Somalia: 12 Killed In Restaurant Bomb Attack

A suicide bomber in Somalia has detonated explosives in a crowded restaurant, killing at least 12 people including himself, according to police.

The attack occurred in the city of Beledweyne, about 339 kilometres (210.65 miles) north of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

"It was horrible, I counted 12 people killed – among them soldiers – and many others were injured," Mohamed Islow Ali, a witness, told AFP.

"There were a lot of people in the restaurant when the bomber blew himself up, many people have died including civilians," said Hussein Ali, another witness to the attack.

Mohamed Abdi, a senior Somali police official, told the Associated Press that at least 10 people were injured in the blast.

The restaurant targeted was understood to be popular among soldiers.

Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants have since claimed responsibility for the bombing.

"The attack was carried out by one of the mujahedeen. Thanks to Allah, he has killed many of the enemy including Ethiopian soldiers and Djiboutians," Sheikh Mohamed, an al Shabaab commander in the nearby town of Bulaburde, told AFP.

The group was also responsible for last month's attack on Nairobi's Westgate shopping centre in Kenya.

At least 67 people were killed in the four-day siege.

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Mystery Blonde Girl: Greece Charity In Appeal

An international search is under way to identify the parents of a blonde girl found in the care of a couple on a Roma camp in Greece.

DNA tests have shown the four-year-old is not related to the pair - and their accounts of how she came to be living with them differ.

Police found the girl, who recognises the name Maria, during a raid on the camp, in Farsala, central Greece, on Wednesday.

She has now been taken into the care of a Greek charity called The Smile Of The Child, which has put out a Europe-wide alert.

A poster released to help find the girl's parents

A statement from the charity said: "The features of the girl and the controversial claims of the persons who claimed to be the parents of the child led the authorities to collect a DNA sample test.

"The results of DNA testing proved that these people are not the biological parents of the child.

"The Smile of the Child in co-operation with national police authorities is taking all necessary steps to inform the competent actors at national and international level."

The director of The Smile Of The Child praised an observant prosecutor who went on the camp raid along with dozens of police.

Costas Giannopoulos told Greece's Skai TV: "She saw a little blonde head poking out from under the bedclothes. It struck her as odd, and that's how it all started."

The girl recognises the name Maria

Vassilis Halatsis, the police chief handling the case, told Sky News that despite a flood of local and international calls to domestic media and social groups, no parent has come forward to claim the child.

"That makes the case so much more difficult for us," he said.

He said authorities will release pictures of the arrested gypsy couple on Monday and hope it will unravel the mystery surrounding Maria.

Another reason detectives suspect the case could be part of an international trafficking ring is that Greek police records show a related kidnapping case in 2009, the year Maria was born.

Apparently, the couple's various excuses included that the girl was found in a blanket and that she was handed to them by strangers. They later claimed she had a foreign father.

Maria is described as: born around 2009, white, with blue eyes, long blonde hair, 100cm tall and weighing 17kg.

The couple - a 39-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman - have been arrested and are now under investigation for abduction and falsifying identity and family certificates.

They claimed to have 14 children, police said, and had registered different numbers with authorities in three different parts of Greece. Including Maria, the couple only actually had four.

The woman is also said to have claimed to have given birth to six children within a space of less than 10 months.

Police say they also found drugs and unregistered firearms in other parts of the camp, which is about 170 miles (280km) north of Athens.

Officers are now working on the theory that, because of her appearance, Maria may be northern or eastern European.

The case, which some people have likened to the Madeleine McCann disappearance, has raised concerns about how easy it appeared to be for people to get official documents for children who are not their own.

A spokesman for Madeleine's family said: "This gives Kate and Gerry great hope that Madeleine could be found alive."

The Smile Of The Child director Costas Giannopoulos said Maria was being examined by doctors.

"We are shocked by how easy it is for people to register children as their own," he told the Greek TV station Skai.

"There is much more to investigate ... and I believe police will unravel a thread that doesn't just have to do with the girl."

Greece has only acquired a central system of registration for births in the last five months.

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Syria: Rebels Kill 16 Soldiers In Bomb Attack

Syrian rebels attacked a checkpoint in a pro-government suburb of Damascus, setting off a suicide vehicle bomb that killed 16 soldiers, according to activists.

It came as the UN-Arab League envoy began a regional push for peace talks.

Meanwhile, the US said children were starving to death in besieged areas of the capital and demanded that the regime allow aid convoys in.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a suicide bomber from the al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front detonated an explosives-packed car at the checkpoint between Jaramana and the rebel-held area of Mleha.

State media blamed the blast on "terrorists", the regime term for rebels.

Heavy fighting followed, with rebel mortar fire hitting Jaramana, said the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on activists and medics on the ground for its information.

One resident said the intensity of fighting was "unprecedented" since the conflict erupted in March 2011.

The wreckage of a car bomb explosion in Jaramana in July

The war, which began after President Bashar al Assad launched a bloody crackdown on democracy protests inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings, is believed to have killed more than 115,000 people.

Washington condemned the regime's relentless siege of rebel-held Eastern Ghouta and Moadamiyet al Sham on the capital's outskirts.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said there were "unprecedented reports of children dying of malnutrition-related causes in areas that are only a few miles from Bashar al Assad's palace in Damascus".

She added: "The regime's deliberate prevention of the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian supplies to thousands of civilians is unconscionable.

"We call on the Syrian regime to immediately approve relief convoys into these areas."

The call came as UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was to arrive in Cairo at the start of a regional tour aimed at paving the way for peace talks.

World powers hope to convene a peace conference in Geneva next month but prospects for it remain unclear, with Syria's opposition divided and due to vote next week on whether to take part.

Mr Assad's government says his departure from office cannot be on the table, while the opposition insists he cannot remain in power.

Separately, US Secretary of State John Kerry will head to Europe next week for talks on Syria.

He and other envoys from the "Friends of Syria" group will meet the Syrian opposition in Britain on Tuesday to review progress towards convening the conference.

The National Coalition, Syria's main opposition bloc, said it would hold internal discussions next week to decide whether to do so.

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Italy: Berlusconi Facing Ban From Public Office

A court has ruled that Silvio Berlusconi should be barred from public office for two years following a tax fraud conviction.

But as the former prime minister is a senator the upper house of parliament will need to approve his expulsion in a vote expected next month.

The Senate - which is dominated by Berlusconi opponents from both the left and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement - is expected to strip him of his seat.

The 76-year-old billionaire could also face a six-year ban from public office because the upper house's vote will be based on a separate law to that applied by the Milan court.

Losing his seat would also deprive Berlusconi, who is fighting a conviction for paying for sex with a minor among other legal cases, of his parliamentary immunity from arrest.

The Milan court's ruling reflected the prosecution's request for a two-year ban.

Berlusconi's lawyers, who can appeal to the supreme court, had asked for a one-year ban, the minimum under the law that was being applied in the case.

The maximum would have been three years.

On August 1, Italy's supreme court definitively upheld a tax fraud conviction against the centre-right leader, rejecting his final appeal against an earlier four-year jail sentence, which was reduced to one year.

If the Senate expels him, Berlusconi will spend the year either under house arrest or in community service.

The August supreme court ruling involved claims of inflated invoices at his Mediaset broadcasting empire.

It was the first definitive sentence he had received after dozens of previous trials on charges ranging from tax to sex offences.

Berlusconi has protested his innocence, accusing magistrates of persecuting him since his entry into politics 20 years ago.

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Kenya Mall Attack: New Video Of The Gunmen

New CCTV footage has emerged from inside the Nairobi shopping mall showing how the attackers calmly shot people before taking time out to pray.

The video shows shoppers running away from the gunmen and dropping to the floor as bullets fly through the air.

At one point an injured man, who is bleeding heavily, is seen trying to pull himself to safety before apparently being shot again and then dying.

The silent video is taken from a number of CCTV cameras around the upmarket Westgate Mall in Kenya's capital and was obtained by CNN.

It appears that the footage was taken on September 21, the first day of a four-day siege, which left at least 67 people dead.

The attackers are also shown taking in turns to pray in what appears to be a store room.

Another section shows two militants casually walking through a supermarket while firing their guns and then talking on their mobile phones.

A woman with two children and pushing another in a shopping trolley are seen walking past a line of tills before a teenage girl follows them with a gunman behind her pointing the way.

It is believed they were all eventually released.

The al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab claimed the attack was in retaliation for Kenyan military operations in Somalia.

A month on from the attack, two boxes of charred body parts have been delivered to a Nairobi morgue in what could be the first discovered remains of the gunmen.

Officials in Kenya, speaking anonymously, said they were found in the mall alongside four AK-47 rifles.

Another security official also said one of the four gunmen seen in the CCTV footage is a Norwegian-Somali whose last name is Dhuhulow, with the first or middle name Abdi.

Five attackers were killed by security forces during the siege, Kenya authorities have said.

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Snowden Denies Taking NSA Files To Russia

Edward Snowden has said he did not take any secret National Security Agency documents with him to Russia, telling a newspaper "it wouldn't serve the public interest".

In an interview with The New York Times, the former NSA analyst said he handed over all material to journalists during his stay in Hong Kong and that he did not keep copies for himself.

China and Russia could not get access to the documents he had obtained before leaving the US, he insisted.

Snowden, who worked for a contractor as a systems administrator at an NSA facility, said he was able to protect the documents from Chinese agencies because he was familiar with Beijing's intelligence capabilities.

"There's a zero per cent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents," he told the paper.

The US has faced protests at home and abroad over its spying operations

Snowden's leaks of highly classified material have unveiled US surveillance activities at home and abroad, sparking debate about the privacy implications for Americans.

In the Times interview, Snowden described himself as a whistleblower who was acting in the nation's best interests by revealing information about the NSA's programmes.

"The secret continuance of these programmes represents a far greater danger than their disclosure," he said in the interview, which took place over several days and involved encrypted online communications.

Snowden said he feels he has boosted US national security by prompting a public debate about the scope of US data collection.

"So long as there's broad support amongst a people, it can be argued there's a level of legitimacy even to the most invasive and morally wrong programme, as it was an informed and willing decision," he said.

"However, programmes that are implemented in secret, out of public oversight, lack that legitimacy, and that's a problem."

Snowden, 30, has polarised opinion in the US, where some consider him a civil rights hero who wants to empower citizens, and others a traitor who stole secrets after vowing to protect them.

Snowden, who faces espionage charges in the US, is now in Russia, which granted him asylum for one year.

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Australia Fires: Man Dies As Homes Destroyed

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Around 100 bushfires continue to burn across the state of New South Wales in Australia with the crisis claiming its first life.

A man died from a heart attack on the Central Coast north of Sydney whilst trying to protect his home from the flames.

Dozens of houses have been destroyed with the authorities suggesting the eventual number of properties burned down could be in "the hundreds".

Barry O'Farrell, New South Wales State Premier, said: "Regrettably, overnight we had what we hoped wouldn't occur which is a loss of life up there at Lake Munmorah.

"A 63-year-old man who apparently collapsed fighting a fire to defend his property, taken to Wyong Hospital and unfortunately couldn't be resuscitated. That's the worst that anyone wants to happen."

Firefighters were assisted by milder conditions on Friday after unseasonably hot temperatures and strong winds fanned flames across the parched landscape threatening areas to the North, South and West of Sydney, Rural Fire Service officials said.

Around 30 fires are still understood to be burning out of control.

Two firefighters were taken to hospital with injuries, and one had undergone surgery, Mr O'Farrell said. He did not give details of their injuries.

Hundreds of residents spent Thursday night in dozens of evacuation centres in the Blue Mountains, a popular tourist region to Sydney's west, and elsewhere in New South Wales.

One of the houses destroyed in Winmalee in Sydney's Blue Mountains

Most were unaware of the fate of their homes.

One homeowner from Springwood, west of Sydney told reporters: "You do your best and it just kind of gets to the stage where you just realise that you can't do any more and you go.

"You take what you can and go. In my case, it was the dog."

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, himself a volunteer firefighter, has been visiting Winmalee, one of the areas affected.

He said he wanted to "convey our nation's sympathy to all those who are suffering, to all those who have lost homes".

"And in particular, to acknowledge there has already been a loss of life and we fear more," he said.

"Australia is a country which is prone to natural disaster but, every time it strikes, it hurts and we grieve for all of those who are now hurting."

Temperatures west of Sydney made conditions easier for fire crews, reaching around 23C (73F) - around 10C (18F) cooler than on Thursday.

However, high temperatures and strong winds are forecast to return on Sunday and Monday.

Wildfires are common throughout Australia in the warmer months.

In February 2009, wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.

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Saudi Arabia Rejects UN Security Council Seat

Saudi Arabia has refused to accept its seat on the UN Security Council, saying the international body is incapable of resolving world conflicts.

The snub came hours after the country, along with Chad and Nigeria, was elected to serve a two-year term on the Security Council as human rights groups called for all three countries to improve their records.

It is the second time this month that Saudi Arabia has publicly expressed discontent over what it sees as the UN's failure to stop the bloodshed in Syria.

In a statement, carried on state news agency SPA, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the Council had allowed President Bashar al Assad's regime to continue killing Syrians, including with chemical weapons, without punishment.

"The Kingdom sees that the method and work mechanism and the double standards in the Security Council prevent it from properly shouldering its responsibilities towards world peace," it said.

Syrian rebels battle with Assad's forces in Aleppo

Saudi Arabia also said the UN had not been able to end more than four decades of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and had failed to transform the Middle East into an area free of weapons of mass destruction.

It said it was unable to take its seat until reforms were introduced, but did not specify what changes it wanted.

The Security Council has been split on how to handle the civil war in Syria, with Western leaders pushing for stronger sanctions against Mr Assad and Russia vetoing the demands.

Saudi Arabia has backed the rebels in the conflict, which has seen at least 100,000 people killed.

Palestinians celebrate the release of prisoners from jail

The Saudis, along with other Arab states, have criticised the US for blocking international action to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands seized in the 1967 Middle East war.

Earlier this month, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud al Faisal, cancelled a speech at the UN General Assembly in frustration over international inaction on Syria and the Palestinian issue, a diplomatic source said.

Saudi Arabia has long been criticised by rights groups.

In its 2013 report on the country, Amnesty International said authorities "severely restricted" freedoms of expression, political activists were detained without trial and migrant workers were exploited and abused.

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Up To 30m People 'Live As Modern-Day Slaves'

Some 30 million people around the world are living as so-called modern-day slaves, according to an inaugural report by the Walk Free Foundation.

The Global Slavery Index 2013 reveals African and Asian countries have the highest numbers of slaves and the highest proportion according to population density.

Britain, Ireland and Iceland are placed joint bottom in the prevalence table of 162 countries.

While Iceland is believed to have fewer than 100 slaves, Britain is understood to have up to 4,600.

The study defines slavery as the possession or control of people to deny freedom and exploit them for profit or sex, usually through violence, coercion or deception.

Aysha was forced to work as a prostitute in her home of Uzbekistan

It includes practices such as debt-bondage, forced marriage, forced begging, human trafficking, forced labour and the abduction of children to serve in war.

The report said: "Today some people are still being born into hereditary slavery, a staggering but harsh reality, particularly in parts of west Africa and south Asia.

"Other victims are captured or kidnapped before being sold or kept for exploitation, whether through marriage, unpaid labour on fishing boats, or as domestic workers.

"Others are tricked and lured into situations they cannot escape, with false promises of a good job or an education."

Forced labour workers on a penal colony near Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

Almost half of the world's slaves are in India, where bonded labour in quarries and kilns and commercial sex exploitation is widespread.

The report reveals some 10 countries alone account for three quarters of the world's slaves.

After India, China has the most with 2.9 million, followed by Pakistan (2.1 million), Nigeria (701,000), Ethiopia (651,000), Russia (516,000), Thailand (473,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (462,000), Myanmar (384,000) and Bangladesh (343,000).

When ranked by prevalence of slavery per head of population, Mauritania ranks highest with almost 4% of its 3.8 million people reported to be enslaved, though estimates by other organisations put the level at up to 20%.

Two children rescued from a child-marriage ceremony in Pakistan

Chattel slavery is common in Mauritania, meaning that slave status is passed down through generations, with 'owners' buying, renting or giving away their slaves as gifts.

After Mauritania, slavery is most prevalent by population in Haiti, where a system of child labour known as "restavek" encourages poor families to send their children to wealthier acquaintances, where many end up exploited and abused.

Nick Grono from the Walk Free Foundation said the annual index would serve as an important baseline for governments and activists in the anti-slavery fight.

"This kind of data hasn't been out there before," he said.

"It's a multi-year effort, and next year we'll have a much better picture of where slavery is and what changes there are."

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Madeleine McCann: 500 Calls From Germany

German broadcaster ZDF has received 500 phone calls and emails after airing a programme on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Madeleine's parents launched an appeal for information to help them find their daughter on the television show "Aktenzeichen XY ungeloest," Germany's version of BBC's Crimewatch programme.

Some 7.26 million people watched the show, its highest rating in 15 years.

E-fit images of a man police want to talk to in connection with the case

The missing girl's mother Kate McCann told the programme: "Please have the compassion and courage to tell us what happened to her."

It is not known how many of the 500 tip-offs will prove useful to police, who received 150 phone calls from the public after a similar appeal was aired on Dutch television.

Officers at Scotland Yard said they received the calls after the appeal was broadcast on the crime programme Opsporing Verzocht.

Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry said they were "absolutely delighted" with the "overwhelming" response to the new appeal for information about their daughter's disappearance which first featured on Crimewatch.

Following a similar appeal on Norway's TV2 channel, a Norwegian woman claimed to have seen a girl resembling Madeleine with a strange man when she was on holiday in Spain two years ago.

Detectives have released two e-fit images of a man they want to speak to in connection with the case based on the accounts of two witnesses.

Both described seeing him in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of the three-year-old's disappearance on May 3, 2007.

:: Madeleine: The New Investigation, Friday at 7.30pm on Sky News

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Air Pollution 'Leading Cause of Cancer'

Outdoor air pollution is the leading cause of cancer, a World Health Organisation agency has revealed.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said that in 2010, 223,000 deaths from lung cancer worldwide resulted from air pollution, also pointing out there was also convincing evidence it increases the risk of bladder cancer.

Air pollution, mostly caused by transport, power generation, industrial or agricultural emissions, and residential heating and cooking, is already known to raise risks for a wide range of illnesses including respiratory and heart diseases.

The average annual deaths per 1,000 sq km due to air pollution (see below)

Kurt Straif, of the IARC, said: "The air we breathe has become polluted with a mixture of cancer-causing substances.

"We now know that outdoor air pollution is not only a major risk to health in general, but also a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths."

Research suggests that in recent years exposure levels have risen significantly in some parts of the world - particularly countries with large populations going through rapid industrialisation such as China.

In a statement, IARC said both outdoor air pollution and "particulate matter" would not be classified among its Group One human carcinogens.

That puts them alongside more than 100 other known cancer-causing substances, including asbestos, plutonium, ultraviolet radiation and tobacco smoke.

IARC director Christopher Wild said the decision to classify outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic was an important step to alerting governments to its dangers and potential costs.

He said: "There are effective ways to reduce air pollution and, given the scale of the exposure affecting people worldwide, this report should send a strong signal to the international community to take action."

It comes after the head of the Vatican Museums warned he will be forced to limit the number of visitors to the Sistine Chapel if new air conditioning and purification systems does not significantly reduce pollution levels.

Antonio Paolucci said he was confident the new system, which is expected to be completed at the end of 2014, would curb the dust, humidity and carbon dioxide that is dulling Michelangelo's masterpiece.

:: The diagram above shows the model estimate of the average annual number of deaths per 1,000 square kilometres due to air pollution. Using the difference in pollution levels between 1850 and 2000, dark brown areas have more premature deaths, while blue areas experienced an improvement in air quality and a decline in premature deaths.

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Outrage Over China's Plans For Mao's Birthday

More than $2.5bn (£1.6bn) is being spent on events to mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong, to the fury of many Chinese citizens.

The money is being directed towards Mao's birthplace of Shaoshan, where a tourist information centre will be renovated and his former residence restored, according to the Changsha Evening News.

High-speed rail stations and new highways will also be built to impress the expected influx of visitors.

Authorities in Xiangtan, which includes Shaoshan, defended the spending plans, telling China's Global Times newspaper that the commemoration's importance "overrides any other at the moment".

However, Chinese internet users have criticised the sum of money the city plans to spend - far greater than originally planned - more than 37 years after Mao's death.

Mao memorabilia remains popular throughout China

One poster on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter, said: "How much money does it cost to deal with pollution? How much does it cost to provide medical insurance? How much to offer students from poor districts free lunch?

"I can't believe they're spending this much money on a dead man, a controversial dead man."

Another user added: "Xiangtan's economy is not doing well and a lot of people have been laid off by state-owned enterprises. And they spent so lavishly! I am so "proud" of them. Who are those Xiangtan officials really serving?"

The comments highlight the thorny issue of such lavish outlays in China.

Although the government has launched an austerity campaign, banning banquets and other indulgences, it came under fire earlier this month after building a 70m yuan (£7m) viewing tower in the shape of a giant puffer fish.

The enormous puffer fish has been built on an island in Jiangsu province

The spending plans are part of a broader commemoration of the Mao anniversary in China.

The late leader's legacy is often associated in the West with events such as China's Great Leap Forward, when tens of millions died through famine, as well as the Cultural Revolution.

However in China, his supporters focus on Mao's earlier revolutionary years, his role in the 1949 founding of the People's Republic and his nationalistic stance.

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, professor of history at the University of California Irvine, said the 120th anniversary will see an effort to put Mao "into a context as the person who began China's resurgence to world-power status, as opposed to what the Western associations with Mao often now are".

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South Africa Toddlers Found Dead In Toilet

South African police are questioning three people over the deaths of two toddlers who were found in a communal toilet, sparking violent protests and looting.

Angry residents in the Diepsloot township north of Johannesburg barricaded roads, set fire to tyres and stoned vehicles after the girls, two cousins aged two and three, were discovered.

Shops belonging to foreign nationals were looted, according to reports.

The protesters accused police of failing to provide security for their community.

Gauteng police said they were investigating if the girls - identified as Yonelisa and Zandile Mali - had been sexually assaulted before they were killed. 

They also told reporters they were searching for a fourth person in connection with the investigation.

The two girls had been reported missing at the weekend and were found in the toilet cubicle in the early hours of Tuesday.

Last month, the body of a five-year-old girl was found in a skip in the same area.

Diepsloot is an impoverished area of Johannesburg. Pic: File

Diepsloot, which borders one of the country's wealthiest gated estates, Dainfern, is among the most impoverished areas in Johannesburg.

Some parts of the township have no running water and residents share pit latrines or mobile toilets.

President Jacob Zuma urged South Africans not to take the law into their own hands.

"These gruesome incidents of extreme torture and murder of our children do not belong to the society that we are continuously striving to build together," he said.

"We condemn these murders in the strongest possible terms."

In a separate case, the bodies of two other children were found in a field in Katlehong township in East Rand, Gauteng province.

The children, aged one and three, were found next to their mother, who had been critically injured, according to iAfrica.com.

Police Colonel Katlego Mogale said: "It appears as if they were dropped by the husband in an open place and then the husband drove away. They are all Mozambican nationals."

The death of a young boy whose body, bearing marks of torture, was found in a field east of Johannesburg is also being investigated by police.

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Bully 'Boasted' Of Driving Girl To Suicide

Two girls arrested for bullying a 12-year-old who then committed suicide intimidated their victim repeatedly, calling her names and at one point telling her to "drink bleach and die", police said.

Rebecca Sedwick climbed a tower at an abandoned concrete plant in central Florida and hurled herself to her death on September 9.

Katelyn Roman, 12, and Guadalupe Shaw, 14, are accused of repeatedly and maliciously harassing Rebecca between last December and February when all three went to Crystal Lake Middle School.

Even after Rebecca's death, Shaw continued to make comments about her online, even bragging about the bullying, said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

Rebecca Sedwick took her own life last September

"'Yes, I bullied Rebecca and she killed herself but I don't give a ...' and you can add the last word yourself," the sheriff said, quoting a Facebook post by the suspect.

Police said the bullying began after Shaw began dating a boy that Rebecca had been seeing.

A statement by the sheriff's office said: "Several students corroborated stories of both girls bullying Sedwick on different occasions, through name-calling, intimidation, threats to beat her up and at least one actual physical fight."

The witnesses said Shaw had had several arguments with Rebecca, both via Facebook and at school.

"Witnesses reported that Shaw sent messages to Rebecca, calling her ugly, telling her to drink bleach and die, and telling Rebecca that she should kill herself," the statement added.

Shaw tried to start fights with Rebecca on more than one occasion. She convinced Roman to stop being friends with Rebecca, and also instigated a fight between the two, according to the police.

When questioned by detectives, Roman admitted that she "bullied" Rebecca and she was sorry for doing it, police said.

The sheriff's office statement said the harassment "was likely a contributing factor in Rebecca's decision to commit suicide".

John Borgen, the boy who had dated both Rebecca and Shaw, said: "It shocked me, it made me mad. She should have just told somebody."

Sheriff Judd said officers were still investigating the girls and were trying to decide whether the parents should be charged.

"I'm aggravated that the parents aren't doing what parents should do," he said.

"Responsible parents take disciplinary action."

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Nazi War Criminal's Funeral Halted By Protests

The body of Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke is expected to be sent to Germany for burial after his funeral in Italy was stopped by violent protests.

The former SS officer, who died last week at the age of 100, was to be laid to rest in the town of Albano Laziale near Rome, but police halted the funeral after neo-Nazi sympathisers broke into the seminary as hundreds of protesters outside shouted "Assassin!".

Priebke was in charge of troops who massacred 335 civilians in the Ardeatine Caves in March 1944. He had been living under house arrest in the Italian capital since being sentenced to life imprisonment for the killings in 1998.

Neo-Nazi sympathisers salute the hearse carrying Priebke's coffin

His coffin has now been taken to a military airport outside Rome.

"We are planning to resolve the situation today. We are in contact with Germany," said local official Giuseppe Pecoraro.

"We had to cancel the funeral yesterday because there was a risk that it could have become a neo-Nazi demonstration."

The car was halted as protesters kicked and spat at it

Anti-fascist protesters had kicked and spat on the hearse as it arrived for the start of the funeral. A priest was heckled with the shout of "Shame".

At least two people were detained as clashes broke out and some people were seen fighting with bottles and chains.

A rock was later thrown at the windscreen of the van driving Priebke's coffin to the airport.

Priebke (r) in 2010 with his lawyer and friend Paolo Giachini

The Vatican had issued an unprecedented order forbidding any Roman Catholic church in Rome from holding his funeral.

But a fringe right-wing group, the Catholic Society of St Pius (SSPX), went ahead with the ceremony anyway.

In a statement, the society said it agreed to perform the funeral at the family's request because "no matter what the guilt or sins" anyone who dies reconciled with God and the Church "has the right to celebrate Mass and a funeral".

A scuffle erupted outside the seminary near Rome

Priebke had wanted to be buried in Argentina, from where he was extradited to face trial, next to his wife, but the government there earlier said it would not accept the body.

Jewish groups and relatives of the people he executed said his body should be cremated and his ashes scattered to erase every trace.

Protests were held outside Priebke's flat on his 100th birthday in July

The furore comes at a particularly sensitive time in Italy on the anniversary of the round-up of the Jews from the Rome Ghetto on October 16, 1943.

More than 1,000 Jews were taken away to concentration camps and only 16 returned.

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Dozens Die As Plane Crashes Into Mekong River

An aircraft has crashed into the Mekong river in Laos killing 39 people.

The Lao Airlines plane was on an internal flight from the capital, Vientiane, to the south of the country, crashed in the late afternoon, China's Xinhua state news agency said, citing the airline.

A television station in neighbouring Thailand said 39 people had been killed.

The Bangkok Post reported that the ART twin-turbo plane flight QV301 crashed into the river as it was coming in to land at the airport in Champassak province in southern Laos due to bad weather.

The plane left Wattay airport in Vientiane at 2.45pm local time and crashed in Pakse at 4pm, the report said.

Lao Airlines operates throughout Indochina

Airline and government officials in Laos were not immediately available for comment.

Lao Airlines has been in existence since 1976. It previously operated as Lao Aviation, becoming Lao Airlines in March this year.

According to its website the Lao Airlines network offers: "A global end-to-end service airlines, offering year-round low fares with an extensive global route network flying to in Laos and from centrally located airports in Indochina."

It adds: "The company's logo, the five petals that compose the Champa flower represent the way Lao Airlines has achieved great success from past investments of time and effort in acquiring experience.

"Its planes such as: ATR 72-200,MA60 guarantee the daily flights with China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia."

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Philippines Earthquake: At Least 85 Dead

At least 85 people have died after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Philippines.

Many of the fatalities were in Cebu, the political and economic hub of the central Philippines, civil defence office spokesman Reynaldo Balido told reporters.

However, there were a considerable number of fatalities reported on neighbouring Bohol island.

The quake struck at 8.12am local time near Balilihan, a town of about 18,000 people on Bohol, at a depth of 12 miles (20km), the United States Geological Survey reported.

The town lies across a strait about 37 miles (60km) from Cebu island.

Janet Maribao, a receptionist on Cebu, said: "I was fast asleep when suddenly I woke up because my bed was shaking. I was so shocked, I could do nothing but hide under the bed."

Residents and tourists reported extensive damage to old churches and modern buildings, including a university, while major roads had also been torn apart.

The earthquake ripped up roads

Neil Sanchez, the head of Cebu's disaster management office, said: "Communication lines are quite difficult here.

"Even the disaster risk reduction management office has been damaged. We had to move elsewhere."

Cebu hosts the country's busiest port and largest airport outside of the capital Manila. It also has a major ship building industry.

The earthquake was followed by at least four aftershocks measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude.

However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a Pacific-wide tsunami threat.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a chain of islands that are prone to quakes and volcanic eruptions.

The deadliest recorded natural disaster in the Philippines occurred in 1976, when a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao.

Between 5,000 and 8,000 people were killed, according to official estimates.

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Missing British Teacher Feared Dead In Qatar

A British teacher is feared dead after going missing in Qatar.

Lauren Patterson disappeared in the early hours on Saturday in the state's capital Doha.

Local media are reporting the primary school teacher was last seen outside the city's five-star La Cigale hotel.

The 24-year-old's mother and boyfriend both took to Facebook to describe her as "truly amazing" and "remarkable" amid unconfirmed reports that a body has been found.

Doha police said they could not confirm whether Ms Patterson had died, what had happened to her, or the progress of their investigation.

Ms Patterson, originally from Chislehurst in south-east London, was working at the Newton British School in Doha.

Reports suggested she had returned to Doha on Friday after attending her grandmother's funeral in Britain.

Her mother, Allison Patterson, who is reported to have flown to Doha, wrote on Facebook: "Thank you so much to everyone for all their wonderful words about Lauren.

The Qatari capital Doha is a popular destination for British expats

"She was a truly remarkable girl my rock always there for everyone. I know she's in heaven now in her Daddy's arms."

Her boyfriend, James Grima, from Malta, wrote: "You really were the most smart, kind, beautiful and amazing woman I've ever met.

"I keep going through our messages and your pictures, and it reminds me of how lucky I was just to even know you and be a part of your life.

"Although I don't know if I will ever come to terms with what happened, I have all our funny & beautiful memories that we shared together."

Friend Lorna Ann Campbell wrote: "I can't get my head around why someone so special has been taken from us.

"She meant the world to us and we will never forget how beautiful she was.

"You couldn't ask for a better friend. Her family meant everything to her and she was always talking about you all. Sending love and prayers to you all.xxxx"

Friends had desperately been appealing for help to find her on social media.

Up to 500 British expats are thought to be arriving in Doha every day as the city expands into a global hub, built on the back of Qatar's enormous oil and natural gas wealth.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of a British national, Lauren Patterson, reported missing in Qatar.

"We are providing the family with consular assistance."

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Ireland Government Budget To Be Unveiled

By Vicki Hawthorne, Ireland Correspondent

The Irish Government will present its annual budget this afternoon, just days after the Prime Minister Enda Kenny said the country would exit the EU bailout in December.

The 2014 budget, billed as the final austerity budget in Ireland, is expected to bring a further €2.5bn (£2.1bn) in cuts and tax hikes, but the Irish Prime Minister has said there will be "some good news" too.

At his party conference at the weekend, Prime Minister and Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny announced that Ireland would exit its strict bailout programme on December 15, 2013.

Speaking in Limerick on Saturday, Mr Kenny said: "Tonight I can confirm that Ireland is on track to exit the EU-IMF bailout on December 15. And we won't go back.

"It won't mean that our financial troubles are over.  Yes there are still fragile times ahead.  There's still a long way to go. But at last the era of the bailout will be no more.  The economic emergency will be over."

Ireland accepted a €85bn (£71bn) bailout from the EU-IMF in November 2010 following a crisis in the banking sector. 

Since then the country has faced a series of tough austerity budgets to ensure it meets the terms of the financial agreement.

The coalition parties in government have been meeting over the last few days to agree the 2014 budget for each government department. 

Cabinet ministers met in Dublin on Sunday evening to negotiate some of the final points on departmental spending.

So far there has been speculation that the budget will focus on measures to help low-income families and small businesses, as well as job creation. 

However, the Prime Minister has ruled out speculation that the government will increase the country's low corporation tax, currently 12.5%.

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Afghan Governor Killed by Microphone Bomb

An Afghan provincial governor and close ally of President Hamid Karzai has been killed while making a speech at a mosque after Eid prayers in Logar, close to the capital Kabul.

A spokesman said Logar provincial governor Arsala Jamal had been killed by a bomb which had been planted in a microphone he had been using.

He said: "The governor wanted to speak and congratulate everyone on the occasion of Eid. At least 18 other people have been wounded, including civilians and government employees."

Mr Jamal was appointed by the president and only took up the Logar job in April after serving as governor of Khost, on the border with Pakistan.

Volatile Logar, which lies to the south of the Afghan capital, is seen as a key strategic region, often described as a "gateway to Kabul" for Taliban militants based in strongholds across the south and east.

No group has said it was responsible for the blast, although the Taliban often targets provincial government officials as well as Afghan soldiers and police.

Security in Logar has deteriorated in recent years with the Taliban holding sway in some areas despite sustained Afghan and US military pressure.

Village-based Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces have also been trying to wrestle back control of Taliban-held territory.

The Taliban has vowed to step up attacks as Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections in April and the withdrawal of 87,000 Nato troops by the end of next year.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar said on Sunday he "rejected" the elections, which he alleged were being manipulated by foreign powers, and called on Afghans not to participate.

The hardline Islamist Taliban regime was driven from power by a US-led coalition in 2001 for sheltering the al Qaeda leaders behind the 9/11 attacks.

Eid ul Adha is a major public holiday across the Muslim world, with mosques packed with devotees marking the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him.

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Moscow Race Riots: Police Arrest 1,200 In Raid

Police have arrested 1,200 people at a Moscow vegetable warehouse in pre-emptive raids following riots there on Sunday.

The disturbances erupted after a native Russian was stabbed to death on Thursday night. His death was blamed by the protesters on a migrant from the north Caucasus, a region in southern Russia.

Natives of the Caucasus, most of whom are Muslims with dark complexions, often work in shopping centres and at vegetable markets in the Russian capital.

Protesters had claimed CCTV pictures showed the killer to be Caucasian

After seeing unidentified CCTV pictures, the protesters believed a dark-skinned Caucasian killed 25-year-old Yegor Shcherbakov in a dispute over his girlfriend as the couple returned home on Thursday.

Demonstrators chanting 'White Power' and 'Russia Forward' vandalised shops and market stalls in the district of Biryulovo on the southern outskirts of Moscow.

Police arrested at least 200 of the protesters on Sunday before launching dawn raids on the vegetable warehouse on Monday morning.

Moscow police spokesman Andrei Galiakberov said on television that they are investigating some of the detainees for possible criminal connections.

Police also said that they found a car full of cash and unlicensed arms on the premises.

President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that Russia needed migrant labourers in industries such as construction, but - in a nod to anti-migrant sentiment - suggested their numbers could be restricted in other sectors, including trade.

Growing nationalism among ethnic Russians combined with an influx of workers from former Soviet republics has led to increased tensions between native Muscovites and migrants.

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Illegal Immigration In US Now Hard To Ignore

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

The United States is locked in a fierce debate over immigration, with an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

But frustration is growing at the lack of political action to answer the big immigration questions.

Earlier this month, thousands of people rallied in 150 cities in 40 of the 50 states to put pressure on Washington to deliver an overhaul to the country's immigration rules.

They fear the momentum for change is fading after almost unprecedented co-operation between Republicans and Democrats towards reaching agreement earlier this year.

The results of last year's presidential election demonstrated, particularly to Republicans, that the fast-growing immigrant population in states like Colorado meant the issue could not be ignored.

But a plan that would have offered a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already living in the US appears to be in jeopardy with renewed wrangling between the parties.

Some believe the US border is way too porous

Immigration has often fallen behind other issues like guns, the economy and international concerns like Syria.

Reshma Shamasunder, executive director of California Immigrant Policy Centre, said: "People are fed up with inaction, they're fed up with Congress every year promising they're going to do something and then not doing it.

"We haven't had an immigration overhaul in this country for decades and our immigration laws are so outmoded and outdated that not only are they not serving immigrants well, they're not serving the American people well.

"So I think there is a huge appetite among Americans to do something."

Without an overhaul, she says, the problem is going to get worse.

Sky News spoke to a man, originally from Central America and now living legally in the US, who had sent $2,000 (£1,255) to a nephew waiting just across the border in Mexico. He will pay a so-called "coyote" to smuggle him into America.

Critics of immigration reform point to cases like that and say the government needs to urgently address border crossings that are way too porous.

California recently reached the landmark moment when whites were no longer the majority. By the middle of next year, Latinos will make up a greater proportion of the population.

The state's governor, Jerry Brown, recently signed into law a raft of new bills that increase protections for immigrants and campaigners say the rest of the US needs to follow suit.

But it remains an emotive issue and one it is increasingly hard to ignore.

:: Immigration UK: A week of special coverage on Sky from October 14 to 18 - watch on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad

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Missing Elderly Hiker Found After 18 Days

A 72-year-old man lost for 18 days in a California forest has been found after living on squirrels, snakes and lizards.

Gene Penaflor and a hunting friend set off through Mendocino National Forest on September 24 but became separated.

Mr Penaflor, from San Francisco, is said to have slipped over and been knocked unconscious.

The search for him was called off after four days as there were no signs anywhere of his possible whereabouts.

He was eventually found on Saturday by a group of hunters and a search team from the Mendocino County Sheriffs Office.

Jeremy Penaflor, the hiker's son, said: "He ate squirrels - whatever he could catch.

"He ate lizards, he ate a couple of frogs, he ate snakes and survival mode kicked in.

"When you have no food for 18 days, whatever protein you can get, he did."

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Temple Stampede: At Least 109 Worshipers Dead

At least 109 people have been killed in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Although the true cause of the stampede has yet to emerge, it has been reported that Pilgrims visiting the remote Ratangarh temple panicked after rumours spread that a bridge carrying 20,000 worshippers was about to collapse.

In the panic that followed, people were crushed to death or died after falling or jumping into the river below, officials said.

Rumous this bridge was about to collapse may have started the panic

The crush killed mostly women and children and although many bodies were pulled from the river, there are fears some bodies may have been washed away.

At least 130 people were injured in the incident which happened about 200 miles southeast of Delhi. Many of those who drowned while trying to save others, India's News Tribe website reported.

The incident happened at a bridge over the river Sindh where more than half a million pilgrims had gathered to take part in rituals.

Initial rumours suggested a police baton charge had caused the stampede, but this has been denied by senior officers.

A map showing the location of Datia

Engineers say the bridge was not damaged, and images from the scene showed vehicles and people using the bridge after the stampede occurred.

Relatives have been gathering outside a state-run hospital on Monday to take away the bodies after autopsies had been carried out.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced he had ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

Madhya Pradesh's government said it was offering Rs150,000 (£1,540) to the families of those who were killed and Rs50,000 (£513) to those who were seriously injured.

Bodies of Hindu devotees are loaded onto a truck following the tragedy

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tweeted: ''On this day of festivities, our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families.''

The worshippers were gathering at the temple as part of the celebrations for the Navratri festival.

The 10-day festival includes an event marking the victory of the Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon in Hindu mythology.

In 2006, at least 35 devotees died at the same spot after they were washed away when a dam in a neighbouring province opened its sluice gates, causing a deluge.

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Australia On Alert For Extreme Summer

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Australians are being warned to brace themselves for an increase in heatwaves, cyclones, severe thunderstorms and ferocious bushfires as the country heads towards summer.

Australia has recently sweltered through record breaking weather and meteorologists say they are expecting more records to be broken after the country's hottest 12 months on record, including the hottest ever September, hottest ever day, and second warmest winter.

Tom Saunders, senior meteorologist at the Sky News Australia Weather Channel, says: "Through this summer we are expecting another hot one for Australia, above average temperatures throughout the country with at least one or two heatwaves through the southern states.

"We are expecting 11 to 14 tropical cyclones off our northern coastline, and we are expecting an above average number of severe thunderstorms for eastern and southern parts of Australia."

Australia's seas are said to be getting hotter

Warmer than average sea surface temperatures around Australia's coast are partly to blame, adding heat and moisture to the atmosphere.

"Our seas have been warming up over the past few decades and even in the past 12 months the sea surface temps off the west coast and south coast of Australia have been the highest on record," says Mr Saunders.

Last January, Australia recorded its hottest ever day - hitting a national average of 40.3 degrees Celsius, the hottest place being Oodnadatta in South Australia's far north which reached a blistering 47C.

While hot, dry, breezy days might be welcomed by tourists and those living near Australia's beaches, for many living inland such conditions raise the frightening prospect of fierce bushfires.

Windsor in New South Wales was affected by bushfires last month

The 2013 bushfire season began early in Australia and firefighters, many of them volunteers in rural areas, are preparing for a dangerous few months ahead.

"It's a wake up call to everybody living in bushfire prone areas," says commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

"We've got a vegetation growth the likes of which we haven't seen for many decades and with the sign ahead for a continuing hot dry period as we lead into summer, it shapes up for a signal to a long hot difficult bushfire season."

Many in Australia know the pain such fires can cause. In what became known as 'Black Saturday' in February 2009 as many as 400 blazes killed 173 people, and injured 414.

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Cyclone Phailin Slams Into India's East Coast

A powerful cyclone has ripped through India's east coast, killing at least five people and forcing more than half a million into shelters.

Cyclone Phailin, with winds up to 130mph, made landfall on Saturday night near the town of Golpalpur in Orissa state and is moving inland.

The storm, covering an area larger than France, lost some of its strength before hitting the coast, but it remains India's strongest since a typhoon killed 10,000 people in the same region 14 years ago.

Four people were killed by falling trees, while another died when the walls of her home collapsed.

Officials said the storm has already caused cause large-scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links.

A satellite image of the cyclone

The evacuation of around 450,000 people in Orissa and 100,000 in Andhra Pradesh state is one of the biggest exercises in the country's history.

Many people have fled low-lying villages for shelters, but others have refused to leave their homes.

"My son had to stay back with his wife because of the cattle and belongings ... I don't know if they are safe," said 70-year-old Kaushalya Jena, who has taken refuge in a makeshift shelter.

In Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, government workers and volunteers have been putting together hundreds of thousands of food packages for relief camps.

Floods have already ripped down power lines

The state's top official, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said: "I request everyone to not panic. Please assist the government. Everyone from the village to the state headquarters have been put on alert."

The army's National Disaster Response Force said 1,700 of its troops have been sent to both states.

"As soon as the fury of the cyclone abates our boys will start their work," said the force's director general Krishna Chaudhary.

"The teams have medical first responders (for first aid), heavy cutting equipment, life-saving equipment that responds to breathing and even to warmth. In the case of cyclones there is a likelihood of collapsed buildings."

People walk among debris from a broken wall brought down by a wave

While the full extent of the damage cannot yet be measured, India's meteorological department said the cyclone posed a danger to a 95-miles stretch of coastline.

Forecasters have likened its size and intensity to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.

Dr Liz Bentley from the Royal Meteorological Society told Sky News: "This particular part of the coastline is very low-lying so it (Phailin) will penetrate quite well in land.

"It is like a mini-tsunami hitting that - not caused in the same way as a tsunami but it's the same effect."

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US-Afghan 'Progress' In Security Talks

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky's Defence Correspondent

Significant progress has been made in negotiations for a Bilateral Security Agreement between the US and Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai held 28 hours of talks over two days in Kabul.

The BSA, if agreed, will allow a contingent of American troops to remain in the country post-2014.

Negotiations have been ongoing for a number of months.

Last week, it appeared they had reached an impasse over various conditions set down by Mr Karzai, including a request that Washington hand over intelligence documents concerning Afghanistan.

Mr Karzai had also wanted America to commit to military support if Pakistan attacked Afghanistan - a Nato-style solidarity pact.

But speaking at a news conference after the latest discussions, Mr Kerry told reporters that there had been movement but no deal yet.

"One issue that is outstanding is the issue of jurisdiction (immunity)," he said.

"We need to say that if the issue of jurisdiction cannot be resolved, unfortunately there cannot be a bilateral security agreement."

America has agreed not to carry out security operations unilaterally after 2014, one condition demanded by Mr Karzai, but insists troops must be immune from local prosecution.

Although Mr Kerry promised the US military would deal with disciplinary issues in a robust way, Washington does not want any of its soldiers facing trial in Afghanistan for acts they might have committed in their duty as a deployed soldier.

"The BSA has a lot of items. One is about immunity for foreign and US soldiers - we didn't have a united opinion on this issue," said Mr Karzai.

Washington wants the agreement to be made before the end of the month to avoid the issue becoming a part of political campaigning by candidates running for the presidency in Afghan elections next spring.

As such there has been much political brinkmanship from both sides, although few doubted a deal would be done in the end.

Although exact numbers have not been announced, it is thought between 5,000 and 10,000 US troops would remain in Afghanistan.

The deal is important for Afghanistan's future because foreign troops will stay to give mentoring and training to Afghan soldiers in the hope the security situation improves.

Without an agreement Afghanistan could see international funding withdrawn, and that accounts for around 80% of the country's expenditure.

The lack of such an agreement led to an early withdrawal from Iraq by US troops.

Once agreed, the BSA should pave the way for a European equivalent known as a "Statement of Force Agreement" or SOFA.

The UK government is then expected to formalise and announce how many British troops will stay in Afghanistan after the end of next year.

That figure will probably be in the low hundreds.

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Temple Stampede Kills Scores Of Worshippers

More than 60 people have reportedly been killed in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Some reports said the stampede occurred when police used batons to control a huge crowd that had gathered at the Ratangarh Temple near the village of Chand Pur, in Datia District.

As the devotees attempted to flee, hundreds of people ran towards a bridge across the Sindh river and an unknown number are believed to have fallen in.

Dozens are feared to have died and at least 100 were injured in the incident on Sunday.

A map showing the location of Datia

Others claimed the stampede happened when a rumour swept through a crowd of 20,000 crossing the bridge that it was about the collapse.

Many of those who drowned did so while trying to save the lives of others, India's News Tribe website reported.

The true cause of the stampede, which happened about 200miles south east of the capital Delhi, has yet to emerge.

The incident happened at a spot on the Sindh river where more than half-a-million pilgrims have gathered to take part in rituals.

Local Deputy Police Inspector General D.K. Arya denied that a baton charge had taken place.

The body of one of those who died in the stampede

He said: "Sixty people are confirmed killed and the figure could reach 100.

"More than 100 others have been injured ... There was no baton-charge."

Rescue teams have been combing the water to pull out bodies and in an attempt to find survivors.

The worshippers were gathering at the temple as part of the celebrations for the Navratri festival.

The 10-day festival includes an event marking the victory of the Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon in Hindu mythology.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced he had ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

Madhya Pradesh's government said it was offering Rs150,000 (£1,540) to the families of those who were killed and Rs50,000 (£513) to those who were seriously injured

In 2006, at least 35 devotees died at the same spot after they were washed away when a dam in a neighbouring province opened its sluice gates causing a deluge.

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