Female Suicide Bomber Blamed For Russia Blast

Train Station Bombing 'Embarrassing' For Putin

Updated: 3:19pm UK, Sunday 29 December 2013

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Russia is desperate to show itself as a world power and world powers seek to cover themselves in glory by staging successful, glamorous and above all secure international events.

But the Volgograd station bombing shows Russia as a country not in control of its own territory and that is acutely embarrassing for President Vladimir Putin.

It should be 'show time' in Russia next year.

The Winter Olympics are due to be held in the Russian Black sea resort of Sochi from the beginning of February and President Vladimir Putin wants it to be an event which showcases Russia.

The reality is a security nightmare and warlords such as the Chechen Doku Umarov - known as 'Russia's Bin Laden' - are threatening to wreck the party.

He has already called for new attacks against civilians and has pledged to 'endeavour to destroy the Olympic Games'.

He claimed responsibility for the metro and airport bombings in Moscow in 2010 and 2011 in which dozens were killed.

Mr Putin is unleashing a massive security operation to tackle Islamist militants. Suicide bombings and other attacks linked to Islamic rebels in the north Caucasus have rocked Russia for years.

The government has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers, police and other security personnel to protect the Olympics.  It is Mr Putin's pet project. He has promised it will be the 'safest Olympics in history'.

He has even pushed through new laws which threaten to punish the relatives of those who turn themselves into suicide bombers.

One of the hallmarks of high-profile bomb blasts in recent years linked to the North Caucasus is the use of female suicide bombers.

The 2010 metro attack, a bus bombing in Volgograd in October which killed 39 and this latest train station bombing all involved female suicide bombers.

Russia is very familiar with the use of so-called 'black widows' - often the widows or sisters of fighters from the North Caucasus killed by Russian security.

The new law is aimed at deterring them from joining the 'jihad' for fear of retribution for their surviving relatives.

Mr Putin has plans for a massive security zone around Sochi - stretching for 60 miles along the Black Sea coast and 30 miles inland.

Russian forces will patrol the mountains towering over the resort and use drones to keep constant watch over the Olympic facilities.

Cars from outside the security zone will be banned for a month before and after the games and there will be extensive security checks for visitors.

In another attempt to avoid controversy hanging over the event, President Putin recently staged an amnesty of political prisoners.

He does not want campaign groups using the event as a platform to air their human rights grievances.

High-profile prisoners such as two members of the feminist Russian punk band Pussy Riot were freed, along with the so-called 'Arctic 30' which included  28 activists and two journalists caught up in a protest to scale a Russian oil platform in the arctic sea.

He also freed jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky after 10 years in prison.

Though the amnesty has failed to silence critics who say thousands more remain in jail.

Mr Putin is doing all he can to prevent anyone raining on his Olympic parade.

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YouTube Videos Add To Missing Doctor Mystery

YouTube videos of a doctor who disappeared three weeks ago talking to an unidentified love interest are being examined by investigators searching for her.

Teleka Patrick, who was serving her residency in Michigan, was last seen on December 5.

After completing a shift, the 30-year-old tried unsuccessfully to rent a hotel room in Kalamazoo before being dropped off by the hotel shuttle driver in the car park of the medical centre where she worked, according to the FBI.

"The shuttle driver said she seemed nervous, even ducking down between vehicles, as if she was afraid of being seen by someone," Carl Clatterbuck, a private investigator hired by the family, said.

"I would say she was agitated, but if she was worried about something or someone, she never told anyone about it."

Later that night, Dr Patrick's car was found about 100 miles away, abandoned in a ditch in Indiana with a possible flat tyre, the FBI said.

Her belongings were in the car, including clothing, a wallet that contained her driver's licence, credit cards, and a small amount of cash.

The YouTube videos, which show Dr Patrick singing and speaking to the unidentified love interest, were uploaded in early November.

In one of them she addresses someone as "baby" and "love" while in the other she shows two plates of breakfast.

But her parents said their emergence created more confusion about the situation. 

"We are aware of the YouTube videos that have surfaced today. However, their relevance to her disappearance remains a mystery," they said.

"These videos have led to more questions than answers. To our knowledge, Teleka was not in a romantic relationship and it is unclear to whom she is making reference in the videos."

Dr Patrick has bought an airline ticket to Florida to visit her parents for Christmas and was supposed to join them on December 23.

Her disappearance is being investigated by police in two states as well as the FBI.

A Facebook page has been created in an attempt to help track her down.

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Meteor Mystery As Fireball Caught On CCTV

Hundreds of people have reported seeing a large fireball in the sky in America's Midwest - and it could have even been caught by a CCTV camera.

The American Meteor Society said it received more than 700 reports of a fireball over the border of Iowa and Minnesota.

It said witnesses reported an object "as bright as the sun that fragmented into many parts" as well as several reports of "sonic effects associated with the meteor".

A local official said the footage of the possible meteor was spotted on a camera at North Liberty's public works facility.

The tape shows a fiery object streaking across the night sky.

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Philippines Typhoon Dead Remain Unburied

More than 1,000 victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan have still not been buried, seven weeks after the deadliest storm to ever hit the Philippines, according to locals.

About 1,400 corpses sealed into black body bags have been left in an open field in San Isidro, a village on the outskirts of the devastated city of Tacloban.

"The stench has taken away our appetite. Even in our sleep, we have to wear face masks," Maritess Pedrosa, who lives in a house about 20 metres from the field, said.

Haiyan victims celebrate Christmas with an improvised tree

Haiyan killed 6,111 people as it battered the Philippines on November 8, while another 1,779 remain missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Tacloban and nearby towns were virtually destroyed by giant waves that swept inland as the storm hit.

Eutiquio Balunan, a local village chief, said people in San Isidro were becoming sick because of the rotting corpses.

Tacloban was devastated by huge waves generated by the typhoon

"We are requesting the city government to please bury the cadavers because our children and elderly residents are getting sick," he said.

"This place has become a fly factory."

Forensics experts at the site attemept to identify any bodies brought there before returning them to the families or placing them in a mass grave at a cemetery about two miles away.

Millions of people lost their homes to Haiyan

Eight police officers guard the bodies. One told the AFP news agency they were under orders to prevent stray dogs from eating the corpses.

About four million people remain homeless following the typhoon.

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Canada Ice Storm: Thousands Without Power

Thousands of households have been left without power in Toronto after a severe ice storm blanketed much of Canada.

Power companies have been working around the clock to restore electricity, moving from house to house and clearing broken branches and wires.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said crews from outside Toronto had been called in to help clean up after the storm.

"This has been a very unusual situation," she said.

"I understand there are 250 of the Toronto Hydro and other hydro service bucket trucks out right now working with back-up crews, and as you all know there are crews from other jurisdictions.

Workers restore power to homes in suburban Toronto

"I've met people from Kingston who have come here, people from Manitoba who have come in order to help with the clean-up."

Local media has reported that some 30,000 households in Ontario and New Brunswick remain without electricity, including 18,000 homes in Toronto alone.

There are concerns that warmer temperatures and gusty winds could cause fresh power outages as melting ice and falling branches threaten to snap power lines.

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Volkswagen Camper Van Reaches End Of The Road

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

One of the most iconic vehicles in motoring history has finally reached the end of the road.

The last ever Volkswagen "Type 2" - more commonly known as the VW Camper, kombi or bus - rolls off the production line on December 31.

It is being retired after 64 years in continuous production because it cannot be adapted to meet modern safety regulations.

The last kombi will be made in Brazil, the country which has produced them for 56 years and where they are a vital thread in the fabric of everyday life.

A vehicle that came to symbolise the counter-culture in much of the world - as the van of choice for hippies and surfers alike - remains very much a mundane staple in Brazil.

It seems that everyone you talk to learned to drive in one and everywhere you turn they are being used to sell, deliver or provide shelter.

Labourers work on a Volkswagen assembly line in Brazil this month

Angelisa Stein is making a movie to mark the passing of the kombi. She told Sky News: "It is a car that is in touch with a lot of generations here. It will not be the same to have just another car."

The kombi is being phased out because modern requirements such as anti-lock brakes and airbags cannot be fitted into a frame that has changed little in 50 years.

A run of 600 last edition kombis - priced at £25,000 each - has sparked a rush among collectors and nostalgic fans.

Driving one of the last ones - with no air conditioning and "stirring custard" gear box - is remarkably reminiscent of driving one from the 1970s. Even down to the feeling of being behind the wheel of something special.

Of course, with a production run of around 10 million kombis, there are plenty that will be around for many years to come.

At a classic car rally in Rio, owners proudly showed off customised vans and talked of their sadness at the end of the kombi era.

Mechanic Adriano Godinho told Sky News: "It is a car which has represented a lot for us in this country.

"It has been used to transport goods, it is a workman's car, it is a family car, so it is something that's in us. It is part of the family."

The van was originally named the "Type 2" as it was only the second vehicle the company made after the Beetle.

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Israel Fires Shells In Response To Rockets

Israel has fired 20 artillery shells into Lebanon in response to two rockets that were launched in the opposite direction.

The Lebanese rockets landed in a field near the town of Kiryat Shmona, the Israeli military said in a statement, causing no injuries or damage.

Israel responded with artillery fire, with witnesses in southern Lebanon reporting more than 20 shells hitting two towns.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Israeli military spokesman said: "The Israeli artillery responded to rocket attacks from Lebanon against Israel that left no victims, targeting the area where these projectiles were fired from."

The border between the two countries has been relatively quiet since a war between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah militant group in 2006.

A Lebanese soldier examines the remains of an Israeli artillery shell

However, tensions rose this month when an Israeli soldier was shot dead by Lebanese troops while driving near the border on December 16.

Last week, Hizbollah blamed Israel for the assassination of one of its commanders in Beirut, an accusation Israel has denied.

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Lorry Driver Trapped After Highway Collapses

A lorry driver has had a lucky escape after being trapped when the coastal highway he was travelling on collapsed in Mexico.

Gabriel Gonzalez Cuevas' vehicle was carrying 36 tons of cement and it was too heavy to drive away after the tarmac broke up.

However, several other lorries behind him were able to leave the area by reversing.

He said he waited hours before heavy machinery arrived to deal with the incident and then authorities ordered him to leave because of safety concerns.

He was able to walk away uninjured.

The road, which connects Ensenada and Tijuana, collapsed near Salsipuedes around 2am local time on Saturday.

The highway remains closed and the Ensenada municipal president has reportedly said repairs could take over a year.

The area was struck by an earthquake in the middle of December but officials have not revealed what caused the road collapse.

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Building With Hole Is For 'Flashy Rich People'

Popularly known as the "the flashy rich people's circle", an upright circular building with a 47-metre-wide hole in the middle is proving controversial.

The yellow structure, in the shape of giant Polo mint, has recently been completed and has been praised and criticised alike in China.

One local resident called it "unique" but some people on the internet said it was a crass symbol of wealth and nicknamed it "Tuhao Circle" or "Copper Coin Building".

The 33-storey-high Guangzhou Circle Building is designed to resemble an ancient Chinese jade disc.

It is becoming a landmark of Guangzhou city, despite being in the middle of a suburb 40 minutes away from the central business district.

Architect Joseph di Pasquale drew inspiration from seeing a jade disc at a museum in Guangzhou.

The structure has been criticised by some

He said the hole in the building was key to the structure because the empty centre would evoke an emotional response from its viewers.

It also forms a figure-eight with its reflection on the Pearl River, suggesting the Chinese lucky number eight.

"I think he (the architect) is very brave. He made something that other people did not have the courage to make. It's a circular building, which is really unique in Guangzhou," said architecture student, Ash Sze.

One unidentified student said: "It's quite unusual. I'm quite intrigued to see a building with a circular hole in the middle. Personally, I think it's for the flashy rich people."

The building will house China's largest plastics trading floor, the Guangdong Plastics Exchange, where 300bn yuan (£30bn) worth of plastic raw materials and goods are traded annually.

Encased in 8,920 copper plates and built at a cost of around 70m yuan (£7m), the building on an island in Yangzhong county in the province of Jiangsu, hovers 15 storeys above ground.

It is not the first controversial building in China.

Earlier this year, a viewing tower built in the shape of a giant puffer fish caused a storm of protest on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.

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Michael Schumacher Hurt In Skiing Accident

Former motor racing world champion Michael Schumacher has suffered a head injury in a skiing accident.

The 44-year-old sportsman was wearing a helmet when he reportedly hit his head on a rock in the French Alps.

He was airlifted off the mountain and is now in hospital after the accident in the resort of Meribel in the popular Three Valleys area.

His life was not in danger, according to French Mountain Gendarmerie, and it was understood he did not lose consciousness.

Schumacher was being treated at a hospital in Grenoble

The duty manager at the hospital in Grenoble told Sky News that Schumacher had been admitted and was undergoing a scan.

He said he had no further information and that ''his injuries are being examined at the moment''.

There was some confusion as to exactly where Schumacher was when he fell.

The Gendarmerie, who said he sustained a "relatively serious" head injury in the accident, claimed he was at the junction of two trails.

The German F1 legend skiing in Italy in 2006

But the ski resort's sales director Oliver Desaulty told Sky News he was skiing off-piste.

Mr Desaulty said rescuers quickly reached the Formula One legend.

"Around 11am Michael Schumacher fell on the slopes," he said. "Well it was not really on the slopes – he was skiing a bit off-piste.

"(He was) close to a slope called Mauduit and he hurt his head.

"We are sure he had a helmet – we hope it will be okay. Some security patrol got to the spot immediately to check everything and we had to ask for a helicopter to take him to the hospital."

Meribel officials have also told French media that Schumacher was in shock but conscious, and added that police were looking into the incident.

His agent, Sabine Kehm, said: ''Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps.

"He was hospitalised and is receiving medical care. We ask for your understanding that we cannot give a running commentary on his state of health.

"He was wearing a helmet and was not alone.''

Schumacher, who first retired in 2006, owns a chalet in the resort and is a keen skier.

He was hurt seriously once before, in a motorcycling accident in February 2009 in Spain when he suffered neck and spine injuries.

He recovered sufficiently from those injuries to make a comeback in Formula One in 2010.

But he made a disappointing return to the sport, managing only one podium finish during his three years with Mercedes.

The German driver retired from F1 for a second time in December 2012.

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