South Africa Cops Charged Over Van Man Murder

Eight South African police officers have been charged with murder after a video showed a man being handcuffed to a moving van.

South Africa's police watchdog earlier arrested the men over the death of a Mozambican taxi driver who died in custody after being dragged by the police vehicle.

Police in Pretoria held a press conference to placate a nation outraged by the footage showing Mido Macia being dragged through the streets.

He was later found dead in a police cell with serious head and internal injuries.

National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Riah Phiyega, said the eight officers had been suspended and disarmed. They have since been charged with murder.

Taxi driver Mido Macia with his sister Melida

The station commander in Daveytown, a township east of Johannesburg, has also been removed from his post, she said.

"Any one death is one too many," Ms Phiyega said. "We believe in the principle of police being policed."

The Daily Sun, a South African newspaper, posted footage of the dragging incident, which occurred on Tuesday.

It was apparently filmed by several people on mobile phones.

Witnesses said Mr Macia, 27, drew the attention of police when he parked in a way that blocked traffic, and then got into an row with officers.

"We are going to film this," several onlookers shouted in Zulu as the police subdued Mr Macia.

One bystander can be heard shouting: "What has this guy done?"

President Jacob Zuma condemned the killing of Mr Macia.

Some commentators drew comparisons with the 1977 death of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who also suffered head injuries in police custody.

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Delhi Rape: Seven-Year-Old 'Attacked In School'

Hundreds of protesters have clashed with police after reports that a seven-year-old girl has been raped at a government school in northwest Delhi.

The Times of India newspaper said the attack had occurred in the Mangolpuri area of the capital.

The girl's parents informed police after the injured child was taken to hospital.

Dr Sanjay Kumar, who helped treat the girl, said she had injuries consistent with rape.

Angry mobs gathered at the hospital and threw stones at a nearby bus, shattering its windows.

Protesters say Delhi police have failed to act decisively in rape cases

Protesters hurled stones at police, who had cordoned off the road and used batons to break up the demonstration.

After several hours the crowd dispersed.

"The protesters were angry over the assault on the little girl and were demanding that police act against the culprit," a police official said.

A Delhi police spokesman said police had registered a rape case and were questioning teachers and security guards at the facility, run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit called the attack "shameful".

"Rape inside a school is a shocking incident. It is shameful that it happened," she said.

A man runs across a street during the protest

India has been gripped in recent months by a national debate over the treatment of women and girls and their safety.

Last month three sisters, aged six, nine and 11 were raped and murdered before their bodies were dropped in a village well.

In December a 23-year-old medical student was gang raped and attacked on a bus in Delhi. She died 13 days later after being flown to a hospital in Singapore.

Six men, including a 17-year-old, have been charged with her murder.

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Obama Signs Order To Start Spending Cuts

President Barack Obama has signed an order authorising $85bn cuts in domestic and defence spending following the failure of efforts to strike a deal with Republicans on cutting the US deficit.

Mr Obama and Republican leaders in the House and Senate declared themselves still deadlocked after a last-minute White House meeting last night.

The two sides are at odds over the president's insistence on increasing tax revenue as part of any plan to tackle the country's $16.6trn debt.

Mr Obama signed the order which officially enacts the across-the-board reductions - known as a "sequester" in government budget language. Under the law, the president had until midnight.

The $85bn cuts apply to the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, which ends on September 30. But the legislation that requires the spending reduction will continue slashing government spending by about $1trn more over a 10-year period.

Speaking after the White House meeting, Mr Obama said: "Let's be clear, none of this is necessary."

He blamed the deadlock on Republicans who he said refused to close tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy, adding that "the pain will be real" for the American people.

"I am not a dictator. I'm the president," Mr Obama said, warning he could not force his Republican foes to "do the right thing," or make the Secret Service barricade Republicans leaders in a room until a deal is done.

"These cuts will hurt our economy, will cost us jobs and to set it right both sides need to be able to compromise," Mr Obama added.

US Speaker of the House John Boehner walked out of the meeting

Republican John Boehner, speaker of the House of Representatives, walked out of the meeting to say there would be no compromise as long as Mr Obama insisted on higher tax revenue.

Republicans are standing fast against further increasing taxes and will not compromise on achieving debt reduction through spending cuts alone.

The opposition party is still feeling the sting from its most conservative members after agreeing at the end of 2012 to allow the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts for Americans earning $400,000 or more a year.

Friday's meeting was the first the two sides have held this year on the budget battle, and it lasted less than an hour.

The immediate impact of the cuts on the public is uncertain, but they will carve 5% from domestic agencies and 8% from the Pentagon between now and October 1.

Defence officials say they will be forced to reduce the working week of 800,000 civilian employees, scale back flight hours of warplanes and postpone some equipment maintenance.

The deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf has also been cancelled.

The US Navy will gradually stand down several hundred planes starting in April, the Air Force will curtail flying hours and the Army will cut back training for all units except those deploying to Afghanistan.

Several major programmes will be unaffected, including the Social Security pension programme, the Medicaid health care programme for the poor and food stamps.

Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel warned that the budget cuts will endanger the US military's ability to conduct its missions.

"This will have a major impact on training and readiness," he said. "Later this month, we intend to issue preliminary notifications to thousands of civilian employees who will be furloughed."

Mr Hagel also acknowledged that the budget cuts "will cause pain, particularly among our civilian workforce and their families".

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Sharks: 'Hundred Million Are Killed A Year'

Nearly 100 million sharks are killed each year and they need to be better protected or many species could face possible extinction, according to a new study.

The rate of commercial fishing far exceeds what many populations need to recover, scientists have warned.

Sharks take years to sexually mature, produce small litters and are exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing.

They are being caught at an average rate that is 30% to 60% higher than they can sustain, the study said.

The fish are often targeted for their fins, which are used in shark fin soup, a delicacy in Asia where a bowl of it can reportedly sell for £65.

The practice known as "shark finning" - where the fish are caught and thrown back after their fins are cut off - is globally widespread, according to the researchers from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.

Some areas including Europe, the US, Canada and Australia have introduced anti-finning legislation but the practice continues in most other parts of the world, they added.

The Porbeagle shark is also under threat

Sharks are also caught accidentally by vessels looking for tuna, swordfish and other species.

The researchers, using information from nearly 100 papers, estimated global reported catches, unreported landings, discards and finning totalled 97 million fish caught in 2010.

The number is only slightly less than the estimated 100 million caught in 2000, and the 2010 figure could actually be as high as 273 million, said the study published in the journal Marine Policy.

It is thought between 6.4% and 7.9% of all sharks are killed each year, less than the 4.9% that means population stability can be maintained.

Anything over that threatens the long-term survival of species like the oceanic white tip, porbeagle and several kinds of hammerheads.

"There's a staggering number of sharks being caught every year and the number is way too high considering the biology of species," says Dalhousie biologist Boris Worm, the study's lead researcher.

The study said "protective measures have to be scaled up significantly in order to avoid further depletion and the possible extinction of sharks, with likely severe effects on marine ecosystems around the world".

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Student Solves Rubik's Cube While Juggling

Most of us struggle with a Rubik's Cube at the best of times but Ravi Fernando has taken the puzzle to a whole new level by solving it while juggling it with two balls.

The 21-year-old Mathematics student has become an internet sensation after his amazing feat - completed in around a minute and a half - appeared on the Humans of Stanford Facebook page.

Dubbed Sir Ravi The Juggler by his friends, the undergraduate's achievement was viewed on Facebook more than 20,000 times in a day.

His efforts have prompted hundreds of comments - most of them just one word - "awesome" or "amazing".

But Steve Pearson suggested he could be the man to solve America's current fiscal issues: "I say we put Ravi in charge of solving our national budget problems.

More than 350 million Rubik's Cubes have been sold worldwide.

"Anyone who can juggle like that would make a great secretary of the Treasury. I can see him now juggling in front of the Senate finance committee as they try to grill him on policy issues."

Mum Leslie Finnegan Conn added: "When my son first met Ravi in high school, he was already solving one cube in each hand ... in two minutes."

Ravi, who hails from Kirksville, Missouri, has a history of Rubik's Cube success.

He has achieved a run of wins and top 10 finishes in Rubik's Cube competitions across the US, according to the World Cube Association website.

On its website Stanford University, which also features the video, says its "research and teaching stresses interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving".

One of the world's leading research universities, it is "known for its entrepreneurial character, drawn from the legacy of its founders, Jane and Leland Stanford, and its relationship to Silicon Valley".

Areas of excellence range from the humanities to social sciences to engineering and the sciences.

It adds: "Stanford is located in California's Bay Area, one of the most intellectually dynamic and culturally diverse areas of the nation."

The university is one of the most prestigious in the United States boasting nearly 17,000 students and 19 Nobel laureates on the current staff.

The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian Erno Rubik, a sculptor and professor of architecture. Since then more than 350 million have been sold worldwide.

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Hugo Chavez 'Battles For Life' With Chemotherapy

President Hugo Chavez has been receiving chemotherapy since recovering from a severe respiratory infection in mid-January and "continues his battle for life", his vice president said.

Nicolas Maduro disclosed for the first time that Mr Chavez began chemotherapy following his fourth round of cancer surgery in Cuba in December.

"He has strength that is superior to the treatments that he is receiving and he is in good spirits, battling, receiving his treatments," he said after a Mass for Mr Chavez, who is being treated at a Caracas military hospital.

Mr Chavez in hospital in Cuba

When he went into the operating room in Havana on December 11 Mr Chavez told his aides that there was a "possibility that he would not come out" alive, but he survived it, said Mr Maduro.

The vice president quoted Mr Chavez as saying he decided to return to Venezuela because he was entering "a new phase" of "more intense and tough" treatments and wanted to be in Caracas for them.

Mr Maduro, the leftist leader's political heir, rejected a wave of rumours that Mr Chavez was dead or on his deathbed and lashed out at the opposition, which accused him of lying about the president's condition.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said in a tweet: "We'll see how they explain to the country in the (coming) days all the lies they've been telling about the president's situation." 

Nicolas Maduro - the successor of the president

Mr Chavez has not been seen nor heard from since going to Cuba for his fourth cancer surgery, except for a set of "proof of life" photos released on February 15 while he was still in Havana.

The leader's condition was extremely delicate over New Year's as he battled a respiratory infection that required a tracheal tube, said Mr Maduro.

He said: "In mid-January he was improving, the infection could be controlled, but he continued with problems of respiratory insufficiency. Afterward, there was a general improvement, and the doctors along with President Chavez decided to initiate complementary treatments.

"You know what the complementary treatments are, right? They are chemotherapy that is applied to patients after operations."

The opposition says Mr Chavez should either be sworn in for the new term he won in the election or declare himself incapable and call a new election. The constitution says he should have been sworn in on Jan. 10, but Venezuela's Supreme Court said it was OK to wait.

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Britons Hurt In Coach Crash In Kenya

A number of Britons are being treated in hospital after the coach they were travelling in crashed in Kenya.

Around 15 people are believed to have been in the vehicle when the accident happened in the coastal city of Mombasa.

The Foreign Office has said it is providing consular assistance to the wounded British nationals.

One of the injured passengers is said to be critically ill, while the others suffered more minor injuries, said police chief Joshua Omukata.

It is not known how many Britons were caught up in the crash.

The number of Britons involved is not yet known

Earlier, a Foreign Office spokesman said: "There has been a coach crash that we are aware of.

"We believe there are British nationals involved, and there are some injuries.

"We are sending staff there now and we'll have more details later.

"Indications are the injuries are not life-threatening but we won't know for certain until our people are on the scene."

People stand at the side of the road following the crash

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Protesters Torch Egypt Police Station

Protesters have set a police station in Port Said ablaze as US Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Cairo for talks.

The interior ministry said in a statement that around 500 protesters threw stones and petrol bombs at the police station, setting it on fire, and then blocked fire engines from getting to the scene.

The protests had begun outside the station after two men were injured when a police truck hit them during earlier clashes in the city - now entering its third week of a general strike.

One person was killed and dozens injured in clashes between police and protesters in the Nile delta city of Mansura, according to security officials.

The dead protester was reported to have been crushed underneath an armoured police vehicle.

Regular clashes have been taking place across Egypt amid a stalemate between Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and his secular-leaning opposition ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

It comes as Mr Kerry arrived in Egypt to press bickering leaders and opposition politicians to forge a consensus that will allow the country to emerge from economic crisis.

He is due to meet a number of opposition figures before seeing Mr Morsi on Sunday.

US officials said Mr Kerry is particularly concerned that Egypt takes the reforms necessary to qualify for a $4.5bn International Monetary Fund loan package.

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Rape T-Shirt: Amazon Offered 'Hit Her' Tops

Amazon is continuing to offer T-shirts advocating domestic violence on its website - after withdrawing tops sloganed "Keep Calm And Rape".

The company withdrew the rape T-shirts - sold by the Solid Gold Bomb company - from its UK site and later pulled tops with the slogan "Keep Calm And Hit Her".

But the "Hit Her" top remains for sale on some international Amazon sites, including the version in Germany.

It offers the shirt for a price ranging between 16.90 euros and 18.90 euros and they are also available to non-German account holders.

A spokesman for Amazon UK had earlier told Sky News that all offensive garments had been pulled and said: "I can confirm that those items are not available for sale."

This top is being sold on the German website

Other offensive slogans discovered on the UK website - but now withdrawn - included "Keep Calm And Grope On" and "Keep Calm And Grope A Lot".

Critics of the T-shirts quickly let their feelings be known by posting hundreds of negative comments on the relevant Amazon pages and Twitter.

One said: "Do the decent thing and pull this disgusting item now. Remove all items by the same company to show them this will not be tolerated."

Another online customer, Jody, said: "Your on a roll now Amazon. So not content with supporting and encouraging rape your also advocating violence against women.

"Domestic violence is a crime. Real men don't beat there partners."

The firm apologised but later shut down its Twitter and Facebook accounts

Meanwhile, Labour deputy leader Lord Prescott, tweeted: "First Amazon avoids paying UK tax. Now they're make money from domestic violence."

An e-petition was set up titled "Amazon: Stop Encouraging Gropers", while Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods tweeted that "these amazon t shirts are terrible & we must speak out against them".

Amazon listed the manufacturing quality of the rape T-shirts as "Fine Jersey T-Shirt", saying the items were made by American Apparel prior to printing in the US.

When Solid Gold Bomb withdrew the 'rape' garment it also posted a statement on its website which said: "We have been informed of the fact that we were selling an offensive T-shirt primarily in the UK.

The Amazon UK site still offered 'hit her' T-shirts on Saturday

"This has been immediately deleted as it was and had been automatically generated using a scripted computer process running against 100s of thousands of dictionary words."

Solid Gold Bomb said it received death threats and its Twitter account was bombarded with scores of angry messages - many of which said: "Rape is not a joke."

Solid Gold Bomb replied: "We're sorry for the ill-feeling this has caused! We're doing our best here to fix the problem."

Both its Facebook and Twitter accounts have since been shut down.

It said the scripted programming process that created the slogan was compiled by "only one member of our staff", but that it "accepted the responsibility of the error".

Solid Gold Bomb said it sends its T-shirts from Worcester in Massachusetts to throughout the US, UK, Germany, Canada and 79 other countries daily.

Amazon typically charges companies 7% of the price, postage and any taxes to list and sell items through its website.

Prior to withdrawal the 'Keep Calm' shirts retailed in Britain for between £14.99 to £16.99 - excluding postage - allowing Amazon to make more than £1.18 on each sale.

Last year Amazon came under fire from MPs and the public over tax avoidance, after it was claimed the company generated UK sales during three years of between £7.6bn and £10.3bn, but paid virtually no corporation tax.

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Sinkhole Swallows Man: Frantic 911 Call

A recording of a woman's frantic 911 call pleading for help after a sinkhole swallowed her relative under his bedroom has emerged.

Jeff Bush, 37, is thought to have died after vanishing when the ground opened up in Florida.

Five other people were at the Seffner property as the floor began to fall through into the hole estimated to be six metres across and six metres deep.

But no one else was injured at the "seriously unstable" house.

A relative telephoned the emergency services to raise the alarm.

Screaming, she said: "Yes, we need the ambulance and cops...he's stuck under the house. The house just fell through."

The woman was asked: "What happened to the house?"

She replied: "The bedroom floor just collapsed, and my brother-in-law is in there, he's underneath the house."

Mr Bush's brother Jeremy said he jumped into the hole but could not see his sibling.

He had to be rescued himself by a sheriff's deputy who reached out and pulled him to safety as the ground crumbled around him.

"The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but I didn't care. I wanted to save my brother," Mr Bush said. "But I just couldn't do nothing."

Jeff Bush is presumed dead

He added: "I could swear I heard him hollering my name to help him."

Mr Bush went on: "All I could see was the cable wire running from the TV going down into the hole. I saw a corner of the bed and a corner of the box spring and the frame of the bed."

Engineers are planning to resume their work at the site to do more tests on the unstable and dangerous ground.

They have already found the soil in the slowly growing sinkhole around the home is very soft and believe the entire property could eventually be swallowed up.

They said they may have to demolish the small, sky-blue house, even though from the outside there appeared to be nothing wrong with the four-bedroom, concrete-wall structure, built in 1974.

Officials lowered equipment into the sinkhole and saw no signs of life, said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Jessica Damico.

A dressing table and a television set had vanished down the hole, along with most of Mr Bush's bed.

County administrator Mike Merrill described the home as "seriously unstable".

He said no one can go in the house because officials were afraid of another collapse and losing more lives.

Florida is highly prone to sinkholes because there are caverns below ground of limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water.

They are so common that state law requires home insurers provide coverage against the danger.

Mr Bush said someone visited the home a couple of months ago to check for sinkholes and other things, apparently for insurance purposes.

"He said there was nothing wrong with the house. Nothing. And a couple of months later, my brother dies. In a sinkhole," he said.

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