Snowboarder Killed In Oregon Ice Cave Collapse

The body of a snowboarder has been recovered from an ice tunnel that collapsed on Oregon's Mount Hood.

A dozen rescuers armed with chainsaws and other tools chipped away at tons of ice and snow on Sunday to find Collin Backowski, who was buried when the natural structure gave way on Saturday afternoon.

Five friends had tried to dig him out, but could not break through the 10 feet of  ice and snow, which an official described as being as hard as concrete.

Rescuers quickly responded but halted their efforts at about 11pm on Saturday, then resumed early on Sunday morning.

Hood River Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Tiffany Peterson said that after removing tons of debris by hand, searchers found the body of the 25-year-old from Colorado.

A photo taken before the collapse. Pic: Hood River County Sheriff's Office

None of the searchers or other snowboarders were injured.

The ice tunnel was on the White River Glacier, which begins about 6,000ft up the south side of the mountain.

An airplane was dispatched to survey the area, along with crews from the local sheriff's offices.

Seven rescuers, including five members of an all-volunteer group called the CragRats, were on the mountain on Saturday night.

The victim's companions took pictures of the area just before the tunnel collapsed, giving searchers a better idea of where to look.

Warm temperatures made snow on the mountain slushier and more easily sloughed off the surface, adding to the challenge of attempting to reach the snowboarder.

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Dog Attack: Toddler Killed By Family Pet

A two-year-old Australian boy has been mauled to death by a mastiff cross dog at his grandmother's house.

The attack happened on Sunday afternoon at Deniliquin in New South Wales when the boy reportedly went outside to get an ice-cream from a back fridge and the family pet followed him.

The boy has been named by local media as Deeon Higgins. The dog, called Kingston according to reports, is thought to have belonged to his 24-year-old cousin.

It is not clear what sparked the attack. The toddler's mother and grandmother both desperately tried to pull the dog off the child but to no avail, with the boy suffering severe head and facial injuries.

Mastiff dogs are not considered a dangerous breed (File)

"The child's grandmother, aged 70, intervened but, was unable to release the child. The child's mother arrived and fought the dog off the boy," police said in a statement.

"He and his grandmother were taken to Deniliquin Hospital ... but he died a short time later. The older woman has been treated for exhaustion, bruising and abrasions."

The dog, not usually considered a dangerous breed, was captured and put down.

Detective Inspector Darren Cloak of Deniliquin Police said the family and residents were "shocked" and "distraught" by the death.

News of the attack is said to have shocked the small town of Deniliquin

"The community will be saddened by this, it's a tragic set of circumstances," he said.

A family spokesman told the Sydney Morning Herald that the family were devastated by what had happened.

"We have lost a gorgeous little boy who we all loved so much," the newspaper was told.

New South Wales state premier Barry O'Farrell said he would review regulations covering dangerous dogs, while Prime Minister Kevin Rudd vowed to give any support needed.

"I'm all ears in terms of anything any level of government wants by way of support, on practical levels, to control wild dogs," said Mr Rudd, who faces national elections in five weeks.

"We await those requests. All I can say is that this is horrible, absolutely horrible."

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Gibraltar Row: Spain Accused Of Sabre-Rattling

Gibraltar's chief minister has accused Spain of "sabre-rattling like North Korea" after it threatened to impose sanctions on the Rock.

Fabian Picardo said Spanish foreign minister Jose Garcia-Margallo was being belligerent by threatening to charge workers almost £90 a day to cross the border.

Prime Minister David Cameron has also now weighed in, with Downing Street saying he is "seriously concerned" by the escalating row.

A spokesman said: "The Spanish have not raised the prospect of introducing border fees with us. We are seeking an explanation from them regarding reports that they might target Gibraltar with further measures."

Mr Garcia-Margallo had suggested a levy on workers travelling from Gibraltar could be used to help Spanish fishermen who have lost out because of damage to fishing grounds allegedly caused by Gibraltarian authorities.

But Mr Picardo told Sky News: "The 10,000 Spanish workers that come into Gibraltar every day, they would be on the hook for 100 euros - 50 in and 50 out - when they might earn less than that each day.

"I think this is quite a silly remark for the Spanish foreign minister to have made. He is sabre-rattling a la North Korea. It almost makes you feel like you are listening to the politics of Franco in the 1950s and 60s."

In a separate interview, he said that the border costs would violate European Union freedom of movement rules.

Fabian Picardo (left) and Jose Garcia-Margallo

He also warned "hell will freeze over" before the Gibraltarian authorities remove an artificial reef Madrid claims is harming the interests of Spanish fishermen.

And he branded the possibility of Spain closing its airspace to flights from the Rock dangerous and the "politics of madness".

The Foreign Office has already voiced concerns over Mr Garcia-Margallo's comments and said Britain would not compromise its sovereignty over Gibraltar.

A spokesman made clear that the UK expects Madrid to live up to the commitments it made in the 2006 Cordoba Agreement.

These include deals on issues like border crossings and access for flights, as well as establishing a tripartite forum for regular dialogue between Britain, Spain and Gibraltar.

Spain's main opposition party, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) accused Mr Garcia-Margallo of "dynamiting" dialogue on issues affecting workers, fishermen and traders.

Its spokesman for EU affairs Juan Moscoso del Prado said: "You cannot threaten 50 euro fees when there are more than 10,000 people who go there every day to work. Workers should not be taken hostage by this conflict."

The dispute over the status of Gibraltar escalated recently following a number of alleged Spanish incursions into the territory's waters.

Spain claims sovereignty over the Rock, which stands on the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula, but has been a British Overseas Territory since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

However, the UK Government has made clear that it will not negotiate over sovereignty as long as Gibraltar's people want to remain British.

Foreign Secretary William Hague last month phoned Mr Garcia-Margallo to complain about Spain ramping up border checks, which forced drivers to wait for up to seven hours in searing heat.

On Sunday, the Foreign Office summoned the Spanish ambassador, to demand assurances that there would be no repeat of the excessive checks.

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Turkey Coup Trial: Ex-Military Commander Jailed

Turkey: A Lesson For Egypt

Updated: 12:04pm UK, Monday 05 August 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent

When the sword of Islam clashes with the sabre of secular military ambition sparks will inevitably fly.

Egypt has been set aflame this way – but Turkey has moved decisively to blunt the armed forces political armoury.

Some 300 officers, politicians, lawyers and dozens of journalists are hearing the verdicts after a five-year trial in which they have been accused of plotting bombing campaigns, political murder and a coup against Turkey's Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Organised by a "deep state" organisation known as Ergenekon, the alleged plot has bitterly divided Turkish society.

Secular liberals have little time for the habitual interventions of the military in Turkey's politics – but, over the years, they (like their Egyptian cousins) have also looked to senior officers to preserve the secular traditions that modernised their country after the end of Ottoman rule in 1923.

So the alleged plotters are being seen as the latest victims of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's long running campaign to rid Turkey's body politic of the presence of the military by his critics.

The military staged its last coup in 1997 against the Necmettin Erbakan of the Welfare Party, an Islamist movement, by operating against him from behind the scenes.

In 1998 Erdogan, the Mayor of Istanbul and a member of the Welfare Party, was jailed for 10 months for allegedly inciting racial hatred in a move which he has always blamed on the secular military.

When he came to power he moved quickly to try to keep the military at bay.

His secret police first uncovered the "Sledgehammer", an alleged plot ten years ago, in which about 300 people, most of them in the military, were jailed for allegedly organising another coup.

Many of his critics insist that the charges in the latest trial are trumped up.

They point out that only one other country on earth has jailed more journalists – and that is China.

This year's demonstrations in Taksim Square in Istanbul and across the country have rattled Mr Erdogan – who has been in power for a decade - as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest against the steady drift of Turkey towards an Islamist state.

He has attempted to ban kissing in public, imposed restrictions on the sale of alcohol, and neutered the domestic media which has infuriated many Turks.

But they are unlikely to be able to look to the military to help – their counterparts in Cairo successfully implored the Egyptian armed forces to depose their democratically elected president.

In some ways Egypt's recently ousted President, Mohammed Morsi, currently in military custody, might have learned from his Turkish counterpart.

He could have moved against Egypt's US-backed armed forces before they moved against him, early in his presidency.

He had warnings.

General Abdel Fatah al Sisi, his defence minister, twice warned that the armed forces might intervene before they did in June this year. He warned this would be to stop a civil war.

A move against the armed forces for threatening a coup might have been legitimate.

But it could not have been carried politically.

Then president Mr Morsi had failed to focus on Egypt's economy. Mr Erdogan didn't make that mistake.

His economic reforms created a wealthy middle class and big money vested interests who were interested mainly in maintaining political stability while the economy boomed in the last decade.

Many looked aside when Mr Erdogan first cracked down on the military.

Mr Morsi pursued a cruder agenda.

He was unable to galvanise an economy which, in any case, is believed to be about 40% under military control.

Instead he focused on centralising power and promoting his fellow members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

By December last year he had put himself above the law and introduced rule by decree.

The Brotherhood is the most potent civil society movement in Egypt – but without the armour of economic success, it was always going to be run-through by the military.

Recent upheavals and demonstrations against Mr Erdogan's Islamist agenda in Turkey has fuelled support for the 300 alleged coup plotters as the verdicts come in on a long trial.

This may be the opportunity for the Turkish military to take a lesson from their Egyptian comrades and forge an alliance with the secular liberals on the streets. If they do, we can expert fireworks.

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Interpol Global Security Alert After Jailbreaks

Interpol has issued a global security alert, urging countries to be on their guard following a series of prison breaks believed linked to al Qaeda.

The international police organisation warning comes after the US State Department put out a worldwide travel alert and decided to close 21 of its embassies and consulates across the Muslim world today.

The US measure was in response to non-specific information suggesting the terror network was planning attacks during the month of August.

The Obama Administration has warned US citizens of the potential for terrorism particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

US joint chiefs of staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said there was a "significant threat", describing it as "more specific" than previous threats.

A section of the British embassy compound in Yemen

Meanwhile, Britain is shutting the doors of its embassy in Yemen for two days starting today due to increased security concerns. France is also closing its embassy for the same reason.

Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has withdrawn a number of staff from the capital Sana'a, and British nationals have been warned against all travel to the country.

Those still in Yemen have been advised to leave immediately, as it is "extremely unlikely" their evacuation could be arranged if the security situation deteriorates.

The FCO recommended particular vigilance during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends on August 8, when "tensions could be heightened".

Interpol urged countries around the world to show "increased vigilance", following a series of prison escapes over the past month which freed hundreds of terrorists in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

The State Department warned US citizens of the potential for terrorism

An elaborate raid earlier this week freed 252 inmates from a prison in Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan.

Rocket-propelled grenades and bombs were used in the assault, with the Taliban claiming that two dozen newly-liberated militants had been smuggled into its tribal heartland.

Interpol said it was "asking its member countries to closely follow and swiftly process any information linked to these events and the escaped prisoners".

It added: "They are also requested to alert the relevant member country and Interpol general secretariat headquarters if any escaped terrorist is located or intelligence developed which could help prevent another terrorist attack."

Four Americans were killed in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi

Yemen has become a stronghold of al Qaeda over recent years, with local offshoot al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula believed to have several hundred members.

This was despite efforts by the country's authorities to suppress the group and US drones killing leaders including Anwar al Awlaki.

Yemen was the source of an attempt to bomb a US-bound airliner in 2009.

There has been unrest recently after the mutiny of troops in the Republican Guard, with fighting around the presidential palace on Friday.

The latest alert by the US warned that al Qaeda or its allies may target American government or private US interests.

It cited dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists, noting that previous terrorist attacks have centred on subway and rail networks as well as aircraft and boats.

The US State Department issued a major warning last year informing American diplomatic facilities across the Muslim world about potential violence connected to the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In Benghazi, Libya, four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed in an attack on the US consulate.

The deadly assault has prompted several calls for investigations from House Republicans who have accused the Obama administration of misleading Americans about the attack.

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Australia: Kevin Rudd Names Election Date

The Australian prime minister has called a national election as his Labor Party looks to close the gap with the conservative opposition.

Kevin Rudd was first elected prime minister in 2007, but was defeated in 2010 by his then deputy Julia Gillard in an internal leadership contest within his centre-left Labour Party.

He won back the leadership in a similar challenge on June 26 as the government faced the prospect of a record loss under Ms Gillard.

Since then, Mr Rudd has changed several key policy positions and opinion polls suggest Labor is closing the lead of the conservative opposition.

The party has been in power since 2007 and helped Australia's economy avoid recession following the 2008 global financial crisis, aided by a prolonged mining boom.

But a budget update on Friday showed Australia's economic growth is slowing as the mining investment boom ends, with rising unemployment particularly in the manufacturing sector.

In an email to supporters, Mr Rudd said: "It's on. We've got one hell of a fight on our hands.

"Australians now face a choice. And the choice couldn't be starker. I have a positive vision about the country we can be."

The election date would mean Mr Rudd missing the G20 summit in St Petersburg, even though Australia will take over as chair of the G20 for the coming year.

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Lucky Escape After Car Door Opens On Cyclist

A woman has escaped serious injury after she was knocked off her bike when a passenger opened a car door in front of her.

The victim, whose family name is Shi, was riding home on her electric bicycle in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, when the accident took place.

A rear door of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) stopped by the roadside opened suddenly in front of her, sending her tumbling from her bike into the rear wheel of a passing truck.

The woman is thrown into the back tyre of a passing truck

She said: "There was a white thing that flashed, knocked me off my bicycle, and then I fainted."

The woman was taken to hospital, where she is reportedly in a stable condition.

Police located the SUV, which fled the accident, using CCTV footage.

She then falls to the ground after narrowly escaping going under the truck

Officer Zhou Zhengbin said: "The driver didn't control the passengers after he stopped the car. A passenger pushed the car door open just as an electric bicycle rode past.

"There is an obvious mark on the car door."

The SUV driver was taken into custody pending a further investigation.

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China Blocks NZ Milk Powder Over Botulism

Some brands of baby milk formula from New Zealand contain whey powder which could cause the food poisoning botulism, authorities have warned.

Up to 1,000 tons of dairy products - including milk powders used for sports as well as babies' formula - have been recalled from shelves in seven countries.

The move comes after the New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra announced tests had turned up a type of bacteria that can cause the illness.

China, one of the countries where the products are exported to, has responded by blocking all imports of milk powder from New Zealand, an NZ minister said Sunday.

China is New Zealand's biggest market for exported milk powder.

Demand for imported milk products has risen sharply after a series of scandals over tainted baby formula in China, leading to limits on sales of formula in other countries, including the UK.

It is not known, at this stage, whether China's import ban on New Zealand milk will have a knock-on effect on baby milk availability in the UK.

New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said the ban was "entirely appropriate", as consuming the whey products could lead to the potentially fatal illness.

China has not officially announced a ban. It said on Saturday it had contacted New Zealand's embassy and asked it "to take measures to prevent the products in question from influencing the health of Chinese consumers".

Mr Groser said the situation with Fonterra was "very serious". As well as China, the whey protein concentrate had also been exported to Australia, China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Vietnam.

"The authorities in China, in my opinion absolutely appropriately, have stopped all imports of New Zealand milk powders from Australia and New Zealand," Mr Groser said on Television New Zealand's Q&A programme.

"It's entirely appropriate they should have done that. It's better to do blanket protection for your people then wind it back when we, our authorities, are in a position to give them the confidence and advice that they need."

In China, several domestic brands of baby milk have been hit by scandals

The symptoms of botulism include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, followed by paralysis, and it can be fatal if not treated.

There have been no reports of any illness linked to consumption of the affected whey protein.

The problem is believed to have been caused by unsterilised pipes at a factory in Waikato .

Fonterra's milk products managing director Gary Romano said three affected batches of whey protein weighing about 42 tons were made in May 2012, adding that Fonterra has since cleaned the pipes.

The affected batches were found to contain the toxic bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism, but it was only discovered on July 31 this year.

New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries says the tainted product was mixed with other ingredients to form about 1,000 tons of consumer products which were then distributed worldwide.

Some of the affected product ended up being used by New Zealand company Nutricia which makes the Karicare line of formula for infants aged over six months.

Nutricia has locked down all five batches of infant formula it believed contained the tainted product but New Zealand advised parents to buy different Nutricia products or alternative brands until all tainted Nutricia products had been recalled.

Russia's Ria Novosti news agency reported that Moscow was "recalling Fonterra's products, including infant formula and advised Russian consumers not to buy the company's other products".

Dairy exports are one of New Zealand's major earners. According to government data the dairy industry contributes 2.8% to New Zealand's GDP and about 25% of its exports. It is worth NZ$10.4bn (£5.2bn) annually.

In 2008, six babies in China died and another 300,000 were sickened by infant formula that was tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical added to watered-down milk to fool tests for protein levels.

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Zimbabwe's Elections Were 'Free and Credible'

Zimbabwe's elections have been declared "free and credible" by the African Union, despite observers noting a number of practises that suggested heavy rigging.

Despite an admission by the head of the African Union mission, Olsegun Obasanjo, that his monitors noted some apparent irregularities, he said they did not constitute evidence of systematic tampering.

Officials say 89-year-old Robert Mugabe has been returned to power with a two-thirds majority.

Robert Mugabe casts his vote with wife, Grace

However, while declaring the elections to be free, the Union did not go so far as to declare them fair.

Mr Obasanjo, said: "Yes, the election is free," and he described the vote as credible unless any evidence to the contrary emerged

Significantly he asked election authorities to investigate reports that tens of thousands of eligible voters were turned away from the vote which marks an unbroken run of 33 years in power for Mr Mugabe.

Another poll monitoring group in Zimbabwe said as many as a million of the more than six million eligible voters were prevented from casting ballots.

Mr Obasanjo, a former Nigerian president, said: "If 25% were not allowed, then, yes, the election is fatally flawed."

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe's main opponent in the presidential vote, has declared the election "null and void".

Official results announced by the election commission on Friday morning showed Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF capturing 54 of the 210 parliament seats and Mr Tsvangirai's party winning 19 seats so far.

Voters queue to get into polling stations

Full results on the presidential and parliament votes have been promised by Monday.

Among the irregularities, the African Union found the electoral commission printed 8.7 million ballot papers for 6.4 million voters – 35% above the number of registered voters. This is against the international standard of 5%-10%.

The late publicity on the location of voting stations just 48 hours before stations opened also contributed to the high number of voters who were turned away because they were not at correct polling sites.

Life goes on as normal as a two-thirds majority declared for Mr Mugabe

Monitors also reported a high number of disabled, elderly or other "assisted voters" being helped to cast their ballots by polling officers who may have influenced them against their free will.

Speaking from Harare, Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said: "At the moment the people we are seeing and speaking to are all very disgruntled members of the electorate who say they were unable to vote for one reason or another.

"When they turned up at the voting stations the polling stations they were told their names were not on the voting lists that they had been registered to vote in polling stations which were many, many kilometres away so they felt that they were disenfranchised."

She said she had heard evidence of dead people's names being used to vote and of a number of procedural irregularities.

Morgan Tsvangirai declares the election 'null and void'

She said the Southern African Development Community, a regional body, "were very much holding back from saying it was a fair election. They said it was definitely free, people appeared to be able to vote and it was very peaceful but they stopped short of saying it was fair or credible."

The head of the observer mission for the Southern African Development Community described the election as "very free" and "very peaceful".

He also noted that there were some violations and a full analysis was still under way.

"The question of fairness is broad and you cannot answer it within one day," said Bernard Membe, who is also Tanzania's foreign minister.

"And so be sure that within 30 days, through our main report, the question of fairness may come."

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Zawahiri Claims US Plotted Morsi's Downfall

Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri has accused the United States of "plotting" to overthrow Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

In an audio recording posted to militant Islamist forums, he said the US colluded with the Egyptian military, secularists and Christians to force out Mr Morsi.

Zawahiri, himself an Egyptian, said: "Crusaders and secularists and the Americanised army have converged ... with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohamed Morsi's government."

He accused Egypt's Coptic Christian minority of supporting the Islamist president's ouster to attain "a Coptic state stripped from Egypt's south".

Protests have been taking place in Egypt

They are the militant leader's first public comments on Mr Morsi's ousting.

The comments came as backers of Mr Morsi staged defiant rallies after the government ordered their protest camps to be broken up.

Supporters of Mr Morsi began to march after Friday prayers, pouring out of several Cairo mosques.

The afternoon rallies passed off peacefully, with demonstrators marching along main thoroughfares in the capital.

Mohamed Morsi was ousted in a military coup

By early evening, they held several smaller demonstrations, including by Cairo's Media Production City in the city's outskirts, where security forces fired tear gas after an alleged attempt by protesters to storm the building.

Protesters reportedly tore up the pavement to make barriers as police in armoured vehicles fired barrages of tear gas.

The marches came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry angered Morsi loyalists by saying Egypt's military had been "restoring democracy" when it deposed the Islamist leader.

In an interview he said: "The military did not take over, to the best of our judgement - so far. To run the country, there's a civilian government. In effect, they were restoring democracy."

A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood denounced the comments, accusing Washington of being "complicit" in the coup.

"Is it the job of the army to restore democracy?" asked Gehad al Haddad in a statement.

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