Shark In Hawaii Bites Off German Tourist's Arm

A shark has bitten off a German tourist's right arm as she snorkelled just yards from a beach in Hawaii.

The woman in her 20s is said to be in a critical condition at Maui Medical Center, with an additional severe bite to her foot.

She was attacked around 50 yards (metres) offshore at Palauea Beach, also known as White Rock in Makena, on Wednesday afternoon.

"We heard screaming from the water and it was this unbelievable scream like I've never heard before," local resident Andree Conley-Kapoi told MauiNow.com.

"The only time anybody would scream like that is if they are being attacked by a shark," she added.

Other swimmers waded out with a kayak and managed to bring the woman back to shore.

County officials closed a two-mile stretch of shoreline while Maui Fire Department scoured the area by helicopter looking for the shark.

The beach remained closed to the public on Thursday morning, as officials assessed if it was safe for people to go back into the water.

The shark attack is the fourth in Maui and seventh in Hawaii this year. Two attacks were reported on the same day in February in Maui, while the third came in late July.

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Tributes For Sky Cameraman Killed In Cairo

The Chief Executive of BSkyB has paid tribute to Sky News cameraman Mick Deane, who was shot dead while covering unrest on the streets of Egypt.

Jeremy Darroch expressed his "deepest sympathy" to the 61-year-old's family, adding that the cameraman's death is a reminder of "the bravery and commitment that journalists often show each and every day."

"Like everyone at Sky I was extremely saddened to hear that our colleague Mick Deane had been killed covering the unrest in Cairo," Mr Darroch said.

"Our deepest sympathy and thoughts go to Mick's family in obviously what is a very, very difficult time. We'll be doing whatever we can to help them and Mick's colleagues in the Sky News team.

"Sky News and other news organisations throughout the world play a vital role in bringing information and insight to us all, and in showing the truth in events that occur throughout the world.

"But the tragic events and Mick's death I think also remind us that this is often dangerous work, and of the bravery and commitment that journalists show often each and every day in their search for the truth."

Mick Dean has been described as an inspiring mentor

The married father of two was part of a Sky News team covering the ongoing violence in Cairo. The rest of the news team was unhurt.

Mr Deane had worked for Sky for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem.

The Head of Sky News, John Ryley, described Mr Deane as the very best of cameramen, a brilliant journalist and an inspiring mentor to many.

"Mick Deane was a really lovely, lovely guy. He was great fun to work with; he was an astonishingly good cameraman who took some brilliant pictures.

"But he also had a first class editorial brain. He had brilliant ideas. He was also good fun after the job was done. He was laid back, and I'm really going to miss him, like lots of people here."

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall called Mr Deane "a friend, brave as a lion but what a heart... what a human being".

He added: "Micky was humorous in a dry way, he was wise and when you're on the road with small teams, people like that are diamonds to be with.

"Our hearts go out to his family. He died doing what he'd done so brilliantly for decades."

 Prime Minister David Cameron said: "I want to say how sorry I am about the death of Mick Deane.

"It is an incredibly brave and important job he was doing. It is essential that cameramen are in places like Egypt because otherwise none of us would know what is happening.

"But obviously our thoughts should be with his family and friends at this very, very difficult time for them."

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Bradley Manning: I Hurt The United States

Bradley Manning has told a court martial he is sorry for his actions and admits he hurt the US by passing classified documents to WikiLeaks.

He told a military judge at his sentencing hearing at Fort Meade: "I'm sorry that my actions have hurt people and have hurt the United States."

The soldier made the apology during an unsworn statement, which means he cannot be cross-examined by prosecutors.

Manning faces up to 90 years in prison for leaking the information while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010.

The 25-year-old said he understood what he was doing and the decisions he made.

Bradley Manning supporters outside the court

However, he said he did not believe at the time that leaking the information would cause harm.

Earlier, an Army psychologist testified, saying Manning's private struggle with his gender identity in a hostile workplace put incredible pressure on him.

Manning eventually came out to Captain Michael Worsley and emailed the therapist a photo of himself wearing a wig of long, blonde hair and lipstick.

The photo was attached to a letter titled "My problem", in which Manning describes his personal issues and his hope that a military career would "get rid of it".

During his testimony Cpt Worsley said the soldier had little to no support base.

This photo of Manning dressed as a woman was produced in court

He said: "You put him in that kind of hyper-masculine environment, if you will, with little support and few coping skills, the pressure would have been difficult to say the least. It would have been incredible."

Manning's lawyers contend that the soldier showed clear signs of deteriorating mental health that should have prevented commanders from sending him to a warzone to handle classified information.

Cpt Worsley also described some military leaders as lax at best and obstructionist at worst when it came to tending to troop mental health.

He said some in Manning's brigade "had difficulty understanding" recommendations the doctor would make regarding the needs of some soldiers.

"I questioned why they would want to leave somebody in a position with the issue they had," Cpt Worsley said of troubled soldiers.

Manning faces up to 90 years in prison

Navy Captain David Moulton, a psychiatrist who spent 21 hours interviewing Manning after his arrest, testified as a defence witness that Manning's gender identity disorder combined with narcissistic personality traits, post-adolescent idealism and his lack of friends in Iraq caused him to reasonably conclude he could change the world by leaking classified information.

"He became very enthralled with this idea that the things that he was finding were injustices that he felt he morally needed to right," said Cpt Moulton.

He said Manning was struggling to balance his desire to right wrongs with his sense of duty to complete his Army tasks and his fear of losing education benefits and the opportunity to attend college.

Cpt Moulton said: "His decision-making capacity was influenced by the stress of his situation for sure.

"He was under severe emotional stress at the time of the alleged offences."

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Somalia: Medical Charity MSF Pulls Out

Medical aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) has closed all its operations in Somalia because of increasing violence.

The agency has been working in the Horn of Africa troublespot for more than 22 years.

"The closure of our activities is a direct result of extreme attacks on our staff, in an environment where armed groups and civilian leaders increasingly support, tolerate, or condone the killing, assaulting, and abducting of humanitarian aid workers," MSF president Unni Karunakara told reporters.

"We are ending our programmes in Somalia because there is an increasing imbalance between the risks and compromises that our staff must make, and our ability to provide impartial care to the Somali people," Mr Karunakara said in the Kenyan capital.

Dr Unni Karunakara at a news conference explaining why MSF is leaving

"Respect for humanitarian principles, always fragile in conflict zones, no longer exists in Somalia today," he said.

"There have been dozens of attacks against people, against vehicles, hospitals... we've just reached our limit," he said, adding that 16 MSF staff have been killed in Somalia since 1991.

MSF has treated more than 300,000 people so far this year alone in Somalia, the charity revealed.

Its president explained that MSF's activities had been put under "unparalleled levels of risk", citing the killing of two staff in Mogadishu in December 2011 - and subsequent release of the gunman - as well as the kidnapping of two MSF workers from the Kenyan refugee camp Dadaab in October 2011.

The two kidnapped staff, Spanish women working as logisticians, were released last month after 21 months in captivity in Somalia.

MSF has treated more than 300,000 people so far this year in Somalia

But MSF said that wider attacks had forced it to make the "painful" decision to shut operations.

The pullout by an aid agency that has earned a reputation for working in the toughest of conditions is a major blow to the reputation of the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.

The news comes some three months after Britain hosted an international summit aimed at helping the country recover from two decades of civil war - shortly before the summit, Britain opened a new embassy in the capital, Mogadishu, giving the UK a diplomatic presence in the country for the first time since 1991.

Somalia's embattled government, selected in November in a UN-backed process, was hailed at the time by the international community as offering the best chance for peace in Somalia since the collapse of central government in 1991.

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Peru Drugs: Women 'Exasperated' At Treatment

The two women accused of trying to smuggle cocaine out of Peru are "exasperated" and "frustrated" at the way Peruvian authorities are dealing with their case.

Melissa Reid, 19, and Michaella McCollum, 20, are being held after 11kg (24.2lbs) of cocaine with an estimated street value of £1.5m was found in their luggage.

Reid, from Scotland, and McCollum, from Northern Ireland, have not yet had a formal interview or a chance to properly give their version of events, said Daily Mirror journalist Christopher Bucktin.

Despite the situation, he said the women were still "very strong".

He told Sky News: "They're becoming exasperated and increasingly frustrated over the lack of guidance from the Peruvian authorities.

"They have not had a full interview yet, they've not had an interpreter.

The cocaine allegedly carried by the two women was in food bags

"They were supposed to be in court today but it has been put back at the eleventh hour. They are in court now next Tuesday, they hope."

The two women reportedly said that Colombian gangsters forced them at gunpoint to carry the drugs.

Bucktin, who has been allowed to speak to the two women, said they seem "very strong still but they have moments where they get very despondent".

Melissa Reid's father has arrived in Lima and should be reunited with her soon, said the reporter.

However, he added that Michaella McCollum had spoken to her parents but the 20-year-old did not know whether they would travel to Peru.

Melissa Reid's father has now reportedly arrived in Peru

The women could be moved to Peru's "notorious" Santa Monica prison after next week's court appearance, Bucktin told Sky News.

The prison holds more than double its intended capacity, according to a US State Department document, which says jails in Peru are violent and unhygienic with "near epidemic levels" of HIV and tuberculosis.

The women were arrested last week and in police footage Reid told officers: "I was forced to take these bags in my luggage."

Asked if she knew the bags contained drugs, Reid replied: "I did not know that."

The women were detained at Lima airport

Police video also shows an officer examining a row of food bags, in which the drug was allegedly hidden.

Reid's father told Sky News Scotland Correspondent Jane Chilton that his family was devastated by the arrest.

William Reid said his daughter was a beautiful and intelligent young woman who would never do anything like this of her own free will.

The two women had been living in Ibiza before travelling to Peru and said they were planning to fly on to Majorca when they were arrested.

They could face a jail term of up 25 years if convicted.

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Russian Road In Running For World's Worst

Looking like it has been subjected to an aerial bombardment or major earth tremor this stretch of road has been branded the most dangerous in Russia.

While motorists and cyclists in the UK may complain about the state of the nation's highways and byways, spare a thought for those road-users in the area of Yaroslavl, located some 160 miles north east of Moscow.

It is known locally as the Olympic road, having been built more than 30 years ago for the 1980 Summer Games, hosted by the then Soviet Union.

But its current crater-strewn, lunar-like appearance gives no indication of its former glory.

The footage of the dilapidated highway was captured by Russian bloggers, who have challenged internet users to come up with worse examples.

Rather than the scene of destruction being the result of military target practice, the extensive damage has been blamed on spring floods.

Local authorities have said they are working to rebuild the road.

Vladimir Goncharov, head of Rostov District of the Yaroslavl area, said: "This spring, floods were really heavy and this road, as well as many others was severely damaged. We've repaired a number of them, though some still are under construction."

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Phone App Could Prevent Thousands Going Blind

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

A new app that turns a smartphone into a mobile eye clinic could prevent hundreds of thousands of people going blind.

The Portable Eye Examination Kit (PEEK) has been developed by doctors in London and Glasgow to help diagnose serious eye conditions in the developing world.

Around 39 million people around the globe are blind, 90% of them in low income countries. But 80% of cases could be avoided if health workers could reach them with affordable equipment.

Standard ophthalmology kit is bulky and costs more than £100,000.

But cameras and processing chips on smartphones costing £300 are now so good that they can provide equally good results.

The system is already being tested in Kenya, where 1,000 patients have so far received treatment after being diagnosed by the app.

Peek allows health workers to assess patients' vision remotely

Trained health workers first assess a patient's vision by flashing progressively smaller letters onto the screen.

They then use the camera to check the lens of the eye for cloudy cataracts.

By attaching a special clip to the camera and switching on the flash they are then able to check the retina at the back of the eye for diseases such as diabetic retinopathy.

The images can be sent back to a hospital for assessment, along with the precise GPS coordinates of the patient's location so they can be found later and treated.

Mirriam Waithara, who lives in a remote village, had been blind for many years. But a health worker using the app diagnosed cataracts which she had removed in a straightforward operation.

She can now see and is overjoyed.

Dr Ian Livingstone who is involved in the project, told Sky News: "It's staggeringly simple and I'm amazed it hasn't been done sooner. It's a convergence of technologies. Phones are now as powerful as advanced computers a few years ago.

"The optics in the camera and the high-resolution display lend themselves perfectly to ophthalmic diagnostics.

"It's a staggering thought that more people have access to a phone in the world than they do to running water.

"This is the perfect way to bring a western opinion to where it's needed simply with a few adaptations and software support."

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'Worst Child Sex Image Fiend On Planet' In Court

A man described by the FBI as the "largest facilitator of child porn on the planet" could soon be extradited from Ireland to the US.

Eric Eoin Marques, 28, is wanted over four charges linked to images described as being extremely violent, graphic and depicting the rape and torture of pre-pubescent children.

Marques, who has Irish and US citizenship, has appeared in Dublin's High Court where extradition proceedings are under way.

Patrick McGrath, senior council for the attorney general of Ireland, said Marques was wanted in connection with the advertising, distribution and conspiracy to advertise and distribute the child abuse images.

The charges date from July 24, 2008 to July 29, 2013, two days before his arrest.

He is accused of being the sole administrator of a server where multiple websites were held and where it is alleged the abuse images were shared

If convicted, Marques faces up to 30 years in a US jail.

An FBI special agent previously told the court that the suspect is accused of being "the largest facilitator of child porn on the planet".

The US has sent a formal request for extradition and a certificate has been granted by Ireland's Justice Minister Alan Shatter.

Marques has denied being the administrator of an anonymous hosting server.

The judge adjourned the case until September 11 and remanded him in custody.

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Egypt's Brotherhood Storms Government Building

Key Events In Egypt Since 2011

Updated: 12:32pm UK, Thursday 15 August 2013

January 25 - February 11, 2011 - Egyptians stage nationwide demonstrations against nearly 30 years of President Hosni Mubarak's rule. Hundreds of protesters are killed as Mubarak and his allies try to crush the uprising.

February 11 - Mubarak steps down and the military takes over. The military dissolves parliament and suspends the constitution, meeting two key demands of protesters.

November 28, 2011 - February 15, 2012 - Egypt holds multistage, weeks-long parliamentary elections.

In the lawmaking lower house, the Muslim Brotherhood wins nearly half the seats, and ultraconservative Salafis take another quarter.

The remainder goes to liberal, independent and secular politicians. In the largely powerless upper house, Islamists take nearly 90% of the seats.

May 23 - 24, 2012 - The first round of voting in presidential elections has a field of 13 candidates.

The Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under Mubarak, emerge as the top two finishers, to face each other in a run-off.

June 14 - The Supreme Constitutional Court orders the dissolving of the lower house of parliament.

June 16 - 17 - Egyptians vote in the presidential run-off between Morsi and Shafiq. Morsi wins with 51.7% of the vote.

June 30 - Morsi takes his oath of office.

November 19 - Members of liberal parties and representatives of Egypt's churches withdraw from the 100-member assembly writing the constitution, protesting attempts by Islamists to impose their will.

November 22 - Morsi unilaterally decrees greater powers for himself, giving his decisions immunity from judicial review and barring the courts from dissolving the constituent assembly and the upper house of parliament. The move sparks days of protests.

November 30  - Islamists in the constituent assembly rush to complete the draft of the constitution. Morsi sets a December 15 date for a referendum.

December 4 - More than 100,000 protesters march on the presidential palace, demanding the cancellation of the referendum and the writing of a new constitution. The next day, Islamists attack an anti-Morsi sit-in, sparking street battles that leave at least 10 dead.

December 15, December 22 - In the two-round referendum, Egyptians approve the constitution, with 63.8% voting in favour. Turnout is low.

January 25, 2013 - Hundreds of thousands hold protests against Morsi on the two-year anniversary of the start of the revolt against Mubarak, and clashes erupt in many places.

February - March 2013 - Protests rage in Port Said and other cities for weeks, with dozens more dying in clashes.

April 7 - A Muslim mob attacks the main cathedral of the Coptic Orthodox Church as Christians hold a funeral and protest there over four Christians killed in sectarian violence the day before. Pope Tawadros II publicly blames Morsi for failing to protect the building.

June 23 - A mob beats to death four Egyptian Shi'ites in a village on the outskirts of Cairo.

June 30 - Millions of Egyptians demonstrate on Morsi's first anniversary in office, calling on him to step down. Eight people are killed in clashes outside the Muslim Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters.

July 1 - Huge demonstrations continue, and Egypt's powerful military gives the president and the opposition 48 hours to resolve their disputes, or it will impose its own solution.

July 2 - Military officials disclose main details of the army's plan if no agreement is reached: replacing Morsi with an interim administration, cancelling the Islamist-based constitution and calling elections in a year. Morsi delivers a late-night speech in which he pledges to defend his legitimacy and vows not to step down.

July 3 - Egypt's military chief announces that Morsi has been deposed, to be replaced by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court until new presidential elections. No time frame is given.

Muslim Brotherhood leaders are arrested. Tens of thousands of Morsi supporters remain camped out in two mass sit-ins in Cairo's streets.

July 4 - Supreme Constitutional Court Chief Justice Adly Mansour is sworn in as Egypt's interim president.

July 5 - Mansour dissolves the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament as Morsi's supporters stage mass protests demanding his return. Clashes between pro and anti-Morsi groups in Cairo and Alexandria, and violence elsewhere leave at least 36 dead. A Brotherhood strongman, deputy head Khairat el-Shater, is arrested.

July 8 - Egyptian soldiers open fire on pro-Morsi demonstrators in front of a military base in Cairo, killing more than 50. Each side blames the other for starting the clash near the larger of the two sit-ins, near east Cairo's Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque.

Mansour puts forward a time line for amending the constitution and electing a new president and parliament by mid-February. The Brotherhood refuses to participate in the process.

July 9 - Mansour appoints economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president. A military announcement backs up the appointments.

July 26 - Millions pour onto the streets of Egypt after a call by the country's military chief for protesters to give him a mandate to stop "potential terrorism" by supporters of Morsi. Five people are killed in clashes.

Prosecutors announce Morsi is under investigation for a host of allegations including murder and conspiracy with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

July 27  - Security forces and armed men in civilian clothes clash with Morsi supporters outside the larger of the two major sit-ins in Cairo, killing at least 80 people.

July 30 - The EU's top diplomat Catherine Ashton holds a two-hour meeting with detained Morsi at an undisclosed location. She is one of a number of international envoys, including US Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, to visit Egypt to attempt to resolve the crisis.

August 7  - Egypt's presidency says that diplomatic efforts to peacefully resolve the standoff between the country's military-backed interim leadership and the Muslim Brotherhood have failed.

August 11 - Egyptian security forces announce that they will besiege the two sit-ins within 24 hours to bar people from entering.

August 12 - Authorities postpone plans to take action against the camps, saying they want to avoid bloodshed after Morsi supporters reinforce the sit-ins with thousands more protesters.

August 14 - Riot police clear two sprawling encampments of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, sparking running street battles that kill hundreds of people.

The presidency declares a month-long state of emergency across the nation as Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei resigns in protest over the assaults.

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China Tower Block Villa: Demolition Under Way

By Victoria Wei in Beijing

A villa built on top of a 26-floor apartment block in China without permission is being demolished.

Workers can be seen demolishing the complex

Zhang Biqing, known as 'Professor Zhang', started building his elaborate residence about six years ago on the roof of a busy residential compound at West Beijing's Haidian District.

Residents had expressed their anger at the penthouse, complaining about the illegal construction for years, with no success of stopping Mr Zhang's grand project that has fake hills, real greens and even a swimming pool.

That was until a few days ago, when the building was spotted by internet users and the pictures of the site were posted and widely circulated among popular Chinese social networks, that caught the attentions of local and international media.

A warrant was issued on Wednesday with a 15-day demolition order.

The building is on the roof of an apartment block

Haidain's local city administrative management bureau, commonly referred by Chinese as 'urban thugs', was allegedly involved in the bribery from Mr Zhang to turn a blind eye to the site.

One officer Chen Yu told reporters on Tuesday that they were having difficulties getting hold of Mr Zhang in order to 'investigate the case'.

Residents complained about the villa

The demolition started around 8am, with workers coming from outside Beijing. Residents said the dismantling of part of the site was ongoing.

Mr Zhang, who became famous after inventing a system of Chinese acupuncture treatment, told local reporters the workers were the same group who built the villa and he would not be present during the process.

One family who lives at the opposite building told Sky News that the work was hugely intrusive.

They said it was loud and very bright and it meant they could not open their curtains at night.

The complex has been built over several years

"It was not only the construction work that carried on at night but also the camera at the top that seemed to be working and recording all the time - we don't have any privacy," said the woman, who did not want to be named.

"I heard the swimming pool has caused floods to downstairs flats a few times; those poor families."

The site in West Beijing has fake hills

China's online users have generated thousands of comments.

People on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, said it was because of social media that action was being taken.

One user said: "It's the power of the public voice and freedom of information. It has been six years, this Zhang person was not afraid of the city enforcements, officials, or even law, but he's afraid of public supports, afraid of Weibo!"

Some online users also expressed concerns that other illegal constructions there could spring up in the future.

"Will it be ok after the demolition? When it was first built, did it get any permission? It's a big building, it didn't get finished within a day or two.

"It's not small either, it's a really big site, how did he do it exactly? If we don't get to the bottom of the problem, this demolition is only superficial, it won't solve the problem."

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