Gibraltar Row: Cameron Calls On EU To Step In

David Cameron has raised concerns over the situation at the Spain-Gibraltar border with the EU – as he considers taking legal action over the stalemate.

In a phonecall to EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, the Prime Minister urged him to send monitors to review the lengthy border control delays - which have been instigated by the Spanish government.

Mr Cameron told Mr Barroso that despite calls to his Spanish counterpart proposing talks to find a solution, no way forward has been proposed.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The PM explained that despite these efforts, the additional border measures continue and therefore we are now actively considering legal action and collating evidence on the sporadic nature of these measures which would prove that they are illegitimate."

EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso

Mr Cameron added that the border checks were politically motivated and disproportionate, and against the EU's right of free movement.

He told Mr Barroso that as guardian of the treaties, he should investigate the issue by sending EU monitoring teams to the border to gather evidence.

"The PM emphasised that the commission has a responsibility to do this as part of its role overseeing the application of Union law," the spokesman added.

Mr Barroso said the commission would not hesitate to take any measures necessary to uphold EU law.

The Spanish action followed the construction by the Gibraltar authorities of an artificial reef which Madrid claims ruins fishing in the area.

The centre-right Popular Party government of Mariano Rajoy, which is embroiled in a corruption row, responded by beefing up border controls and suggesting that a fee could be imposed on every vehicle entering or leaving the outpost through its fenced border with Spain.

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Shark Attack: 'Hero' Teacher Saves Tourist

A PE teacher has been hailed a hero after rescuing a German holidaymaker who lost her arm in a shark attack in Hawaii.

Rick Moore, 57, jumped into the water and swam to help the 20-year-old woman moments after she was attacked while snorkelling off Palauea Beach on Maui island.

"As soon as we stand on the beach, we hear this blood-curdling scream," said Mr Moore, who teaches at Creekside High School in Irvine, California.

"We look out and there was blood everywhere in the white water around her.

"About 10ft from her, I saw her floating on her back, with no arm. It was completely severed from her body."

He pulled her remaining arm around his neck and swam 100 yards through strong currents to get her to the beach.

"It dawned on me, I was in danger now," he added.

"The shark is around me and she's bleeding. I start praying out loud, 'God, God protect us.' She said, 'I'm dying. I know I'm going to die.'"

The beach was closed for 24 hours while lifeguards searched for the shark

The US teacher, who is also a pastor, went on: "I started crying out to God and I got this burst of strength. I swam toward the shore."

The woman was starting to lose consciousness, as Mr Moore's friend Nicholas Grisaffi, 61, helped him pull her from the water.

They lay her limp body on a kayak and used it as a stretcher to carry her from the beach.

The woman's three friends stood watching in shock as Mr Moore performed CPR.

"Pretty much everybody was out of control except me and Rick," said Mr Grisaffi, a teacher from Laguna Beach, California.

"If we're not there, she's not saved. Nobody did a thing. They just stood there in shock, watching the blood and everything."

Emergency services arrived and the woman was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Joshua Craddock, a 23-year-old from London, praised Mr Moore's bravery.

The woman was attacked while snorkelling in murky water on Maui island

"He was pretty heroic and selfless to dive in the water when by this stage she was surrounded by a pool of blood which we could see from the shore," he added.

The two teachers have visited the woman in hospital and said she was in a stable condition.

"I just can't get the screaming out of my head," Mr Grisaffi said. "I won't take risks of going too far out any more."

The beach was closed for 24 hours while lifeguards searched for the shark.

It was not clear what type of shark attacked the woman, whose name has not been released.

It was the seventh shark attack in Hawaiian waters this year, and the fourth on Maui, according to the US state's official figures.

There were 11 shark attacks in Hawaii last year. The last fatal attack was in 2004.

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Philippines: 200 Feared Dead After Ferry Crash

A ferry with more than 800 passengers and crew on board has sunk after colliding with a cargo ship near the Philippine city of Cebu.

The coastguard said the MV Thomas Aquinas listed after hitting the Sulpicio Express Seven Cargo vessel and the captain gave the order to abandon ship.

Life rafts around the cargo ship that collided with the ferry

At least 31 people, including some children, were confirmed dead, 629 were rescued and 171 were still unaccounted for, the coastguard said.

Rear Admiral Luis Tuason, vice commandant of the coastguard, warned that the number of dead would inevitably rise.

He said: "The captain managed to declare abandon ship and they distributed life jackets but, because of the speed by which it went down, there is a big chance that there are people trapped inside."

A man is pulled to safety by Navy rescuerers

He added that the ferry sank within 10 minutes of the collision on Friday night at a narrow point near the port of Cebu.

Hundreds of passengers jumped into the ocean as the ship began sinking, said survivors. Many of the 831 on board were asleep at the time of the collision.

Life rafts deployed by the ferry after the collision

Jerwin Agudong said he and other passengers leapt overboard after the ferry began taking on water and the crew distributed life jackets.

He told radio station DZBB that some people were trapped and he saw bodies in the water.

"It seems some were not able to get out. I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued," he said.

An injured survivor is taken to hospital

"One of the persons who jumped with us hit his head on metal. He is shaking and he is bloodied."

According to news reports, an 11-month-old baby was among those saved.

Danny Palmero, a former fisherman, said he was with friends who responded to the ferry's distress call and rescued seven people on their motorized outrigger canoe.

Some of the rescued passengers

"I saw many flares being shot," he said. "As a former nautical student, I knew it was a distress signal."

Accidents at sea are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

In 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the Philippines, killing 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.

The ferry sank after hitting the cargo ship near Cebu

In 2008, the ferry MV Princess of the Stars capsized during a typhoon, killing nearly 800 people.

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Michael Jackson Glove: US Fights Dictator's Son

The US government is embroiled in a legal battle to stop a gem-encrusted glove worn by Michael Jackson falling into the hands of an African dictator's son.

The late singer's glove was bought with dirty money by Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the US claims.

The latest hearing in the 28-month-old case - "United States of America v One White Crystal-Covered 'Bad Tour' Glove and Other Michael Jackson Memorabilia" - will be heard in a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday.

In April 2011, US authorities seized assets worth some $71m (£45m) from Obiang Jr, who owns a collection of Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, a $38m (£25m) private jet, and a $30m (£20m) mansion in Malibu, California.

More than 70% of Equatorial Guinea's population lives in poverty, but President Obiang and his cohorts have amassed huge fortunes through corruption, the US claims.

According to Washington's lawsuit, Obiang Jr, who was appointed forestry minister by his father, has "amassed over $300m in net worth, all while earning an income of less than $100,000 per year as an unelected public official appointed by his father."

Obiang Jr, 42, who first moved to America in 1991, is alleged to have laundered stolen public funds in banks across the globe.

The Thriller singer died in Los Angeles in 2009 from an overdose

Three years ago, the aspiring rap music mogul bought a number of items from Michael Jackson's estate, including the glove.

Last year, the French government seized a £68m mansion in Paris belonging to Obiang Jr, where they found millions more in luxury goods and cars, according to The Independent.

However, in April 2012, a California judge threw out the US government's case, saying it had failed to prove that Obiang Jr had amassed his fortune by illegal means in Equatorial Guinea, where he had never been charged with any crime.

The US has now been allowed to file an amended version of its complaint.

Obiang Jr's lawyers argued in a brief filed last month that the US still has no grounds to retain his pop souvenirs.

"The government still has not identified a single victim of extortion or bribery," the papers said.

"In short, all that the government has is evidence that [the] Claimant spent money. Where the money came from is a matter of pure speculation."

The Thriller singer died in Los Angeles in 2009 from an overdose of the surgical anaesthetic propofol.

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Iraq Violence: Baghdad Asks For US Help

Iraq has asked the United States for new help to fight extremists in the country less than two years after it forced American troops to withdraw.

The request follows a resurgence of violence across Iraq and a renewed threat from al Qaeda extremists.

The White House has largely turned its attention away from Iraq since US forces left in 2011.

But the country has recently been hit with deadly bombings at a rate reminiscent of Iraq's darkest days, stoking new fears of a civil war.

More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in terror-related attacks in July, the deadliest month since 2008.

The violence has spurred Baghdad to seek new US aid to curb the threat, said Iraqi Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

He said a US assistance package could include a limited number of advisers, intelligence analysis and surveillance assets including lethal drones.

People inspect the scene of a bomb attack in Baghdad's Ghazaliya district

"There is greater realisation in the Iraq government that we should not shy away from coming and asking for some help and assistance," Mr Zebari said in Washington.

He described US interest in Iraq after the 2011 troop withdrawal as "indifferent, completely" but said that seemed to shift as the White House realised al Qaeda's resurrection there.

"Recently I noticed, and during this visit specifically, there is a renewed interest because of the seriousness of the situation and the challenges," Mr Zebari said.

"I think that is because of the threat of terrorism, the threat of the renewal of al Qaeda and its affiliates has become a serious, serious concern to the US."

American troops left Iraq in December 2011 as required under a 2008 security agreement.

Both countries tried to negotiate plans to keep several thousand US forces in Iraq beyond the deadline to maintain security.

But the proposal fell through after Baghdad refused to give the troops immunity from legal charges, as Washington demanded.

Some 4,500 US troops were killed, and American taxpayers spent at least $767bn (£490bn) during the nearly nine years of war in Iraq.

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Venice: Tourist Killed In Gondola Crash

A German tourist has been killed and his three-year-old daughter seriously injured when their gondola collided with a ferry on Venice's Grand Canal.

The man, 50, is thought to have been crushed between the two vessels near the historic city's famous Rialto bridge, according to a Venice fire brigade spokesman.

Rescuers attempted to revive him but he died shortly after the accident in hospital.

The little girl suffered a serious injury to her cheek and was taken to a hospital in Padua for treatment. The injury is not thought to be life threatening.

Venice fire chief of staff Giovanni Carlesso said the waterbus was either docking or pulled out of the Rialto stop and apparently did not see the gondola.

Ansa news agency said the man, his wife and three children fell into the water along with the gondolier during the accident with a vaporetto waterbus.

The force of the impact split the gondola in half, according to La Repubblica newspaper.

The area around the Rialto bridge is one of the busiest in Venice, with traffic created by waterbus and gondolas.

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Peru: 'Armed Men Forced Women To Carry Drugs'

The lawyer for the young Irish woman arrested in Peru for allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine to Spain says she was threatened "by a gang of up to 14 men with guns".

Peter Madden said Michaela McCollum Connolly was "kidnapped", held at gunpoint and "forced by threat to obtain and carry drugs".

But, while the girls have continued to maintain they were forced to comply with the demands of a gang, police in Spain have expressed doubts over their story.

Talking about Ms Connolly, Mr Madden said: "She wasn't offered any money, she was threatened and held. She is now prepared and ready to give full details to the police."

He told reporters in the capital Lima that Melissa Reid, the Scottish woman detained with her, was similarly threatened by a gang of up to 14 armed men.

The airport in Lima where the two women were detained

Mr Madden also said he had arrived at the police facility to find that McCollum Connolly was about to be questioned with no local lawyer available.

"I asked them to postpone the questioning and after a lot of argument about that, they did agree to postpone the questioning until a lawyer arrived," he added.

The two Britons, both aged 20, disappeared while working on the Spanish island of Ibiza.

They claim they were robbed of their passports and phones and followed as they took separate flights to Peru.

Police there said they were carrying £1.5m worth of cocaine when they were arrested last week as they tried to board a flight to Spain.

Ms McCollum, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, and Ms Reid, from Kirkintilloch in East Dunbartonshire, both insist they are innocent.

William Reid in Peru

Ms Reid's father, William, had an emotional reunion with his daughter at the Dirando police station in Lima on Friday.

According to the Daily Mail, Ms Reid told him: "They made me do it."

She said she was introduced to a British man on Ibiza who forced her to meet a gang of Colombian gangsters. They put a gun to her head and ordered her to fly to Peru.

She told her father: "I wanted to tell the air hostesses or anyone in the airports, but the men said they would know if we had spoken to anyone, that they were watching all the time.

"It was a choice between doing what I was told and getting it over and done with and hopefully getting back to Spain or trying to escape and being killed."

However, First Sergeant Alberto Arian Barilla, the head of the Ibiza police unit responsible for fighting organised crime, said he did not believe the two young women had acted under duress.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday: "In my experience, I don't think these two girls were forced to do this because – particularly when you go to South America – you need to pass several controls."

Mr Reid had also told the Irish Independent he "of course" believes his daughter is innocent, adding she was in the "wrong place at the wrong time".

Police are waiting for a translator before officially questioning the two women, which is expected to happen in the next few days.

Mr Madden has warned that if the women are charged, the proceedings could be lengthy.

If charged, the two women would be transferred to the Santa Monica women's prison where foreigners are held.

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Dozens Of Pythons Found In Canada Hotel Room

Police have discovered 40 pythons inside a hotel room in Canada, less than two weeks after a snake crushed two young Canadian boys to death in an apartment.

The reptiles were found in several plastic storage bins inside a room in Brantford, Ontario, where a couple who had been evicted from their home were staying, police said in a statement.

Officers have opened an investigation into the incident, but have not said whether the pair will be charged with breaking local laws that prohibit owning pythons.

The snakes, which ranged from 12 inches to five feet in length, were in poor health and have been taken in by the Canadian Society for the Protection of Animals.

Connor (left) and Noah (right) were killed by a python in Canada

The find comes 11 days after Connor and Noah Barthe, aged six and four, died in the eastern town of Campbellton, New Brunswick, when an African python escaped from its enclosure and killed them.

The boys had been enjoying a sleepover with a friend, whose father's private menagerie of exotic animals included the python.

Animal experts expressed astonishment at the tragedy, many of them noting that, while an African rock python is a dangerous animal capable of killing large prey, it would not normally attack humans.

The initial police investigation found that the snake probably managed to break out of its enclosure and then nosed through a ventilation duct which led into the boys' bedroom.

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Egypt: Gunfire Exchanged At Besieged Mosque

Key Events In Egypt Since 2011

Updated: 12:32pm UK, Thursday 15 August 2013

January 25 - February 11, 2011 - Egyptians stage nationwide demonstrations against nearly 30 years of President Hosni Mubarak's rule. Hundreds of protesters are killed as Mubarak and his allies try to crush the uprising.

February 11 - Mubarak steps down and the military takes over. The military dissolves parliament and suspends the constitution, meeting two key demands of protesters.

November 28, 2011 - February 15, 2012 - Egypt holds multistage, weeks-long parliamentary elections.

In the lawmaking lower house, the Muslim Brotherhood wins nearly half the seats, and ultraconservative Salafis take another quarter.

The remainder goes to liberal, independent and secular politicians. In the largely powerless upper house, Islamists take nearly 90% of the seats.

May 23 - 24, 2012 - The first round of voting in presidential elections has a field of 13 candidates.

The Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under Mubarak, emerge as the top two finishers, to face each other in a run-off.

June 14 - The Supreme Constitutional Court orders the dissolving of the lower house of parliament.

June 16 - 17 - Egyptians vote in the presidential run-off between Morsi and Shafiq. Morsi wins with 51.7% of the vote.

June 30 - Morsi takes his oath of office.

November 19 - Members of liberal parties and representatives of Egypt's churches withdraw from the 100-member assembly writing the constitution, protesting attempts by Islamists to impose their will.

November 22 - Morsi unilaterally decrees greater powers for himself, giving his decisions immunity from judicial review and barring the courts from dissolving the constituent assembly and the upper house of parliament. The move sparks days of protests.

November 30  - Islamists in the constituent assembly rush to complete the draft of the constitution. Morsi sets a December 15 date for a referendum.

December 4 - More than 100,000 protesters march on the presidential palace, demanding the cancellation of the referendum and the writing of a new constitution. The next day, Islamists attack an anti-Morsi sit-in, sparking street battles that leave at least 10 dead.

December 15, December 22 - In the two-round referendum, Egyptians approve the constitution, with 63.8% voting in favour. Turnout is low.

January 25, 2013 - Hundreds of thousands hold protests against Morsi on the two-year anniversary of the start of the revolt against Mubarak, and clashes erupt in many places.

February - March 2013 - Protests rage in Port Said and other cities for weeks, with dozens more dying in clashes.

April 7 - A Muslim mob attacks the main cathedral of the Coptic Orthodox Church as Christians hold a funeral and protest there over four Christians killed in sectarian violence the day before. Pope Tawadros II publicly blames Morsi for failing to protect the building.

June 23 - A mob beats to death four Egyptian Shi'ites in a village on the outskirts of Cairo.

June 30 - Millions of Egyptians demonstrate on Morsi's first anniversary in office, calling on him to step down. Eight people are killed in clashes outside the Muslim Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters.

July 1 - Huge demonstrations continue, and Egypt's powerful military gives the president and the opposition 48 hours to resolve their disputes, or it will impose its own solution.

July 2 - Military officials disclose main details of the army's plan if no agreement is reached: replacing Morsi with an interim administration, cancelling the Islamist-based constitution and calling elections in a year. Morsi delivers a late-night speech in which he pledges to defend his legitimacy and vows not to step down.

July 3 - Egypt's military chief announces that Morsi has been deposed, to be replaced by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court until new presidential elections. No time frame is given.

Muslim Brotherhood leaders are arrested. Tens of thousands of Morsi supporters remain camped out in two mass sit-ins in Cairo's streets.

July 4 - Supreme Constitutional Court Chief Justice Adly Mansour is sworn in as Egypt's interim president.

July 5 - Mansour dissolves the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament as Morsi's supporters stage mass protests demanding his return. Clashes between pro and anti-Morsi groups in Cairo and Alexandria, and violence elsewhere leave at least 36 dead. A Brotherhood strongman, deputy head Khairat el-Shater, is arrested.

July 8 - Egyptian soldiers open fire on pro-Morsi demonstrators in front of a military base in Cairo, killing more than 50. Each side blames the other for starting the clash near the larger of the two sit-ins, near east Cairo's Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque.

Mansour puts forward a time line for amending the constitution and electing a new president and parliament by mid-February. The Brotherhood refuses to participate in the process.

July 9 - Mansour appoints economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president. A military announcement backs up the appointments.

July 26 - Millions pour onto the streets of Egypt after a call by the country's military chief for protesters to give him a mandate to stop "potential terrorism" by supporters of Morsi. Five people are killed in clashes.

Prosecutors announce Morsi is under investigation for a host of allegations including murder and conspiracy with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

July 27  - Security forces and armed men in civilian clothes clash with Morsi supporters outside the larger of the two major sit-ins in Cairo, killing at least 80 people.

July 30 - The EU's top diplomat Catherine Ashton holds a two-hour meeting with detained Morsi at an undisclosed location. She is one of a number of international envoys, including US Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, to visit Egypt to attempt to resolve the crisis.

August 7  - Egypt's presidency says that diplomatic efforts to peacefully resolve the standoff between the country's military-backed interim leadership and the Muslim Brotherhood have failed.

August 11 - Egyptian security forces announce that they will besiege the two sit-ins within 24 hours to bar people from entering.

August 12 - Authorities postpone plans to take action against the camps, saying they want to avoid bloodshed after Morsi supporters reinforce the sit-ins with thousands more protesters.

August 14 - Riot police clear two sprawling encampments of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, sparking running street battles that kill hundreds of people.

The presidency declares a month-long state of emergency across the nation as Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei resigns in protest over the assaults.

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Diana's Death: Police Passed New Information

Scotland Yard is assessing new information on the death Princess Diana to determine whether it is credible.

The assessment will be carried out by Metropolitan Police officers from the Specialist Crime and Operations Command.

The deaths of the Princess of Wales and Dodi al Fayed in Paris in 1997 were investigated and examined by an inquest led by Lord Justice Scott Baker at the Royal Court of Justice in 2007-8.

On April 7, 2008, the jury concluded their verdict as "unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes".

The Metropolitan Police added the assessment was not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget - the inquiry led by Lord Stevens into conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed's deaths.

More follows...

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