Haiti: Gay Briton's Engagement Party Attacked

A British man and his Haitian partner had petrol bombs and rocks thrown at them by dozens of locals during their engagement ceremony in Port-au-Prince.

Several people were injured, two cars were set ablaze and windows were smashed at the home in the Haitian capital where the ceremony took place, police said.

Officers arrived just in time to prevent people being killed, inspector Patrick Rosarion said.

Campaigners said the attack on the British man, identified only as a member of the Red Cross named Max, and his partner, was a clear example of homophobia.

Charlot Jeudy from Haitian gay rights group Kouraj said: "This is a criminal act and homophobic.

"There is no justification for this kind of attack on people in a private residence. Hopefully the justice authorities will react to the perpetrators of this act."

More than 1,000 Haitians attended an anti-gay marriage protest in July

The British victim has reportedly said he is fine but does not wish to discuss the matter for fear of identifying his partner and making him more vulnerable to attack.

More than 1,000 members of religious groups took to the streets of Port-au-Prince last month to protest against a proposal to legalise gay marriage in Haiti.

Haiti's gay and lesbian community is small and tends to keep a low-profile because of a strong social stigma that sparks fears of physical violence and loss of employment.

In a separate attack in June, a group of men threw rocks and broke down the door of a house where a group of homosexual friends were meeting, according to the Kouraj rights group.

Two men were reportedly injured after being attacked with broken bottles, stones and punches.

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Neil Heywood's Wife Seeks China Murder Payout

The family of a British businessman murdered by the wife of a senior Communist Party official in China are seeking compensation for his death.

Neil Heywood was killed in November 2011 by Gu Kailai, the wife of the head of the communist party in Chongqing, Bo Xilai. Gu was found guilty after a trial in September last year.

During her trial, Gu admitted to poisoning Mr Heywood, claiming that she had acted after he threatened her son, Bo Guagua, after a business deal turned sour.

Before he was found dead in a Chongqing hotel room in November 2011, Mr Heywood had been a long-time friend of Bo and his wife and helped their son settle into Britain, where he went to two private schools.

Mr Heywood's Chinese wife and British mother have now said compensation that would have been due to his family after a normal murder trial should be paid.

A source told Reuters, Mr Heywood's widow Lulu wants to sue Mrs Gu to get compensation for herself and their two young children

Mrs Heywood and the children are believed to be still living in Beijing.

Gu Kailai, was sentenced to life in jail for killing Mr Heywood in a case that also led to a corruption probe into Bo.

It is customary for a murderer to be ordered to pay court-sanctioned compensation to the victim's family.

Gu Kailai was given a suspended death sentence for Neil Heywood's murder

It follows a statement from Mr Heywood's mother, Ann Heywood, who told the Wall Street Journal the family had seen no progress in seeking compensation from the authorities.

"Given the circumstances of Neil's murder, I have been surprised and disappointed that, despite repeated discreet approaches to the Chinese authorities, there has been no substantive or practical response," she said.

She urged China to show "decisiveness and compassion" to ease the effects of his death on the family, especially the children.

Bo, once a candidate for China's top leadership team, was sacked as Communist Party chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing last year when his wife was named as an official suspect in the murder.

He is now awaiting trial on charges of corruption, taking bribes and of bending the law.

The government originally implicated Bo in helping to cover up Mr Heywood's murder, but a legal indictment listing charges against him issued last month made no mention of that.

The British Embassy in Beijing said it had passed on the family's concerns about a lack of progress on the compensation request to the Chinese government.

"We've made the Chinese authorities, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aware of the family's concerns on several occasions since the trial, most recently twice during July," said an embassy spokesman, who did not elaborate.

China's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

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Gibraltar: UK Mulls Legal Action Against Spain

The diplomatic row between Britain and Spain over extra checks at the border with Gibraltar has intensified after the UK government said it was considering taking legal action.

Downing Street said it was looking at the "unprecedented step" after the Spanish government failed to lift the additional controls over the weekend.

Spain later said it would not abandon the checks, saying they were "legal and proportionate".

The European Commission plans to send a team of investigators to the border next month, who will observe the controls, following complaints from several MEPs and EU citizens about long waits there.

It comes as three Royal Navy warships set sail for the Mediterranean in what defence officials stressed was a long-scheduled deployment.

The vessels included the flagship HMS Bulwark, helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and frigate HMS Montrose.

As part of the operation, a fourth warship, the frigate HMS Westminster, will dock in the UK overseas territory of Gibraltar for a routine visit for three days this month, while other ships in the task group are expected to go to Spanish ports.

HMS Westminster will visit Gibraltar for three days

A No 10 spokesman said: "Clearly the prime minister is disappointed by the failure of Spain to remove the additional border checks this weekend. We are now considering what legal action is open to us."

The diplomatic spat between the UK and Spain was sparked by the creation of an artificial reef by the Gibraltarian authorities, which the Spanish claim will destroy fishing in the area.

Madrid responded by beefing up border controls, leading to lengthy queues, and suggesting that a 50 euro (£43.30) fee could be imposed on every vehicle entering or leaving the Rock through the fenced border with Spain.

The Royal Gibraltar Police tweeted on Sunday that Guardia Civil checks had caused queues of up to two hours at the border, with Spanish officers checking "every car" going into the Rock.

Reports in the Spanish media suggested that the diplomatic row could escalate to the United Nations, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government receiving support from Argentina.

There have been queues of up to two hours at the border

Spanish foreign minister Jose Garcia-Margallo is expected to propose that the two countries present a "united front" over Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, the El Pais newspaper reported.

Mr Garcia-Margallo will sound out his Argentinian counterpart, Hector Timerman, during a meeting in Buenos Aires next month as he prepares for a "180-degree turn in policy towards the colony", the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, Spanish defence minister Pedro Morenes has said it is "totally normal" for British warships to dock in Gibraltar in what is a "routine visit", according to reports.

Mr Morenes reportedly told the Europa Press news agency: "Neither the British nor the Spanish government have an interest in there being bad relations."

He also said that aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious had requested and been granted permission to stop off at the southern Spanish naval base of Rota on August 18, proving that there was no military escalation between the two countries.

The MOD's operation in the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Gulf - codenamed Cougar 13 - is due to last around four months and will include a series of exercises as well as escort duties and counter-piracy operations.

Four Royal Navy warships, the lead commando group from 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines and elements of naval air squadrons will be supported by five vessels from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

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Sinkhole Near Disney World Topples Building

A sinkhole has caused a building in a Florida resort near Disney World to partially collapse, with another section of the building also slowly dropping.

About a third of the three-storey structure collapsed at around 3am on Monday, according to Lake County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Tony Cuellar.

The villa at the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont had already been evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Emergency teams had arrived at the scene about 10 miles west of Disney World late on Sunday night to find the the building was making popping sounds and windows were breaking.

Homes around the damaged building were also evacuated

The sinkhole, which is in the middle of the villa, is said to be about 40 to 50ft (12m to 15m) in diameter. 

The authorities think it may be getting deeper, but it is not clear if it is also growing outward.

The building houses 24 units and about 20 people were staying in it at the time. A nearby villa was also evacuated as a precaution.

Luis Perez, who was staying at a villa near the sinking one, said he was in his room when the lights went off at around 11.30pm. He said he was on his way to the front desk to report the power cut when he saw firefighters and police outside.

"I started walking toward where they were at and you could see the building leaning and you could see a big crack at the base of the building," he said.

Cracks first appeared on Sunday night. Pics: Lake County Fire Rescue

Florida has a well-documented problem with large sinkholes. Last February, a giant pit opened underneath a house in a suburb of Tampa, swallowing up 36-year-old Jeff Bush who was in bed at the time. His body was never recovered.

But such fatalities and injuries are rare, and most sinkholes are small. They can develop quickly or slowly over time.

The state sits on limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water, with a layer of clay on top. The clay is thicker in some locations, making them even more prone to sinkholes.

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Idaho: Teenager Rescued After Suspect Killed

US Abductor 'May Have Explosives'

Updated: 5:28pm UK, Saturday 10 August 2013

The car of a man suspected of killing a woman and her son, and then abducting her 16-year-old daughter, has been found in Idaho.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said horseback riders reported seeing two people matching the description of the suspect and girl in the Cascade area 70 miles northeast of Boise on Wednesday.

Investigators have said an "unusual infatuation" with the teenager might have driven suspect James Lee DiMaggio, 40, to flee with Hannah Anderson from his burned-out home on the California-Mexico border.

"That is kind of a working theory, that it may be something of a motivator," San Diego County Sheriff's Captain Duncan Fraser said. "It's definitely something that we're looking at."

Evidence found in the rubble of the home lead police to believe DiMaggio may have explosives and might abandon his blue Nissan Versa after rigging it to explode.

"In the event that someone comes across the car, they need to use caution," Captain Fraser warned.

On Sunday night, authorities found the body of 44-year-old Christina Anderson when they extinguished flames at DiMaggio's rural home. A child's body was also discovered as they sifted through rubble in Boulevard, a tiny town 65 miles east of San Diego.

The body was identified several days later as eight-year-old Ethan Anderson.

DiMaggio allegedly told Hannah a couple of months ago he had a crush on her and would date her if they were the same age. 

A 15-year-old friend, Marissa Chavez, witnessed the remarks when DiMaggio was driving them home from a gymnastics competition.

"She was a little creeped out by it. She didn't want to be alone with him," she said.

DiMaggio is wanted on suspicion of murder and arson in a search that began in California and quickly spread to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, British Columbia and Mexico's Baja California state.

A possible sighting was reported in northeast California near Alturas on Wednesday afternoon, followed by another about 50 miles along the same road near Lakeview, in south-central Oregon.

Captain Fraser, whose office has had hundreds of leads on DiMaggio's whereabouts, said the Oregon tip appeared "very credible". "We're taking it very seriously," he said.

DiMaggio, a telecommunications technician, was said to have been like an uncle to Hannah and Ethan Anderson and had been close to both of their parents for years.

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India: Child Slaves Rescued After Police Raids

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Asia Producer

India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of child labourers under the age of 14.

These children are trafficked from the poorest parts of the country. All promised a better life in the bright lights of growing cities.

Some parents are paid just 3,000 Indian Rupees (less than £35 ) and a promise of more money later to part with their children. Traffickers quickly move them to the bigger cities and sell them to contractors. 

Mr Satyarthi: 'The products come from the sweat and blood of the children'

Once in the clutches of a contractor, these children are put to work in almost inhuman conditions. They neither get their promised wages nor see their parents for years on end.

Kailash Satyarthi, of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a child campaign group, estimates the number of child labourers in India could be around 50 million; close to 80 % of Britain's population. Though the government maintains the figures are far less.

"Children are largely employed in the garment industry and a large number make products that are exported to the western world," he said.

"The cheap products are sold on the high streets of London, Paris and New York, and when people buy these cheap products they in turn are responsible for the perpetuation of slavery. These cheap products are made from the sweat and blood of these child slaves"

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Delhi is a hub and transit point for child trafficking. Sweatshops dot the capital.

Campaigners tell us it is very difficult to stop this practice unless there is a sustained and concerted effort from not only the authorities, but consumers themselves.

Police raids are not the solution and raids are complicated to initiate. It involves multiple departments of the government and also the police. In a number of instances the employers are tipped off before an impending raid because of corruption.

Employers say they prefer hiring children as they're easier to deal with

In this particular raid Sky News went on, activists had information of over 100 children employed in a three-storey building, but only found 31. The owner had been tipped-off and the children were made to disappear.

One of the children rescued is Rehman, who is just 13-years-old. He was brought to Delhi by a relative three months ago from his impoverished village in Bihar.

For the last three months he has been working from nine in the morning till after midnight, with breaks only for meals. He told me he worked with 30 children doing embroidery in one of the rooms in the building.

It is where they eat, sleep and work - it was their world. He was only allowed out on a Saturday for a few hours which he spent playing cricket in in the street.

He tells me he was too afraid to run away.

The children get a medical check before being returned to their parents

"Where would I run and who would I run to?" he said. "I have no money since I never got paid." Now he just wants to return to his mother.

Child labour is very real in many parts of India. The campaign groups say contractors prefer children as it is easier to deal with them. Once they are away from their guardians they eventually become bonded labourers and become almost free for their employers.

Rehman and his 30 friends are free now. They undergo a medical check and will be comforted by activists. The Government is responsible for uniting them with their families and enrolling them in schools. 

But in many cases poverty drives them back into the clutches of contractors. 

The raided sweatshop is sealed by the authorities and the employer is charged.

As for the traffickers, they have enough of a supply chain in the poverty-stricken villages of India. The cheap work force in sweatshops is soon replaced.

Products need to be manufactured for the insatiable demand of customers and for profits. It's win-win for everyone - except the children.

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Python Death Brothers' Funeral Is Held

Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of two brothers killed by a python as they slept above a pet store.

Noah Barthe, four, and his six-year-old brother Connor were buried together in a single coffin after the service in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada.

They were found dead last Monday after a 100-pound (45kg) African rock python escaped from its enclosure in a shop beneath the apartment where they were staying.

Police say it slithered through the ventilation system above its tank and fell through the ceiling into the living room where the boys were asleep.

Preliminary autopsy results showed they died from asphyxiation.

Connor (left) and Noah (right) were asleep above the pet shop

Reverend Maurice Frenette said the lives of the boys' parents, Mandy Trecartin and Andrew Barthe, had been changed forever in ways no one else could imagine.

"We all try to understand the best we can, but you know, no one here can feel what you feel. But I am sure that everyone here feels for you, for what you are going through," he said.               

Questions still surround the circumstances of the boys' deaths, but before the service Mr Frenette said the funeral was a time to help the family.

"We're not here today to make any judgment or to try to find an answer to the inquiry, but we are here to take a pause and to be with the family," he said.

"Today we want to basically be there for them and tell them of all the love we will try to share with them during this time of sorrow."

The Reptile Ocean shop front in New Brunswick

A photo of the two boys, their heads leaning against each other as they smiled broadly, was put in front of the altar at St Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church.

The congregation was told of their love of video games, playing outdoors and how Connor was loud and Noah quiet.

Family friend Melissa Ellis said they had shared a special bond and "needed to be near each other".                

"If people all over the world are feeling even a fraction of what we felt over the almost seven years of knowing the boys - inspired, lucky, blessed, hopeful - then our hearts are full," she said.

"The boys are continuing to change people, help people and heal people's hearts, including ours."            

African rock pythons are dangerous but do not usually attack humans

The shop and apartment where the boys died are owned by Jean-Claude Savoie, a family friend. They had been on a sleepover with his son.

Mr Savoie found the dead children on Monday morning and alerted the authorities. Vets then located and killed the snake.    

Provincial officials have said he did not have a permit for the python. 

On Friday, 23 reptiles that were banned without a permit in the area were seized from the shop and four large American alligators were put down.

Animal experts have been surprised by the tragedy because, although African rock pythons are dangerous and can kill large prey, they do not usually attack humans.

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Zanzibar Acid Attack: Suspect Preacher On Run

Police are hunting a radical Muslim preacher wanted in connection with an acid attack on two British teenagers in Zanzibar.

Sheikh Issa Ponda Issa was cornered by officers near Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, but managed to escape and is now on the run.

He was hit in the shoulder with a tear-gas canister during the altercation, according to local police in Morogoro - the scene of the clash.

Police commander Faustine Shilogile said: "He has not been arrested. He has been shot at. We have been looking for him in all corners of the country."

He added: "We are no closer to finding who was responsible for this. But this is a serious police investigation, and we are doing everything we can."

Five men are also being questioned by officers, according to the authorities.

Kirstie Trup (L) and Katie Gee are being treated in London

Victims Katie Gee, and Kirstie Trup, both 18 and from London, are still being treated for burns at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after arriving home on Friday.

They are said to be "well rested and comfortable".

A hospital spokesman said: "They have been with their families all day. Doctors are continuing to assess treatment options for both patients."

The pair were attacked by men on a motorbike as they walked across a road on Wednesday night.

They had been nearing the end of a trip working as volunteer teachers on Zanzibar, a predominantly Muslim island in the Indian Ocean.

Witnesses have spoken of their desperate attempts to wash the acid off the two girls before they were rushed to hospital.

A picture released by the teenagers' families shows one appears to have extensive acid burns on her chin, neck and upper chest.

The street on the island where the attack took place

It is thought one of the girls is not as badly injured as the other because she was helped into the sea immediately after the attack.

They had apparently been due to return to the UK to collect their A-level results next week.

Miss Trup is hoping to study history at the University of Bristol and Miss Gee is considering the University of Leeds, according to reports.

Meanwhile, Tory MP Bill Cash, who sits on the all-party parliamentary group for Tanzania, has urged the Foreign Office to further upgrade its travel warning for tourists visiting both Zanzibar and Tanzania because it was "more than just an ordinary criminal event".

The Foreign Office updated its Tanzania travel advice page on Friday with details of the attack and warns British nationals to "take care" and read its travel advice.

Mr Cash said: "People need to be extra vigilant and the Foreign Office and High Commission need to make a very thorough evaluation of the threat, as these latest attacks would seem to be on religious grounds.

"The threat to tourists going to Tanzania and Zanzibar needs to be upgraded without doubt."

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Mexico Drugs Boss Quintero Freed Over Blunder

US officials have expressed outrage after a Mexican drugs baron who ordered the killing of an American agent was released early from prison.

Caro Quintero was jailed for 40 years over the 1985 kidnapping - but he has walked free after 28 years because of a ruling that he was tried in the wrong kind of court.

The US Department of Justice said it found the decision "deeply troubling".

Mexico's relations with Washington were soured when Quintero, now in his 60s, ordered US Drugs Enforcement Agency agent Enrique Camarena kidnapped, tortured and killed.

The agent was snatched in Guadalajara, a major drug-trafficking centre at the time.

His body and that of his Mexican pilot were found a month later in shallow graves.

Quintero, who was apparently angry at Mr Camarena over a raid he sanctioned on a marijuana plantation, was eventually hunted down in Costa Rica.

High security at the Jalisco state prison where Quintero was held

His release was ordered after a decision that his trial had improperly taken place in a federal court.

He still faces charges in the US and is believed to have continued controlling the laundering of drug money from behind bars.

The Department of Justice said it continues to seek Quintero's extradition.

The Association of Former Federal Narcotics Agents in the US said it was "outraged" and it blamed corruption within Mexico's justice system for the early release.

It said: "The release of this violent butcher is but another example of how good faith efforts by the US to work with the Mexican government can be frustrated by those powerful dark forces that work in the shadows of the Mexican 'justice' system."

Quintero is considered the grandfather of Mexican drug trafficking.

He helped establish a powerful cartel based in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa that later split into some of Mexico's largest cartels, including the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels.

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Japan Floods: Five Killed In Severe Weather

At least five people have been killed in severe floods and mudslides that struck in northern Japan.

Torrential rain led to widespread flooding in the town of Yahaba, in the Iwate prefecture, with residents forced to wade through waterlogged streets.

Some 300 people were evacuated on Friday.

Buildings were damaged in storms and mudslides

In the city of Senboku, in Akita prefecture, officials said three people were found dead on Saturday after a mudslide crushed two houses.

Two people remained missing and a major search was under way.

In Hanamaki, a mudslide killed one person and another person was found dead in a river in the town of Nishiwaga.

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