Japan Volcano Victims Crushed By Falling Rocks

Most of the 47 dead recovered after a volcanic eruption in Japan were crushed by huge rocks thrown out by the blast.

Up to 24 people are still missing following the eruption, whch caught hikers on Mount Ontake by surprise.

Most of the bodies were found at the ash-covered summit where many of them were resting or having lunch.

All but one of the dead recovered so far was hit by rocks flying at speeds of up to 190mph, according to doctors. The other victim died from inhaling hot air.

"The bulk of the rocks are estimated to be between the size of a human fist and a head," Takayuki Kaneko, a vulcanologist at the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute, said.

Video: Hikers Run From Volcanic Ash Cloud

"They fell so densely that some broke up (after hitting other rocks and objects) and scattered," he told public broadcaster NHK.

"I think people there must have had no idea where to run and been plunged into panic."

Emergency workers had to use specialist rock-breaking equipment to recover five bodies trapped between jagged boulders up to 3m across, the Mainichi newspaper reported.

Video: Japan Volcano Eruption Explained

Other were found collapsed and half-buried in ash.

Rescue workers have had to tread extremely carefully because of worries that the blanket of ash they are walking on could be hiding crevices or unstable rocks.

And the search was postponed on Thursday by heavy rain on the 3,067 metre (10,121-feet) mountain, which is still billowing steam and toxic gas.

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1. Gallery: Deadly Volcanic Eruption In Japan

   A hiker is lifted by a rescue helicopter during a rescue operation at Mount Ontake, which has been erupting since Saturday in central Japan

2. Volcanic smoke rises from volcano

3. One of the injured is airlifted to safety

4. Japan Self-Defence Force (JSDF) soldiers and firefighters carry an injured person near a crater

5. Rescue operations at mountain lodges covered with volcanic ash. Continue through for more images

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Hannah Graham Suspect Named In 2003 Sex Attack

By Sky News US Team

The man charged with abducting University of Virginia student Hannah Graham has been linked to a sexual assault when he was a student at a different university.

Jesse Matthew, 32, is in custody after the disappearance of the British-born teenager. He is accused of kidnapping the 18-year-old with intent to sexually molest her.

It has now emerged that he was mentioned in a campus police file stemming from an assault at Christopher Newport University in Virginia on 7 September 2003.

Hannah Graham is a sophomore at University of Virginia

At the time, he was a student there and a member of the football team.

But he left both the team and the school days after the sexual assault report. It was not clear if charges were filed.

Video: Graham Suspect Innocent, Dad Says

Matthew was arrested on a Texas beach last month.

He is the last man to have been seen with Ms Graham before her 13 September disappearance.

Police believe Ms Graham met Matthew at the Tempo Restaurant in Charlottesville, a college town about 100 miles southwest of Washington.

Video: Parents Plea Over Missing Student

Matthew's father has insisted he is innocent and was probably simply trying to help Ms Graham, who remains missing.

Matthew has already been linked to the unsolved murder of Morgan Harrington, also a University of Virginia student, in 2009.

According to news reports, police are also re-examining two cold cases to see if Matthew could be linked.

Video: CCTV Shows Missing Teen Running

Sophia Rivera was last seen on 7 September 2003.  Autumn Day was last seen on 24 July 2003, the reports said.

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Thai Murders: Man Admits Killing Britons

A Burmese man has confessed to the murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand, police have said.

Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds on Sairee beach last month.

Their semi-naked bodies were found on the southern island of Koh Tao, near where they were staying, in the early hours of September 15.

A garden hoe with Miss Witheridge's blood on it was discovered nearby, and investigators have been searching for a blunt metal object used on Mr Miller.

"The investigation has advanced considerably," deputy national police chief Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda said.

Video: David Miller Seen On CCTV

"Three Burmese workers were detained and we took their DNA for testing. During the investigation one of them admitted to killing the two foreigners."

He said the man who had confessed was being detained, but had not been arrested.

"We still have to wait for DNA tests results which we expect to have in 14 hours from now in order to confirm this," he added.

Reports suggested the man had been in detention since September 16 - the day after the killings.

Thursday's development came as the Phuket Gazette reported a Koh Tao taxi driver had accused police of trying to bribe him into giving a false testimony to frame members of a Thai football team whose DNA samples were also collected for tests.

Police had originally said they believed three men were involved in the attack.

On Wednesday, they revealed Miss Witheridge had been raped by her two killers, while a third man watched.

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1. Gallery: Thailand Beach Murders

   The family of Hannah Witheridge in Thailand. Miss Witheridge was killed alongside David Miller on a beach on Koh Tao

2. Police outside the Ware family home on Jersey. Christopher and James Ware, who were childhood friends of Mr Miller, have been questioned in Thailand as part of the investigation

3. The pair suffered "gruesome" injuries, according to police

4. The victims were staying in this hotel

5. Thai police at the scene of the beach attack

Two different semen samples were collected from her body.

Almost three weeks after the deaths police also announced they were offering a reward of more than £13,000 (700,000 baht) in an effort to catch the killers.

Thai authorities have been concerned the killings could lead to a further slump in tourism which has never recovered since the bloody protests on the streets of Bangkok that preceded a military coup in May.

On Tuesday, the country's tourism minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul announced plans to issue tourists with wristbands in the wake of the murders to help identify those who run into trouble.

Party curfews and restrictions on where they can be held are also being considered, as well as the idea of introducing a "buddy system" - pairing tourists with a local minder.

"The next step would be some sort of electronic tracking device, but this has not yet been discussed in detail," said the minister.

However, the Phuket Gazette reported the wristband idea had been dismissed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

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China May Be Using App To Spy On Protesters

A US security firm has claimed the Chinese government may be using smartphone apps to spy on pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong.

The applications – disguised as tools created by activists – reportedly give an outside access to the phone's address book, call logs and other information.

Lacoon Mobile Security said the identities of the victims and the servers used "lead us to believe that the Chinese government are behind the attack".

The Chinese government has always denied carrying out cyber-espionage and insists it is one of the biggest victims of hacking attacks.

Lacoon said two similar "malicious and fake" apps were discovered – one targets Apple's iOS operating system, while the other targets Google's Android system.

Video: Hong Kong: One Country, Two Systems

It said the two apps appear to be related. Cross-platform attacks such as this are rare.

The company added that the "very advanced software" is "undoubtedly being backed by a nation state".

China is regarded as a leader in cyber warfare research.

Video: Hong Kong Protests: Chat App Is Key

In May, prosecutors in the US charged five Chinese military officers with cyberspying and stealing trade secrets from major American companies.

Meanwhile security firm Mandiant said last year it traced attacks on American companies to a military unit in Shanghai.

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White Women Sue Over Black Sperm Donor Error

By Sky News US Team

Two women have sued a sperm bank after one of them became pregnant with sperm donated by a black man instead of the white donor they had chosen.

Jennifer Cramblett was five months pregnant with donor sperm in 2012 when she and her partner learned that the Midwest Sperm Bank near Chicago had selected the wrong donor.

It came down to a clerical error: Donor No 330, a black donor, was mixed up with No 380, a white donor.

The mistake happened because the sperm bank keeps handwritten records instead of electronic ones, according to the lawsuit.

The sperm bank apologised in a letter

"They took a personal choice, a personal decision and took it on themselves to make that choice for us out of pure negligence," Ms Cramblett told the AP news agency.

Ms Cramblett said she decided to sue to prevent the sperm bank from making the same mistake again.

She is seeking a minimum of $50,000 (£30,000) in damages.

The mistake was discovered when Ms Cramblett, 36, and partner Amanda Zinkon, 29, asked the sperm bank to reserve sperm from the same donor in the hope that Ms Zinkon would someday also have a child.

The couple said they love their two-year-old mixed race daughter, Payton, very much and would not change anything about her.

But they are concerned about raising her in the predominantly white community where they live.

Therapists have recommended that the family move to a more a racially diverse community with good schools, the lawsuit said.

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Spike-Studded Pill Could Replace Injections

Scared of needles? A spike-studded capsule could provide an alternative.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a pill-like capsule that injects medication into the stomach lining after being swallowed.

It eliminates the need for injections and could be more effective than regular pills.

It could also allow doctors to deliver pill forms of drugs that cannot currently be taken orally due to the effects of stomach acid.

A report in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences found that it delivered insulin more effectively than an injection in tests on pigs.

An image of the pill lodged in the stomach wall

The capsule measures a centimetre in diameter and is 2cm long. It can be filled with a variety of different drugs.

The stainless steel needles are 5mm long and are only revealed after the pH-sensitive coating dissolves in the digestive tract.

A report by the researchers said: "Previous studies of accidental ingestion of sharp objects in human patients have suggested that it could be safe to swallow a capsule coated with short needles. Because there are no pain receptors in the GI tract, patients would not feel any pain from the drug injection."

The team is now trying to advance their design to include needles made of degradable polymers that would slowly disintegrate after releasing the drug.

Extensive testing is needed before the pills could be used widely.

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RAF Tornados Take Out IS Truck Using Guided Bomb

RAF Tornados have helped Peshmerga forces destroy an Islamic State armed pick-up truck using a guided bomb in Iraq - as a UN report condemned "gross" human rights abuses by the terror group.

Two war planes provided air support to the Kurdish forces on the ground who were battling IS fighters in the north-west of the country.

The Ministry of Defence said the "successful precision attack" was carried out with a Paveway IV guided bomb overnight.

The strikes came as militants took control of most of the western Iraqi town of Hit in Anbar province.

IS has declared territories it controls in Iraq and Syria a 'caliphate'

"Ninety percent of the town of Hit has been overrun by militants," said Adnan al Fahdawi, a provincial council member.

The United Nations report, based on nearly 500 interviews, found the Islamist militant group had carried out mass executions, abducted women and girls as sex slaves, and used children as fighters.

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1. Gallery: The Moment RAF Jet Attacks IS Truck

   The RAF carried out its first airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq on 1 October, 2014 (All pictures: MoD)

2. Tornados destroyed a heavy weapon position, which was attacking Kurdish forces, and an armed pick-up truck (pictured). The red circle shows the path of the missile fired at the vehicle

3. The strikes were the first since MPs voted to support aerial raids in Iraq last Friday

4. The targets were in the northwest of Iraq

5. The moment the truck, which had a mounted machine gun, was destroyed by a Brimstone missile

6. A plume of smoke rose above the area

7. The strike was successful, according to an initial assessment, said Defence Secretary Michael Fallon

8. The Tornados safely returned to their base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after the sortie

9. Six of the GR4 fighter jets are based on the island in the Mediterranean

10. The aircraft began their combat missions on Saturday

"These include attacks directly targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, executions and other targeted killings of civilians, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence perpetrated against women and children, forced recruitment of children, destruction or desecration of places of religious or cultural significance, wanton destruction and looting of property, and denial of fundamental freedoms," the report said.

It also said the acts of violence over a nine-week period included the systematic targeting of diverse ethnic and religious communities - including Turkmen, Shabak, Christians and Yazidis - aimed at "destroying, suppressing or cleansing them" from areas under IS control.

IS, formerly known as ISIL, has declared the establishment of a "caliphate" - or Islamic state - on the territories it occupies in Iraq and Syria.

"The array of violations and abuses perpetrated by ISIL and associated armed groups is staggering, and many of their acts may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

The report also found airstrikes by Iraqi government forces had caused "significant civilian deaths and injuries".

The UK is supporting Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling Sunni Muslim extremists from IS, which has taken over large parts of Iraq in recent months.

Video: Tornado Returns From Strike Mission

Calls have been growing for strikes against the group's Syrian strongholds too.

However, a vote in Parliament last Friday did not include the authorisation of airstrikes over the country.

Turkey's parliament is currently considering whether to join the international coalition against IS and approve military action in Iraq and Syria - and allow forces to use its territory for possible operations.

"In the struggle against terrorism, we are open and ready for every kind of cooperation. However, Turkey is not a country that will allow itself to be used for temporary solutions," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Meanwhile, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau dismissed Nigerian military claims of his death, and said the group was "running our... Islamic caliphate" in captured towns.

"Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath," he said in a video obtained by the AFP news agency.

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Japan Braces For 300-Mile-Wide Typhoon

Japan is set to be battered by 150mph winds amid growing fears a super typhoon could trigger deadly landslides and flash floods.

Typhoon Phanfone has been getting progressively stronger as it sweeps north across the Pacific Ocean, increasing from a category three to category four typhoon.

The 300-mile-wide storm will reach Japan on Sunday, bringing with it increasingly torrential rain.

And after dozens of deaths following three previous typhoons in Japan this year, forecasters say further devastation is possible.

Sky News Weather Producer Rebecca Yussuf said: "It was a category three this morning but has since strengthened into a category four, which is the second strongest, with a category five classed as a super typhoon.

"It's still in an area where there are the conditions for it to strengthen further, which is why people are talking about super typhoon. There is the potential for a super typhoon."

Typhoon Halong caused major damage and killed 10 people in Japan in August

Organisers of the F1 Grand Prix in the northern city of Suzuka are also monitoring developments closely, with concerns the event could be disrupted by the weather.

Yussuf said the typhoon would make landfall in the southern Japanese islands on Sunday, but it would hit the mainland on Monday.

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1. Gallery: August: Dozens Killed In Japan Landslide

   Police and military personnel search for victims two days after a landslide hit a residential area in Hiroshima, western Japan

2. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said 40 people were confirmed dead and 47 still unaccounted for

3. Forecasts for more heavy rains raised the risk of further landslides in the region. Click through for more images...

"The system by then is expected to be around 300 miles across and will weaken as is makes landfall," she said.

"We're likely to see sustained winds of around 125mph and gusts of 150mph and there'll be huge waves and storm surges at the coast.

"There will also be very heavy rain - between three and 10 inches. Particularly given the landscape in Japan, that kind of rainfall can cause flash flooding and landslides.

"We've already seen three typhoons in Japan so far this year, which have led to dozens of deaths, so people will inevitably be concerned we could see similar problems."

More than 36 people died in mudslides that hit Hiroshima in August, while at least 10 people were killed by Typhoon Halong earlier that month.

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Hong Kong Leader To Meet Student Protesters

Hong Kong leader CY Leung has said his officials will meet protest leaders to head off their threat to occupy buildings.

Protesters had warned they would occupy government buildings if Mr Leung did not step down by 5pm BST.

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been on the streets since the weekend, when police fired tear gas at the crowd.

Mr Leung, the territory's chief executive, told the media he would not be quitting and warned of serious consequences if protesters followed through with their threat to enter government buildings.

He said his top civil servant would hold talks with the Hong Kong students' federation to discuss the "constitution".

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1. Gallery: Hong Kong Protest Deadline Passes

   Hong Kong's embattled leader CY Leung offers talks between his government and pro-democracy protesters

2. Protesters had warned they would occupy government buildings if Mr Leung did not step down by 5pm BST

5. A protester holds an umbrella to protect the police from rain during a confrontation overnight outside the legislative government complex in Hong Kong

6. A pro-democracy demonstrator display a placard in Hong Kong

7. As the sun comes up a protester reads a book at a sit in blocking the entrance to the Chief Executive's Office

8. Protesters sleep next to a barricade blocking the entrance to the Chief Executive's Office

9. Pro-democracy demonstrators recycle plastic bottles at a collection point in Hong Kong

10. A man jogs past plastic bottles collected by pro-democracy demonstrators

11. People look at messages of support displayed on a post-it wall outside the government headquarters

12. Hong Kong police stand guard as protesters confront them overnight outside the legislative government complex

13. Protesters confront police overnight outside the legislative government complex

14. Protesters sleep in the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex

15. Pro-democracy protesters chant

16. A woman looks at messages of support placed on a barrier

17. A man stands near umbrellas, which have become the symbol of this protest

18. A man holding an umbrella walks past support messages in various languages writen on umbrellas

19. Student protesters sleep overnight as the stand-off continues

Protesters in the so-called "umbrella revolution" are railing against plans that will force them to choose their leader from among approved Communist loyalists.

Tensions were high ahead of the last-minute news conference after police had earlier been seen carrying what appeared to be supplies of rubber bullets and riot gear.

Police used tear gas and baton charges when the protests began last weekend.

Video: Hong Kong: One Country, Two Systems

Demonstrators, most of them students or young people, have taken to the streets with goggles, plastic macs and umbrellas fearing another outbreak of violence.

More follows...

Video: Hong Kong Protests: Chat App Is Key

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US Has List Of 100 Contacts Of Ebola Patient

By Sky News US Team

Texas health officials have drawn up a list of about 100 potential or possible contacts of the first ebola patient diagnosed in the US.

However, the Texas Department of State Health Services said it expects the "tracing number will be lower".

Earlier in the day, officials said about 80 people might be exposed to the patient, identified in media reports as Thomas Eric Duncan, or his contacts.

Dallas health officials also ordered four close relatives to stay home and see no visitors.

The move was decided out of an "abundance of caution", the officials said. A violation could result in criminal charges.

Mr Duncan is the first ebola patient diagnosed in the US. Pic: Facebook

Meanwhile in Hawaii, a person is showing possible symptoms of ebola and is undergoing testing in an isolation unit at a Honolulu hospital, officials told the KOHN TV station.

Mr Duncan travelled last month from Liberia, one of the hardest hit countries. He was en route from West Africa to Texas for about 28 hours, flying on three flights and two airlines.

Video: Children Exposed To Ebola Patient

Officials stress there is no risk to fellow travellers because the patient showed no symptoms at the time of his journey.

Mr Duncan left Liberia on 19 September on a flight to Brussels. According to CBS, he flew aboard a Brussels Airlines jet.

After a seven-hour layover, he took United Airlines Flight 951 to Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC.

Then, after another three hours, he boarded Flight 822 to Dallas-Fort Worth, the airline said.

He arrived in Texas on 20 September.

Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as blood or saliva, which health experts say limits its potential to infect others, unlike airborne diseases.

Video: Ebola: A Threat To Global Security

Still, the long window of time before patients exhibit signs of infection, such as fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, means an infected person can travel without detection.

Previously, officials said they had identified between a dozen and 18 people to be monitored for possible symptoms of the deadly virus.

According to The New York Times, days before departing for the US, Mr Duncan helped transport a pregnant woman suffering from ebola to a hospital in Liberia, where she was turned away for lack of space.

Mr Duncan, who is reported to be in his mid-40s, helped bring the woman back to her family's home and carried her into the house, where she later died, the Times said.

Mr Duncan first went to a Dallas emergency room on 26 September.

But he was sent home with antibiotics even as he informed hospital staff that he was from the epicentre of the African ebola outbreak that has killed thousands of people.

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1. Gallery: August: Ebola Victims In Isolation

   A sick man staggers through a makeshift ebola isolation ward in Liberia. The images released in August illustrate the scale of the difficulties in treating sufferers

2. The sick are often left to die in the makeshift wards, sometimes former classrooms

3. A woman tries to help her sick husband who trips and falls in one of the wards

4. Liberia is struggling to contain the outbreak and the sick face dying in terrible isolation

5. The wife of a sick man despairs as her husband lies on the floor after falling

6. A child lies sick in an isolation ward in Liberia

7. A medical worker with a young family in an isolation ward

8. A sick woman lies in a classroom now used as an ebola isolation ward

Two days later, he was seen vomiting on the ground outside an apartment complex as he was bundled into an ambulance, the Reuters news agency reported.

Before being admitted, he came into contact with five schoolchildren. The students had been at school since then but were now under observation at home.

They did not have any symptoms and were low risk, said Dallas Independent School District.

US officials have been stressing they are prepared to deal with an ebola case, and sought to calm fears of a rapid spread.

The current outbreak has infected 6,574 people across five countries and killed 3,091, according to the World Health Organisation.

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