California Suffers Worst Drought Since 1970s

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

While most of the United States has been gripped by the polar vortex, one part of the country is suffering a very different weather extreme.

California, the most populous state in America, is experiencing its worst drought since the 1970s.

Last year was one of the driest on record and farmers across the state are warning of devastation and rising food prices unless rain arrives soon.

Water levels in reservoirs are down to around 20% of normal levels and officials say it is only conservation efforts that have prevented a state-wide catastrophe so far.

Water levels in California reservoirs are down to 20% of normal levels

The level has dropped so low at Folsom Lake reservoir in Northern California that a Gold Rush-era village, which was deliberately flooded in the 1950s, has re-emerged.

Tourists have flocked to see the foundations of Red Bank, close to an area called Mormon Island, and pick through remnants and debris scattered the now-exposed lake bed.

But the drought could have serious costs with farmers warning of rising food prices if it goes on.

The drought in California is the worst since the 1970s

Paul Van Leer, who farms land adjoining the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, says the irony is not lost on farmers that the rest of the country has had more than their share of wet weather.

"It is a shame we just can't pipe it down here," he told Sky News.

"I have never seen it this bad. Everyone is feeling it. We're looking out of the window wondering when it is going to come.

"We're in the heart of a rainy season right now and if we don't get it in the 30 to 45 day window, we're pretty much done."

The drought may take a major toll on farmers and food prices

A third of the water for Californians comes from the snow pack in the Sierra Nevada mountains - measurements this winter have shown it to be at just 20% of the required level.

Even the state's famous vineyards have been affected. Growers have been forced to begin irrigating vines much earlier than normal, or face seeing them dying off.

Brad Goehring, who grows wine grapes in the San Joaquin Valley, said: "It is the same as real rain but it the best we can do."

Weather forecasters have little good news - there is no significant rain forecast for the weeks ahead, increasing the prospect of the drought worsening.

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Ariel Sharon Dead: Israel's Ex-PM Dies

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has died following a long illness.

The 85-year-old's son was quoted as saying he had died, eight years since a stroke at the height of his powers left him in a coma.

Gilad Sharon said: "He has gone. He went when he decided to go."

Sheba Medical Centre, where he was being treated, said he died at around 2pm (midday UK time).

Mr Sharon's condition suddenly deteriorated on January 1 when he suffered serious kidney problems after surgery.

Nicknamed 'The Bulldozer', the veteran soldier fought in all of Israel's major wars before beginning a turbulent political career in 1973.

Long considered a pariah for his personal but "indirect" responsibility for the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel's Lebanese Phalangist allies in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, he was elected premier in 2001.

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Ex-Miss Venezuela: Funeral For Murdered Model

The funerals are taking place of a former Miss Venezuela beauty queen and her British ex-husband who were murdered as they returned from holiday.

Monica Spear and Thomas Henry Berry are being laid to rest a day after their families held a private wake in Caracas before allowing fans of the model-turned-actress to view her body.

The pair were killed in a robbery on an isolated stretch of highway while they were returning to the Venezuelan capital with their five-year-old daughter.

Mourners line up to pay tribute to the Venezuelan star

Although the weapon used in the robbery has not been found, it has emerged that a digital camera stolen during the attack led police to a criminal group which allegedly preyed on motorists on the stretch of road between Puerto Cabello and Valencia.

The camera was found at the home of one of seven people arrested over the killing and helped officers trace other suspects in the case.

According to Jose Gregorio Sierralta, chief of Venezuela's criminal police, at least 11 people were involved in the crime - four of whom remain on the run.

The pair had been returning to Caracas from holiday with their daughter

The commissioner claimed the 32-year-old alleged ringleader of the group, known as Fat Danilo, supplied younger men in the gang with guns and drugs.

The deaths of Ms Spear and her ex-husband provoked a national uproar over Venezuela's rampant violent crime.

Hundreds of mourners waited in long lines outside the Caracas chapel to pay their respects to the 29-year-old, who had a starring role in a popular TV soap series.

The former Miss Venezuela had become and actress

District mayor Ramon Muchacho said: "It is a crime that shakes the foundation of the country. And that puts in front of our eyes the awful reality we live in.

"Sometimes Venezuelans live in escapism, looking one way or the other, trying to forget what happens every day. But this crime reminds us that there are more than 20,000 families, who are left in mourning every year in Venezuela (due to violence)."

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Ukraine Protests: Ex-Minister Among 10 Injured

Ten people have been injured in early morning clashes between riot police and protesters outside a courthouse in Ukraine's capital, witnesses said.

Police used tear gas and batons to control the crowd of several hundred people who were protesting in Kiev against the sentencing of three activists.

Among those injured is former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko, who served under jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Police said they have no information about injuries in the protests

Despite witness accounts, police said in a statement they have no information about injuries during the protest.

Meanwhile, 10km away in central Kiev, several thousand people have set up camp to protest against President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to spurn a European Union trade deal and strengthen Ukraine's economic ties with Russia.

The demonstrations began when Ukraine suspended talks with the EU on November 21 and have grown in size and intensity after unsuccessful attempts by police to clear the protest camp.

Demonstrations began in November last year and have since escalated

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on December 15 in a huge rally dubbed the 'day of dignity', where they demanded the resignation of the government and called for European human rights.

Ukraine remains deeply divided, between the European-leaning west, and Russian-speaking east.

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Cockroach Burrows Into Sleeping Man's Ear

A man in Australia had to be rushed to hospital in terrible pain after a large cockroach crawled into his ear as he slept, and an attempt to suck it out with a vacuum cleaner failed.

Medical treatment initially only caused the inch-long insect to burrow further into the head of Hendrik Helmer.

The unwelcome invader was eventually extracted by a doctor with forceps, but only after Mr Helmer had endured the unpleasant sensation of it being in the "throes of death-twitching".

His ordeal began in the early hours of Wednesday morning when he was woken by a sharp pain in his right ear, according to Australian TV.

He said: "I was hoping it was not a poisonous spider ... I was hoping it didn't bite me."

As the pain got worse, Mr Helmer said he tried to suck the insect out with a vacuum cleaner before squirting water in his ear.

"Whatever was in my ear didn't like it at all," he told the broadcaster.

With the pain now excruciating, his flatmate rushed him to hospital where a doctor put oil down the ear canal.

Friends of Mr Helmer, from Darwin, are now going to bed with headphones on

But this only forced the two centimetre cockroach to crawl in deeper.

Mr Helmer, from Darwin, said: "Near the 10 minute mark ... somewhere about there, he started to stop burrowing but he was still in the throes of death twitching."

The doctor then pulled the insect out of his ear.

"She (the doctor) said, 'You know how I said a little cockroach, that may have been an underestimate'," he said.

"They said they had never pulled an insect this large out of someone's ear."

Mr Helmer said he would not be taking any added precautions when sleeping, although friends of his said they were so concerned over his experience that they had begun going to bed with headphones on.

Cockroaches are among the hardiest insects on the planet.

They are capable of surviving for long periods on little food and can even tolerate high doses of radiation.

They will eat almost anything, and some species can produce over 20,000 young in their lifetime.

Famous for their hissing, cockroaches can reach nine centimetres in length, although most species are much smaller.

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Indian Diplomat's Family Slam 'Inhuman' US

The family of an Indian envoy whose arrest in the US has sparked a diplomatic crisis have slammed her "inhuman" treatment.

Uttam Khobragade, father of Devyani Khobragade, hit out after his daughter was strip-searched when arrested over allegations that she lied about how much she paid her maid.

He told a news conference in Delhi: "As a family, we would not like to touch the soil of the country which treats human beings in such an inhuman way, in an utter violation of human rights, an utter violation of the Geneva Convention."

Mr Khobragade said he expected his daughter to arrive in India with her husband and children "very soon" after she was ordered to leave the US, where she could not be prosecuted because of her diplomatic immunity status.

Ms Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York, was held in December on charges of visa fraud and underpaying a maid.

Delhi said it was "shocked and appalled" and demanded an apology after she was handcuffed and strip-searched at the time of her arrest.

Uttam Khobragade attacked the handling of his daughter's case as 'inhuman'

She left New York on a flight from JFK airport on Thursday night hours after she was indicted on criminal charges and India refused to waive her immunity.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said: "At the time of her departure to India, Counsellor Khobragade reiterated her innocence of charges filed against her.

"She affirmed her gratitude to the government of India, in particular to the external affairs minister, and the people of India, as also the media, for their strong and sustained support during this period."

Ms Khobragade could be arrested and forced to answer the charges if she returned to the US without diplomatic immunity.

The row began when Ms Khobragade was arrested following a complaint by her maid Sangeeta Richard.

Ms Khobragade's arrest sparked street protests in India

She in turn accused her employee of theft and attempted blackmail.

The circumstances of her arrest prompted protests on the streets of India and diplomatic reprisals from Delhi.

Senior Indian politicians and officials snubbed a US delegation on a recent visit and security barricades around the American embassy in Delhi were removed.

On Wednesday, the US embassy was ordered to stop "commercial activities on its premises" and a club with a pool restaurant and tennis court was reportedly told to shut down.

The Indian government also said drivers of US diplomatic cars could be charged with traffic offences.

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Costa Concordia May Be Towed To Middlesbrough

The team leading the Costa Concordia salvage operation has revealed they will begin removing the stricken cruise liner from near the Italian island of Giglio in June - before it is demolished later this year.

Exactly where the wreck will be towed to and destroyed has not yet been decided, but some 12 ports are in contention including ABLE Middlesbrough Port on the River Tees, among others in Italy, Norway, Turkey, France and the Netherlands.

The job of dismantling and recycling the vessel has been put out to tender which is being overseen by London Offshore Consultants.

It is hoped the salvage team will have made a decision on the ship's final destination by early March.

Italian environment minister Andrea Orlando and experts disclosed the details of the next phase of the mammoth operation at a news conference in Rome.

A technique known as parbuckling was used to right the ship

The 114,000-ton ship was hauled upright from its partially submerged position in September last year in a complicated 19-hour operation.

More than 1,000 concrete stacks and six underwater platforms are being used to keep the vessel stable.

It is expected to be towed away from the Mediterranean holiday island by the summer and eventually broken up for scrap.

Franco Porcellacchia, who is in charge of removing the wreck, said: "We will start fitting in the systems and equipment that are needed to enable us to remove the ship from mid-April. It is a very complicated operation.

"If there are no unexpected events the whole operation will be completed by the end of June, probably by the middle of June.

"Then we will have to make the wreck float again, and this will take about seven to 10 days, so our reasonable goal is to refloat the wreck by the end of June."

Costa Concordia raised from the depths

Michael Thamm, chief executive officer of Costa Cruises, said: "We are very confident that we can remove this ship within the month of June. This is not very far away - and then a great job will be done."

He said the company would maintain ownership of the vessel "until the very last moment", until the wreck is demolished later this year.

The full cost of the completed salvage operation was expected to reach around €600m (£497m), he added.

Cabin owners of the safes recovered from the wreck are to be contacted soon and their contents returned to them.

The seven-day Mediterranean cruise turned to tragedy just hours after the vessel, packed with more than 4,000 passengers and crew had left the port of Civitavecchia in January 2012.

The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is on trial for alleged manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship during a confused and delayed evacuation.

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CAR President And Prime Minister Resign

The president of the Central African Republic has resigned over violence that has killed more than 1,000 people in the country.

Michel Djotodia agreed to step down alongside his prime minister, Nicolas Tiengaye.

The country has seen spiralling violence between the mainly Muslim rebels who brought him to power last year, and Christian militias.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the last month alone.

The resignations came as the two men met African leaders in Chad to try to find a solution to the crisis.

Thousands of protesters in the CAR capital, Bangui, took to the streets on Friday calling for Mr Djotodia to resign.

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Brazil: Girl Dies After Bus Fire Attack

By Karine Mayer, Senior News Editor in Rio de Janeiro

Inmates of Brazil's most notorious jail are being blamed by police after a six-year-old girl was killed by a gang who torched a packed bus.

Ana Clara Santos Souza died three days after suffering 95% burns when armed men set fire to the vehicle while passengers were still on board.

Hundreds of people attended her funeral, demanding an end to a wave of gang-led terror that has swept the region since December.

Authorities in the northeastern city of Sao Luis believe the attack was ordered by gang leaders in revenge for a crackdown on violence in Pedrinhas prison.

CCTV footage shows a man board the bus and pull a handgun from his trousers.

As he orders people out of the vehicle, other armed gang members appear in the road and train their weapons on the terrified passengers.

The bus suddenly bursts into flames with people still on board, although at least one passenger manages to jump off.

But Ana appears to fall in the footwell of the bus before scrambling off engulfed in flames, which she desperately tries to put out.

Riot police have been deployed to control violence in the Pedrinhas jail

Her family said the gang had ignored her mother's pleas for mercy.

A relative told Brazil's O Globo newspaper: "Her mother asked the criminals not to harm the children, but they showed no mercy and set fire to the girl."

Four other people - including Ana's mother and older sister - were injured as four buses were set alight and a police station targeted in a drive-by shooting in the city on January 3.

The Maranhao state government says the attacks were ordered by criminals at the notorious Pedrinhas jail, where at least 62 inmates died last year.

Officials said in a statement: "The attacks are in reaction to recent measures to curb jail violence."

Brazil, which has the world's fourth-largest prison population, has been shocked by footage of the beheading of three Pedrinhas prisoners - apparently filmed on a mobile phone by other inmates.

The gruesome film is narrated by the killers, who gleefully display their victim's heads like trophies as they stand over pools of blood.

In October Maranhao asked for government help after several outbreaks of violence between rival gangs and military police were deployed after the beheadings in December.

Eight suspects have been arrested over the violence in Sao Luis and extra troops have been deployed across the city, state security secretary Aluisio Mendes said.

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Ex-SS Soldier, 88, Charged Over Nazi Massacre

An 88-year-old former member of Hitler's SS has been charged with taking part in a massacre of hundreds of French villagers.

It is nearly 70 years since one of the most infamous Nazi atrocities, in which Waffen-SS men took the small French village of Oradour-sur-Glane by surprise and killed nearly all of its inhabitants.

The death toll from the methodical slaughter in 1944 was 642 men, women and children.

The men were herded into barns and shot dead, while the women and children were burned alive in the village church.

Achim Hengstenberg, court spokesman for Cologne, said: "The prosecution charges an 88-year-old pensioner from Cologne with (joining in) the destruction of Oradour-sur-Glane in France.

French president Francois Hollande at the site with a survivor (C) in 2013

"He and another shooter are said to have killed 25 men in a barn with his machine gun. He is also said to have aided the burning down of the village church."

The accused denies the charges, saying he did not fire a single shot in Oradour, according to his lawyer Rainer Pohlen.

He said he even tried to save the lives of some of the victims.

Mr Pohlen said: "He could have fired. He says, however, 'I had the great luck of being deployed for something else'.

"He said 'I heard shots, I saw people shouting, I saw the village burning. It was terrible. It was absolutely awful. But I was not myself involved in any of the action'."

A memorial at Oradour-sur-Glane

Mr Hengstenberg said the charge lay with the young offenders chamber of the Cologne court because the suspect was only 19 years old at the time of the crime.

He was not named in the statement. The young offenders chamber will decide whether or not to open proceedings against the accused.

The SS massacre was meant to be an example to French Resistance guerrillas after a vehicle carrying an SS doctor was ambushed on a road leading to the village and its occupants abducted.

Among those killed were 207 children, the youngest eight weeks old. Only five men and a woman survived the massacre.

Robert Hebras, one of the survivors, said: "It's important that we find someone even if it's 70 years afterwards."

More than 600 people died in the massacre

Oradour is an example of a post-war failure to punish the perpetrators.

Heinz Lammerding, the Waffen-SS general in command of the unit that committed the massacre, was captured by Allied forces, but never extradited to France and was sentenced to death in absentia by a Bordeaux military court in 1951. He died in his bed in Bavaria in 1971.

Mr Hengstenberg said the new charge resulted from a fresh look at a previous investigation into the events.

In 1953, 12 Alsatian soldiers who took part in the massacre while serving in the SS unit were sentenced to life in prison and one to death, but France's parliament immediately pardoned them in the name of "national reconciliation".

Their province of Alsace had been annexed by Germany in 1940 and Alsatians were deemed to have been forced to join the German forces, even though some clearly enlisted voluntarily.

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