Brit Backpacker: I Feel Lucky To Be Alive

A British backpacker missing in the scorching Australian outback for three days has told of how he did everything he could to survive - including drink his own urine and contact lens solution.

Sam Woodhead, 18, became lost after he set out for a jog from the remote Queensland cattle station where he had worked for less than two weeks.

But the chance discovery of packets of lenses in his rucksack - put there by his father, Peter - helped to keep him going for 72 hours in blistering temperatures of around 40C (104F).

Sam Woodhead was a keen long distance runner

The former Brighton College student, from Richmond upon Thames, London, also used his rugby shorts and other items of clothing to create an SOS sign that led to his rescue.

He was found about three miles away from the ranch by rescuers in a helicopter. He had lost two stones in weight and was just hours from death.

He told Sky News: "I feel very fortunate to be alive and to be standing here.

"I know that so many people helped out ... and I genuinely believe that if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here today.

"It was a really amazing feeling to be actually picked up and realise that I was actually going to make it through ... and it wasn't going to be the end."

His mother, Claire Derry, has visited him in hospital in Longreach, about 50 miles away from where he was discovered. She said he had lost weight and his kidneys were not working properly due to dehydration.

Mr Woodhead with his mother and sister Rebacca before the ordeal

She said: "His birth was one of the best moments of my life, and this is pretty close to it, getting him back again, because I was pretty convinced it was touch and go. I did an awful lot of praying during that flight.

"He looks fantastic, he's suntanned, his mouth isn't blistered, he looks great, he's thinner and questionably a lot thinner than when I last saw him.

"The only concern is that his kidneys are not quite functioning normally and his blood's not normal. But that, the doctor says, is completely typical of somebody who's been completely dehydrated."

Ms Derry added: "He  tried to drink his own urine. He said he'd run out of the contact lens fluid and the contact lens capsules said they were 69% water. But they'd all gone so the urine had become very, very concentrated.

"So he said he couldn't stomach it, so he had nothing, he had nothing to keep him going, by the time the helicopter crew got to him."

She told Sky News: "Sam is an amazingly cool guy and he said 'hi mum' and I said 'Sam I didn't think I would be holding you in my arms again frankly'.

Mr Woodhead is helped by medical personnel after his helicopter rescue

"But he didn't cry and didn't show very much emotion at all. He just said I'm really happy to see you."

Mr Woodhead, who is set on joining the Armed Forces and is a keen long distance runner, is expected to leave hospital on Sunday.

Mike Curtin from Queensland State Police said: "He was quite disorientated but, you know, his body seemed to bounce back fairly quickly once he knew that obviously he was located and so forth and he was quite happy of the fact that someone had found him."

Mr Curtin warned of the harsh Australian climate and called on young people to be careful when travelling or working in the remote Australian Outback.

He said: "It's one of those things and I think there's a lesson to be learned here from any of these young fellows who do take, or young boys and girls, who take jobs in areas like this isolated part of the state, to be careful, to be safe, and prepare.

"And never take the harshest Australian environment and our climatic conditions here for granted."

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Syria: The Growing Power Of Jihadist Groups

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

The number of Jihadist groups flooding into Syria two years after the start of the uprising is threatening to eclipse the power of mainstream opposition groups as well as the authority of the Free Syrian Army.

One of the increasingly influential groups, Jabah al Haq (The Front for Justice), told Sky News that Jihad is spreading across North Africa and the Middle East and will not stop at Syria but will include Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and even Israel.

The frontline in the Battle for Aleppo is constantly changing. You know when you are there; the people disappear.

In these parts of the city only fighters are on the streets, in battered buildings and destroyed alleyways.

There is nothing left anymore. It is a frightening kill-zone. The sounds of rockets crunching into buildings, the whistle of high velocity rounds passing a few feet above your head, the scream of men shot by snipers never stops, or if it does, it is not for long.

The fighters on the rebel side are made up of a mish-mash of defected soldiers, the Free Syrian Army and a growing number of Jihadists; some are from Syria many are from abroad.

Jabah al Haq men took us to their front weaving their truck passed blown up cars, and homes; passed streets with huge tarpaulin sheets strung across to give protection from government snipers.

Jabah al Haq jihadist fighters insist Jihad will not stop at Syria

They were worried about us filming their positions and arguments caused by our presence rumbled on for the whole time we were there.

Abu Obaeda, a former soldier with a sniper rifle hung over his back, described the front as 'cold' with little real fighting. But even as he spoke machine gun fire drowned him out. A man was hit and his comrades were organising a truck to speed him away while attacking the government forces.

When I asked how far away they were he laughed.

"In which direction?" he said. "They are 25 metres in front and 20 metres on either side. We can only go back; but we wont," he added.

They wouldn't say how many men they had but said they were fighting 200 government soldiers supported by as many government militia, the Shabiha.

The chaos of the front lines is now reflected in the make up of the groups doing the fighting.

Sheik al Homan: 'The West should learn their lesson and not fight Muslims'

Jabah al Haq is led by a charismatic young cleric called Sheik Abu al Homan.

I was taken to a secret location where a school was being used as a court to adjudicate on the many problems caused by the war raging across the city.

It is a strict Sharia court and he is advised by clerics and lawyers. That said, his word is law.

He was quiet and pleasant and his organisation is doing what every Jihad organisation from the Taliban to Hamas and al Qaeda has done: they are providing law and order and they are feeding and providing medicine for the people.

It works every time.

Locals tell us that the Free Syrian Army, who largely live amongst the populace, are becoming a problem. They lack discipline, they take things and of course they attract government fire.

Jihad groups live together. They are religious and they fight hard against the government not the people.

There is a takeover happening as every commander I have met in covering all of this revolution from the start has always predicted.

Abu Obaeda and his men refuse to retreat from the front line

If the Syrian revolution were not ended quickly then it would become a Jihadist nightmare for the whole region. It has.

Sheik Homan is not just fighting for Aleppo, or Syria but predicts a greater Jihad is underway from North Africa to the Middle East.

"I am very surprised at France's reaction in Mali. They have seen what happened to the US in Afghanistan and Iraq," he told me.

"The West should learn their lesson and not fight Muslims. The war in Afghanistan and Iraq has led to an increase in resistance to the west.

"So you see all the Jihadists waiting to come here because of its value to Muslims," he said.

Indeed the foreigners are coming. I have seen a steady increase from Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Algeria. Even the Free Syrian Army accepts that like it or not the Jihadists will play a future role in the make up of post-Assad Syria.

"The Jihadists arrived after we were let down by the UN Security Council," Hajji Marea, the FSA's leader in Aleppo, told me in an underground bunker.

He shrugs his shoulders.

"The UN let the government kill innocent people. It is a disgrace. The Jihadists saw what was happening and came and now they are here."

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Pistorius Told Friend: 'I've Killed My Baba'

The best friend of Oscar Pistorius has told how the athlete rang him the night his girlfriend was shot and said: "I've killed my Baba. God take me away."

Justin Divaris, who introduced Reeva Steenkamp to the South African gold medallist, said Pistorius was crying down the phone and admitted he had shot the 29-year-old model.

Mr Divaris, 27, said: "Oscar called me at 3.55am saying that Reeva had been shot. I said to him, 'What are you talking about? I don't understand you'.

"He then repeated himself - 'There has been a terrible accident. I shot Reeva'."

Mr Divaris told the Sunday People that he then spoke to a neighbour who was also in the house, who warned: "She's not OK. You need to get here."

By the time he arrived at Pistorius' house on a gated estate in Pretoria, the double amputee was already being held by police.

He could see Miss Steenkamp's body inside the house at the bottom of the stairs, covered in blankets and towels.

Pistorius - nicknamed the Blade Runner due to his high-tech artificial limbs - was being detained in the garage, and was crying and repeating himself incoherently.

Reeva Steenkamp in Tropika Island of Treasure

The 26-year-old appeared in court on Friday accused of premeditated murder over the shooting on Valentine's Day.

He is being held in custody and his family has said he denies murder in the strongest possible terms.

Miss Steenkamp's father Barry has also now spoken publicly for the first time and said he does not hate Pistorius for what happened.

He told The Mail on Sunday he was struggling "to find some reason why this happened to our lovely daughter".

Talking about Pistorius, he said: "He must be going through things that we don't know about. There is no hatred in our hearts."

He said he and his wife June were "at a complete loss," adding: "June is inconsolable. We just need to find some answers.

"Reeva was the most beautiful, kind girl in the world. She had love for everyone and was loved by everyone who knew her."

Mr Steenkamp said he had never met Pistorius but his wife had occasionally spoken to him on the phone.

Henke Pistorius trying to comfort his son as he leaves court

The athlete's own father Henke has also spoken out, saying his son must have acted "on instinct".

Mr Pistorius said he has "zero doubt" that it was a tragic accident and said he believes she was mistaken for an intruder.

His family is behind him "heart and soul" and will do "whatever needs to be done" to help him clear his name, he told The Sunday Telegraph.

Their comments came after a reality show featuring Miss Steenkamp was broadcast despite controversy over its airing.

Tropika Island of Treasures showed the model laughing and joking with her fellow contestants and swimming with dolphins.

In an interview, the model - who was also the face of cosmetics giant Avon in South Africa - spoke about the importance of leaving a positive mark in life.

She said: "I think the way that you go out, not just your journey in life, but the way that you go out and the way you make your exit is so important.

"You either made an impact in a positive or a negative way, but just maintain integrity and maintain class and just remain true to yourself."

Pistorius became an international icon after becoming the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics last year. He also won a gold medal in the Paralympics.

He had both of his legs amputated below the knee when he was less than a year old and had campaigned for years to be allowed to compete on an equal level.

The athlete will be back in court on Tuesday when his lawyers are expected to attempt to get his charge downgrade and argue for his release on bail.

His girlfriend's funeral is scheduled for the same day.

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British Workers Feared Kidnapped In Nigeria

Gunmen in northern Nigeria have kidnapped a group of foreign workers including one Briton, according to the local authorities.

The group attacked a camp for a construction company, killing a guard and then abducting several foreigners, the authorities have said.

Local officials said those kidnapped include workers from Britain, Greece, Italy and Lebanon. Some reports suggested six in total had been taken but others said it was seven.

This would make it the biggest kidnapping yet in a region that is under attack from Islamic extremists.

The kidnapping on Saturday night happened in Jama'are, a town in a rural portion of Bauchi state.

The gunmen attacked a local prison first, burning two police trucks, Bauchi state police spokesman Hassan Muhammed told The Associated Press.

Then they targeted a workers' camp for a construction company called Setraco, which is in the area building a road, Mr Muhammed said.

The gunmen shot dead a guard at the camp before kidnapping the foreign workers, the spokesman said.

Adamu Aliyu, the chairman of the local government area that encompasses Jama're, identified those kidnapped as one British citizen, one Greek, one Italian and two Lebanese.

Officials originally said that four Lebanese had been taken but this was later corrected. The Italian foreign ministry has confirmed that one of its citizens is being held.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office in Britain said: "We are aware of the reports and are making inquiries with local authorities."

Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north has been under attack by the radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram in the last year and a half.

The country's weak central government has been unable to stop the group's bloody guerrilla campaign of shootings and bombings.

The sect is blamed for killing at least 729 people in 2012 alone, according to an AP count.

Foreigners have been frequently abducted by militant groups and criminal gangs for ransom in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta and have become increasingly targeted in Nigeria's north as the violence has grown.

Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said: "Nigeria, particularly the north of Nigeria, has got a big problem. It's the scourge of the country and has been for many years now.

"Local Islamist groups called Boko Haram have been largely responsible for carrying out the kidnappings.

"This is one of the militant groups who have operating inside Mali. They are one of five extremist groups who are believed to have been running operations inside Mali and around the Sahel."

Gunmen who authorities say have links to Boko Haram also kidnapped an Italian and a British man last year in northern Kebbi State.

They were later killed during a rescue operation by Nigerian soldiers backed up by British special forces. The sect later denied taking part in that abduction.

Chinese construction workers have also been killed by gunmen around Maiduguri, the northeastern city in Nigeria where Boko Haram first began.

Setraco Nigeria, a construction and civil engineering company, is a subsidiary of Setraco International Holding group.

The Nigerian company, which was established in 1977, is currently working on expanding a major road in the north of the country.

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Facebook Targeted In 'Zero-Day' Hack Attack

Facebook has revealed it was the victim of a sophisticated attack by an unknown hacking group last month.

The site's security was breached after a handful of Facebook employees unknowingly visited a website that had been compromised with malicious code.

When a suspicious file was discovered on the company's computers, a forensic investigation was launched and the origin of the file was traced to an employee's laptop.

A further search uncovered other infected computers, but Facebook insists there was no data breach and no passwords or user data were compromised.

The company said in a statement: "Facebook, like every significant Internet service, is frequently targeted by those who want to disrupt or access our data and infrastructure.

"Last month we discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack which occurred when a handful of employees visited a mobile developer website that was compromised.

The company has launched a major investigation into the breach

"After analysing the website we found it was using a 'zero-day' (previously unseen) exploit to bypass the Java sandbox (built-in protections) to install the malware.

"As soon as we discovered the presence of the malware, we remediated all infected machines, informed law enforcement, and began a significant investigation that continues to this day."

There have a number of cyber-attacks on prominent websites recently. Some 250,000 Twitter accounts were potentially compromised after attackers obtained access to their names and email addresses.

The websites of The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal were also infiltrated by unknown hackers apparently targeting those papers' media coverage of China.

Although Facebook claimed that no user data was compromised, the incident could raise privacy concerns about the vulnerability of personal data stored within the social network.

The company has experienced several privacy rows over the years for the way it handles user data, including a privacy investigation with regulators that was settled in 2011.

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China Film Market Set To Take Over Hollywood

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

China has become the world's second largest film market and is predicted to be the largest, overtaking Hollywood, by the end of the decade.

The country already boasts what is claimed to be the largest film studio in the world.

Hengdian is a three-hour flight south of Beijing. Twenty years ago it was a tiny farm village. Now it is bigger than Universal and Paramount Studios combined.

"Forget about Hollywood, here we can have 40 separate productions at the same time," Zeng YuLin, the spokesman for the studio tells me.

With a guide and a golf buggy, we took a tour of the site. There appears to be no limit to what they are able to create: we drove passed a spectrum of Chinese history from colonial Hong Kong to pre-war Guangzhou all recreated to minute detail.

Hengdian is the sight of the largest film studio in the world

At the heart of it all is a staggering full-size recreation of Beijing's Forbidden City. None of the sets are temporary and there seems to be one for every conceivable scene.

In one corner we stumbled across the filming of what appeared to be a key fight scene in a forthcoming war film. Surrounded by extras in outsized costumes was lead actor, Qi Dao.

Immaculately dressed in the uniform of a 1930s policeman, Dao was on his fifteenth take of the morning. In a brief break, he told us about Hengdian.

"It's getting better every day," he said. "There's still a way to go before it is at an international standard like Hollywood. But it is getting better and better."

He then touched on the one issue that many believe is holding China back: censorship.

China's film market is set to overtake Hollywood by the end of the decade

"Of course I'd like censorship to loosen up a bit. That would give a bigger space for us artists to create, and to deliver fresh productions to the audience."

Every TV programme and film that is produced in China is subjected to the censors for approval. The Communist Party's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is responsible for checking everything that is filmed.

Anything remotely political is off limits, which explains the somewhat cliched subject matter of everything we saw at Hengdian.

The Japan-bashing war films and Ming period dramas may conform with Communist Party regulations but they only have a limited popularity. That may go some way to explaining why less than 5% of Chinese movies broke even in the first half of 2012.

Zhang Jingkun, a director who works regularly at Hengdian, acknowledges the restrictions but doesn't belive they have a big impact on domestic production.

Every TV programme and film produced in China is subjected to censors

"There are restrictions. The policies from different countries are different," he says.

"Compared to the capitalist system, our socialist system has restrictions on policies. But it doesn't affect the productions domestically. It's the different tradition between the east and the west, it takes time to change. It's a progress."

The censorship also has an impact on western production houses who want access to the Chinese market. All films shown in China are checked by the censorship department.

Skyfall, the latest Bond film, was released in China in January but only after one plot thread was altered and another scene was cut altogether.

Anything remotely political is off limits in the Chinese film market

Part of the film is made in Shanghai but one scene in which a Chinese security guard is shot dead in a skyscraper lobby has been removed.

In addition, the Chinese subtitles have been altered to remove any reference in the dialogue to Chinese torture and prostitution.

The threat of censorship has not put foreign production houses off the Chinese market. Foreign films make up 60% of the Chinese box office market.

Chinese producers like Yu Zheng, who is filming a Qin period drama at Hengdian, hopes to offer his work to the world.

"I hope China's TVs will go to the world." he says. "English dramas like Downton Abbey, together with a lot of American dramas, draw large audiences in. I hope many of our beautifully produced TV series will develop into the world markets."

He and his executive producer were reluctant to speak about the issues surrounding censorship.

"I'm reluctant to be associated with issues like this," Mr Yu said. "I can't answer your question."

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Russian Hunt For Meteorite As Clean-Up Begins

Divers are scouring the bottom of a Russian lake for the remains of meteor that plunged to Earth in a fireball and caused a booming shockwave.

Part of the space rock, which was the size of a bus and blazed across western Siberia, is believed to have landed in the frozen Lake Chebarkul.

Curious onlookers gathered nearby were stopped from venturing out on to the lake by police as the search continued.

Some 20,000 rescuers and recovery workers have already been dispatched to the region around Chelyabinsk to help stricken residents.

Experts are also examining major buildings in case they have been structurally damaged by the blast.

Workers in Chelyabinsk examine the damage to a large building

Around 1,100 people were injured and thousands of homes were damaged in the fallout from the strike in the Urals on Friday morning.

Residents who had poured into the streets to watch the light show after spotting the initial flash were wounded by glass shattered by the subsequent sonic boom.

Windows in more than 4,000 buildings across the region were blown out, sending glass flying, after what experts said was the largest recorded meteor strike in more than a century.

The authorities have promised to have them all fixed within a week but this is a long wait when even midday temperatures are -12C (10F).

Crews from glass companies in other regions are being flown in to help as volunteers and residents cover windows with plastic sheeting and gather warm clothes and food.

Some 15 people are still in hospital following the blast. The regional health ministry said one was in a coma.

The meteor burned brightly in the sky as it plunged to Earth

Regional governor Mikhail Yurevich said the cost of the damage from the explosion is an estimated 1bn rubles (£21m).

As the recovery mission begins in earnest, the emergencies ministry said six divers would be inspecting the lake for any pieces of meteorite.

Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov added: "We have a special team working ... that is now assessing the seismic stability of buildings. We will be especially careful about switching the gas back on."

Scientists will be desperate to examine the rock for any clues about the cosmos but Mr Puchkov said no fragments had yet been discovered.

The explosion appears to have been one of the most stunning cosmic events over Russia since 1908 when an asteroid was blamed for a massive blast in Siberia.

Nasa estimated that the amount of energy released when the meteor crashed into the Earth's atmosphere was about 20 times more than the force of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.                 

The meteor hit in the Urals on Friday morning

"We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years on average," said Paul Chodas of Nasa's Near-Earth Object Programme Office.

The drama happened just hours before an asteroid whizzed safely past the Earth at an unprecedented distance of 17,200 miles.

This is closer than some distant satellites and set alarm bells ringing in some Russian circles about the need for joint global action to protect Earth from space.

Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee chief Alexei Pushkov wrote on Twitter: "Instead of fighting on Earth, people should be creating a joint system of asteroid defence."

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Pistorius: Girlfirend's TV Show Goes Ahead

Producers are to broadcast a reality TV show featuring the dead girlfriend of athlete Oscar Pistorius later today, saying they have the backing of her family.

Tropika Island of Treasure, showing Reeva Steenkamp on location in Jamaica, will be broadcast despite her shocking death on St Valentine's Day.

Executive producer Samantha Moon said the model's family wanted it to be shown as a tribute to the 29-year-old, who was shot dead at Pistorius's home.

The athlete known as the blade runner because of his prosthetics is in custody facing charges of premeditated murder over the shooting.

Pistorius broke down in court at the mention of premeditated murder

Ms Moon said the family "wants it on. This is how they want to remember her. This is what she would have wanted."

Miss Steenkamp's cousin, Sharon Steenkamp, said the family had not been consulted about the show but were not against it being aired.

Reeva "was proud of being in the show", she said. "Her last words to us personally was that she wants us to watch it."

Production company Stimulii said: "We are absolutely devastated at the tragic loss of Reeva Steenkamp, our friend and beloved member of the Tropika Island of Treasure 5 family.

Pistorius (right) after his arrest on Thursday

"Reeva was a wonderful human being and an extremely talented and intelligent woman. Her kind and loving spirit was evident to all who knew her and her zest for life will be truly missed.

"We are blessed and privileged to have known her. Words cannot express how saddened we are by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with Reeva's family and friends."

The show is expected to show the 29-year-old smiling and laughing with other contestants and being interviewed by the presenters.

Tropika Island of Treasure sees celebrities paired with contestants and put through a series of challenges as they compete for a cash prize.

National broadcaster SABC said the programme would act as a tribute to Miss Steenkamp.

Spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said: "Definitely the SABC is going ahead with the airing of the programme today and we have indicated we will put messages of condolence on the programme."

Ms Steenkamp, who had been going out with Pistorius since November, was shot four times at his house in a heavily-guarded complex in Pretoria on Thursday.

Local media have reported that she was shot through a bathroom door. A 9mm pistol was found at the scene.

Reeva Steenkamp, 29, with Pistorius last November

The runner, who made history by competing in both the Olympics and Paralympics last year, sobbed through his first court appearance on Friday.

He is being held in a police cell ahead of a new hearing on February 19th, when prosecutors are set to oppose any request for bail.

The chief magistrate delayed the bail hearing until next week at the request of the defence who asked for more time.

A statement issued by Pistorius' family and management following the initial hearing said: "The alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms."

It thanked people for their messages of support but stressed that their sympathy should be focused on the Steenkamp family.

"Our thoughts and prayers today should be for Reeva and her family - regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy," the statement said.

Premeditated murder carries a mandatory life sentence in South Africa. If found guilty, Pistorius would not be eligible for parole for 25 years.

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Meteorite Shower Hits Russia Injuring 524

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent

More than 500 people have been injured after a meteor strike in central Russia, the country's interior ministry said.

Fragments of at least one meteorite - the weight of a double-decker bus - were seen falling from the sky in the Chelyabinsk region at around 9am local time, around 1,500km east of Moscow.

Russia's Ministry of Emergencies said 524 people have been injured of which 82 are children. Two people are in intensive care while another 32 adults and 12 children are being treated in hospital.

The meteor lit up the sky

Many were hurt by flying glass as windows were blown in. Witnesses described feeling a pressure wave and hearing explosions overhead as the object hurtled to earth.

The Russian Academy of Sciences estimates the meteor weighed about 10 tonnes and entered the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of at least 33,000mph - 15 times the speed of a rifle bullet - and shattered up to 32 miles above ground.

Meteors typically cause sizeable sonic booms when they enter the atmosphere because they are travelling much faster than the speed of sound.

The meteorite weighed 10 tonnes

The defence ministry said it had identified a six metre crater near a lake in this region and has sent soldiers to the site of the impact.

The emergencies ministry said that 20,000 rescue workers had been dispatched to help the injured and locate those needing help.

  Resident Anna Pinkus told Sky News she saw a bright light outside her window and then heard three explosions.

More than 500 people have been injured

"It was a very loud sound. After that our windows began to shatter and shiver so it was very terrifying. First we thought it was a plane crash."

The local office of the National Emergencies Ministry said in a statement: "A meteorite disintegrated above the Urals (mountain range in central Russia), partially burning up in the lower atmosphere.

Viktor was injured by a shock wave

"Fragments of the meteorite reached Earth, falling in sparsely populated areas in the Chelyabinsk region."

Many drivers in Russia have video recorders fitted in their cars in case of accidents or disputes with traffic police. Footage from these uploaded to YouTube show the fireball crashing to the ground.

There were reports of traffic in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk grinding to a halt and people seeking shelter in buildings as the fireballs lit up the sky.                 

The emergencies ministry confirmed the mobile phone network was temporarily cut.

Schools have been closed for the day across the region after the impact blew out windows.

The Chelyabinsk region is Russia's industrial heartland, home to many factories and other huge facilities that include a nuclear power plant and the Mayak atomic waste storage and treatment centre.

A spokesman for Rosatom, the Russian nuclear energy state corporation, said that its operations remained unaffected.

"All Rosatom enterprises located in the Urals region - including the Mayak complex - are working as normal," said a Rosatom spokesman.

The meteor hit Chelyabinsk

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$1bn Gambling Loser Stole $2m From Charity

A former San Diego mayor has admitted taking $2.1m (£1.35m) in charity funds as she won and then lost $1bn (£644m) in a decade-long gambling spree.

Maureen O'Connor claimed the addiction was brought on by grief following the death of her husband.

It drove her to use up all her savings, auction off her belongings, sell her homes, and borrow from friends.

She finally looted cash from the foundation set up by her late partner, Robert O Peterson, the owner of the Jack in the Box fast food chain.

The 66-year-old's game of choice was video poker at casinos in San Diego, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, where she would play for hours at a time.

Her cumulative winnings were put at around $1bn from 2000 to 2009, including $200m in one year alone.

Video poker was Maureen O'Connor's game of choice

But her net gambling losses topped $13m, and she is now virtually broke.

It marked a stunning fall for O'Connor, a former physical education teacher who was elected to the City Council when she was 25 and became San Diego's first female mayor in 1986.

At a news conference on Thursday, she said she always intended to repay the foundation and also appeared to partly blame her behaviour on a brain tumour that was diagnosed in 2011.

"There are two Maureens. Maureen number one and Maureen number two," she said.

"Maureen number two is the Maureen who did not know she had a tumour growing in her brain."

O'Connor pleaded not guilty to a money laundering charge under a deal with federal prosecutors that allows her to defer prosecution for two years as she works to repay the debt.

She could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

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