Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 14 Februari 2015 | 00.48
Almost 200 pilot whales have become stranded on a beach in New Zealand.
Two dozen of the animals have already died, despite the efforts of volunteers who have flocked to the remote Farewell Spit on South Island to help.
It is feared that more of the whales could die, even if rescuers manage to re-float them.
Rescuers attempt to help a whale back out to sea
Andrew Lamason, of New Zealand's Department of Conservation, said: "We've had plenty times in the past where the pods have gone out to sea and turned around and come back again. We're preparing for a big few days."
Whale strandings are common in New Zealand but experts say this is the largest in more than a decade.
They describe Farewell Spit as a whale trap because its shallow waters seem to confuse the animals and reduce their ability to navigate.
The father of a 13-year-old boy who died after an altercation in his school playground has paid tribute to his "special" son.
Oisin McGrath was taken to hospital from St Michael's College in Enniskillen on Monday and died on Thursday evening.
On medical advice, his parents made the agonising decision to withdraw life support and donate their child's organs for transplant.
On the "RIP Oisin McGrath" page on Facebook, his father Nigel wrote that his special son would be forever missed and was now saving lives.
The schoolboy's funeral will take place at Holywell Catholic Church in Belcoo, County Fermanagh, on Sunday morning.
Parish priest Father Seamus Quinn said the teenager's death in such circumstances was every parent's worst nightmare.
He said: "There are no words to describe what they're going through.
"They're devastated, they're numb, they're in shock. It's a nightmare, except this one you don't wake up from. It's horrendous."
St Michael's College, which remained closed on Friday, asked students attending the service to wear uniform.
A 17-year-old student from the school was questioned following the incident but released on bail pending enquiries.
Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson tweeted: "Young Oisin McGrath's death is heartbreaking. I'll be praying for his family and all those devastated by this sad news."
Education Minister John O'Dowd said: "I am deeply saddened at the tragic death of Oisin McGrath. As a parent myself I can only imagine the grief his parents and family are feeling.
"My thoughts and prayers are with them at this terrible time. I also extend my sympathy to the whole St Michael's College community.
"The Western Education and Library Board is providing counselling and pastoral support to the school and will continue to do so for as long as is needed."
People at a mosque in Pakistan stopped a would-be suicide bomber by holding him down to prevent him detonating his device.
Witnesses say at least six militants jumped over the wall of the mosque in the city of Peshawar and began their assault as Friday prayers came to an end.
Worshippers managed to stop one, who was killed in the fight, but two of the attackers are reported to have set off their bomb vests, killing 19 people.
Police spokesman Nasir Durrani said: "People here showed great courage. They grabbed one of the attackers from his neck, and he couldn't detonate his explosives, and he was shot and killed."
Pakistan security personnel inspect the scene
In addition to the 19 deaths, more than 40 people were injured.
The Pakistan Taliban has issued a statement claiming it carried out the attack.
A spokesman for the militant group said it was in revenge for the execution of one of its members by Pakistan's government.
Relatives comfort a woman in the aftermath of the attack
Officials say they had no warning that the mosque was to be targeted.
Police spokesman Nazim Khan Durrani told reporters: "We had no specific intelligence of an attack but since we are at war with terrorists all sensitive institutions and installations have been put on alert."
It is the second attack on a Shia mosque in the last fortnight. Some 60 people were killed on 31 January in a bomb attack in Shikarpur, in Sindh province.
And the Pakistan Taliban attacked Peshawar's Army School in December,killing 145 people 132 of them school children.
Taliban members said they wanted the military to feel pain for operations conducted in the tribal regions.
The December attack prompted Pakistan to re-instate the death penalty.
The number of teetotal young adults has almost doubled, according to new statistics that show a significant drop in alcohol consumption amongst 16 to 24-year-olds.
The rise is so steep that it has caused an overall increase in the number of adults who do not drink at all, which is now over one fifth.
Young adults are also responsible for a decrease in binge drinking, the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.
The proportion who drank more than eight units of alcohol in one day, in the week before the interview, was down from 18% in 2005 to 15% in 2013.
London had the highest rates of teetotalism, with one third of adults in the capital saying they did not drink at all.
Video:Dec: 'Zero Tolerance' To Drink Call
One expert told Sky News that the rise in numbers of teetotal young people was related to the UK's changing demographics.
"It's probably mainly driven by the changing ethnic mix in this country. There are increasing numbers of people who don't drink at all because of religious reasons," said Professor Ian Gilmore, chair of Alcohol Health Alliance.
"But there is also under-reporting. We know that people report in surveys roughly half of what they drink.
"If you look at the Customs and Excise data who know how much we drink, the average drinking adult is drinking roughly 25 units per week. So there's no room for complacency."
Video:Dec: Binge Drinkers May Face Arrest
There remain concerns about regional variations in drinking patterns.
The figures in London contrast to the north of England and Scotland, where more adults drank and where more were likely to binge drink.
The ONS said alcohol misuse is a leading cause of ill-health in Great Britain, which is estimated to cost the NHS in England approximately £3.5bn every year.
At least 11 service personnel have been killed and dozens wounded in the last 24 hours in eastern Ukraine, officials have reported.
It comes despite the ceasefire agreement reached on Thursday, which is due to come into force this weekend.
"In the Donbass, this night was not a calm one. The enemy shelled positions of the 'anti-terrorist operation' forces with the same intensity as before," a statement by the military said.
It said fighting had been particularly intense around Debaltseve, a key railway junction linking the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Residents forced to escape the fighting in Debaltseve
Pro-Russia separatists had used rockets and artillery to attack government forces holding the town, the statement added.
Rebel authorities said three civilians had been killed and five wounded in shelling by government troops on Luhansk.
Video:Ceasefire Deal In Ukraine Conflict
Another two civilians were killed and six injured on Friday morning when a shell fired by separatists hit a busy cafe in the nearby town of Shchastya, the Kiev-controlled regional administration said.
Russia has been warned sanctions will be stepped up if the truce to end the 10-month Ukraine conflict is not fully implemented.
The ceasefire, which comes into effect on Sunday, was agreed after 16 hours of talks between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany in the Belarusian capital Minsk.
A previous truce was violated almost immediately by both sides and there are doubts the latest one will hold.
Video:Poroshenko Expresses Surprise
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the deal provided "a glimmer of hope - no more, no less".
Russia has already been hit with financial and diplomatic sanctions for allegedly supplying the separatists with heavy weapons and fighters - which it denies.
Mrs Merkel warned: "We hold open the possibility, if these new agreements are not implemented, that we must take further measures."
European Council President Donald Tusk said previously-agreed sanctions against 19 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and nine entities would still come into force next week.
Video:Can Ukraine Peace Deal Succeed?
"Our trust in the goodwill of (Russian) President Putin is limited, this is why we have to maintain our decision on sanctions," he said.
The terms of the ceasefire include a withdrawal of heavy weapons, Ukraine taking control of its Russian border, the granting of special status to rebel regions and addressing the humanitarian crisis created by the fighting.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko admitted to having doubts, saying: "It was very difficult negotiation and we expect a not easy implementation process."
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has said it plans to send 350 of its observers to eastern Ukraine to ensure the terms of the truce are monitored.
Chelsea Manning, the former intelligence analyst convicted in the WikiLeaks scandal, will undergo hormone treatment for gender reassignment.
The therapy would enable the Army private formerly known as Bradley Manning to make the transition to a woman.
Manning changed her legal name in April 2014.
The hormone therapy was approved this month by Colonel Erica Nelson, commandant of the Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where Manning is serving a 35-year sentence.
Manning, then known as Bradley, at the time of his sentencing
The decision, first reported by USA Today, came after a lawsuit claimed that Manning was at a high risk of self-castration and suicide unless she received more focused treatment for gender dysphoria, the sense of being a woman in a man's body.
The lawsuit was filed in September.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons and many state and local corrections agencies administer hormone therapy to prisoners with gender dysphoria, but Manning is the first transgender military prisoner to request such treatment.
Manning, 26, was convicted in August 2013 of espionage and other offences for sending more than 700,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks while working in Iraq.
A man who launched a jealousy-fuelled machete attack on his ex-girlfriend's new partner as he lay in bed with her has been jailed for 22 years.
Gary Johnson burst into Holly Dobson's house at 4.30am and started to punch, then hack at Christopher Spinks, who was asleep.
He cut wounds into his scalp and ear - and a blow deep into his leg sliced through to the bone.
Johnson was sentenced after being convicted by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court of attempted murder.
The judge, Mr Justice Males, said the attack in Stanley, County Durham in August, could easily have killed Mr Spinks.
He said: "The injuries which Christopher Spinks suffered were very severe.
"He had deep cuts to his nose and right cheek, a deep cut down to the bone on the left side of his scalp, and a cut to his left ear which split it in two.
"He also had deep wounds on his left leg, one of which was right down to the bone, which caused significant damage to his muscles and an important nerve.
"These were serious injuries on a defenceless man which could easily have killed him."
The court heard how Johnson, 26, from Chester-le-Street, had a stormy relationship with his ex-partner for about two years.
He had a conviction for violence on Ms Dobson, and was "intensely jealous" of any contact she had with other men, the judge said.
The unprovoked attack with the "vicious looking machete" left Mr Spinks suffering from panic attacks and suicidal thoughts.
He was also left having to wear a leg brace, the judge said.
Johnson, who has a young daughter, sent threatening text messages to his ex-partner in the hours before he travelled five miles to her home.
The judge said: "So there was a degree of planning and deliberation about your conduct and you wanted Holly Dobson to know what you were doing."
Outside court, Detective Inspector Gavin Heckles said: "This was a savage and premeditated assault on Mr Spinks, which left him with serious psychological as well as physical injuries.
"Johnson showed no remorse at any time during our investigation and interviews with him, and the comments from the judge summed up perfectly just how serious this was.
"I hope the substantial sentence will provide at least a measure of comfort to Mr Spinks and his family."
The British family of a prisoner in Guantanamo Bay have pleaded with the US government to send him home to London.
In their first interview, the teenage sons of Shaker Aamer told Sky News how their hopes of a reunion have been raised and then dashed.
Mr Aamer has been detained without trial inside the maximum security prison for 13 years - even though he was cleared for release in 2008.
The British government has lobbied on his behalf, and his case has attracted cross-party support, but there has been no explanation as to why he has not yet been freed.
Although he was born in Saudi Arabia, his wife and four children are British citizens. They barely remember their father; indeed his youngest son, Faris, was born on the same day as Mr Aamer arrived at Guantanamo on Valentine's Day 2002.
Video:Pink Floyd Frontman Speaks To Sky
Faris celebrates his 13th birthday on Saturday and told Sky News: "It's upsetting and quite shocking that I've never met him in my entire life."
His 15-year-old brother Micheal spoke of how their hopes have been dashed.
"We felt very happy," he said.
"We thought there might be a chance for him to come home, but it just kept getting delayed.
"We just felt more sad because nothing happened. We've seen other people with their parents... seen how they enjoy themselves, how they're so close to them.
"It's like there is a part of our heart that is missing because we've been yearning for him to come home for many years and nothing's happened yet."
Video:Shaker Aamer's Sons Make Plea
Mr Aamer took his young family and pregnant wife to Afghanistan in 2001. He says he was working for a humanitarian charity.
But a few weeks later the 9/11 attacks put the country at the centre of America's so-called War on Terror.
His family escaped to Pakistan but Mr Aamer says he gave himself up to the Northern Alliance and was then handed over to US forces.
After detention at Bagram Airbase he was moved to Guantanamo.
The Pentagon compiled a lengthy list of allegations claiming he had ties to al Qaeda.
His lawyer insists the allegations are false and are the result of torture or false confessions to earn rewards.
Video:'No Logic' In Holding Shaker Aamer
And his supporters stress that if the Americans actually believed them, they would not have cleared him for release.
Guantanamo spokesman Lt Col Myles Caggins told Sky News: "In 2009 Shaker Aamer's detention status was reviewed. As a result he was placed in a category we call 'eligible for transfer'.
"At some point in the future we will find a new home for him to be repatriated or resettled to."
But Micheal was unimpressed when he saw the video.
"I feel very sad because the man said they were going to try to find him a home," he said.
"But his home is here in London with his family."
Video:Pressure Grows For Detainee Release
There have been various theories about the delay.
Some say the US may prefer to see him sent to Saudi Arabia, where he is less likely to speak publicly about allegations of torture. There is also the issue of compensation.
Lt Col Caggins said: "We make these moves after a rigorous inter-agency process between our security officials, law enforcement and intelligence officials to ensure that transfer will be to a place that can maintain security assurances and human rights protections for those former Guantanamo detainees."
Mr Aamer's lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, scoffs at that.
"The most obvious person in the entire world to release is Shaker Aamer because he would be coming to the country with the best record of released prisoners, Britain," he said.
"And he would be coming to a place where we know his human rights are going to be respected, and he's been cleared for eight years, and he's got a wife and four children. What on earth is the argument against it?"
Video:2012 - Boyle Calls For Release
At least in recent years the family have been able to speak to their father. The International Red Cross has organised Skype video calls. Micheal remembers the first.
"We were all very excited," he said.
"We were very energetic. We couldn't wait to see him. And then when the call finally happened, we couldn't believe it was actually him.
"His voice. We hadn't heard it for such a long time.
"It was very surprising to hear his voice again. It was a shock. Skype has been very good at lifting our hopes up again because we've been able to speak to him, see how he's doing, and he's a very funny person.
"He always makes jokes. He lightens the mood a lot of the time. We talk about what's going on in our lives, how our education is."
Video:Archive - Guantanamo Bay in 2003
Mr Aamer's wife and daughter preferred to stay in the background and not be interviewed. Because both boys are under 16, Sky News has agreed not to show their faces.
The 70th anniversary of the Dresden firebombing is being commemorated today - one of the most controversial military actions of the Allied Forces during World War II.
Germany's seventh-largest city had been spared the destruction seen in Berlin and Hamburg for most of the conflict.
But on 13 February 1945, British and US bombers wreaked devastation in a bid to demoralise German civilians and force the Nazis to surrender.
Corpses littered Dresden's streets following the attack, with cultural landmarks including the city's opera house turned to rubble. There were few public air raid shelters for refugees, and thousands of bodies were discovered near cellars which could not withstand the firebombing.
Some historians believe the destruction changed little about the outcome of the war - describing it as a tragic waste of human life.
Video:Dresden Bombing Raid Archive Video
Nazi propaganda at the time claimed the death toll from the bombings stood at 200,000 - more than the total of those immediately killed in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear blasts combined.
However, an independent study commissioned by the city in 2008 concluded that 25,000 citizens died in the attack - many of them from collapsed lungs.
The number of people killed was likely exacerbated by the fires which ravaged the streets afterwards. A vacuum was created at ground level as superheated air rose rapidly, and the subsequent winds were so powerful they could uproot trees and suck people into the flames.
Irrespective of the death toll, many survivors insist the bombing was unjustifiable and amounted to a war crime.
Eberhard Renner, who was 12 at the time, lost schoolmates and neighbours during the attack - and remembers encountering the body of a woman in the street, one week after the bombs fell.
"She was burned to a cinder, had become very small, but her hand was held up and on it was her gold wedding band, shining, not blackened at all. I will never forget that scene," the now-retired architecture professor said.
"To sacrifice 25,000 women and children, innocent people? That's a war crime."
Former weather presenter Fred Talbot has been found guilty of indecently assaulting two boys when he was a teacher.
Talbot showed little reaction to the verdicts, which related to two victims who were aged 14 or 15 in the 1970s.
The 65-year-old, who was known to millions for his forecasts on a floating weather map for ITV's This Morning show, was described as a "chancer" at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
He was said to have been "obsessed" with teenage boys and "could not help himself", particularly when he had been drinking alcohol.
Talbot's diary entries formed part of the prosecution's case
Victims described how they were forced to sleep naked with him during school trips on canal barges that he had organised.
One told how boys would take turns to sleep in Talbot's bed on one of the trips, and that at one stage the defendant "started talking to me about sexual stuff" before assaulting him.
Video:Talbot Concealed Dark Past Of Abuse
Talbot's diary entries spanning three decades were seized by police and formed a key part of the prosecution's case. One entry read: "What I am doing with the kids means a lot to me, but it may be the wrong thing."
Greater Manchester Police Detective Constable Chris Doggart praised the bravery of the victims and said: "Talbot was an extremely popular and well liked individual - both as a celebrity weatherman and formerly as a science teacher - who earned not only the trust and adulation of many of his peers and pupils, but also much of the nation.
"Now he has been exposed as an opportunistic sex offender and that reputation is rightly in tatters."
The jury cleared Talbot of eight counts of indecent assault in relation to three other complainants.
Among prosecution witnesses at the trial was The Stone Roses singer Ian Brown, who had told the court how Talbot had explained to boys in his class how to carry out a sex act.
Brown said Talbot had also shown a gay porn film in another class.
Video:Talbot's Abuse Was 'Appalling'
Talbot's teaching career ended abruptly in 1984 after a proposal he made to two boys about sleeping with them at his home.
During a police interview in 2013, Talbot refused to answer questions about allegations by men who claimed they had been abused as children.
The abuse happened during his time as a biology teacher at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys in Cheshire, which said in a statement: "These awful events took place over 30 years ago and naturally our thoughts go out to those former pupils who were subjected to this abuse.
"We are confident that our present pupils and their parents know that the school is totally committed to ensuring the safety of our students and staff at all times and that these historical offences have no bearing on the School's outstanding reputation today."
Talbot has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on 13 March.
