'."

Miss Myers was speaking as it emerged that Pistorius held a private memorial service for Miss Steenkamp at his uncle's house in Pretoria.

The South African athlete has been staying at his uncle Arnold's house since he was released on bail last Friday after being charged with the model's murder.

Reeva Steenkamp was "happy" with her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius

His aides confirmed plans for a memorial service for Miss Steenkamp after details were leaked to the media.

The 26-year-old, who also competed in the Olympics last summer, denies murder and claims he shot Miss Steenkamp by mistake believing she was an intruder.

A statement from his representatives said: "Oscar Pistorius, will hold a private memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp at the house of his uncle, Arnold Pistorius tonight.

"Oscar specifically requested the memorial service as he continues to grieve and remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva."

It added: "Since it is such a sensitive issue, Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including his family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own."

Miss Steenkamp's funeral was held in Port Elizabeth last week, as her boyfriend appeared in court over her murder and insisted her death was an accident.

Reeva Steenkamp's funeral was held last week

He was released on bail but has to abide by strict conditions, including reporting to a police station in Pretoria twice a week.

The athlete was also ordered to surrender his two passports, post bail of one million rand (£75,000) in cash and guarantees, and refrain from drinking alcohol until his case resumes on June 4.

Pistorius was also ordered to hand in any guns he owns and keep away from his home in a gated community in Pretoria, which is now a crime scene.

Prison service officials can drop in at his uncle's house at any time of day or night to ensure the athlete is complying with the bail terms.

Pistorius, who had his lower legs amputated at the age of 11 months after he was born without either fibula, rose to global fame with his fight to be allowed to run in the Olympics against able-bodied athletes.

He reached the semi-finals of the 400 metres at last year's London Games.

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Farah Defends 'Have You Run Before?' Presenter

Double Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah has sprung to the defence of an American television presenter who asked him if he had ever run before following a half marathon win.

After setting the course record in the New Orleans half marathon, LaTonya Norton, presenter at the local television station for more than six years, asked Farah if it was his "first time".

The 29-year-old athlete good-naturedly responded: "This isn't my first time, I have run before a half marathon but this is the first time in New Orleans."

Norton went on to describe his 61 minute record for the 13.1 mile course as "absolutely amazing", which, had he not been a double Olympic champion, it would have been.

Double gold medalist has a poor track record of being recognised in the US

The footage, which subsequently appears to have been removed from the WSDU website, went viral and sparked thousands of derogatory comments about the presenter on Twitter.

However, Farah has leapt to the presenter's defence on the social networking site, posting a tweet saying: "Just wanna say to everyone being nasty to LaTonya Norton please stop!! She made a mistake like we all do!! She didn't mean anything by it!"

He also responded to a tweet from the CNN presenter Piers Morgan saying: "Haha it was bit funny ... !! I felt sorry for her ... So I tried to help her out ... !! All good though!"

Norton compounded her mistake by asking Farah if he intended to enter any more events. When he replied that he was looking to do half of the London Marathon course in April, she said: "You're certainly off to a good start."

Farah, who won both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the London Olympics, is no stranger to not being recognised in the US. In December he was stopped by US customs agents as a "possible terrorist".

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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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Woman Pleads Guilty To Facebook Harassment

A woman has pleaded guilty to using Facebook to harass the family of a girl who went missing from a British army base in Germany more than 30 years ago.

Donna Wright, 33, from Spennymoor, County Durham, admitted to sending messages to the family of Katrice Lee on the social networking site.

Wright claimed to be the girl, who went missing in November 1981, and then continued to harass the family even after a DNA test had proved she was not.

Outside court, Katrice's father Richard Lee, 63, said: "We want a conclusion because we have put up with this since September 2011 and my family has gone through hell.

"She wanted her 15 minutes of fame on the tragedy of my family."

Wright appeared by video link at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court where District Judge Martin Walker said she would be sentenced next month.

Mr Lee, who was stationed with the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars in Germany, said he felt the system had not come down on his side.

"What I cannot understand is that it seems to me that the system is helping the perpetrator and what was said in court has nothing to do with the abuse that was sent to my family," he said.

"If you can use false names repeatedly it's not the mark of someone who is unwell. My family's feelings have not been taken into account."

He also described how he felt at the time when his daughter went missing from a food store near the military base, and how he continues to hold onto hope that she may still be found.

"She went missing from an unfenced barracks with one road in and one road out and just 20 yards away was a college," he said.

"The college had an open day and there was eight times the number of people and traffic than usual. It was absolutely horrendous, there were people going in and out trying to get away on Christmas leave.

"I have always believed that she was taken as a surrogate child or sold for profit to someone that could not have children.

"I have to hold onto hope otherwise I could not go on. It's the one thing they cannot take away from you, I have got to have hope.

"People are often coming forward in the news to try and find their family and those cases recharge my batteries."

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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

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

Later it was revealed that the Pope had expressed his gratitude for the welcome he received during his visit to Britain in 2010 and for the prayers of British Catholics since he decided to step down.

A letter written on his behalf by Vatican official Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu thanked his UK-based followers.

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.

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 Pope today named the Archbishop of Glasgow as temporary successor to Cardinal O'Brien in one of his last acts as head of the Catholic Church.

Philip Tartaglia will govern the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh until a permanent successor is appointed, but will not be able to attend the conclave.

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.

Another of the Pope's last acts was to announce that the Turin Shroud will be put on display again for one day on March 30. It has only been shown five times in the last 100 years.

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Philpott Trial: Father 'Joked' About Blaze

A father accused of killing his six children in a fire at his home in Derby was "laughing and joking" about the blaze just a week later, a court has heard.

PC Joanne Halford told Nottingham Crown Court that Michael Philpott seemed "jovial" when she spoke to him at Royal Derby Hospital in the early hours of May 18.

When the officer asked him what he was doing at the hospital, Philpott replied: "I'm here to see you gorgeous", the court heard.

"He was laughing and joking about the incident saying that when he was trying to rescue the children he had took his chance to hit out at two coppers trying to hold him back," PC Halford told jurors.

Jade, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, all perished in the blaze on Victory Road in Allenton in May last year.

Their brother Duwayne, 13, was taken to Derby Royal Hospital but died three days later after being transferred to a Birmingham hospital.

Floral tributes outside the Philpott home in May last year

Mick Philpott, 56, and his wife Mairead, 31, deny killing their six children after a "plan" to frame his ex-mistress Lisa Willis went wrong. A third defendant, Paul Mosley, 46, also denies six counts of manslaughter.

Mosley's brother Brian, who was with Philpott at the hospital, said to the officer: "Don't you know who he is? He's Mick Philpott, father of the six dead kids."

PC Halford told the court the statement seemed to be used like a "badge of honour".

Philpott alleged that neighbour Adam Taylor, who was later arrested and released without charge, had started the fire because he had borrowed a strimmer and a petrol can from him two weeks before the fire and had failed to return the latter.

He also told the officer he was angry police had asked him about his family background and that it was none of their business.

The police constable said he was "cross" that his wife had disclosed information to them, including about threesomes the couple had in the past.

PC Halford said that when she returned from calling her colleagues with the information, Philpott "was jovial, laughing and jolly with the other men" in an office at the hospital.

The officer also told the court Philpott inferred that he would like her to join him at the hotel where he and his wife were staying following the fire at their home.

The trial continues.

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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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Match-Fixing: Fifa Bans Officials And Players

Fifa has banned 74 more players and officials from world football for helping fix matches, this time in Italy and South Korea.

The sport's governing body said that 70 bans from the Italian Football Federation, including 11 lifetime ones, have been extended worldwide after players and officials were sanctioned for match-fixing.

Prosecutors in Italy have pieced together a conspiracy they believe was organised from Singapore to bet on rigged Italian football matches.

The association also extended bans on four South Koreans.

Mr Blatter says Fifa will get rid of scams

Fifa said the latest cases involved either a "direct involvement or omission to report match-fixing, illegal betting or corrupt organisation (association to commit illicit acts)".

It has been especially keen to crack down on corruption since European police agency Europol announced earlier this month that around 680 matches were suspected of being fixed in a global betting scam run from Singapore.

The association's president, Sepp Blatter, played down Europol's investigation, saying betting scams will soon be a thing of the past.

"We're fighting against that. Because if the matches are fixed there's no more interest in going to watch football," he said earlier this month.

Last week, Italian authorities detained suspect Admir Suljic, a Slovenian national, when he landed in Milan on a flight from Singapore.

Suljic, an alleged associate of Singaporean businessman Tan Seet Eng, faces charges of criminal association and sports fraud.

Tan, also known as Dan Tan, is accused of heading a crime syndicate that has made millions of pounds gambling on fixed matches around the world.

Suljic was arrested by Italian police at a Milan airport last week

Singapore police said last week that Tan was assisting its investigation into alleged match-fixing.

The latest global sanctions follow worldwide sanctions imposed on 10 people last year and a further 41 last month.

And two days ago, Fifa extended bans to 58 people found guilty of match-fixing offences in China.

Of those, the football body expelled 33 from the sport for life, including 2002 World Cup referee Lu Jun.

Fifa can apply worldwide sanctions after national football associations complete their own investigations and impose bans.

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Open Verdict At Inquest For Soldier Shot Dead

An inquest into the death of a soldier who was killed in a drunken shooting at an airbase in Iraq has returned an open verdict.

More follows...

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