Left in the gutter: Mother and baby stroll past gang victim's body dumped in supermarket trolley in Rio
By Sara Nelson
Last updated at 12:45 PM on 21st October 2009
The death toll from bloody clashes in Rio de Janeiro is up to 25 after authorities found more bodies.
The newly discovered victims include a young man found dead in a supermarket cart at the entrance to a slum that saw intense gang combat over the weekend. He was shot repeatedly and showed signs of having been tortured.
Most of the victims were suspected members of drug trafficking gangs.
Gruesome: A woman and her baby pass a shopping trolley containing the dead body of a man who had been shot and tortured in gang warfare in Rio de Janeiro
But a police spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that three were partygoers who had originally been labelled as presumed criminals.
A police helicopter was also downed by gunfire as gangs fought for territory, just two weeks after Rio won the 2016 Olympics. Three officers aboard died during the battle in the Morro dos Macacos (‘Monkey Hill’) slum in northern Rio.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed to battle those responsible for the bloody wave of violence plaguing the city.
'We'll do anything it takes and make all necessary sacrifices so we can clean up the mess that these people are imposing on Brazil,' he told reporters in Sao Paulo.
Tension: Police in armoured assault vehicles patrol the streets near Morro dos Macocos. There are concerns about security in Rio ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games - which is already being publicised on posters throughout the city
Under guard: Police officers patrol during an operative against drug dealers at the Manguinhos shantytown
Silva said the federal government will give emergency funding to state authorities to combat the drug gangs that control many of Rio's 1,000 slums, and will give police a bulletproof helicopter.
Around 150,000 people are believed to live amid the urban war in poverty-stricken conditions.
Silva didn't mention security preparations for the Olympics, but said Brazil knows 'it will take time to resolve the problems of the gangs, organised crime and the drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro.'
Other Brazilian officials have said the outbreak has strengthened their resolve to make Rio safer ahead of the games and before 2014, when Brazil will host the World Cup soccer tournament, with key games in Rio, the country's second-biggest city.
Rio state Governor Sergio Cabral said the president promised him $59 million in fresh funds over the next six months to fight crime.
The International Olympic Committee put aside concerns about security to award the 2016 games to Rio on October 2.
Grief: An unidentified relative cries next to a portrait of slain police officer Izo Gomes Patricio during his funeral at the Jardim da Saudade cemetery yesterday
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: ‘’We have confidence in their capacity to deliver a safe games in seven years.’
Silva has said that Rio has repeatedly demonstrated it can put on big events without risks to participants.
But the city’s Mayor, Eduardo Paes, admitted Rio does have a problem with violence.
'We never hid our problems during the bid process. We always told people we have problems and that we are still facing problems,' he said in London this week.
'We still have a lot to do, we have a long way to go. We are not worried about delivering a safe Games. We have a carnival every year, that's safe. We have a party on Copa Cabana every New Years' Eve that hosts two million people, that is safe.'
Hopes: A police officer walks past graffiti that reads 'Education and Love'
He insists the situation will improve by 2016, however.
'We are sure by 2016 we will deliver the Games and hopefully in a way that the city will be more peaceful and secure for all our citizens,' he added.
'We worry about security for our citizens, for our everyday lives, for the visitors that come on a regular basis. That's our challenge but things are moving forward. The violence we face in Rio will be much, much better by 2016.'
Woman Makes Fake 911 Call, Then Calls Again as Garage Door Crushes Her in Fatal Mishap
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
CALDWELL, Idaho — Police say an Idaho woman who made a false 911 call to lure paramedics out of their station made a real emergency call minutes later when she got trapped under the station's garage door.
Melissa R. Farris died Oct. 2 of injuries suffered when she was crushed by the closing garage door at the Canyon County station.
Farris, a former paramedic at the station, had been trying to crawl under the door after the ambulance left to respond to a nonexistent traffic accident she'd called in a few minutes earlier.
Caldwell Police Chief Chris Allgood says it may never be known why Farris was trying to gain access to the station
But according to a police report obtained by KBCI-TV, her sister told investigators that Farris may have been going after prescription medication stored in the station.
World's hairiest man will have plastic surgery to become TV star
The world's hairiest man has said he will have plastic surgery in a bid to turn himself into a television star.
By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Published: 11:36AM BST 21 Oct 2009
Yu Zhenhuan goes to a Hangzhou beautician to have some laser treatment on his hair Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA
Yu Zhenhuan, 32, from the northern Chinese province of Liaoning, has hair on 96 per cent of his body because of a hormone imbalance.
From the age of seven he was cast in movies, such as Little Hairy Boy's Treasure Adventure, and he also had a brief singing career.
However, a recent attempt to win the lead role of The Monkey King in a television adaptation of Journey to the West, the Chinese classic, ended in acrimony when the director said he was not sufficiently attractive.
"I thought I was the best candidate, as I look like a monkey and my nickname is monkey man," he said afterwards. "I read through the book and found professional hair dressers to make me into a real monkey man. But I failed the audition because I am not good looking enough."
"I am going to have surgery to get rid of the hair and facial plastic surgery to make myself look more like a pretty monkey, and make the director regret his decision," he added.
A plastic surgeon, interviewed by the China Youth Times, said Mr Yu needed extensive work on his eyes, nose and lips. "The Monkey King has big and bright eyes. Yu has small, single-lidded eyes. He needs to have them widened. The tip of his nose is too big and the bridge is not high enough."
Mr Yu said after the surgery is completed, he will win over his audience with his "friendly features".
Previously, Mr Yu has had treatment to remove some of his hair, in order to cool himself down in summer and clear his eyes. He said his girlfriend had no issues with his hirsute appearance. "We are doing great. She doesn't mind the hair at all," he told the Youth Times.
RADA graduate walks free over 'sleepwalk rape'
By Rebecca Camber
Last updated at 12:35 AM on 21st October 2009
A drama school graduate who told police he may have attacked a girl while sleepwalking was cleared of rape.
Nick Walker, 21, was accused of raping a 21-year-old woman during a sleepover at a student flat after a night out drinking.
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art scholar initially told detectives he may have 'done it' in his sleep. 
Free: Nick Walker was cleared of rape. The jury took just one hour to acquit him
But he later denied having sex with the student from Manchester, whom he subsequently tried to befriend on the social networking site, Facebook.
Mr Walker wept as he was cleared at Snaresbrook Crown Court, East London, where the jury took just one hour to acquit him.
Earlier the court heard the graduate from Kilburn, north-west London had told police he could have had sex with the woman while asleep.
Following his arrest he told officers: 'I can't remember physically doing it. I was not drunk and if I did do it, it was in my sleep.'
He added: 'With my girlfriend, I have done it a couple of times. We were both asleep and I cuddled up to her and it just went from there.'
But when Mr Walker was cross-examined by prosecutor Toyin Salako, he sought to distance himself from his earlier comments. He told jurors: 'At this point in my interview it was getting very late and I wanted to go.
'I was terrified of the situation and I wanted to go home.'
'I felt like this weird sensation had woken me up. I have no idea how my clothes were removed.'
When asked if he had raped the woman while sleepwalking, Mr Walker responded: 'I would definitely wake up before that point.
'I don't believe that I would do something like that and not wake up.'
The attack was alleged to have occurred at a student flat in Finsbury Park, north London on January 26 last year, where the student from Manchester was staying on a weekend break.
Earlier the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been out drinking with Mr Walker and other RADA students at the University of London Union bar in the centre of the city before they came back to sleep in the living room. She told the court she awoke to find Mr Walker was having sex with her.
She said: 'I felt like this weird sensation had woken me up. I have no idea how my clothes were removed.'
The woman said she felt 'revolted' and 'repulsed' by the realisation of what was happening. 'I pulled my pyjamas back up so they were fully on and I moved away from him and back on to the cushions,' she told the jury.
She added: 'At no point was I attracted to Nick and at no point did I give any signals to him.'
Mr Walker left the flat for Rada early in the morning without a word to his victim, the court heard.
That day, the woman complained about him to a couple staying at the flat, telling them: 'I woke up in an inappropriate situation and I would like to punch him in the face.'
But she failed to mention she had been raped.
The woman said she later received a 'friend request' on Facebook from Mr Walker.
Miss Salako, prosecuting, accused the defendant of trying to silence his victim by befriending her on the social networking website.
Florida Authorities Search for Girl, 7, Who Vanished After School
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Florida officials expanded their search for a 7-year-old girl who vanished while walking home from school Monday afternoon
Somer Thompson was released from Grove Park Elementary School in Grove Park, in northern Florida at 2:50 p.m. She was with her twin brother, her 10-year-old sister and friends when she reportedly ran ahead of them after getting into a fight. Her brother and sister said she was not at home when they arrived at 3:05 p.m.
Somer's mother's boyfriend searched up and down the block for her when she didn't come home; her mother called home at 4 p.m. to check on the kids and immediately called authorities.
Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said officers are investigating whether Somer's disappearance is connected to an event that happened in the area on Oct. 10, when three people unsuccessfully tried to lure a 5-year-old girl into a car.
"We want to emphasize while we're taking this into consideration, we are not focusing just on this … we're exploring other areas and angles,” Beseler said.
He said 57 sex offenders have been interviewed within a 3-mile radius, and their homes and yards have been searched. The search was expanded Tuesday to a 5-mile radius, and officials say they will interview 30 more registered sex offenders.
"This is an all-out search," Sgt. Dan Mahla, of the Clay County Sheriff's Department said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. "We are going to keep trying and trying and trying. We have all these resources and we are maximizing them to the max."
He said they've received 200 leads in the case, but no person of interest.
"She is an endangered, missing child." Mahla said. "It would be very tough for her to survive [given her age, location and conditions outside], so we suspect foul play."
More than 100 Clay County deputies were searching for the second-grader on Tuesday. Beseler said the area where Somer disappeared is wooded and swampy, and they want to search the woods thoroughly before moving search units out farther. Dogs and helicopters are being used.
Thompson is white, 3 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 65 pounds. She has brown hair that was in a pony tail and was wearing a cranberry colored jumpsuit with pink stripes and a black T-shirt underneath. Her backpack is black with pink and white skulls and crossbones.
People are encouraged to call the tip line at (877) 227-6911 with any additional information on the child’s whereabouts.
U.K. 11-Year Old Found Hanged in Dormitory
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
CUMBRIA, U.K. — An 11-year old boy has been found hanged in his room at a school in Cumbria, U.K.
Dylan Thomas McDonald died in the hospital following the incident at the Appletree Residential School, near Kendal.
He was pronounced dead after being treated at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
The boy is believed to have been found by teachers, with police called to the school around 5:20 p.m.
Ten detectives from South Cumbria's Public Protection Unit are now involved in the investigation into the death.
Flight cancelled after passenger sees tarantula
British Airways was forced to cancel a domestic flight after a passenger told cabin crew he had seen a tarantula spider crawling between his legs.
By Alastair Jamieson
Published: 8:58AM BST 21 Oct 2009
None of the other 82 passengers on the flight reported seeing the creature Photo: REUTERS
The male passenger, who has not been named, raised the alarm on-board an Airbus A319 that had arrived at Edinburgh from Heathrow.
The alert led to the aircraft being grounded while a specialist was flown in to fumigate the cabin, forcing the airline to cancel at least one subsequent flight.
None of the other 82 passengers on the flight reported seeing the creature, which was never found, according to a report in The Scotsman.
Tarantulas have hairy legs and bodies and grow up to 1ft long, but move more slowly than common house spiders.
A specialist firm was flown in from Gatwick to fumigate the plane by spraying insecticide inside the aircraft cabin while engineers checked other areas of the aircraft, but to no avail.
A spokesman for the airline said: "A male passenger claimed he had seen what he believed to be a tarantula on board the aircraft. He saw it walking between his legs.
"On arrival, he drew this to the attention of the cabin crew. He did not give the impression of being particularly upset.
"A specialist team was sent to fumigate the aircraft."
He added: "There is the odd spider that comes in cargo such as fruit, but it is very unusual to have such a report on a UK flight."
Experts said tarantulas were not habitual stowaways and preferred burrows, whereas house spiders were more likely to hide in clothes folded in a suitcase.
Matt Shardlow, chief executive of the charity Buglife, said: "If it was a tarantula, why did no one else see it? Although they are quite large spiders, there are some very large house spiders, too."
Fancy going to Mars? Space agency seeks volunteers for 520-day trip... but it's only a simulation
Last updated at 12:00 PM on 21st October 2009
Could you spend 18months with five strangers inside a small confined space? It may sound like a hellish endurance test, but The European Space Agency is calling for volunteers to do just that.
Starting in 2010, an international crew of six will simulate a 520-day round-trip to Mars, including a 30-day stay on the 'Martian surface'.
Final frontier: An artist's impression of a mission to Mars. ESA is calling for volunteers to join a 520-day simulated mission to the Red Planet
In reality, they will live and work in a sealed facility in Moscow, Russia, to investigate the psychological and medical aspects of a long-duration space mission. Like an over-long series of Big Brother, the six participants will be filmed throughout their stay.
They will also be the subjects of various scientific tests to assess the effect that isolation has on various psychological and physiological aspects, such as stress, hormone regulation and immunity, sleep quality, mood and the effectiveness of dietary supplements.
The crew will grow their own vegetables in a special lab, sleep in capsule-sized rooms and will only leave the facility during their trip to the 'surface'.
They will follow a programme of a 250-day journey to Mars, a 30-day surface exploration phase and 240 days trip back to Earth.
It follows on from the successful 105-day precursor study completed in July, ESA is now looking for two candidates and two backups for the full 520-day study, which is due to get underway before mid-2010 after four months of intense training.
A warm-up 105-day mission took place in 2009, with participants from Germany and France and four Russians living together in cramped conditions
The Mars500 sealed facility is just outside Moscow
ESA said candidates should be aged between 20 and 50, motivated, in good health and no taller than 6ft. They should speak either English or Russian.
Candidates must also have a background and work experience in medicine, biology, life support systems engineering, computer engineering, electronic engineering or mechanical engineering.
Should you be interested experts will look at your education, professional experience, medical fitness and 'social habits.'
But before you all rush at once, those from the UK are unfortunately ineligible to enter because Britain is not a member of ESA's human spaceflight programme.
The candidates’ nationality and residence is restricted to Ireland and Canada, alongside Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, The Netherlands and Sweden.
Father accused of kidnapping man he believes killed his daughter 27 years ago
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 11:45 AM on 21st October 2009
A 72-year-old man is facing charges over the alleged abduction of a man he blamed for his daughter’s death 27 years ago.
German Dieter Krombach, a 74-year-old cardiologist, was found tied up and injured near the courthouse of Mulhouse, a city on the French-German border, at dawn on Sunday.
Frenchman Andre Bamberski is now under investigation for having Krombach kidnapped by accomplices and could face up to 10 years in jail.
Accused: Andre Bamberski (right) is suspected of kidnapping Dieter Krombach (left), the man whom blames for his daughter's death
Kalinka Bamberski died in 1982
Police discovered Krombach following a tip-off from an anonymous caller.
Bamberski is suspected of taking justice into his own hands over the German authorities’ failure to act against Krombach, after a French court convicted him of manslaughter in his absence.
Kalinka Bamberski died after Krombach injected her with a substance that was supposed to encourage a tan.
Bamberski has fought for years to have Kromback extradited to France.
A German court ruled Krombach was not responsible for her death, but in 1995 a court in Paris sentenced him in absentia to 15 years in prison for causing injuries that led to her death.
'This man had the honesty to say that he never accepted the idea that the killer of his daughter would not serve the 15-year jail term handed down by a French court,' said Mulhouse prosecutor Jean-Pierre Allachi.
Krombach is expected to be re-sentenced next year. His lawyer said he was bundled into a car boot on Saturday at his home in Germany by men who spoke Russian.
'It's the battle of his life. He has devoted all his time, his energy, his money to it,' Robert Pince, head of the association, 'Justice for Kalinka', said of Bamberski.
Kalinka died in July 1982 while on holiday with her step-father, Krombach, at Lake Constance in southern Germany. He has always said her death was an accident.
Krombach had been found guilty in Germany in 1997 in a case concerning the sexual abuse of a girl whom he had anaesthesised.
Paris prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant in 2004 but a Munich court rejected the demand last April, arguing that the German investigation had found the man not guilty.
Kanye West forced to remove graphic video featuring sex scene and self-mutilation from his blog
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:07 AM on 21st October 2009
Kanye West was facing fresh controversy today after pulling his new video from his website.
The rapper had posted an 11-minute film titled We Were Once A Fairytale, which is directed by Spike Jonze, on his blog on Monday.
It follows West, 32, on a drunken night out. He is seen having sex with a stranger, projectile vomiting blood and then stabbing himself in the stomach.
Controversial: Kanye West's new video We Were Once a Fairytale features him cutting his stomach open with a large knife
Grotesque: Seconds later, a tiny demon appears. It subsequently stabs itself with a small sword
At this point the film takes a distinctly surreal turn as a demon emerges from the depth of his stomach.
The creature - a tiny rat similar to the puppets seen in Jonze's latest film Where The Wild Things Are - subsequently stabs itself with a small sword.
Shortly after the footage appeared, the hip hop star removed it from his site and issued an apology.
'Sorry I had to take it down,' he said in a statement on his blog. He did not disclose the reason for its removal.
Epic: The 11-minute film begins with West in a club surrounded by women
Ladies' man: The increasingly inebriated hip hop star is seen flirting with a series of women
The video, shot in Los Angeles in January and premiered at the city's film festival in June, is a high-profile collaboration with Jonze.
Known for his idiosyncratic, quirky style, the director was also behind cult hit Being John Malkovich.
His version of Where The Wild Things Are, based on Maurice Sendak's much-loved children's book, will be released in Britain later this year.
The film uses puppets alongside humans to bring Sendak's magical tale to life.
One night stand: He eventually leaves the club with one of the girls
Seduction: The pair are seen having sex in a brief sequence of close-up shots 
Collapse: A drunk West eventually passes out
Jonze has applied the same methods to West's video, which is still widely available on YouTube and will be available to buy on iTunes at a later date.
West has struggled to rebuild his reputation after a humiliating appearance at the MTV Music Video Awards last month.
He has been widely condemned for storming on to the stage to interrupt country star Talyor Swift, 19, as she accepted an award for best female.
Feeling woozy: When he comes round, he is seen staggering to a bathroom...
... where he apparently projectile vomits blood
Unwell: He then collapses for a second time
Grabbing the microphone from her hands, he unleashed an astonishing rant which stunned his audience.
'Yo Taylor. I'm really happy for you, I'm going to let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time,' he fumed.
West, who has received multiple awards and critical acclaim for his music, was eventually forced to apologise after even Barack Obama branded him a 'jackass'.
Violent: The final sequence of the film begins when West discovers a knife
Gut-wrenching: He is seen stabbing himself before tearing open his stomach
The incident spawned a rash of internet virals with Kanye attacking everyone from George Bush to George W. Bush Adolf Hitler.
It also marked a low point in his career. He has subsequently cancelled a U.S. tour with Lady GaGa at short notice.
West gave no reason for the move. But he has struggled to come to terms with the loss of his mother Donda who died two years ago after complications from plastic surgery.
Demonic: A tiny creature emerges from his entrails 
Gratuitous: He then hands it a tiny sword which it uses on itself